An Israeli restaurant in Munich was targeted in a suspected antisemitic attack overnight, after explosive devices were thrown into the establishment, causing significant damage, as a wave of antisemitic attacks continues.

10 April 2026, Bavaria, Munich: A detective stands in front of an Israeli restaurant with a flashlight. The window of the restaurant has been smashed in three places. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa (Photo by Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The restaurant, Eclipse Grill Bar, describes itself as “the first authentic Israeli restaurant in Munich,” making it an important symbol of Israeli culture and Jewish presence in the city.

The attack occurred around 12:45 a.m., when multiple blasts were reported. Unknown assailants hurled explosive or “pyrotechnic devices” directly into the restaurant, shattering windows and damaging parts of the inside of the restaurant. The restaurant was closed at the time, preventing what would have been a far more serious tragedy, and no injuries were reported.

Police have launched an active investigation and have not yet announced any arrests. Damage to the restaurant is estimated to be thousands of euros, with several windows blown out and serious destruction inside the building.

Despite the attack, the owners have made clear they intend to reopen quickly, to send a message of resilience and that Jews will not be intimidated. Support has already begun pouring in from locals and members of the community, as a show of solidarity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a sharp rebuke of Spain, accusing the country of defaming Israeli soldiers and siding against Israel.

This comes after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has led intense European criticism against Israel, labeling its actions in Lebanon and Gaza “criminal” and “illegal”. Spain has also prohibited weapons-related traffic to Israel, permanently withdrawn its ambassador, and pushed for EU sanctions.

“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us,” Netanyahu said. “Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world.”

In response, Netanyahu announced immediate action, saying he has instructed officials to remove Spain’s representatives from the coordination center in Kiryat Gat.

The Prime Minister accused Spain of repeatedly taking positions hostile to Israel, adding, “Those who attack the State of Israel instead of terrorist regimes will not be our partners regarding the future of the region.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

He closed with a firm warning: “I am not willing to tolerate this hypocrisy and hostility. I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price.”

A frightening incident is unfolding this Friday afternoon at the separate Tzanz Beach in Netanya, where two brothers from Yerushalayim were caught in dangerous waters, triggering a large-scale emergency response.

According to initial reports, the brothers, two yeshiva bochurim, entered the sea and quickly encountered distressing conditions. Bystanders who spotted the situation rushed to help and managed to pull one of the brothers, a 21-year-old, from the water.

When Hatzalah and MDA teams arrived, they found the young man unconscious and unresponsive. Intensive lifesaving efforts were immediately launched on scene, including prolonged resuscitation attempts. After regaining a pulse, he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where medical teams continue fighting for his life.

At the same time, a desperate and ongoing search is underway for his younger brother, approximately 18 years old, who remains missing in the water.

Large rescue forces, including police units, emergency responders, helicopters, and ZAKA’s specialized diving team, have launched extensive search operations both along the shoreline and underwater, working urgently to locate the missing bochur.

Authorities noted that the incident took place at a beach currently closed to swimming, with no regulated access, adding to the danger of the conditions.

As of now, one brother remains in critical condition, while the second has not yet been located.

Please daven for:
אברהם ישעיהו בן שושנה
יששכר דב בן שושנה

Israeli security forces have eliminated a key terrorist who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre and took part in one of the most brutal attacks of that day, along with three additional Hamas operatives, according to a joint statement by the IDF and Shin Bet.

The operation targeted Abd al Rahman Ammar Hassan Khudari, a member of the Islamic Jihad terror organization, who was directly involved in the massacre at Nir Oz and had since been planning another terror attack against IDF troops operating in northern Gaza.

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Khudari was among the terrorists who stormed the kibbutz, going house to house as part of a coordinated assault that left families slaughtered, civilians kidnapped, and an entire community shattered. The attackers overran nearly every residence in Nir Oz, murdering residents and dragging others into Gaza as hostages.

By percent of population, Nir Oz had one of the highest death tolls in the October 7 attacks, with approximately one quarter of its roughly 400 residents either murdered or abducted. A significant portion of the hostages taken on October 7 were from the kibbutz, including members of the Bibas family and Oded Lifshitz. IDF forces did not reach the scene until after the terrorists had completed their rampage.

In the same wave of operations, Israeli forces also struck and eliminated three additional terrorists affiliated with Hamas, as part of ongoing efforts to hunt down those responsible for the October 7 atrocities and prevent further attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Israel’s main gateway is open again, but the foreign-airline comeback is beginning in fits and starts, not in one big wave. Ben Gurion Airport resumed regular operations at midnight between April 8 and 9 after the ceasefire, and Israeli authorities formally notified foreign carriers and regulators that normal flight activity could restart. Even so, officials have made clear that international airlines will return only gradually, because each carrier still needs its own internal and regulatory green light.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, on July 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

The first visible movement is coming on shorter regional routes. Blue Bird says it plans to restart the Tel Aviv-Athens line on Sunday, April 12, with one daily flight at first and a second daily frequency expected later in the week. Wizz Air, one of the most important low-cost players for Israelis flying to Europe, says it is preparing a phased return beginning April 25 and has started reopening ticket sales accordingly. At the same time, Blue Bird’s own website was still carrying a broader cancellation notice tied to Israel flights as of Friday, which is a reminder that schedules are still highly fluid even when carriers begin signaling a return.

Airbus A321Neo Wizz Air aircraft identification code 9H-WDK at the international airport Leonardo Da Vinci. Fiumicino (Italy), July 08th, 2025 (Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The Gulf carriers are being watched especially closely because they can restore badly needed connectivity faster than many European airlines. Etihad is widely viewed as one of the first foreign carriers likely to come back, and Israeli media reports say it is targeting April 15 with two daily Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv flights. But Etihad’s own public booking pages were, as of Friday afternoon, showing Tel Aviv inventory mainly from early May onward and directing passengers to check live status and updated schedules, suggesting the rollout is still being finalized rather than fully locked in.

The bigger European names are moving much more slowly. British Airways has extended its suspension of Israel flights until July 1 and says that when Tel Aviv service does resume, it will operate only one daily flight through the summer schedule instead of the previous two. That caution is not happening in a vacuum: the European Union Aviation Safety Agency extended its active conflict-zone bulletin covering Israel and the wider region through April 24, reinforcing why many foreign carriers are still taking a wait-and-see approach even after the ceasefire.

President Donald Trump announces tariffs on auto imports in the Oval Office, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Israeli carriers are racing to rebuild schedules, but foreign airlines are still largely absent, and that is already feeding another jump in fares. Travel industry figures say that August tickets from Tel Aviv to New York on Israeli airlines are selling for more than $2,000, while Athens is running around $600 and London and Paris are above $800 on many dates. The expectation in the market is for a gradual foreign-airline return starting later this month and into May, with U.S. carriers lagging even further behind.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Beijing pushed Tehran to go along with a ceasefire in part to improve its standing with President Trump before a planned summit next month, with Xi hoping that any goodwill could help him press China’s position on tariffs, tech controls, and Taiwan.

The key point is that China does not appear to have been the main architect of the ceasefire. According to the Journal, the heavier lifting was done by Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt, while China stepped in diplomatically to encourage Iran and then tried to convert that role into leverage in Washington.

China has every reason to calm the Iran front as it buys large volumes of Iranian oil, wants the Strait of Hormuz stabilized, and prefers to look like a responsible power without taking on the military or political burden of actually guaranteeing the deal. Reuters also reported that China publicly said it stayed in contact with all sides and wants the parties to seize the chance for peace.

The Taiwan angle is the real strategic hook here. The Journal says Xi wants to use any diplomatic credit from Iran to help convince Trump to soften U.S. backing for Taiwan and accept Beijing’s “breakaway province” framing. That remains China’s goal, not a U.S. concession. I did not find any official Trump administration statement endorsing that position.

Israel’s markets are still sending a very clear signal as investors are pricing in confidence, not fear. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has kept pushing to fresh highs, with the blue-chip TA-35 closing at another all-time record this week after a 2.64% jump, while the broader TA-125 also remains near historic peaks.

The currency move is just as striking. The shekel has strengthened to roughly 3.05 to the dollar, with market data showing USD/ILS around 3.045 on April 1, one of its strongest levels in decades and near the 30-year highs analysts have been watching. Over the last 12 months, the shekel is up nearly 18% against the dollar.

This rally did not come out of nowhere. Reuters reported that Israeli shares and the shekel had already surged after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, with the TA-35 and TA-125 hitting all-time highs as investors bet Israel’s risk premium could fall, growth could improve, and future rate cuts could become more realistic. Reuters also noted the shekel had appreciated nearly 20% against the dollar over the prior year.

What makes this more dramatic is the contrast with the war period itself. Instead of collapsing under pressure, Israeli markets have increasingly traded on expectations that the country emerges stronger strategically and economically. That is a powerful story for both local confidence and foreign capital — and right now, the screens are reflecting it.

In a historic and symbolic gesture, Argentina’s President Javier Milei has been chosen to light a torch at Israel’s official Independence Day ceremony, due to the deepening ties between the two nations.

The annual torch lighting ceremony on Har Herzl is one of Israel’s most iconic annual national events, traditionally reserved for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the Jewish state and society. Inviting a foreign leader, particularly a sitting president, to participate is a rare and meaningful move.

Milei, who has emerged in recent years as one of Israel’s most vocal and unwavering supporters, has repeatedly expressed strong backing for Israel throughout the ongoing war. He has also taken concrete steps to strengthen the relations between the two countries, including promising to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.

Israeli Knesset minister Miri Regev described the decision as a reflection of Milei’s “extraordinary friendship” toward the Jewish state, especially during a time when Israel has faced intense international pressure and criticism.

This pick has been widely praised by Israeli leaders, who see Milei as a moral ally standing firmly with Israel through thick and thin. The upcoming ceremony, like others in recent years, carries strong emotions, as Israel marks Independence Day, once again in the shadow of war and uncertainty.

Canadian authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting that targeted a Jewish-owned restaurant, named Old Avenue, in Toronto, in an incident that took place during the holiday of Pesach.

The attack occurred in the early morning hours when multiple shots were fired at the restaurant before the suspect fled the scene. No injuries were reported, but the incident left the local Jewish community shaken, yet again.

AURORA, ON – February 5 Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw speaks during a press conference at York Regional Police Headquarters in Aurora, Ontario on February 5 2026 Arlyn McAdorey/Toronto Star (Arlyn McAdorey/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Investigators moved quickly, and within two days, a 30 year old suspect from Brampton, Mohamed Mahdi, was taken into custody and charged with multiple firearm-related offenses. The community credited increased police presence in Jewish neighborhoods, particularly during Pesach, for helping lead to the quick arrest.

Toronto Police emphasized that specialized units, including counter-terror and hate crime teams, were involved in the response, trying to give the local Jewish community confidence that they are doing their best to help.

Many in Toronto’s Jewish community expressed that the timing during Pesach has only deepened the sense of unease, and while the arrest has brought some reassurance, the community and even other locals can’t help but feel like this is starting to become a norm.

Classrooms across most of Israel reopened as the Home Front Command rolled back much of the wartime restrictions that had kept students home since late February, marking one of the clearest signs yet of a return to routine after the Iran war. The changes took effect Thursday morning, allowing schools and workplaces to operate normally in most of the country, while gatherings in many areas remain capped at 1,000 people. 

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – OCTOBER 04: Ultra-Orthodox Jews recite the Priestly Blessings, or Birkat HaKohanim, at the Western Wall as part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on October 4, 2023 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Priestly Blessing prayer is said twice yearly by Cohens who are the descendents of the high priests of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. This year, the prayer service was held twice during the holiday to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who attend. The first was held on October 2nd. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The return is not uniform. Along the Lebanon border, in most of the Golan Heights, the Upper Galilee and the Haifa Bay area, schools can function only in spaces with immediate access to shelters, and public gatherings remain limited to 50 people outdoors and 200 indoors. Workplaces in those areas can open only where protected space can be reached in time, reflecting Israel’s assessment that Hezbollah still poses an active threat even after the broader ceasefire took hold. 

TYRE, LEBANON – MARCH 22: Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike targets the Qasmiyeh Bridge, one of the key transit points connecting the southern and northern parts of the country, linking the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon to Sidon, on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Mohamad Zanaty/Anadolu via Getty Images)

While central Israel and Jerusalem moved quickly to restore in-person learning, the north is still being treated as a live front, with the IDF warning that rocket fire could still target the center of the country and even farther south. The military said it coordinated with local authorities and the Education Ministry ahead of the reopening and carried out scans for unexploded ordnance around schools to support a safe return. Education Minister Yoav Kisch also instructed schools to put emotional support front and center for the roughly 2.5 million children returning after weeks of disruption. 

TOPSHOT – Beachgoers wait in an underground parking used as a bomb shelter near the beach during an alert in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2026. Israel’s military said on March 7, it had struck 16 Iranian aircraft at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which it said was a key hub for the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards. (Photo by OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP via Getty Images)

For Israel, the reopening is more than a technical policy shift. It is an attempt to restart daily life while keeping one eye firmly on the northern front, where Hezbollah’s rocket threat has not disappeared. The next test will be whether the security situation stays quiet enough for the temporary easing to hold and for municipalities that delayed reopening to fully bring students back in the days ahead.

Israel’s security cabinet quietly approved the establishment of 34 new communities in Judea and Samaria in what Hebrew reports describe as the largest single approval of its kind ever passed in one cabinet session. The decision, reported first by i24NEWS and echoed by Srugim, would bring the total number of approved communities to 103 from 69, with some of the new sites reportedly slated for remote areas in northern Samaria that even the army reaches only infrequently. 

According to the report, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who was present at the meeting, did not flatly oppose the move but warned about manpower limits and urged a phased rollout rather than opening so many sites at once. That position was not adopted. Two of the communities named in the report, Noya and Emek Dotan, are said to be planned inside Palestinian enclaves between Areas A and B, with Emek Dotan intended to link Sa-Nur, Homesh and Shavei Shomron. 

A tractor disperses food for gray cranes flocking on the banks of Agamon Lake in the Hula Valley Nature Reserve in northern Israel on January 15, 2026. The Hula Valley is home to a unique migration sanctuary for hundreds of millions of birds migrating from Europe and Asia to Africa and back during the spring and autumn seasons. Local farmers feed the birds with corn in a bid to prevent them from destroying their agricultural fields. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

The most consequential detail may be buried in the classified annex: infrastructure for electricity and water would reportedly be allowed to move forward even before the land-regulation process is completed, a precedent-setting step that could accelerate facts on the ground well before the usual legal and planning stages are finished. The report says the decision was kept under tight classification in part to avoid U.S. pressure during the Iran campaign; that sensitivity tracks with Reuters reporting from February that the Trump administration had reiterated its opposition to Israeli annexation moves in Judea and Samaria. Defense Minister Israel Katz and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich did not comment in the report.

Shin Bet and Lahav 433 say Ami Gaidarov, 22, of Haifa, was arrested in March on suspicion of working for Iranian intelligence, aiding the enemy during wartime, and preparing explosives for an attack investigators say was aimed at former prime minister Naftali Bennett. A prosecutor’s declaration has already been filed, and indictments are expected against him and additional suspects.

According to the investigation, Gaidarov had been in contact with an Iranian handler since August 2025, rented an apartment in Haifa to serve as a bomb lab, bought dedicated phones, and documented his work in photos and videos sent back to his handler. Ynet reported that investigators believe he produced roughly 8 to 10 kilograms of TATP and even carried out a live explosives test in the Haifa area.

During the war, he was allegedly tasked with photographing Haifa Port, missile impact sites in the north, and even locating a property from which a fixed camera could monitor the port. Authorities say he brought in friends to help purchase raw materials, hide the explosives, and assist with testing, and that he was paid more than NIS 70,000, much of it through digital wallets.

The case is another stark reminder that Tehran’s campaign against Israel is not limited to missiles and proxies. Shin Bet and police warned last month that Iranian operatives were actively trying to recruit Israelis online during the war, and the agency’s annual report said 25 people were indicted in 2025 for spying for Iran while 120 separate incidents were thwarted.

The IDF announced it has killed Muhammad Washah, a Hamas operative who it says operated under the cover of an Al Jazeera journalist, in a targeted strike in central Gaza.

According to the military, Washah was not only affiliated with Hamas’s military wing but played a central role in its rocket and weapons production infrastructure. The IDF states he had been actively planning attacks against Israeli troops in the area and was considered an immediate operational threat.

Israeli officials say Washah was involved throughout the war in developing drones, rockets, and other weapon systems, as well as facilitating the transfer of weapons across the Gaza Strip.

The IDF further alleges that he exploited his media identity to move freely and support terrorist activities, using his position as cover while advancing operations against Israeli forces.

Israel is now bracing for the possibility of renewed direct Iranian fire after the IDF kept striking Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. Kan reported that Israeli intelligence believes Tehran is considering launching missiles at Israel if the Lebanon campaign continues, that Iranian officials have already issued explicit threats, and that Israel’s security cabinet is expected to discuss the scenario and possible responses.

