The U.S. Navy shot down anti-ship ballistic missiles on Tuesday launched by incoming Iran-backed Houthi missiles in the Red Sea, signaling a significant escalation in the region, a senior defense official told Fox News. 

The Navy engaged three ballistic missiles provided to Yemen’s Houthis by Iran. It was the first time the Navy shot down an incoming anti-ship ballistic missile in combat, officials say.

Naval assets, including the USS Laboon and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, shot down 12 one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land attack missiles fired by the Houthis over a 12-hour period, U.S. Central Command said.

Nearly 100 drones operated by the Houthis have been shot down since Oct. 17. The group has attacked more than 21 international vessels in the region, which has disrupted global shipping.

IRAN CLAIMS TO BE DEVELOPING ‘SMART’ CRUISE MISSILES FOR NAVY ARSENAL 

The Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) said Tuesday that its container ship MSC United VIII was attacked around 12:25 UTC while en route from King Abdullah Port, Saudi Arabia to Karachi, Pakistan. 

‘Currently, all crew are safe with no reported injuries and a thorough assessment of the vessel is being introduced,’ MSC said in a statement. ‘Our first priority remains protecting the lives and safety of our seafarers, and until their safety can be ensured MSC will continue to reroute vessels booked for Suez transit via the Cape of Good Hope.’ 

Attacks in the Red Sea have soared following Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Major shipping companies, including Denmark-based giant Maersk, have been avoiding the Red Sea and sending their ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, adding costs and delays. 

Tuesday’s engagement came after three U.S. service members were injured in Iraq on Christmas Day when terrorists with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, attacked Erbil Air Base. One of those injured was in critical condition. 

In response, U.S. forces conducted airstrikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,’ Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

JERUSALEM — A leading evangelical Christian leader, the Rev. Johnnie Moore, accused Hamas of pulling the plug on Christmas lights and festivities in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. This comes as the number of Christians in the city continues to dwindle.

‘It is Hamas, not Israel, which cut off the Christmas lights in Bethlehem. Hamas tried to sabotage Christmas in the Holy Land for the world’s 2 billion Christians. Jesus is the prince of peace. Hamas hates peace,’ Moore, who is the president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. government and the European Union have classified Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

Moore added, ‘Instead of taking a page from Hamas by further politicizing religion, the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah and in Bethlehem should have defied Hamas’ hate by having the biggest celebration they could imagine to spread the message of the Prince of Peace, Jesus … from Bethlehem.’

He continued, ‘But, that’s fine. One only has to drive a mile to Jerusalem where Christmas is alive and well. Jerusalem is alive with holiday celebrations because Israel is, even now, fiercely protecting its sanctity during this time of terror and war. Or, if you want a dose of hope that peace is not only possible but will come, then drive up north to beautiful Haifa. It is a city where Jews, Christians and Muslims live in peace with one another and not only side-by-side but by sharing their lives, joys and sorrows together.’

Palestinian Christian leaders said during the war that celebrations would not unfold in the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located. Many Israelis refer to the West Bank by its biblical name Judea and Samaria.

While the number of Christians in Middle East countries has plummeted, Israel continues to experience growth of its minority Christian population. 

According to newly released data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, roughly 187,900 Christians live in Israel, which is a 1.3% rate of growth when contrasted with last year’s statistics. Israel’s current population is approximately 9.795 million people and is expected to soar past 10 million in 2024.

Yet for Bethlehem, things aren’t as rosy. In 2016, the National Catholic Reporter wrote that Bethlehem and its surrounding villages had a Christian population of 86% in 1950. In 2016, the paper reported, the number of Christians sunk to a mere 12%. According to the National Catholic Reporter, there were just 11,000 Christians in Bethlehem.

In 2023, an estimated 10,000 Christians lived in Jesus’ birthplace among a total Bethlehem population of roughly 75,500 residents.

IRAN PROXIES ENGAGED IN ‘INVISIBLE JIHAD’ AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN MIDDLE EAST, REPORT WARNS 

The Rev. Petra Heldt, a leading Christian scholar who has lived in Israel for 40 years, told Fox News Digital that she pins the blame on the Palestinian Authority (PA), which rules over Bethlehem, for the lack of Christmas festivities.

