A father and son opened fire on crowds and murdered 15 people during Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Fifteen people were murdered in the attack, and 38 were wounded, some critically. The victims ranged in age from 10 to 87, according to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. Two of the wounded died overnight in Sydney hospitals.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Bondi Beach on Monday morning after ordering Australian flags lowered to half-mast following the attack. "Australia will not be divided by hate or violence," he wrote on X. "We will confront this head-on. And we will stand together in solidarity with Jewish Australians and with one another."

Memorial for the murdered Jews at the place of the massacre, Bondi Beach pic.twitter.com/PZZNZXvReQ

— Gameover (@EricS2075) December 15, 2025

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accused Albanese of allowing antisemitism to "spread" and failing to protect Jewish Australians. "Everything must change from today," she said. "We have seen public sites become symbols of antisemitic hate. We have seen campuses occupied and Jewish students made to feel afraid. We have seen synagogues firebombed at the direction of foreign terror states."

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Herkin is struggling to break the routines he was forced to adopt during his two horrific years in Gaza. He walks hunched over, a relic of moving through Gaza's low, narrow tunnels, and he clasps his hands behind his back as if they were still shackled.

"I got used to sitting and sleeping on the ground, and that has turned into a habit," he explained to Israel Hayom. "I might be with family or friends, get up to grab a cup of coffee, and then come back and simply sit down on the floor. My legs are always crossed and pulled tight to my body, because I sat scrunched up for two years. I only notice after many minutes and then return to a chair."

Maxim Herkin was freed in the recent hostage exchange on October 13, having endured 738 days in Hamas captivity. He now shares a harrowing personal experience and discloses that one of his captors boasted about having previously guarded Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier who was held captive for 4 years after being taken captive in 2006. 

"My eyes were covered, and my hands and legs were tied," he recounted softly. "I couldn't see anything, but I suddenly felt my clothes being pulled off. One of the terrorists took a knife and just cut them away until I was naked. The terrorist didn't ask me to strip; he did it himself."

"The reason became clear in an instant. He was sure I was a special forces soldier and asked if I had a GPS in my body. I was shocked. The terrorist must have seen too many spy movies and thought they had implanted a chip in me. I stayed calm and told him there was no chance he would find anything on me. After searching me and confirming there were no chips inside me, the terrorist pulled up my underwear himself. I stayed like that for several days – in my underwear, a sealed ski mask covered in blood, and my hands and feet in handcuffs."

In the article, which Israel Hayom will publish this weekend, Maxim Herkin returns to the trauma of October 7 and the physical and psychological abuse he suffered in Gaza. He openly discussed the panic attack he experienced when he heard a song played at the Nova Festival, from which he was abducted , his anxiety for his family, the crowdfunding campaign started by his friends, and the guilt he feels toward his 13 and a half-year-old little brother.

"I see the impact this period has had on him," he added. "He's a fighter, but now he's rebelling. He told me about his pain and that he had to be strong for our mother. This is a 13-year-old boy talking like a 40-year-old. I stole two years of his childhood, and no one can give them back to him."

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Video: The funeral of Ali Tabataba'i / Credit: Al-Mayadeen

Up to this point, Hezbollah's strategic decision has been to avoid skirmishing with Israel, claiming that confronting Israel is the Lebanese state's responsibility, and prioritizing its own reconstruction. The organization has demonstrated strategic patience. Concurrently with the IDF attacks over the past year, it has acted determinedly by reorganizing its arrays, collecting and attempting to upgrade the weapons that survived the war, and finding alternative routes to smuggle in new weapons and funds to increase its power. Its operatives have operated discreetly and kept a low profile. They maintain a radical religious ideology, driven by hatred for Israel and the determination to restore the organization to its former position as a threat to Israel's residents and a strong deterrent against the IDF.

While Israel's military superiority is a primary factor restraining the organization, it's not the only reason for Hezbollah's restraint. Following its wartime defeat, Hezbollah's prominent standing within the Lebanese political system also diminished. Despite still being the country's strongest military force, it must consider domestic opponents. These opponents accuse Hezbollah of severely harming Lebanon – contradicting its claim of being "Lebanon's defender" – by fighting Israel to serve the foreign interests of Iran and the Palestinians. The disarmament of Hezbollah, led by the new Lebanese leadership, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, is the primary issue currently on the Lebanese agenda. However, the killing of Tabataba'i, along with four other Hezbollah operatives in the heart of the Dahiyeh area in Beirut, is pressuring the organization to execute a military response rather than limit itself to threats.

