Gazans flock to aid trucks as US, Israel discuss future of Hamas war

Gun ownership in California’s Jewish community is spiking as Jews take self-defense into their own hands while the war in Israel continues raging, according to a rabbi who trains the community on gun safety.

"Magen Am’s mission is to train and empower the community to deter and respond to security threats. We're trying to give everybody the tool to be empowered to protect themselves," Los Angeles-based Rabbi Yossi Eilfort said in a video produced by the NRA exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

Eilfort is an NRA instructor and founder of Magen Am USA, the only Jewish, nonprofit organization licensed on the West Coast to provide armed security services.

Magen Am, which operates in LA as well as Phoenix, trains volunteers and community members in extensive classes on gun safety, hand-to-hand self-defense, de-escalation, verbal tactics and the use of intermediate weapons such as Tasers or batons.

The video features a few women who Eilfort and Magen Am have trained on gun safety, as well as security personnel who work with the company to strengthen protection around Jewish institutions, such as schools and synagogues.

"Magen Am means ‘nation’s shield.’ I like to say we're like a shield. Were about 30-30-30: Where one-third is hired professionals dealing with institutional security; one-third dealing with community training; and then one-third is working with government law enforcement," Eilfort, who is also a former MMA fighter, explained in the video of how Magen Am operates.

War broke out in Israel on Oct. 7 when the terrorist group Hamas launched attacks on the nation, which sparked protests and antisemitic rhetoric stateside as supporters of Palestine took to the streets of cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

"I feel like a target. Explosives have been thrown at the synagogue right behind my house," one woman trained by Magen Am said in the video.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

The Israeli Defense Forces announced Tuesday morning that it has killed a prominent financier who helped funnel tens of millions of dollars to fund Hamas' military forces, salaries and war activities.

Subhi Ferwana, alongside his brother, "funneled tens of millions through his company 'Hamsat' to fund Hamas' military forces, terrorists' salaries and war activities," the IDF wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Ferwana transferred funds to Hamas’ military wing during the war and was aware that these funds would be vital for continuing the wing’s ability to fight," the IDF continued. "The funds were used - among other things - for intensification of military forces, the payment of terrorists’ salaries during the war, and to finance Hamas' war activities."

Alec Baldwin was spotted in a heated confrontation with pro-Palestinian activists as protests flooded the streets of New York City on Monday.

Livestreamed footage showed the actor being asked by a pro-Palestinian activist "Whose pocket are you in?" and pressing him on whether he condemns Israel while invoking Hollywood. 

"I'm in Hollywood's pocket, you say?" Baldwin responded before slamming the "stupid question."

The "30 Rock" star was then seen shouting in the activist's face, "Ask me a smart question!"

Read the full article about Alec Baldwin by Joseph Wulfsohn

Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reported from Israel during his "Special Report" appearance on the latest news concerning the Israel-Hamas war.

Palkot reported that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin affirmed his support of Israel after a recent meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Words of support and caution coming from the top man at the Pentagon as the region sees yet another visit from the Biden administration official as the troubles continue on a range of fronts," he explained.

The reporter also touched on the IDF's accidental killing of three Israeli hostages.

"As funerals continue for the three hostages killed mistakenly last week by Israeli forces, officials mourned the loss and pledged to learn from the incident," Palkot said. "[There is also] boosting ceasefire talks and angry protests by hostage families demanding the rescue of remaining captives."

A group of anti-Israel protesters descended on the home of Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., over the weekend blowing car horns and screaming as they sought to punish him for what they claimed was his "silence" on the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel's war with Hamas.

"This is my home at 3 AM," Thanedar wrote in a post on X, including a video that showed cars lined in the street outside his home, an individual waving a cloth-like material, and others screaming through megaphones. The video appeared to be posted by a supporter of the protesters.

"You are complicit in the bombing of Gaza… Your silence is violence. Your silence is abhorrent, and we will not let you sleep!" one protester can be heard screaming.