The threat surfaced just as Israel and Washington made clear that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire does not cover Lebanon. Reuters reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the two-week pause on strikes against Iran excludes Lebanon, while President Donald Trump said Lebanon is “not part” of the deal and described the fighting there as a “separate skirmish.”

Hezbollah supporters gather to listen to the speech of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on the first anniversary of the death of the commander-in-chief of Hezbollah’s special operations unit, Ibrahim Aqil, who dies in an Israeli strike on September 20, 2024, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on September 19, 2025 (Photo by Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images).

That matters because the pressure on Hezbollah has sharply intensified. Reuters said the IDF described Wednesday’s operation as its largest strike wave against Hezbollah since this war began, and Israeli officials told reporters that 50 fighter jets dropped roughly 160 munitions on 100 targets in about 10 minutes. According to the IDF, the targets included Hezbollah command centers, intelligence sites, rocket and naval infrastructure, and assets tied to the Radwan force and the group’s aerial unit.

For now, there is no verified report of a fresh Iranian launch at Israel. But the danger is no longer abstract: Reuters also reported that Tasnim cited an Iranian source warning Tehran could withdraw from the ceasefire if Israeli strikes in Lebanon continue. In other words, Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is now shaping up as the main fault line that could drag Iran back into direct confrontation.

An Israeli soldier was killed and five others wounded during a firefight with Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced.

The fallen soldier has been identified as Staff Sgt. Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, 20, a fighter in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion from Beit She’an.

According to an initial investigation, Golani troops identified several Hezbollah gunmen in their sector on Tuesday afternoon. An exchange of fire ensued, during which Lifshiz was killed. An officer was seriously wounded, while four additional soldiers sustained light to moderate injuries.

The IDF says forces are continuing operations to track down and eliminate the Hezbollah cell.

Lifshiz is the 12th Israeli soldier killed since the latest round of fighting in southern Lebanon began.

In a dramatic last-minute development, Israel has now agreed to join the two-week ceasefire with Iran that President Donald J. Trump announced just 90 minutes before a potential massive escalation.

A senior White House official confirmed that Israel is on board with the temporary truce—making this a broader, coordinated pause in what had been rapidly spiraling toward full-scale war.

Earlier, Trump revealed he would suspend planned U.S. strikes on Iran following urgent talks with Pakistan’s leadership, contingent on Iran agreeing to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The move came at the final hour before a deadline that had raised fears of devastating military action.

Now, with Israel officially joining the agreement, the ceasefire becomes a multi-front de-escalation effort rather than a unilateral pause.

Trump described the deal as a “double sided ceasefire,” noting that U.S. military objectives have already been met and that negotiations toward a long-term peace agreement are close to completion.

According to the President, Iran has already submitted a 10 point proposal, with most major issues reportedly agreed upon, leaving this two-week window to finalize what could become a historic agreement aimed at stabilizing the Middle East.

The stunning sequence of events marks a rapid shift—from the brink of widespread conflict to a fragile but potentially significant diplomatic breakthrough.

The falling out between former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and President Donald Trump appears to be official. Following a video post in which Carlson told White House staffers to resign rather than obey orders, Trump gave an interview to the New York Post Tuesday in which he did not mince words.

The rift has continued to widen just months after Carlson had been invited several times to lunch at the White House. It appeared to begin when Trump said that Carlson had “lost his way” and wasn’t true MAGA in response to Carlson calling the joint U.S.-Israel campaign “evil.”

Just yesterday, Carlson posted a response on X to Trump’s Truth Social post Sunday in which he warned Iran that its bridges and power plants would be bombed if Iran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Carlson advises White House staffers to refuse Trump’s orders. (From a post on X)

“Desecrating Easter was the first step toward nuclear war,” he said. “Christians need to understand where Trump is taking us.”

In his video advising staffers to refuse Trump’s orders, Carlson said, “Those people who are in direct contact with the president need to say, ‘No, I’ll resign. I’ll do whatever I can do legally to stop this, because this is insane, and if you give the order, I’m not carrying it out. Figure out the codes on the football yourself.'”

In his interview, Trump pushed back on Tucker’s accusation that the United States is planning a nuclear war with Iran. “Tucker’s a low-IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” he said. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

Why the Iranian Regime Refuse to Let Go? Lessons to learn from passover’s miracle.

For more than 3,000 years, the Jewish people have marked Passover not only as a story of liberation, but as a lesson in how history unfolds when power, arrogance, and destiny collide.

The Exodus was not a single moment. It was a long process.
The Jews were enslaved in Egypt for almost 250 years under one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world.

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Qasmiyeh bridge, located on a main highway linking villages in the Tyre district with others further north, after Israel said the bridge was being used by Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon on March 22, 2026. Israel’s military struck a key bridge in south Lebanon on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, after Israel’s defence minister said the army had been ordered to destroy more bridges over the Litani River. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, when pro-Iran Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian supreme leader on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP via Getty Images) /

Pharaoh was not just a ruler, he represented absolute control, convinced of his own permanence.

When Moses first came to him with a simple demand, “Let my people go,” Pharaoh refused!

What followed was not immediate victory, but a prolonged confrontation.
Plague after plague struck Egypt. Blood. Frogs. Lice. Devastation that disrupted every aspect of Egyptian life. Each time, Pharaoh appeared ready to concede. Each time, when the pressure eased, he hardened his position again.

The Torah describes this in a striking way. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. Not once, but repeatedly.
The obvious question is: why?

Why would a ruler continue down a path that clearly led to destruction? Why not stop after the first warning, or the second?

Because sometimes the story is bigger than a single decision. It is about exposing the limits of power, dismantling illusions, and making a moment so undeniable that it reshapes history.

Only after the final blow, the death of the firstborn, did Pharaoh break. Only then did the Jewish people leave, not as fleeing slaves, but as a nation reborn, carrying with them not only freedom but a message the world would remember.

Today, we may be witnessing a similar pattern.

For decades, the Iranian regime has defined itself through confrontation, threats, and the pursuit of destructive power. Time and again, it has been warned. Time and again, it has been pressured. And yet, like Pharaoh, it refuses to change course.

Even as it absorbs damage, even as its people suffer, the leadership continues, doubling down, refusing to step back.

It raises the same uncomfortable question: why persist in a path that leads to collapse?
History suggests that such moments are rarely quick. Just as Egypt was not transformed overnight, neither are modern regimes that have built their identity on defiance and control.
What feels like delay may, in fact, be a process.
A process that exposes, step by step, the true nature of power. A process that makes the outcome undeniable, not only to those directly involved, but to the entire world.

Passover teaches us that redemption does not always come in a single moment. Sometimes it comes through persistence, through endurance, and through a series of events that build toward an irreversible conclusion.
This war is very hard for the people of Israel, for the people of the region, and for the good people of Iran. Yet, it will take time to defeat the evil that shapes our modern history, just as it took time then. We need patience, and I am certain that history will repeat itself. We will see another victory, one that will lead to a new celebration for the Jewish people and for the entire region. Not just the Jews—people across the region are suffering.

After this, we will see a new Iran, peace between countries, and we will see God’s great miracles once again.

Iranians who oppose the war devised a ploy to thwart potential U.S. or Israeli attacks on critical infrastructure, forming human chains around a bridge near Dezful and a power station in Tabriz to create a human shield, Iranian state media reported.

State media also said that the human chains were meant to protect sites that Iranians feared would be targeted, following President Donald Trump’s threats of destroying energy plants and other critical infrastructure if Iran fails to agree to a deal satisfactory to the United States.

The consulate general of the I.R. Iran in Mumbai posted this video of a human chain at a power plant.

Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to serve as a mediator between Washington and Tehran as it passes messages back and forth, but neither side has softened its position. Washington has held firm to its demands that Iran yield its entire stockpile of enriched uranium, dismantle its nuclear program, cease supporting its proxy terror groups across the Middle East, restrict its missile program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire. Tehran has continued to insist on a permanent end to the war, guarantees for the Strait of Hormuz and war reparations, while refusing to make concessions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

“There are no negotiations with the United States, which wants Iran to surrender under pressure,” an anonymous source told Reuters. “We will show flexibility when the United States shows flexibility.”

Iranians form a human chain to protect the White Bridge in Ahvaz. (From a post on X)

Iran has warned of dire consequences if the U.S. strikes its energy facilities.

“If the United States attacks Iran’s power stations, the entire region, including Saudi Arabia, will be plunged into total darkness,” the source said. “If the situation spirals out of control, Iran’s allies will also close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.”

Israel has continued to strike deep inside Iran.

Students form a human chain at the Dezful Bridge. (From a post on X)

“We are striking the terrorist regime in Iran with increasing force,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “Yesterday we destroyed transport aircraft and dozens of helicopters, and today we attacked railway lines and bridges used by the Revolutionary Guards.”

“These actions, which I approved together with the defense minister, are not intended to harm the Iranian people,” he added. “On the contrary, they are meant to weaken and crush the regime of terror that has oppressed them for 47 years.”

Should Kanye West, the rapper who also goes by “Ye,” be forgiven for his past viciously antisemitic comments? Opinions are mixed. Following his ban from the United Kingdom, where he was slated to perform at London’s Wireless Festival, West issued a letter expressing remorse for his past actions and a desire to make amends.

“I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly,” he wrote. “My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace and love through my music.”

“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen,” he added. “I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”

Kanye West meets with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto in an effort to make amends for his past antisemitic behavior. (From a post on X)

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who had called for West to be banned, said it was too soon for forgiveness. To show his remorse, West would have to agree not to perform at the festival, he said.

“It has been less than a year since Kanye West released a song entitled ‘Heil Hitler,’ the culmination of three years of appalling antisemitism,” Rosenberg said.

“Even while claiming remorse today, his latest album includes a track first released last year with the abhorrent title ‘Gas Chamber,'” he added. “The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival.”

“As such, we are willing to meet Kanye West as part of his journey of healing, but only after he agrees not to play the Wireless Festival this year,” he concluded.

Rapper Kanye West performs onstage at Hollywood Park Grounds on March 14, 2024, in Inglewood, Cal. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Others disagree. Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless, called for grace.

“What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the prime minister and others that have commented and — taking him at his word — to Ye now also,” he said.

“Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from,” he explained. “If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work.”

“Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do,” he added.

The latest brouhaha over Kanye West and his past antisemitism follows his full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal in January apologizing for his actions and his November meeting with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto in New York City, in which he expressed his remorse, described his struggles with mental illness and accepted responsibility for his behavior.

NASA said the crew used handheld cameras to capture high-resolution photos and video of the lunar surface, including features humans had never directly seen before, with astronauts also becoming the first people in generations to fly around the Moon. 

During the flyby, Orion came within about 4,067 miles of the Moon, giving the crew a rare window to document impact craters, ancient lava flows, cracks, ridges, and subtle changes in color, brightness, and texture that can help scientists better understand the Moon’s makeup and history. NASA also released live views of an Earthrise as the spacecraft emerged from behind the Moon. 

Artemis II also set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, reaching roughly 252,756 miles and surpassing Apollo 13.

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Nickolay Mladenov, director-general and high representative for Gaza of the U.S.-proposed Board of Peace, met with senior Hamas officials in Cairo last week and laid down an ultimatum: He gave them until the end of this week to agree to a disarmament proposal, after Hamas dallied for four weeks. Unnamed sources familiar with the discussions said that the board will not accept major changes; Hamas will only be allowed to tweak the proposal at the margins.

Against the backdrop of dramatic developments in the war with Iran, the Board of Peace is pressing forward with the second phase of the peace plan, in a sign of the urgency to achieve the demilitarization of Hamas.

While Hamas has signaled neither its acceptance nor its rejection of the proposal, it has complained that Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement with strikes extending deep into Gaza. Israel acknowledged the strikes but argued that they were carried out in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire.

Nickolay Mladenov, director-general and high representative for Gaza, speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on June 25, 2020. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar are serving as mediators and applying pressure to Hamas to accept the proposal. An Arab diplomat involved with the mediation said that it’s unlikely that Hamas will accept a deal without adding major provisions, adding that “even if they do, it’s unlikely that Israel will comply” because of political reasons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be reluctant to pull back from Gaza during an election year, and a significant part of his coalition is pressing for a permanent presence in the Strip.

Under the plan, a phased Israeli withdrawal is tied to the disarmament of Hamas and the destruction of the tunnels. Reconstruction also will not begin unless and until Hamas gives up its weapons. The eight-month timeline that has been proposed comprises five stages:

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, distribute sweets to children during a celebration of Eid al-Fitr, cementing their hold on the Gaza Strip, on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

1. Days 1–15: The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) assumes governance of the Strip and prepares for weapons collection.
2. Days 16–40: Israel removes its military infrastructure and heavy weaponry from areas under its control. An international security force takes over.
3. Days 30–90: Hamas relinquishes all of its weapons to NCAG and permits the destruction of its tunnels and all other military infrastructure. This is the most critical phase.
4. Days 91–250: NCAG collects and registers all remaining weapons, and Israel begins its phased withdrawal.
5. Final Stage: Verification of the complete disarmament of Hamas is finalized; Israel withdraws almost completely, leaving in place a security perimeter; and reconstruction begins.

Mladenov issued a stark warning to Hamas of consequences for failure to comply.

“He who will not cross the river will drown in the sea,” he said.

U.S. forces have launched targeted strikes on defensive and military installations on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island, a critical hub for the country’s oil exports, according to multiple reports. 

At the same time, Israel has reportedly begun striking key infrastructure across Iran, including railway lines and bridges, following prior warnings to civilians to avoid transit systems amid escalating attacks. 

Airstrikes are ongoing across multiple regions of the country, signaling a major coordinated escalation between U.S. and Israeli forces. 

Video footage circulating online appears to show emergency crews evacuating injured workers from Kharg Island after multiple explosions rocked the area. Reports indicate the strikes triggered significant damage, though the full extent of casualties remains unclear. 

Screenshot

In a dramatic new post, Donald J. Trump suggested the operation could mark a turning point, writing that “a whole civilization will die tonight” but adding that with “Complete and Total Regime Change… something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.” He called the moment “one of the most important” in world history and said “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end.”

Kharg Island is considered one of Iran’s most critical economic lifelines, handling a large portion of its oil exports, making it a high-value strategic target in the widening conflict. 

The situation continues to rapidly develop.

Gunfire erupted outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul in what appears to have been a coordinated attack targeting the diplomatic site.

According to initial reports, three armed attackers opened fire near a police position outside the building. Turkish security forces responded quickly, neutralizing all three gunmen—two were killed and a third was left severely wounded.

Two Turkish police officers were injured in the exchange, authorities say. There are currently no confirmed reports of injuries among consulate staff.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the incident, stating that the consulate was not staffed at the time and that the reports are under investigation.

Early assessments describe the attackers as trained and operating in a manner resembling ISIS-style tactics, though no official attribution has been made.

Turkish authorities have yet to release a detailed formal statement. The situation remains ongoing, with further updates expected.

Rescue teams rushed to the scene after a Hezbollah rocket struck the northern coastal city of Nahariya, initially with no reported injuries.

Shortly after, medics confirmed a woman in her 20s was lightly wounded after being hit by flying debris from the impact.

Magen David Adom said two additional individuals are being treated for acute anxiety at the scene.

President Donald Trump hosted a group of business figures and haredi leaders in the Oval Office in honor of the Passover holiday.

Among those in attendance was Rabbi Moshe Dovid Niederman of Satmar Williamsburg, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel of Agudath Israel of America, Trump’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Tzedek Association Founder Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, and Mayor Yisroel Meir Spitzer of New Square, Skver.

Credit: The White House

Also there was former Hamas hostage Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, along with his mother. Alexander, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, was freed following efforts led by Steve Witkoff and President Trump.

According to reports, this marked Alexander’s third visit to the White House. Guests at the meeting noted that Trump appeared “absolutely enamored” with him during the visit.

During a prior meeting, Alexander told the president that his captors began treating him better after Trump won the November 2024 election.

Alexander, a lone soldier from Tenafly, New Jersey who was serving in the IDF at the time of his abduction, has recently made headlines again after rejoining the military.

A new Jerusalem Post report, citing a source close to Ukrainian intelligence, says Russian intelligence provided Iran with a list of 55 critical Israeli energy sites and assessed how Tehran could cripple Israel’s electricity system. According to that report, the targets were grouped by strategic value, with the Orot Rabin power station identified as a top-tier site whose destruction could severely damage national supply. The specific list has not been independently verified, but the broader charge is consistent with Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent public claim that Ukraine has “irrefutable” evidence Russia continues to feed intelligence to Iran.

What makes the allegation especially serious is that Israel is, in energy terms, an island. Its electricity grid is not connected to neighboring states, meaning a concentrated strike on a relatively small number of major nodes could cause cascading disruption that would be far harder to offset than in a country with cross-border backup. An INSS analysis describes Israel’s grid as a closed system and notes its dependence on key switching stations and substations. Orot Rabin is not just symbolic infrastructure either, GE Vernova says the plant’s new combined-cycle units are expected to deliver 1,260 megawatts, more than 8% of Israel’s current total power generation capacity.

