The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
Ukraine says Russia launches a drone attack against Lviv, after dueling claims
Ukraine’s air defense systems were engaged in repelling a Russian drone attack on Lviv, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi says on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, Moscow accused Ukraine of shelling the city of Donetsk, killing four people, while Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in an Russian air attack on Odesa.
North Korea’s Kim says military will ‘thoroughly annihilate’ US, South Korea if provoked
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un orders his military to “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reports, after he vowed to boost national defenses to cope with what he called an unprecedented US-led confrontation.
Kim is expected to ramp up weapons tests in 2024 ahead of the US presidential election in November. Many experts say he likely believes his expanded nuclear arsenal would allow him to wrest US concessions if former president Donald Trump is reelected.
In a meeting yesterday with commanding army officers, Kim said it is urgent to sharpen “the treasured sword” to safeguard national security, an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons program. He cited “the US and other hostile forces’ military confrontation moves,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim stressed that “our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilizing all the toughest means and potentialities without moment’s hesitation” if they opt for military confrontation and provocations against North Korea, KCNA says.
Armed drone shot down over Iraqi air base with US presence
Defense systems shot down an armed drone over the Ain al-Assad airbase, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, Iraqi army sources tell Reuters.
The attack in the early hours of Monday, which the sources say did not cause casualties or damage, is the second one in hours after a drone was shot down yesterday over Erbil airport in northern Iraq where US and other international forces are stationed.
More than 20 rockets fired at Israel in midnight barrage; no injuries reported
More than 20 rockets were fired by Hamas at southern and central Israel just at the start of the new year.
Most were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Sirens sounded in various locations in the center of the country, including Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Holon, Lod and Modiin, as well as Ashdod, Sderot and other southern towns.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says no injuries have been reported so far.