‘The PA ordered the demolition of Christmas decorations in Bethlehem. This came in the wake of the statements of the heads of churches in Jordan (Greek Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic; they have churches in Gaza) on Dec. 1. The statement is written in the spirit of Hamas, if not dictated by Hamas. The heads of churches are hostages of Hamas,’ Heldt said.

She added, ‘In Jerusalem, the Orthodox and the Catholics do not take their statements too seriously. For instance, yesterday the Catholic Church and the International Christian Embassy joined forces in a joyful open Christmas sing-along in Mamilla Mall. There is a huge Christmas tree in front of the YMCA in King David Street.’

The rapid decline of the Christian population in Bethlehem under the rule of the Muslim-majority Palestinian Authority has been the subject of some news reporting over the last decade. 

‘There are no reliable figures for the numbers of Christians in Bethlehem,’ Heldt said. ‘The numbers are extremely low in comparison to 1993, before [the Oslo Accords established a peace framework between Israel and the Palestinian leadership]. Conservative estimates speak of 5% of Christians in Bethlehem as [contrasted] to some 90-plus percent before 1993. The hardship for Christians in Bethlehem is beyond words. Fear, threats and intimidation is the norm, not because of Israel, because of the PA.’ 

Yet, some dissenting voices suggested Israel’s response via its declaration of war on Hamas in self-defense to the jihadi movement’s Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, on Oct. 7 is why Christian leaders canceled Christmas in Bethlehem.

The Rev. Dr. Jack Sara, the general secretary of the Middle East and North Africa Evangelical Alliance, told Fox News Digital, ‘Sadly, this is not the first time that Palestinian Christians have decided to cancel all the festivities in Bethlehem. It was done before, during the first intifada and second intifada, and now.’

Intifada is an Arabic word that means ‘shaking off’ and has been frequently interpreted as ‘uprising’ to describe violent Palestinian protests against Israel in the disputed West Bank territory in 1987. A second intifada erupted in 2000 with Palestinian suicide bombing attacks against Jews in Israel.

Sara said about the cancelation of Christmas festivities in Bethlehem: ‘The reasons are obvious. How can Christians celebrate when their own people are going through such tragedy? It’s tragedy after tragedy. We lament the killing of all civilians, including those who fell on the 7th of October. But what followed that is also very tragic and makes us lament more innocent lives, over 20,000 now, over 1.5 million refugees; and, in addition, even our Christian community in Gaza is struggling to survive because of the war on Gaza.’ The 20,000 deaths are numbers provided by the Hamas-run ministry of health.

Israel’s government and many Mideast experts reject the number of 1.5 million Palestinian refugees because of an allegedly biased and antiquated U.N. definition of what constitutes a Palestinian refugee.

In contrast to other standard definitions of a refugee that refer to a person (and not his or her descendants) who has fled a conflict zone, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says that descendants of a Palestinian refugee who were displaced during Israel’s War of Independence in 1947-1949 warrants refugee status.

FAITH GROUP TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION 

When asked about the demise of Christian life in Bethlehem, Sara, who runs a Bible college in Bethlehem, said, ‘True, but the numbers were higher before 1948 and before 1967. I don’t believe it’s related to the Oslo agreements, the Christians’ numbers dwindled always, even in what we call ‘better time,’ meaning no escalation of the conflict.’

He added, ‘Christians have had families immigrate or leave the country since 1948, so they have relatives all over the world and that connection makes it easier for them to immigrate. Christians in general, like anyone else, fear for their children’s future living in a conflict zone, under occupation, so they opt to find a safer place with no fear of uninvited violence.’

Fox News Digital sent numerous press queries to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Bethlehem municipality for comment.

JOHANNESBURG – New misery on a biblical scale has been forced upon the people of Sudan this week as the Biden administration is accused by some of standing ‘idle.’ Amid the war, Russia’s Wagner Group continues to mine and export Sudanese gold to finance the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.

Rebel militia from the Rapid Support Force or RSF, are terrorizing residents and looting everything they can lay their hands on in the regional capital of Wad Madina, according to eyewitnesses who have talked to Fox News Digital.  

