December 27th, 2024: Israel Unleashes On Houthis, Putin's Christmas Day Attack, & Kim Jong Un Doubles Down In Ukraine

It's Friday, 27 December. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Coming to you this week from, well, looks like East Asia. All right, let's get briefed. First, with Iran's axis of resistance in tatters across the Middle East, Israel is intensifying their focus on the Houthi militants of Yemen, unleashing their largest strikes against the terror group in more than a year of fighting on Thursday.

Later in the show, following Vladimir Putin's brutal Christmas day attacks across Ukraine, U.S. President Biden is pledging to use his final days in office to accelerate the delivery of critical weapons systems to the war-torn nation.

plus an update out of Syria, where rebel leaders just launched a major security crackdown after loyalists of the deposed Assad regime killed 14 interior ministry troops in an ambush on Tuesday. And in today's back of the brief, despite suffering massive personnel losses on the battlefields of Ukraine, North Korea despot Kim Jong-un is reportedly preparing to double down on his military support of the Putin regime.

But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

After decimating Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Israel is now focused on the Iranian-backed Houthi militants of Yemen. In response to the Houthis escalating attacks on the Jewish state over the past week, Israel unleashed their fourth and largest strike yet against the group on Thursday, targeting critical military infrastructure sites used by the militants to conduct attacks and smuggle weapons from Iran.

The IDF operation included strikes on the airport in the Houthi-held capital city of Sana'a for the first time, along with two power stations, and that's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The strikes at the Sana'a International Airport hit the main runway, the control tower, and idle aircraft, some of which subsequently caught fire. At least three people were killed in the operation and dozens were left injured.

including a crew member of a United Nations plane carrying the Director General of the World Health Organization, the WHO. Casualty figures were not immediately available regarding other sites hit by the IDF, which included the aforementioned power stations and several hooty-controlled ports along Yemen's western coast. All told, there were at least 10 separate strikes carried out by dozens of IDF aircraft, which traveled more than 1,000 miles to drop the payloads.

The strikes came just days after Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to bring destruction to the doorstep of the Houthis. As a reminder, over the past week, the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Israel, firing ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv and the surrounding region on four separate occasions, some of which did slip through Israel's missile defenses. Last Thursday, a Houthi missile hit a school in Tel Aviv, causing part of the building to collapse.

While no one was injured, Israel responded with a series of deadly strikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen that killed nine and temporarily crippled operations at their ports. But the Houthis fired another barrage on Saturday with one missile hitting a park in Jaffa near Tel Aviv, injuring 16 people. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu subsequently vowed to end the Houthis aggression, warning they would soon face the same fate as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria.

Now Netanyahu is making good on that threat, vellying on Thursday to eradicate the last remnants of what he called, quote, the Iranian axis of evil. But there appears to be some disagreement inside Israel's government on how best to address the Houthi threat.

David Barnia, the chief of Israel's Mossad Intelligence Agency, has reportedly been pushing Israeli leaders to concentrate on attacking Iran, of course the Houthis' financial and military backers. Barnia argues that Israel's previous three air campaigns against the Houthis have done little to deter their attacks, and he's not wrong, and he feels it's time to bring the fight directly to Iran.

But Netanyahu and Israel cats prefer to intensify the direct strikes against the Houthis with Netanyahu reportedly telling Barnia that Iran is a quote, different issue, which will be dealt with at the appropriate time. For now, the Times of Israel reports that the majority of Jerusalem security establishment agrees with Netanyahu. According to their sources, Jerusalem plans to escalate strikes against Houthis in the days and weeks ahead.

As a reminder, the Houthis began attacking Israel in the wake of last year's 7 October attacks by Hamas. And to date, they launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at the Jewish state.

