USA - When emotions are running high, it is amazing how rapidly some people will fall for deception. In the early days of the Great Middle East War, we have seen a tsunami of bad information. Especially on social media, many are so eager to run with anything that seems to be supportive of the side that they are supporting in the conflict. But in a lot of cases, the reports that people have been sharing have simply not been accurate. In a time of war, we must not allow truth to become a casualty, because what people believe about this conflict has real world consequences.

ISRAEL - Evidence has emerged, from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as well as independent (and even hostile) media, showing that it was an errant Palestinian terrorist group’s rocket, and not an Israeli airstrike, that hit a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday evening. Video, radar, maps, media coverage of the impact site, and an intercepted call between two Hamas operatives all suggest that a Palestinian group’s rocket, launched near the hospital, misfired and hit the parking lot, causing a fire and apparent casualties. The first reports, from the Hamas terrorist group and media organizations operating under its jurisdiction, were that an Israeli airstrike had hit the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, killing 500 people in a deliberate “attack” on the Christian hospital.

EUROPE - The bloc insisted it remains committed to peace and a two-state solution amid mounting Palestinian casualties. The EU has condemned Hamas and ordered the militant group to release Israeli hostages without preconditions. The bloc also affirmed its support for Israel’s right to self-defense within the confines of international law, in a statement released by the European Council on Sunday. Affirming the EU’s commitment to “a lasting and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution through reinvigorated efforts in the Middle East Peace Process,” the statement called for continued engagement with “legitimate Palestinian authorities” and their regional and international partners.

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia's ruler kept US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, waiting for hours for a meeting, then didn't show up until the next day, in an astonishing snub to the US' top diplomat, The Washington Post said. In the wake of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel, Blinken last week visited several US allies in the Middle East in a bid to rally them around the US' position, including Mohamed bin Salman. The core goal of the trip was to persuade the leaders to condemn Hamas' brutal violence, and try and tamp down unrest in their countries sparked by the new fighting. But Blinken reportedly got a cold reception in Riyadh, where key differences between the US and Saudis emerged. Blinken had expected to meet Mohamed bin Salman in the evening after touching down on Saturday, but was kept waiting for hours, with the crown prince eventually showing up the next morning, the report said.

MIDDLE EAST - The Saudis realize that the United States, while still capable of projecting some military force in the region, is weak and not to be trusted. Enter China and Russia. These two countries are providing a rally point for the Arab and Muslim world. India’s retired diplomat, M K Bhadrakumar, reports on China’s emergence as a diplomatic power challenging US pretensions to leadership: The torrential flow of events through the past week is breathtaking, starting with a phone call made by Iran’s President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss a common strategy toward the situation following the devastating attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, against Israel on October 7.

USA - President Joe Biden will travel to Israel and on to Jordan Wednesday to meet with both Israeli and Arab leadership, as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden’s travel to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometer) territory to root out Hamas militants responsible for what US and Israeli officials say was the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust. Biden is looking to send the strongest message yet that the US is behind Israel. His Democratic administration has pledged military support, sending US carriers and aid to the region.

GERMANY - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will land in Israel on Tuesday for a visit designed to show further support to the Jewish state. German media sources reported Scholz wants to stand with Israel in the wake of the deadly attack by Hamas terrorists that saw them commit mass rape, torture, and slaughter of hundreds of civilians. AFP reports it would be the first visit by a foreign head of state to Israel since the assault, which has sparked a war between Israel and invading Hamas terror groups. Scholz has pledged full support for Israel, saying last week that Germany’s “only place” right now “is at Israel’s side,” as Breitbart London reported.

ISRAEL - In a newly released military statement, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade — the military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ supposedly “moderate” Fatah movement governing in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) — declared its alliance with Hamas and its commitment to the ongoing military campaign against Israel. In a Monday statement, Fatah articulated its unwavering dedication to liberating Palestine and Jerusalem, while asserting its pivotal role in what Hamas has termed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, as reported by Israel National News. “We were there from the start of the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation out of our dedication to the ideal of fighting to liberate Palestine and holy Jerusalem,” the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade stated.

