Biden sends top adviser to Israel as pressure builds along Egyptian border in Gaza

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called out Vice President Kamala Harris for allegedly pushing President Biden and other administration officials to be more sympathetic toward Palestinians.

His comments come after Politico reported Thursday that Harris has recently been pushing those in the Biden administration, including Biden himself, to be more sympathetic toward Palestinians and show more concern for the damage in Gaza.

One person close to the vice president's office told the outlet that the U.S. should start being "tougher" on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement to Fox News, Cruz said "Since day 1 Biden administration officials have been pathologically obsessed with undermining Israel. Unfortunately and infuriatingly, that obsession continues in the aftermath of Hamas's atrocities on October 7. The costs for America and Israel's national security are catastrophic."

The source allegedly said that Harris has been "more forceful at seeking a long-term peace and two-state solution."

Harris' Press Secretary Kirsten Allen told the outlet "there is no daylight between the president and the vice president, nor has there been," adding the vice president and Biden "have been clear: Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself; humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into Gaza; innocent civilians must be protected; and the United States remains committed to a two-state solution."

Former UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined 'Hannity' Thursday night to discuss President Biden's foreign policy decisions as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.

The 2024 presidential candidate said Iran is the reason terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis exist, and encouraged the Biden administration to cut all funding to the country.

"This is about preventing war and Biden is failing on the job miserably and making the world less safe," Haley said.

Watch the full interview in the video above.

The White House shared a recap of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's visit with Israeli officials on Thursday during his trip to the Middle East.

Sullivan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, and member of the War Cabinet Benny Gantz Thursday in Tel Aviv to discuss the Jewish State's ongoing fight against Hamas terrorists.

The recap from the White House said Sullivan and all Israeli officials share the "objective of defeating Hamas, while minimizing harm to civilians and ensuring the increased and sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

The meetings included detailed briefings on Israel's military operations in Gaza, including its objectives, phasing and goals to shift from "high intensity clearing operations to lower intensity surgical operations" against Hamas terrorists.

Sullivan reaffirmed America's support for Israel in its right to defend itself and its citizens against Hamas and "stressed the importance" of increasing efforts with the UN, Egypt and other partners to deliver and distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Sullivan discussed efforts by America's military – and allies and other partners – to deter attempts at expanding the conflict regionally, including in the Red Sea.

He also expressed President Biden’s "commitment to restoring calm along the Blue Line through a combination of deterrence and diplomacy."

Hollywood celebrities have been joining in on the condemnation of the presidents of the country's top universities following their brutal testimony on Capitol Hill tackling antisemitism on college campuses last week.  

Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay, now former UPenn President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth were grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on whether calls of "intifada" or the genocide of Jews violated their universities' codes of conduct on Dec. 5.

All three of them failed to offer a yes or no response, with some arguing that "context" would be needed to make a determination. 

"Friends" star David Schwimmer offered a blistering takedown of the "morally bankrupt" university presidents on social media. 

"Incapable of answering even the most direct ‘yes' or ‘no’ questions, watch them duck and smirk at the unbridled anti-Semitism and calls for genocide on their campuses. Where is the outrage among students, faculty and alumni demanding their resignations, an official apology and enforcement of the codes of conduct?" Schwimmer asked on Instagram on Friday.

Actress Debra Messing shared a clip of MSNBC's Al Sharpton condemning the testimony on "Morning Joe," agreeing with him when he said, "This is not hard. This is not difficult."

Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport posted a blunt video message for the university presidents on Instagram.

Photos of the signage at a Yale University dining hall circulated on social media this week after the word "Israeli" was removed from a popular salad dish, prompting a swift response from the school. 

Yale sophomore and editor in chief of The Yale Free Press Sahar Tartak first reported the change in a post Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "At Yale, the years-old, popular 'Israeli couscous salad with spinach and tomatoes,' has been renamed in our dining halls as the same exact dish but without the word 'Israeli.'" 

After another student shared a photo the following day showing a dining hall label for the salad offering that included the word "Israeli," Tartak included her own photos and said, "Here's the before/after, so that no one is misled. The change was made, then undone upon outreach from Jewish students. Dining administrators emailed me this: 'Considering it is the main ingredient, it is appropriate to remain in the title, and we will correct this oversight.'"

