Israel has formally shut down the British Consulate in Jerusalem and ordered 20 British diplomats to leave the country, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Thursday, marking a dramatic escalation in the diplomatic confrontation between Jerusalem and London.

The move comes in response to a series of sanctions and other measures taken against Israel by Britain’s Labour government, including restrictions targeting Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shomron, limitations on defense exports, and Britain’s unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Sa’ar declared that Israel’s era of restraint in the face of hostile diplomatic actions had come to an end.

Under an agreement reached Wednesday night following a week of negotiations, the British Consulate will cease operating in its previous capacity, and its official signage will be removed. The British consul general and 19 additional diplomats will depart Israel.

However, seven British diplomats will be permitted to remain at the building as part of a significantly reduced diplomatic mission.

The agreement also provides that Britain will refrain from retaliatory measures while the two governments continue discussions aimed at preventing further deterioration in relations.

The decision follows months of escalating tensions between Israel and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which took office in July 2024.

Israeli officials have expressed particular outrage over Britain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood in September 2025, renewed funding for UNRWA, sanctions against Israeli ministers and organizations, and the suspension of military dialogue.

The immediate trigger for Israel’s latest response was a British initiative to impose additional sweeping sanctions targeting Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shomron while expanding restrictions on defense export licenses to Israel.

Israeli officials also pointed to increasingly hostile rhetoric from London, including allegations of “ethnic cleansing” directed against Israel.

Thursday’s announcement completes four retaliatory measures initially unveiled by Sa’ar on September 8.

The other steps included removing British representatives from the international Gaza aid coordination center in Kiryat Gat, ending British involvement in training Palestinian Authority security forces, and barring 12 British politicians and citizens accused by Israel of antisemitic activities and denying Israel’s right to exist.

Despite the diplomatic confrontation, Sa’ar stressed that Israel continues to recognize the importance of security and intelligence cooperation with Britain.

He cited Israel’s recent transfer of critical intelligence to British authorities concerning a potential Iranian attack targeting the RAF Fairford military airbase as an example of the continuing importance of those ties.

Nevertheless, Sa’ar warned that countries taking hostile actions against Israel should expect consequences rather than assume Jerusalem will continue responding with restraint.

Britain, meanwhile, disputed Israel’s characterization of the agreement.

In a statement responding to Sa’ar, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband rejected Israel’s claim that it possesses the legal authority to close the British diplomatic mission, which has operated in Jerusalem for approximately two centuries.

According to Miliband, the facility will not technically close but will instead operate beginning Thursday under the new designation “British Mission, Jerusalem.”

He insisted that the mission would remain independent, continue providing essential services, and maintain its work with Palestinians.

Miliband also reiterated Britain’s longstanding position that eastern Jerusalem is occupied territory.

The British foreign secretary disclosed that several diplomatic personnel and family members had been temporarily relocated because London lacked sufficient security assurances before the agreement was reached.

He said Britain intends to rebuild its diplomatic presence in the coming months and would refrain from retaliatory action as long as meaningful negotiations continue.

Miliband further emphasized that the British government stands behind the measures it announced against Israel on September 8, maintaining that its policies support a two-state solution.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A major security failure involving sensitive components from an American-made F-35 stealth fighter has been traced to a UPS employee missing an email warning that the military equipment could not be transported through Hong Kong. The shipping mistake resulted in Chinese authorities obtaining components containing potentially sensitive stealth technology, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The shipment included an F-35 cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door coated with radar-absorbing material, technology designed to reduce the aircraft’s visibility to enemy radar systems. The components were being transported for repairs in the United States when shipping delays disrupted their planned journey.

The original transportation arrangements called for the shipment to travel through South Korea and Taiwan before reaching San Francisco. However, after delays complicated the delivery, the equipment was mistakenly rerouted through Hong Kong, despite American export-control restrictions prohibiting such transit.

According to the report, a UPS employee had received an email specifically warning that the sensitive military components could not pass through Hong Kong. The employee failed to notice the warning, allowing the shipment to be diverted into Chinese territory.

The incident has raised serious national security concerns because the F-35 is among the most advanced fighter jets in the American military arsenal. Its stealth capabilities depend heavily on specialized materials, coatings and design features intended to make the aircraft extremely difficult for enemy radar systems to detect.

Chinese access to the cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door could potentially provide military researchers with valuable information about American stealth technology. However, the extent to which Chinese authorities examined the components or obtained sensitive technical information remains unclear.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A senior Trump administration official has warned that countries participating in boycotts against Israel could face retaliatory American sanctions, escalating the dispute over restrictions on products from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, cited Britain, France and Norway among countries pursuing measures restricting trade in settlement products.

Dhillon characterized those restrictions as part of the broader boycott movement against Israel and described them as a form of antisemitism.

“Any country participating in the boycott movement against Israel risks retaliatory sanctions or reciprocal sanctions as long as President Trump is in office,” she said.

Despite the warning, no formal sanctions policy has been announced, and the White House has not published a decision to impose economic penalties on those countries.

The remarks follow measures announced last month by Britain, France, Canada and additional European countries to restrict trade in products originating from Israeli settlements.

Britain also banned imports of settlement products, sharply worsening relations with Israel and prompting an Israeli decision to close the British consulate in eastern Yerushalayim.

Dhillon’s comments signal a tougher position toward countries advancing such restrictions, but previous reporting indicates disagreement within the administration over how to respond.

In September, administration officials reportedly drafted a strongly worded statement condemning Britain, France and Canada over the boycott measures.

That statement was ultimately shelved after failing to secure support from the White House and senior State Department officials.

Dhillon’s latest warning therefore raises the prospect of American retaliation, while leaving unresolved whether the administration will adopt concrete sanctions.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli military police launched another series of overnight operations targeting yeshiva bochurim classified as draft evaders, raiding homes in Dimona and Bat Yam early Thursday morning. However, despite multiple attempts, the forces reportedly failed to arrest a single bochur after protesters rushed to the locations and confronted the officers.

The dramatic overnight incidents come amid a growing wave of military enforcement against bnei yeshivos, with massive demonstrations planned for Thursday afternoon in Yerushalayim and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

According to Kikar HaShabbat, military police arrived at a residence on Netiv HaLamed-Heh Street in Dimona at approximately 1:00 a.m., attempting to arrest a yeshiva bochur.

When that operation failed, officers proceeded to another address on Molda Street, where they attempted to arrest two brothers, both Sephardic yeshiva students.

The attempted arrests triggered the activation of the “Tzeva Shachor” (Black Alert) emergency notification system, which alerts activists when military police arrive to arrest yeshiva bochurim.

Dozens of Gerrer Chassidim rushed to the scene, and the military police ultimately departed without making any arrests.

Following the withdrawal of the forces, those gathered broke into celebratory dancing.

The overnight operations continued in Bat Yam, where military police arrived at approximately 4:30 a.m. at the home of a bochur studying at Yeshivas HaMeyasher, headed by HaRav Benayahu Shmueli.

According to the report, this marked the third attempt to arrest the same bochur.

Once again, the Black Alert system was activated, bringing dozens of protesters to the location.

Confrontations erupted between the demonstrators and military police, and after approximately an hour, the forces withdrew without carrying out the arrest.

Following their departure, protesters celebrated with singing and dancing.

The latest incidents follow several arrests of yeshiva bochurim earlier this week.

On Wednesday, military police arrested Eliyahu Dovdah, a talmid of Yeshivas Orchos Meir in Yerushalayim, at his home in Be’er Sheva.

He was initially transferred to a detention facility at the IDF’s training base complex before being moved to Military Prison 10.

Following a military hearing, Dovdah was sentenced to 20 days in military prison.

Another bochur, a talmid of Yeshivas Chevron Knesses Yisrael who was arrested Tuesday in Eilat, was also sentenced Wednesday to 20 days in military prison.

Attorneys representing organizations assisting arrested bnei yeshivos are working to secure reductions in both sentences.

Meanwhile, the Peleg Yerushalmi is preparing for what organizers say will be one of its largest protest mobilizations in recent months.

HaGaon HaRav Azriel Auerbach, instructed followers to participate in major demonstrations Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in Yerushalayim and the Gush Dan region.

According to an announcement, the demonstrations were called in response to the arrests of yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungerleit by military authorities.

The committee sharply condemned the arrests, describing them as the imprisonment of Torah learners because of their dedication to limud haTorah.

Talmidim of HaRav Tzvi Friedman have also been instructed to participate in the protests.

With anger mounting over the continued military enforcement operations, organizers are anticipating particularly large crowds Thursday afternoon.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was booed, heckled and denounced as a “traitor” and “sellout” Wednesday night by anti-Israel demonstrators during a memorial marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre — an extraordinary scene that saw the mayor confronted by Hamas supporters who believe his already antisemitic rhetoric does not go far enough.

The confrontation unfolded at Manhattan’s Union Square, where Mamdani attended a candlelight vigil alongside former City Comptroller Brad Lander, a despicable self-hating Jew.

Anti-Israel demonstrators who had marched from City Hall descended on the gathering, shouting insults at the mayor and disrupting the commemoration.

“You coward!” protesters shouted.

“Zohran, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” others chanted.

Demonstrators had earlier gathered outside City Hall, accusing Mamdani of betraying the Palestinian cause. Some protesters displayed Hamas and Hezbollah flags during the demonstrations.

The remarkable spectacle came just hours after Mamdani issued a disgusting statement commemorating October 7 — a statement that devoted just three sentences to the Hamas massacre before shifting into several lengthy paragraphs attacking Israel with baseless packs of lies

Mamdani acknowledged the murder of more than 1,100 people and the kidnapping of 251 hostages during the October 7 attack.

But the mayor quickly pivoted to accusations of genocide, apartheid and war crimes against Israel, along with criticism of American military assistance to the Jewish state.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” Mamdani wrote.

The statement drew criticism from Jewish leaders who questioned why the mayor chose the anniversary of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to devote most of his remarks to condemning Israel.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt pointed out that Mamdani’s statement did not once use the word “Jews,” despite commemorating a massacre in which Jewish civilians were deliberately targeted.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also criticized the statement for shifting attention away from the victims of October 7.

The controversy took another turn when New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who endorsed Mamdani, expressed outrage over the treatment he received from demonstrators.

Hochul’s condemnation of the disruption raised questions about her continued political support for a mayor whose statements about Israel have repeatedly generated controversy within New York’s Jewish community.

The governor had endorsed Mamdani despite longstanding concerns from Jewish leaders over his rhetoric and positions on Israel.

Those concerns include Mamdani’s past statements linking the NYPD to the Israeli military.

In a widely circulated 2023 remark, Mamdani said that “when people feel the boot of the NYPD on their necks, they should remember that it was laced by the IDF”.

The remark has been cited by critics as an example of Mamdani’s willingness to inject anti-Israel accusations into domestic American issues.

Mamdani, like most antisemites, has claimed that he opposes antisemitism and is committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, while continuing to level severe accusations against Israel.

Wednesday night’s confrontation highlighted the increasingly complicated political position of the mayor, who has faced criticism from Jewish organizations over his rhetoric while simultaneously drawing anger from anti-Israel activists demanding even more aggressive positions.

For many Jewish New Yorkers, however, the central concern was not the political embarrassment suffered by Mamdani, but the fact that an October 7 memorial was disrupted by demonstrators directing their anger at the mayor.

The vigil was intended to honor the victims of the Hamas massacre and provide a place for remembrance three years after the atrocities.

Instead, participants witnessed a confrontation involving protesters shouting accusations, waving terrorist flags and turning the solemn gathering into a political battleground.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel is reportedly identifying a growing willingness within Hamas to resume fighting, while voices inside Gaza are pushing for an offensive on the assumption that another confrontation with Israel is inevitable.

The assessment comes alongside accounts from Gaza sources describing preparations on the ground, including the transfer of weapons from underground facilities into hospitals and schools.

Sources also reported that dozens of Hamas operatives have been moving around Nasser Hospital.

Additional accounts published Wednesday described Hamas activity at Shifa, Al-Aqsa Martyrs and Nasser hospitals. According to those accounts, operatives are exploiting crowded conditions and using infrastructure beneath the hospital compounds.

Other testimony described Hamas command-and-control centers in areas still under the terrorist organization’s control, armed men continuing to patrol streets and the operation of Hamas’s internal security apparatus.

The accounts also claimed that Hamas maintains detention and interrogation facilities inside hospital compounds and beneath them.

The reported shift follows a markedly different assessment published on September 17, when Hamas was said to have decided against responding to Israel’s elimination of two brigade commanders within days of each other.

At the time, the organization reportedly feared that retaliation would give the IDF grounds to continue the war. A survey cited in that report found that fewer than 10% of participating Gazans supported an armed confrontation.

The latest assessment suggests that some inside Gaza now favor initiating an attack rather than waiting for fighting to resume.

Concerns about armed activity at Nasser Hospital have also been raised by Doctors Without Borders.

The medical organization said it suspended some operations at the hospital in January after staff witnessed masked armed men, intimidation and arbitrary arrests of patients. It also reported an incident involving a suspected transfer of weapons.

Doctors Without Borders resumed its principal activities at Nasser in April, saying conditions had improved and measures had been taken to restrict weapons and armed personnel from entering the compound.

The latest reports raise renewed concerns about Hamas’s use of civilian institutions as the prospect of another round of fighting grows.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

More than 75 retired American generals, admirals and senior national security officials rejected accusations Wednesday that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, arguing that the IDF’s conduct does not meet the legal definition of genocide and pointing to extensive Israeli efforts to reduce civilian casualties, according to an open letter released by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

The signatories include former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip Breedlove, former U.S. Strategic Command commander Gen. Kevin Chilton and former Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Amos.

The retired military leaders argued that civilian casualties, regardless of their scale, do not by themselves establish the specific intent required under international law to prove genocide.

