Families of hostages in new Hamas video urge deal at any price * Austin: No US deadline, but... * Bringing the worst news, her heart stopped * When generals count tunnels

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Tuesday, December 19, 2023 Presented by [Shalom Hartman Institute]( Live updates [LIVE: IDF says it killed top Hamas moneyman in Rafah strikes; rockets fired at Tel Aviv]( By Ricky Ben-David, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid 2 soldiers killed as Gaza ground op death toll reaches 131 * UNSC to vote on ceasefire; diplomats seek language to avoid US veto * Houthis vow to keep up Red Sea attacks [Families of hostages seen in new Hamas video urge release deal at any price]( By ToI Staff Amid reports Israel is in talks for a fresh prisoner exchange deal, families note that the only captives coming out of Gaza recently are dead [Hamas releases propaganda video showing 3 elderly Israeli hostages]( By ToI Staff [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing Dec. 19: Day 74 – Hostage families split as new release deal may loom]( By ToI Staff [Visiting Israel, US defense chief says he won’t ‘dictate timelines or terms’ of war]( By Amy Spiro and Jacob Magid Austin pushes for more Gaza aid, two-state vision; says he’ll convene regional ministers to counter Houthis; Gallant: There’s ‘no clock running,’ war will see ‘end of Hamas’ [IDF solidifies hold in northern Gaza as Israel allows expanded aid into Strip]( By Emanuel Fabian and Jacob Magid [Amid reported plan to funnel PA money into Gaza, Smotrich insists: ‘Not one shekel’]( By Jeremy Sharon and Sam Sokol From our sponsor [Believe Israeli Women]( On the Identity/Crisis podcast, Cochav Elkayam-Levy describes her work to compile a comprehensive accounting of gender-based violence committed by Hamas – and the struggle for international recognition Inside story Jacob Magid [Israel cornering itself into postwar Gaza military occupation, Western diplomats warn]( By asserting it will maintain security control over Strip, rejecting PA return, not advancing alternate plans, Israel likely to find itself stuck in enclave, top officials tell ToI Interview Tal Schneider [‘If the generals are counting tunnels, it suggests things are not going well’]( Yehuda Kfir, an expert in underground warfare, says the IDF can’t keep bombing buildings and infrastructure to locate Hamas’s tunnels: ‘We need to dig from our side to theirs’ [‘You wouldn’t sit and wait’: Family mourns Yotam Haim, hostage mistakenly slain by IDF]( By Amy Spiro [Security Council set for Gaza ceasefire vote after delay to seek text US won’t veto]( By Agencies and ToI Staff Draft text now slated for Tuesday vote says civilians in Strip don’t have sufficient access to services ‘essential for survival,’ calls for Hamas to immediately release hostages [South Africa says its citizens serving in IDF could face prosecution back home]( By Agencies [Billions in US aid for Israel, Ukraine held up in Senate as border talks lag]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [Houthis vow to keep up attacks in key strait after US rolls out plan to shield ships]( By Agencies and ToI Staff Major carriers not rushing to return vessels to more cost-efficient route via Suez Canal and Red Sea despite announcement of coalition to protect marine traffic in Bab el-Mandeb [US-led coalition of 10 nations to counter Houthi attacks on vessels in Red Sea]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [Houthi attacks on commercial ships sink global trade in vital Red Sea corridor]( By COURTNEY BONNELL Top Ops Michal I. Berman [A soldier’s laundry]( Other mothers no longer need to fold their son’s uniforms…their sons don’t need them anymore David Lehrer [War is unsustainable]( A world that has passed the 2-degree climate threshold is more terrifying than the destruction we are now seeing in Gaza [Officer tasked with arranging constant IDF funerals nearly died after heart gave way]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Following weeks of notifying families of fallen loved ones, and non-stop burials, Sivan Sekeli Ben Zichri suffered cardiac arrest caused by tear in heart artery [Poll shows Gantz’s party soaring as Likud nosedives, Smotrich out of Knesset]( By ToI Staff Survey finds National Unity leader preferred over Netanyahu for prime minister; Bennett, who could win 13 seats with a new party, also seen as a possible replacement [State comptroller assails government failures on home front after Oct. 7 onslaught]( By Jeremy Sharon Inside Story [Med students’ antisemitic comments after Oct. 7 roil two prominent DC universities]( By Cathryn J. Prince Social media posts by physicians-in-training on Hamas atrocities use tropes like media control and global cabals, raising worry about how tomorrow’s MDs will treat Jewish patients [San Francisco begins prosecuting dozens who blocked bridge in Gaza ceasefire protest]( By Agencies [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Civilians and soldiers who have fallen since Oct. 7]( [Read Here]( [At UN, West accuses Iran of illegal missile testing, high-grade uranium enrichment]( By Edith M. Lederer During Security Council meeting on failing 2015 nuclear agreement, Britain, France, Germany and US warn all means will be used to prevent Tehran getting atomic weapons [Iran gas stations reopen but payment issues persist after alleged hack chokes supply]( By ToI Staff and Agencies [Birthright to resume free trips to Israel for first time since October 7 Hamas attack]( By Deborah Danan Around 350 students and young adults primarily from US are expected to travel to Israel beginning in early January [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( [Twenty released Palestinian inmates set to return to Jerusalem schools in January]( By Gianluca Pacchiani Social workers to decide in each case whether to allow student to return to school; some municipal officials fear they may have bad influence over peers [IDF razes home of Palestinian suspected in August terror slaying of man, son]( By ToI Staff [France to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, following US, Britain]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [Day 74 – Hostage families split as new release deal may loom]( [listen to the podcast]( More Headlines [Seinfeld's support / Visiting Israel, Jerry Seinfeld meets with freed hostages, families]( By ToI Staff and Agencies [Pushing to again delay municipal elections, Smotrich urges Netanyahu to get involved]( By Michael Horovitz [Facing negligible opposition, Sissi wins third term as Egypt’s president]( By AP [President Herzog launches debt clemency scheme for war-affected Israelis]( By Sharon Wrobel [Foreign Ministry says no issue with diplomatic passports for Likud bigwigs]( By Sam Sokol [Head of large beverage firm suspected of recycling fraud worth hundreds of millions]( By Sue Surkes [ZAKA volunteer arrested for taking RPG launcher, other Oct. 7 weapons as souvenirs]( By ToI Staff [Parents arrested after 7-year-old daughter dies weighing only 18 pounds]( By Michael Horovitz [In radical shift, Pope Francis approves priestly blessings for same-sex couples]( By Nicole Winfield and David Crary [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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