Read the full article on Shri Thanedar by Brandon Gillespie

Leading global freight firms have begun avoiding the Red Sea and rerouting vessels amid ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Oil giant BP on Monday was the latest major company to announce a pause in shipments through the Red Sea, following in the footsteps of Maersk, which had a vessel targeted by anti-ship missiles last week. 

The vessels have begun to sail around Africa, adding exorbitant costs and delays that industry analysts forecast will compound in the coming weeks. 

Read the full article on Houthi attacks by Bradford Betz

Pro-Palestinian protesters marched through New York City on Monday afternoon, making stops at major transportation hubs and disrupting traffic along the way.

The hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters walked in traffic lanes while passing buses and cars, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.

Many of the protesters were seen holding Palestinian flags and signs that read, "From Gaza to Jenin, Revolution until Victory," and "Support Palestinian Resistance," among other things.

The protest began at Grand Central Station before moving to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and there were reports the protest would move to Penn Station next.

Read the full article on the NYC protest by Greg Wehner

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paratrooper named Shahar appeared on "America's Newsroom" on Monday to discuss the latest developments with the Israel-Hamas war.

During his appearance, Shahar said that a cease-fire is "not an option."

"If we cease fire, it means that Israel ceases fire," Shahar explained. "Hamas is just going to regroup and do October 7 again and again and again until someone in the world or Israel can ensure that this never happens again and ensures that the education system, the radical jihadists education system that keeps growing up more and more terrorist is eradicated."

"We can't stop," he added. "And we saw what happened last time that the Israelis didn't have the IDF to protect it, and Israel didn't exist. So we have to really do what we have to do."

Harvard-Harris Poll co-founder Mark Penn appeared on "American Reports" Monday to discuss U.S. perception of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

A recent poll reportedly found that 60% of Gen Z participants thought the October 7 attack against Israel was justified. During the interview, Penn told host John Roberts that it was unprecedented for participants to show so much support for a terrorist group.

"People do mature over time, but I've never seen anything like this," Penn explained. "I've never seen support for a terrorist group."

"I've never seen such upside down attitudes because none of these kids have been to Israel, really have a thorough understanding, and they only know what they've been told," he added.

Penn also said that the opinions were "clearly generated [from] and connected to social media, and far removed from what everybody else in the United States believes."

The oil minister in Iran confirmed on Monday that a cyberattack caused a nationwide disruption to gas stations.

Reuters reported that the hacking group, Gonjeshke Darande, or "Predatory Sparrow," claimed to carry out the attack, as reported by Iranian state TV and Israeli local media.

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji told Iranian state TV early on that the disruption affected about 70% of the petrol stations in Iran, adding that the cause was possibly outside interference.

Read the full article about Javad Owji by Greg Wehner

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Monday that Israel was being attacked by Hezbollah terrorists who were firing from United Nations areas and Lebanese Armed Forces compounds.

"Since October 7th, the Hezbollah terrorist organization has carried out hundreds of attacks on Israel, including rocket, anti-tank missile and UAV attacks on communities and military positions in northern Israel," the IDF said in a statement. "To date, five Israeli civilians have been killed in these attacks and 80,000 civilians in northern Israel have evacuated their homes."

The Israeli military argued that Hezbollah is violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 by "continuing to operate and fire projectiles and UAVs from southern Lebanon at Israel."

"Moreover, Hezbollah has carried out many of these attacks from areas near UN positions and Lebanese Armed Forces compounds," the IDF continued. "This demonstrates Hezbollah’s blatant abuse of the international and national institutions responsible for security in southern Lebanon."

The IDF concluded their press release by vowing that they would "continue to defend Israel's northern border from any threat."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the official announced on X.

"Honored to meet with @IsraeliPM today," Austin's post read. "My fourth trip to Israel as Secretary of Defense and my second since the October 7 attacks underscores an important message: the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security is unshakable."

Gen. Charles Q. Brown, who serves as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he and Austin also met with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of the General Staff Herzl Halevi.

"Today, @SecDef and I met with @IsraelPM, @yoavgallant, and Chief of the General Staff LTG Halevi in Tel Aviv to discuss Israel’s ongoing campaign to defeat Hamas and emphasize the strategic alliance between our two countries," Brown said on X.