A closer look at the X images shows the dining card labels have dates in the bottom lefthand corner. The first image from Tartark is labeled "Israeli Couscous Salad" with a date of "Lunch, 11/1/23" while her second with "Israeli" missing is dated "Lunch, 12/11/23." 

The other student's photo with "Israeli" back on the food label is dated "Dinner, 12/11/23." 

Yale Hospitality sent their response to the student's concern, which appeared to match what Tartak reported, to Fox News Digital, aiming to provide context on the process of reviewing and planning new menus, which they said began in July.

Read the full article from Kendall Tietz.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s days appeared to be “numbered,” a senior U.S. officials said Thursday.

“I think it's safe to say his days are numbered. I also think it's safe to say it doesn't matter how long that takes,” the official said, according to Reuters.

“I also think it’s safe to say it doesn’t matter how long it takes…justice will be served,” the senior administration official added, noting that Sinwar has “American blood on his hands," the Times of Israel reported.

Israel has accused Sinwar of being the mastermind behind the terror group’s Oct. 7th attack that killed some 1,200 people resulted in around 240 people being held captive. Leaflets were recently dropped into the Gaza Strip offering cash rewards amounting to $1 million for information leading to the capture of Hamas’ top leaders.

A $400,000 reward is being offered for Sinwar.

Israeli forces have been working to track Sinwar and his cohorts for weeks. They surrounded his home in southern Gaza earlier in December, but he is believed to have taken shelter somewhere in the labyrinth of Hamas tunnels beneath Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza.

Sinwar is known in Israel as the "Butcher of Khan Younis" for his violent and cruel torture methods against his enemies, both Israeli and Palestinian.

Sinwar is a longtime militant activist and joined Hamas shortly after its founding in 1987. Two years later, he was arrested by Israel for his involvement in the abduction and killing of two Israelis, as well as the torturing and murder of four Palestinians he considered to be collaborators.

Sentenced to life in prison, Sinwar ended up serving 22 years in an Israeli jail and was eventually released as part of a prisoner exchange for the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

Fox News Digital's Chris Pandolfo and Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this report.

The White House is remaining silent after dozens of reported Biden administration staffers protested their boss's Israel policy on Wednesday, calling for a cease-fire in the Jewish nation's war against terrorists. 

The protesters, wearing masks and sunglasses at night to hide their faces, called for Biden to push for a cease-fire in the war started by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas' surprise attack on innocent Israelis. 

"Ceasefire" was spelled out with lit candles in front of the protesters with a sign behind them reading, "President Biden, your staff demands a ceasefire."

The protesters ranged from career Biden administration staffers to political appointees, according to multiple media reports. 

Fox News Digital asked the Biden White House multiple times whether the president had any comment on his staffers' reported protest over his foreign policy, whether he knows who the protesters are, and whether the protesters would face disciplinary actions.

The White House did not answer Fox News Digital's questions.

Read the full article from Houston Keene.

The White House on Thursday doubled down on its insistence that there is "no daylight" between President Biden and Vice President Harris regarding support for the Palestinian people. 

At the daily White House press briefing, Fox News' Peter Doocy asked National Security Council spokesman John Kirby about a Politico report that said Harris has urged Biden to show more concern for Palestinian casualties in the Israel-Hamas war.

Kirby said the White House has already refuted "the basic premise of the story, that there's some sort of daylight between the vice president and the president."  

Politico on Thursday cited three unnamed sources in a report that said Harris has been urging White House officials, including Biden, to show more sensitivity to Palestinian civilians.  

Harris has reportedly argued internally that the White House needs a "day after" plan for when the fighting in Gaza stops and believes the U.S. should be "tougher" on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Harris has reportedly argued internally that the White House needs a "day after" plan for when the fighting in Gaza stops and believes the U.S. should be "tougher" on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A senior administration official told Politico the vice president has called for being "more forceful at seeking a long-term peace and two-state solution." 

Read the full article by Chris Pandolfo.

The Iran-backed Yemeni Armed Forces claimed Thursday that its navy attacked a Danish container ship with a drone. 

In a statement, the Houthis said the Maersik Gebrelater was heading toward to an “Israeli entity” when it was attacked and that the “hit was direct.”