They pointed to Israeli evacuation warnings, humanitarian corridors, tactical pauses and decisions to cancel strikes because civilians were present as evidence inconsistent with an effort to deliberately destroy Gaza’s civilian population.

Many of the signatories previously commanded American forces fighting terrorist organizations that embedded personnel and weapons among civilians, and they warned that distorted interpretations of the laws of war could eventually undermine America’s own ability to fight enemies using similar tactics.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Two-thirds of Republican candidates running in 62 competitive House and Senate races have publicly distanced themselves from President Trump on at least some issues as the midterm elections approach, according to a Reuters review published Wednesday.

The candidates have generally stopped short of rejecting Trump’s broader agenda, instead separating themselves from the president on specific issues such as war powers, economic policy and proposed beef imports.

Reuters also found that roughly a dozen candidates removed references to Trump from campaign materials, while some declined to appear at presidential events or avoided discussing whether they wanted his direct involvement in their campaigns.

The strategy reflects the difficult balance facing Republicans in closely divided districts, where candidates need strong turnout from Trump’s political base while also competing for independent voters.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Trump is reportedly considering another military strike against Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, with the White House asking the Pentagon to prepare operational plans for a possible attack in the coming weeks.

Two senior administration officials reportedly confirmed that preparations are underway, with U.S. Central Command developing military options. No final decision has been made, and the scope of a potential operation and its targets remain under discussion.

One option being considered is a limited strike that would allow Trump to present a military achievement against Iran before voters head to the polls.

According to the report, White House officials hope a demonstration of American military strength could shift public sentiment surrounding the war, which has weighed on support for Trump and Republicans amid sharply higher fuel prices.

However, advisers are divided over the timing.

Some believe the administration should wait until after the elections, warning that another attack could trigger Iranian retaliation, push energy prices higher and draw the United States into a broader military confrontation.

Those risks, they fear, could damage Republican efforts to retain control of Congress.

The Pentagon is also reportedly examining plans for a more extensive operation after the elections, including additional strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure.

Trump has hinted in recent days that the campaign could resume with greater intensity after the vote, while leaving open the possibility of earlier action.

The deliberations come as Washington considers expanding its military presence in the Middle East.

Reports last week indicated that the United States was exploring the possibility of concentrating three aircraft carriers in the region, alongside thousands of additional troops and aircraft, to give the president greater flexibility to resume strikes.

Indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran are continuing, but significant disagreements remain, particularly over ceasefire arrangements and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. officials reportedly assess that Iran’s leadership is under heavy economic pressure, though negotiations have not produced a substantive breakthrough toward an agreement.

A White House official said all options remain available to the president at any time, but declined to address whether another strike would take place before the elections.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Iran has transferred approximately $200 million to Hezbollah for payments to Lebanese families displaced during the war with Israel, marking the terrorist organization’s first major aid distribution to its support base since the conflict began, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Hezbollah plans to distribute initial payments of approximately $3,000 to some 50,000 families, prioritizing residents of villages that were destroyed or remain inaccessible because of the fighting.

Getting the Iranian money into Lebanon has become considerably more difficult because of sanctions and an international crackdown on financial networks connected to Hezbollah.

Sources said intermediaries moving the latest $200 million charged fees of approximately 20%, roughly four times the normal rate, because of the increased risks associated with transferring Iranian money to Hezbollah.

The transfer comes as Hezbollah attempts to rebuild after suffering extensive losses in its war with Israel while continuing to provide payments to its fighters and families of terrorists killed in the fighting.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned Wednesday that Israel must remain constantly prepared for a surprise war, drawing a direct connection between the intelligence and readiness failures surrounding the Yom Kippur War and the October 7 massacre, according to the IDF.

Speaking during an exercise of the IDF’s new 38th Division, Zamir described the two events as “two painful shortcomings, two failures, with a connecting thread between them.”

“Reality is constantly sending us signals,” Zamir said, adding that the military has an obligation to identify those signals, listen to them and continually adjust its assumptions.

Zamir said the possibility of a surprise attack must remain a constant concern throughout the IDF rather than something considered only when intelligence indicates that an enemy is preparing for war.

The remarks came exactly three years after Hamas shattered Israel’s assumptions about Gaza by launching its massive surprise invasion of southern Israel.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli forces launched several brigade-level operations across Judea and Samaria on Wednesday targeting suspects accused of supporting the October 7 massacre, terrorism and incitement, as security forces marked three years since Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, according to the IDF.

IDF and Shin Bet forces carried out warning interrogations and other operations against individuals identified by security officials as supporting terrorist activity.

The raids followed a separate operation launched to demolish monuments and memorials erected across Judea and Samaria in honor of terrorists.

Israeli forces have increasingly focused on incitement and public glorification of terrorism as security officials warn that online radicalization can rapidly translate into attacks carried out by individuals without formal organizational affiliations.

The operation was deliberately carried out on the anniversary of the Hamas massacre, which left approximately 1,200 people dead and resulted in 251 people being abducted into Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Republican political organizations have assembled an extraordinary campaign war chest approaching $1 billion as the November midterm elections enter their final weeks, pouring enormous sums into competitive House and Senate races across the country, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

MAGA Inc., one of the largest groups supporting Republican candidates and President Trump’s political agenda, had approximately $416 million available by late August and dramatically accelerated its spending during September.

Texas has emerged as one of the most expensive battlegrounds, with Republican groups spending more than $100 million as both parties fight over races that could determine control of Congress.

Republicans hold a financial advantage overall, while Democratic organizations have also amassed hundreds of millions of dollars for advertising, turnout operations and competitive races.

The November 3 election will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s current term, with both parties treating a relatively small number of competitive races as decisive.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A chilling new investigation has revealed that the Flydubai co-pilot who attempted to crash a passenger aircraft bound for Israel had been planning the terrorist attack for months and nearly carried it out during an earlier flight in July. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the Omani national deliberately pursued employment with an airline operating flights to Israel, intending to carry out a mass-casualty terrorist attack.

The suspect, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, reportedly told investigators that he specifically sought employment with an airline operating flights to Israel. After joining Flydubai, he requested assignments on the Dubai to Tel Aviv route, where he intended to incapacitate the captain and deliberately crash the aircraft into a target such as Ben Gurion Airport.

Investigators discovered that Hammami had considered carrying out the attack in July but abandoned the plan because he cared about one of the crew members aboard that particular flight. His decision was only a postponement, however, as he continued preparing for another opportunity to carry out the attack.

During Flydubai Flight 1073, Hammami attacked the aircraft’s captain with a cockpit crash axe and sent the passenger jet into a dangerous dive. The wounded captain, along with passengers and crew, managed to regain control of the aircraft, preventing what could have become a catastrophic terrorist attack.

The investigation also raised serious questions about aviation security and how a pilot allegedly motivated by extremist ideology was able to gain access to the cockpit of an aircraft carrying passengers to Israel. Hammami reportedly told investigators that his actions were motivated by the situation in Gaza.

The revelations underscore how close the passengers came to disaster and expose the extraordinary danger posed by a terrorist operating from inside the cockpit of a commercial passenger aircraft.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Over Sukkos, hundreds of Jews visited the home of Rosh Yeshivah HaGaon HaRav Moshe Tzvi Bergman, including Gedolei Yisrael, Roshei Yeshivah, Rabbanim and marbitzei Torah, Degel HaTorah representatives, mayors and public figures.

On erev Hoshanah Rabbah, a Simchas Yom Tov gathering was held at the Rosh Yeshivah’s home, during which he delivered forceful remarks.

The Rosh Yeshivah said: “Throughout this recent period, we have merited to witness open nissim. From every direction, enemies rise up to destroy us, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu performs open nissim for us. We can tangibly see how HaKadosh Baruch Hu shelters us and protects us with special hashgachah.

“Just yesterday, we saw such a great neis with the [FlyDubai] plane, which could have ended in a terrible disaster, chas v’shalom. It is awe-inspiring to see the Yad Hashem so clearly.”

“Morai v’Rabbosai, for a long time now we have been in a state of war over the Olam HaTorah world, over the integrity of the Torah world. We should know that this is the real war — there are those who want to destroy Klal Yisrael, chas v’shalom.”

“Baruch Hashem, the bochurim and avreichim are standing strong in an extraordinary way and are moser nefesh for this, as required by halachah. And I can say that halavei (if only) I could be zocheh to share the lot of those who are moser nefesh.

“And now comes a time when everyone is busy with politics. Everyone is talking about who will be at the top. We need to know that this is not our role. We need only to sit and learn Torah. We must do what needs to be done, but the main thing is to sit and learn.

“We are maaminim bnei maaminim in the eternal promise, ‘For it shall not be forgotten from the mouths of his descendants.’ And this does not depend on anyone. The Torah Hakedoshah will prevail.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Israel hopes to begin filing indictments during the first half of 2027 against terrorists accused of participating in the October 7 massacre, but serious staffing and logistical problems could delay the unprecedented proceedings, officials told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday, according to The Times of Israel.

Approximately 300 suspects believed to have participated in the massacre are thought to remain in Israeli custody, although authorities have not publicly disclosed an exact figure.

Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman said the Israeli public is “waiting, demanding and entitled” to see those responsible for the atrocities prosecuted.

Officials told lawmakers that staffing shortages are affecting both the military prosecution and Israel Prison Service, while some suspects have still not been questioned by prosecutors.

A special facility intended to securely accommodate the trials is also facing delays, raising the possibility that some of the most significant criminal proceedings in Israel’s history will not begin until more than three years after the massacre.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Mali and Liel Yahalomi, the Israeli mother and daughter whose disappearance abroad sparked a search in August, landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday afternoon aboard a flight from Athens.

The pair exited the terminal wearing matching outfits and did not speak with reporters waiting outside. Authorities did not appear to attempt to detain them.

Mali, 50, and Liel, 23, were located in Buenos Aires on August 14, approximately a week after their whereabouts became unknown in Vienna, Austria.

Israel Police confirmed at the time that the two had been found on an intercity bus in the Argentine capital.

The mother and daughter had failed to board their scheduled return flight from Prague, raising concern about their whereabouts.

Their travels began with a flight from Israel to Prague, followed by a visit to Vienna. They apparently traveled through Frankfurt before eventually reaching Buenos Aires.

Their arrival Wednesday marks their return to Israel nearly two months after they were located in Argentina.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Two new Israeli election polls released Wednesday evening paint sharply different pictures of the race, but both show Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc in a stronger position. A Channel 13 poll gives Netanyahu’s bloc 55 seats, its highest showing in the network’s polling during the current election campaign, while a simultaneous Channel 14 poll gives the right-wing bloc 63 seats, enough to form a government.

In the Channel 13 poll, Likud and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar are tied for first place with 20 seats each. Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad follows with 12 seats, while the Democrats receive 10. The Joint List receives 9 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each receive 8, Religious Zionism-Zehut and Shas each receive 7, Ra’am receives 6, and Amcha Yisrael receives 5.

The Channel 13 bloc breakdown puts Netanyahu’s bloc at 55 seats, the opposition bloc at 50, and the Arab parties at 15. While the result marks a new high for Netanyahu’s bloc in Channel 13’s polling during the current campaign, it would still leave the bloc six seats short of the 61-seat majority required to control the 120-seat Knesset and form a government.

Channel 14’s poll shows a dramatically different electoral map. Likud leads with 31 seats, followed by Yashar with 23. Shas receives 10, the Democrats 9, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism 8 each, the Joint List 7, Religious Zionism-Zehut 6, Yisrael Beiteinu 5, and Ra’am 5.

Under Channel 14’s bloc breakdown, the right-wing bloc receives 63 seats, giving it a two-seat majority above the 61-seat threshold. The left-wing bloc receives 45 seats, while the Arab parties receive a combined 12 seats.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The U.S.-backed Board of Peace said Wednesday that the war and devastation that transformed the Middle East over the past three years were “unleashed by Hamas” on October 7, 2023, while calling for renewed implementation of President Trump’s Gaza peace framework, according to a statement from the organization.

The body issued the statement on the third anniversary of the massacre, saying the attack left wounds extending far beyond the communities directly targeted by Hamas terrorists.

The Board of Peace was created as part of the Trump administration’s effort to oversee the transition in Gaza following the ceasefire and eventual return of the hostages.

Major elements of the plan remain unresolved, including Hamas’s disarmament, the future governance of Gaza and reconstruction of the devastated territory.

The board said moving the plan forward remains necessary to prevent the region from returning to another full-scale war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri attended a memorial and appreciation ceremony Wednesday honoring United Hatzalah volunteers on the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Kikar H’Shabbat reported.

The event honored the extraordinary courage and dedication of hundreds of United Hatzalah volunteers who were among the first responders to operate in the Gaza border communities under heavy attack, saving the lives of countless civilians and soldiers.

“I came here to recognize your tremendous contribution to Am Yisrael,” Deri said. “You saved the lives of many civilians while risking your own lives. Mossad chief Roman Gofman told me that the Chareidi Hatzalah volunteers saved his life on October 7.”

“The work of the organization’s volunteers on October 7, as well as their daily work throughout the country saving lives without distinction, is a testament to the spirit of mutual responsibility and mesirus nefesh that characterizes Am Yisrael.”

Gofman was the commander of an IDF base in the Negev during the October 7 massacre. He rushed into battle against the Hamas terrorists and was seriously wounded in a gun battle outside Sderot.

United Hatzalah president and founder Eli Beer tearfully recalled the harrowing events of that day: “In those difficult moments, when no civilian organization could enter other than the security forces, United Hatzalah volunteers ran straight into the fire and risked their lives to save others,” he said. “They treated hundreds of wounded people, soldiers and civilians alike, under relentless gunfire. Among those they saved was Mossad chief Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, whose life was saved thanks to the resourcefulness of our volunteers in the field.”

