Hungarian Prime Minister Orban to Turkish President Erdogan:

The next century will be yours.

Hungary is not safe without Türkiye.

UAE seeks military action against Yemen’s Houthis and wants the US to re-designate the Houthis as “terrorists”.

US efforts to counter Yemen’s Houthi rebels as they attack ships in one of the world’s most important waterways are hitting a major roadblock because of disagreements among Washington’s Arab allies, Bloomberg reports.

Two of the most crucial actors involved in Yemen’s long-running civil war, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, support competing factions against the Houthis and favor differing ways of dealing with them.

The UAE is pushing for military action and wants the US to re-designate the Houthis as “terrorists,” according to a Yemeni official backed by Abu Dhabi.

Riyadh, in contrast, supports a more measured approach, fearing that any belligerence will provoke the Houthis to become even more aggressive, according to a member of the Saudi team negotiating with Houthis.

That could imperil a fragile truce in Yemen’s war and scupper Saudi Arabia’s attempt to reach a permanent cease-fire deal with the rebels, the person said.

Rafah, the south of the Gaza Strip.

Gazans jump on moving trucks, risk their lives and jump on bottles that fall on the road in an apocalyptic frenzy.

Shipping firms avoid Red Sea as Houthi attacks increase.

Below are companies that are considering or have decided to pause shipping via the Red Sea:

- Oil major BP
- French shipping group CMA CGM
- Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor
- Belgian oil tanker firm Euronav
- Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen
- Norway-based oil tanker group Frontline
- German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd
- Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk
- Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
- Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL)
- Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport

Destruction of key Russian military equipment:

- R-330Zh Zhitel EW system
- Buk-M3 air defence system
- Buk-M2 air defense systems
- 9S36 radar, vital element of BUK-M2 air defense system

Map of warships operating in Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea.

The U.S. will announce a new aid package to Ukraine at the end of December, but that could be the LAST one, White House says.

White House’s Kirby being hypocritical again:

What Putin is doing in Ukraine is not an appropriate comparison here. Torture, rape, massacre of civilians, destruction of civilian infrastructure, terrorizing the entire population, this is all part of Putin's war plan.

The Israelis do not make the massacre of civilians in Gaza, the torture and rape of civilians, a war objective. This is not part of their plan.

They are not deliberately trying to kill civilians.

Russian forces using FAB-1500M-54 bomb, fitted with a Universal Gliding and Correction Module (basically, satellite guidance and pop-out wings, weighing 1,500 kilograms) on right bank of the Dnieper.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Israel today:

We are not giving a timeframe for the military operation in Gaza because it is Israel's operation.

Protecting civilians in Gaza is a humanitarian duty, but we support Israel's right to defend itself.

IDF says it targeted a Syrian Army outpost in southern Syria following rocket fire at northern Israel earlier.

Israeli Army (IDF) soldier shares footage recorded through his personal FPV drone showing the massive scale of destruction in Gaza. (Audio was added by the IDF soldier)

Pentagon announces "Operation Prosperity Guardian”-- the multinational naval task force to counter Houthi attacks in Red Sea & Gulf of Aden.

Made up of:

U.S. U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Saudi Arabia and UAE not included.

Israel told the Biden administration it wants Hezbollah's forces to be pushed roughly 6 miles from the border as part of a diplomatic deal to end tensions with Lebanon, Axios reports.

Hamas's Cheap, Makeshift Drones Are Outsmarting Israel's High-Tech Military, Bloomberg reports.

A fleet of drones that are available online for as little as $6,500 filled the skies above Israel’s $1 billion border fence.

They were rigged to carry explosives and knock out cameras, communications systems and remote-controlled guns, setting the stage for the attack.

Hamas developed the tactics with its ally Iran and Mohamed Zaouari, a Tunisian engineer who led the group’s effort to develop UAVs.

He was assassinated in 2016 in a killing the militants blame on Israeli intelligence. A model of attack drones is named after him and 35 of them were used in opening salvo.

North Korea tested its newest ICBM: Hwasong-18

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched launch of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a site east of the capital, Pyongyang.

The missile reached an altitude of 6,518 km (4,050 miles), flying 1,002 km and accurately hitting the intended target, an empty patch of sea.

Trump:

The United States has let the Middle East get totally out of control. Really bad things are happening, all easily within our power to stop. Could lead to catastrophe if not handled with strength and precision.

Same is true with Russia/Ukraine, and maybe even more so!!!

Yemen's Houthis on Operation Prosperity Guardian:

Whoever seeks to expand the conflict must bear the consequences of their actions.

The coalition formed by U.S. is to protect Israel and militarize the sea without any justification.

Yemen will not stop continuing its legitimate operations in support of Gaza.

Putin:

Special military operation has identified a number of problems; it is necessary to rebuild communication systems and more effectively use modern intelligence technologies.

It is necessary to increase the production of high-precision projectiles and UAVs, the work of air defense requires improvement.

Even small, seemingly harmless drones cause damage, this should not be missed.

The myth of the invulnerability of Western military equipment has collapsed.