For today, only two links, to reports from the Associated Press and the Anadolu Agency; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA and UKRAINE  entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 22 as Vatican envoy visits Christians for pre-Christmas Mass, by Wafaa Shurafa and Tia Goldenberg | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into today killed at least 22 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said, while Gaza’s small Christian community celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass. READ MORE . . .

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Israeli government still far from reaching prisoner swap agreement with Hamas: report, by Said Amori and Ekrem Biceroglu | Anadolu Agency   JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said on Saturday the Israeli government is still far from reaching a prisoner swap agreement with Hamas. READ MORE . . .

For today, just one link, to commentary from Jonathan-Cook.net; other articles are accessible by clicking on the blog’s initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 19  Israel, not the ‘liberators,’ will decide Syria’s fate, by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net / Consortium News  There has been a flurry of “What next for Syria?” articles in the wake of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s hurried exit from Syria and the takeover of much of the country by al-Qaeda’s rebranded local forces. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to three reports: from the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM   

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Fire reported at oil depot in Russia’s Oryol Oblast amid drone attack, by Dmytro Basmat | The Kyiv Independent  Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil depot in the suburbs of the Russian city of Oryol overnight, causing a fire to break out, Oryol Oblast Governor Andrey Klychkov said. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s air defence downs 52 out of 103 Russian drones, air force says. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine’s air defences downed 52 of the 103 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said today. READ MORE . . .

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Russian troops liberate two communities in Donbass area, Kharkov Region over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops liberated two communities in the Donbass area and the Kharkov Region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

For today, in a short entry, links to reports from Reuters and the Cradle; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Short SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 20  Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 in Gaza, medics say. From Reuters. CAIRO — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, including at least eight in an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp and at least 10, including seven children, in the town of Jabalia. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 20  Gaza resistance hits Israeli troops in Netzarim corridor with heavy mortar attacks. From The Cradle. Netzarim, an Israeli military corridor that splits the Gaza Strip into two, came under fire from the Palestinian resistance on Friday, coming as Hamas’ military wing has . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, in a short entry, links to reports from National Public Radio and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Short GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.)

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U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition faces uncertainty in Syria. Reported by Fatma Tanis | NPR  The Kurdish coalition that controls a third of Syria and helped the US fight ISIS is facing a new reality after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. NATO ally Turkey sees them as a threat and is demanding the dismantling of Kurdish militia. And . . . Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM DEC. 20  Pentagon confirms ‘around 2,000’ U.S. troops deployed in Syria. From The Cradle. Pentagon Press Secretary General Pat Ryder revealed on Thursday that the U.S. has “around 2,000” troops deployed inside Syria, more than double the figure Washington has previously claimed to have inside the war-torn country. READ MORE . . .

For today, just one link, to a report from the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Short GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.)— MCM    

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Ukrainian drones crash into high-rise apartment buildings in Russia’s Kazan. From the Moscow Times. A wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeted the capital of the republic of Tatarstan early today, regional authorities said, damaging several residential buildings and forcing the closure of at least two nearby airports. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 19  Israeli strike on a Gaza school kills 17 people sheltering there. From AP. Israeli airstrikes slammed into two schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City on Thursday, a Health Ministry official said, killing at least 17 people including five children in one of the schools. Israel said Hamas operated command centers inside the shelters . . . READ MORE . . .

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Hamas: Israel soldiers’ testimonies on Gaza war ‘evidence of unprecedented war crimes.’ From Middle East Monitor. Israeli occupation soldiers’ testimonies published by Haaretz regarding the war in Gaza are “new evidence of unprecedented war crimes and complete ethnic cleansing operations, carried out in an organised manner and under the army’s leadership and its fascist government,” Hamas said Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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A loverboy and a Palestinian: Saint Levant’s new album is about loss and growth. Reported by Majd Al-Waheidi | NPR  Saint Levant has been selling out U.S. and European venues with his album “Deira,” an ode to his heritage and the Gaza hotel his father built, which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the war. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM DEC. 19  Israel and Hamas appear close to a ceasefire deal. These are the sticking points, by Samy Magdy and Tia Goldenberg | AP  CAIRO — Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there. READ MORE . . .