TOPSHOT – Beachgoers wait in an underground parking used as a bomb shelter near the beach during an alert in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2026. Israel’s military said on March 7, it had struck 16 Iranian aircraft at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which it said was a key hub for the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards. (Photo by OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP via Getty Images)

Iranian attacks have already hit energy-linked infrastructure in Israel, including a missile strike on a fuel tanker and industrial building at the Bazan refinery complex in Haifa. At the same time, Israel has intensified its own pressure on Iran’s energy backbone, Reuters reported Monday that Israeli strikes hit the Asaluyeh petrochemical complex after earlier attacks on South Pars, as Jerusalem tries to hammer the regime’s export revenue, industrial capacity, and strategic endurance.

TEHRAN, IRAN – FEBRUARY 9: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘IRANIAN LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses to the public on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution according to Iranian state television in Tehran, Iran on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Russia benefited from Iranian Shahed drones in Ukraine, and Kyiv now argues that the relationship is cycling back in the other direction, with battlefield lessons and intelligence flowing toward the Islamic Republic. That matters for Israel because the country’s energy sector is already operating under wartime stress: Reuters reported only days ago that Leviathan, Israel’s largest gas field, was resuming operations after a month-long shutdown tied to the war.

The Iranian regime briefly paused its death machine apparatus of executing innocent civilians who participated in the January protests on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel conducted a joint military campaign against Iran. The January protests drew a harsh crackdown resulting in tens of thousands of deaths — as many as 36,000, according to some reports — and hundreds of arrests. But in recent days, the regime has restarted its grisly game, fast-tracking executions to 10 over just the past eight days.

Monday saw the hanging of 23-year-old Ali Fahim, accused of attacking a Basij base in Tehran. Ten people have been charged in the case, and seven — two of whom were teens — have already been put to death. Iranian authorities called Fahim an “enemy element who participated in the assault on a prohibited military site during the December unrest,” claiming that he “had assaulted prohibited military sites to seize the armory and steal military weapons.”

عنصر دشمن که در عملیات تعرض به مکان نظامی ممنوعه در آشوب‌های دی‌ماه مشارکت داشت اعدام شد

علی فهیم، از عناصر دشمن در اغتشاشات تروریستی دی‌ ۱۴۰۴ به اماکن ممنوعه نظامی برای تصرف اسلحه‌خانه و سرقت سلاح‌های جنگی تعرض کرده بود#وطن‌فورش_بیشرف pic.twitter.com/SOmZYwgsYW

— خبرگزاری تسنیم (@Tasnimnews_Fa) April 6, 2026

Rights groups say the show trials are unjust and warn that the coming days may see hundreds more executions. Iran Human Rights (IHR) said that those who were executed were “subjected to torture and denied access to legal counsel” and sentenced in “grossly unfair,” rushed trials.

Of the 10 who were recently executed, four were killed for participating in the protest and six for belonging to the People’s Mujahedin (MEK), a banned opposition group. Many of those arrested are also accused of collaborating with “the Zionist regime and the United States.”

🚨Iran: 10 Political Executions in 8 days

With the execution of January protester Ali Fahim this morning, the regime has now hanged 10 political prisoners and protesters in just over a week:
🗓️Mon (Mar 30): Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar
🗓️Tue: Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi… https://t.co/UYmHru92yQ pic.twitter.com/NMQhkTu52e

— Ehsan Eghbal Eslami (@Ehsaneghbale) April 6, 2026

“These executions are part of the Islamic Republic’s strategy of survival — waging war against its own people under the shadow of external conflict,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

“The international community must respond with urgency. The situation of prisoners and the regime’s systematic use of the death penalty must be made a central condition in any negotiations or engagement with the Islamic Republic,” he added.

“These daily executions, carried out under the shadow of war, are part of a deliberate policy to terrorize the Iranian people and prevent new protests,” the human rights advocate also said. “The Islamic Republic’s main threat is not foreign bombs; it is the Iranian people demanding fundamental change. We fear for the lives of political prisoners and hundreds of detained protesters in the coming days and weeks.”

JBN reported yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Donald Trump to congratulate him on the daring rescue mission that saw the heart-stopping but successful extraction of two members of the United States Air Force who were stranded in Iran after their aircraft was shot down.

It turns out there was more to the call — because that was just the ostensible reason for Netanyahu to pick up the phone. Netanyahu’s actual aim at the time was to express concern regarding Trump’s push for a ceasefire deal, warning him of significant risks should the U.S. pull out now.

Trump reassured Netanyahu that he would not back down on his demands, including his requirement that Iran turn over its entire stockpile of enriched uranium and agree to stop enriching uranium altogether. He said that a ceasefire would only be possible if Iran agreed to all of the points in his proposal.

Officials familiar with the discussions said that Trump wants a deal but added that Iran’s defiance makes a successful negotiation improbable.

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, slammed what he called a “fawning celebrity profile” of notorious antisemite Francesca Albanese, the U.N. rapporteur on the “occupied territories.”

Francesca Albanese has been sanctioned by the United States because of her relentless campaign to press for legal action against Israel and anyone associated with it. She has been fiercely criticized by several European countries, including France, which demanded that she be stripped of her role at the U.N. following her remarks in Doha last year calling Israel the “common enemy of humanity.”

Waltz criticized the one-sided portrayal of Albanese in Politico Europe.

This fawning celebrity profile of antisemitic bomb-thrower Francesca Albanese manages to ignore all the ways she's sabotaging the UN's mission of peace, from trying to debank Americans to eliminating their jobs, all just for doing business with Israel. She even calls Israel a… pic.twitter.com/kGscUytpGN

— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) April 4, 2026

“This fawning celebrity profile of antisemitic bomb-thrower Francesca Albanese manages to ignore all the ways she’s sabotaging the UN’s mission of peace, from trying to debank Americans to eliminating their jobs, all just for doing business with Israel,” he wrote on X. “She even calls Israel a ‘threat to humanity.’ This happens under a U.N. banner that Americans fund — so we sanctioned her for doing us harm.”

He also blasted the authors of the piece for misrepresenting the piece to him when they reached out for comment.

Francesca Albanese. (Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

“POLITICO’s Daniella Cheslow and Karl Mathieson (who just deleted his account for antisemitic tweets) unethically reached out at the last possible second and claimed they were just doing a story about the sanctions,” he wrote.

“Why is POLITICO running cover for this anti-American, anti-Semitic zealot?” he demanded.

The reference to Mathieson’s antisemitic tweets harks back to 2014, when he posted, “Can someone explain the U.S. reluctance to stand up to Israel? Is it the Jewish lobby? How powerful can it be?”

Just got a heads up that the UN's leading in-house Hamas propagandist, Francesca Albanese, has ONCE AGAIN sent baseless threats to American companies using UN letterhead threatening "criminal liability" (as if she had that authority) for merely working with a U.S. ally.

What an…

— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) March 31, 2026

Mike Waltz had earlier warned about Albanese, posting on March 31, “Just got a heads up that the UN’s leading in-house Hamas propagandist, Francesca Albanese, has ONCE AGAIN sent baseless threats to American companies using U.N. letterhead threatening ‘criminal liability’ (as if she had that authority) for merely working with a U.S. ally.”

“What an abuse of the U.N.’s resources that could be better spent helping people and resolving conflict. This is why she is sanctioned,” he added.

Following a salvo of drones launched at southern Israel this afternoon, the Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility, saying the strike was intended to take out military targets in Eilat and was conducted in coordination with Iran and Hezbollah.

The IDF said it intercepted some of the drones, but lost contact with others, which presumably crashed somewhere unknown.

While southern Israel was under attack, missiles were fired at central Israel from Iran and at northern Israel from Hezbollah, triggering sirens across the region.

Iran has rejected a temporary ceasefire proposal, according to Islamic Republic News Agency, telling mediators it will only agree to a full end to the war — including against Hezbollah — along with sanctions relief and reconstruction aid.

HEBRON, WEST BANK – MARCH 06: Missiles launched from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the night sky over the city of Hebron in the West Bank on March 06, 2026. (Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tehran is also demanding control over the Strait of Hormuz, renewed nuclear talks, and has firmly rejected any limits on its ballistic missile program.

The demands directly contradict Israeli and U.S. conditions, pointing toward likely escalation.

Mojtaba Khamenei; the son of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; is seen in Tehran; Iran; on December 14; 2016. (Photo by Reza B / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

The IDF completed a massive wave of large-scale strikes in Tehran overnight, destroying dozens of the regime’s critical aerial assets in a crucial blow to the Iranian Air Force and the IRGC Air Force at airports in Tehran, further advancing the military’s goal to degrade Iran’s military capabilities, the IDF said Monday. Across three airports in Tehran, the IDF obliterated such aerial assets as helicopters and other aircraft, along with various types of military infrastructure contained within the airports.

The IDF strikes helicopters at airports in Tehran. (Credit: IDF)

The three airports targeted included Bahram Airport, Mehrabad Airport and Azmayesh Airport. Mehrabad Airport in particular was noted in the IDF’s statement for its use by the IRGC’s elite Quds Force and for serving as the central hub for arming and financing Iran’s terrorist proxies across the region, as aircraft from Mehrabad funneled weapons and cash directly into their hands. The IDF said it has repeatedly targeted the airport during Operation Roaring Lion.

Credit: IDF

As part of its war aim to degrade Iran’s military capabilities and ensure the regime never again threatens Israel, the IDF vowed to continue its mission. “The IDF will continue to intensify its efforts to degrade the core capabilities and foundations of the Iranian regime,” the IDF said in its statement.

The IDF published a statement Monday detailing its continual and astonishing successes on the ground in Lebanon. Troops from the Golani Brigade, pressing forward with their precisely focused ground operations against Hezbollah, have thus far dismantled more than 300 sites dedicated to terrorist infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities, booby-trapped buildings and enemy positions, in both air and ground strikes.

Credit: IDF

On the battlefield, the soldiers took down dozens of Hezbollah terrorists and uncovered numerous [weapons caches](IDF: 300+ H*zbollah Sites Dismantled in Lebanon Push) underground, exposing 10 tunnel shafts and appropriating hundreds of weapons.

The IDF vowed to continue its campaign against Hezbollah and protect Israeli civilians from harm.

“The IDF will continue to operate with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and will not allow harm to come to the residents of Israel,” the military said in its statement.

Credit: IDF

Pursuant to its goal of crippling Iran’s Quds Force Special Operations Unit, the IDF confirmed Monday that a precise strike in Tehran yesterday took out Asghar Bagheri, the longtime commander of the Quds Force’s elite Special Operations Unit (840).

Unit 840 is a secretive, elite unit tasked with orchestrating terrorist attacks against Jews and Israelis worldwide, and Bagheri played a key role in plotting and carrying out international attacks against those targets, as well as Americans, globally. He also held top roles in advancing terror operations inside Israel, as well as in Syria and Lebanon.

Using intelligence obtained from Syrian informants who had previously served in the Syrian army under Bashar al-Assad, the former dictator of Syria, Bagheri orchestrated attacks against IDF soldiers stationed along the border between Syria and Israel. Bagheri personally led these attacks, with the help and support of his deputy, Mohammad Reza Ansari, and Qassem Salah al-Husseini. The latter was eliminated near Beirut in 2025.

What’s more, Bagheri worked on the transfer of weapons from Iran directly into the hands of terrorists operating within Israel, increasing the threat the Quds Force poses to Israel.

His elimination marks yet another blow to Iran’s Quds Force as part of Israel’s operation to neutralize the threat emanating from Iran.

In an X post Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed the determination of his government to pursue all the war aims of Operation Roaring Lion until they are achieved, without mentioning the ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran to reach a ceasefire deal.

In his statement, he mentioned two of today’s successful strikes. The first was the elimination of Majid Khademi, head of the Intelligence Division in the Revolutionary Guards. Khademi had only just stepped into the role, following the elimination of his predecessor. The second was the elimination of Asghar Bakri, commander of Unit 840 in the Quds Force. Bakri had helped orchestrate attacks against Jews and Israelis worldwide.

“Whoever acts to murder our citizens, whoever directs terror against the State of Israel, whoever builds the Iranian axis of evil — their blood is upon their head,” the prime minister wrote. “We are acting with strength and determination — we will reach everyone who seeks to harm us.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted this image on his X account. Majid Khademi is on the left.

“We will continue with full force, on all fronts, until the threat is removed and all the war’s objectives are achieved,” he declared.

Upon confirming earlier Monday the elimination of Khademi, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “The terrorist regime in Iran continues to launch missiles at the Israeli home front, killing and harming Israeli civilians.”

“The Revolutionary Guards fire at civilians, and we eliminate the terrorist leaders,” he added.

Meanwhile, Iran has struck a defiant tone amid negotiations that call for an immediate truce.

“We have formulated our own responses,” Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters Monday.

“Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands, and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” he said.

A third body has been pulled from the rubble at the site of an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a residential building in Haifa, rescue teams report.

Four people were initially listed as missing following the impact. Overnight, crews recovered the bodies of a man and a woman in their 80s. A third victim was located and extracted shortly afterward.

Search and rescue forces continue to operate at the scene, saying the fourth and final victim is still believed to be buried beneath the debris and is expected to be recovered in the coming hours.

In a decisive and emotional response, IDF forces operating deep inside southern Lebanon have eliminated the Hezbollah terrorists responsible for last week’s deadly ambush that claimed the lives of four Israeli Nahal soldiers.

The fallen, Staff Sergeant Gilad Harel, Staff Sergeant Maxsim Entis, Staff Sergeant Ben Cohen, and Captain Noam Madmoni, were killed in a brutal close range attack targeting a Nahal reconnaissance unit.

Determined to bring justice, Nahal Brigade troops launched an aggressive follow up mission Sunday night. In intense close quarters combat, the troop engaged and neutralized a terrorist cell operating in the area. Subsequent intelligence confirmation revealed the eliminated operatives were directly behind the ambush.

Brigade commander Arik Moial

From inside the combat zone, Brigade commander Arik Moial described the relentless pace of operations. “We were fighting for days in the northern arena, encountering terrorists, eliminating them, and dismantling their infrastructure,” he said. “Our mission was clear: to defend the residents of northern Israel.”

Reflecting on the heavy loss, Moyal did not hold back. “We paid a heavy and painful toll with the loss of four of our 4 reconnaissance soldiers,” he said. “But we have now closed the circle with those responsible, and we are continuing forward with full speed.”

The message from the battlefield is unmistakable: those who carry out deadly attacks against Israeli soldiers will be relentlessly pursued and ultimately brought to justice.

Three teenage hikers were rescued Monday morning after getting stuck overnight in loose, steep terrain near reporting point 12 in the Dragot Cliffs area of the Judean Desert. The extraction was carried out by the Lahava airborne rescue team together with a police helicopter from the aerial unit.

According to Hebrew reports, the helicopter moved in extremely close to the ground in a hover rescue due to the difficult terrain, and the boys were lifted directly into the aircraft. They were then flown to the evacuation point, where medical teams were waiting.

All three were reported to be in good condition and did not require urgent evacuation from the scene.

Two bodies have been recovered from the rubble at the site of the Iranian ballistic missile strike in Haifa, as rescue operations continue into a second day.

Emergency teams had been searching for four missing individuals since the attack struck yesterday afternoon. After hours of complex rescue efforts, including the use of heavy machinery and a large crane, authorities confirmed the grim discovery.

Israel Fire and Rescue Services, working alongside the Home Front Command, said forces located and extricated two individuals trapped beneath the debris, but they were found without signs of life.

Search and rescue operations remain ongoing, with two additional victims still believed to be trapped under the rubble. Large emergency teams continue to work urgently at the scene in hopes of locating the missing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he held a call with U.S. President Donald Trump following a daring operation to recover an American pilot whose aircraft went down inside Iran.

In remarks shared afterward, Netanyahu praised what he described as a decisive and precisely carried out U.S. mission, noting that Trump personally acknowledged Israel’s involvement.

“I spoke earlier with President Trump and personally congratulated him on his bold decision and a perfectly executed American mission to rescue the downed pilot from enemy territory,” Netanyahu said.

He added that Trump expressed gratitude for Israel’s assistance during the operation, underscoring the close coordination between the two allies.

Netanyahu highlighted the depth of cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem, saying it continues to reach new levels both strategically and operationally. He also said Israel takes pride in contributing to the rescue of an American service member under dangerous conditions.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu issued a separate statement celebrating the mission’s success, describing it as a powerful example of what allied nations can achieve when acting with unity and determination.

“Congratulations, President Trump! All Israelis rejoice in the incredible rescue of a brave American pilot by America’s dauntless warriors,” he said.

He further emphasized that the operation reflects a long standing shared value between the two countries.

“This rescue proves that when free societies muster their courage and their resolve, they can confront seemingly insurmountable odds and overcome the forces of darkness and terror,” Netanyahu stated, adding that the mission reinforces the enduring principle that no soldier is ever abandoned.

Israel’s High Court on Sunday raised the number of worshippers allowed at the Western Wall from 50 to 100, effective immediately, after a petition argued that the state was applying one standard to anti-war protests and another to prayer at Judaism’s holiest site. The court also left the broader case alive and scheduled another hearing later this week on how wartime restrictions at holy sites are being set. 