At least a quarter of million people have fled the area in the past few days, on top of the six million who have already had to quit their homes, according to U.N. sources.

Many of these have only recently run from fighting in the capital, Khartoum, to a place they thought they’d be safe. 

‘This is a terrible and traumatic turn of events,’ Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for Sudan for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Fox News Digital. ‘Wad Madani has been a safe haven for 84,000 people who fled Khartoum just a few months back.’

‘Many of them have lost everything already: their homes, their assets, sometimes even their relatives. Now they are living this nightmare again – only this time, with even less resources and abilities to flee.’

‘Sudan is a state that has collapsed,’ intelligence analyst Jasmine Opperman told Fox News Digital.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month accused the two sides in Sudan’s conflict, the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of war crimes, and singled out the RSF for committing ‘crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.’

Both sides, he added, ‘have unleashed horrific violence, death and destruction across Sudan.’

‘Across Sudan,’ Blinken continued, ‘the RSF and allied militias have terrorized women and girls through sexual violence, attacking them in their homes, kidnapping them from the streets, or targeting those trying to flee. In haunting echoes of the genocide that began almost 20 years ago in Darfur, we have seen an explosion of targeted violence against some of the same survivors’ communities.’

Over 12,000 have been killed since the conflict began April 15, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 

In addition, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, Sudan has ‘one of the world’s largest displacement crises.’

‘About 5.3 million people have been displaced within Sudan,’ OCHA stated this past week, citing the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix. It added that about 1.3 million people crossed into neighboring countries.

‘Achieving a sustainable solution requires ending violence and resuming a civilian-owned political process to form a civilian government and restore Sudan’s democratic transition,’ the State Department spokesperson continued. ‘Our message is clear and consistent: The United States and our regional and international partners are unified in calling for the parties to immediately end the fighting in Sudan, and for the SAF and the RSF to silence the guns.’

The message may be clear, but critics say it is not being delivered with sufficient persuasion.

‘It is difficult to end such a war unless a powerful regional or international force would intervene directly,’ Walid Phares told Fox News Digital. Phares is a Washington-based foreign policy expert and secretary general of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group. He is the author of 15 books, including ‘Iran and Imperialist Republic and U.S. Policy.’  

‘But no neighboring government, Arab country, or international party was willing to partake in such a mission,’ Phares added. 

‘In the era of the Ukraine war, and now since Oct. 7 and the Gaza war, literally all players are focused on their national interest and not peacemaking in a difficult and large country. Sudan is too large and too complex to digest.’  

‘The Biden administration is dealing with too many crises as it is entering its election year. From today’s attacks by the Houthi Iran-backed militia against civilian ships in the Red Sea, to the Ukraine war, to the transfer of power to the Taliban, and last but not least the Gaza War, the Biden administration is perceived as weak and unable to act internationally. Thus regarding Sudan, Washington is idle, vague and seems to not intervene to stop the tragedy,’ Phares said.

Opperman agreed. She told Fox News Digital: ‘Any intervention through peace talks will merely be words on paper. Indeed, a hopeless case. There needs to be a complete rethink beyond the two leaders, the two bullets, now at play. That will take time.’ 

‘What is the United States doing with its sanctions?’ Opperman asked: ‘Its voice, and its influence is diminishing by the day.’ 

Opperman believes the leaders of both warring factions in Sudan ‘have one aspiration, and that is to become president. But we are currently looking at warlords in full force. To talk about an official Sudanese army at this point in time is a joke.’

Sudan researcher Eric Reeves also has little faith that peace talks in Saudi Arabia, in which the U.S. are involved, will bear any fruit. He is concerned that such fruit, and other food and aid, are not getting through to Sudan’s civilians. ‘The convoy routes from Port Sudan (a principal supply corridor) are even more dangerous – and thus less used – than just a few weeks ago,’ Reeves told Fox News Digital. ‘The perfect storm for large-scale famine is visible… and the international community really has not engaged in a useful way. It is an unspeakably grim outlook.’

Enter the Russians, in the shady shape of the Wagner Group, literally a combination of mercenaries and precious metal extractors. 

