🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 22,600, according to Gaza Health Ministry;

▪️Children in Gaza face "deadly triple threat" of hunger, disease, and hostilities, according to UNICEF;

▪️Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said he thinks Israel will create its own civil administration in the Gaza Strip;

▪️Hezbollah announced strikes on seven Israeli army positions.

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❗️ Russian air defense systems destroyed five Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

“On January 5, at about 20.00 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with five unmanned aerial vehicles of airplane type on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was foiled. The air defense systems on duty intercepted all Ukrainian UAVs over the western part of the Black Sea,” the ministry said in a statement.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James wants to make former president Donald Trump and his fellow defendants pay nearly $370 million for their alleged financial fraud, court documents filed on Friday showed.

"Defendants reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains through their unlawful conduct. Record evidence, including the substantively unrebutted testimony of Plaintiff’s banking expert Michiel McCarty, supports disgorgement of $370 million, plus pre-judgment interest," New York Attorney General Letitia James argued in the filing.

Additionally, the attorney general asked for Trump and his co-defendants, to be barred permanently from serving as officers or directors of any New York corporation.

"Lifetime injunctions barring Trump, Weisselberg and McConney from participating in the real estate industry in New York State or from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity are necessary and appropriate," the documents read.

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The Israeli air force had struck a Hezbollah operational command center in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday.

"An IAF fighter jet struck a Hezbollah operational command center in the area of the town of Blida in Lebanon," the statement read.

IDF tanks and artillery also launched strikes in several areas in Lebanon, the IDF said.

"Earlier today, numerous launches were identified from Lebanon toward the Israeli territory. The IDF struck the sources of the fire," the IDF added.

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Industrial logic behind 'wars of attrition' says Ukraine has nanoscopic chance of winning

Ukraine has little if any chance of prevailing against Russia in a war of attrition, no matter how much intelligence it gets from the West or how well the Kiev regime troops may fight, Mark Sleboda, a Moscow-based international relations security analyst, told Sputnik.

While Russia is stepping up its defense production and sending both brand new and upgraded equipment to the special military operation zone, the Kiev regime is struggling to operate a hodgepodge of NATO legacy tanks and other weapons having neither properly trained personnel nor supply parts chain to maintain them, Sleboda explained.

"That's what happens when you try to create a proxy army in the middle of a war," Sleboda said. "It's not a good situation for the Kiev regime to find itself in."

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The US military base Harir near the city of Erbil in northern Iraq was attacked by a bomb-laden drone on Friday, Iraqi Kurdistan's counterterrorism service said.

"As per information from the Kurdistan Region Counter-Terrorism unit, at 16:29 [13:29 GMT] today, Friday, an explosive-laden drone targeted the Harir military base in Erbil," the service was quoted by the Shafaq news agency as saying in a statement.

On Thursday, Shia militia commander Abu Taqwa was killed in a drone strike on the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Baghdad. The Iraqi armed forces accused the US-led international coalition of the deadly attack, calling it an "act akin to terrorist activities" and "a dangerous escalation and assault on Iraq." Later in the day, the Pentagon confirmed that US forces conducted a strike in Iraq targeting Abu Taqwa for his alleged role in attacks on US troops in the region.

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How remote-controlled armored vehicles may reshape warfare

Remote-control capabilities of Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle, which allow it to be operated via a tablet, do not turn this vehicle into a drone, says veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin who also voiced his doubts about plans to make remote-controlled self-propelled guns.

Military journalist Aleksey Borzenko, however, argues that the latest advancements in this field may eventually lead to warfare becoming the lot of robots, in a manner of speaking.

Earlier, Russian defense industry conglomerate Rostec announced that new Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles with remote-control capabilities may be tested in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

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Ukraine shelled the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) 48 times over the past day, the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes said in a statement.

"Over the past 24 hours, the office reported 48 cases of fire by Ukrainian armed forces," the office wrote on Telegram.

According to the statement, five civilians were wounded. The DPR said that the Kiev regime fired 165 rounds of various ammunition.

In the previous day, Ukrainian troops launched 84 strikes, the office reported.

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❗️ Russian air defenses destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

“On January 6, at about 0:30 Moscow Time [21:30 GMT, Friday], an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft missiles against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was foiled. Four Ukrainian missiles were intercepted and destroyed over the Crimean Peninsula," the ministry said.

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US President Joe Biden said during a speech in Pennsylvania that some of former US President Donald Trump’s comments are reminiscent of those made by Nazi officials in Germany under the Third Reich.

