Dr. Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Dec. 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Embattled Harvard President Claudine Gay cleared a hurdle to keeping her job after the Harvard Corporation board issued a statement unanimously affirming its support for her amid backlash over her response at a congressional hearing to a question about the “genocide of Jews.”
“As members of the Harvard Corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University,” the Harvard Corporation said in a statement to the university community on Monday. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”
The board added, “In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay.”
Former U.N. ambassador and 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks to Iowa residents during a visit in Spirit Lake, Iowa, on Dec. 9, 2023, ahead of the Iowa caucus. (Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu plans to endorse Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican primary on Tuesday night, according to sources familiar — a shake-up in a key early voting state where Haley and a few others have only weeks left to try and catch front-runner Donald Trump.
“I look forward to joining Nikki at her town hall this evening — it’s going to be a lot of fun!” Sununu told ABC News.
According to 538’s polling average, Haley is currently at nearly 19% in New Hampshire; Trump is at about 45%.
An endorsement from Sununu, a vocal Trump critic and popular figure in the state that prides itself on independent-minded voters, could help close that gap ahead of the state’s Jan. 23 primary.
“I have a lot of faith in Sununu,” said Christy Carlson, an undecided voter from Merrimack, New Hampshire. “So whoever he does get behind that endorsement means a lot to me. That’ll be big.”
Linda Webb from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, echoed that: “I have an enormous amount of respect for the governor, and I am hopeful.” She said that she also hopes Sununu appears on the 2024 ticket somewhere with someone.
Back in June, Sununu opted out of throwing his own hat in the race for a White House bid because he felt a crowded field helped Trump. Since then, various Republican hopefuls have essentially been auditioning with Sununu for his endorsement and he narrowed his list down to three governors in the past few weeks: Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
“If I make a decision to get behind a candidate, I’m gonna get behind a candidate. It’s not an endorsement. It’s really a movement that this country is looking for. They’re looking for a message movement,” Sununu said at a Haley event in November.
Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, has seen her poll numbers steadily tick up in recent months, according to 538.
Still, she and other candidates like DeSantis trail Trump by double digits nationally and in various states, despite Trump’s legal troubles. (He denies all wrongdoing.)
Haley also recently won the backing of Americans for Prosperity Action, a powerful political advocacy group backed by billionaire Charles Koch.
DeSantis, for his part, has been endorsed by the governor of another early voting state, Iowa’s Kim Reynolds; and Trump has a slew of support including from House Speaker Mike Johnson.
(WASHINGTON) — Consumer prices rose 3.1% in November compared to a year ago, cooling slightly from the previous month and indicating progress in the fight to reduce inflation, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Tuesday showed.
The fresh data arrives a day before the Federal Reserve will decide on a potential escalation of its near-historic series of interest rate hikes.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of about 9% last summer, but remains more than a percentage-point higher than the Fed’s target.
The cooldown in November was driven in part by falling gas prices, the BLS said. Over the past month, the average price of a gallon of gas has fallen by about 6%, AAA data shows.
However, an increase in housing costs largely offset the decline in gas prices, the BLS said.
Progress shown in the price-hike data lagged for a separate key metric: core inflation, which leaves out volatile food and energy prices.
Core inflation rose 4.0% in November compared to a year ago, remaining unchanged from the rate demonstrated over the previous month.
Since last year, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate at the fastest pace in more than two decades in an effort to slow prices increases.
That series of decisions has hiked interest payments for everything from credit card loans to mortgages, while at the same time consumers remain squeezed by the elevated prices.
The rate increases appear to have slowed some areas of the economy, putting the brakes on the housing market and discouraging businesses from major investments that would carry onerous borrowing costs.
The economy maintained robust employment growth last month but fell well short of the breakneck pace exhibited over the previous year, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed.
Still, consumer spending has proven resilient. Black Friday sales did gangbuster business as the nation entered a holiday shopping season expected to test shoppers, who account for nearly three-quarters of U.S. economic activity.
Consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, which amounted to a 7.5% increase over the year prior, according to Adobe Analytics data reviewed by ABC News.