Hezbollah has a wide range of options , and it still possesses the capability to act. It retains military capabilities from the war , supplemented by additional weapons it has managed to smuggle in and develop over the past year, with direct assistance from Iran. Iran increased its influence over the organization following the assassination of Nasrallah and is committed to supporting its rearmament in every way possible. US diplomatic officials indicate that Iran transferred approximately $1 billion to Hezbollah for reconstruction purposes in the past year alone. Despite this support, it is unlikely that Tehran, preoccupied with its own internal issues and efforts to find an acceptable solution with the international community concerning its nuclear interests , would now push the battered Hezbollah into an adventure against Israel.

Nonetheless, the organization could adopt a broad set of options for a possible response against Israeli targets. These potential actions include attacking IDF forces in the five locations it still controls within Lebanon; firing on northern communities or infiltrating a cell into Israel; launching deeper missile fire aimed at the Israeli home front; or carrying out a terror operation against Israeli targets abroad by Hezbollah itself or its partners in the axis, such as Palestinian operatives in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Shiite militias in Iraq. Israel should also account for the possibility of an operation by rogue elements within Hezbollah that might disregard a decision to continue exercising restraint.

Considering its current difficult state, it's probable that the official Hezbollah, led by the new Secretary-General Naim Qassem – who lacks significant respect – will seek to avoid another wide-ranging round of fighting with Israel , especially since Israel has already threatened a disproportionate response. The organization will likely choose to postpone its response or, due to internal pressure, settle for a limited, symbolic action along the border or overseas, while continuing its efforts to increase its power in anticipation of the next campaign. The challenge for the IDF therefore remains. However, residents of the north can rest assured: the army has the upper hand this time and is prepared for any scenario.

Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, joined INSS in December 2018, after a long career in the Israeli security establishment: 26 years in the IDF (ret. Lt. Col.) and 12 years in the National Security Council (NSC) in the Prime Minister's Office (she served under 8 heads of the NSC). 

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Despite political officials denying such ties and in contradiction of inaccurate information by the military's COGAT unit that handles relations with such agencies, evidence shows that since the ceasefire began in late January, Israel has been channeling almost half of the Gaza Strip's incoming aid through UNRWA. A source knowledgeable about the situation confirmed that 40% of aid flows through UNRWA, though COGAT's response to our inquiry produced a series of evasive answers.

COGAT's initial response claimed that "operations are conducted under political echelon guidance, which should be consulted." This was followed by a statement asserting that "the percentage through UNRWA is definitely not 40% but rather just a few single percentage points."

On Wednesday, an additional UNRWA source revealed what Israeli government and military officials have attempted to obscure the figures, stating in an interview: "Nearly two-thirds of food entering Gaza passes through the organization, just a day before the implementation of the UNRWA law, which requires ending all contact between the government and an organization that both perpetrated terror and served as terror infrastructure.

While denials persist and Israel Hayom was instructed to await the law's implementation, cooperation apparently continues bunabated ehind the scenes. This is confirmed by Sam Rose, a UNRWA employee, in a CNN interview. The law becomes effective within the next 24 hours and will prohibit any continued covert cooperation.

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According to reporting by the Financial Times, Israel has claimed a major victory in its ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, announcing the successful assassination of the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. This development marks a significant turning point in a decades-long struggle, attributed to a dramatic improvement in Israel's intelligence capabilities.

On Friday night, the Israeli military reportedly tracked Nasrallah to an underground bunker in south Beirut, dropping as many as 80 bombs to ensure his demise. An Israeli F-15i pilot boasted, "We will reach everyone, everywhere," highlighting the precision and determination of the operation.

This success follows previous failed attempts to eliminate Nasrallah, including three unsuccessful strikes during the 2006 war with Hezbollah. The recent operation's success is credited to a substantial reorientation of Israel's intelligence-gathering efforts, initiated after the 2006 conflict exposed significant weaknesses in their approach.

