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Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for the latest attack Wednesday on a merchant ship in the Red Sea, as the vessel’s operator sharply raised prices between Asia and Europe.

The Iran-backed militia, who has launched more than 20 attacks on merchant ships in recent weeks, said it attacked the Malta-flagged freighter believing it was headed for occupied Palestinian territory. The ship was not hit.

On December 4, 2023, the Hamas movement announced the establishment of a new youth movement in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon called the Al-Aqsa Flood Pioneers, which will constitute, according to Hamas, a “vanguard resistance force which will take part in the liberation of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.” In practice, the movement will serve as an organizational framework for ideological recruitment, and will train young Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon preparing them to be Hamas terrorist operatives who will attack Israel from the Lebanese border, following the model of youth movements of other terrorist organizations.

Qatar seems to be the “go-to guy” for almost anything important going on in the last few months, especially over the last weeks. The influence of the Emir Tamim Bin Hadad Al-Thani has grown completely out of proportion, and for a good reason: Qatar invests heavily in the Western world, in the democratic strongholds of Europe, in industry as well as media. On the other hand, Qatar invests massively in Salafi institutions and entities, terror organizations and fundamentalistic clerics and opinionmakers. Qatar is not only holding the stick at both ends, it owns the stick. In a time of crisis, there seems to be no-one else you can trust, or can you!?

Latest Developments

Israeli forces on December 28 seized tens of millions of shekels in the West Bank intended for the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas. The joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet, and the Israeli police took place during overnight raids on nine West Bank foreign exchange and money transfer agencies. Israeli forces also arrested 21 individuals from Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, Tulkarem, Atil, and El Bireh suspected of transferring funds to Hamas. According to the IDF, the forces seized safes, documents, recording systems, and telephones. Israel’s cybercrime unit took part in the operation, targeting cryptocurrencies.

Lebanon has suffered blow after blow for decades. Now, it seems, that the end of Lebanon as a nation and as a territory is nearer than ever. The scheme to divide Lebanon between Hezbollah/ Iran, Syria and the Palestinian terror organizations is imminent.

Key Takeaways:

• Hamas and other Palestinian militias are exploiting the Israeli hostages they are holding to ensure that Hamas and its partners are involved in any negotiations about the future of the Gaza Strip. Hamas having a role in the future of the strip is incompatible with Israel’s stated war objectives of destroying Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza, and deradicalizing “Palestinian society.”
• Hamas fighters attacked Israeli forces conducting holding operations in Beit Hanoun. CTP-ISW assessed on December 20 that the IDF transitioned to a hold phase in Beit Hanoun.
• Hamas and its militia allies continued to defend against Israeli clearing operations in Jabalia. The IDF reported that one of Hamas’ battalions used Indonesian Hospital in Jabalia as a headquarters.
• The IDF continued clearing operations in Daraj wal Tuffah, Gaza City. Palestinian militias continued to defend against Israeli clearing operations in Daraj wal Tuffah.
• Palestinian militias continued to try to defend against Israeli clearing operations in Khan Younis. Palestinian militias used mortars, small arms fire, and anti-tank rockets to defend against the Israeli advances.
• A Hamas security official shot and killed a fifteen-year-old Palestinian boy at an aid distribution site in Rafah, demonstrating the continued breakdown of governance and social order across the Gaza Strip.
• Palestinian militias conducted at least two mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip targeting southern Israel on December 25 and five rocket attacks on December 26.
• Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian fighters across the West Bank in nine locations on December 25 and in four locations on December 26.
• Iranian-backed militias, including Lebanese Hezbollah, conducted from southern Lebanon into northern Israel 10 attacks on December 25 and nine attacks on December 26.
• Israeli media reported that LH began withdrawing many of its forces, including Radwan special operations forces, from the Israel-Lebanon border.
• The United States conducted airstrikes targeting three Kataib Hezbollah drone facilities in Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, in response to a KH drone attack that wounded three US military personnel at Erbil International Airport earlier that day.
• The Islamic Resistance in Iraq—a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias—claimed responsibility for three attacks targeting US positions in Iraq and Syria.
• Iranian Supreme National Defense University President IRGC Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam discussed security and counterterrorism cooperation with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces Chairman Faleh al Fayyadh in Baghdad.
• Israel was likely responsible for an airstrike on the IRGC military headquarters near Sayyidah Zainab, Syria, killing senior IRGC officer Brigadier General Razi Mousavi. The IRGC and senior Iranian officials vowed that Iran would retaliate against Israel for Mousavi’s death.
• The Houthis attacked two vessels in the Red Sea as part of the ongoing anti-shipping attack campaign that they and Iran have conducted around the Bab al Mandeb in recent weeks. The IDF intercepted at least one Houthi drone targeting southern Israel.