The legal and political firestorm began a day earlier, when the court allowed up to 600 demonstrators at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square and up to 150 people at three additional protest sites. That ruling fueled accusations of selective enforcement, especially as Passover prayers at the Kotel remained under far tighter limits during one of the most symbolically sensitive days of the holiday. 

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – OCTOBER 04: Ultra-Orthodox Jews recite the Priestly Blessings, or Birkat HaKohanim, at the Western Wall as part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on October 4, 2023 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Priestly Blessing prayer is said twice yearly by Cohens who are the descendents of the high priests of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. This year, the prayer service was held twice during the holiday to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who attend. The first was held on October 2nd. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

In court, the state said the Western Wall plaza has very limited nearby protected spaces, which is why the Home Front Command had capped entry so sharply. Police later presented a broader outline that would allow groups of up to 150 at a time with rapid evacuation during alerts, but the judges approved a narrower immediate step of 100 while demanding a fuller explanation from the state. Court President Isaac Amit reportedly said it was “embarrassing” to see the Kotel nearly empty during Birkat Kohanim. 

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – JULY 15: Police officers wait as Ethiopian community of Jerusalem gather to protest the killing of Solomon Tekah, a young man of Ethiopian origin, who was killed by an off-duty police officer, near Israeli Parliament in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 15, 2019. Solomon Teka,19, was buried on July 2, after he was shot dead in Kiryat Haim, a town near the northern port city of Haifa, late Sunday.
(Photo by Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The result is a partial climbdown, not a final resolution. Worship at the Kotel has now been expanded, but the larger fight over freedom of prayer, wartime security, and what critics call unequal treatment between protest and worship is still very much open.

Four people remain unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble after an Iranian ballistic missile slammed into a residential building in Haifa, according to Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy at the scene.

“We are concentrating all efforts on locating the four family members who are supposed to be here, using every tool at our disposal,” Levy said, as rescue teams continue a high-risk search operation.

Authorities are also dealing with a dangerous complication, the missile’s warhead may not have detonated on impact. “We have evacuated multiple surrounding buildings out of concern that the warhead could still explode,” Levy warned.

Bomb disposal units are now working against the clock at the site, as emergency crews race to reach those still believed to be trapped beneath the debris.

In an interview with Axios Sunday, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. and Iran were locked “in deep negotiations” but added that time was running out for the authoritarian regime as his Tuesday deadline looms.

“There is a good chance, but if they don’t make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there,” Trump said.

Behind the scenes, mediators expressed more caution about the state of play. Amid ongoing negotiations, they expressed doubt that a deal will be reached but are racing to secure even a partial deal before time runs out, hoping to delay Trump’s ultimatum.

The stakes are high for Iran, as Trump threatened to blow up critical civilian infrastructure, which Iran — hypocritically — says could constitute war crimes and, also hypocritically, added that it would retaliate with strikes on crucial civilian infrastructure across the Middle East, including Gulf countries and Israel.

U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump downplayed concerns about civilian harm, saying that “they are living in fear. They are afraid we are gonna leave in the middle of the war, but we are not going to leave.” He also said that Iranians who oppose the regime would welcome such strikes if it means weakening the regime, implying that they would be willing to sacrifice their own welfare for the greater good.

Until Trump’s most recent — and escalatory — announcement that Iran had better “Open the F***kin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” negotiations to secure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz had been ongoing for the 10 days prior without progress.

Trump said that Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner are engaged in intense negotiations with the Iranians.

“The negotiations are going well, but you never get to the finish line with the Iranians,” Trump said, adding that the two sides appeared to be making progress before talks broke down.

“But then they said they will meet us in five days. So I said, ‘Why five days?'” he explained. “I felt they were not being serious. So I attacked the bridge,” Trump said, referring to Wednesday’s strike on a key bridge connecting Tehran with northern Iran.

While diplomats are feverishly working to deescalate the situation, there have been no breakthroughs as time marches relentlessly toward Trump’s Tuesday deadline.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured Ras el-Bayada, the northernmost tip of southern Lebanon, Sunday. IDF troops are actively operating in the region, where Zamir held high-level talks with senior officials, such as Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, 146th Division commander Brig. Gen. Benny Aharon, 226th Brigade commander Col. A., among others.

The Chief of Staff praised the efforts of the 146th Division, as well as the soldiers of the 226th Brigade, for their actions and “commended them for their actions, as well as the creativity, ingenuity, and fighting spirit demonstrated in carrying out the mission,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

In a blunt address to the troops, Zamir said that, with more than 1,000 Hezbollah terrorists eliminated, the war against the terror group will continue to intensify.

Credit: IDF

The IDF published an excerpt of Zamir’s remarks:

“The IDF is striking Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, with determination, extensively, and across multiple fronts,” he said. “Over 1,000 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated, and that number will continue to rise. The damage to Hezbollah will intensify.”

Zamir warned that no terrorist or site that supports terrorism will be spared. “Every terrorist target and any target that supports terrorism in Lebanese territory will be struck,” he added, saying the IDF is now treating the entire region south of the Litani River as an active war zone, working to eliminate threats completely. “We issued advanced warnings to the residents of southern Lebanon for their protection and to enable freedom of military operation,” he said.

Zamir talks to IDF soldiers while touring Ras el-Bayada Sunday. (Credit: IDF)

He also said Israel would stay as long as it takes “to strengthen defense and push the threat away from northern communities.”

Zamir counseled patience, as the operation to degrade Hezbollah and suppress its ability to launch rockets at Israel would take time.

“This will take time, but we will continue to significantly degrade their capabilities,” he declared. “The IDF is expanding the mission that began in Operation ‘Northern Arrows’ and will continue to severely degrade Hezbollah. Alongside all this, we will maintain operational freedom of action throughout Lebanon.”

Zamir stressed that disarming Hezbollah remains a top priority for the IDF, “an ongoing objective that predates the current operation,” though he conceded that Operation “Roaring Lion will advance it.”

Zamir holds high-level talks with top-ranking military officials during his visit to southern Lebanon. (Credit: IDF)

“We mourn our fallen soldiers in this operation and will investigate every incident in which they fell. They fell in the fight to defend our country and to ensure the security of the residents and communities of the north,” he concluded.

The Chief of Staff’s visit and his remarks signal Israel’s widening operations in southern Lebanon, treating the entire region south of the Litani as an active combat zone as Israel ramps up its efforts to protect Israeli citizens from terrorist threats.

In an interview with Axios, Trump said that he and top officials feared that Iran was leading them into a trap during the rescue mission to extract a downed F-15 crew member from Iran, who had ejected from his aircraft after it was shot down by Iranian forces.

In a daring special operation involving more than 200 elite troops, the air force member was pulled out Saturday after surviving in mountainous terrain for over 24 hours.

In the interview, Trump dismissed Iran’s ability to shoot down an American aircraft for the first time, saying, “They got lucky.” But he said that U.S. officials initially believed a message sent by the stranded officer was an Iranian trick to lure them into a deadly trap.

This video pans across the wreckage of two C‑130s destroyed by U.S. forces during the rescue mission to prevent sensitive U.S. technology from falling into Iranian hands. (From a post on X)

Describing the desperate manhunt unfolding across the mountains, Trump said that it was a race between U.S. and Iranian forces, as “thousands of these savages were hunting him down. Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him.” The president said that the officer concealed himself in a crevice in the mountain while U.S. forces sought his location, using “beeping information.” But then a strange message sent them into a tizzy of concern.

The message, Trump said, was “Power be to God,” which officials later clarified was “God is good” as the exact wording. Could the Iranians be using this message, “sending false signals,” to lure U.S. special operations officers into an ambush?

“What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” the president explained.

This video shows the rescue of an aircraft that got stuck in the sand during the rescue operation. (From a post on X)

However, others who personally knew the officer reassured the administration that this type of message was normal for the religious officer.

“It was not completely clear early on, but we stuck with it and verified he was alive and not captured. And those who knew him said he is religious,” a defense official said.

In the interview, Trump also praised the IDF for helping “a little bit” in the rescue mission. While the Israeli military did not provide direct intelligence regarding the officer’s location, it did provide more general intelligence on the situation on the ground, and the Israeli Air Force also carried out a strike to block Iranian forces from reaching the location.

“They have been good partners,” Trump said about Israel. “They have been great and brave people. We are like a big brother and little brother.”

As part of ongoing operations aimed at degrading Hezbollah and protecting Israeli civilians, troops from the Golani Brigade found a major cache of Hezbollah weapons in [yet another school](http://IDF Troops Raid School, Uncover Massive Hezbollah Weapons Cache) in southern Lebanon Sunday, the IDF said.

The soldiers found inside the school a massive stockpile of weapons, which included the following: military gear and uniforms, Radwan Force graduation certificates, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) operation manuals, surface-to-surface rockets and launchers.

This video pans across the Hezbollah weapons cache discovered by the IDF in a school in Lebanon. (Credit: IDF)

Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, also known as Unit 125, consists of about 2,500 highly trained combatants who conduct infiltration, ambushes, and cross-border raids into Israel. The military security unit receives training from both Iran and North Korea.

Alongside the weapons, troops found packages sent directly to Shiite villages from Iran, emphasizing the support the terror group receives from the world’s greatest sponsor of terrorism.

An IDF soldier displays a training certificate found with a cache of Hezbollah weapons at a school in Lebanon. (Credit: IDF)

Nearby, troops also discovered a huge cache of weapons and military equipment, including military vests, helmets, explosive devices and anti-tank missiles.

The finds highlight yet again Hezbollah’s exploitation of civilian population centers to use them as cover for their terrorist activities.

This photo shows packages sent to Shiite villages from Iran. (Credit: IDF)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a powerful message of praise to Donald Trump following a dramatic and high-risk operation that led to the rescue of an American pilot held deep inside Iranian territory for nearly 48 hours.

“I congratulate President Trump on the rescue of a brave American pilot by America’s courageous warriors,” Netanyahu said, emphasizing the significance of the mission and the level of coordination and resolve required to carry it out.

The Israeli leader noted that the operation resonated far beyond the United States, saying that Israelis were celebrating alongside Americans. “All Israelis rejoice in this remarkable operation. It proves that when free societies act with courage and determination, they can overcome the forces of darkness and terror,” he stated.

Netanyahu underscored what he described as a core and sacred military principle reinforced by the mission: that no soldier is ever abandoned. “This operation reinforces a sacred principle: no one is left behind,” he said.

Speaking from personal experience, Netanyahu reflected on his own past in elite military operations, including the historic rescue mission at Entebbe, where his brother was killed. “As someone who was wounded in such a mission and lost my brother in the Entebbe rescue, I know what a bold decision this was,” he added.

Closing his remarks, Netanyahu addressed Trump directly, praising his leadership during the operation. “My dear friend, once again your leadership brought a great victory to America. I salute you. We all do.”

The mission is already being viewed as one of the most daring rescue operations in recent years, highlighting both the risks involved and the commitment to bringing American personnel home under any circumstances.

In a radio interview, former Israeli hostage Bar Kupershtein recounted that his Hamas captor broke his leg, telling him it was revenge for the Sde Teiman affair, in which a Gazan terrorist was allegedly beaten while in detention. Ultimately, the soldiers charged in the case were cleared of wrongdoing.

IDF Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itay Offir announced March 12 the dismissal of the case, citing difficulties that arose from a leaked video that led to an investigation of the prosecution as well.

“They took Yosef Chaim Ohana and me and broke my leg,” he said. “They said that it was because of Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, because of Sde Teiman. At first, I didn’t understand what they were talking about, so they showed me the video.”

“They didn’t tell me much more, so I had no idea what Sde Teiman was meant to be,” he added. “The only thing they said was, ‘Next time we will kill you.'”

Kupershtein said he was grateful to be able to worry about different things now. For example, his car had recently been broken into, and his phone was stolen.

“I’m grateful that my problems now are a smashed window and a stolen phone,” he said.

“Last Passover, my dad had to write in the ‘Why is this night different than any other’ part of the Seder that it was different because I’ll be home,” he concluded. “I’m looking at life completely different.”

In his new iteration as the comeback kid, Kanye West, aka Ye, staged a sold-out performance with an audience of 70,000 strong at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week Wednesday. His first major concert in the United States in nearly five years follows an apology from Ye for his years’ long frenzy of insane antisemitic comments, including a song that paid tribute to Adolf Hitler that he released less than a year ago.

In January, Ye took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal apologizing to “those I’ve hurt,” explaining that his rocky history struggling with mental health issues such as bipolar disorder affected his behavior.

“My words as a leader in my community have global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that,” he said in the ad.

Ye told the enthusiastic crowd in Los Angeles, “I want to thank y’all for sticking by me all these years. Through the hard times, through the low times. I love you for that.”

Some concertgoers said that for them, Ye’s comments don’t matter as much as the music, and separating the art from the artist is more important to them. Others criticized his performance onstage, saying he was acting like a bully as he berated workers there.

President Donald Trump issued one of his most aggressive warnings yet to Iran, escalating tensions around the critical Strait of Hormuz with a blunt and unusually charged message on Truth Social.

“Open the Fuc**ng Strait, you crazy bastards… or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Trump wrote, in a post that quickly spread across social media and drew global attention.

In the same message, Trump warned that Tuesday would be “Power Plant Day” and “Bridge Day,” signaling potential strikes on key Iranian infrastructure if the waterway remains closed.

In a surprising addition, Trump concluded the message with the phrase, “Praise be to Allah,” further intensifying reactions online and adding an unexpected tone to the already forceful statement.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most strategically important waterways in the world, with a significant portion of global oil supply passing through it. Any disruption or military escalation in the region could have far-reaching economic and security consequences.

President Donald Trump revealed in an interview with Fox News that the United States sent weapons to Iranian protesters, through Kurdish channels.

“We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump said. “And I think the Kurds took the guns.”

Trump also shared with Fox News:

“If they don’t make a deal and fast, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil”

President Trump added that he believes he’ll be able to get a deal with Iran by tomorrow.

Trump’s remarks come amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States, with concerns growing that the situation could quickly spiral into a broader confrontation.

The statement marks a dramatic escalation in rhetoric and underscores the high stakes surrounding the region, as the world watches closely for what may come next.

The IDF announced Tuesday the elimination of a high-ranking Iranian official, Mohammad Reza Ashrafi Kahi, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Oil Headquarters. The now-former head of commerce oversaw billions in oil profits that funded Iran’s well-oiled war machine.

The Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, carried out the major strike in Tehran Friday, targeting the head of the IRGC’s Oil Headquarters. Under Ashrafi’s command, this powerful unit evaded international sanctions to generate huge profits that kept Iran’s military well-funded.

According to the IDF, Ashrafi managed these commercial operations, estimated at generating profits that ran into the billions per year, that strengthened the IRGC’s military and funded Iran’s proxy terror groups across the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. What’s more, the funds also powered Iran’s ballistic missile program and drone production and enabled strikes at oil production facilities throughout the region.

Ashrafi’s death closely follows the elimination of Jamshid Eshaqi, the commander of the Oil Headquarters of the armed forces, seriously undermining Iran’s ability to fund its war effort.

The IDF vowed to continue eliminating IRGC officials whenever it deems necessary. “The IDF will continue to operate against commanders and leaders of the Iranian terror regime wherever necessary,” the military said.

The IDF revealed Sunday that since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, Hezbollah has been using UNIFIL posts as cover to launch attacks against Israel.

UNIFIL, or the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, is a peacekeeping force the U.N. established in the 1970s to monitor the contentious border between Israel and Lebanon. It has, for the most part, been ineffective, allowing Hezbollah to grow in strength and numbers since that time.

The Israeli military said that since the beginning of the war, about 165 rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel have missed their mark and instead landed on or near UNIFIL locations. Hezbollah has been deliberately firing from these locations, using UNIFIL troops as human shields as they continue to imperil the lives of the U.N. peacekeepers during the past two months of fighting, according to the IDF, which added that it is working with UNIFIL forces in the region.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization systematically violates international law and continues to operate while endangering international forces and harming UN personnel operating in the area,” the IDF said in a statement. “Throughout the targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon, the IDF is working to maintain coordination with UNIFIL forces in the area.”

Israel is significantly expanding outbound travel from Ben Gurion Airport, with new measures taking effect immediately that sharply increase both passenger capacity and flight frequency.

Starting today, the cap on passengers per departing flight has been raised to 100, up from 80 just one day earlier—and double the strict 50-passenger limit imposed during the Passover period. The rapid escalation reflects a clear shift in policy as authorities begin scaling back emergency aviation restrictions.

TOPSHOT – Members of Israeli security services inspect a crater near a road outside Israel’s Ben Gurion airport after a missile launched from Yemen struck the area on May 4, 2025. A missile launched from Yemen struck near Israel’s main international airport on May 4, Israeli authorities said, an attack that briefly halted air traffic and triggered threats of retaliation. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

In a further major step, the Transportation Ministry has approved plans to double the number of departures per hour, increasing from one flight per hour to two beginning this weekend. Combined with the higher passenger cap, this is expected to dramatically boost the number of Israelis able to leave the country each day.

Officials say the changes were approved following a fresh security assessment led by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, with additional increases already under consideration. Authorities are reportedly aiming to raise capacity even further in the coming days, depending on evolving conditions.

