Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Danon, said that when the Somali government under Siad Barre carried out a massacre against the people of Somaliland, the international community remained silent, but Israel did not. He noted that in 1990, Israel’s ambassador to the UN at the time, Yohanan Bein, sent a letter to the UN Security Council warning about the massacre in the city of Hargeisa. Danon said that even when it was inconvenient and came at a diplomatic cost, Israel chose to act, calling this an example of moral leadership.

Netanyahu said that immediately after landing in the United States, he and his wife Sara met in Florida with Tali and Itzik Goaeli, the parents of Sgt. Maj. Ran Goaeli, an Israeli soldier who was killed and abducted. He described the meeting as emotional and painful, saying they offered support to the parents and made clear that Israel is committed to bringing Ran home for burial in Israel, as befits an Israeli hero. Netanyahu said this is a moral, national, and ethical obligation, adding that Israel will not rest or relent until the mission is fulfilled.

China announced the successful test of its YJ-20 hypersonic missile, launched from a Type 055 destroyer. According to Beijing, the missile has a range of about 1,500 km, carries a 400-kg warhead, and can reach speeds of up to 10 times the speed of sound.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow.

China’s Eastern Theater Command announced tonight that it will conduct a snap military exercise in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan, dubbed “Justice Mission 2025.” The drill is set to begin later this evening and run through Tuesday, December 30. Units from the People’s Liberation Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force will take part. The exercise appears to rehearse a blockade of Taiwan from the north, south, and east, simulating the early stages of a potential future invasion. Given that a significant portion of U.S. naval and military assets are currently positioned in the Caribbean, along with recent discussion about the Trump administration shifting focus away from Asia and Europe toward the Western Hemisphere, some observers argue that this could be a relatively opportune moment for China to apply pressure on Taiwan—even if Beijing is not yet fully prepared for a broader conflict involving Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

Russia has already begun, or is likely in the process of, deploying new nuclear-capable intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missiles—known to the Russian Armed Forces as Oreshnik—at a former airbase near Krichev in eastern Belarus. Two U.S. researchers reached the conclusion after analyzing satellite imagery, a finding that broadly aligns with U.S. intelligence assessments shared with Reuters. The deployment could significantly enhance Russia’s ability to rapidly strike targets across Europe in the event of a conventional or nuclear conflict with NATO. In response, the Pentagon has accelerated plans to deploy U.S. cruise and hypersonic surface-to-surface missiles in Germany, including the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as Dark Eagle. The system, which uses a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, is expected to be stationed in Germany beginning in 2026.

The Syzran oil refinery was struck overnight, with local residents reporting that the attack damaged the ELOU-AVT-5 unit responsible for primary crude oil processing into gasoline, diesel, and other fuels.

Trump administration officials reportedly described the boat strikes as “Phase One,” led by SEAL Team Six, with a potential “Phase Two” involving Delta Force ground operations, according to The New York Times.

The Somali prime minister said there has been international and regional support for Somalia’s position and that the country will continue its diplomatic efforts.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from arresting or deporting Imran Ahmed, the British CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Ahmed, a legal U.S. resident, had been targeted as part of a State Department crackdown on foreign “censorship activists.” Judge Vernon Broderick issued a temporary restraining order ahead of a full hearing scheduled for Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States welcomes the announcement by Cambodia and Thailand that they have reached a ceasefire following a General Border Committee meeting. He urged both countries to immediately honor the commitment and fully implement the terms of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.

Tucker Carlson said that fears of radical Islam amount to a psychological operation that he claims is being promoted by the Israeli government to shape American public opinion. “It comes from the Israeli government,” he said, adding that he is not aware of a single person in the United States who has been killed by radical Islam over the past 24 years.

Nearly continuous drone attack on Kyiv region lasts over 16 hours. Air raid alert sounded again in the capital. View quoted note →

Reuters reported that Russia struck Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as a crucial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at working out a plan to end nearly four years of war.

Footage of a Russian Shahed attack drone shredding itself on power lines in Kyiv this afternoon.

A map showing Russia’s attacks overnight and into this morning. Kyiv has been under sustained assault for more than 10 hours. So far, at least 28 people are reported injured, including 13 who have been hospitalized. The attack is ongoing.

A Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum flying a Christmas combat air patrol.

Russian attack drones struck several residential buildings in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, this morning. Footage shows a Russian Shahed-136 drone hitting a high-rise apartment block in the Pozniaky neighborhood.

The United States has not abandoned its pursuit of the large, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend, and officials are now considering deploying additional resources to the area to forcibly board the vessel, according to people familiar with the matter cited by CNN.

A Kremlin insider has been convicted in a major espionage case. Arseniy Konovalov, a former Russian consulate official in Houston, was sentenced to 12 years in a high-security penal colony and fined 100,000 rubles on treason charges. Russia’s FSB said Konovalov attempted to approach U.S. intelligence to sell classified information while serving in Texas. He was arrested in March 2024, in what authorities describe as one of the most serious diplomatic breaches in recent years.