The Department of Defense (DoD) announced two weapons packages for Ukraine on Monday, totaling $2.47 billion. 

The first of the two, the Presidential Drawdown Authority package, with an ‘estimated value’ of $1.25 billion, is meant to ‘provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including: missiles for air defense; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons,’ the DoD stated in a press release.

‘In addition, DoD announced an approximately $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package to provide Ukraine with additional air defense, air-to-ground, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and other capabilities to fight Russian aggression.’

The aid packages come as the national debt tracker stands at more than $36 trillion as of Dec. 26. 

The DoD outlined the packages’ capabilities, including missile systems, missiles, munitions, ammunition, anti-armor systems, medical equipment and more.

‘This is the Biden Administration’s twenty-third USAI package and seventy-third tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,’ the statement reads. 

‘The United States continues to work together with some 50 Allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and its associated Capability Coalitions to provide the support Ukraine needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.’

FOX News’ Eric Revell and Liz Friden contributed to this report. 

Ukraine has received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S., energy company officials confirmed this week— a positive development for Kyiv as it moves to ramp up its purchases of U.S. supplies and protect against broader supply concerns in the region.

Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, confirmed it has received some 100 million cubic meters of U.S. LNG in the shipment, which the U.S. shipped to an LNG regasification terminal in Greece. 

The news comes after Ukraine’s DTEK inked a supply deal with U.S.-based LNG supplier Venture Global in June.

The DTEK contract is the first significant LNG contract to be struck between Ukraine and the U.S. and will allow Ukraine to purchase an ‘unspecificed’ amount of LNG from Venture Global through 2026. The companies also signed a separate 20-year agreement, in keeping with traditional longer-term LNG supply contracts.

The news comes just hours before Russian gas giant, Gazprom, is slated to halt all piped gas deliveries shipped through Ukrainian pipelines to other European countries, following the expiration of its five-year contract.

Ukraine itself does not purchase Russian gas supplies. However, the European Union (EU) remains heavily dependent on imported gas, including from Russia.

Even after the abrupt throttling of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the EU depends on piped Russian gas for roughly 5% of its total gas imports— sparking fresh fears as to how the bloc might cope in the event of a supply emergency or colder-than-expected winter. 

In the interim, Ukrainian officials said, they hope the additional U.S. supplies can help fill in the gap and help ease any near-term supply crises in the EU.

‘Cargoes like this are not only providing the region with a flexible and secure source of power, but are further eroding Russia’s influence over our energy system,’ DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement. 

China was behind a ‘major’ hack of the Treasury Department, the Biden administration said Monday, gaining access to unclassified documents and the workstations of government employees. 

After a year fraught with hacking across all government agencies, China experts say it’s time to get serious about thwarting adversarial espionage. 

‘The latest intrusion should not come as a surprise. For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our homeland and networks,’ Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House China Select Committee, told Fox News Digital. 

‘It is time for Congress and the incoming Trump administration to impose escalating costs to deter the CCP.’ 

It’s not yet clear what exactly the hackers were seeking. The Treasury houses sensitive data about global financial systems, as well as estimates about China’s ailing economy. It also carries out sanctions on Chinese companies, as well as those aiding Russia in the war on Ukraine.

‘Even though the Treasury says the Chinese only got unclassified documents, we’ve got to remember that a hack of the Treasury sends shudders not just across the U.S., but across the world. Countries rely on the dollar, can you rely on the stability of the American financial markets?’ said China expert Gordon Chang. 

Treasury was notified by a service provider of the breach on Dec. 8, and all systems affected were taken offline. China called the accusation that it was behind the act ‘baseless’ and said it ‘consistently opposes all forms of hacking.’

Despite China’s denial, the Treasury insisted a Chinese state-sponsored actor was behind the attack. Chang suggested Xi may have intended to get caught to send a message to the world. 

‘We can’t actually exclude the possibility that the Chinese wanted to be caught because they wanted to actually create uncertainty around the world. They wanted to show the world that the United States is not safe — their networks are not good, the Chinese control them at will.’

Just weeks ago, President-elect Donald Trump seemed to be making an attempt to smooth over relations with China with an invitation to President Xi Jinping for his inauguration. But the recent hacking attempt suggests such efforts might be futile, according to Chang. 

