There is fierce criticism within Netanyahu's coalition, and even within his own Likud party, that the government is bowing to American pressure and thus putting the lives of Israeli soldiers at greater risk.

14 soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. This is the largest 2-day toll since the start of the ground war.

And it coincides with a reduction in aerial and artillery bombardment of targets in Gaza.

The reduced bombing is seen as a response to pressure from the Biden administration for Israel to stop leveling buildings in Gaza and to move a more "low-intensity" level of combat.

But sending soldiers on isolated raids into standing urban areas is far more deadly.

Relatively few Israeli soldiers died in the invasion of northern Gaza because the Air Force leveled most of the neighborhoods before the ground forces arrived. There were very few places for Hamas terrorists to hide.

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Givati Brigade troops operate house-to-house against Hamas forces in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu at this morning's Cabinet meeting: "The war is taking a very heavy toll on us, but we have no choice but to keep fighting."

Google Maps and Waze today resumed showing traffic information in Israel for the first time since October 7.

Both services stopped displaying traffic information after the Hamas invasion to prevent terrorists from more easily targeting large groups of Israelis.

The Palestinians are lucky to have Israel as their enemy!

Find out why 👇

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/tachles-with-aviel-compared-to-the-palestinians-the-uyghurs-are-unlucky/

That salute looks familiar... 🙄

Houthi soldiers call for "Death to America and Israel" during a ceremony in Yemen.

Netanyahu: "This will be a long war. We will fight until the end – until the hostages are returned, Hamas is eliminated and we restore security in both the north and the south. Together we will fight and – with G-d's help – together we will win."

Christmas in Bethlehem:

For the first time, the Bethlehem Municipality has decided not to put up the traditional Christmas tree in Manger Square.

Instead, they put up a "nativity scene" featuring stones and a barbed wire fence in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Christians in Bethlehem are only doing this under pressure from radical Muslims and Hamas. Weeks ago, Palestinian Christians had to cancel their Christmas celebrations in Palestinian cities in order to demonstrate their sympathy to their Muslim neighbors.

While Palestinian Church leaders repeatedly talk about peaceful coexistence with their Muslim neighbors, it's all a lie. The "peace" is only maintained so long as the Christians comply.

We wish the Palestinian Christians a blessed Christmas and hope for them to one day be free, as the Christians in Israel are free.

And we want to take a moment to remind everyone: Jesus came as a Jew, NOT a Palestinian.

Netanyahu: We know the general whereabouts of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

IDF officials say they are conducting a determined search for Hezbollah tunnels running under the northern border.

President Isaac Hertzog urges Israeli politicians to stop bickering against one another.

“Our enemies are celebrating the division between us.”

Anti-Israel protest in the Netherlands: 8,000 pairs of shoes representing 8,000 Palestinian children who Palestinian sources claim were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Couple of points:

1. This number is simply being accepted at face value with no evidence because it neatly fits the mainstream anti-Israel narrative.

2. Those responsible for any dead children in Gaza are Hamas, who not only prevented Gaza civilians from fleeing combat zones when Israel urged them to, but carried out its terrorist activities from inside and near civilian institutions and homes.

In recent weeks, more and more Palestinians are admitting this in interrogation and on social media. But don't expect the evidence to sway those who have decided Israel is guilty.

Delusional, or disconnected?

Al Jazeera reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, writing from a tunnel somewhere under southern Gaza, informed the terror group's "political leadership" abroad that his forces have killed 1,600 Israeli soldiers.

If he's talking about casualties during the IDF ground war in Gaza, Sinwar is either delusional, or disconnected and being fed lies by his own men.

As of this morning, 155 IDF soldiers have fallen in combat in the Gaza Strip.

Of course, Sinwar could be referring to the total number of Israelis killed by Hamas since the morning of October 7.

While every Palestinian is seen as a civilian, every Israeli is seen as a soldier.

The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria, Razi Mousavi, was eliminated in Damascus.

Israel is of course blamed for this (and that might indeed be accurate), and the IRGC is vowing revenge.