Phares notes, ‘The Wagner group now seems to have chosen a partner in Sudan, the (rebel) RSF, complicating the situation further.’ 

Opperman added: ‘Wagner cannot be ignored in Sudan.’ The Wagner Group mines gold in Sudan, and exports it, with the proceeds reportedly helping to bankroll its war against Ukraine. Wagner reportedly supports the anti-government RSF and, Opperman told Fox News Digital, wants this African conflict to continue: ‘Wagner will counter any attempt at seeking a democratic consolidation within Sudan, because of the economic profits they are making from the mining industry. Ignoring darkening Sudan will be a pivotal mistake.’

Sudan is a key country for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital. Koffler is president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting, and a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer. ‘Moscow views Sudan as the key ‘gate to Africa.’ Gold mining and the establishment of a Red Sea naval base at Port Sudan are top priorities.’

‘Now that Iranian proxies have turned the Red Sea into a battlefield disrupting maritime traffic through the Suez Canal,’ Koffler continued, ‘Putin wants to make sure Russia is positioned well in this geographic choke point.’

‘Putin is not necessarily pulling the strings in Sudan, but Russia is taking advantage of the conflict and is fueling it to some extent, by flowing new weapons, riot gear and fighters, through the Wagner Group.’

‘Wagner is not acting on its own’, claims Koffler. ‘They are a proxy force of the Russian government that directs their activities at the strategic, but not tactical, level. Wagner is effectively executing Putin’s ‘Great Game’ in Africa.’

Meanwhile, many of the ordinary men, women and children of Sudan are homeless – and hungry. ‘The humanitarian appeals for Sudan are largely unfunded,’ the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Vu told Fox News Digital, ‘After nine months of constant violence and displacements, we are reaching the limits. The international solidarity must step up and fund the response.’

Opperman is pessimistic about the future: ‘Sudan, yet again, is repeating its own history and inclination to destroy itself by means of warlords.’

As a solution, Phares believes the U.S. should move firmly, and now. ‘Washington should have at least moved to stop the most recent massacres in West Darfur perpetrated by the old Jihadi Janjaweed, who were responsible – according to the U.N. – of a genocide against Black Africans in 2004-2005,’ he said. ‘The U.S. should lead a peace force, enter Geneina, the capital of Darfur, and establish a safe zone.’ 

However, Phares has reservations: ‘One could believe that short of a massive change in U.S. foreign policy by early 2025, the Sudan conflict will still be raging, and possibly all other tensions in the region as well. One more time, it is a presidential election in the U.S. that could impact Sudan and the world.’ 

A large Russian landing warship in Crimea was struck by cruise missiles launched by Ukraine overnight, killing at least one person, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. 

The landing ship, called Novocherkassk, was hit at a base in the city of Feodosia by plane-launched guided missiles, the ministry said, and footage posted online shows a huge fireball rising into the night sky as a result of the attack. Further explosions detonating could also be seen as well as fires burning.

In addition to the fatality, four others were injured, according to the RIA news agency, Reuters reported.

The ministry added that two Ukrainian fighter jets were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire during the attack which took place at around 2:50 a.m. local time. It is unclear if the anti-aircraft fire caused injuries.

Exact details about the extent of the damage to the ship were not immediately clear. However, Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said he does not think the Novocherkassk will easily be able to resume its typical operations. 

‘We can see how powerful the explosion was, what the detonation was like. After that, it’s very hard for a ship to survive, because this was not a rocket, this is the detonation of munitions,’ he told Radio Free Europe.

Ukraine used cruise missiles in the attack, Ihnat said, according to Reuters. Both Great Britain and France have provided cruise missiles to Kyiv.

A post and an accompanying photo put out by Ukraine’s defense ministry on Tuesday morning claimed the vessel had sunk.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that his country contributed to Russia’s submarine fleet in damaging the ship.

‘The occupiers will not have a single peaceful place in Ukraine,’ he said.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iran has boosted its production of highly enriched uranium after a slowdown earlier this year, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said in a report on Tuesday, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60%, which is reaching the 90% needed for weapons, at its Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) in the Natanz complex and at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP).