Miri Eisin, a former senior intelligence officer, explained the shift in Israel's strategy: "You have to define, in that sense, exactly what you're looking for. That's the biggest challenge, and if done well, it allows you to look at this in all its complexity, to look at the whole picture."

Israeli intelligence had for nearly a decade referred to Hezbollah as a "terror army," rather than as a terrorist group "like Osama bin Laden in a cave," Eisin added. This conceptual shift forced Israel to study Hezbollah as closely as it had the Syrian army and led to developing a dense "intelligence picture," detailing Hezbollah's operations, leadership structure, and vulnerabilities.

The war in Syria provided Israel with a wealth of data on Hezbollah. As the group deployed to support Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2012, it became more vulnerable to infiltration. Randa Slim, a program director at the Middle East Institute in Washington, noted, "Syria was the beginning of the expansion of Hezbollah. That weakened their internal control mechanisms and opened the door for infiltration on a big level."

Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, described how Hezbollah's involvement in Syria affected the organization: "They went from being highly disciplined and purists to someone who [when defending Assad] let in a lot more people than they should have. The complacency and arrogance was accompanied by a shift in its membership. They started to become flabby."

Israel's intelligence agencies capitalized on this opportunity, employing technological advancements, including spy satellites, sophisticated drones, and cyber hacking capabilities. The IDF's 9900 Unit employs algorithms to sift through terabytes of visual data, identifying subtle changes that might indicate Hezbollah activities or infrastructure.

The patience and persistence of Israeli intelligence efforts appear to have paid off. Over the past 10 months, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in cross-border exchanges, with Israel gradually expanding its operations. This deliberate approach may have lulled Hezbollah into a false sense of security regarding the conflict's boundaries.

However, the recent escalation, culminating in Nasrallah's reported death, suggests a significant shift in Israel's strategy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the UN General Assembly, rejected the notion of a ceasefire with Hezbollah and vowed to continue Israel's offensive.

Despite this major blow to Hezbollah, experts caution that the conflict is far from over. Eisin remarked, "Hezbollah did not disappear in the last 10 days. We've damaged and degraded them, and they are in the stage of chaos and mourning. But they still have lots of capabilities that are very threatening."

Nasrallah's legacy is complex. His supporters remember him for standing up to Israel and the US, while his enemies consider him the leader of a terrorist organization that furthered Iran's geopolitical agenda. In Lebanon, Hezbollah under Nasrallah was often referred to as a state within a state, with many Christian and Sunni communities blaming him for eroding state institutions and prioritizing Iran's interests.

Born on August 31, 1960, in an impoverished Beirut district, Nasrallah rose to become a powerful figure in the region. His death marks the end of an era for Hezbollah and potentially reshapes the dynamics of the ongoing conflict between Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

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Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian towns in the West Bank overnight on Tuesday, torching buildings and cars in apparent retaliation for the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas that killed four Israelis near the settlement of Eli the day before, residents and officials said.

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The Palestinians claim one person was killed during the riots. Israeli authorities say the man was apparently shot after he fired on police officers who had come to disperse the crowds.

Yaqoub Oweis, chairman of the village council of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqeya, said a large group of settlers attacked while Israeli soldiers and police stood by as they burned a petrol station, orchards, a cement factory, and dozens of cars.

Video: Reuters / Israeli settlers torch cars, buildings in Palestinian town

"The attack was unprecedented and abnormal," he said. "There was heavy gunfire but we couldn't distinguish whether it came from settlers or the soldiers because of the darkness." Attacks were also reported in other West Bank towns and villages.

The latest round of violence, after days of relative calm, underlined the volatility of the territory, where for over a year the military has been conducting regular sweeps leading to repeated clashes with Palestinian fighters.

The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the rising violence, with State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller calling the reports "troubling."

Palestinians have complained repeatedly of attacks by settlers in the West Bank, an issue that has also drawn mounting international concern, particularly following a rampage through the town of Hawara earlier this year.

The overnight attacks came hours after two gunmen fired on a roadside restaurant and gas station close to the settlement of Eli, killing four Israelis in an attack Hamas – the Islamist terror group that rules Gaza – said was a response to a major Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday.

Local Palestinian families said settlers cut the road, forcing them to seek refuge at a gas station where they hid in their cars, before being forced to flee. "The settlers attacked the town, damaged and torched homes and cars," said Mahmoud Dawoud, from the village of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbeya, who added that the settlers smashed his car and two belonging to his brother.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Not long before the attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, from one of the hard-right parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, called for tougher action and he repeated the call on Wednesday.

