“Iran-Backed Forces Widen Their Attacks on Commercial Shipping,” WSJ, 12-25-23.  “The U.S. Navy said late Saturday that two more vessels had been attacked that day by Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, bringing the number of commercial ships attacked near a crucial passageway between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East to 15. The Pentagon said earlier in the day that a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean was struck by a drone launched directly from Iran, a claim Tehran denied. The shipping attacks are part of a broader regional confrontation between Iran’s allies and the U.S. and Israel, and are increasing. A declassified document from the Defense Department shows Houthi attacks on ships escalated during the first half of December to eight incidents, compared with just three during the last half of November.”  Remember, this escalation was approved by the Supreme Leader.  On that note, Merry Christmas.

“3 American service-members wounded in Iraq,” Politico, 12-25-23.  Tehran has ordered over 100 attacks now.

From where does Sinwar get his marching orders and numbers?  We know.  “Sinwar falsely claimed that the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, had “targeted” over 5,000 Israeli soldiers and officers, and killed about third of them — that is, over 1,500. The actual figure of IDF deaths is one-tenth of what the terror leader alleged. According to the IDF, 156 soldiers have so far been killed in the ground operation in Gaza. Over 300 members of the security forces were killed in Hamas’s initial October 7 onslaught. The terror leader also gave inflated claims of the number of Israeli soldiers injured in the war, and the amount of Israeli military equipment that has been destroyed. He claimed that around 3,500 troops were seriously wounded or disabled, whereas that figure according to the IDF stands at less than 200.”  See “In first public message since Oct. 7, Sinwar says Hamas won’t surrender,” Times of Israel, 12-25-23.