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Qasmiyeh bridge, located on a main highway linking villages in the Tyre district with others further north, after Israel said the bridge was being used by Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon on March 22, 2026. Israel’s military struck a key bridge in south Lebanon on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, after Israel’s defence minister said the army had been ordered to destroy more bridges over the Litani River. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, when pro-Iran Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian supreme leader on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP via Getty Images) /

The move marks one of the most significant relaxations of wartime aviation limits since the latest escalation began, signaling growing confidence in managing ongoing security risks while restoring outbound travel flow.

The missing American airman is now out of Iran after a U.S. special operations rescue recovered the second crew member of the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down Friday. The officer was the jet’s weapons systems officer, not the pilot, and President Donald Trump said he was injured but expected to recover. The pilot had been recovered earlier, within hours of the shootdown.

All details point to a rescue effort that drew on hundreds of special operations troops and other personnel, dozens of aircraft, and a wider envelope of intelligence, cyber, and space-enabled support. One senior U.S. military official described it, in the New York Times account, as one of the most challenging and complex missions in the history of American special operations.

The most dramatic part of the story is what happened between the shootdown and the extraction. Axios reported that the officer was wounded on ejection but still able to move, then evaded capture in the mountains for more than a day. He then moved away from the wreckage, activated an emergency beacon, and hid on elevated terrain; one source said he even climbed a 7,000-foot ridgeline.

The intelligence picture appears to have been just as important as the gunships and commandos. Axios reported, that the CIA ran a deception campaign inside Iran before the rescue force moved in, spreading false information that the missing officer had already been found and was being moved elsewhere. A senior administration official called it the “ultimate needle in a haystack,” saying the CIA then passed the officer’s precise location to the Pentagon and the White House.

That bought time, but it did not produce a clean corridor. Iranian civilians had been urged to help locate the airman, while IRGC forces also moved toward the area to block a rescue. U.S. aircraft then struck or fired on Iranian convoys closing in on the hiding place. Several accounts describe heavy exchanges of fire around the extraction, while Wall Street Journal live coverage said there was no significant ground firefight even though the mission used overwhelming firepower and unfolded under intense pressure.

The exfiltration itself nearly collapsed at the end. At least one transport aircraft malfunctioned inside Iran and had to be destroyed by U.S. forces after the airman was moved toward it. Air & Space Forces Magazine said two MC-130J special operations aircraft were blown up on the ground and three replacement aircraft had to be flown in to get everyone out.

Iran, predictably, is telling the story very differently. Reuters, quoting Iranian officials and Tasnim, reported Tehran’s claim that a C-130 and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed during the mission. American outlets say Black Hawks involved in the broader rescue effort were hit by Iranian fire but escaped, while the transport aircraft losses appear to have been caused by U.S. self-destruction to prevent sensitive platforms and equipment from falling into Iranian hands.

Air & Space Forces Magazine described the F-15E downing as the first known combat loss of a U.S. crewed aircraft in the Iran war, and it came the same day an A-10 was also lost after being hit, though that pilot made it to friendly airspace and ejected safely. That undercuts earlier public talk about uncontested American control of the skies and shows that even after weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iran still retains enough air-defense capacity to threaten manned aircraft and complicate recovery missions deep inside its territory.

It also explains why Washington was willing to throw so much force at one isolated officer. In an F-15E, the second seat is not a passenger seat but a weapons systems officer position; the Air Force’s own fact sheet describes the Strike Eagle as a two-crew aircraft built around a pilot and a WSO for long-range strike and air-to-ground combat. And the MC-130J aircraft that reportedly played a central role are designed specifically for clandestine infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply missions in hostile or politically sensitive territory. In other words, the platforms named in the reporting fit a classic high-end personnel-

Notably, Ynet said Israeli officials shared intelligence with the U.S. during the search and that the IDF helped keep Iranian forces away from parts of the search area.

A rough timeline looks like this. Friday, the F-15E is brought down over Iran and both crew members eject; the pilot is recovered first, while the WSO remains behind enemy lines. The same day, an A-10 is also hit and later lost, though its pilot survives after reaching friendly territory.

Over the next day, the missing officer remains on the move in mountainous terrain while Iran mobilizes forces and civilians to find him. Intelligence collection intensifies, the CIA reportedly runs a deception effort, and U.S. aircraft strike approaching Iranian elements to keep the search area from closing around him.

Then comes the rescue push itself, specialized commandos, heavy air cover, and wider ISR support converge on the officer’s position. He is reached alive, but the extraction becomes even more complicated when transport aircraft on the ground are disabled or stuck, forcing U.S. commanders to destroy them and improvise a second lift to get the officer and the recovery force out.

Israeli real estate is not moving in one direction right now. It is splitting. The broad market is still weighed down by cautious local buyers, expensive financing, and a record stock of unsold new apartments. But in prime Tel Aviv, a narrower pool of overseas and high-end buyers is still closing deals at levels that would have looked aggressive even before the war. Not a broad recovery, but a selective one, concentrated in the safest, best-located, most liquid parts of the market.

Credible sources report that a French lawyer bought two adjacent apartments in a Tama 38/1 project on Michal Street in central Tel Aviv for about NIS 13 million, with plans to merge them into one future home ahead of aliyah. The combined area is about 167 square meters, with two balconies and two safe rooms, and the deal reflects roughly NIS 77,000 per square meter. Another Paris couple bought a four-room apartment in the Noga 1 project in north Jaffa for about NIS 8 million, or roughly NIS 69,600 per square meter, as a holiday apartment for now and a possible future move later. Media also cites fresh deals at Allenby 100, Ben Yehuda 105 and Herzl 91 at roughly NIS 94,000, NIS 81,700 and NIS 69,800 per square meter respectively, plus a NIS 5 million garden apartment purchase in Yad Eliyahu by an Israeli investor. In other words, money is still showing up, but it is chasing very specific product, central Tel Aviv, urban renewal, proximity to the sea or transit, and newer units with protected space.

From a real estate perspective, that matters because these deals can make Tel Aviv look hotter than the wider market really is. Foreign buyers are still a small slice of total activity nationally. Data cited from the Finance Ministry’s chief economist show foreign residents bought 433 apartments in the first quarter of 2025, less than 2% of all transactions, though that was up 37% from the unusually weak first quarter a year earlier. By October 2025, foreign-resident purchases were down to just 96 apartments, down 13% year over year, as the strong shekel and high prices worked against them. So the overseas story is real, but it is concentrated, not broad-based. It is strongest in prestige and lifestyle segments where a buyer is less sensitive to mortgage costs and more motivated by long-term relocation, family strategy, or simply securing a foothold in Israel.

The latest CBS housing-price release showed a 0.1% dip in national home prices in the December 2025-January 2026 period versus the prior two-month period, and a 0.9% decline year over year. In Tel Aviv District specifically, prices were down 2.8% from the same period a year earlier. At the same time, the fourth-quarter 2025 average home price in Tel Aviv still stood at NIS 3,360,600, by far the highest in the country, versus a national average of NIS 2,362,900. That is why selective high-end transactions can continue even while the district as a whole is under pressure, Tel Aviv remains expensive, but its submarkets are behaving very differently from one another. Trophy streets, boutique renewal projects and finished or nearly finished inventory are holding up much better than the broader field.

According to Finance Ministry data, total residential transactions in 2025 fell 11% from 2024 to 84,879, while new-home sales dropped 25%. At the end of December 2025, a record 86,090 new homes remained unsold. That inventory overhang has shifted bargaining power away from sellers in many places and created room for unpublished discounts, especially in parts of Tel Aviv where developers have brought a lot of product to market at once. Agents say that purchase prices in some Tel Aviv neighborhoods were already off by 15% to 20% from prior expectations, even as prime assets continued to trade. That is the contradiction shaping the market as headline luxury deals are happening, but they are happening inside a market that still has too much supply relative to domestic demand.

The Bank of Israel left its policy rate unchanged at 4.00% on March 30. In a separate review, the bank said roughly 69,000 mortgages were refinanced in 2025 for a cumulative NIS 43.6 billion, equal to about 7% of the banking system’s mortgage book, versus an average of around 4.5% in 2019-2024. About 15% of those refinancings involved extending the mortgage term, a sign that some households were looking for monthly cash-flow relief rather than just better pricing. The Bank of Israel has also warned about a rise in additional housing credit and payment structures that push a large share of the purchase price to delivery, because those deals can mask the real repayment burden on households. This is exactly why diaspora cash buyers and affluent no-financing buyers matter disproportionately right now since they can transact while ordinary Israeli households hesitate.

TOPSHOT – Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on June 14, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, “martyred” top commanders and killed dozens of civilians (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

CBS says the average construction time for a building rose from 33.0 months before the war to 34.5 months after it began, and the bureau has estimated that the full war impact could add roughly six to eight months to construction timelines over time. The Bank of Israel has separately pointed to labor shortages, especially the drop in non-Israeli workers and the drag from reserve duty, as continuing supply constraints. In plain terms, a buyer today is paying a premium not only for location but for certainty that the project will actually get delivered, certainty that the building will include a safe room, and certainty that the asset will still be desirable if market conditions stay uneven.

Future IDF soldiers are pictured upon their arrival in Israel Aug. 15 on a flight chartered by the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah agency. Credit: Shahar Azran.

Diaspora demand is not rescuing Israeli housing at the macro level. It is, however, supporting price discovery and transaction activity in a narrow but influential slice of the market, luxury and upper-middle prime stock in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, especially where lifestyle, security, and future aliyah overlap. The broader market still looks slow, overstocked and financing-sensitive. But if you want to know where pricing power has not disappeared, look at central Tel Aviv, new or renewed buildings with protected space, and buyers who are writing checks for a long horizon rather than shopping for a mortgage.

As of today, new guidelines approved by the Ministry of Transport are officially in force at Ben Gurion Airport.

Under the updated framework, each departing flight is now permitted to carry up to 80 passengers, including humanitarian cases—marking a measured step toward easing outbound travel restrictions.

Authorities emphasize that while the changes are now active, the situation remains fluid and policies may be adjusted based on ongoing security assessments and operational decisions.

Following the firing of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a photo obtained by MS Now and circulating online appears to show her portrait, apparently taken down from a Department of Justice wall, unceremoniously dumped in a trash bin.

According to both former and current DOJ officials, this is no surprise, given how deeply unpopular the former attorney general was, with many resigning under her administration and others fired. A simmering resentment lingers among many of these officials over the demotion of a respected career veteran, Devin DeBacker, who had been the acting chief of the national security division. When Bondi discovered that photos of previous administration members, including Kamala Harris, were still hanging on the wall of a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the DOJ, she personally took them down and demoted DeBacker over the incident.

“I went up on the seventh floor, which is the national security division,” Bondi told Fox News at the time. “The entire floor is a SCIF, so no one can get in there,. So I was able to get the code, open the door — and I look on the wall and see President Biden, Kamala Harris, and Merrick Garland’s paintings still hanging.”

“I personally took all three photos down,” she said. “I put them in front of someone who said to me, ‘Oh well, maintenance is really slow here.’ I said, ‘Well, it took me about 30 seconds to get them off the wall.’”

Upon hearing of her termination, a former national security division official told MS Now that “they better take her picture down.”

The U.S. State Department said in a statement Saturday that the niece and great-niece of Qassem Soleimani have been arrested following the revocation of their residency permits by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

President Donald Trump had ordered the drone strike that successfully eliminated the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force in 2020.

While the great-niece was not identified, her mother has been named as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and labeled as “outspoken” in promoting Iran’s “terrorist regime.” The statement said that her husband has also been blocked from entering the United States.

“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement said. “As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani speaks at a press conference on Dec. 24, 2014. (Photo by Ali al-Saadi/AFP via Getty Images)

“While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization,” the statement added. “Afshar Soleimani pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account.”

Rubio also posted on X regarding the incident.

“This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States,” he wrote. “The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

The State Department said that Rubio also terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of the former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The couple is not in the U.S. and will not be allowed to return, according to the statement.

Larijani was assassinated by the IDF last month.

British police have charged Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old boy in the torching of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish area of north London. The vehicles were set on fire in the early hours outside a local synagogue where the volunteer-led ambulance service bases its cars, turning an already shocking antisemitic attack into one of the most disturbing assaults on Jewish communal infrastructure Britain has seen in months.

The blaze triggered explosions from oxygen canisters inside the ambulances, forced the evacuation of nearby homes, and temporarily displaced 34 residents. No one was injured, but four emergency vehicles were destroyed. Hatzola remained operational, and the British government said replacement ambulances would be put in place immediately while permanent replacements are funded.

The case is not formally being classified as terrorism at this stage, but it is being handled by Counter Terrorism Policing London and treated as an antisemitic hate crime. Prosecutors told the court there is significant evidence the ambulances were deliberately singled out in a premeditated attack against the Jewish community. The three defendants were remanded in custody and are due back at the Old Bailey on April 24.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 23: Forensic teams investigate the burnt wreckage of a Hatzola ambulance after four were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, on March 23, 2026 in the Golders Green area of London, England. Firefighters were called to the scene at around 1:40AM and the fire was brought under control just after 3:00 AM. Hatzola is a Jewish volunteer organisation that provides people emergency medical response and free transportation to hospitals. The Metropolitan Police said they are treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime.” (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

A fourth suspect was arrested at Westminster Magistrates’ Court while attending the hearing, after officers said they recognized him as allegedly being involved in the attack. Two other men arrested earlier remain on bail. The wider significance is hard to miss: this was not vandalism, but an alleged strike on Jewish first responders parked beside a synagogue, at a time when British authorities are already stepping up protection around Jewish communities.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 23: The burnt wreckage of Hatzola ambulances as fire services continue to monitor the scene after they were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, on March 23, 2026 in the Golders Green area of London, England. Firefighters were called to the scene at around 1:40AM and the fire was brought under control just after 3:00 AM. Hatzola is a Jewish volunteer organisation that provides people emergency medical response and free transportation to hospitals. The Metropolitan Police said they are treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime.” (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Video shows Hezbollah continuing to use fiber-optic-guided FPV attack drones against Israeli armored forces in southern Lebanon.

In the footage, two drones strike Israeli Merkava Mk.4 tanks—one hits a tank’s track, while the second impacts the heavily armored front of the turret. The extent of the damage and any casualties remains unclear.

Israel widened its campaign inside Iran by striking petrochemical infrastructure in Mahshahr, in southwestern Khuzestan Province, with the IDF saying the complex was a key source of chemical materials used for explosives, ballistic missiles and other weapons. The military said one of the targets was among the regime’s two central facilities for producing a critical ballistic missile component.

The hit marks a notable escalation in how Israel is pressuring Tehran. This was not presented as another strike on a launcher, air-defense battery or storage depot alone. Israeli reporting said the attack was aimed at a site tied directly to the missile supply chain, while the IDF said the strike halted production of the relevant chemical materials and was expected to inflict major financial damage as well. Reuters separately reported that Israel is preparing possible attacks on additional Iranian energy facilities, pending a U.S. green light, suggesting Mahshahr may be part of a broader move toward sustained economic pressure on the regime’s war machine.

Iranian media described multiple blasts across the Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone and nearby industrial sites, with Tasnim naming the Fajr 1 and 2, Rejal and Amir Kabir plants among those hit. Tasnim also reported follow-on strikes near Bandar-e Imam Khomeini and said the industrial zone was evacuated after the attacks, while authorities said any released hazardous material did not pose an immediate threat to nearby cities.

The casualty picture remains unsettled. Initial Iranian reporting cited by Tasnim said five people were wounded. Later Iranian state-linked reporting cited by AP, AFP and Anadolu said at least five people were killed and around 170 were injured, with most of the wounded reportedly treated and released. That gap matters, and for now the latest verified status is that the operational details of the strike are clear, but the human toll is still being reported inconsistently across Iranian-linked outlets.

Mahshahr is one of Iran’s most important petrochemical hubs, which means damage there can hit both industrial feedstock and export-linked revenue at the same time. In practice, that puts more pressure on Tehran’s ability to keep financing and supplying missile production as Israel tries to move from attrition of launch capabilities toward deeper disruption of the regime’s strategic base. If further energy-site strikes follow, this attack may end up looking like a turning point rather than a one-off blow.

Oil pumps extracting crude at sunset. Oil drill and pump jack in oilfield.

An Israeli soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in a friendly fire incident overnight in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced.

The fallen soldier has been identified as Sgt. First Class Guy Ludar, 21, a fighter in the Commando Brigade’s elite Maglan Unit from Yuvalim.

The incident occurred around 3 a.m. during an arrest operation in the village of Shebaa. Maglan troops had entered the area to detain a suspect believed to be assisting Hezbollah.

According to an initial IDF investigation, amid the operation, one soldier believed he had identified suspects attempting to flee and opened fire. The gunfire fatally struck Ludar and seriously injured another soldier.

The mission itself was completed, and the suspect was successfully apprehended and transferred to Israel for questioning.

The IDF says the incident is under further investigation.