"We need a military operation, we need to flatten buildings, we need targeted killings," he told parliament. "That's how you act against terrorism."

However, other ministers played down the demand for additional measures. "There's no need for any new decisions, only adaptation of existing ones," Energy Minister Israel Katz, a member of the government Security Cabinet, told Army Radio.

In related news, the Israeli government on Sunday tabled plans to approve thousands of building permits in Judea and Samaria. The plans for approval of 4,560 housing units were included on the agenda of the Higher Planning Committee that meets next week, although only 1,332 are up for final approval, with the remainder still going through the preliminary clearance process.

"We will continue to develop the settlement of and strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a defense portfolio that gives him a leading role in Judea and Samaria administration.

Since entering office in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Coalition has approved the promotion of over 7,000 new housing units, most deep in the West Bank. It also amended a law to clear the way for settlers to return to four settlements that had previously been evacuated.

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Security forces are bracing for expected further escalation on the Temple Mount, with the IDF, Israel Police, and the Shin Bet security agency on high alert ahead of the last Friday of Ramadan this week, when the annual anti-Israel Quds Day – the final Friday in the Holy Month of Ramadan, which has traditionally marked by many in the Muslim world (especially pro-Iranian elements and terrorist organizations) with anti-Israel demonstrations.

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On Wednesday, Palestinian terror organizations called for a mass pilgrimage to the site and Hamas warned Israel against "any act of folly in Al-Aqsa Mosque toward the worshipers and our people in occupied Jerusalem."

Thousands of police officers will be deployed in and around Jerusalem out of fear riots on the Temple Mount might lead to a regional escalation. Officers have been instructed to increase vigilance and respond decisively to any attempts to disrupt peace.

Forces will also be stationed on the outskirts of Jerusalem as well as in Judea and Samaria and the mixed city of Lod.

One police official said there was worry Hamas might cast tension over the Temple Mount as a victory. "We will do everything to protect the freedom of worship, but we will not allow hostile activity on the mountain," he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to temporarily cease the ascent of Jewish worshippers to the site. The move was largely supported by the security echelon, except for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who harshly criticized the move.

"When terror strikes us, we must strike back with tremendous force, and not surrender," he said.

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Israel launched rare strikes in southern Lebanon early Friday and pressed on with bombing targets in the Gaza Strip, marking a widening escalation in the region following violence this week at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site.

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The cross-border fighting erupted during a time of heightened religious fervor – when Jews are celebrating the Passover holiday and Muslims are marking the Ramadan holy month. In 2021, an escalation also triggered by clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, spilled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.

Friday's strikes in southern Lebanon came a day after terrorists fired nearly three dozen rockets from there at Israel, wounding two people and causing some property damage. The Israeli military said it targeted installations of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, in southern Lebanon.

Associated Press correspondents in the area said several missiles fired by Israeli warplanes struck an open field in the town of Qalili near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh, close to the coastal southern city of Tyre, while others struck a bridge and power transformer in the nearby town of Maaliya and a farm on the outskirts of Rashidiyeh, killing several sheep. No human deaths were reported.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon risk drawing Lebanon's Hezbollah terrorists into the fighting, which could lead to war. The Iran-backed group, armed with thousands of rockets and missiles, holds sway over much of southern Lebanon and is viewed by Israel as a bitter foe.

The Israeli military was careful to note in its announcement about Friday's attack that it was targeting only sites linked to Palestinian terrorists. In recent years, Hezbollah has stayed out of other flareups related to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which stands on a hilltop revered by Muslims and Jews.

In Jerusalem before dawn prayers on Friday, violence erupted again at the hilltop compound as Israeli police stationed at one of the gates have had to contain Palestinian rioters in recent days who have used the area for provocations and violence. The police forces dispersed vast crowds of worshippers who chanted praise for Hamas while pushing their way into the limestone courtyard.

The head of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, said he was in contact with Israeli and Lebanese authorities early Friday. The force, known as UNIFIL, said that both sides have said they do not want war.

Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes on Gaza resumed early Friday, after terrorists fired more rockets from the territory, setting off air raid alerts in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. The military said targets included the entry shaft to an underground network used for weapons manufacturing.