The shipping company Maersk said the ship was targeted by a missile near the entrance of the Red Sea at the Bab al-Mandab Strait. It was heading from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. No injuries were reported.  

U.S. defense officials said the drone did no hit the ship.  

“Following the missile launch, the M/V Maersk Gibraltar was hailed by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “While this incident did not involve US Forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation. These attacks continue to threaten international maritime security.” 

The Houthi rebels have been targeting container ships since Israel declared war on Hamas in October.  

"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Bad al-Mandab Strait are extremely concerning. The current situation puts seafarer lives at risk and is unsustainable for global trade," Maersk said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, likened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Israel wars with Hamas. 

In post on X, Cohen criticized Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed thousands. 

“Netanyahu has gone way too far and (National Security Adviser) Jake Sullivan will be informing him that the bombing must be greatly limited or Israel will be without its last real friend, the USA & Joe Biden,” Cohen wrote.

“The President is finished with Bibi’s Putin-like no-holds-barred war. Hostages first! Civilians never,” he added. 

Cohen has criticized Netanyahu in the past. In 2015, he boycotted the prime minister’s speech before Congress with dozens of other Democrats, calling it “political theatre” worthy of an Oscar.  

“The political game was won,” he said at the time, “but the world game of peace was lost.”

The Zionist Organization of America accused President Biden of fanning the flames of antisemitism with his claim that Israel was engaging in "indiscriminate bombing" in the Gaza Strip.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein issued a statement on Thursday saying the pro-Israel group "strongly condemns President Joe Biden’s dangerous, indiscriminate remarks on December 12th, falsely accusing Israel of ‘indiscriminate bombing’ in Gaza; criticizing and calling for changing Israel’s democratically elected government; and calling for Israel to ‘strengthen’ and reward the Palestinian Authority (PA) terror regime with a Palestinian Arab state carved out of Israel’s lawful land (a so-called ‘two-state solution’) – while the PA is celebrating the October 7th atrocities, continuing to pay terrorists huge lifetime pensions to murder Jews and insisting that Hamas must be part of a Palestinian state; and the PA’s ruling Fatah party is bragging about its brigades participating in the October 7th atrocities."  

"Falsely accusing Israel of ‘indiscriminate bombing’ creates more fuel for attacking American Jews. Biden’s widely disseminated, reckless remarks will likely inspire more antisemitism, at a time when American Jews are being attacked on college campuses and American streets at record breaking levels,” the statement continued.

“Even his spokesman John Kirby said no country, including America, does more to protect civilian lives.” "Biden voiced his unjustified criticisms of Israel and his statements interfering with and attempting to undermine Israeli democracy at a closed-door campaign reception on December 12, 2023,” the group said.

“Biden’s remarks were then published on the White House website and amplified in media around the world." 

According to a transcript shared by the White House, Biden told donors at a campaign reception in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday about recent conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

President Biden discussed “strengthening the NATO Alliance” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the White House said. 

They also discussed the importance of admitting Sweden to the alliance and “further enhancing Türkiye’s NATO interoperability, and agreed to remain in close contact in the lead up to the July 2024 NATO Summit in Washington,” a readout of the call said. 

During the conversation, Biden repeatedly Israel’s right to defend itself. 

“The leaders also discussed efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza and protect civilians and the need for a political horizon for the Palestinian people,” the White House said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration wants to see the governance of the Gaza Strip connected with the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory. 

Speaking with Israel's Channel 12 television, Sullivan said both areas need to be connected under a "revamped and revitalized" Palestinian Authority. 

"That's something that requires intensive consultations with the Palestinians first, as well as with the Israeli government,” he explained. “But it will require reform, it will require an updating of how the Palestinian Authority approaches governance."

The Palestinian Authority has limited authority in the West Bank and used to govern Gaza until it was ousted in 2007 after a brief civil war with Hamas. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that the Palestinian Authority should not be allowed to run Gaza.

He has accused PA President Mahmoud Abbas of encouraging terrorism against Israel. 

Sullivan said the Biden administration has held talks with Israel but has not directed the Jewish state on how to conduct its war against Hamas. 

