Israel may slash Gaza aid after Trump takes office

Tel Aviv considers cutting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip after US President-elect Donald Trump enters office, an unnamed Israeli official has been cited by CNN as saying.

“The humanitarian aid is not reaching the right hands,” the official claimed, in an apparent nod to Hamas. The source added that limiting aid to deprive Hamas of resources was one of “several” options currently being considered.

UN, Israel at odds over Gaza aid trucks

The claims come after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that only 2,205 aid trucks had entered Gaza in December.

Israel insists that more than 5,000 such vehicles arrived in the Palestinian enclave last month, whereas the OCHA says at least 91% of the population are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Russia provides humanitarian support to the Gaza Strip, Russian Foreign Ministry said in May noting that Moscow would expand this assistance. However, it could be effectively implemented only with a complete ceasefire, the ministry added.

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❗️Ukrainian forces lost two Leopard tanks and up to 410 militants and in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's area of responsibility

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    
 
▪️Russian troops hit the infrastructure of military airfields and concentrations of manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces in 137 districts;
 
▪️Ukrainian losses in the Russian Zapad combat group's zone of responsibility amounted to 450 fighters;
 
▪️Russia's Yug Battlegroup eliminated 230 Ukrainian militants;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 150 soldiers in the Russian Vostok combat group's area of responsibility;
 
▪️Due to the actions of the Russian Sever and Dnepr groups, Ukrainian losses amounted to 120 fighters.

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Russian fighter aircraft shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29, the Russian Defense Ministry added.

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Railway bridge collapses in Oregon, fallen wagon contaminates river
 
In the city of Corvallis, an overpass bridge upon which a freight train was passing collapsed. One of the wagons carrying urea, a chemical compound used in skin care products and fertilizer, fell into the Mary River, Yahoo News reports.
 
According to the article, no one was injured. The cause of the collapse has not been disclosed at the moment. The Corvallis police have claimed that the structure of the overpass, which was damaged during a fire several years ago, has collapsed.
 
The local police asked residents not to enter the water, as there is a possibility of carbamide contamination of the river.

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South Korea protesters rally for Yoon's arrest as deadline looms
 
Thousands of people rallied for and protested the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the arrest warrant over his failed attempt to impose martial law expires at midnight (15:00 GMT) on Monday.

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❗️A criminal case has been opened into the death of Izvestia newspaper correspondent Alexander Martemyanov and the wounding of four other Russian journalists in a drone attack in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Investigative Committee told Sputnik.

The committee added that it was taking all possible measures to identify and hold criminally responsible individuals from among the Ukrainian armed formations involved in the crime.

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❗️Russian forces hammered a Ukrainian assault group consisting of 2 tanks and 7 armored vehicles carrying troops near the Berdin settlement in the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 340 personnel and 4 tanks in the Kursk region over the past day.

▪️Russian Armed Forces repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.

▪️Since the beginning of combat operations in the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 49,010 soldiers.

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Video of two trucks colliding in Mexico went viral online

At least two people are dead as a result of the accident.

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📕DID YOU KNOW? The world's rarest and most expensive metal costs millions of dollars per gram!

Californium is considered the world's rarest and most expensive metal, with a price tag of tens of millions of dollars per gram. It's only produced in Russia and the United States.

This extraordinary metal is created by irradiating another element, curium, in a nuclear reactor over a long period of time and then isolating californium through chemical processes.

Its uses are equally remarkable - it plays a key role in nuclear energy, cancer radiation therapy, and advanced materials research!

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🤯 AI take: questions Zelensky would unlikely ever face

Lex Fridman's Zelensky interview is coming – but will he ask the real questions? 🤔 We decided to spice things up and let AI have a crack at it. We challenged Grok and ChatGPT to generate seven uncomfortable questions for Zelensky according to their guidelines using similar prompts.

Here's what we've got!

◻️ What does Grok want to know from Zelensky?

1. How do you justify the significant loss of Ukrainian lives in pursuit of NATO membership?
2. What are your personal financial gains, if any, from the increased Western military aid to Ukraine?
3. Are there any secret agreements with Western leaders that could compromise Ukraine's sovereignty or decision-making?
4. Why has there been apparent corruption in the distribution of Western aid, and what measures are you taking to address it?
5. How do you respond to accusations that your policies are prolonging the war for political gain?
6. What is your plan if Western support wanes, and how will you then protect Ukrainian civilians from the ongoing conflict?
7. Can you explain the seeming contradiction between advocating for peace talks while simultaneously rejecting any territorial concessions to Russia?

◻️ What questions did ChatGPT write for Zelensky?

1. Are you willing to consider territorial compromises to end the war, or is there no scenario where Ukraine would negotiate over its borders?
2. How do you respond to critics who say that pushing for NATO membership has escalated tensions with Russia rather than ensuring Ukraine's security?
3. There have been concerns about corruption and the mismanagement of Western military aid—how do you address these allegations?
4. What measures are being taken to minimize civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian military actions in contested areas?
5. Do you think continued reliance on Western weapons risks prolonging the war without a clear pathway to victory?
6. How do you justify Ukraine's financial dependency on Western nations while domestic economies in those countries face significant strain?
7. Critics claim dissent is being suppressed in Ukraine under the guise of wartime measures—how do you respond to concerns about democratic freedoms being eroded?

👉Whose questions are most incisive? Which should Zelensky answer?

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🤝Talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas in the enclave could resume in Qatar within the next 24 hours, Netanyahu's office advisor told Sputnik.

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🔍Ukraine mobilized only 200,000 people in 2024 instead of planned 500,000 - report

The Ukrainian government managed to mobilize only 200,000 people in 2024, while it was planned to mobilize a total of 500,000, The Washington Post reports, citing Ukrainian and Western officials.

According to Roman Kostenko, the secretary of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on national security defense and intelligence, the figures for the necessary mobilization of 500,000 people previously voiced by former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny are relevant for Ukraine.

Zelensky, for his part, admitted in November that after the adoption of the law on mobilization in May 2024, Ukraine was unable to mobilize 500,000 people and there are still not enough people in the army.

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🪖Palestine 2: what is known about Yemeni missile that can beat Israeli defenses

The Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement has moved to put yet another dent in the reputation of Israel’s air defenses by carrying out a missile strike against a power plant located in Haifa.

For this attack, the Houthis used Palestine 2 hypersonic missile that, according to a statement issued by the movement on January 5, successfully reached its target.

🔍Here’s what is currently known about this weapon:

▪️Palestine 2 is a two-stage, solid-fuel missile domestically produced in Yemen
▪️With its range estimated at about 2,150km, Palestine 2 can be considered a medium-range missile
▪️Its warhead payload is believed to be about 500kg
▪️Believed to possess top speed of about Mach 16 and maneuvering capability, Palestine 2 also ranks as a hypersonic missile

Most importantly, Palestine 2 proved capable of bypassing Israeli air defenses which Tel Aviv previously touted as practically unbeatable.

⚔️Palestine 2 attacks on Israel:

▪️On December 31, the Houthis announced a Palestine 2 missile strike against the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
▪️On December 28, a Palestine 2 missile strike was launched against Israel’s Nevatim air base in the Negev region
▪️On December 16, an Israeli military target in the Tel Aviv suburb of Jaffa was hit by a Palestine 2 missile
▪️On December 11, the Houthis declared that they hit an Israeli military site in Tel Aviv using a Palestine 2 missile

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