United Hatzalah president and founder Eli Beer speaks at the event.

Beer also revealed a humanitarian initiative that took place behind the scenes: At the request of Rabbi Aryeh Deri and his wife, Yaffa, he arranged a meeting between the mothers of hostages Omer Shem Tov and Sasha Trufanov and philanthropist Dr. Miriam Adelson, who has significant influence in the United States, in an effort to assist in securing the return of their sons.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A senior Iranian official rejected Washington’s demand that Tehran substantially reduce its uranium enrichment capabilities, declaring that recognition of Iran’s claimed right to enrich uranium remains a “red line” that the regime will not surrender, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The official was responding to Vice President JD Vance, who said Iran would need to demonstrate a meaningful reduction in its enrichment capabilities for an agreement ending the war to become possible.

The Iranian official said no direct U.S.-Iran negotiations over the nuclear program have taken place and insisted Washington would first have to satisfy Tehran’s conditions before nuclear negotiations could begin.

While Iran is refusing to negotiate away what it describes as its fundamental right to enrichment, the official indicated that the specific level and details of enrichment could eventually be discussed.

The dispute goes directly to one of the central issues separating Washington and Tehran as the Trump administration seeks an agreement that would prevent Iran from rebuilding a nuclear weapons capability following months of war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Following an uproar, the IDF reversed its decision Wednesday and will allow Hesder soldiers in the Golani Brigade to leave a memorial ceremony before women begin singing, hours after they were initially told they could not skip any portion of the event for religious reasons, Arutz Sheva reported.

Under the revised arrangements, Hesder soldiers will be seated at the edge of the stands and permitted to leave in an orderly manner before the women’s singing begins. The Hesder platoon will also be exempt from participating in the honor guard, and a planned female solo performance has been canceled.

Women will appear on stage alongside men only during the singing of “Hatikvah” at the conclusion of the ceremony, as part of a general performance involving all participants.

The changes were approved by the commander of the Golani Training Base following efforts by the base’s rabbi, Capt. Rabbi Uri Levy.

The reversal came just hours after Rabbi Levy informed soldiers that the IDF’s Joint Service regulations did not allow them to skip an official state ceremony because of women singing or their religious observance.

Following the reversal, the “Wives of Soldiers for the Kedushas HaMachaneh” organization welcomed the change but called for the accommodation to be extended to all religious soldiers.

“This is the beginning of a tikkun,” the organization said. “It is important to allow every soldier to maintain his way of life, not only Hesder soldiers.”

“The IDF is a Jewish army, and the kedushas hamachaneh is a fundamental value that is the responsibility of the Military Rabbinate and commanders.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The IDF eliminated two Hamas terrorists overnight after troops identified them leaving Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, with one planting explosive devices near the Yellow Line to target Israeli forces, the military said.

According to the IDF, the explosives had been brought out of the hospital. Israeli forces struck the terrorists shortly after identifying the threat, killing both.

One of those eliminated was identified as Muhammad Tamous, a sniper in Hamas’s military wing who also worked for Gaza’s civil defense service, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The military said the terrorists had recently been advancing attacks from inside the hospital and working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities, in what it described as systematic violations of the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF accused Hamas of continuing to exploit hospitals and medical infrastructure for terrorist activity in violation of international law.

According to the military, Hamas is turning facilities intended to provide civilian medical care into bases for planning attacks and restoring its military capabilities, endangering the civilian population.

The operation follows a series of strikes against Hamas commanders in recent months. At the end of September, Muhammad Hamad Muhammad Gabain, a commander in Hamas’s military wing who was involved in holding nine Israeli hostages, was eliminated.

The IDF said Southern Command forces remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue acting to remove immediate threats.

Israeli security assessments indicate that while Hamas has sustained severe blows during the fighting in Gaza, its military and organizational capabilities have not been eliminated.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

British Airways is expected to resume flights between London and Tel Aviv on October 25, restoring its daily service after months of suspension and repeated delays.

The first flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Ben Gurion Airport is scheduled to depart on the evening of October 25. The first return flight from Israel to London is expected to take off the following morning, October 26.

British Airqays suspended its Israel service at the end of February and has postponed its return several times. It remains one of the major international airlines that has yet to resume operations at Ben Gurion Airport.

Its planned return follows the restoration of flights by two major American carriers last month.

Delta Air Lines resumed daily service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv in early September. United Airlines returned on September 8, operating two daily flights between Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Ben Gurion Airport.

Additional service is expected later this year, with Air India planning to restart direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv on December 1. The airline, which previously delayed its return, is expected to operate five flights per week.

American Airlines, meanwhile, has not resumed flights to Israel since suspending operations in October 2023. Its Israel service remains suspended through March 27, 2027.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

As Israel marked three years since the October 7 massacre on Wednesday at official ceremonies and events across Israel, recognition was also given to members of the Chareidi community who worked from the first hours of the disaster to save lives, preserve kavod hameisim and assist the families of the hostages.

Among the organizations whose efforts have received recognition are ZAKA and Hatzalah, whose volunteers operated at the harrowing scenes of devastation in southern Israel from the first hours of the attack and continued their work throughout the war.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon, former commander of the IDF Northern Corps who is now on the Yesh Atid list, also praised Chareidi journalist and publicist Yisrael Cohen for his efforts on behalf of the hostages and their families.

In the aftermath of October 7, Cohen worked closely with hostage families, connecting them with Gedolei Yisrael and prominent Chareidi public figures and helping build support for the release of hostages within the Chareidi community, with an emphasis on the mitzvah of pidyon shvuyim.

Cohen also participated in tefillah gatherings for the hostages, including at the Kosel, and spoke at Hostages Square. In October 2024, it was reported that he had accompanied hostage families to the homes of Gedolei Yisrael and helped establish ties between the families and the Chareidi community.

Tibon, who himself took part in rescuing relatives and others on the day of the massacre, spoke about Cohen’s efforts during an appearance on Channel 13.

“I want to say something about Yisrael,” Tibon said. “During those difficult days, this man worked on behalf of the hostages. In my eyes, both the tefillos and the statements he made from every platform show what the people of this country have in common.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A Thai passenger aboard the Flydubai flight targeted by its co-pilot has described the terrifying moments when the aircraft plunged twice, passengers screamed and people without seatbelts were lifted out of their seats.

Wirawat Rogphan, a Thai national who works in Israel, said the images remain seared into his memory after the Omani co-pilot attacked the Indian captain and attempted to crash the aircraft during its flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.

“Everything was normal, and within less than three minutes, the plane suddenly plunged,” Rogphan recalled.

He estimated that the first dive felt as though it lasted five or six seconds.

“It was like being on a roller coaster when we were at a great height and suddenly dropped downward,” he said.

According to Rogphan, some passengers had finished eating and were no longer wearing their seatbelts, causing their bodies to rise into the air as the aircraft descended.

“Children and women—everyone was screaming, and some were crying,” he said. “There were two consecutive dives, and I cried three times.”

After the plunges, Rogphan described a severe feeling of suffocation and difficulty communicating clearly amid the chaos.

Passengers who rushed to assist the captain began asking whether anyone aboard was a police officer, soldier or doctor who could help subdue the attacker and stop the captain’s bleeding.

“Everything happened within about 10 minutes until they managed to bring the situation under control,” Rogphan said, adding that the attacking co-pilot lost consciousness and was restrained.

Even after the immediate danger was brought under control, the passengers faced an agonizing wait as the aircraft sought somewhere to make an emergency landing.

“What took a long time was the period when the plane was looking for a place to land,” he recalled.

Throughout the ordeal, Rogphan said, Israeli passengers repeatedly checked on him and tried to reassure him after noticing that he was traveling alone.

“The Israeli passengers tried to ask us whether we were okay,” he said. “Their approach and their treatment of us were amazing. I consider them very good people, and they looked after us the whole time.”

He said their concern continued after the situation had calmed, with passengers approaching him again and again to check on his wellbeing.

Although the flight ended without the catastrophe passengers feared, Rogphan said he continues to struggle with the psychological effects. On his lawyer’s advice, he is considering seeking a medical or psychiatric evaluation to document the trauma for a compensation claim against the airline.

Rogphan also rejected claims circulating in Thailand that Jews had staged the attack, saying the accusations were deeply hurtful to those who had lived through it.

“When we heard and read that, we felt sadness and disappointment, because we were there on the plane, in the middle of the incident,” he said. “People speak like this without knowing what happened, and it hurts.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Dozens of Arab rioters attacked Jewish shepherds in the heart of Shomron on Wednesday morning, hurling rocks and stones at them from close range and injuring five.

The attack took place in the grazing areas of the Brit Avraham farm near Sebastia, when dozens of Arabs from the nearby village of Ramin launched a coordinated attack on the Jewish shepherds.

Magen David Adom paramedics and EMTs were dispatched to the scene and treated a man in his 20s who suffered a head injury after being struck directly by a stone. He was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in moderate condition and taken to the trauma unit for further treatment.

Four other Jews were lightly injured in the attack and received medical treatment at the scene.

IDF troops and other security forces were dispatched to the area and began searches for the assailants.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The shelters near Gaza that became scenes of desperate fighting, hiding and heroism during the October 7 massacre will receive special preservation protection, following an unprecedented declaration by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Wednesday.

The minister designated the structures as “antiquities” and national heritage sites, requiring explicit approval before they can be removed, repainted, plastered over or otherwise physically altered.

Any such work must now be coordinated with preservation professionals from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Heritage Ministry.

The decision followed appeals from dozens of bereaved families and former hostages, along with preparatory work by ministry officials. Among the structures included is the shelter associated with Aner Shapira.

The Heritage Ministry said the measure aims to prevent cleanup efforts from erasing evidence left in shelters that came under fire during the massacre. The structures will be preserved as testimony to the atrocities and as places of remembrance.

According to the ministry, the designation relies on a special provision in the Antiquities Law. Although the law generally protects objects and structures dating from before 1700, Section 1 allows the responsible minister to designate a later property as an antiquity when it holds exceptional national historical significance.

The ministry stressed that the declaration does not change ownership or transfer the shelters to the state. Existing ownership remains intact, while physical changes become subject to preservation restrictions.

“The events of October 7 seared a deep wound into our flesh, but also revealed strength of spirit, heroism and mutual responsibility that will be remembered for generations,” Eliyahu said.

“Amid the inferno, the shelters scattered throughout the Gaza border region became scenes of a struggle for survival, bloodshed and immeasurable heroism,” he continued.

“Our obligation to future generations is to ensure that the stories of heroism and loss are told from the sites themselves, and do not disappear under bureaucratic considerations or a hurried desire to ‘clean up the area.’”

The directive has been sent to regional council leaders near Gaza, the deputy director of the Israel Antiquities Authority and officials responsible for work at the sites.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Three years after Hamas abducted him on October 7, and exactly one year after his miraculous release with fellow hostages, former hostage Bar Kupershtein made an emotional visit to the sukkah of United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher.

The Asher family warmly welcomed Bar and his parents, Tal and Julie, along with family friend Rebbetzin Riki Siton. They told Bar that throughout the two years he was held captive, they devoted their tefillos to his release and the release of all the hostages. The visit was accompanied by journalist and commentator Yisrael Cohen, who has been active since October 7 in supporting hostage families and survivors, and advocating for the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim.

Bar spoke emotionally about the great miracles he experienced and the faith in Hashem he discovered while being held in Hamas tunnels in Gaza. He showed MK Asher his slogan, “Bar is in the hands of Borei Olam,” and the nickname he has adopted: “The Survivor of Faith.”

Bar’s mother, Julie, recounted that while he was in captivity, one of the terrorists holding him called her and said she had to appeal to the International Court in The Hague against the State of Israel in order to get her son back. “I answered him firmly: ‘You will not decide for me. Bar is only in the hands of Borei Olam.’”

Bar added that around that same time, terrorists approached the hostages in the tunnel and threatened to execute three of the six, demanding that the hostages choose who would live and who would die. “We refused,” he said. “I told myself that I would not take part in their game, because I am only in the hands of Borei Olam. Since I was released, I have understood that this is my mission and my purpose: to spread this message of faith to Klal Yisrael.”

Bar and his family also described how he and the other hostages made Kiddush and Havdalah using water. For Havdalah, they used an old flashlight in place of a candle and mint medicine for besamim. “A year ago, I was saying Selichos during Chol Hamoed in the depths of the tunnels,” Bar said. “Now I am saying Selichos at the Kosel and in Hostages Square. It is an incredible miracle.”

MK Asher said that his family, like many across Israel, had davened for Bar’s release. His family told Bar that even without knowing him personally, they had been thinking of him throughout his captivity, and that seeing him free was a closing of the circle.

Cohen told Asher that Bar, like the other hostages, has become a symbol of spiritual awakening. He said that Bar and his fellow hostages inspired many people across Israel to strengthen their faith and draw closer to Hashem, bringing about a Kiddush Hashem. He pointed to the large Selichos gatherings and the spiritual commitments taken on by young people as signs of that impact.

The meeting also included mention of Bar’s visit after his release to Maran Rosh Hayeshivah HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch. Bar told him about the great miracles he experienced and showed him the hat bearing the words, “Bar is always in the hands of Borei Olam,” a symbol of his deep faith in Hashem.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Hundreds of terrorists held by Israel who are suspected of involvement in the October 7 massacre have still not been questioned about their roles in the atrocities, lawmakers were told Wednesday, three years after the attack.

The figures emerged during a hearing of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on preparations to bring the October 7 terrorists to trial.

Approximately 400 terrorists have been questioned as part of the massacre investigation. However, hundreds of additional detainees, for whom there is a clear suspicion of involvement, have yet to be questioned about the events.

Some of those suspects have been held in Israel for an extended period. Israeli forces also continue capturing additional terrorists during operations in Gaza, requiring investigators to determine whether they participated in the massacre.