But the militants have also targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with hundreds of missile attacks in the Red Sea, significantly disrupting international trade, as well as attacking also US and allied naval vessels. According to at least one source, Netanyahu may be waiting for President-elect Donald Trump to take office in January before unleashing the full power of the Israeli military against the Houthis, feeling that perhaps a Trump White House will be more supportive of their actions

and could even deliver their own response. An unnamed source said, quote, the Houthis will pay a heavy price. There will be a ratcheting up of Israeli attacks, but it's nothing compared to what will happen once Trump enters office end quote. Coming up next.

President Biden pledges to accelerate his surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine after Russia launched a massive Christmas Day attack. And Syria's new leaders confront the first direct challenge to their authority from loyalists of the deposed Assad regime. I'll have those stories when we come back.

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The war in Ukraine took another grim turn Wednesday as Moscow unleashed a large-scale Christmas Day assault on Kyiv's critical energy infrastructure, a move that President Biden swiftly condemned as he vowed to ramp up weapons deliveries before the new year.

According to local officials, the attack, which Ukrainian President Zelensky denounced on X as quote, inhumane, left at least one person dead and six others injured. The strikes, claimed by Russia's defense ministry, to involve, quote, long-range precision weapons and strike drones, were touted by the Kremlin as fulfilling the aims of Vladimir Putin's war effort.

But the timing on a day of celebration, of course, only underscored the Kremlin's willingness to target Ukraine's civilian population. In a statement from the White House, Biden described the attacks as a calculated effort to destabilize the nation's energy grid and strip Ukrainians of heat and electricity amid frigid winter temperatures.

Biden reiterated his administration's commitment to supporting Ukraine with hundreds of air defense missiles that have been provided in recent months, stating, quote, more are on their way. He directed the Department of Defense to sustain its weapons surge through the remainder of December, emphasizing the need to bolster Ukraine's position ahead of what could be a significant shift in U.S. policy.

This urgency comes as President-elect Trump prepares to assume the presidency next month, of course, backed by a Republican-controlled Congress that seems poised to curtail military aid to Ukraine. As we've been tracking on the PDB, on the campaign trail, Trump voiced sharp criticism of persistent weapons shipments. A viewpoint shared among many GOP members.

For those keeping score, the US has provided more than $61 billion in security aid since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. But exactly how much military assistance has the Biden administration provided to Kyiv since Trump's November election win? Well, I'm glad you asked.

On December, Biden announced a $725 million package from what's called the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which includes munitions, surface-to-air missile systems, and small arms. Just five days later, the White House committed an additional $990 million

under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and that was including drones and munitions for the High Mars, the High Mobility, artillery rocket systems, pivotal to Ukraine's counter-offensives. On 12 December, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken authorized another $500 million package from the Presidential Drawdown Authority, and that was comprising High Mars ammunition, drones, and armored vehicles.

Now, despite these efforts, time and resources are finite. The presidential drawdown authority retains an estimated $4 to $5 billion in available funding, while the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative holds roughly $2 billion. National Security spokesman John Kirby stated that the administration will continue providing aid, quote, right up to the end of this administration, end quote. Now, of course, what lies beyond for Ukraine, that part remains uncertain.

All right, shifting to Syria. The new Sunni Islamist-led government launched a sweeping security crackdown in a western region following an ambush on Tuesday that left 14 interior ministry troops dead and 10 injured, marking the first major test of authority to the government that ousted President Assad earlier this month.

The crackdown announced Thursday by state media targets what officials describe as, quote, remnants of Assad's militias in Tartus, which served as a stronghold for the ousted leader's Alawite sect. That's an offshoot of Shiite Islam that long dominated the country's security forces during the 13-year-long civil war.

analysts said the operation underscores the new government's intent to assert control of regions historically loyal to Assad but it's aggressive tactics risk exasperating sectarian tensions the new government led by hamad al-sharah formerly known as abou Muhammad al-julani and his islamist rebel group known as hts

vowed to, quote, restore security, stability, and civil peace in Tartus. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, security forces neutralized several pro-Assad fighters and are continuing to pursue others. The ambush that triggered the operation reportedly occurred during an attempt to detain a former officer associated with a prison notorious for systemic human rights abuses under Assad's rule.