Resilient holiday spending could provide additional fuel for the economy as observers hope for continued expansion but fear the downward pressure imposed by interest rate hikes.
Lately, the economy has rebuked such concerns. The gross domestic product grew at an annualized pace of 4.9% over three months ending in September, more than doubling growth of the previous quarter and easing worries about a possible recession, a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis in October showed.
Taken together, mixed signals from the economy in recent months have complicated the Fed’s effort to bring down inflation while averting a recession, an outcome known as a “soft landing.”
In theory, the economy should eventually falter as it becomes more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow. However, the economy has so far resisted an overall slowdown.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the complex economic picture faced by the central bank.
“Inflation has been coming down but it’s still running well above our 2% target,” Powell said. “Given how far we have come, along with the uncertainties and risks we face, the committee is proceeding carefully.”
While mixed economic data creates significant uncertainty, the status of the Fed’s inflation fight remains clear, Powell said, noting that the task will require a further slowdown in price increases.
“The process of getting inflation sustainably down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said. “We remain strongly committed.”
However, Powell appears to be weighing the need for continued progress on inflation reduction against the expectation of yet-to-be realized effects from the central bank’s previous rate increases, also known as policy tightening.
“Monetary policy is thought to affect economic conditions with a lag, and the full effects of our tightening have likely not yet been felt,” Powell said at Spelman College in Atlanta earlier this month.
(NEW YORK) — The Arizona State Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments Tuesday over whether a centuries-old near-total abortion ban will be reinstated.
Currently, abortion is banned at 15 weeks or later in Arizona. Patients are required to make two appointments, the first for an in-person counseling session and the second at least 24 hours later for the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, ending a federally protected right to have an abortion and giving states the right to make their own laws, Arizona providers weren’t sure which abortion law took precedent.
One option was the 15-week ban, which was signed into law by then Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022 and enforced after Roe fell. The other, from 1864, when Arizona was still a territory, would essentially ban abortion in the state.
Under the law, anyone who performs an abortion, or supplies medication to induce an abortion, faces between two and five years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, only if the mother’s life is in danger, according to the language of the bill.
The law was blocked in 1972 after Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson, the predecessor of Planned Parenthood Arizona, sued, arguing it was a violation of the state and U.S. Constitution.
When Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973, it overrode the 1864 law, but that near-total ban was never taken off the books.
In December 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals “harmonized” the two laws, writing in an opinion that the 1864 law would only apply to non-physicians and that doctors could follow the newer law.
In August of this year, the State Supreme Court agreed to consider a petition regarding the ruling. The court will decide whether the older or newer law, or a combination of the two, will be enforced.
Planned Parenthood Arizona plans to argue that the Civil War era law should not dictate the reproductive rights of Arizonans in the present day and to affirm the Court of Appeals’ decision to preserve abortion access.
“This archaic abortion ban the intervenors are trying to revive is cruel, harmful, and unpopular with the majority of Arizonans,” Kelley Dupps, Planned Parenthood Arizona senior director of public policy & government relations, said in a statement back in August. “It has no place dictating our reproductive freedom and how we live our lives today.”
“We are confident that the Supreme Court will affirm the court of appeals’ well-reasoned decision that preserved access to abortion care. We will not stop fighting for our patients at the courthouse and beyond,” the statement continued.
At the same time, abortion advocates are trying to get a ballot measure approved for the 2024 election that would enshrine abortion right in Arizona’s constitution.
(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s team has asked the Supreme Court to step in and decide the issue of presidential immunity regarding former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference charges.
Hours after Smith filed his request Monday, the court said it would consider the request on an expedited basis.
“Petitioner’s motion to expedite consideration of the petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is granted, and respondent is directed to file a response to the petition on or before 4 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, December 20, 2023,” the court wrote.
The response does not mean the court will take up the case — only that it will consider the request in an expedited fashion.
Smith is asking the court to immediately resolve the immunity issue, to prevent any delay of the March 4 trial date.
“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected,” the special counsel wrote in his filing Monday.