The committee reviewed preparations for the trials, including establishing a courtroom complex, appointing judges, recruiting personnel and developing a public information strategy to accompany the proceedings.

MK Yulia Malinovsky demanded concrete progress, saying discussions alone were insufficient.

“If there are problems, we will solve them, and if necessary, we will pound on the table—but we want results,” she said. “The people of Israel deserve answers.”

Malinovsky urged officials to put aside personal considerations and disagreements.

“Every official must set aside personal whims and disputes and rise to the occasion,” she said. “We owe this to the families.”

Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman emphasized that advancing the trials enjoys broad political agreement.

“We are all working on this as one, without coalition and without opposition,” Rothman said. “The State of Israel will not let this pass and will demand accountability from our enemies for the blood of our brothers.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Newly released court documents are shedding light on an extraordinary battle between the IDF and the intelligence officer who headed the Gaza Division’s intelligence apparatus during the October 7 massacre, with Lt. Col. Aryeh Amidror arguing that he is being unfairly singled out for failures that extended throughout Israel’s military and intelligence establishment.

Amidror is fighting the IDF’s effort to terminate his permanent military service following investigations into the catastrophic intelligence failures surrounding the Hamas invasion. He argues that the action against him is discriminatory and that other commanders connected to the failures have not faced comparable consequences.

A central part of the dispute concerns intelligence gathered before the massacre and Hamas training exercises. Amidror maintains that after taking command of the Gaza Division’s intelligence apparatus, he ordered personnel to examine Hamas exercises and determine whether the terror group possessed the capability to execute its operational plans.

The IDF has strongly rejected Amidror’s portrayal of the case, citing what it says were serious professional failures in the months preceding October 7 and during the critical hours immediately before the invasion. Military officials have also cited the Gaza Division intelligence branch’s failure to provide adequate warning.

The case is providing a rare public look at the continuing battle over individual responsibility for the intelligence failures preceding October 7, three years after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel and carried out the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Iran’s Jewish representative in parliament, Homayoun Sameh, has appealed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, warning that extremists could exploit tensions surrounding the war with Israel to target the country’s Jewish community.

In a letter to Guterres, Sameh called for immediate measures to protect religious minorities, expressing concern that public anger over the conflict could place Iranian Jews in danger.

Sameh claimed that the fighting had killed more than 1,000 people, including 800 civilians, leaving “a deep wound” and stirring painful emotions among Iranians.

His appeal for protection was accompanied by a denunciation of Israel and Zionism. “We, the Jews of Iran, have no connection to the policies and actions of the Zionist regime,” he wrote.

Sameh sought to distinguish Judaism, which he described as a monotheistic religion, from Zionism, which he labeled a “political ideology oriented toward violence.”

He urged Guterres to direct UN bodies to take practical, immediate steps to safeguard religious minorities. He also invited the secretary-general or a special representative to visit Iran to examine the Jewish community’s situation firsthand.

Despite warning of potential attacks, Sameh presented Iran as a country of respectful religious coexistence. He reiterated the Jewish community’s loyalty to its homeland and pointed to its approximately 2,500-year history, tracing its roots to the era of Cyrus the Great.

Sameh also asserted that Jewish rights are guaranteed under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, noting that the community has a parliamentary representative and claiming that its shuls operate freely.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Large demonstrations are planned for Thursday in Yerushalayim and Gush Dan following instructions from HaRav Azriel Auerbach, in response to the recent arrests of yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungeleit by military authorities.

The Committee to Save the Torah World announced Wednesday that the protests will take place at 4 p.m. in both areas.

The announcement follows several incidents involving Chareidi men classified as deserters by military authorities.

Overnight, military police arrested a Chareidi man in Be’er Sheva. On Tuesday, a talmid of Yeshivas Chevron was arrested in Eilat and transferred to military police custody.

On Monday, an attempted military police arrest in Modi’in drew large crowds and triggered a major confrontation. The arrest ultimately was not carried out.

According to the committee, HaRav Auerbach instructed supporters to demonstrate “in protest against the degradation of the honor of Torah and those who learn it.”

The committee said HaRav Auerbach also sharply criticized what its statement described as the “abandonment of yeshiva students” by those who had previously pledged to stand alongside them at such a time.

Speaking to the committee’s rabbonim, he said the demonstrations would also protest “the terrible chillul Shem Shamayim of yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungeleit being thrown into prison, while no one opens their mouth in protest,” according to the statement.

The demonstrations are scheduled for Thursday, October 8, at 4 p.m. in Yerushalayim and Gush Dan.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A message sent to Golani soldiers by a military rabbi ahead of a ceremony Wednesday evening commemorating those who fell in the war has sparked an uproar.

The message, signed by the Golani Training Base rabbi, Capt. Rabbi Uri Levy, stated that according to the IDF’s Joint Service regulations, soldiers may not skip an official state ceremony because of women singing or due to their religious lifestyle.

“Dear soldiers, this evening we will hold the ceremony commemorating those who fell in the War of Revival,” Rabbi Levy wrote. “The ceremony is also expected to include women singing. Nevertheless, under the Joint Service regulations, at official state ceremonies there is no option to be absent from the ceremony because of women singing or because of one’s lifestyle. Therefore, I ask everyone to respect the ceremony and remember that ‘Derech Eretz Kadma L’Torah.’”

He added: “Anyone who finds this difficult may lower his head and avoid looking toward the stage during the singing.”

“This is an important ceremony of remembrance, respect and unity, and especially in these days, it is important that we stand together, one alongside the other, with mutual respect.”

The message drew a sharp response from the “Wives of Soldiers for the Kedushas HaMachaneh” organization, which issued a statement saying: “There is no limit to the outrage. On the day marking the October 7 massacre, in which Golani soldiers fought with extraordinary heroism and lost their lives, an official from the Military Rabbinate — who should have assisted the soldiers and preserved the kedushas hamachaneh — is participating in anti-religious coercion against them and seriously infringing on their way of life, while even lecturing them about ‘Derech Eretz’?”

“Where is the basic respect for observant Jewish soldiers? Where is the kedushas hamachaneh? Where is the army’s Jewish character? The obliteration of Jewish identity — these are precisely the progressive values that brought the IDF to collapse, and the lesson has not been learned.”

The group demanded intervention from senior officials in the defense establishment and the Military Rabbinate.

“We call on Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to intervene and protect the soldiers, and on IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Rabbi Eyal Karim to investigate this serious incident and punish those responsible.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Iran has begun training female supporters of the Islamic Republic to operate shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, drones and firearms as Tehran expands a civilian military mobilization campaign amid its continuing confrontation with Israel and the United States, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

Iranian state media released images showing women training with the Misagh shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile system, designed to target low-flying aircraft and drones. Participants were also shown handling firearms and receiving drone training.

The exercises are part of what Iranian authorities call the “Janfada,” or self-sacrifice, campaign. Training reportedly includes urban warfare, shooting, first aid, crisis management, wilderness survival, rappelling and the operation of first-person-view drones.

Women are exempt from compulsory military service in Iran and face significant restrictions on formal military careers. Iran’s Basij paramilitary organization, however, is permitted to provide voluntary military training to women.

The unusual mobilization comes as the Iranian regime continues preparing its population and security forces for the possibility of further large-scale fighting with Israel and the United States.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

There are days when basic decency demands that politics be put aside.

October 7 should be one of them.

It is the anniversary of the darkest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust — a day when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, slaughtered families in their homes, murdered young people at a music festival, and dragged 251 people into Gaza as hostages.

For Jewish New Yorkers, including thousands with relatives and friends in Israel, October 7 is not an abstraction. It is a day of mourning.

Antisemite Mayor Zohran Mamdani could have simply acknowledged that.

Instead, he gave the victims of October 7 three sentences.

Then he turned their day of mourning into another opportunity to prosecute his political case against Israel.

The statement released Wednesday by Mamdani begins appropriately enough.

“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss.”

And then Mamdani pivots.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” he declares.

What follows is vastly more extensive than his remembrance of the Israelis butchered and kidnapped on October 7: accusations that Israel is committing a “devastating, ongoing genocide,” dropping bombs on ambulances, targeting residential buildings and journalists, blocking food aid, practicing “apartheid,” committing “war crimes,” and doing so with American complicity.

Read the statement carefully and its priorities are impossible to miss.

Three sentences for October 7.

Three paragraphs attacking Israel.

On October 7.

That choice was not accidental. It was the message.

There are 364 other days of the year on which Mamdani can deliver his familiar denunciations of Israel. He has certainly never lacked opportunities to do so.

But on the one day Jews ask the world to remember what happened to them — to remember the families massacred, the communities destroyed, the young people hunted through fields and bomb shelters, and the hostages dragged into Gaza — New York City’s mayor could not allow even that day to remain about them.

He had to turn it into an indictment of the Jewish state.

That is not empathy. It is an insult.

And it is particularly galling coming from the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel.

Mamdani says he wants Jewish New Yorkers to feel safe. His administration has spoken about combating antisemitism and has acknowledged the horrifying prevalence of antisemitic hate crimes in New York.

Yet rhetoric matters.

A mayor cannot claim to be fighting antisemitism while repeatedly using the extraordinary platform of City Hall to portray the world’s only Jewish state as uniquely monstrous — and then choose the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews in generations to do it again.

Mamdani is entitled to criticize Israel. He is entitled to despise Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policies. He is entitled to advocate for Palestinians.

But there is something profoundly wrong when even October 7 cannot simply be October 7.

Imagine a mayor marking the anniversary of September 11 by devoting a few sentences to the nearly 3,000 people murdered and then spending most of his statement cataloguing America’s alleged crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

New Yorkers would immediately understand how grotesque that was.

Jewish New Yorkers should not be expected to accept a different standard.

This is also not some new or isolated lapse. Mamdani has repeatedly used moments when Jews are mourning Israeli victims to pivot toward his familiar accusations against Israel — “genocide,” “occupation,” “apartheid,” and American “complicity.”

There is a reason so many Jewish New Yorkers view Mamdani with deep alarm.

It is not because criticism of Israel is forbidden. It is because context matters. Timing matters. Language matters.

And when a mayor chooses the anniversary of the Hamas massacre to devote the overwhelming majority of his statement to accusing Israel of atrocities, Jewish New Yorkers are entitled to ask exactly whose grief he believes deserves center stage on October 7.

October 7 should not be difficult.

You mourn the dead.

You remember the murdered.

You condemn the terrorists who murdered them.

You stand with the survivors and the families whose lives were permanently shattered.

And for one day — one single day — you resist the urge to turn Jewish grief into a political weapon against Israel.

Zohran Mamdani could not manage even that.

New York’s Jews deserved better from their mayor.

Much better.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to attend a vigil commemorating the October 7 massacre Wednesday evening, followed two hours later by a meeting with Palestinian New Yorkers, according to his office’s published schedule.

The mayor’s calendar lists his participation in a “Vigil in Remembrance of October 7th” at 7 p.m. His meeting with Palestinian residents is scheduled for 9 p.m.

The appearances come amid sharp criticism of Mamdani’s positions on Israel and questions surrounding his administration’s strategy to combat antisemitism.

At an October 7 memorial ceremony held by the Israeli Consulate in New York, Consul General Ofir Akunis personally invited Mamdani to view footage documenting the Hamas atrocities.

“If he comes, he’ll see what the people he supports actually did,” Akunis said. “Maybe it will make him stop with the hatred and blood libels against the State of Israel.”

Separately, Mamdani’s recently announced “Strategy to Combat Antisemitism” has drawn scrutiny over reports identifying the Arab American Association of New York as a partner organization.

The broader program allocates tens of millions of dollars toward combating hate crimes and includes an additional $6.4 million for a city initiative to fight hatred.

Criticism of the association’s involvement centers on its history of anti-Israel activism and its statements following the October 7 massacre.

In the days after the attack, the organization declared that “we stand in solidarity with the right of all occupied peoples to resist their oppressors.”

The association has also supported protests against Israel, raising questions among critics about its participation in an initiative presented as a strategy to combat antisemitism.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Military police arrested Eliyahu Dovdah overnight at his home in Be’er Sheva. Dovdah is a Talmid at Yeshivas Orchot Meir in Yerushalayim.

He was first taken to the detention camp at Bahadim and later transferred to Prison 10, where a hearing in his case is expected to take place in the coming hours.

The organization Nosnim Gav is assisting Dovdah and his family with legal representation and support.

Following the latest arrests, protests by the Ratzefnikim faction are reportedly expected. Students at the yeshiva described Dovdah as a serious Bochur and said they were shocked by his arrest. The yeshiva’s rabbanim are discussing how to respond.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Israel Police have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected conflicts of interest involving two senior figures in the Transportation Ministry’s aviation security apparatus, following revelations that emerged in the aftermath of the attempted terror attack aboard Flydubai Flight 1073.

The investigation centers on two officials involved in Israel’s aviation security system, including one who allegedly received private payments from Flydubai while simultaneously holding a position that involved oversight and security-related responsibilities concerning foreign airlines operating flights to Israel.

One of the officials under scrutiny is Avri Cohen, head of the Transportation Ministry’s Security, Cyber and Emergency Division.

According to Israeli media reports, Cohen spent years simultaneously serving as a reserve security officer in Israel’s overseas aviation security network, receiving separate compensation for that work while holding his senior Transportation Ministry position.

The Transportation Ministry initially said Cohen’s additional employment had been approved when he entered his position in 2018. However, it subsequently emerged that the required authorization from Israel’s Civil Service Commission had apparently never been issued.

The Civil Service Commission said Cohen had not submitted a request for the required permit, while the Transportation Ministry acknowledged that it had not forwarded such a request on his behalf.

Following the revelations, the ministry ordered Cohen to discontinue the additional work unless and until the necessary authorization is granted.

