Israel Brief

Israel Brief

Israel Brief: Friday, December 12

Hamas hides a body to buy Phase II. Hezbollah hides under storm cover to buy time. Washington sells “stabilization” and hands Israel the invoice.

Uri Zehavi — אורי זהבי's avatar
Uri Zehavi — אורי זהבי
Dec 12, 2025
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Shabbat shalom, friends.

Hamas refuses disarmament and “can’t find” Ran Gvili z”l. In the north, Storm Byron gives Hezbollah concealment while Israel keeps deleting Radwan training grids like an adult cleaning up after toddlers. At home, the government is rebuilding authority—settlements, sovereignty, draft math—while the rain reminds us resilience is drains in Tel Aviv and rescue crews in Ashkelon.


⚡️Flash Brief: The Day in 90 Seconds or Less
  • Gaza: Hamas continues stalling on Ran Gvili z”l; Israel freezes Phase II and fortifies the Yellow Line. See The War Today.

  • North: Storm cover + Hezbollah redeployments; IDF hits Radwan training sites across the south. See The War Today & Developments to Watch.

  • Iran: Missile production restarts, “wartime safeguards” push continues; proxies probe thresholds and corridors. See The War Today.

  • Judea & Samaria: Settlement legalization expands the belt; security posture stays proactive, not performative. See Inside Israel.

  • Home front: Byron floods the south. Tel Aviv holds and emergency services carry the load elsewhere. See Inside Israel.

  • Diplomacy: Washington pushes ISF timelines and rubble cleanup. Qatar refuses to pay; Israel gets stuck with the bill. See Israel and the World.

  • Diaspora/info-war: Antizionist hate laundering spreads and Israel funds Jewish education abroad—trying to stave off a repeat of 1938. See Israel and the World & Briefly Noted.


The day’s contradiction is simple: Hamas and Hezbollah treat time as a weapon, and foreign capitals treat time as a press strategy. Israel knows time often acts as a fuse. That’s why the Yellow Line is turning into concrete. Why Radwan training compounds are being hit now. And why “stabilization” talk only matters if it disarms the people openly promising the next massacre.


As we head into Shabbat, one note of housekeeping:

The Clarity Gift Event is live.

A full year of disciplined situational awareness is 50% off — for you, or for the person in your life who texts every day, “Is this real or propaganda?”

israelbrief.com/clarity


The War Today

Gaza’s Ceasefire is Just Blackmail

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