"I'm not here to lecture or dictate. Israel is a friend and a partner. We sit down and we consult and we talk as friends."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said talks about a potential two-state solution are premature amid the ongoing war between his country and Hamas.

In a Thursday interview with The Associated Press, Herzog said now isn’t the right time to discuss establishing an independent Palestinian state.

“What I want to urge is against just saying two-state solution. Why? Because there is an emotional chapter here that must be dealt with. My nation is bereaving. My nation is in trauma,” he said.

“In order to get back to the idea of dividing the land, of negotiating peace or talking to the Palestinians, etc., one has to deal first and foremost with the emotional trauma that we are going through and the need and demand for full sense of security for all people,” Herzog added.

His remarks came a day before a meeting with the White House’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Israeli leaders have spoken out against such discussions or attempts to restart the peace process following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people.

Israel has rebuffed international calls for a permanent cease-fire, noting that Hamas broke the previous cease-fire with its unprecedented attack.

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for meeting in Israel in the coming days, the Pentagon said Thursday. 

It will be Brown’s first trip to the Middle East as chairman.  Both men will meet with senior Israeli officials.

"While in Israel, the secretary (Austin) will meet with the prime minister and minister of defense to underscore U.S. enduring support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism, reinforce the importance of taking civilian safety into account during operations and the critical need to increase delivery of humanitarian assistance," Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters.  

Austin leaves for the Middle East on Saturday with visit to Qatar and Bahrain planned as well.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told President Biden in a phone call that the United States has a historic responsibility to achieve a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in quick fashion, the office of the Turkish president said Thursday.

Israel has bombarded the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip since the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities.

The war has resulted in an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“President Erdoğan stated that the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza must be stopped immediately, that the withdrawal of the unconditional support the U.S. provides to Israel may ensure a ceasefire quickly,” Erdogan’s office said.

Calls for a cease-fire are “being voiced more loudly in recent days both by the world and the U.S. public opinion, and that it is the historical responsibility of the U.S. to achieve a lasting ceasefire in the region without delay," the Turkish leader said.

The longer Israel’s offensive goes on, the Jewish state could face more negative regional and global consequences, said Erdogan’s office.

Israel has vowed to keep fighting with the goal of eliminating Hamas, which has called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Thursday to pressure Hamas to aid its remaining hostages.

"My goal, as you know in our conversations, is to see how we can help the remaining hostages. You have every avenue, every right and every expectation to place public pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

He also presented Egger with a package of various medicines and demanded the ICRC “fulfill its role and deliver it to the hostages in Gaza,” the prime Minister’s office said.

Netanyahu also voiced concern over the organization’s supposed neutral stance during the conflict.

“I want to express my gratitude for your help in securing the release of the hostages, but at the same time, some of the statements that have come out from your organization seem to not make the distinction that I’ve just made.”

Hamas terrorist fighters will not be safe in the terror group’s vast network of underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said. 

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the terror group’s group tunnels won’t be able to shield its fighters as the fighting intensifies.  

Earlier in the day, IDF troops killed several Hamas fighters in a tunnel.  “In the Hamas tunnels, the troops planted explosives… we identified the terrorists with a camera, and killed several terrorists in this incident,” Hagari said in a Thursday press conference. 

He said senior Hamas officials choose to hide underground and use civilians as human shields.  

Hagari said the IDF has “new combat means” to kill Hamas operatives in its tunnels. 

“We will enter, plant explosives in locations we know terrorists frequent, and will wait for the right moment to kill them underground,” he said. “The terrorists won't be safe underground.”

A top Hamas official has called for violence against the allies of Israel, specifically attacking American and British "interests" as a price for the deaths of Gaza citizens. 

“When (Secretary of State Antony) Blinken is justifying the killing of women and children, the sons of our nation should say to him: You are the enemy, just like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, and you must pay the price, just like Netanyahu," Sami Abu Zuhri, the head of the political department of Hamas abroad, said during a recent broadcast.  

Zuhri made his comments, which the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated, on Al-Aqsa TV on Dec. 5, a few days after the end of the temporary pause that allowed Hamas and Israel to exchange hostages and prisoners, respectively.  

Hamas runs the Al-Aqsa TV network in the Gaza Strip, playing news and propaganda throughout the day. 

Read the full article from Peter Aitken.