Police are also reportedly examining the activities of Dvir Rubinstein, who manages the Transportation Ministry’s Aviation Security Operations Center.

Unlike Cohen, Rubinstein is not a government employee and provides services to the ministry through an outsourcing arrangement. At the same time, he operates a private company and provides consulting and training services in the aviation and security fields.

According to the reports, Rubinstein provided paid consulting and training services to foreign airlines — including Flydubai and Emirates — while his work for the Transportation Ministry involved approvals and security matters relating to foreign carriers seeking to operate flights to Israel.

The alleged financial relationship with Flydubai has drawn particular scrutiny following the attempted terror attack aboard Flight 1073, in which the copilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to bring down the aircraft while it was carrying Israeli passengers.

The dramatic incident has triggered broader questions in Israel regarding security oversight of foreign airlines, vetting procedures for foreign flight crews, and the division of responsibility between the Transportation Ministry and Israel’s security agencies.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri issued an unequivocal public commitment that his party will not join — or allow the formation of — any future Israeli government unless legislation securing the status of yeshiva bochurim is passed first.

The pledge comes under the direction of the Shas Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah and Rishon L’Tzion HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, amid the escalating draft crisis and renewed arrests of yeshiva bochurim.

“The Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah instructed us, and we announced it explicitly,” Deri said. “Maran the Rishon L’Tzion HaGaon Rav Yitzchak Yosef also announced at the opening of Shas’s election campaign: Shas will not enter a government and will not allow a government to be formed without first passing the law regulating the status of Torah learners.”

Deri made clear that legislation protecting bnei yeshivos would have to be completed before Shas even begins negotiating over government positions, budgets or other coalition demands.

Shas officials told Kikar HaShabbat that the commitment leaves potential coalition partners with no room for misunderstanding.

“Deri left no room for maneuver,” a Shas official said. “We have made it clear to all potential partners — anyone who wants Shas in the government must understand that the issue of Torah learners, which is at the heart of the Chareidi community, is not a matter for bargaining. First, the law will be passed and the status of yeshiva bochurim will be regulated, and only afterward will we discuss positions and budgets.”

The declaration comes as the draft crisis continues to intensify, with arrests of yeshiva bochurim and threats of renewed enforcement fueling growing anger throughout the Chareidi community.

Earlier this week, an attempt to arrest a yeshiva bochur in Modi’in triggered a massive gathering and ultimately ended with his release. Two additional bnei yeshivos were recently arrested in Eilat, including a Chevron Yeshiva bochur and a recently married Yerushalmi kollel yungerman.

The IDF has meanwhile announced that proactive enforcement against draft evaders will resume during October.

Against that backdrop, Deri is drawing a firm line ahead of the formation of Israel’s next government: Shas will not simply demand a draft law during coalition negotiations. According to his commitment, the law protecting the status of bnei yeshivos must be passed first.

Only then, Deri says, will Shas discuss joining a government.

(YWN Israel Desk — Jerusalem)

New satellite imagery shows significant renewed activity at Iran’s Minzadai complex, a secretive site northeast of Tehran that Israel says was used to develop capabilities required for a nuclear weapon.

Approximately six months after Israel struck the facility, vehicles, trucks and personnel appear to have returned to the compound, while excavation work is continuing in an area damaged during the attack.

The renewed activity is raising concerns that Tehran may be attempting to restore capabilities destroyed by Israel.

Israel struck Minzadai on March 3, 2026. According to the IDF, intelligence showed that a group of Iranian scientists had been secretly working at the site on technologies required for the development of nuclear weapons.

The Institute for Science and International Security, which has analyzed new satellite imagery from September and October, says extensive activity has now resumed following months of debris removal and cleanup.

Numerous cars were visible in a parking area outside the secured compound between early September and early October, while passenger vehicles and trucks were observed inside the facility.

Earth-moving work is also continuing in an area hit during the Israeli strike.

That work is taking place around a surface designed to resemble a plaza where several impact craters were identified following the attack. Researchers previously raised the possibility that the area is connected to infrastructure located at least partially underground.

Satellite imagery alone, however, cannot establish the full extent or purpose of any underground facilities.

Researchers cautioned that the presence of vehicles and construction activity does not by itself prove that Iran has resumed work on nuclear weapons at Minzadai.

However, given what is known about the site, the institute assesses that the activity could represent an Iranian effort to rebuild capabilities connected to nuclear weapons development that were lost in the Israeli attack.

The IDF has previously said intelligence uncovered a covert Iranian program involving senior nuclear scientists working along multiple tracks to advance technologies necessary for developing a nuclear weapon.

The Institute for Science and International Security has assessed that Minzadai was likely connected to SPND, the Iranian organization associated with research and development related to nuclear weapons.

Researchers have also raised the possibility that metallurgical work relevant to manufacturing nuclear weapon components was carried out there, though that assessment has not been confirmed by the IDF.

Satellite imagery following the March strike showed extensive destruction at the compound, including several above-ground structures and damage in an area believed to contain underground infrastructure.

Signs of activity at Iranian nuclear-related sites began emerging in subsequent months, as Tehran started clearing debris and carrying out work at facilities damaged in Israeli strikes.

Now, roughly six months after the Minzadai attack, the debris has largely been removed, vehicles have returned and work is continuing in damaged portions of the complex.

(YWN Israel Desk — Jerusalem)

More than 100 American universities, including every Ivy League institution, are being urged to prepare for anti-Israel demonstrations and possible disruptions surrounding Wednesday’s third anniversary of the October 7 massacre.

The Israeli-American Council said it contacted university presidents and administrators across the United States, urging them to consistently enforce rules prohibiting harassment, intimidation and disruption.

The warning comes amid reports that anti-Israel organizations are planning demonstrations on multiple campuses on October 7, including events near memorial ceremonies organized by Jewish and Israeli students.

The IAC stressed that October 7 is a day of mourning and remembrance for Jewish and Israeli communities and called on administrators to ensure students can commemorate the victims without harassment.

The warnings come amid heightened security concerns for Jews and Israelis worldwide surrounding the anniversary of the Hamas massacre.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York City recorded the fewest murders, shootings and shooting victims ever documented during the first nine months of a year, according to new NYPD statistics released Tuesday.

The city recorded 489 shooting incidents, 594 shooting victims and 203 murders through September, each representing record lows for the first nine months of a year.

Overall major crime fell 6.6% compared with the same period last year, declining from 92,057 reported incidents to 86,023. Every borough recorded an overall decrease, with the Bronx posting the largest reduction.

Robbery, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft all declined, while felony assaults were roughly flat and reported rapes increased.

One troubling statistic remained: confirmed hate crimes increased during the first nine months of the year, with anti-Jewish incidents accounting for more than half of the reported hate crimes.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Iran will have to make significant concessions on its nuclear program in order to reach an agreement ending the war, while acknowledging that Washington still faces uncertainty over exactly who in Tehran has the authority to make such a deal.

Speaking about the prospects for ending the conflict, Vance said Iran would need to substantially reduce its uranium enrichment capabilities as part of any agreement.

“There have to be meaningful concessions,” Vance said, according to reports Wednesday. “They’re going to have to cut down on their enrichment capacity.”

Vance indicated that Washington is not necessarily demanding that Iran eliminate every element of its nuclear infrastructure, but said Tehran would have to accept restrictions substantial enough to address U.S. concerns.

The vice president also pointed to another major obstacle facing negotiations: uncertainty over Iran’s internal decision-making structure and who can ultimately authorize an agreement.

“It’s not totally clear how Iran makes decisions,” Vance said.

The comments come as the Trump administration continues pushing for Iranian nuclear concessions as a central condition for bringing the ongoing war to an end.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Flydubai has asked Israel for permission to resume flights to Ben Gurion Airport just one week after the attempted terror attack aboard one of its Tel Aviv-bound flights, but Transportation Minister Miri Regev has so far refused the request, Channel 13 reported.

According to the report, flydubai informed Israeli officials that its investigation into the September 30 attack is nearing completion and that numerous employees have been fired in its aftermath.

Officials from Israel’s Transportation Ministry have also reportedly been invited to Dubai next week to examine the airline’s operations and security procedures.

For now, however, Regev is refusing to authorize the resumption of flydubai’s Israel service.

The airline suspended its Israel operations following the dramatic attack aboard Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, when Omani copilot Hamam al-Hammami attacked captain Smit Machchhar and allegedly attempted to crash the aircraft with approximately 180 people aboard, the overwhelming majority of them Israelis.

Machchhar and several Israeli passengers managed to thwart the attack and subdue al-Hammami, with the aircraft ultimately making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The attack has triggered intense scrutiny in Israel over how foreign flight crews are vetted before being permitted to operate flights into Ben Gurion Airport, particularly crewmembers who are citizens of countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Channel 13 reported that Israeli authorities are now formulating significantly tougher security requirements for foreign airline personnel.

Under the draft regulations, anyone who is not an Israeli citizen — including pilots and other flight crew — would be required to submit a form to Israeli authorities at least 48 hours before the flight.

The information would then be reviewed by government authorities before the individual is permitted to operate a flight into Israel.

Under an additional layer of screening, citizens of countries designated “red” under the proposed system would undergo checks by the Mossad and Shin Bet.

The proposed measures come amid continuing questions over how al-Hammami, an Omani national, was cleared to serve as copilot on a flight bound for Israel in the first place.

(YWN Israel Desk — Jerusalem)

Bereaved families from the Din V’Tzedek Forum and the Gevurah Forum called Tuesday for the establishment of a “national commission of inquiry” into the failures surrounding October 7, saying it should investigate every relevant institution, including the judicial system, Ynet reported.

Dozens of bereaved families gathered at the “Gevurah Tent” in Jerusalem to mark three years since the outbreak of the war and demand the establishment of a commission they say would earn the trust of all sectors of Israeli society.

“Dozens of families have gathered here today,” said Itzik Pitosi, whose son Yishai Pitosi, H’yd, fell in battle at Nachal Oz and who serves as acting chairman of the Gevurah Forum. “Three years ago, our sons and daughters rushed into battle with incredible courage and self-sacrifice — all for victory, for the residents of the south and north, for future generations and for the continuation of life.”

“Alongside that heroism, the depth of the failure also became clear — the complacency, arrogance and weak concepts of a mistaken worldview that led to the devastating consequences,” he said.

“Mr. Prime Minister, we call on you from here, from the Gevurah Tent in Jerusalem, for the sake of the living and the fallen: Establish a national commission of inquiry into the events. A commission that will investigate all the systems, everyone — the military, security, political and judicial systems. Yes, the judicial system as well, which also bears responsibility alongside the other systems.”

Pitosi called for “a commission that will operate without bias, with broad investigative tools, the necessary resources and the authority to recommend punishment and prosecution — a commission that will bring justice and earn the trust of all parts of the nation.”

“Not a commission appointed by those who have lost the public’s trust — the High Court, which only a few days ago we saw was incapable of looking terror supporters in the eye,” he said. “A balanced commission with genuine representation for all parts of the nation.”

Orly Cohen, whose son Amit was murdered in a shelter at Re’im and who is a member of the Din V’Tzedek Forum, said: “We, the families of those murdered on October 7, demand truth and justice for our loved ones. Revealing the truth is a testament written in the blood of our loved ones.”

“We will not allow the establishment of a commission of inquiry called a ‘state commission’ that is composed by a High Court justice who is at the heart of the social controversy and has lost the trust of a large portion of the public,” she said. “It cannot be denied that for years the High Court intervened in security policy and restrained IDF operations.”

“We represent hundreds of families affected by October 7 who do not trust a state commission of inquiry appointed by Supreme Court justices to serve as the legal flak jacket for those who abandoned our security,” Cohen continued.

“We proposed legislation for a national commission of inquiry based on the model of the commission that investigated the events of 9/11. There are elected officials who are making cynical use of this painful issue and declaring their intentions even though they do not believe in this commission.”

“The upcoming elections are a referendum on the issue of a commission of inquiry,” she said. “We call on Am Yisrael to give their votes only to candidates who will show responsibility toward everyone and declare that they will work to establish a national and balanced commission immediately after the elections.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Shin Bet chief David Zini issued an unusual warning at the latest Cabinet meeting about military-style infrastructure in Bedouin communities in the Negev.

According to a i24News report Tuesday evening, Zini said during the meeting: “There are places in the Bedouin communities with military infrastructure that we are constantly thwarting — attempts to establish military battalions. This is a very concerning phenomenon.”

The remarks were made during a Cabinet meeting dealing with security threats from the Gaza Strip and Yehuda and Shomron, during which the Shin Bet chief also raised the issue of the Bedouin communities in the Negev.

The Regavim movement responded to Zini’s warning by saying that the situation constitutes a “governance emergency in the Negev.”

“For years, we have been warning about ‘Bedouistan’ — the developing security threat in the Negev, inareas that have become extraterritorial zones — and even more so recently, with the increase in smuggling by drones,” the organization said.

“From the phenomenon of polygamy, which brings thousands of women from Yehuda and Shomron into the Negev who are trafficked there and raise a generation hostile to the State of Israel, through the nationalist radicalization of Islamist elements infiltrating educational and welfare institutions, to the enormous quantities of weapons present in the Negev, alongside additional game-changing weapons smuggled every night across the borders into Israeli territory.

“It is astonishing that things that have been known for years are being said specifically today, on October 7. We are in a governance emergency in the Negev, and the warnings must not be ignored. A preemptive operation is needed to prevent and thwart the threats before it is too late.”

Earlier Tuesday, during the government meeting marking October 7, Minister Amichai Eliyahu warned of the possibility of Palestinian Authority forces “turning their guns” against Israel, chalila.

“What are we waiting for? For them to do what Hamas did — what they’re preparing to do?” he asked.