The current round of violence began Wednesday after Israeli police responded to terrorists on Temple Mount who fired fireworks and threw rocks at them while refusing to clear the area overnight, according to the rules. That led Thursday to rocket fire from Gaza and, in a significant escalation, the rocket barrage from Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Security Cabinet for a three-hour meeting late Thursday. "Israel's response, tonight and beyond, will extract a heavy price from our enemies," he said in a statement after the meeting.

Almost immediately, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza began firing rockets into southern Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the region. Loud explosions could be heard in Gaza from the Israeli strikes, as outgoing rockets whooshed into the skies toward Israel. For now, Palestinian terrorists have fired only short-range rockets from Gaza, rather than the long-range projectiles that can reach as far as Tel Aviv and typically invite harsher Israeli retaliation.

The Israeli military said the rocket fire on its northern and southern fronts was carried out by Palestinian terrorists in connection to this week's violence at Al-Aqsa where Israeli police stormed into the building with tear gas and stun grenades to confront Palestinians barricaded inside on two straight days. The violent scenes from the mosque ratcheted up tensions across the region.

In a briefing with reporters, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army drew a clear connection between the Lebanese rocket fire and the recent unrest in Jerusalem.

"It's a Palestinian-oriented event," he said, adding that either the Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant groups, which are based in Gaza but also operate in Lebanon, could be involved. But he said the army believed that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government were aware of what happened and also held responsibility.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the firing of rockets from Lebanon, adding that Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers were investigating and trying to find the perpetrators. Mikati said his government "categorically rejects any military escalation" and the use of Lebanese territories to stage acts that threaten stability.

The current escalation comes against the backdrop of Netanyahu's domestic problems. For the past three months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating against his plans to overhaul the country's judicial system, claiming it will lead the country toward authoritarianism.

Netanyahu said that the domestic divisions had no impact on national security and that the country would remain united in the face of external threats.

Tensions have simmered along the Lebanese border as Israel appears to have ratcheted up its shadow war against Iranian-linked targets in Syria, another close ally of Iran, Israel's archenemy in the region.

Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers and temporarily put the country's two largest airports out of service. Hecht, the military spokesman, said Thursday's rocket fire was not believed to be connected to events in Syria.

In Washington, the principal deputy State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said, "Israel has legitimate security concerns and has every right to defend themselves." But he also urged calm in Jerusalem, saying that "any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo to us is unacceptable," he said.

In Jerusalem, the situation remained tense at Al-Aqsa. For the previous two nights, Palestinians barricaded themselves in the mosque with stones and firecrackers.

Israel did not try to prevent people from spending the night in the mosque early Friday – apparently because it was the weekend, when Jews do not visit the compound. But tensions could re-ignite Sunday when Jewish visits resume.

Israel bars ritual slaughter on the site, but calls by Jewish extremists to revive the practice, including offers of cash rewards to anyone who even attempts to bring an animal into the compound, have amplified fears among Muslims that Israel is plotting to take over the site

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The IDF launched a manhunt after terrorists shot at Israeli homes in northern Israel on Monday. The evening attack targeted the residents of Ma'aleh Gilboa – a town on the summit of Mount Gilboa and just off the Green Line. 

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Several homes were damaged but no casualties were reported. The trajectory suggests that the perpetrators were positioned after the security barrier Israel had established to separate from Judea and Samaria.  

Video: Palestinian terrorist groups showing supposed footage of the attack / Arab social media

The shooting, according to residents, was from a passing vehicle in the Jenin area. A Palestinian terrorist group later published footage claiming to show the incident. Another attempted attack reportedly took place not far from the Palestinian village of Hawara, where several shootings took place in recent weeks.  

No casualties were reported in the second incident.

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Palestinian terror groups are in financial crisis after Iran cut off their funding several months ago, Palestinian daily Al Quds reported on Sunday.

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The reasons for the move are unknown, though it may be related to the internal upheaval in Iran, according to the news outlet.

The Iranian funds paid terrorist salaries and covered the costs of various operational activities, and some institutions affiliated with the terror groups may be forced to shut down due to inability to pay electricity bills.

Several Palestinian factions have been affected, especially in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Resistance Committees and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are all considered to be fully dependent on Iranian patronage.

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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