Starting Saturday night, Israel is expected to ease some of the wartime restrictions at Ben Gurion Airport, with the cap on departing passengers set to rise to 80 per flight. The change, coordinated by the Israel Airports Authority and Home Front Command, would partially roll back the stricter emergency framework that had limited outbound flights to 50 passengers, alongside a small number of humanitarian exceptions.

The broader system still remains heavily restricted. During the latest security clampdown, only one departing flight per hour and one arriving flight per hour were allowed, while inbound flights could land full. The tighter limits were imposed after renewed Iranian missile threats and pressure from security officials to further reduce risk around Ben Gurion.

An ELAL flight seen taking off from Ben Gurion International Airport, on March 24, 2018. Photo by Moshe Shai/FLASH90

The aviation disruption has spilled beyond Israel’s borders. Arkia shifted parts of its operation to Aqaba and Taba, but its Aqaba plan ran into trouble after Jordanian authorities changed policy and blocked approvals for some flights, leaving passengers stranded and forcing cancellations. At the same time, El Al warned its outbound seat supply had dropped to roughly 5% of normal levels and pushed to open Ramon Airport as an additional outlet, while maintaining a limited network to key destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris, Rome, and Athens.

Israel is beginning to reopen a bit of breathing room for outbound travel, but the skies are still far from normal, and airlines remain constrained by both security rules and regional disruptions.

Iranian media outlets are circulating footage allegedly showing U.S. HC-130J and HH-60G rescue aircraft operating over southern Iran, suggesting a possible Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission underway.

The reported activity follows unconfirmed claims that a U.S. F-15E fighter jet crashed inside Iranian territory. According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, one pilot ejected from the aircraft after it was reportedly shot down and may have been taken into custody by Iranian forces.

Additional reports indicate that U.S. CSAR units, including Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 platform, entered southern Iran in an effort to locate and recover the missing aircrew.

There has been no official confirmation from the U.S. military regarding the downing of the aircraft, the status of the pilots, or the reported rescue operation.

🔥 Top Stories

• Iran-linked militias kidnap Shelly Kittleson, an American journalist, in Baghdad.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war with Iran is “beyond the halfway point,” predicting eventual regime collapse.
• IDF Chief declares Iran is “collapsing,” praising unprecedented U.S.-Israel coordination in this war.

📊 By the Numbers

• Dozens of rocket launchers aimed at Israel were dismantled in a single IDF operation before they could be fired.
• Israel Railways caps Jerusalem line trains at 1,200 passengers per direction during Chol Hamoed travel.
• U.S. gas prices top $4 per gallon for the first time in years.

⚔️ Battlefield

• IDF troops in southern Lebanon eliminate an entire Hezbollah drone-launching cell after coming under direct attack.
• The Israeli Air Force carries out a new wave of strikes targeting the Iranian regime’s infrastructure.
• Four IDF soldiers were killed in a fierce clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
• Iran confirms the death of IRGC air defense officer Seyyed Ali Tavasoli.

🌍 Global

• Gulf allies urge the U.S. to intensify the fight against Iran as Donald Trump considers exit strategies.
• The UAE prepares to assist the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
• Israel halts weapons sales to France after two years of diplomatic hostility.
• Iran imposes the death penalty for collaboration as arrests surge internally.

🏛️ Israeli Politics

• Defense Minister Israel Katz announces plans for Israel to maintain security control in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River post-war.
• Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida resurfaces, urging the capture of Israeli soldiers following Israel’s death penalty law for terrorists.
• U.S. Embassy Jerusalem pauses assisted departure bus service to Jordan until further notice.

🌍 Jewish World

• American Jews distribute thousands of free ice cream bars to Shilo communities as families prepare for Pesach under missile threat.
• Birkat Kohanim at the Kosel will be limited to just 50 Kohanim this Pesach due to security concerns.

U.S.

• A judge orders the University of Pennsylvania to provide the names of Jewish employees as part of a federal antisemitism probe.
• Donald Trump is set to attend a Supreme Court hearing on his executive order regarding birthright citizenship.
• King Charles III is expected to visit the United States later this April.

💼 Business & Economy

• Unilever plans a $65 billion merger of its food division with McCormick & Company, marking one of the largest food industry deals ever.

🧠 Behind the Scenes

• In a major legal twist, attorneys for Tyler Robinson reveal that federal analysis could not match the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk to the alleged weapon, shaking the entire case.

An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad, in what is seemingly tied to the growing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, with fingers pointing to an Iran-backed militia as the likely culprit.

Shelly Kittleson is a freelance reporter who contributes to major outlets, including BBC, Politico, and more, and was abducted Tuesday by armed men in central Baghdad, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

Multiple vehicles were involved in the operation, with one car crashing during a pursuit as Iraqi security forces attempted to intercept the kidnappers. One suspect has been arrested and had his vehicle seized, but Kittleson was transferred to another car that escaped and is still missing.

The U.S. blames Kataib Hezbollah, which is an Iranian-aligned militia operating in Iraq, as the group believed to be behind the abduction. No formal claim of responsibility has been made.

TOPSHOT – A flag of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), flutters against the backdrop of people taking a swing ride at an amusement park during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Baghdad on March 21, 2026. Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israel attack on its neighbour Iran on February 28. Strikes have targeted Iran-backed groups, which in turn have claimed near-daily attacks on US interests, mostly in Iraq but also across the wider region. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Kittleson had been warned by the U.S. State Department prior to her trip that she faced threats and was advised to leave Iraq. The kidnapping comes during regional tensions, with Iranian-backed militias increasing attacks on U.S. targets.

Media organizations and press freedom groups condemned the kidnapping, warning that targeting journalists not only endangers lives but threatens the ability to report from some of the world’s most volatile and dangerous regions.

The story is eerily similar to the 2023 kidnapping of researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, which was then also attributed to Kataib Hezbollah, raising fears that Kittleson could be held long-term as a geopolitical bargaining chip.

In a dramatic difference from the usual tradition, this year’s Birkat Kohanim at the Kosel on Chol Hamoed will take place with just 50 kohanim, a fraction of the massive crowds typically seen at the momentous ceremony.

Under normal circumstances, tens of thousands of Jews pack the Western Wall, with hundreds and sometimes even thousands of kohanim participating in the duchening.

But due to the ongoing war and strict Home Front Command restrictions, authorities have capped gatherings at 50 participants, provided a protected space can be reached within seconds in case of missile sirens. As a result, the usual beautiful and meaningful bracha will not take place. Instead, a symbolic, limited ceremony will be held, with options to watch it live-stream rather than actually being there.

This is a result of the heightened security situation in Jerusalem, where missile fragments have previously landed in and around the Old City since the war began, and it is also coming right after a large controversy about gatherings at holy sites.

A controversial fine issued to a chareidi driver for wearing tefillin while driving has now been officially canceled, following intervention from Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The incident, which was heatedly debated, took place in Jerusalem when a driver was slapped with a ₪1,000 ticket by police who claimed he did not have proper control of the steering wheel due to wearing tefillin.

However, after a formal review, authorities determined the ticket should never have been issued. The reversal came after Ben-Gvir demanded clarification from police regarding the circumstances of the fine. The investigation revealed that the officers involved were volunteer personnel and that the citation was issued in an unprofessional manner that failed to meet required enforcement standards. Following consultation with the Head of the Traffic Division, the fine was immediately voided.

Attorney Eilon Oron explained that while tefillin could theoretically interfere with driving depending on how they are worn, this situation required discretion, not punishment.

CREDIT: C14

He noted that if the driver had not already put on the tefillin before beginning his trip, and was actively distracted, or if one was holding a siddur obstructing his vision, then the situation becomes legally questionable.

“In this case,” Oron said, “how is this different from someone driving in a Purim costume, as long as it doesn’t impair visibility?”He added that at most, the officer could have issued a warning rather than a steep fine.

Sharona, the mother of Captain Noam Madmoni, 22, delivered a heart-wrenching eulogy that captured the unbearable moment no parent should ever face:

“I saw an officer from the IDF casualty notification unit, the most difficult thing in the world to see. Save me, Creator of the Universe. I see someone, he signals. I tell him to get lost, you’ve got the wrong house. He asked, ‘Is this the Madmoni family?’ No. This is not Madmoni. You can go. I’m not opening the door or the window. There’s no chance I’m opening for you. You’re not coming into my house.”

She shared one of their final moments together, recalling a simple but powerful request her son made:

“Mom and Dad, I have just one request to you, please don’t speak lashon hara. I don’t want anything more than that.”

She concluded through unimaginable pain:

“I’m not leaving you. There’s no chance. Comfort of my soul, light of my soul… my prince!”

Captain Noam Madmoni HY”D

At just 22 years old, he should have had a lifetime of dreams ahead of him. Instead, he gave his life in Lebanon so that Israel could continue living theirs.

He was not just a soldier, but a leader, a hero, and a protector of our people. While the world moves forward, he will remain forever young, frozen in courage, sacrifice, and honor.

A federal judge has ordered the University of Pennsylvania to comply with a subpoena from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its antisemitism investigation, a major ruling in one of the most closely watched campus discrimination fights in the country. Judge Gerald Pappert said the EEOC has a legitimate interest in identifying possible witnesses and victims, but he did not give the government everything it wanted: Penn does not have to reveal any employee’s affiliation with a specific Jewish group, and AP reported the ruling also excluded information tied to Penn Hillel, Chabad Lubavitch House and MEOR. The university has until May 1 to comply.

The case exploded because Penn and several Jewish faculty and student-linked groups argued the subpoena would effectively force the university to build government “lists of Jews,” exposing the very people supposedly being protected. Pappert rejected that argument and said comparisons between the EEOC’s probe and Nazi-era lists were “unfortunate and inappropriate.” Penn said it will appeal, insisting that being forced to compile lists of Jewish faculty and staff and hand over personal contact information raises serious privacy and First Amendment concerns.

University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

At the center of the fight is the EEOC’s claim that Penn has not turned over enough information for investigators to determine whether Jewish employees were subjected to a hostile work environment. The agency says it needs names and contact details so it can directly reach people who may have witnessed or experienced antisemitic conduct and assess whether the university’s response was adequate. In its enforcement action, the EEOC said Penn allowed antisemitic harassment to persist and escalate across its Philadelphia campus.

The ruling lands in a much larger post–October 7 reckoning at Penn. Federal investigators cited alleged antisemitic obscenities and vandalism at a Jewish student life center, a swastika painted on an academic building, and hateful graffiti outside a fraternity, alongside broader tensions tied to Gaza-war protests and the university’s response to them. Penn says it has already cooperated extensively, turning over roughly 900 pages of material, and had offered to notify employees about the investigation rather than disclose private information without consent.

Opinion piece by the President and Founder of United Hatzalah of Israel, Eli Beer

Over the weekend, we learned of the death of Moshe Yitzchak Katz, an American Israeli soldier who fell in battle in Lebanon. His loss is not only part of the heavy toll this war continues to exact. For many within the global community of first responders, his story carries a deeper resonance.

Moshe was the son of a volunteer EMT with Hatzalah in New Haven, Connecticut.

Photo shows 22-year-old Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Katz, from New Haven, with his father Mendy.

To those who live a life of response, that detail is not incidental. It is foundational.

I am certain that Moshe’s home was shaped by a deep commitment to emergency service. He would have seen, time and again, that when a call comes in, you go. You do not hesitate. You understand that responsibility is not something you pass on. It is something you run toward.

It is difficult not to see that same instinct reflected in Moshe’s life. While I never met him, it is clear that these values took root early. The decision to leave the familiarity of home, to make Aliyah, and to serve on the frontlines as a soldier in the IDF was not incidental. It was a choice. A deliberate act of answering a call.

Across the world, Hatzalah volunteers embody that same reflex. Whether in New Haven or Nes Tziona, they leave their Shabbat tables, their workplaces, and their families behind to run toward strangers in distress. Different organizations. Different languages. Different uniforms. But the work, and more importantly the calling, is identical.

Moshe carried that calling in a different uniform.

He did not carry a medic bag. He carried the Shield of David in defense of his people. He did not ride an ambucycle. He stood on the frontlines to protect others. Yet the essence of his mission was no different. He ran toward danger when others might have stepped back.

That is what binds Moshe to us. Not affiliation. Not geography. Not even the uniform we wear. We stand shoulder to shoulder, united by a shared cause that transcends organizations and borders.

We are bound as Jews, and as first responders in the deepest sense of the word. People who do not turn away from the call for help. People who understand that when life is on the line, it is our duty to respond.

Moshe Yitzchak Katz lived that truth and fell embodying it.

On behalf of the United Hatzalah family, I extend our deepest condolences to the Katz family. We mourn with you and honor the values that shaped Moshe’s life and his extraordinary choice. May his legacy strengthen our resolve to answer the next call, wherever it may come.

Hamas’s military spokesman identifying himself as “Abu Obaida” released a new message urging Hezbollah to escalate efforts to capture Israeli soldiers in order to secure prisoner exchanges.

“We in Gaza, who are so close, repeatedly call on the people of Hezbollah to complete the mission,” the spokesman said, expressing clear displeasure with Israel’s new death penalty law, which went into effect yesterday.

The message has raised eyebrows, as the original Abu Obaida was widely believed to have been killed. In reality, this appears to be another individual who has taken his keffiyeh and his name, continuing the persona under the same identity.

Critics say this kind of thinking is exactly why Israel needs the death penalty law. Without it, they argue, jihadist groups will continue attempting to kidnap Israelis in order to leverage prisoner releases for their murderous brethren.

A major new development is casting doubt again over the prosecution’s case in the high-profile assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as defense attorneys for accused gunman Tyler Robinson claim key forensic evidence does not add up.

Robinson’s legal team revealed that a federal analysis by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was unable to match the bullet recovered from Kirk’s body to the rifle allegedly tied to Robinson. This claim will significantly weaken the prosecution’s central argument linking Robinson directly to the fatal shot.

The defense is now pushing to delay the upcoming preliminary hearing, since they need more time to analyze the evidence, including additional testing currently being conducted by the FBI.

Kirk, a prominent conservative figure and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed in September 2025 during a campus event at Utah Valley University in a long-range shot.

Robinson, 22, was later arrested after a family member gave him up. He now faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors have indicated they may pursue the death penalty.

Despite the defense’s claims, prosecutors maintain that other evidence, including DNA and digital communications, ties Robinson to the crime. However, the emerging ballistic dispute is expected to become a central battleground in the case moving forward.

The IDF issued a statement Tuesday regarding a Monday operation in which three soldiers were lightly injured.

Troops operating in southern Lebanon came under fire when Hezbollah terrorists launched a drone directly at their location. The soldiers immediately returned fire, eliminating the entire cell, according to the military.

The IDF also said that three soldiers sustained light injuries and were evacuated to a hospital for treatment. Their families have been notified, the military said.

The Israeli military vowed to protect the people of Israel from terror attacks and make Hezbollah pay a high price for its ill-fated decision to join the war on Iran’s behalf.

“The IDF will continue to operate decisively against the Hezbollah terrorist organization after it chose to join the hostilities and operate under the auspices of the Iranian regime,” the military declared in its statement. “The IDF will not allow harm to be caused to Israeli civilians.”

The IDF said that the Israeli Air Force, acting on intelligence provided by the IDF, completed a wave of strikes on Iran Tuesday morning, targeting various infrastructure sites related to the authoritarian regime.

Continuing its war effort to seriously degrade Iran’s military manufacturing industries, the IDF dropped more than 80 munitions on regime infrastructure, including a site that makes key parts for ballistic missile engines, a site used to test ballistic missile engines, and a factory that produces air defense systems.

At the same time, the IDF struck additional targets, including infrastructure at the IRGC’s main naval headquarters, as well as other sites used to launch and store ballistic missiles and additional air defense systems.

“The IDF continues to further degrade the regime’s military industries to deny the production capabilities it has built over many years,” the military said.

While conducting a sweep of the Ramiyah area of southern Lebanon, troops from the 146th Division discovered dozens of loaded rocket launchers pointed toward Israel and ready to fire, the IDF said Tuesday. The soldiers dismantled the launchers shortly thereafter, preventing a wave of attacks on Israel.

The military said that earlier in the day the soldiers located a launcher that had recently fired rockets at the northern communities of Israel that same day, which they destroyed via airstrikes.

Credit: IDF

The same division, working with the Israeli Air Force, also dismantled dozens of terror infrastructure sites, including anti-tank missile launching posts, observation posts, underground tunnel shafts, weapon storage facilities and apartments out of which terrorists operate, according to the IDF.

The military also said that it is doing everything in its power “to reduce rocket fire attacks toward the State of Israel and the communities of northern Israel in particular, a mission which is of the highest priority.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, the IDF said that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir hosted the commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, for meetings over the past several days to discuss the importance of working together on the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran and to plan next steps.

Zamir expressed optimism over the two countries’ achievements in the war so far and extolled the relationship between them, saying their cooperation and coordination have reached historic levels.

In his remarks, the IDF chief of staff said, “The IDF and the United States Armed Forces operate based on shared interests and values, fighting shoulder to shoulder — we are true partners. Through synchronized and coordinated action, together we are striking the Iranian terror regime and making it both strategically isolated and weaker than it has ever been before.”