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen joined the warnings and also raised concerns about weapons among the Bedouin population.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz responded: “The IDF is preparing as never before for the possibility of them turning their guns against us. If anyone dares to turn weapons against us, we will do in Yehuda and Shomron what we did in Gaza and Lebanon.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

More than 1,200 aircrew members, including pilots and co-pilots, from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel have entered the country since the beginning of the year, according to information presented Tuesday to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

During a closed-door session of the committee’s intelligence subcommittee, lawmakers were also told that aircrew entering Israel in recent years included citizens of Syria, Lebanon and Oman.

A Transportation Ministry representative attending the meeting was reportedly surprised by the figures, which he had not previously known, and requested further clarification.

The discussion took place amid heightened scrutiny of aviation security following the recent Flydubai incident. It also emerged that Flydubai is considering extending the suspension of its flights to Israel beyond October 15.

Following the meeting, committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth declared: “The face of civil aviation in Israel will change from today.”

Bismuth, who also chairs the intelligence subcommittee, said all relevant agencies would be required to complete internal reviews and provide clear answers.

He said the committee would continue monitoring the issue until it receives the full findings.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pledged Tuesday to enforce military conscription, cut state funding for those who evade service and prevent draft evaders—or those who encourage draft evasion—from serving in Israel’s security cabinet.

Speaking at the ICT World Summit on Counterterrorism in Herzliya, Bennett argued that Israel cannot achieve lasting security without eradicating Hamas and addressing the military’s manpower shortage.

“In the next government, we will achieve a decisive victory and restore quiet and security for the people of Israel,” he said.

Bennett accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich of encouraging and financing mass draft evasion while soldiers remain stretched across the battlefield.

“Who will fight? Who will secure victory?” he asked.

“Draft evasion poses a strategic threat to Israel’s security,” Bennett said, asserting that the IDF faces an immediate shortage of 20,000 combat soldiers. He argued that the shortage is costing lives and obstructing victory.

Bennett said troops are being wounded and killed by drones because there are insufficient lookouts and snipers to protect them. He also claimed that combat units are relinquishing captured positions because there are not enough soldiers to hold the ground, only to return and retake those areas “at a cost in blood.”

The B’Yachad party leader promised mandatory conscription for everyone without compromise and a complete cutoff of state funding for those who do not enlist.

“Anyone who does not enlist will not receive a single shekel from the state,” he declared.

Bennett said a proposal he calls the “Deri Law” would be a fundamental condition for the next government. It would bar anyone who evaded IDF service, or encouraged others to evade it, from membership in the security cabinet.

“With us, a draft dodger will not sit in the security cabinet,” he said, rejecting a situation in which someone who boasts about keeping his own grandchildren out of combat makes decisions sending other families’ children into battle.

Bennett also defended his former government’s Gaza policy, saying it changed the equation, while accusing Netanyahu’s government of tolerating tens of thousands of rockets and incendiary balloons.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Tuesday for Israel to apply permanent sovereignty over territory it controls in Gaza and Lebanon, arguing that enemies who launch wars and lose must pay a lasting territorial price.

Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem, Smotrich outlined a broader agenda that included voluntary relocation of Gaza residents to Arab and Muslim countries, rejection of Palestinian national claims and greater Israeli independence in defense and economic affairs.

“An aggressor that initiates a war and loses forfeits territory to the victor,” Smotrich said, urging a departure from what he described as prevailing liberal international thinking.

He argued that permanent Israeli sovereignty over areas currently under military control would “permanently etch the cost of defeat into our enemies’ consciousness.” Such a policy, he maintained, would establish deterrence for generations and also benefit Israel’s Western allies.

Turning to Gaza’s future, Smotrich described the Strip as an unsustainable “political mutation.” He said approximately 75% of its residents are descendants of refugees from 1948 and argued that their refugee status has been perpetuated to sustain opposition to Israel’s existence.

Smotrich proposed a diplomatic and humanitarian framework that would facilitate voluntary resettlement across Arab and Muslim countries, citing shared language, culture and religion. He defended voluntary emigration as a legitimate policy and argued that Western democracies should not be expected to absorb the population.

The minister also challenged the historical legitimacy of Palestinian nationalism, describing it as an “artificial construct” developed in the early 20th century to oppose Jewish sovereignty.

He claimed that its demographic foundations included migrant workers attracted by economic development associated with the Zionist movement and urged Israel to reject collective national demands that he characterized as aimed at eliminating the Jewish state.

Addressing international criticism of civilian suffering in Gaza, Smotrich argued that the moral justification for Israel’s war should not be determined through that measure. He said Israel takes extensive steps to minimize civilian harm that is unnecessary to military objectives, while maintaining that the conflict is a justified act of national self-defense.

Smotrich concluded by calling for a change in the U.S.–Israel relationship, moving from dependency toward an equal partnership between sovereign countries.

He advocated full Israeli self-reliance in defense and economic affairs, alongside closer ties with the American conservative-nationalist movement. Smotrich presented Israel as both a strategic asset and an ideological ally in efforts to defend national borders and identities.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Three years after the October 7 massacre and the outbreak of the multi-front war, the IDF on Wednesday released an extensive summary of its operations, casualties and lessons learned — revealing the extraordinary scale of the fighting across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Yehuda and Shomron.

According to the IDF figures, approximately 100,000 targets have been struck since the beginning of the war, while 970 IDF soldiers have been killed in operational circumstances.

The IDF says it has also dramatically overhauled its readiness for a surprise attack following the failures of October 7, with the number of Israeli Air Force forces maintained at immediate readiness now as much as four times higher than before the war — and up to six times higher in certain units.

In Gaza, the IDF says it succeeded in dismantling much of Hamas’s senior command structure. Since October 7, four heads of Hamas branches, 17 brigade commanders, approximately 60 battalion commanders and roughly 300 company commanders have been eliminated in operations carried out together with the Air Force, Military Intelligence and Operations Directorate.

The Gaza border defense system has meanwhile undergone a major reconstruction.

Following investigations into how the barrier was breached on October 7, the IDF constructed a reinforced physical barrier incorporating new technological capabilities both above and below ground. Security infrastructure in Gaza border communities was also upgraded, including fences, security roads, protected positions, gates, lighting, radar and surveillance systems.

Local security teams and security coordinators received additional weapons, protective equipment, communications systems and drones.

The IDF says hundreds of terror sites, rocket launch pits, weapons depots and other infrastructure have been destroyed. More than 4,000 drilling operations have been conducted since last October’s ceasefire as part of efforts to locate underground infrastructure.

The Air Force also made sweeping changes following its internal October 7 investigations, including new orders for surprise-war scenarios, expanded authority for commanders in the field, changes to intelligence collection and a revised defensive and offensive posture.

The numbers released Wednesday illustrate the enormous geographic scope of the war.

Of approximately 100,000 targets struck since October 7, the IDF says:

• Approximately 65,000 were in the Gaza Strip.
• Approximately 28,000 were in Lebanon and Syria.
• Approximately 4,500 were in Iran.
• Approximately 80 were in Yemen.

Israel, meanwhile, has faced tens of thousands of projectiles fired from multiple fronts.

According to the IDF, approximately 10,200 projectiles were launched from Gaza, roughly 20,000 from Lebanon, approximately 1,200 from Iran, around 50 from Syria and approximately 90 from Yemen.

The human toll within the IDF has been enormous.

The military says 970 soldiers have fallen in operational circumstances during the war. At the same time, more than 70% of soldiers wounded during the fighting have subsequently returned to military service.

In Yehuda and Shomron, the IDF says more than 3,800 weapons have been located and confiscated during the three-year period.

Approximately 45,000 wanted individuals and suspects have been arrested or detained for questioning, including weapons dealers and holders, suspects accused of planning imminent attacks, terror operatives, stone and Molotov cocktail throwers and terror accomplices.

Security forces also confiscated more than NIS 46 million that the IDF says was intended for terrorism.

The release of the figures comes exactly three years after the October 7 massacre, as communities devastated in the attack continue the long process of rebuilding.

The Eshkol Regional Council held its central memorial ceremony for the 259 people from the region murdered in the massacre.

Council head Michal Uziyahu noted that more than 750 babies have been born in Eshkol since October 7, calling the continuing growth of the communities a symbol of hope and rebuilding.

“Three years later, all our hostages have returned home and our communities continue on the road back, but there are no shortcuts,” she said. “Sometimes it seems that דווקא now the pain is greater, and only now are we beginning to process another layer of what happened to us.”

She vowed that the region would continue rebuilding while demanding accountability and meaningful long-term security.

“We will continue this journey together, demanding accountability and the establishment of a commission of inquiry, ensuring that a different reality and meaningful security are created — not merely a feeling of security,” Uziyahu said.

(YWN Israel Desk — Jerusalem)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar took advantage of the Foreign Ministry’s October 7 memorial ceremony on Tuesday to deliver a sharply worded diplomatic message in response to international pressure on Israel.

In his remarks,  Sa’ar said: “We are facing an attempt to push Israel into indefensible borders, precisely after it has been proven beyond any doubt that we need a minimum degree of geographic depth.”

“The entire purpose of the international diplomatic, legal and economic pressure is to force Israel to establish a Palestinian terror state in the heart of our country. This state will undoubtedly serve as a springboard in the ongoing campaign to destroy Israel in accordance with the ‘phased plan.’”

Addressing the complex diplomatic front, Sa’ar stressed that Israel is taking the initiative rather than limiting itself to passive defense. “We are fighting daily defensive battles, but we are also breaking new ground. We are taking advantage of opportunities, creating new ties, renewing relations and expanding Israel’s diplomatic network,” he said.

“We do not have the privilege of surrendering, and we must ensure that anyone who acts against us does not benefit from it, but rather the opposite.”

Concluding his remarks, Sa’ar addressed Israel’s internal political tensions and heated public discourse, calling for calm and national unity. “We’re in an election period, which is always challenging for any democratic society,” he said. “Let us remember that we are brothers and are surrounded by enemies. Someone who thinks differently from us is not an enemy.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Three Iranian nationals living in London are on trial in Britain over accusations that they gathered intelligence to facilitate violent attacks against journalists and a prominent pro-Israel lawyer.

The defendants, ages 41, 46 and 57, face charges under the National Security Act, including assisting a foreign intelligence service. All three deny the charges.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said the principal targets included journalists working for Iran International, a satellite television channel critical of Tehran, and attorney Jonathan Turner, a co-founder of UK Lawyers for Israel.

According to the prosecution, the 41-year-old defendant was expected to carry out an attack, while the other two conducted surveillance and collected photographic intelligence around the targets’ homes. Journalist Mojtaba Pourmohsen was among those monitored.

The court heard that the defendant accused of preparing to carry out the attack does not deny his involvement but maintains that he acted out of fear.

Prosecutors rejected that explanation, arguing that he participated in exchange for money and assistance in overturning a previous theft conviction in Iran.

The other two defendants are expected to argue that they did not know their activities amounted to spying for Iran.

The three men arrived in Britain between 2016 and 2022, traveling by small boats and a truck, and remained in the country as asylum seekers.

Their trial is ongoing.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF’s Home Front Command launched a surprise exercise in its Southern District on Tuesday morning, calling up active-duty soldiers and reservists without advance warning to test their response to a simulated conflict involving Iran and the Houthis.

The exercise was kept secret from participating troops and began with soldiers being summoned from their sleep, allowing commanders to assess how quickly forces could respond to an unexpected emergency.

The drill, scheduled to continue through Wednesday, involves rescue forces and command headquarters. Scenarios include airlifting Rescue Brigade personnel from central Israel to the south, rescuing wounded people, responding to destruction and conducting special activities at Zikim Beach.

The exercise also tests the ability to maintain essential civilian functions during an emergency.

The IDF said the drill is part of implementing lessons from October 7 and comes as Israel marks three years since the outbreak of the war.

Military officials emphasized that the exercise was planned in advance and was not prompted by a specific intelligence warning.

They also praised reservists’ continued motivation, saying they reported promptly despite the unusual call-up hours and three years of sustained fighting.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli authorities stopped 64 men listed as military deserters at border control upon their return from Uman, after they reportedly left Israel despite orders prohibiting them from traveling abroad.

Checks revealed that none of the 64 had been recorded as departing Israel, indicating that they had left without completing the required border-control process.

All were referred to the police unit at Ben Gurion Airport. Some have already been questioned under caution on suspicion of violating the Entry into Israel Law, while others are expected to be questioned later.

According to police findings, the main method involved passing through a gate beyond passport control closely behind another passenger. Investigators reportedly identified some of the suspects on airport security footage using that method.

The cases exposed a gap in border controls that could also allow travelers subject to departure restrictions for criminal proceedings, debt-enforcement cases or other reasons to bypass the checks.

Following the incidents, the Population and Immigration Authority introduced several measures at Ben Gurion Airport, including increasing the number of inspectors.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Flydubai has reportedly dismissed a significant number of employees after completing an internal review of the attempted terrorist attack aboard its Israel-bound flight, while Israeli officials are advancing changes to the screening of incoming passengers and aircrew.

The airline’s chief executive and senior United Arab Emirates officials informed Israel that the internal investigation had concluded and identified several failures. Flydubai reportedly fired a “significant number” of employees connected to the areas where those failures occurred.

Following the review and disciplinary measures, the airline asked Transportation Minister Miri Regev to permit the resumption of flights to Israel.

Meanwhile, proposed Israeli security changes were presented during a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s intelligence subcommittee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth.

A central measure would establish a list of countries considered to pose a heightened threat. The National Security Council would coordinate that process with the Mossad and Shin Bet.

Under the proposed framework, details of aircrew from those countries would be submitted to Israel 48 hours before their flights, allowing security agencies to conduct checks and provide approval in advance.

Procedures for passengers and crew holding passports from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel are also expected to change. At the Transportation Ministry’s request, the Population and Immigration Authority would forward the relevant lists to the ministry’s security division.