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in the report that Iran had ‘increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023.’

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital they are ‘greatly concerned’ by the report, and that Iran has ‘no credible civilian justification for enrichment up to 60%.’

‘Iran’s nuclear escalation is all the more concerning at a time when Iran as well as Iran-backed militant groups and Iran’s proxies continue their dangerous and destabilizing activities in the region,’ the State Department spokesperson said. ‘This includes the latest drone attack against U.S. personnel in Iraq, Houthi attacks against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea as well as Iran’s latest armed-drone attack against a chemical tanker in the Indian ocean.’

The State Department said Iran must fully cooperate with the IAEA so its nuclear activities can be verified and make sure there is no diversion or misuse of nuclear material.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said its inspectors had verified the increased rate of production since the end of November at the facilities to about 9 kilograms per month, up from 3 kilograms per month since June and representing a return to earlier levels of production, according to the Associated Press. 

Enriching uranium means increasing the percentage of uranium-235, the isotope of uranium that can be used in nuclear fission.

Weapons require 90% purity, but the level Iran has reached far exceeds the 20% it produced prior to the 2015 nuclear deal, meaning the country has far exceeded the 3.67% cap the deal had mandated. Iran gradually abandoned those limits after the U.S. withdrew from the accord and imposed sanctions.

If enriched further, Iran could make three nuclear bombs, according to the IAEA’s theoretical definition, and more at lower enrichment levels, Reuters reports. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful with treating and preventing the spread of cancer as one of its objectives. 

Many diplomats believed the slowdown, which had begun by June, was the result of secret talks between the United States and Iran that led to the release of U.S. citizens held in Iran earlier this year, according to Reuters. 

The news comes two weeks after Iran’s foreign minister warned that the war in Gaza could lead to a ‘big explosion’ of conflicts in the Middle East, with Lebanon and Yemen already ‘involved’ and more countries poised to join. 

Militant groups have launched a at least 90 attacks against U.S. bases and troops in the Middle East since Oct. 17. Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, which control a large part of Yemen, have also attacked several commercial vessels with drones and ballistic missiles in recent weeks leading to heightened tensions in the region. 

On Christmas Day, three U.S. service members were injured in Iraq when Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah terrorists attacked Erbil Air Base, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin.

Fox News’ Peter Aitken, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Three U.S. service members were injured in Iraq on Christmas Day when Kataib Hezbollah terrorists attacked Erbil Air Base, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin.

Austin announced late on Monday night that American forces ‘conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq.’

‘These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base earlier today, and intended to disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible,’ Austin said in a press release.

‘Today’s attack led to three injuries to U.S. personnel, leaving one service member in critical condition,’ the statement added. ‘My prayers are with the brave Americans who were injured.’

This story is developing. Check back with us for more updates.

Iranian state media claims an Israeli airstrike outside Damascus in Syria on Monday killed a senior advisor in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Reuters reported that three security sources confirmed the death of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, who was responsible for coordinating a military alliance between Iran and Syria.

State television interrupted programming to announce the death of Mousavi and described him as one of the oldest advisors for the Guard in Syria.

The announcement stated that Mousavi accompanied Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Guards’ elite Quds Force, who died in a U.S. drone attack in Iraq in 2020.

Damascus Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador, told state television that the late Mousavi was in the embassy as a diplomat, adding he was killed by missiles fired by Israel after returning home from work.

The assassination was a show of Israel’s weakness, according to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

‘This act is a sign of the Zionist regime’s frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price,’ Raisi was quoted as saying.

Echoing Raisi, the Revolutionary Guards also said Israel would suffer for killing the advisor.

‘The usurper and savage Zionist regime will pay for this crime,’ the Guards said in a statement provided to state TV.

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, told state TV, ‘Iran reserves the right to take necessary measures to respond to this action at the appropriate time and place.’

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on Mousavi’s death.

Attacks on Iran-linked targets in Syria by Israel are nothing new and have taken place for years. 

Tehran’s influence in the country has continued to grow after backing President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that broke out in 2011 in Syria.

Iran claimed earlier this month that Israeli strikes killed two members of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, who also served as military advisers.

Reuters contributed to this report.