In October, Trump’s legal team filed its first motion to dismiss the case, citing what Trump’s lawyers claim is his “absolute immunity” from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation’s highest office.
The judge overseeing the case, D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, rejected the motion.
Trump has appealed to the circuit court and asked for all proceedings to be stayed in the matter, pending appeal. Over the weekend, Smith’s team said the district court should deny the request to halt the proceedings.
The case Smith cites in asking the Supreme Court to step in by using “certiorari before judgment” — essentially a line-skip before an appeals court has a chance to weigh in — is the United States v. Nixon, when President Richard Nixon refused to hand over secret White House tape recordings to a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal.
Historically, the rare procedure is only granted in cases that are of “imperative” importance to the public, as Smith himself acknowledges.
“The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request,” Smith’s filing says. “This is an extraordinary case.”
“Smith is willing to try for a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court and attempting to bypass the appellate process,” a spokesperson for Trump said in a statement. “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters.”
The move could represent an enormous risk for Smith, whose entire case against Trump could hinge on a landmark decision from the Supreme Court that could — for the first time in American history — determine whether a former U.S. president can be prosecuted for actions taken while in office.
“It requires no extended discussion to confirm that this case — involving charges that respondent sought to thwart the peaceful transfer of power through violations of federal criminal law — is at the apex of public importance,” Smith writes.
“The charges implicate a central tenet of our democracy,” Smith says in the filing. “And the charges allege that respondent conspired to transgress the law in manifold ways: by intentionally using fraudulent means to obstruct the presidential electoral process; by obstructing constitutionally prescribed processes in Congress for counting electoral votes; and by seeking to deprive millions of voters of their electoral choice for President.”
Trump in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election by enlisting a slate of so-called “fake electors,” using the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations,” trying to enlist the vice president to “alter the election results,” and promoting false claims of a stolen election as the Jan. 6 riot raged — all in an effort to subvert democracy and remain in power.
(NEW YORK) — Texas’ Supreme Court on Monday ruled against a woman who sued for an emergency abortion in her home state, overturning a lower court’s ruling last week.
Kate Cox, 31, filed a lawsuit after she said she was denied an abortion for a pregnancy with a severe anomaly.
In its opinion, released Monday night, the Texas Supreme Court acknowledged that Cox’s pregnancy “has been extremely complicated” and “parents would be devastated to learn of their unborn child’s trisomy 18 diagnosis.” In its opinion, though, the judges wrote that “[s]ome difficulties in pregnancy, however, even serious ones, do not pose the heightened risks to the mother the exception encompasses. The exception requires a doctor to decide whether Ms. Cox’s difficulties pose such risks. [Cox’s doctor] asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”
Earlier on Monday, Cox was reportedly leaving the state to get care, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing her.
Last Friday, the state’s Supreme Court temporarily put the lower court’s decision on hold, saying it needed more time to consider the case, according to court documents.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the high court to reverse Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble’s decision granting Cox’s request for an abortion for a pregnancy with a severe fetal anomaly.
The state’s Supreme Court said Monday night in its opinion, that going forward, its decision should not prohibit any woman “who meets the medical-necessity exception” from obtaining an abortion without seeking a court order.
“Under the law, it is a doctor who must decide that a woman is suffering from a life-threatening condition during a pregnancy, raising the necessity for an abortion to save her life or to prevent impairment of a major bodily function,” the opinion read. “The law leaves to physicians—not judges—both the discretion and the responsibility to exercise their reasonable medical judgment, given the unique facts and circumstances of each patient.”
Earlier on Monday, Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the CRR, said the “legal limbo” in court has been difficult for Cox.
“This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate,” Northup’s statement read. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. … Kate’s case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant people, and exceptions don’t work. She desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence.”
Cox’s representatives had asked that the Texas Supreme Court still issue a ruling, even though she is getting an abortion out of state.
“Because the issues in this case are capable of repetition yet evading review, the Plaintiffs nonetheless intend to proceed with their case,” Molly Duane, Cox’s lawyer from the CRR, said in a letter to clerk of the Texas Supreme Court earlier Monday.