The discussion also clarified that responsibility for checking passengers’ and aircrew members’ passports rests with the Population and Immigration Authority, working through the National Security Council, and that the necessary information must reach the relevant agencies.

The measures are intended to strengthen screening and information-sharing following the Flydubai incident and prevent a similar attack.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Likud and the operators of Fly&Vote and Fly&AID have reached an agreement limiting the projects’ flight offerings ahead of Israel’s elections, resolving a petition filed with the Central Elections Committee.

Under the compromise, prices for flights already offered through the projects will remain as set by the airlines. No additional flights will be sold through the initiatives.

The agreement followed a suggestion by Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg that the parties reach a negotiated arrangement. Likud’s petition was closed as part of the settlement.

In the petition, Likud attorney Ilan Bombach argued that a “foreign corporation” was encouraging Israelis living abroad to return around Election Day through logistical assistance and travel-related benefits.

He claimed those activities included leasing aircraft, coordinating efforts to reduce ticket prices and providing services or benefits before and after voters arrived in Israel.

The organization operating the initiative rejected that characterization, saying it provides information on bureaucratic requirements, identifies flight options and assists voters with their return to Israel.

Organizers described the effort as nonpartisan, saying its sole purpose is to encourage voting and participation in the democratic process, regardless of which party a traveler supports.

The organization said it does not examine voters’ political preferences and rejected suggestions that its activities constitute bribery or vote-buying.

The compromise preserves the existing flight offers while preventing additional flights from being sold through the projects.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Yitzchak Herzog will honor six Israelis on Thursday for their actions during the attempted terrorist attack aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight, recognizing their role in preventing a major disaster.

The recipients are Or Bardilov, Yaniv Hayun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Tali Manes, Zvika Manes and Assaf Rajuan. The ceremony will take place at the President’s Residence in Yerushalayim.

The passengers acted after the co-pilot attacked and stabbed the captain, sending the aircraft into a dangerous descent. Despite his injuries, the Indian captain fought the attacker and managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene.

According to the President’s Residence, Tali Manes heard the violence and commotion inside the cockpit and was the first to alert other passengers and call for help.

Yaniv Hayun, Zvika Manes and Assaf Rajuan entered the cockpit and helped subdue the terrorist, risking their lives. Hayun also stabilized the aircraft’s controls during the struggle.

Manes continued assisting after the attacker was subdued, calling for pilots seated in the rear of the aircraft to come forward and help regain control of the plane.

Dr. Musayev treated the seriously wounded captain and helped stabilize his condition until the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Herzog informed four of the passengers last week that he intended to recommend them for the award. He subsequently spoke with Manes after further details emerged about her role.

“Tali, the more we learn about what happened during those dramatic moments, the clearer it becomes just how significant a role you played in saving the lives of the passengers on the plane,” Herzog told her.

“You heard that something terrible was happening, immediately understood the magnitude of the danger, raised the alarm, called for help, and did not stop taking action even after the attacker had been neutralized.”

Herzog praised her resourcefulness, responsibility and composure in life-threatening circumstances, calling her actions “civilian heroism in the fullest sense of the word.”

“You are a hero, Tali, and I am proud of you and thank you on behalf of the State of Israel,” he said.

The President’s Award for Civilian Heroism, established by Herzog following the October 7 massacre, is Israel’s highest civilian award specifically recognizing heroism. It honors civilians who placed their own lives at serious risk to save others.

Recipients are selected following a review and recommendation by an advisory committee appointed by the president. Previous recipients include civilians who saved lives during the October 7 attacks and other emergencies.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former hostage Bar Kuperstein returned Tuesday to the Nova music festival site where he was abducted by Hamas terrorists three years ago, putting on tefillin in memory of those murdered in the massacre.

Kuperstein, who served as the festival’s deputy security officer, visited on the eve of the third anniversary of October 7 and dedicated the mitzvah to the victims.

“I ask myself, what do you do on a day like this? How can I come and do something for all those who were murdered?” he said.

“I said, I’m coming to Nova today and putting on tefillin in memory of all those who were murdered and never had the chance to truly go on living.”

Kuperstein urged others to join him in honoring the victims through the mitzvah.

“I invite all of you: Stop for a moment, put on tefillin today, and dedicate it to them.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former hostage Avinatan Or has revealed that he attempted to escape Hamas captivity by digging through part of the underground cell where terrorists were holding him in Gaza, providing another extraordinary glimpse into his ordeal.

Or, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7 together with Noa Argamani, said he was held alone in darkness but continuously searched his surroundings for a possible route to freedom.

At one point, Or discovered that part of a wall was constructed from sandbags and noticed air passing through it. He concluded that there might be space beyond the barrier that could provide a possible escape route.

Drawing on lessons from his IDF service, Or said he believed that no security system could be completely airtight and that somewhere there had to be a vulnerability he could exploit. He subsequently began attempting to dig his way out.

The effort ultimately did not lead to his escape, but Or’s account provides another glimpse into the extraordinary efforts made by Israeli hostages to survive and seek freedom while being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The United States, Canada and eight other countries in the Western Hemisphere have jointly condemned terrorist activity attributed to Iran and its proxies, accusing Tehran-linked networks of conducting lethal plots, illicit financing and other operations across the Americas.

The declaration was signed by the United States, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago following a Countering Transnational Terrorism Forum.

The governments accused Iran and affiliated groups of involvement in lethal plots, illicit fundraising, political interference and influence operations intended to strengthen terrorist networks and undermine regional security.

The statement reflects growing concern over Tehran’s ability to conduct operations far beyond the Middle East through proxies and networks operating overseas.

The participating governments pledged to increase coordination against the threat and demanded that Iran and its proxies halt terrorist and destabilizing activities throughout the Western Hemisphere.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Shin Bet chief David Zini has received the names of 189 former security-service officials who challenged his appointment, bringing an end to a months-long legal dispute over whether the identities of the petitioners should be disclosed to him.

The group includes former Shin Bet chiefs Nadav Argaman, Ami Ayalon and Carmi Gillon, along with scores of other former officials who participated in legal proceedings opposing Zini’s appointment.

Dozens of the petitioners had initially been identified only by their initials, prompting Zini to argue that, as the respondent in the proceedings, he had a right to know the identities of those formally challenging his appointment.

The Supreme Court ultimately ordered the remaining petitioners to disclose their identities to Zini. Their names remain protected from general public disclosure and were provided specifically to him in connection with the proceedings.

The disclosure concludes one component of the prolonged political and legal battle surrounding Zini’s appointment to head Israel’s domestic security agency.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF is taking disciplinary action against reservists who were filmed apparently posing for a selfie following a shooting incident in Bani Naim in Judea and Samaria, with commanders examining the soldiers’ conduct separately from the operational circumstances surrounding the shooting

The incident occurred following an encounter involving Israeli troops and a vehicle. The IDF is investigating the circumstances, including whether soldiers believed the vehicle posed an intentional threat.

Video subsequently circulated showing soldiers gathering following the shooting, prompting a separate military examination of their behavior after the immediate incident.

The IDF said the behavior shown was inconsistent with the standards expected of its soldiers and that commanders would address the matter through disciplinary channels.

The military investigation into the underlying shooting remains ongoing, and the IDF has not announced final conclusions regarding the circumstances that prompted troops to open fire.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

French anti-Israel MEP Rima Hassan is facing possible disciplinary action after deliberately removing an Israeli flag from an exhibition inside the European Parliament commemorating victims of Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Hassan’s office has acknowledged that she removed the Israeli flag while disputing accusations that she trampled or damaged the flags, AFP reports.

The incident occurred Monday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where an exhibition had been set up ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 massacre. Images circulated afterward showing both the Israeli and European Union flags lying on the floor beside the memorial display.

French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy accused Hassan of throwing the flags to the ground in front of photographs of victims of the massacre and demanded that she be sanctioned. Fellow French MEP Céline Imart said witnesses accused Hassan of trampling and vandalizing the flags, an allegation Hassan’s office strongly denies.

Hassan’s office confirmed that the far-left MEP intentionally removed the Israeli flag from its stand. It claimed, however, that the EU flag was connected to the same base and fell accidentally after the stand became unbalanced. Her office said neither flag was trampled or damaged and characterized Hassan’s removal of the Israeli flag as a protest against Israel.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola addressed the incident Tuesday, saying a member of Parliament had been filmed “apparently” damaging the exhibition and that the matter was being treated “extremely seriously.” Parliament has launched disciplinary proceedings over the incident.

The controversy comes as Jewish communities in Israel and around the world mark three years since Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.

Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament representing the far-left La France Insoumise party, has repeatedly drawn controversy over her fierce opposition to Israel. The latest incident has prompted renewed condemnation from European lawmakers, with Bellamy demanding immediate consequences for her actions inside the Parliament building.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The United States withdrew 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain on Sunday amid intelligence warnings of a suspected Iranian Revolutionary Guard plot to attack the aircraft and kill American military personnel stationed at the base.

According to American and British officials cited in published reports, the concerns involved a complex, multistage operation rather than a general threat. The suspected plan reportedly included a cell recruiting British nationals to carry out attacks involving drones, alongside concerns raised in late September about possible explosives in vehicles near the installation.

Officials said the potential targets included the American bombers and some of the hundreds of U.S. service members deployed at Fairford.

Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the aircraft were withdrawn as a precaution to protect American personnel. He also accused Iran’s regime of continuing its longstanding support for terrorism against the United States and other countries.

President Donald Trump said he knew about the threats and was unwilling to leave the aircraft at the base. He also criticized Britain’s decision to release suspects arrested near the installation on bail after fuel containers were found in their possession.

British authorities have been investigating five men who reportedly approached the base in vans carrying fuel containers, along with a sixth suspect holding dual British-Iranian citizenship. Those six suspects were released on police bail and remain under investigation.

Counterterrorism police arrested a seventh suspect, a 22-year-old man, in London on Tuesday in connection with the investigation.

Despite the intelligence concerns, some British officials have questioned whether there is evidence that Iran could execute an operation of that complexity inside the United Kingdom. Military experts have warned that even a partially successful attack on the bombers would deliver a significant blow to the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the significance of the aircraft movements, saying that relocating military planes around the world is not unusual and expressing confidence in security at American bases.

The Pentagon confirmed that the bombers had returned to their home stations in the United States but declined to discuss details of the suspected plot.

Officials said a central concern was that the planned attack could draw inspiration from Ukraine’s operation against Russian air bases last year. In that attack, drones concealed in trucks were transported deep into Russian territory and used to strike aircraft, including strategic bombers.

The intelligence warnings reportedly prompted the decision to bring the American bomber fleet home while British authorities continued their investigation.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

HaGaon HaTzaddik HaRav Tzemach Mazuz addressed the FlyDubai plane neis at the beginning of his weekly shiur Monday night, speaking about the extraordinary Hashgachah Pratis surrounding the incident and the obligation to thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

“First of all, we need to say a big ‘thank you’ to Hashem for the immense neis,” HaRav Mazuz said. “During Chol Hamoed, we were in danger from that terrorist who thought of bringing down the plane and wanted to fulfill upon himself the ‘mitzvah’ written in the pasuk, ‘Let me die with the P’lishtim’ (Shoftim 16:30) — he was prepared to die as long as, chas v’shalom, he could kill Jews.”

The Rosh Yeshivah spoke about the kavanos of those seeking to harm the Jewish people and contrasted them with the rachamim of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. “What did this terrorist and those behind him expect? They were watching the clock and waiting for the moment when, chas v’shalom, the plane would fall, with dozens injured and dozens of levayos in Israel, chas v’shalom. But what happened? HaKadosh Baruch Hu, our Father in Shamayim, loves us! He looks at the good things, at the many mitzvos performed during the Yamim Tovim — on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos. He had mercy on us and saved us. He brought us from slavery to freedom, from subjugation to redemption, from mourning to Yom Tov.”

“Sukkos is called ‘Zman Simchaseinu.’ And our enemies wanted, chas v’shalom, to turn it into a great national mourning — but HaKadosh Baruch Hu granted us the merit and protected us. ‘Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good, for His kindness endures forever.’”

HaRav Mazuz then addressed the identity of the person through whom the rescue came, saying there was a powerful message of emunah in the fact that an ordinary Jew was the one who saved the passengers.

“HaKadosh Baruch Hu sent the rescue through a simple Jew. Not a military man, not a man of war, not some kind of hero — but through a simple Jewish plumber. It is not difficult for Hashem to save us, even through ordinary Jews. Certainly this Jew had zechuyos beforehand, and therefore Hashem chose him to be the one who would save them. He saved almost 200 people! Hashem always finds a way to save Am Yisrael through an unknown person. Only HaKadosh Baruch Hu knows how to choose the right person.”

“From time immemorial until today, HaKadosh Baruch Hu has saved us, and it is all in the merit of emunah. That is how it was with Dovid HaMelech and Goliath the P’lishti — Dovid’s koach was his emunah in Hashem! That is how it was with Gideon and the P’lishtim — HaKadosh Baruch Hu told Gideon: You have many soldiers, too many. That is not good! Reduce their number. Am Yisrael could, chas v’shalom, make a mistake and say after the victory that the salvation came because there was a large army.”

“It is all in the merit of emunah in Hashem! Is there anything that can thwart HaKadosh Baruch Hu? Whether there are many soldiers or few soldiers, it is always HaKadosh Baruch Hu Who grants us salvation! When we believe in the true power of Hashem, He is with us. There is no wonder in how such great nissim happen. HaKadosh Baruch Hu can both save us and shatter an enemy in an instant. That is the power of HaKadosh Baruch Hu!”

“Therefore, Rabosai,” HaRav Mazuz concluded, “let us recite ‘Mizmor L’Todah’ together and thank HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Let us not forget to give thanks for the nissim and niflaos He performed for us. Chazal say in Maseches Sanhedrin (94a) that Chizkiyahu HaMelech was supposed to be Moshiach, but he did not give thanks to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for the great neis that was performed for him.”