Sharah, publicly condemned sectarian violence, pledging to safeguard all Syrians, regardless of their religious affiliation. However, reports from Damascus and Tartus paint a more complex picture. All Alawite residents accuse HTS fighters of abuses, including beatings at checkpoints and vandalism of homes. An HTS fighter acknowledged incidents but denied organizational involvement, suggesting that rogue elements may be at play.

Further complicating matters, a protest in the city of Holmes erupted on Wednesday over a video allegedly showing an attack on an alawite shrine. Authorities dismissed the footage as outdated, but tensions did boil over, leaving one demonstrator dead and prompting an overnight curfew into Thursday. As we recently reported here on the PDB, HTS has pledged to protect minority groups, including alawites and Christians,

but many remain wary of potential retribution. The Alawite community, historically associated with Assad's regime, now of course grapples with accusations of complicity in war crimes. Calls for a general amnesty from Alawite religious leaders have been largely ignored, with Syrians demanding accountability for atrocities committed during Assad's regime.

analysts warned that the government's push to arrest Assad loyalists could destabilize already fragile regions, particularly as former officers refused to disarm. Meanwhile, Iran, a longtime ally of course, of Assad, voiced criticism with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,

On Sunday, condemning the instability and labeling Syria, quote, unsafe, the Iranian regime condemning instability. That's rich. It remains to be seen where the Shiraz government can unify a fractured nation and address demands for accountability while also preventing deepening sectarian divisions.

All right. Coming up in the back of the brief, North Korean despot Kim Jong-un. Remember him? Well, he's doubling down on his support of Russia, despite his forces suffering massive losses on the battlefields of Ukraine. I'll be right back.

Welcome back to the PDB. In today's back of the brief, we turn to North Korea, where Kim Jong-un is reportedly preparing to double down on military support for his friend Vladimir Putin, despite the staggering losses that his forces have already incurred in Ukraine.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimates that some 1,100 North Korean Special Forces have already been killed or injured on the battlefields of Ukraine since teaming up with Kremlin forces in October. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Zelensky put that figure even higher, estimating that at least 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured so far.

Accounting for roughly a quarter of the estimated 12,000 North Korean special forces sent to Russia. That's according to a report from Radio Free Europe. But Kim appears unfazed by the rapid losses suffered by his military personnel. Of course, he does. Officials in the South Korean military warned on Tuesday that the Kim regime is gearing up for a fresh deployment of troops along with new shipments of military equipment for their friends in Moscow.

In exchange, North Korea will reportedly receive additional shipments of critical supplies of oil, cash, and military technology from the Kremlin. Zelensky said he received a similar intelligence assessment from the head of the Ukrainian army earlier this week, who told him that the risk of North Korea sending additional troops into Ukraine was significant. Zelensky criticized Western leaders for doing, quote, almost nothing

to counter Russia's growing military cooperation with Kim Jong-un's Hermit Kingdom. Last week, the Biden administration, the U.S., hit North Korean banks, senior military officials, and Russian oil shipping companies with new sanctions over their military trade. But Zelensky has warned that it's not nearly enough.

He said the growing cooperation between the two belligerent powers not only jeopardizes Ukraine's future, but also increases the, quote, risk of destabilization around the Korean Peninsula and in neighboring regions and waters. The news comes at a critical juncture in the nearly three-year-old conflict, as Putin's forces gained ground in Ukraine's eastern provinces at their fastest pace since the start of the war.

A new wave of North Korean troops could help the Kremlin further sustain this offensive push. Notably, we learned this week that despite Russia's long-standing manpower shortage, it was reportedly not Putin who requested that North Korea send troops to Ukraine. According to the New York Times, it was Kim who offered up his troops unprompted and offered the Putin gladly accepted.

As a reminder, the two belligerent powers signed a landmark mutual defense pact back in June, which formalized the role of North Korea as a crucial supply base for Russian military needs.

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Okay, I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, well, you know the drill. Stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.