Describing the close partnership between Israeli and U.S. officials, Zamir added, “I maintain close, daily contact with my close partners in the United States Armed Forces as part of the execution of the operation. There is a shared interest here — a commitment to removing an existential threat from Israel and from the entire region.”

TOPSHOT – Smoke plumes rise from an ongoing fire following an overnight airstrike on the Shahran oil refinery in northwestern Tehran on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

Zamir vowed to continue the fight until the goal of weakening Iran has been met.

“These are historic days, which were planned with precision,” he said. “Our intelligence, aerial defense, logistics and additional units are operating day and night together with their counterparts in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Israeli Air Force and the United States Air Force are operating together and enabling the pace of our progress and the depth of the impact we have achieved. We’re not stopping, and in the coming days we will continue to expand our achievements and weaken the Iranian regime.”

“The strategic partnership with our ally is a tremendous source of strength and its level is unprecedented in this operation,” he added. “I am in daily contact with the commander of CENTCOM, Adm. Brad Cooper. He is a brilliant commander — I couldn’t ask for more than his brave partnership.”

The chief of staff also said that the government of Iran is collapsing under the combined weight of U.S. and Israeli strikes.

“The Iranian regime’s axis of terror is beginning to collapse, and we will continue to strike until our objectives are reached,” he concluded. “I would like to express my deep appreciation for the determined and courageous actions of the United States Armed Forces and the strong coordination that has been formed between us.”

According to a media report Tuesday, Gulf states are privately pressuring the Trump administration to escalate the war with Iran, contrary to his stated wish to wind down operations and pull out, following his timetable of four to six weeks, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf allies do not believe the month-long strikes have weakened Iran enough to neutralize the threat. While they are pushing for boots on the ground, Qatar and Oman, the usual suspects, are urging President Donald Trump to pursue a diplomatic solution.

Top officials from Gulf states pushing for escalation have said that any deal with Iran must include ending its nuclear and ballistic missile program and support for its proxy terror groups across the region, despite Tehran’s threat to target critical infrastructure in retaliation.

Trump is meanwhile considering demanding that Arab states pay for the war effort as they did in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, when Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates underwrote the cost of that military campaign. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump “would be quite interested” in repeating history in this case.

Israel is working toward building alliances with Gulf countries who view Iran as a common threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Tuesday that Israel is “forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking about fighting alongside us.”

“In the past, I had secret conversations with Arab leaders,” he said. “I told them that once Iran is able, it will conquer you and bring down your kingdoms. Back then, they didn’t really internalize this — today, they understand.”

Israel’s Knesset has passed a new death penalty law pushed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, with 62 lawmakers backing it in final readings and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting in favor. Supporters cast it as a post–October 7 answer to terrorists who carry out deliberate, murderous attacks against Israelis.

The core change is severe: for Palestinian terrorists convicted in military courts in Judea & Samaria of deadly attacks, death by hanging becomes the default sentence, with life imprisonment left only for vaguely defined “special circumstances.” The law also sets a timetable of up to 90 days for carrying out the sentence, making this one of the most far-reaching shifts in Israeli punishment policy in decades.

There is an important catch. Despite the political messaging around October 7, the law does not apply retroactively to the Hamas terrorists who carried out that massacre; their prosecution is expected to be handled through separate legislation. Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954, and the only execution ever carried out after a civilian trial was Adolf Eichmann in 1962, which underscores how dramatic this move is inside Israel’s legal system.

Now the battle shifts from the Knesset floor to the courts and the diplomatic arena. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has already petitioned the High Court to strike the law down, while the EU called the move “very concerning.” The U.S., by contrast, stopped short of condemnation and said it respects Israel’s sovereign right to determine its own laws and penalties, while expecting fair-trial protections.

As Jews in Israel and around the world head into Pesach with the Iran war still hanging over every phone alert and every trip to a protected space, one gesture in the Shilo area cut through the tension with something simple and human: free ice cream, handed out with love. Pesach begins this week in Israel, even as the IDF continues to report fresh missile launches from Iran toward Israeli territory and repeated alerts to civilians.

According to organizers, American Jews sponsored thousands of dollars’ worth of ice cream to be distributed across at least five communities in and around Shilo, with several thousand bars expected to reach local families. In a part of Judea and Samaria that has absorbed years of war pressure, security strain, and the emotional grind now gripping the country again, the message was not political theater. It was achdut in motion: a reminder that even from thousands of miles away, Jews were thinking about their brothers and sisters in Israel and looking for a way to lift spirits before the holiday.

That message was written across the truck itself. The banner urged Jews to look for the good in one another, echoing Rebbe Nachman’s teaching in Likutei Moharan 282 that one must search for a “little good” in every Jew and judge others favorably, even when it is difficult. It is a deeply countercultural message in a season of tension, grief, and argument, and precisely for that reason it landed.

The setting made it more powerful. Mateh Binyamin says Shilo is a religious community founded in 1978 that serves as an anchor for education, agriculture, commerce, and employment for nearby communities. The local council describes Mateh Binyamin as Israel’s largest regional council, with 47 communities and a population of more than 80,000. It also notes that Ancient Shiloh, located there, is identified with the site where the Mishkan stood for 369 years. In other words, this was not just an ice cream stop. It was a scene of Jewish continuity in a place loaded with memory.

That is what made the moment feel bigger than dessert. Jewish tradition ties Nissan not only to the Exodus, but to the hope of final redemption as well. In Rosh Hashanah 11a, Rabbi Yehoshua teaches that just as Israel was redeemed in Nissan, so too will Israel be redeemed in Nissan in the future. In a war that has tested nerves, routines, and faith, this small convoy through Shilo offered a quiet but unmistakable answer: the Jewish people do not endure by fear alone. We endure by showing up for one another.

In an interview with Newsmax, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the war with Iran is “beyond the halfway point” and that he believes the regime will “collapse internally” from the sustained pressure of the United States’ and Israel’s attacks on Iran.

When asked about a timetable, Netanyahu clarified that “halfway point” was not a measure of time but of goals, explaining that Israel had achieved about half of those. He added that regime change was not included in Israel’s war aims.

The prime minister said that thousands of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been killed and the operation was “close to finishing [Iran’s] arms industry.”

“I think this regime will collapse internally,” he added. “But at the moment, what we’re doing is just degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity and also weakening them from the inside.”

A police speedboat patrols the port as oil tankers and high-speed craft sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026.

Netanyahu spoke to U.S. media shortly before the Wall Street Journal broke the story that President Donald Trump mentioned to aides his desire to pull out of the war once “its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks” are achieved, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

The strait represents the world’s most vital waterway for shipping oil, and its closure has sent oil prices around the world soaring. The WSJ cited someone from Trump’s “inner circle” as saying that reopening the strait would prolong the war, extending it beyond his preferred timeline of four to six weeks.

Other reporters say that regime change is off the table.

Amit Segal, a Channel 12 News reporter, said that Israel “has given up on the dream of toppling the regime through air power.”

“Israel has become convinced that Trump may try to end the war soon, and therefore shifted most of its airstrikes from targeting the destabilisation of the Iranian regime to inflicting severe damage on its military,” he added.

“Regime change in Iran is now off the table, as the opposition is not organised and is successfully repressed, sources tell me,” reported Jake Wallis Simons, former editor of the Jewish Chronicle and podcast host of The Brink.

“Israeli targeting is therefore shifting from regime repression apparatus to its military capabilities. Looks like this thing will end with a deal after all. One Israeli source says: ‘I believe we are in a better place, but it’s not a win,'” he concluded.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Tuesday that Israel will maintain security control over much of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River once hostilities cease. As battles with Hezbollah rage across the border, Katz laid out a plan for the day after.

After conducting a security assessment with senior military officials, Katz said the IDF would “stabilize in a security zone inside Lebanon” and “control the entire area up to the Litani.” He also said that the 600,000 or so Lebanese citizens who had been displaced due to the fighting will not be allowed to return to their homes until safety for the northern Israeli communities has been secured. Homes near the border would also be demolished, following the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza, he added.

He said Israel has decided upon three goals in the war with Hezbollah and is determined to see them through: keep the wars with Lebanon and Iran separate, deprive Hezbollah of its ability to threaten Israel and enforce a permanent change in the security situation in Lebanon, which would be accomplished via a strong Israeli military presence “in the required places.”

With the buffer zone extending possibly as much as 20 miles into southern Lebanese territory, Katz has given the clearest signal so far of Israel’s intention to create and control a wide buffer zone.

Katz’s comments were made amid the expanded Israeli campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, after Israel began its initiative following the Iran-backed terror group’s decision to join the war on behalf of Iran. Israel had already announced its intention to take security control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, which lies roughly 15 to 20 miles north of the border with Israel.

The Iranian government passed a law that applies the death penalty and the seizure of all assets to anyone convicted of collaborating with “hostile states,” according to an Iranian judiciary spokesperson. The law does not appear to differ much from previous Iranian actions, where people are executed on the flimsiest of evidence.

Even sharing photos and videos online that could be construed as aiding the enemy will count toward a conviction, the spokesperson said. Thus far, Iranian authorities have arrested about 1,000 people on suspicion of collaborating with enemy governments, posting anti-government material online and filming sensitive locations.

The United States and Israel mounted a joint military campaign against Iran to degrade its ballistic missile capabilities, destroy its nuclear weapons program and weaken the regime to create the conditions for the Iranian people to topple it.

Iran retaliated not only by striking indiscriminately at civilian population centers in Israel, at times launching internationally banned cluster bombs, but also by striking Arab states across the Gulf.

Location: Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza

Event

• The security situation in Israel makes departures difficult. The Government of Israel currently limits Ben Gurion Airport to one departing flight per hour.
• The fastest option to depart Israel is by land to Egypt or Jordan.  Commercial air opportunities are available from airports in Jordan and Egypt; contact airlines directly.
• You may apply for Israeli government assistance to depart using their emergency online form  for foreign nationals.

U.S. Embassy Bus Service to Amman, Jordan 

• U.S. Embassy Jerusalem’s assisted departure bus service to Amman, Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport via the Jordan River Sheikh Hussein crossing  is paused until further notice.
• If you are interested in assisted departure bus service to Amman, please fill out this online form  and you will be contacted should bus service resume.
• Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport remains operational for travelers who make their own way to Amman.
• Departures have operated from the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv areas. You will receive date, time, and meeting point details when a bus is scheduled.
• Travelers must book and pay for their own flights from Amman and are encouraged to book before boarding the bus.  Most direct flights to the United States depart early in the day; you may need to stay overnight in Amman.  Limited hotel support may be available through the bus registration process for those needing an overnight stay.
• The U.S. Embassy recommends travelers carry at least $60 USD and 110 shekels in cash for visas and fees at the border.
• Royal Jordanian  is offering a discounted rate for U.S. citizens to depart via Queen Alia Airport in Amman, Jordan.  This offer is valid for ticket purchase until April 5, 2026, and for travel through April 15, 2026: U.S. Citizen Assisted Departure – Royal Jordanian .

Land Crossing to Egypt

• The land crossing to Egypt at Taba  is open 24 hours a day. 
• Transport from Taba to Sharm El-Sheikh is available via shared minibuses and taxis; overland transport to Cairo is also available (approximately 8–9 hours via Sharm El-Sheikh).
• Travelers must arrange and pay for travel to and from Taba, as well as onward air travel from Egyptian airports.
• U.S. Embassy Cairo recommends carrying at least $175 USD cash per person for visas, Egyptian letter of guarantee, and exit fees, plus extra for unexpected costs.  ATMs at the crossing are unreliable.

Passover Changes to Land Border Crossings

• Please note that between March 30 and April 10, travel by private vehicle to Jordan via the Jordan River and Rabin border crossings will not be permitted.
• Expect extended wait times outside the terminals ahead of the holiday and prepare accordingly.
• You can check the status of land crossings here .

Air Travel 

• Ben Gurion Airport  is operating limited flights. Contact airlines directly for commercial flight options.

Shelter in Place

• U.S. Embassy Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees to shelter in place and recommends U.S. citizens do the same. Stay in your residence, hotel, or another structure, and stay away from windows.
• In the event of missile, rocket fire, or hostile aircraft intrusion, a “red alert” siren may be activated. Follow the instructions from local authorities and the Israeli Home Front Command  and seek shelter immediately.

Embassy Operations 

• Emergency passport services are generally available in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 11:00 am, except for U.S. and local holidays.
• The Embassy will be closed on Thursday April 2 and Friday April 3. 
• More information can be found on the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem website.

Actions to Take

• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive safety and security updates from the U.S. Embassy.
• Know the location of your closest shelter or protected space .
• Download the free Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command application on Android  or Apple  devices to receive real-time alerts for rockets, missile attacks, and armed UAV intrusions. Free commercial applications, such as “Red Alert: Israel,” are also available.
• Maintain communication with family and friends to inform them of your status.
• Have travel documents up to date and easily accessible.
• Find a secure location within your residence or another safe building. Have a supply of food, water, medications, and other essential items.
• Follow the “U.S. Department of State – Security Updates for U.S. Citizens” channel on WhatsApp. Download WhatsApp at whatsapp.com/download.
• Keep your cell phone charged and pre-programmed with the following emergency numbers.

Assistance 

• Israel Police: call 100
• Israel Ambulance: call 101
• U.S. Department of State 24/7 Task Force: call +1-202-501-4444 from abroad or +1-888-407-4747 when calling from the U.S. and Canada.
• U.S. Embassy Jerusalem: [email protected]
• U.S. Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv: [email protected]

Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and several others wounded during intense combat with Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, the military confirmed.

The fallen soldiers have been identified as Captain Noam Madmoni, 22, of Sderot

Sergeant Ben Cohen, 21, of Lehavim

and Sergeant Maxsim Entis, 21, of Bat Yam.

All members of the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit. The name of a fourth soldier killed in the same incident has not yet been cleared for publication.

In addition to the fatalities, one soldier remains in serious condition, while two others, including a reservist, sustained moderate injuries.

According to a military source, the confrontation began at approximately 6:30 pm when Nahal reconnaissance forces identified Hezbollah terrorist cells operating in the area. A close range firefight quickly erupted, with Israeli forces returning fire and confirming hits on the terrorists.

As troops worked to evacuate the wounded toward a designated landing zone, Hezbollah operatives launched an anti tank missile at the forces. No additional casualties were reported from that strike.

Israeli forces responded with a coordinated assault, including heavy gunfire, tank shelling, and airstrikes targeting the террорист elements.

May their memories be a blessing forever.

In a dramatic and highly debated move, Israel’s parliament has approved new legislation introducing the death penalty as a default punishment for certain terror-related murder convictions.

The bill passed the Knesset with a vote of 62 in favor, 48 opposed, and one abstention. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among those who voted in support of the measure, underscoring the government’s backing of the legislation.

The new law applies to individuals convicted in military courts of carrying out deadly attacks intended to undermine or destroy the State of Israel. It establishes execution by hanging as the standard sentence, requiring it to be carried out within 90 days of conviction. While judges are given limited discretion to impose life imprisonment instead, that option is reserved for undefined “special circumstances,” and the law does not provide a path for clemency.

The legislation was spearheaded by the Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who framed the vote as both a moral and strategic milestone.

“This is a day of justice for ⁠the murdered, a day of deterrence for enemies,” Ben-Gvir said in parliament. “Whoever chooses terror chooses death.”

Following the vote, Ben-Gvir was seen outside the Knesset celebrating the passage of the law, describing it as a historic moment. He declared: “With the help of G-d, soon, one by one will get the death penalty, all those who killed, rap*d, and burned.” He concluded his remarks with a toast: “L’Chaim to Israel.”

Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech, who co-sponsored the bill, reacted emotionally to its passage and publicly thanked Netanyahu for prioritizing the vote despite the ongoing war. Her support for the legislation is deeply personal. Twenty-three years ago, her husband, Shalom Har-Melech, 25, was murdered by Islamic terrorists while driving with her along the Alon Highway in the Jordan Valley. Limor, who was pregnant at the time, was seriously wounded in the attack after being shot in the face and lower torso, doctors delivered her baby by Caesarean section several hours after her husband was killed.

They were heading off for a holiday weekend and were confronted by a group of armed terrorists.

“We were on the road and, from nowhere, we saw about five or six of them standing by the road,” Limor Harmelech told Israel Radio at the time. Police had said that the terrorists had shot about 25 bullets at their car.

Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech

Supporters of the law argue it will serve as a powerful deterrent against future terrorist attacks while delivering justice to victims and their families. Critics, however, caution that judicial discretion may limit its application in practice and raise broader concerns about reinstating capital punishment in Israel’s legal system.

Eichmann in 1942

Israel eliminated the death penalty for murder in 1954, and it has been used only once since then in a civilian court, when Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was executed in 1962.

The passage of the law marks a significant and controversial shift in Israel’s approach to terrorism and criminal justice.

🔥 Top Stories

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs legislation renaming Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump
• Donald Trump unveils a White House ballroom project featuring a hidden underground military complex.

📊 By the Numbers

• Iran has launched roughly 550 ballistic missiles and 300 drones at Israel.
• An additional 1,119 missiles and 3,792 drones were fired toward Gulf states.
• Over 20 antiwar protesters arrested in Israel in a single night.

