The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
IDF says rocket alerts were activated in false alarm
The military says the rocket alerts were activated in several towns near the Gaza Strip due to a false alarm.
Rocket sirens activated in Sderot, other Gaza border towns
Incoming rocket sirens sound shortly before 3 a.m. in several communities near the Gaza Strip, including the city of Sderot.
The army says it’s looking into the matter.
Former US soldier indicted for attempting to join Hezbollah
WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania man who previously served in the US Army has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempting to support Lebanon’s Hezbollah and of making false statements to the FBI, the US Justice Department says.
Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, is a dual citizen of the US and Ireland and traveled to Lebanon and Syria in 2024 to attempt to join Hezbollah, which is designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization, the Justice Department says in a statement.
The department says Molloy returned to the US in late 2024 and continued making attempts to join Hezbollah. He had also promoted hatred and violence against Jews, the Justice Department says, adding he was formerly enlisted as an active-duty soldier in the US Army from mid-March to late April in 2019.
The Justice Department says Molloy lied to the FBI about his intentions to join Hezbollah when questioned upon his return to the United States in late 2024. It says he was arrested on December 6 in Chicago.
If convicted, Molloy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for a material support charge. For false statement charges, he faces a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. A representative of Molloy cannot immediately be contacted.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Man lightly hurt in West Bank rock-throwing attack on Israeli bus
A man was lightly hurt in a rock-throwing attack on an Israeli bus in the northern West Bank, according to medics and the military.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the 42-year-old, who was wounded by broken glass, was taken to a hospital in the central city of Kfar Saba following the attack on Route 55 near the Karnei Shomron settlement.
The bus he was riding on was lightly damaged, the Israel Defense Forces says, adding that the suspects fled the scene.
Syrian media report an Israeli airstrike on defense facilities near Aleppo
Syrian media report an Israeli airstrike near Aleppo a short while ago.
According to the Sham FM radio station, the strikes hit a defense facility and a scientific research center near the city of al-Safirah, close to Aleppo.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
#BREAKING ????
Israeli air strikes targeted defense factories south of Aleppo, Syria moments ago pic.twitter.com/3N6w91Y4uP
— توفيق گیلاني ⚖️ (@SyriaNewsMan) January 2, 2025