Israel tells US: War will take ’more than several months’ * Biden hosts families of hostages * Poll: 72% of Palestinians back Oct 7 onslaught * Menorahs from the wreckage

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, December 14, 2023 Presented by [Midcareer Fellowship]( Live updates [LIVE: Gallant tells Sullivan war to destroy Hamas will take ‘more than several months’]( By Michael Bachner and Ricky Ben-David IDF: 70 Hamas gunmen surrender at north Gaza hospital * Houthi missile misses ship at Red Sea * Knesset passes wartime budget update * IDF hits Hezbollah sites * Ground op toll: 116 [Biden meets families of hostages at White House, they plead for ‘Christmas miracle’]( By Jacob Magid and Agencies Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is held by Hamas, says after the meeting he thinks US is ‘completely committed to gaining the release of all the hostages’ [Families of hostages demand ‘urgent update’ from PM after report on no new talks]( By ToI Staff [Explainer / The debate over what should happen in Gaza after the war, explained]( By Ron Kampeas and ToI Staff [Poll shows soaring Palestinian support for Hamas; 72% back October 7 atrocities]( By Agencies and ToI Staff Survey of 1,231 Palestinians, conducted largely during recent truce, shows 44% in West Bank support Hamas, up from 12% in September, while 42% in Gaza back group, rising from 38% [Haniyeh floats idea of negotiations, says postwar Gaza without Hamas a ‘delusion’]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [Israeli leaders: War to go on until Hamas defeated, ‘with or without’ world’s approval]( By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff from our sponsor [Take the next step in your Jewish professional journey]( Earn a Master’s in Jewish education or non-profit management. Learn more > Analysis Jeremy Sharon [Israel’s far-right parties frustrate Biden, but PM is also an obstacle to his vision]( Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit are the source of Washington’s key concerns, but the US president’s call for change in Israel’s government overlooks Netanyahu’s own agenda [Netanyahu reported to huddle with political advisers, seeks to poach Sa’ar]( By ToI Staff [Biden aide: Israel taking steps to protect civilians that even US might not have]( By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff Kirby appears to soften critique of Israel after president decries ‘indiscriminate’ bombing; notes Israel ‘telegraphing its punches’ with evacuation map in south Gaza [Winter rains exacerbate suffering of Gazans displaced by Israel-Hamas war]( By Agencies Top Ops Gabriel Danzig [Fighting for the bodies of our children]( We must remember that the real tragedy is death itself and lives should never be risked to recover bodies Reuven H. Taff [Congressman Raskin: Find your moral conscience]( The US Rep’s call to stop the operation in Gaza reveals a profound failure to appreciate Israel’s current existential crisis Jack Levy [My little league team has gone to war]( As their coach, I glimpsed the kind of adults they could be. It’s no surprise they dropped everything to answer the call of duty Oren Kessler [Arabs in Israel: More Israeli, more Palestinian]( As they integrate into a state defining itself as Jewish, the need to assert their own distinct identity assumes new urgency Interview: Day 69 of the war David Horovitz [How did we go so wrong: 13 questions for a former IDF intelligence chief]( Tamir Hayman on the cataclysmic failure of ‘assessment’ that allowed Hamas in on October 7, the progress of the fightback, and the possible road ahead for Gaza [Kibbutz resident Tal Chaimi, Tanzanian Joshua Mollel confirmed killed by Hamas]( By ToI Staff [Touring Be’eri, Lipstadt says world must ‘bear witness’ to the ‘horrors’ of Hamas]( By ToI Staff [Day 69 – Why American Jews are more afraid than Israelis]( [listen to the podcast]( [From Be’eri to DC, menorahs retrieved from the Oct. 7 wreckage light up for Hanukkah]( By Jackie Hajdenberg In the wake of the massacre, the war it launched and a rise in antisemitism, these candelabras lit in Israel, NYC’s Gracie Mansion and the White House have a special significance [NIS 29 billion wartime budget boost passes, amid outcry over funds for non-war needs]( By