3,000 Tons of Munitions from US, Europe to Israel

Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
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3,000 Tons of Munitions from US, Europe to Israel

Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)

The Department of Production and Procurement (DOPP) at the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that last week it has purchased 3,000 tons of munitions and weapons for 6 billion shekels.

It said about half of the equipment were bought from Israeli factories, while the other half arrived from Europe and the United States on 100 cargo planes and five ships.

The Ministry affirmed that the purchases, which came to respond to Israeli needs in the event of a wider war involving Lebanon, include bombs, missiles, radars, drones, vehicles, ambulances, medical equipment and more.

The Department said that some of these purchases had already arrived and were being used.

Additionally, it noted that the Directorate of Defense Research and Development dedicated more than 3 billion shekels for research, development, and armament, covering both defensive and offensive capabilities.

In this regard, the Ministry said it has activated about 651 factories and engaged approximately 57,000 workers who received mobilization orders.

Additionally, it rented approximately 8,500 vehicles, more than 4,000 buses, and over 2,000 trucks, tractors, and heavy machinery for the Israeli military.

The DOPP also noted that the engineering department at the Israeli Army spent some 1 billion shekels to repair military bases and communities on the border that were damaged from the October 7 Hamas attack.

It bought 350,000 tons of equipment and construction materials and hired 100 construction companies to undertake the repair works.

Also, in an attempt to appease angry families over the military's failures, the Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department recognized 712 army personnel as disabled due to injuries, unlike in the past, when every case was carefully studied by a medical committee.

Also, the ministry has decided to continue to accommodate 125,000 people evacuated from almost 100 communities on the border of Lebanon and Gaza, who are staying in hotels and guest houses.

Meanwhile, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that they have agreed to increase the compensation pay given to reservists by 40 percent, in addition to allow a one-time grant of 1,100 shekels for those who served more than 8 days and 2,000 shekels for those who served 14 days or more. They also agreed to pay these sums on a monthly basis.

So far, the war has cost Israel 30 billion shekels, with the US Congress planning to give Israel $14.3 billion in assistance as the Israeli-Hamas war continues.



Trump Says US Will 'Come to Their Rescue' if Iran Kills Protesters

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
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Trump Says US Will 'Come to Their Rescue' if Iran Kills Protesters

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, after cost-of-living demonstrations in the country turned deadly.

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities Thursday with six reported killed in the first deaths since the unrest escalated.

Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread to other parts of the country, reported AFP.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."

"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," the Republican leader added.

Iran's Fars news agency reported Thursday that two people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighboring Lorestan province.

State television reported earlier that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

The demonstrations are smaller than the last major incident in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead including dozens of members of the security forces.


North Korean Leader's Daughter in First Visit to Symbolic Mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korean Leader's Daughter in First Visit to Symbolic Mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

The North Korean leader's daughter Kim Ju Ae has made her first visit to a mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, state media images showed Friday, further solidifying her place as her father's successor.

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called "Paektu bloodline" dominates daily life in the isolated country.

Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world's only communist monarchy, following father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

The two men -- dubbed "eternal leaders" in state propaganda -- are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un had visited the palace, accompanied by top officials.

And images released by the agency showed daughter Ju Ae in tow.

South Korea's spy agency said last year she was now understood to be the next in line to rule North Korea after she accompanied her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.

Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world in 2022, when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

North Korean state media have since referred to her as "the beloved child", and a "great person of guidance" -- "hyangdo" in Korean -- a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.

Before 2022, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who made a visit to the North in 2013.


Russia Blames Ukraine for Deadly New Year Drone Strike

The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
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Russia Blames Ukraine for Deadly New Year Drone Strike

The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP

Russia on Thursday said Kyiv was behind a drone strike on a hotel in the Moscow-held part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region that killed at least 20 people celebrating the New Year, accusing it of "torpedoing" peace attempts.

The accusation came at a crunch moment, after weeks of diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly four-year war, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was "10 percent" away from a peace deal.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, eastern Ukraine decimated and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia launched its all-out offensive in 2022.

According to the Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, "the enemy" fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel on the Black Sea coast in Khorly where "civilians were celebrating the New Year".

A building gutted by fire, piles of smoldering rubble and charred bodies were seen in pictures he posted on Telegram.

Kyiv has not commented on the allegations.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a probe into the attack, which had "killed more than 20 people and injured many more". The Russian foreign ministry said the death toll was still being clarified.

According to Saldo, more than 100 revelers gathered at the hotel the night of the attack.

The Russian foreign ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist attack", called on international organizations to condemn it and warned Kyiv of "appropriate consequences" in a statement.

It also accused the Ukrainian authorities of "deliberately torpedoing any attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict".

Zelensky meanwhile said Russia was carrying the war "into the New Year" with more than 200 drones fired overnight, mainly targeting energy facilities.

"A significant number of consumers" had their electricity cut, said Ukraine's power operator Ukrenergo. Railway and port infrastructure was also damaged in the latest barrage.

In the Kharkiv region, Russia struck a park with a zoo, wounding one person. The attack also wounded animals, including lions, and killed pheasants and parrots, the park's owner Oleksandr Feldman told Ukrainian media.

New talks in sight

Ukraine came under intense pressure in 2025, both from Russian bombardment and on the battlefield, where it has steadily ceded ground to Russia's army.

An AFP analysis based on Ukrainian air force data showed a slight fall in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in December.

Russia fired at least 5,134 drones in overnight attacks in the final month of 2025, six percent less than the month before, while the number of missiles declined by 18 percent in the same period, according to the data.

However, the same data showed Ukraine destroyed a smaller share of the total sum of missiles and drones in December -- 80 percent, compared with 82 percent in November.

US President Donald Trump, who regularly complains he does not receive credit as a peacemaker, has engaged in talks with both sides in a bid to end the fighting.

Ukraine says Russia is not interested in peace and is deliberately trying to sabotage diplomatic efforts to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Moscow earlier this week accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, drawing a sharp rebuttal from Kyiv, which said there was no "plausible" evidence of such an attack.

Ukraine's allies have also expressed skepticism about Russia's claim -- but Moscow on Thursday said it would hand over to the United States "decrypted data" from the drone that was allegedly targeting the secluded residence.

"These materials will be transferred to the American side through established channels," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement.

Zelensky said on Tuesday he would hold a meeting with leaders of Kyiv's allies from the so-called coalition of the willing next week in France.

The summit will be preceded by a meeting of security advisers from the allied countries on Saturday in Ukraine.