‘American presidents had tried preemptive concessions to China for decades. They’ve not resulted in benefits to us. And the reason is because the Chinese don’t reciprocate them,’ he said.

Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s communications were intercepted by Chinese intelligence, just as she was making determinations about new export controls on semiconductors and other key technology. The same hacking group also targeted officials at the State Department and members of Congress.

And the Treasury hack comes just as the Biden administration is grappling with one of China’s biggest attacks on American infrastructure in history, dubbed Salt Typhoon. 

A Chinese intelligence group infiltrated nine U.S. telecommunications giants and gained access to the private text messages and phone calls of Americans, including senior government officials and prominent political figures. 

The Salt Typhoon hackers also gained access to an exhaustive list of phone numbers the Justice Department had wiretapped to monitor people suspected of espionage, granting them insight into which Chinese spies the U.S. had caught onto and which they had missed.

The onslaught of cyberattacks has prompted frustration — and raised questions — about cybersecurity and why America’s adversaries are able to penetrate U.S. government systems with regularity.

‘The American people should be angry at the Chinese for hacking us, but they should be outraged at our political leaders because our political leaders know what’s going on. They have the means to protect us, and they have decided not to do so,’ said Chang. 

Last week, incoming national security adviser Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., suggested the U.S. needed to not only play defense but go on offense to the attacks. 

‘We have to stop trying to just play better and better defense,’ he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo. ‘We need to start going on offense.’

‘We need to start imposing consequences for those that are stealing our technology, spying on us, and now with a program called Volt Typhoon, is putting cyber time bombs on our critical infrastructure, like our water, our grid and our ports,’ Waltz said.

‘America can’t afford to just play defense on cyber anymore. We’ve got to go on the offensive and impose COSTS on those who are stealing our technology and attacking our infrastructure,’ he added on X.

Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on U.S. imports from China. Last month, the Biden administration issued its most stringent crackdown yet on China’s semiconductor industry with the intent of hindering its ability to develop AI for modern military uses.

A Palestinian Authority (PA) official reportedly predicted that President-elect Donald Trump will ‘destroy Iran’ and that Tehran’s weakening will effectively break down the remaining Hamas terror cells. 

Mohammad Hamdan, secretary-general of the PA’s ruling Fatah Party, reportedly made the comments to the New York Post on Dec. 19 during a meeting between the outlet and other top PA leaders in Nablus, about an hour south of the West Bank city of Jenin, where Western-backed PA forces have launched security operations against armed extremists aligned with Hamas this month. 

The Post first reported the conversation on Monday. 

‘We are confronting Hamas’ ideology. Our problem is with Hamas’ link to regimes outside Palestine,’ Hamdan told the Post, referencing Iran specifically. 

‘We see that Trump and the ruling government in Israel are planning to destroy Iran, so Hamas [followers] will have no other choice than to become Palestinian,’ he added. 

A group of more than a dozen extremists stole two PA vehicles and paraded them down the streets of Jenin while waving Hamas and ISIS flags on Dec. 6, according to the Post. 

Since then, PA forces have killed at least three extremists in the West Bank town and have vowed to arrest or ‘eliminate’ the remaining people responsible. 

Fatah suffered a major defeat in the 2006 election, resulting in rival Hamas seizing control of the Gaza Strip, hardening Islamic-extremist rule and launching repeated attacks on Israel.

The tipping point came when Hamas terrorists launched their coordinated attack on southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.  

As Israel has decimated Hamas in the Gaza Strip since then, the PA, which is backed by the U.S. and other Western governments, appears to be positioning itself to resume governance of Gaza once the war ends. 

‘Hamas rejects international legitimacy, meaning UN resolutions,’ Hamdan said. ‘The world cannot accept a situation where a party does not accept international resolutions.’

Hamas and other Islamic extremist groups have sown distrust of the PA, accusing it of coordinating closely with Israel on past security raids on Jenin. 

The Jewish state in the past has cracked down on Jenin, which has long been considered a terrorist stronghold. The PA security forces had until recently little presence there until its new security operations this month.

At least three PA security force members have been killed, including a captain in the intelligence services, during armed clashes with extremists, The Associated Press reported. The PA has arrested dozens of people.

