WATCH: Network news anchor fired days after pro-Israel monologue goes viral
Plus, CNN forced to run cover for reporter who 'witnessed' release of so-called Assad political prisoner
JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief
Days after pro-Israel monologue goes viral, Sky News Australia anchor Erin Molan fired by network
“I’m not from Israel, I’m not Jewish, I’m not American. I have no skin in this game. But you see, I do… We all do… When hate is allowed to fester we ALL lose. You can’t escape it.”
The legendary @Erin_Molan with an equally legendary mic drop.
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) December 13, 2024
Australian TV presenter Erin Molan defended her views in a recent video posted to social media, particularly regarding the Israel-Hamas war, following her firing by Sky News Australia earlier this week, the Times of Israel reported.
The Daily Mail Australia, which first reported on Molan’s dismissal, did not explain why she was let go and said Sky News Australia defined the end of her tenure there as “amicable.”
“Erin has been a fantastic member of the Sky News team over the past three years and has worked incredibly hard for her viewers, passionately advocating on the issues close to her heart,” a Sky News Australia spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia, thanking Molan for her contribution to the network.
CNN forced to run cover for reporter who ‘witnessed’ release of so-called Assad political prisoner
CNN has humiliated itself yet again. Having totally fallen for the lies of the “in shock” suffering civilian Clarissa Ward “rescued” from an Assad prison, it learned *from other news outlets* who were questioning the veracity of CNN’s report that… https://t.co/HFiZqN7uLM
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 16, 2024
The prisoner CNN escorted out of jail after he was freed by Syrian rebels was actually a notorious member of ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, who tricked the outlet and rebels into helping him, according to a local fact checker, reports the New York Post.
Salama Mohammad Salama – a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence – allegedly misled rebels and CNN’s Clarissa Ward into leading him out of prison last week in a harrowing video, Verify-Sy reports.
Salama also has a long history of alleged war crimes, the Syrian fact-checking outlet added.
The viral video of the supposed rescue has since drawn scrutiny over key details regarding Salama’s appearance and reaction to the prison break, with CNN now investigating how their reporters might have been duped.
Trump reiterates hostages must be returned to Israel before his Jan. 20 inauguration
The next President of the United States is talking to the terrorists like a gangster, and that’s why many hostages families are cautiously optimistic he can get them home. You’d better #letthemgonow–or else. They hope the Trump Administration will use US leverage against Hamas’… pic.twitter.com/7Rro3PXzFl
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) December 16, 2024
U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump underlined the urgency with which he views the issue of Israeli hostages held in Hamas captivity after he restated his warning about their release prior to his Jan. 20 inauguration.
“We’re trying to help very strongly in getting the hostages back, as you know, with Israel and the Middle East. We’re working very much on that,” Trump said at a press briefing Monday.
U.S. warns of imminent large-scale Turkish military op in Syria
Turkey builds up large forces for possible invasion of Syria, US officials tell @WSJ; as Syria situation evolves, distance between Israel & Turkey is rapidly shrinking. Is this another step toward eventual Israeli-Turkish clash? Here’s a reminderhttps://t.co/dxBzF9cD0A
— Israel Radar (@IsraelRadar_com) December 17, 2024
U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal that Turkish military commandos, artillery units, and allied militia fighters have concentrated in significant numbers near the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani in northern Syria, in moves reminiscent of Turkey’s 2019 invasion of the northeastern part of the country.
“We are focused on it and pressing for restraint,” a U.S. official told the outlet, warning a cross-border operation could be imminent.
Houthi ballistic missile triggers sirens across central Israel; Iranian proxy also attacks ships in Gulf of Aden
Red alerts throughout Central Israel due to a missile from Yemen. The Houthis feel left out because they haven’t been completely obliterated yet. pic.twitter.com/ZOLosd5yI9
— The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome (@TheMossadIL) December 16, 2024
A ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen set off sirens across most of central Israel on Monday afternoon for the first time in that area in close to a month, according to the Times of Israel.
The IDF said that the missile was successfully shot down by air defenses before crossing the country’s borders. It said that sirens sounded across central Israel over fears of falling shrapnel following the interception.
According to reports, shrapnel from an interceptor fell in northern Samaria, although it did not cause any injuries.
Israel said weighing Yemen strike following Houthi ballistic missile targeting Tel Aviv
JUST IN
Israel is preparing to strike Yemen following recent escalations.
After Yemen launched a ballistic missile this afternoon and a UAV earlier in the day, Israel is reportedly gearing up for a response.