Jeremy Sharon Infusion to cover war-related costs, but passage opens door for hundreds of millions in political earmarks; Gantz’s National Unity votes no; 2 Likud lawmakers refuse to back move [‘The best of the best’: Officers, soldiers killed in deadly Gaza ambush laid to rest]( By Michael Horovitz Top IDF brass attend funerals, with Col. Ben Basat, highest ranking officer killed in ground incursion, Lt. Col. Grinberg, head of Golani’s 13th battalion, among those laid to rest Interview [Barnard senior, a Black-Native American Jew, has some words for pro-Palestinian peers]( By Cathryn J. Prince As a Jew of Color raised in a kosher home, Columbia University student Noa Fay feels compelled to respond to groups accusing Israel of offenses such as colonialism and apartheid [Brown protesters arrested, Haverford students end sit-in as war tensions roil campuses]( By Michael Rubinkam [Daily Briefing Dec. 14: Day 69 – Why American Jews are more afraid than Israelis]( By ToI Staff [Seeking funds, White House to brief Jewish lawmakers on plan to combat antisemitism]( By Ron Kampeas [UK slaps travel ban on settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians]( By ToI Staff and Agencies British FM David Cameron says violent settlers undermining security for both sides, urges Israel to take action, following same move by US; EU also mulling similar decision [EU chief says she backs imposing sanctions on Israeli extremists in West Bank]( By Agencies [US, UK impose sanctions on more than a dozen Hamas fundraising officials]( By Jacob Magid and Agencies [IDF continues 30-hour Jenin operation; 7 Palestinians said killed in fighting]( By Emanuel Fabian Hundreds detained, weapons seized and tunnels and war rooms raided; 4 soldiers hospitalized with minor injuries caused by shrapnel from controlled explosion [IDF suspends several troops for singing Hanukkah songs into Jenin mosque loudspeakers]( By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff [Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to latest attacks on northern border]( By Emanuel Fabian [Missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis misses container ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait]( By Jon Gambrell Attack on Maersk Gibraltar, Hong Kong-flagged ship traveling from Oman to Saudi Arabia, is latest in series of seaborne assaults from Yemeni rebels amid Israel-Hamas war [Explainer / How are Houthi seizures in the vital Red Sea shipping lane impacting global trade?]( By COURTNEY BONNELL and David McHugh Film review [Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’ shows bravura, but reveals little about Leonard Bernstein]( By Matt Goldberg In select theaters now and out on Netflix Dec. 20, film is a technical masterpiece but rarely scratches below the surface, reserving its best insights for Bernstein’s wife Felicia [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Civilians and soldiers who have fallen since Oct. 7]( [Read Here]( [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( [Day 68 – Daring Gaza rescue missions with tragic consequences]( [listen to the podcast]( More Headlines [Putin: ‘Catastrophe’ in Gaza incomparable with invasion of Ukraine]( By AFP and ToI Staff [Suspect charged with murder, home invasion in slaying of Detroit synagogue leader]( By Agencies [Russian court upholds imprisonment of WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich]( By AP [Dutch mayor refuses to be photographed with Israeli ambassador at Hanukkah event]( By Shira Li Bartov [Justice minister delays meeting of politically fraught judge selection panel]( By Jeremy Sharon [Iraqi PM’s office says some attackers of US embassy ‘linked to security services’]( By AFP [Man suspected of torching hostage families’ tent due to anger over protest signs]( By ToI Staff [Israel M&A deal value hits 9-year low as Hamas war, judicial overhaul deter investors]( By Sharon Wrobel [Rising South African cricket star who praised IDF cleared of hate speech allegations]( By jacob gurvis [Obituary / Guy Stern, who fled Nazis for US and served as WWII intel operative, dies at 101]( By Andrew Lapin [The daily edition]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? 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