U.S. forces in the Middle East have been attacked 101 times in Iraq and Syria since October 17, Fox News has learned.

The latest three attacks happened on December 16, according to a U.S. defense official. There have not been any attacks on the American bases since.

Since October 17, there have been 46 separate attacks against American forces in Iraq and 55 in Syria. The attacks have been conducted with a mix of rockets and one-way drones.

It is unclear which group launched the weapons towards U.S. troops in the latest 3 attacks, but Houthis have continually targeted the U.S. in the region since the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst confirmed on X that Hamas terrorists have released another Israeli hostage video on Monday.

According to Yingst, one of the hostages is 79-year-old Chaim Peri.

"Hamas released another hostage video tonight. The man in the middle is 79-year-old Chaim Peri," Yingst said on X.

"The Nir Oz resident spent his free time driving Palestinian children to hospitals for treatment and making art to protest violence against Palestinians," he added. "He is a peace activist."

An Israeli hacker group is taking credit Monday for a cyberattack that disrupted operations at nearly 70% of the gas stations in Iran, reports say. 

Iranian state media is claiming that an Israeli hacker group called Gonjeshke Darande, also known as Predatory Sparrow, is behind the outages, according to Reuters. The news agency cited Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji as saying the disruptions at one point reached 70% of gas stations in Iran, before noting that 1,650 out of the 3,800 gas stations that the ministry supervises were operational. 

Gonjeshke Darande later claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, according to Israel's Ynet News and Times of Israel. A series of posts on a Telegram page reported to be theirs said the attack was carried out in response to "the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region." 

"Khamenei, playing with fire has a price," statements continued, referencing Iran's supreme leader. "A month ago we warned you that we’re back and that we will impose [a] cost for your provocations. This is just a taste of what we have in store."

Read the full article by Fox Business' Greg Norman

Boston's leading newspaper called out Harvard University for its "confusing" message on plagiarism, after the university backed embattled President Claudine Gay amid allegations she plagiarized past academic writings.

"Last week the university’s governing board released a confusing statement that appeared to confirm a few instances of plagiarism — without using that word," the Boston Globe editorial board wrote on Monday.

Gay faced scrutiny last week after media outlets reported several instances of alleged plagiarism in Gay's past writings. The Harvard Corporation said an independent academic probe discovered "a few instances of inadequate citation" in her writings as well. However, they "found no violation of Harvard's standards for research misconduct." 

Despite this, Gay said she would be "proactively requesting four corrections in two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications."

Read the full article by Fox News' Kristine Parks

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said she personally warned President Biden about his re-election efforts and the importance of Muslim and young voters, who feel "heartbroken" about the Israel-Hamas war.

CBS Minnesota anchor Esme Murphy asked the far-left "Squad" member about an "abandon Biden" movement, and asked her if she would support the president in 2024. 

"I recently had a conversation with the president," she responded. "Muslims were very pivotal to his election, they mobilized in all the key states. Young people were very instrumental in getting him elected. And what I reminded him is that he needs to listen to these voices. People are heartbroken. It's been really hard to have conversations about politics and policy. People just want the images of young children's bodies that are piling up to end, and they want our support for this to end." 

Omar has been very critical of the president's position in the Israel-Hamas conflict and, in October, questioned his stance during a diatribe on Capitol Hill. 

Read the full article by Fox News' Hanna Panreck

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raffirmed U.S. support for Israel during a joint press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday.

Austin also said the U.S. continues to urge Israel to do all it can to protect civialians in Gaza as the war against Hamas continues.

"Protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative. So we will continue to stand up for Israel's bedrock right to defend itself. And we will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict," Austin told reporters.

Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) provided analysis of the growing unrest in the Middle East after a cargo ship in the Red Sea was targeted by Houthi rebels yet again.

Houthi rebels are an Iran-backed terrorist organization, one of many that Tehran has used to destabilize the region further amid Israel's war against Hamas.