Cox has received offers to help her access abortion in other states, such as Colorado, and other countries, including Canada, according to the CRR. It has not been disclosed where she is receiving abortion care.
In Cox’s original lawsuit, she said her baby received a diagnosis of full trisomy 18, which is a condition with a very high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates.
According to Marc Hearron, senior counsel at CRR, Cox has been told by physicians that they can provide her with an induction of labor if the baby’s heart stops beating. Cox — already a mother of a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old — has had two cesarean deliveries, and was told that an “induction carries serious risk of uterine rupture,” according to the lawsuit.
“I do not want to put my body through the risks of continuing this pregnancy. I do not want to continue until my baby dies in my belly or I have to deliver a stillborn baby or one where life will be measured in hours or days, full of medical tubes and machinery,” Cox said in the lawsuit.
“Trisomy 18 babies that survive birth often suffer cardiac or respiratory failure. I do not want my baby to arrive in this world only to watch her suffer a heart attack of suffocation. I desperately want the change to try for another baby and want to access the medical care now that gives me the best chance at another baby,” Cox said in the lawsuit.
The CRR also alleged that Cox’s health is at risk and that she “risks debilitating health complications” if she continues her pregnancy, including potential loss of fertility.
Texas has multiple abortion bans in place and is one of 16 states that has ceased nearly all abortion services since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision overturning Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion rights, according to an ABC News tally.
Texas’ bans include exceptions that allow abortions in cases of medical emergencies and fatal fetal diagnoses, but doctors and patients claim, in another lawsuit filed in March, that they are unable to provide care or have been denied care, respectively, under the laws. Under Texas’ bans, it is a second-degree felony to perform or attempt an abortion, punishable by up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The law also allows private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
Plaintiffs allege that the laws are confusing and do not define the exception to bans — which allow abortions to save the life of the mother or preserve bodily function — and wager significant penalties against doctors, up to life in prison.
In a new court filing Sunday, Attorney General Paxton told the state’s high court that fertility risks don’t qualify as a life-threatening condition that would allow a patient to get an abortion under Texas laws. His office argued that a fatal fetal abnormality also wouldn’t qualify.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his attorneys Christopher Kise (L) and Alina Habba (R) in New York State Supreme Court on Dec. 7, 2023 in New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump was nearly halfway through his testimony in his civil fraud trial last month when he pulled a rumpled note from his jacket.
“I would love to read this, Your Honor, if I could. Am I allowed to do that?” Trump asked the judge, waiving the folded note in the air.
“No, not at this point,” Judge Arthur Engoron responded, to Trump’s apparent irritation.
The note that Trump was not allowed to read at the time — about the disclaimer causes in his statements of financial condition — has underpinned his defense in a case where he and his sons stand accused of defrauding lenders and enriching themselves by roughly $375 million.
After four weeks of defense testimony, Donald Trump’s lawyers are set to rest their case Tuesday after calling 19 witnesses — including experts who Trump paid a total of at least $2.5 million.
The former president faces an uphill battle after Judge Engoron, in a pretrial partial summary judgment ruling, found Trump liable for using fraudulent statements to conduct business.
“I am sure the judge will rule against me, because he always rules against me,” Trump complained when he testified last month, adding on social media that Engoron will likely find him “guilty as hell.”
But the former president has embraced a more optimistic tone in recent weeks, touting the testimony of the defense’s accounting expert and declaring that his firm “did nothing wrong” when he announced Sunday that he no longer planned to testify in his own defense the next day.
Here are three of the main arguments Trump’s team has presented in his defense:
Trump’s ‘worthless clause’
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly touted a section of his financial statements that Trump refers to as his “worthless clause.”
“It says, very strongly, ‘Do your own due diligence. Do your own work. Do your own study. Don’t take anything from this statement for granted,'” Trump testified during the state’s case last month.
Trump’s lawyers have used this disclaimer in an attempt to insulate Trump from any alleged wrongdoing, since he warned his lenders that the statements might be incorrect — an argument reinforced by testimony from defense experts.