JORDAN - Jordanian leader King Abdullah spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the Palestinian war on Israel. King Abdullah made it clear that NO Palestinian refugees will be accepted into Jordan OR Egypt. They don’t want them. Nikki Haley Argues to Bring One Million Hamas Supporting Palestinians to the US from Gaza – Where Over 68% of Population Supports Terror Strikes on Israel. Think of that for a second. King Abdullah: “I can quite strongly speak on behalf of not only Jordan as a nation but our friends in Egypt — That is a red line. I think that is the plan by certain usual suspects… NO REFUGEES in Jordan and NO REFUGEES in Egypt.”

IRAN - Iran reportedly announced that it will not assist Hamas or engage in military action against Israel unless Israel attacks Iran, its interests, or its citizens. The statement came from Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York and was reported by Reuters. “Iran’s armed forces will not engage, provided that the Israeli apartheid does not dare to attack Iran, its interests, and nationals. The resistance front can defend itself,” according to the statement from Iran’s UN mission. This marks a significant departure from Iran’s previous statement. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian had directly threatened the United States over the Israel-Hamas war, saying in remarks to Al Jazeera on Sunday in Qatar, “If the scope of the war expands, heavy losses will befall America as well.”

USA - The US is not taking any chances. Within hours of Hamas' attacks on Israel, the Pentagon announced it would redirect the Gerald R Ford carrier strike group to sail toward Israel. Austin announced a second carrier group would be sailing toward Israel, as he ordered the USS Dwight D Eisenhower carrier strike group to join the Ford in the Eastern Mediterranean. In an exclusive editorial for Express.co.uk, military author Iain Ballantyne claimed the two warships would deliver a one-two punch to Hezbollah that would deter them from attacking Israel.

ISRAEL - Israel on Monday announced that it will evacuate 28 northern communities close to the Lebanon border in the wake of attacks which have broken out in the region in tandem with the ongoing conflict against Hamas in the south. The mass evacuation raises fears that a second war is about to break out between Israel and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. A joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Defense Ministry said the communities being evacuated stand within 1.2 miles of the Lebanese border. The residents will be taken to “state-funded guesthouses,” the statement added, providing no timeline as to when they will be able to return home.

ISRAEL - The Israeli military is prepared for a “long war” and will fight until it achieves complete victory over its enemies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday during a speech at the opening of the winter session of the national parliament. Netanyahu said that Israel was now fighting for its very existence and expressed confidence that his country would eventually win total victory over Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group that launched a surprise assault on Israeli territories near Gaza last week, killing and wounding hundreds of people. “This is a time of decisive struggle against those who are trying to destroy us. Our goal is victory, complete victory over Hamas, eliminating once and for all its power and the threat it poses to Israel,” Netanyahu said. During his speech, the prime minister insisted that Israel was also ready to retaliate against the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group if it attempted to interfere in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

USA - US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that Washington can “certainly” afford to support wars on two separate fronts, saying that its coffers are in good shape to continue backing US interests overseas in its support for Ukraine and amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Yellen added that the United States’ financial outlook is sufficient to back its allies abroad. However, she warned that the potential economic ramifications of a larger conflict in the Middle East remains unknown, particularly amid an already volatile global oil and natural gas market that has contributed to a cost-of-living crisis in several Western economies in the past year.

GAZA - The Israel Defense Force (IDF) slammed Hamas terrorists for blocking Gazan civilians from evacuating south as the IDF readies expanded operations in the strip, calling the move both “sinister and vile.” “Hamas has both issued warnings to their civilians not to evacuate, and when people didn’t listen to those warnings of Hamas, they have actually stopped civilians, and have stopped convoys of Gazan civilians trying to flee from the situation,” IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus explained in a daily briefing shared to social media.