The Post said the PA leaders they interviewed condemned Israel’s increased settlements in the West Bank but said they supported the Jewish state’s right to exist. 

Hamdan also reportedly told the Post that PA President Mahmoud Abbas – who slammed Israel and the United States before the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year – ‘still supports realistic relations with the Americans in order to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinians.’ However, the secretary-general also argued that failed U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East was responsible for growing Islamic extremism. 

‘Look what happened in Syria. First, the U.S. declared the rebels to be al Qaeda, and then [last week] an American delegation visited Syria,’ Hamdan told the Post. ‘And the one before that, when the Americans struck deals with the Taliban in Afghanistan. We as Palestinians believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups are produced by America by its effort to create a new Middle East.’ 

On the issue of post-war Gaza governance, one Israeli official told the Post that the PA remained an option but would need to stop ‘the corruption’ and ‘funding terrorism’ on Israeli settlers in the West bank. 

The official acknowledged though that the PA could have ‘a historically unprecedented opportunity’ to return to its control of the Palestinian territories. 

The PA’s opposition to Hamas could provide unique leverage to ‘participate in day-after talks,’ the Israeli official added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in the hall of the Israeli parliament on Tuesday for a crucial budget-related vote, despite the objections of doctors following prostate surgery on Sunday night, the Israeli news agency Tazpit Press Service (TPS) reports.

Netanyahu, 75, was accompanied to the Knesset Plenum by his personal physician, Dr. Tzvi Berkowitz and appeared in good spirits as he took his seat for a brief appearance. The Israeli leader went under the knife on Sunday to have his prostate removed after suffering a urinary tract infection, which had reportedly ‘stemmed from a benign enlargement of his prostate,’ according to Netanyahu’s office.

Two parties in Israel’s governing coalition are threatening to vote against the ‘Trapped Profits Law’ if their demands are not met.

The bill would allow the government to tax so-called ‘trapped profits,’ earnings retained by corporations and multinationals for reinvestment in business growth, infrastructure, and research. Until now, trapped profits were tax-exempt to encourage investments. 

Failure to pass the bill could jeopardize approval of the state budget, which must be passed by March 31 or the government will automatically fall, triggering national elections.

The United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, which controls seven Knesset seats, said it would vote against the bill as a warning over the government’s failure to advance legislation exempting Haredim, or Orthodox Jewish citizens, from military service. 

The issue of exempting Haredim has sparked heated debate in recent months. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began making plans to draft yeshiva students after Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled in June that exemptions for the Haredi community were illegal, per TPS.

UTJ leader Minister Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf insists that the party will maintain its opposition without progress on the draft exemption law.

The Otzma Yehudit party, which also controls seven seats, is dissenting too.   

Its leader, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is demanding an increased budget for the police, prison service and firefighting agencies and has vowed to vote against the bill until his demands are addressed, according to TPS.

Netanyahu’s government is made up of seven parties with 68 of 120 seats. 

On Sunday, Netanyahu’s office announced that the surgery ‘ended successfully and without complications.’

The Israeli leader has undergone several health procedures over the past two years. In March, Netanyahu underwent hernia surgery under full anesthesia, and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin temporarily assumed his role during the process.

Months before the Oct. 7 attacks, Netanyahu suffered dehydration and was admitted to a hospital in July 2023.  The Israeli leader said that he became dehydrated after visiting the Sea of Galilee without water or sun protection during a heatwave.

A week after being admitted for dehydration, Netanyahu’s doctors implanted a pacemaker to regulate his heart rate and rhythm.

Netanyahu’s most recent operation came as the 75-year-old politician continues to testify in a corruption case against him in Israel.  He took the stand earlier in December and is expected to continue testifying in the new year.

Netanyahu is also currently leading the IDF on multiple fronts across the Middle East, continuing to target Iranian terrorists and their proxies.

The IDF recently launched multiple strikes against Houthi rebels, hitting Sanaa International Airport in Yemen and Houthi infrastructure in the ports of Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces also conducted multiple precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Sana’a and coastal locations within Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Dec. 30 and 31, Fox News has learned.

The strikes are a part of CENTCOM’s effort to degrade Iran-backed Houthi efforts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.