“I never saw anything that is clearer than that. Even my nine-year-old granddaughter Emma would understand this language,” the defense’s accounting expert, Eli Bartov, testified about Trump’s disclaimer. Another expert, Jason Flemmons, said that Trump disclosed that 95% of his financial statement departed from generally accepted accounting principles.
However, Engoron has generally been dismissive of Trump’s disclaimer argument, as he stated in his partial summary judgment.
“Defendants’ reliance on these ‘worthless’ disclaimers is worthless. The clause does not use the words ‘worthless’ or ‘useless’ or ‘ignore’ or ‘disregard’ or any similar words,” Engoron wrote.
While Engoron has repeatedly indicated that he stands by his ruling, he nevertheless signaled some flexibility after Bartov strongly defended Trump’s use of disclaimers.
“I am fairly liberal in reconsidering my opinions,” Engoron said.
‘No evidence’ of a conspiracy
Trump’s lawyers have argued that state attorneys have failed to prove their allegation that the former president engaged in a conspiracy to inflate his net worth.
“There is no evidence in the record of agreement — a fundamental premise to support the conspiracy claims,” Trump attorney Chris Kise argued in court.
Defense lawyers highlighted that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, the state’s main witness who claimed Trump directed him to inflate his net worth, cannot be trusted due to his history of false testimony.
“He was caught lying like no one has ever lied. It was better than a Perry Mason moment, and that should be the end of the case,” Trump said after defense lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert cross-examined Cohen.
Patrick Birney, a Trump Organization vice president, also testified that he received direction from then-CFO Allen Weisselberg to increase Trump’s net worth — but when he was recalled as a defense witness, Birney clarified that he never increased the values in Trump’s financial statement without having evidence to support the change.
‘Happy’ bankers
A central pillar of Trump’s defense has been the claim that his lenders were happy to do business with the former president, despite his allegedly inflated valuations.
Former Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic testified that the bank was eager to get Trump’s business, courting him in order to earn millions in interest and fees from his loans. Defense expert Robert Unell testified that even if Trump’s net worth was a fraction of what he claimed, he would have still qualified for his loans.
Unell added that the bank’s internal valuation group determined that Trump overstated his net worth by roughly $2.4 billion when they decided to offer him loans — suggesting that whatever inflated valuations that existed were not relevant to lenders.
Engoron, however, cast doubt on the viability of that argument, suggesting that pleasing his lenders does not clear Trump of wrongdoing.
“The mere fact that the lenders were happy doesn’t mean the statute wasn’t violated,” Engoron said in court.
(NEW YORK) — The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, and Israel has resumed its bombardment of Gaza.
The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(ISLAMABAD) — At least 22 people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a security forces compound in Pakistan on Tuesday, local officials said.
A newly formed militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying it targeted the officers who were at the compound.
Both police and army officers are stationed at the compound, which is in a city close to the border with Afghanistan.
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from his penal colony during court hearings over the extremism criminal case against him at the Russia’s Supreme Court in Moscow on June 22, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Kremlin has claimed it does not know where the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is currently held and it has no intention of looking into his status.
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov also rebuffed expressions of concern from the U.S. over Navalny’s disappearance, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Here we are talking about one prisoner who, according to the law, was found guilty and is serving his sentence, and here we consider any intervention by anyone, including the United States of America, unacceptable and impossible,” he told reporters during his daily off-camera briefing.
A lawyer-turned-politician, Navalny has been in jail since 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. In 2022, a Russian judge added another nine years to Navalny’s sentence of 2 1/2 years for embezzlement and other charges.
Navalny was being held in Correctional Facility No. 6 in the Vladimir region, about 100 miles east of Moscow.
Navalny’s team on Monday said he had disappeared from the prison camp where he is held and accused authorities of refusing to say where he had been moved.
Peskov on Tuesday claimed the Kremlin is unable to track individual prisoners.
“We have neither the intention nor the ability to track the fate of prisoners and the process of their stay in the relevant institutions,” he said.
