For now, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM
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NEWER Israel keeps pounding Gaza, Houthis vow more Red Sea attacks, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Bassam Masoud | Reuters CAIRO / GAZA — Israel kept pounding the shattered Gaza Strip today while Yemen’s pro-Palestinian Houthi movement vowed to defy a United States-led naval mission and keep hitting Israeli targets in the Red Sea. The Israeli action . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S. envoys work for a new hostage release deal and a scale-down of the Israel-Hamas war, by Melanie Lidman, Tara Copp and Samy Magdy | AP TEL AVIV — The head of the CIA jetted to Europe for talks with Israeli and Qatari officials Monday, sounding out the potential for a deal on a new cease-fire and the release of hostages in Gaza as the United States defense secretary spoke to Israeli military leaders about scaling back major combat operations against Hamas. Still, there was . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel strikes south Gaza and raids a hospital in the north as war grinds on with renewed U.S. support, by Najib Jobain and Samy Magdy | AP RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces raided one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north and bombarded the south with airstrikes that killed at least 28 Palestinians, pressing ahead with their offensive today with renewed backing from the United States, despite rising international alarm. READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 18 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in Israel to discuss war in Gaza. Reported by Charles Maynes | NPR TEL AVIV — Pressure was mounting on Israel Monday to begin bringing the war in Gaza to a close, as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with military officials to relay Biden administration concerns over the heavy death toll for Palestinian civilians. Meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, Austin said U.S. support for Israel . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Number of journalists killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 attacks called unprecedented loss. Reported by Michel Martin | NPR At least 64 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7. NPR’s Michel Martin talks with the president of the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists, about the unprecedented loss. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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TO BE CONTINUED