At least three Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion in Gaza’s besieged northern city of Jabalia on 23 December, as a revived Qassam Brigades continues to step up attacks and sophisticated operations against Tel Aviv’s forces.

Classic US foreign policy in action!

Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers at seven facilities in the metro areas of San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Southern California, and New York City are out on strike today, in what the union says is the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history. Unionized workers at Staten Island’s JFK8 fulfillment center have also authorized a strike and could soon follow.

Workers in all these locations—five delivery stations and two fulfillment centers—have already shown majority support and demanded union recognition. The Teamsters set Amazon an ultimatum: recognize the unions and agree to bargaining by December 15, or face strikes. Amazon hasn’t moved.

A ground squirrel with cheeks stuffed with nuts, seeds or grains, is a common sight. But a new study provides the first evidence that California ground squirrels also hunt, kill and eat voles. The study, led by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis, is the first to chronicle widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels.

The Israeli army has launched a new set of attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital, sparking a fire that rendered the last functioning intensive care unit (ICU) in northern Gaza out of service.

Overnight on Tuesday, the hospital endured Israeli shelling, as well as the use of exploding robots near its grounds, Al Jazeera reporter Moath al-Kahlout reported.

UN Security Council members warned on Wednesday about Israel’s illegal settlements and violent actions in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reports.

Some demanded a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Khaled Khiari, UN assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, told the Security Council of the “relentless Israel settlement expansion near the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” and said that “in Gaza, the ceasefire is long overdue.”

A new report by The New York Times reveals Aaron Siri, an attorney for President Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F., Kennedy, Jr., filed a petition to the FDA in 2022 to revoke approval of the polio vaccine on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network — a move that threatens decades of progress in nearly eradicating one of the world’s most devastating diseases. Siri is currently assisting Kennedy in selecting nominees for top health policy positions in the incoming Trump administration.

Public Citizen health experts issued the following statements: “The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox,” said Public Citizen Campaign Director for Global Vaccines Access Liza Barrie. “Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time.”

"Trump’s pick for FDA-head, Dr. Marty Makary, recently tried to dismiss RFK Jr.’s dangerous position on vaccines as a thing of the past.” said Public Citizen Senior Health Researcher Michael T. Abrams. “This reporting on the Trump transition strategy suggests that threat from RFK Jr.'s positions is clear and present.”

Public Citizen calls on the Senate to reject Kennedy’s confirmation and ensure that our federal health leadership is grounded in science and truly dedicated to protecting public health.