Israel has recently determined that Yemen is stepping into the… pic.twitter.com/rD5H6uIO7u
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 16, 2024
Israel’s government is seriously considering extensive strikes on Houthi installations in response to yet another ballistic missile fired from Yemen toward Israel on Monday, the Jewish News Service reports.
The IDF is preparing for the potential need to conduct another operation in Yemen, following the air force’s bombing of the Houthi-controlled port in Hodeidah on July 20, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News. The military has operational plans in place and the necessary capabilities to carry them out, should the political leadership decide to proceed.
U.S. military eliminates 12 ISIS fighters in Syria strikes
U.S. Central Command Conducts Airstrikes Against ISIS Operatives
Tampa, Fla. – U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives in Syria, Dec. 16, killing 12 ISIS terrorists.
The strikes against the ISIS leaders,… pic.twitter.com/3gvjB56U3a
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 16, 2024
The U.S. Army killed 12 ISIS terrorists in Syria via precision strikes, the U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, reported Monday evening.
The Jerusalem Post reports the strikes against ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were carried out as part of ongoing attempts to “disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, preventing the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek opportunities to reconstitute in central Syria.”
The strikes took place in former regime and Russian-controlled areas, which CENTCOM said ensured pressure continues to be maintained on ISIS.
Hezbollah chief: Loss of Syria massively impacted our supply chain from Iran
Assad falling means that the Islamic Regime in Iran and the IRGC won’t be able to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Iraq and Syria anymore.
Hezbollah’s combat capabilities will take another hit following the beating they’ve been taking in recent months. pic.twitter.com/OTx8ebhZl8
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 7, 2024
The Wall Street Journal reports Hezbollah lost its most important supply route from Iran through Syria, Naim Qassem said, the first time the chief of the Lebanese militia has publicly acknowledged how the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has hurt the group’s ability to rearm after a punishing Israeli campaign.
Assad’s Syria was the most important state ally for Iran’s alliance of regional militias and political entities across the Middle East, which includes Hezbollah. Syria also was the key geographical link allowing the flow of weapons and other materiel to move from Iran to Lebanon, where Hezbollah projected Iran’s front against their common archenemy, Israel.
U.K. think tank accuses Hamas of ‘clearly inflating Gaza death toll’ to pressure Israel
‘There’s been a real global failure in journalistic standards…’@Mr_Andrew_Fox discusses his new report examining the media’s use of the Hamas-run Ministry of Health’s fatality figures from the war in Gaza.@JuliaHB1 | @TalkTV pic.twitter.com/nOEstiEPgQ
— Henry Jackson Society (@HJS_Org) December 16, 2024
Civilian death counts in the Israel-Hamas war have been inflated and distorted to portray Israel as deliberately targeting innocent civilians, a new study found, according to the New York Post.
The report from the U.K.-based Henry Jackson Society found news outlets failed to distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties and relied on manipulated statistics from the Hamas-run Health Ministry when reporting on the war.
Gaza officials claim more than 44,700 people have been killed following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, but do not acknowledge that upwards of 17,000 were Hamas terrorists – a fact the media often omits, the study found, citing Israeli and U.S. military and intelligence reports for its data. It also claims people who died of natural causes were also added to the overall casualty figures.
Israel increasingly concerned about stability of Hashemite Kingdom in Jordan
JUST IN
Israel is deeply concerned that the rebels’ success in Syria could embolden extremist elements in Jordan, potentially destabilizing King Abdullah’s rule. @kann_news pic.twitter.com/BwnxNy4XhW
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 14, 2024
The Jewish Insider reports the ripple effects across the Middle East of Bashar al-Assad’s fall in Syria remain to be seen, but Jordan’s leaders are reportedly eyeing recent events to their north with concern for the stability of King Abdullah II’s regime.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF Intelligence Directorate head Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder secretly visited Jordan over the weekend to discuss the implications of the rebels’ victory in Syria and concerns that extremists may undermine King Abdullah’s regime. If they succeed in undermining the Hashemite Kingdom, they could unleash all sorts of chaos in Judea and Samaria, along Israel’s longest land border with a foreign country.
In first statement since being deposed as Syrian leader, Assad claims he did not flee
BREAKING
Bashar Assad’s official channel has released a statement explaining the reasons for his escape to Moscow.
Moscow – 16 December 2024
“As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday 7ih December 2024, questions arose about… pic.twitter.com/VfAnJFa6QZ
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 16, 2024
“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said in a statement released on Telegram Monday.