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How Israel turned Gaza’s ‘safe zones’ into graveyards, by Ghada Ageel | Middle East Eye  In Gaza, the targeting of civilians is not an aberration; it has been the reality, in “safe zones” and elsewhere, both before and since 7 October 2023. Families are killed everywhere they might seek refuge. In these so-called safe zones, more than 60 members of my extended family have been killed, with four generations wiped out in one day. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to commentary from MintPress News via ScheerPost, and to reports from Reuters and National Public Radio; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 17  Privatizing Syria: U.S. plans to sell off a nation’s wealth after Assad, by Kit Klarenberg | MintPress News / ScheerPost  Syria’s economic independence and strength under Assad’s rule and the benefits reaped by average citizens as a result were never acknowledged in the mainstream before or during the decade-long proxy war. Yet countless reports from major international institutions underline this reality – which has now been brutally vanquished, never to return. READ MORE . . .

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In first in-person contact, U.S. officials met Syria’s HTS in Damascus, by Humeyra Pamuk and Amina Ismail | Reuters  WASHINGTON / DAMASCUS — U.S. diplomats visiting Damascus held Washington’s first in-person official meetings with Syria’s new de facto rulers led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham today and discussed with the former al Qaeda affiliate the future of Syria’s political transition. READ MORE . . .

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Hear the latest on developments in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Steve Inskeep | NPR  Syria’s new rulers are forming a government after more than half a century of dictatorship under former leader Bashar al-Assad and his father. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Kyiv Post, Reuters, National Public Radio, and Agence France-Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Russian bombardment targets Kyiv after Ukraine fires U.S.-made missiles across the border, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early today killed at least one person and wounded 12 other people, officials said. Moscow claimed it was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report with photos from the Kyiv Independent, and HERE for photos from Kyiv Post. 

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6 killed in Ukrainian rocket attack on Kursk Region, governor says. From the Moscow Times. At least six people including a child were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack on a town in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region, Russian authorities said this evening. READ MORE . . .

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Residents of Ukraine’s besieged Povrovsk hunker down as Russia advances, by Vitalii Hnidyi and Dan Peleschuk | Reuters  POKROVSK, Ukraine — Russian troops are advancing at their fastest rate on the battlefield since 2022 against Ukrainian forces, capturing village after village, and are now outside this strategic eastern city. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainians fighting to stabilize thin defensive lines in the east. Reported by Brian Mann | NPR  Pokrovsk is facing one of the fiercest battles in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are battling to hold the key hub, but commanders admit the Russians have more troops and firepower. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Ukraine says six diplomatic missions damaged by Russian strike on Kyiv. From AFP. Six diplomatic missions to Kyiv were damaged today in a Russian missile attack on the centre of the Ukrainian capital, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said — those of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegra. Lisbon said all were in the same building. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For today, links to eight reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as ceasefire talks intensify. From Reuters.  U.S. and Arab mediators are working round-the-clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 26 Palestinians today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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Human Rights Watch says Israel’s deprivation of water in Gaza is an act of genocide. From Reuters.  THE HAGUE — Human Rights Watch said today that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AP and Middle East Eye.

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UN adopts resolution affirming Palestinian right to self-determination by overwhelming majority. From Middle East Monitor. By an overwhelming 172-vote majority, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Tuesday affirming the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Israel, the U.S., and five other countries opposed it. Eight countries abstained. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 18  Palestinians in Occupied West Bank worry attacks will go up when Trump takes office. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR  Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank are worried about an escalation of attacks from right wing settlers who are feeling emboldened with a new ally coming to the White House. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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In shattered Yarmouk, the Palestinians of Syria mourn their ‘paradise’ lost to war, by Daniel Hilton and Omar al-Aswad | Middle East Eye  DAMASCUS — Yarmouk, a neighborhood in Syria’s capital city that had transformed from an informal tented community of Palestinian refugees to a district in the Syrian capital’s south that attracted people from all walks of life, is today unrecognisable. READ MORE . . .