“[Trump] calls those who oppose him ‘vermin.’ He talks about the blood of America being poisoned, echoing the same exact language used in Nazi Germany,” Biden stated on Friday.

Biden’s campaign speech, the first of the election year, focused on Trump’s ties to the January 6 US Capitol riot and alleged threats posed to US democracy by the former president.

"Trump's mob wasn't a peaceful protest; it was a violent assault," Biden stressed. "They were insurrectionists, not patriots. They weren't there to uphold the Constitution; they were there to destroy the Constitution."

Further on, Biden commented that his predecessor is "trying to rewrite the facts" of the shocking day, claiming that Trump is "trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election."

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Reporting published this week has revealed how CNN takes unusual steps to ensure Israeli officials have influence over reporting on Gaza.

The network submits all Israel-related coverage to its Jerusalem bureau for approval, subjecting the reporting to Israel’s military censors.

The policy represents just one way the American media outlet skews its coverage to appease the Israeli government.

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Former US President Donald Trump is reportedly growing nervous that the US Supreme Court could side against him in the fight over his disqualification from the Colorado 2024 primary ballot.

According to a recent report, Trump has privately expressed he is concerned the conservative justices will rule against him out of fear of being viewed as “political" if they were to rule in his favor.

This week, Trump’s legal team asked the Supreme Court to intervene in Colorado’s decision to ban him from the primary ballot under the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. The Supreme Court confirmed on Friday it would hear oral arguments on the case on February 8.

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Britain's neocolonial actions must end

London, which accuses Moscow of violating UN Security Council resolutions, should remember its neocolonial actions, including aggression against Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, and military aid to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed, commenting on British Defense Minister Grant Shapps' assertions that "the world has turned its back on Russia."

"Here is just a short list of London's neocolonial actions of recent times: the participation of British land and air forces together with the Americans in the aggression against Yugoslavia, in the destruction of Iraq and its population, Libya, Afghanistan, the bombing of Syria, and now - supporting the Kiev regime, which in violation of all resolutions on non-delivery of weapons to conflict zones the Anglo-Saxons are supplying with lethal weapons. But Shapps is right about one thing: 'This must end,'" Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.

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❗️ Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine on January 22, a source in the Security Council told Sputnik.

Activist Ajamu Baraka claims US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East reflect the “arrogance” and “amateurism” of the Biden administration.

The former Green Party vice presidential candidate made the statement on Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Friday, responding to reports Blinken is attempting to convince countries in the region to accept Palestinians as refugees.

Baraka advocated for the prosecution of officials in both Israel and the United States responsible for what he called an ongoing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

“The only way that we're going to be able to stop these criminals is if we are able to restore international law and a respect for international law,” he said. “Until we're able to shield power from these maniacs, all of us are basically threatened.”

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Russian Armed Forces hit Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction, Ukraine lost more than 280 servicemen, Vadim Astafyev, the South group's spokesman, told Sputnik.

Astafyev said seven vehicles, a multiple launch rocket system, howitzers, and three mortars had been destroyed.

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The liberation of Soledar, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Maryinka is significant both for security and for the complete liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, the DPR head, told Sputnik.

“The year 2023 was rich in events, they were diverse. First of all, we are concerned about everything related to the military component. The liberation of our settlements was significant for us,” Pushilin stated.

He named Soledar, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Maryinka among the liberated settlements.

“This is really important in terms of ensuring security, in terms of advancing and reaching the administrative borders of the former Donetsk Region. For us it is important now to liberate the entire Donetsk People’s Republic as part of the tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,” Pushilin stressed.

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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated on Friday that the US economy reached a "soft landing," a phrase used to refer to an event in which the central bank is able to ease inflation and cool off a hot economy without creating an economic disaster.

“What we’re seeing now I think we can describe as a soft landing, and my hope is that it will continue,” Yellen said on Friday. “A year ago, most forecasters believed we would fall into a recession. Obviously, that hasn’t happened.”

But Yellen’s announcement that the US economy has reached a “soft landing” may do little to assuage Biden supporters, who have turned away from the commander-in-chief in recent months. Despite creating an economy which looks “good” on paper, Biden could face losing his job in 2024 as Americans continue to feel frustrated as they overpay for everyday necessities.

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British researchers have revealing new photos of Uranus.

The images of the planet and its celestial neighbor Neptune were revealed in a new study Friday along with analysis dispelling common myths about their appearance.

Neptune is often portrayed as being deep blue in color, but the researchers say the planets actually share a very similar pale cyan hue.

The team also explained the science behind Uranus’s status as our solar system’s chameleon, sometimes appearing to be a different color depending on when it’s observed.

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