“On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024,” he said, according to i24news. “As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Lattakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.”
Trump says Turkey was behind Assad’s fall in Syria
Trump says bluntly that “Turkey controls those rebels and Erdogan did an unfriendly takeover of Syria”
“They wanted it for thousand of years and he got it” pic.twitter.com/sY4nvQE4f5
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 16, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday claimed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was behind the rapid fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria last week, as Israeli officials cautioned the U.S. to keep a watchful eye on the Sunni authoritarian leader, who is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the New York Post.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump declared that the “very smart” Erdogan directed the rebellion that led to the overthrow of Syria’s brutal Assad regime on Dec. 8, noting that the rebellion was “another way to fight.”
“Nobody knows who the other side is, but I do. You know it is Turkey, OK? Turkey is the one behind it,” he said. “And those people that went in are controlled by Turkey, and that’s OK.”
IDF plans for winter war in the mountains of Syria
IDF is planning a long winter in Syria this year pic.twitter.com/Iro73qR6QB
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 16, 2024
IDF is gearing up for Operation General Winter across all operational zones, with a strong emphasis on the challenges posed by snowfall in the northernmost regions – territories where IDF has not operated for 50 years, according to YnetNews.
Drawing lessons from both its historical operations and the expertise of foreign militaries accustomed to winter warfare, IDF is adopting new strategies to sustain operational readiness in extreme conditions.
Biden vows to ‘keep working’ until all Israel’s hostages in Gaza are released
Joe Biden says he’s gotten 100 hostages out of Gaza.
This is a lie.pic.twitter.com/CDpXxJHjSf
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) December 17, 2024
As he heads into the last month of one of the most unpopular stints of any politician to hold the office in recent memory, a befuddled-looking outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking at his last official White House Hanukkah party declared he would “keep working” to free all of Israel’s hostages held in Hamas captivity, reports YnetNews.
Bizarrely, Biden claimed he had gotten 100 hostages out of Gaza, a boast which X’s Community Notes was only too happy to quickly shoot down in flames.
Syrian Druze request Israel annex parts of the Golan Heights, request IDF not to leave area for fear of rebel advance
The Druze of southern Syria have publicly declared their desire to secede from Syria and be annexed to Israel.
Based on topography this is what the annexation would look like.
The IDF has already taken over the DMZ in yellow and moved into some of the Druze towns. pic.twitter.com/jhdfWwSN6P
— Imtiaz Mahmood (@ImtiazMadmood) December 14, 2024
An unverified video circulating on social media purports to show a member of the Druze community in the southern Syrian village of Hader calling for the community to be annexed to the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, according to the Times of Israel
Although the speech is in Arabic, a version of the video was posted on X with English captions.
Speaking to a large crowd, the man tells them to consider what they want their future to look like following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last week.
“If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil,” he says. “And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the [Israeli] Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way.”
Israeli minister labels Irish PM an ‘anti-Semite’
It seems that Simon ‘Hubris’ has created another fine mess…
‘Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar explains his decision to close Israel’s embassy in Ireland, saying that Dublin “encouraged” antisemitism under an antisemitic prime minister.’ pic.twitter.com/IqtLtixOF1
— Karen Ievers (@karenievers) December 16, 2024
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday denounced Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris as an anti-Semite, speaking a day after Jerusalem announced the closure of its embassy due to Dublin’s hostile stances, reports JNS.
“Last night, the prime minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, the anti-Semite, said in an interview, ‘Ireland is not anti-Israel, but Ireland categorically opposes the starvation of children, and opposes categorically the killing of civilians,'” Sa’ar told reporters at a meeting of his New Hope Party.
Irish Jews ‘deeply concerned’ over Israel embassy shutdown
The chairperson of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Maurice Cohen, has said he is “deeply concerned” by the deterioration in relations between Ireland and Israel following Israel’s decision yesterday to close its embassy in Ireland.https://t.co/spckdl2lhV
— Lucy Keaveney (@Luighseach) December 16, 2024
The Jewish Press reports Maurice Cohen, chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, on Monday expressed “deep concern” over the worsening relationship between Ireland and Israel after Israel announced the closure of its embassy in Dublin.
Cohen criticized the Irish government’s involvement in the war crimes case before the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide. He warned that such action risks “oversimplifying a highly complex and tragic conflict, unfairly isolating Israel, and undermining the integrity of the term ‘genocide.'”
Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
What's Your Reaction?