⚔️ Battlefield

• The IDF eliminates senior Hezbollah commander Hamza Ibrahim Rakin of Unit 1800.
• A terrorist attempting a car-ramming attack in Tulkarem is shot dead, the third such attack in 24 hours.
• Imam Hossein University, a key IRGC military institution, is struck.
• Heavy damage reported at the Haifa Oil Refinery following an Iranian missile barrage.
• Vyacheslav Vidmant of Ashdod identified as victim of an Iranian missile strike.
• Sgt. Liran Ben Zion, 19, was killed in combat in Lebanon, HY”D

🌍 Global

• Human Rights Watch accuses Iran of possible war crimes over cluster munition use.
• Spain, under Defense Minister Margarita Robles, closes its airspace to U.S. operations.
• A CIA veteran warns the U.S. is underestimating Iran’s resilience.
• Donald Trump signals possible strikes on Iranian infrastructure if tensions escalate.

🏛️ Israeli Politics

• The Knesset passes a law enabling the death penalty for terrorists who murder Israeli citizens.
• National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrates the law’s passage.
• A last-minute Knesset maneuver funnels massive funding to yeshivos after an opposition blunder.
• Controversy erupts after Israel blocks Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was later resolved.

🌆 U.S.

• NYC mayor announces free childcare centers for government workers.
• TSA workers begin receiving new payments.

🌍 Jewish World

• Seven women arrested in Australia for defacing a statue of Jewish feminist Zelda D’Aprano.

🚀 Tech & Space

• NASA prepares to send astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

🤯 Wild Story

• A newly proposed U.S. government initiative is now offering cash rewards to citizens who report taxpayer fraud, turning everyday Americans into potential whistleblowers.

Ron DeSantis has officially signed legislation to rename Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump, marking a symbolic and rare rebranding of a major U.S. airport in recent years.

Under the new law, the airport will be renamed “President Donald J. Trump International Airport”, pending final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The change is expected to take effect later this year, with July 1 being the target date for implementation.

The airport, located just minutes from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, has long served as his primary travel hub, especially since he relocated to Florida in 2019.

The rebranding won’t happen overnight. Before the name becomes official, the FAA must approve updates across aviation systems, maps, and flight databases. Physical changes, like signage, branding, and airport materials, are also expected to cost millions, with estimates reaching as high as $5.5 million. These are funds that were already approved.

The name change will result in changing the airport’s three-letter code from PBI to DJT, matching Trump’s initials. That proposal is also still under review.

Palm Beach International Airport is now officially…. “President Donald J. Trump International Airport!”

Proud to have played a small role in making this happen. Huge thanks to @megforflorida, @GovRonDeSantis, @JamesUthmeierFL, and the overwhelming majority in the Florida House! pic.twitter.com/Yi5LSdlDaT

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) March 30, 2026

The move honors Trump as a Florida resident and former and current president, placing him among a select group of U.S. leaders with airports named after them. When finalized, this would make it the first major airport named after a president while in office and one of the few named after a president at all.

In a third incident within 24 hours targeting troops stationed in Judea and Samaria, a terrorist attempting to ram his vehicle into IDF soldiers in Tulkarem, which is in Samaria, was shot dead. The suspect was identified as Abd al-Rahman Mahza Abu al-Rub, a junior officer in Tulkarem’s PA police department.

The IDF issued a statement saying that al-Rub had sped toward troops at the Einav checkpoint near Tulkarem “in a manner that posed a threat.” Soldiers acted to “neutralize” the threat by firing on the car as it accelerated toward them. The military added that it had foiled two other attacks earlier that same day, one of which was also an attempted ramming.

This video on X purports to show the latest ramming attack.

A man sped in his car toward soldiers stationed in al-Ram in Judea. Perceiving the threat, the soldiers shot and killed the terrorist.

In Dura, near Hebron in Judea, another terrorist ran at troops while brandishing a knife. The soldiers shot and killed the man, identified as Ramzi Awawada, 22. PA security forces accused Israeli soldiers of neglecting to administer emergency medical aid and blocking rescue workers from reaching him, allowing him to bleed to death.

The IDF announced Monday the elimination of senior Hezbollah commander Hamza Ibrahim Rakin, who served as deputy commander of Unit 1800, along with the unit’s operations officer and another terrorist. This unit aids terrorists in Gaza, Judea and Samaria by providing them with weapons, funding, and bomb-making instructions. The unit also coordinates with terrorists operating out of Lebanon and Syria.

According to the military, Rakin provided a vital link in the coordination efforts by serving as a liaison among the various terrorist organizations in these regions. He also conducted oversight over the transfer of these terrorists to southern Lebanon to join the fighting against the IDF.

The IDF said it continued to carry out strikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon throughout the day, targeting key command centers that belonged to Hezbollah.

Credit: IDF

Separately, the IDF said that troops of the 226th Brigade under the command of the 146th Division eliminated an entire cell of terrorists after identifying the cell as Hezbollah, acting to remove the threat. The troops also dismantled a Hezbollah command center and discovered a missile launcher and anti-tank missiles.

The IDF vowed that it would continue to act against any threat to Israeli citizens, saying Hezbollah would pay a price for joining the war on Iran’s behalf.

“The IDF will continue to operate decisively against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which has chosen to join the hostilities and operate under the auspices of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the military said in a statement posted to Instagram. “The IDF will not allow harm to Israeli civilians.”

Human Rights Watch accused Iran of possible war crimes for launching ballistic missiles containing cluster munitions at Israel in a report Monday. The cluster bombs are internationally banned because of their inherently indiscriminate nature, as they break apart in midair and disperse over a wide area.

The HRW report documented Iran’s use of cluster munitions against Israel since Feb. 28 that killed 28 civilians, caused damage to civilian infrastructure and left on the ground unexploded ordnance that still poses a threat in multiple locations. The human rights group said these actions may constitute war crimes.

This video posted on X purports to show a cluster bomb spreading out mid-air over Israel.

HRW examined about 50 videos, five photos of impacts and other photos of unexploded munitions across the country that had been posted online, as well as interviewed eyewitnesses. After its investigation, it confirmed three cluster bomb attacks on civilian populations that killed two construction workers in Yehud and an elderly couple in Ramat Gan. It also said that a single ballistic warhead dispersing cluster munitions may have produced impacts in Or Yehuda, Bat Yam and Holon.

HRW also said that the unexploded bombs, much like mines, can pose a danger for years to come.

“Iran’s use of cluster munitions in populated areas in Israel pose a foreseeable and long-lasting danger to civilians,” the report stated, adding that at least 16 civilians had been killed in Israel, Judea and Samaria from missile attacks. Meanwhile, about 1,900 civilians in Iran have also been killed, according to the report.

This video posted on X shows the apartment of the Ramat Gan couple who were killed in a cluster munitions attack.

Iran is not a party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, the report said that does not give it the freedom to fire indiscriminately at civilian population centers without distinguishing between civilians and combatants.

Human Rights Watch urged Iran to immediately cease its use of cluster munitions, saying that cluster bombs are not only illegal because of their indiscriminate nature, but also because they continue to pose a danger to civilians for years — long after the conflict may have ended.

Israel’s 2026 state budget, finally passed in a dramatic overnight vote, ignited major political uproar after significant funding was directed toward yeshivos and other chareidi institutions.

The budget, the largest in Israel’s history, passed the Knesset after a session that stretched through sirens and repeated interruptions due to missile threats. It includes massive defense spending alongside billions in coalition funds, with hundreds of millions of shekels allocated to chareidi institutions.

But the biggest shock came in the final moments of the vote. In a highly unusual procedural move, coalition members introduced last-minute objections that effectively unlocked previously frozen funds for yeshivos. Confusion in the opposition ranks led several opposition Knesset members to mistakenly vote in favor, resulting in overwhelming approval of the funding provisions.

The funds themselves were not technically new allocations, but rather money that had been held up due to legal concerns, primarily tied to the unresolved issue of military exemptions for yeshiva students and ongoing legal battles.

Hundreds of millions are being directed toward Torah institutions and chareidi schools, even as critics argue that other sectors face cuts or stagnation.

Chareidi parties had made it clear for months that their support for the budget was tied directly to securing funding for yeshivos and preserving the status of full-time Torah learners. Failure to pass the budget by the legal deadline would have triggered the collapse of the government and new elections.

In the end, the coalition held, just barely.

President Donald Trump has unveiled new details about his construction at the White House ballroom, revealing for the first time that the massive structure will sit on top of a hidden underground security and military complex. The ballroom, a roughly 90,000-square-foot expansion, is being built on the site of the former East Wing, which was demolished in late 2025 to make way for the project.

According to Trump, the project, estimated at around $400 million, is being fully funded by private donors, with no direct taxpayer cost.

Trump confirmed that the U.S. military is building a “massive complex” underground, designed with modern security threats in mind. The facility is expected to include infrastructure such as bulletproof glass, reinforced structures, and drone-resistant protection, to be able to deflect modern weapons and warfare. Reports indicate the underground complex is connected to or built over the historic Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), a Cold War-era bunker designed to protect U.S. leadership during catastrophic events.

Trump described the ballroom itself as both functional and protective, effectively acting as a cover structure for the security installation below, while also serving as a venue for major events such as state dinners and even inaugurations.

Legal challenges are ongoing in regard to this construction, and Trump alluded to this in his statement, with courts weighing whether the administration bypassed required approvals.

Still, Trump insists the project is justified on both practical and security grounds since modern threats require updated infrastructure beneath the White House.

Trump has defended the project aggressively, calling the ballroom “ahead of schedule and under budget” and constantly positioning it as both a symbol of American prestige and now as a necessary upgrade to presidential security.

If completed, the project would represent one of the most dramatic physical transformations of the White House in decades—combining luxury, symbolism, and high-level military protection into a single structure.

Israeli police arrested more than 20 antiwar protesters Saturday night, despite broad popular support for the war. Police determined that the protests violated the Home Front Command’s rule to limit gatherings to 50 people.

The protest marked the largest since weekly antiwar protests began, with hundreds pouring into the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba. Police arrested 13 protesters in Tel Aviv and eight in Haifa.

“During a situation assessment that took place at the scene with a Home Front Command representative … it was clarified that there was a real risk to human life and accordingly, Yarkon [precinct] police commander Tzachi Sharabi ordered the gathering to be dispersed,” police said.

Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh, chairman of the political party Hadash-Ta’al, blasted the police response, calling the responding officers fascists “in the service of the government” who fear “the heroic citizens who went out, despite everything, to make their voice heard.”

Nevertheless, support for Operation Roaring Lion remains widespread, with 87 percent support on the right and about half on the left, according to a March 2026 survey by the Israel Democracy Institute. The survey also found that most respondents, both Arab and Jewish, were surprised by Iran’s resilience. While most Jews viewed Netanyahu’s considerations for the war as security related, most Arabs said they were politically motivated.

Israel’s blocking of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to conduct a service ignited a firestorm of outrage in the media, despite the fact that Israel had also prevented, without incident, services at Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall to protect civilians amid the war with Iran and Hezbollah. Pizzaballa later acknowledged, after fiercely criticizing Israel’s actions, that the issue had been calmly and respectfully resolved.

Initially, Pizzaballa’s office said this marked “the first time in centuries” that a Catholic prelate was turned away from the church on Palm Sunday. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem,” his office said in a statement.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found out what happened, he personally intervened to reinstate the Latin Patriarch’s ability to conduct services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

“I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,” he declared on X.

The prime minister explained the reason for the original action to turn Pizzaballa away.

“Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles. In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” he wrote. “To protect worshippers, Israel asked members of all faiths to temporarily abstain from worshipping at the Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City.”

I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 29, 2026

“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Cardinal Pizzaballa was asked to refrain from holding mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Netanyahu went on, but said he would make an exception for the patriarch. “Even though I understand this concern, as soon as I learned about the incident with Cardinal Pizzaballa, I instructed the authorities to enable the Patriarch to hold services as he wishes,” he said.

Pizzaballa later affirmed in an interview, “It is true that any type of meeting had been suspended in places without shelter.” He praised police for acting with “respect and calm,” acknowledging he had held an unauthorized “brief and small private ceremony.”

After expressing gratitude to President Isaac Herzog for intervening on the prelate’s behalf, the statement added the hope that, “appropriate arrangements will continue to be found, enabling prayer to take place in places of worship, particularly in the holy places of all religions,” as it was an issue of “profound importance to hundreds of millions of believers.”

In yet another move that signals Spain’s antipathy to anything that benefits Israel, Defense Minister Margarita Robles announced Monday that Spain has closed its airspace to the United States, going beyond its previously stated position of blocking the use of jointly operated military bases in Spain. As a result of the closure, U.S. military planes now must find a way to circumvent Spain to reach the Middle East.

“We don’t authorize either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran,” she said at a press conference in Madrid.

Carlos Cuerpo, minister of the economy, said in an interview, “This decision is part of the decision already made by the Spanish government not to participate in or contribute to a war which was initiated unilaterally and against international law.”

Margarita Robles, Spain’s defense minister. (From a post on X)

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has fiercely criticized the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, calling it reckless and illegal. President Donald Trump has in turn threatened to cut off trade with Spain in response to its denial of U.S. military bases in Spain.

Trump also blasted NATO for not joining the U.S. push to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s stranglehold on the vital chokepoint for transit of a fifth of the world’s oil supply has caused oil prices to skyrocket globally.

“So easy for them to do, with so little risk,” he posted to Truth Social last week. “COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”

“Without the USA, NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” he added.

Australia’s Victoria Police arrested seven women and charged them with defacing the statue of Jewish feminist Zelda D’Aprano, an Australian feminist activist and icon who died in 2018. An eighth woman is still at large. The statue is located outside the Victorian Trades Hall.

According to a police statement, “Seven women have been charged after allegedly damaging the statue of Zelda D’Aprano outside the Victorian Trades Hall earlier this month.”

“It’s alleged the women — who are all part of an activist group — attended Victoria Street at approximately 11 a.m. with umbrellas and red spray paint,” the statement continued.

The statement said that police would allege the women attempted to conceal their identities by using umbrellas and by changing their clothes and then sprayed red spray paint on the statue and surrounding tiles. Police said the vandalism occurred earlier this month, on March 6.

According to the statement, when staff members approached the women, they responded aggressively before leaving. The women range in age from 34 to 71.

“All have been charged with a range of offences including criminal damage, behaving in a riotous manner in a public place, marking graffiti on a residence without consent, recklessly damaging part of a registered place without a permit and refusing to leave scheduled public place after a warning,” police said.

In addition to the eighth woman, police are searching for three accomplices. On March 25, the group allegedly stole a vehicle and drove it threateningly at a group of Jews in Melbourne, according to leaders from the Jewish community.

Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association, said in an interview, “Australian Jews should be able to walk down the street without being abused, yet for many, that’s no longer the reality.”

These photos from a post on X purport to show the arrests of some of the woman involved in defacing a statue on March 6, 2026.

A veteran intelligence voice is sounding the alarm over what he sees as a dangerous miscalculation by Washington.

Former CIA officer Christopher Burgess warned that the United States may be underestimating Iran’s willingness to endure extreme hardship in conflict.

I24

“We should not underestimate their ability to withstand pain,” Burgess said, pointing to history as a stark reminder.

He referenced the brutal Iran–Iraq War, where Iran demonstrated what he described as an extraordinary level of sacrifice:

“They were willing to send 12 year-old children across minefields to clear them. That’s the level of sacrifice they’re willing to make and I’m not sure the U.S. has fully calculated that.”

The Iran-Iraq War, which lasted eight years and resulted in massive casualties on both sides, is often cited as one of the deadliest and most grueling conflicts of the 20th century highlighting Iran’s capacity for prolonged endurance under extreme conditions. 

Burgess’s warning foreshadows growing concern among some analysts that Western strategic assumptions may fail to account for ideological resilience and historical precedent inside Iran, factors that could dramatically shape any future confrontation.

In an astonishing chess move, Israel is preparing to invite the United States to relocate its bases in Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar to Israel when U.S. forces are already massed in the region amid major security challenges, according to a Channel 12 News report. Such a move will “reshape the map” of U.S. positioning in the Middle East and offer strategic advantages to both countries, as the U.S. has proven itself a key and valuable ally of Israel, providing strong operational and intelligence support as well as stability, according to unnamed sources.

Israeli officials call the potential move a “rare opportunity” to move U.S. bases to Israel from Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates at a time when strikes from Iran have revealed their vulnerability. They propose moving to Israel parts of existing bases such as Al Udeid in Qatar, the Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and Al Dhafra in the UAE.

The plan includes establishing new bases in Israel to form logistics hubs and to use the War Reserves Stockpile Allies – Israel (WRSA-I), a Department of Defense weapons stockpile in Israel to be used by DoD or transferred to a foreign country, as well as coordinating closely on the upkeep of fighter aircraft. Israel is also offering to share its air defense systems, including THAAD, Patriot and laser interceptors, and intelligence capabilities.

Discussions with Washington on the proposal have already begun but are in the early stages. Israeli officials believe their offer will strategically benefit both countries without the need to deploy additional American troops to the Middle East.