The Rosh Yeshivah concluded by reciting “Mizmor L’Todah” with great emotion.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz instructed the IDF on Tuesday to increase its alert level and prepare for all possible scenarios in Gaza ahead of Wednesday’s third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre.

Katz’s office said the directive followed intelligence indicating that Hamas intends to attempt attacks against Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip on the anniversary.

The defense minister instructed the military to take a stringent approach to preparations and act with significant force in response to any intelligence or warning, with the goal of thwarting threats alongside ongoing military operations in Gaza.

His office further warned that if IDF soldiers are harmed, Hamas and Gaza’s population would pay a heavy price “beyond all proportion.”

The warning followed statements made earlier this week by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Katz during a visit to the Kissufim military outpost near the Gaza border, where they were accompanied by the head of the IDF’s Southern Command.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Newly released documents reveal that FBI agents tracked the travel plans of Melania Trump and her son, Barron, while preparing to search President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate during the classified documents investigation.

The records, from the investigation code-named “Plasmic Echo,” show that agents sought information about the family’s travel schedules and flight arrangements as they planned to conduct the search after Trump left the Florida property.

The search took place on August 8, 2022. Agents seized thousands of documents, including more than 100 bearing classification markings.

The released materials also detail the collection of communications records associated with the phone of Susie Wiles, now the White House chief of staff, between February and May 2023. Investigators categorized her contacts with attorneys representing Trump, political advisers, campaign personnel, Trump Organization employees and journalists.

The documents further reveal internal disagreements over the investigation, which then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland approved opening in March 2022.

Investigators in the FBI’s Washington Field Office raised concerns that sufficient grounds for a search had not yet been established. They also argued that efforts to gather evidence for a search warrant were undermining attempts to secure the return of the documents.

The White House sharply condemned the conduct described in the records, calling the monitoring a “disgraceful abuse of government power.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A note warning of explosives aboard an AJet passenger plane triggered a security scare Monday evening during a domestic flight from Ankara to Sanliurfa, Turkey. A thorough search after landing found no explosives or suspicious items.

AJet Flight 4180 departed Ankara at 7 p.m. and landed safely at Sanliurfa GAP Airport at 8:05 p.m. Security authorities were alerted after the note was discovered during the flight. No injuries were reported.

All 136 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated from the aircraft after it landed. Airport security was raised to its highest level as personnel conducted a comprehensive search of the plane.

The inspection found no evidence of an explosive device, and authorities determined that the warning was a false threat. Normal airport operations resumed after the search was completed.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the note.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Britain’s Conservative Party has unveiled a £10 billion proposal for a new air defense network inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, aimed at protecting cities, power stations and military bases from missile and drone attacks.

The proposed “Shield for Britain” would combine radar, command-and-control systems, interceptors and technology to counter drones. The party says the network could be deployed within five years and would address threats including potential attacks from Russia and Iran.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said protecting the country must be the government’s foremost responsibility.

“The first duty of government is to defend the country and keep its citizens safe,” she said, warning: “The world will not wait for Britain to be ready. War has returned to Europe.”

The proposal comes as the Conservatives accuse the Labour government of failing to respond adequately to growing security threats. A House of Commons Defence Committee report last year warned that Britain had “almost nothing” in air defense compared with its allies.

Concerns over European security have intensified amid warnings about Russian activity targeting critical infrastructure. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has described an increase in hybrid attacks, sabotage attempts and Russian violations of European airspace.

Britain has also faced concerns about the security of its military installations. The United States withdrew its strategic bombers from RAF Fairford this week amid fears of a suspected Iranian plot targeting the base.

Other threats cited include reports of Russian drones over British bases, drone attacks by Iranian proxies on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and Iranian missile launches toward the Chagos Islands, home to the joint British-American military base at Diego Garcia.

The Conservatives are presenting the proposed shield as a response to those vulnerabilities, arguing that Britain needs a stronger ability to defend its infrastructure and population against aerial attacks.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel’s Defense Ministry revealed Tuesday that approximately 30,000 wounded men and women have entered its Rehabilitation Department since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and the ensuing war, with nearly two-thirds suffering from psychological trauma.

The figures, released ahead of the war’s third anniversary, show that 47% of those admitted are age 30 or younger, 62% are reservists and 8% are women. According to the department, 37% are coping with physical injuries, while 63% are experiencing psychological reactions.

The department now serves 91,200 people wounded across Israel’s wars and military operations. Of those, approximately 42,500—about 46%—are coping with mental health conditions or post-traumatic stress. Officials project that the total caseload will reach approximately 100,000 by 2028, with half requiring mental health care.

Among those wounded in the current war, 63 have the most severe injuries and carry a disability classification of 100% or higher. Another 249 have complex head injuries, 29 have permanent blindness or visual impairment, and 106 have lost limbs.

The ministry said 95% of the amputees have been fitted with advanced prosthetics, including adaptations supporting recreational activities and extreme sports.

The growing needs have prompted a major overhaul of the rehabilitation system. In July, the government approved recommendations from a public committee headed by Professor Mor Yosef, and the Defense Ministry has begun implementing them.

The changes center on transforming the department into a national authority for the rehabilitation and treatment of wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel. Recommendations include assigning each wounded person a personal contact, simplifying recognition and disability-assessment procedures, encouraging employment that supports rehabilitation, and establishing a long-term residential facility for people with severe head injuries. The plan also calls for tailored assistance for lone soldiers and wounded women.

The department’s budget has increased by 88% over three years to NIS 10 billion, with more than 60% allocated to mental health and post-traumatic stress services.

During the past year, approximately 171,000 complementary therapy sessions were provided, and the “One Soul” assistance hotline received roughly 16,500 calls. The department also has 470 emotional support dogs assisting patients, with another 330 undergoing training.

Mental health staffing and treatment services have expanded substantially since the war began, with approximately 2,300 therapists now involved. An emergency mobile unit and crisis team have responded to more than 500 incidents involving acute psychological distress. Rehabilitation farms and community-based alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization have also been established.

The department is additionally supporting a return to education and employment. Since the war began, 2,425 wounded men and women have received assistance and full funding for academic or vocational studies. Law, business administration and computer science are the most popular degree programs.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Two arrests of bnei yeshivos took place in Eilat on Tuesday, with a bochur and newlywed avreich from Jerusalem taken into custody and handed over to the Military Police.

However, it should be noted that according to some reports, the bochur was arrested on criminal charges and was only revealed as a draft evader afterward.

Following the arrests, Peleg Yerushalmi announced that they are planning to hold protests on Wednesday over the yeshivah bochur’s arrest.

The arrests came on a particularly tense day, as an official legal advisory document was published calling for a significant tightening of punishment for those absent from military service for 350 days or more. Additionally, the current timing — at the end of the Tishrei Bein Hazmanim period and ahead of the beginning of the winter zman — means that many yeshivah students are currently outside the walls of the Batei Medrash, increasing the possibility of encounters with law enforcement officers.

Media personality Yinon Magal sharply criticized the decision to increase enforcement.

“The directive by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon to increase the arrests of Chareidim a minute before the elections is an explicitly political decision, intended to inflame and agitate the Chareidi public and put the draft issue back on the agenda in order to harm the faith-based bloc,” Magal said.

The arrests in Eilat came just hours after a turbulent night in Modi’in, where serious clashes and disturbances erupted during an attempt to arrest a talmid from Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim, whose chasunah is scheduled to take place in 20 days.

Hundreds of protesters arrived after the “Tzeva Shachor” alert system was activated, and the Military Police ultimately left the scene without making the arrest.

Meanwhile, Chareidi affairs correspondent Yoeli Brim reported that if the detainees are not released immediately, Peleg Yerushalmi is preparing to launch mass demonstrations and block major traffic routes.

A senior official in one of the Chareidi parties told Kikar HaShabbat: “The situation we find ourselves in now, and throughout the recent period, in which there is no draft law and legal officials are making efforts to push the IDF and police to resume arrests — which will clearly lead to riots and demonstrations — proves to us, first and foremost, that Peleg Yerushalmi was right all these years in all of its arguments regarding the draft issue.”

The official added: “We will not lend our support to the formation of any government unless it first passes a draft law that will provide a solution — before anything else.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

British counterterrorism police arrested a 22-year-old man in London on Tuesday in connection with the suspected terror plot involving RAF Fairford, bringing the number of arrests in the investigation to seven. The British air base had been hosting U.S. B-1 bombers before the aircraft were relocated amid security threats, Reuters reports.

The latest suspect was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses as investigators continue probing the alleged plot. Six people had previously been detained in the case, including five British nationals and a British-Iranian dual national. All six were subsequently released on police bail while remaining under investigation.

The investigation has drawn particular attention because RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire serves as a key operating location for U.S. strategic bombers deployed to Europe. American B-1 bombers stationed at the base were moved as authorities investigated threats against the facility.

President Trump subsequently confirmed that “threats” were behind the decision to relocate the American bombers. U.S. officials were concerned about intelligence pointing to a potential Iranian drone attack targeting American aircraft and personnel stationed at RAF Fairford.

British authorities have not publicly disclosed the full details of the suspected plot or said whether investigators believe Iran directly ordered or coordinated it. The involvement of a British-Iranian dual national among those previously arrested has added further scrutiny to the investigation, but no charges establishing Iranian involvement have been announced.

The latest arrest shows the counterterrorism investigation remains active more than a week after the initial arrests. Police are continuing to investigate the suspects and the circumstances surrounding the alleged threat to the base.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

High Court president Yitzchak Amit on Tuesday recommended that Democrats chairman Yair Golan withdraw his petition seeking security protection, indicating that the High Court does not intend to intervene in the Shin Bet’s security assessments.

The justices granted a request by the Democrats’ legal adviser, attorney Omri Segev, for representatives of the Shin Bet and the state to update him on the security arrangement being proposed for Golan. The party will then decide whether to continue seeking a ruling on the petition.

The Democrats filed the petition after Golan was “left without security” despite police placing the threat against him at a high level.

According to the petition, Golan has received dozens of specific death threats, with the party warning that “every day that passes without security leaves the petitioner as cannon fodder.” The Democrats requested a temporary order, an interim order and an urgent hearing.

“The petition exposes an absurd and life-threatening reality,” the petitioners said. “Although Israel Police raised the threat level against Yair Golan to the high level of 4 out of 6, identical to that assigned to Gadi Eisenkot, only the chairman of the Democrats has not been approved for security protection.”

The party submitted a document detailing a series of online threats against Golan, including: “Yair Golan, I wonder what kind of blood he has in his veins… He should stand trial and then get a bullet in the head”; “We’ll gouge out your eyes, you and your family will be erased… your sentence is hanging”; “I hope Yair Golan dies in terrible agony; I’ll hand out sweets that day”; “Why don’t they eliminate Yair Golan?”; and “A person like this should not be in politics — only a hanging rope.”

The petition also cited an incident in which a brick was thrown at Channel 12 News headquarters with a letter containing murder threats attached to it. Golan was named in the letter as one of the targets, and was the only party chairman included.

“Protecting Petitioner No. 1 [Yair Golan] lies at the core of the service’s mission,” the petition stated. “A candidate who cannot appear in public without risking his life is restricted in conducting his election campaign compared with candidates who do not face a similar threat. Harming a candidate because of his political positions during an election period constitutes harm to the electoral process itself.”

The petition came after Kan News reported two days ago that Shin Bet chief David Zini had approved protection by the VIP Protection Unit for Yashar! chairman Gadi Eisenkot through the elections. The precise security arrangements are expected to be determined in the coming days.

About a week earlier, the Democrats said they would petition the High Court if Zini did not order security protection for Golan.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Thousands of Jewish students in New York have moved from public schools to yeshivos, Jewish day schools, and other private schools in recent years amid the surge in antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents in the city’s educational system since the October 7 massacre.

An investigation published by the New York Post points to a significant shift in enrollment patterns. According to Teach Coalition data based on New York State figures, enrollment in Jewish schools across the state increased by about 3,100 students during the 2025-2026 school year, a nearly 2% rise in a single year.

Between 2022 and 2025, enrollment rose by about 4.2%, more than twice the rate in the preceding period.

Prizmah, a network representing Jewish schools across the United States, has also identified a shift since the war began.

In a survey of 121 schools, 60% reported enrolling new students from families that previously would not have considered Jewish education but chose to do so following the change in atmosphere since October 7. Fifty-five percent of the schools also reported an increase in students transferring from public schools and non-Jewish private schools.

Parents who spoke with the New York Post said their decisions to leave the public school system were driven not only by concerns for their children’s personal safety but also by changes in the classroom environment and rhetoric from both students and staff.

They said attitudes toward Israel and Jews, as well as discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have become increasingly hostile since the war began.

One prominent case recently exposed involves Damien Neva, a teacher at a Brooklyn public school. According to a lawsuit, Neva wrote “Long live Yahya Sinwar” in a Signal group for anti-Israel activists in 2024. The city’s Department of Education opened an investigation after the message became public.

Another case involves George Trim, a social studies teacher in Brooklyn who was found to have posted antisemitic conspiracy theories online, including a claim that World Trade Center owner Larry Silverstein had advance knowledge of the September 11 attacks. The New York City Department of Education determined that his statements violated its anti-discrimination policy and announced that disciplinary action would be taken against him.

A report by United Jewish Teachers documents at least 250 antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents in New York City public schools between October 7, 2023, and the end of July this year. Nearly two-thirds of the incidents involved verbal harassment, threats, assaults or hate symbols such as swastikas.

Brooklyn recorded the highest number, with 91 incidents.

The data does not establish that the entire increase in Jewish school enrollment is attributable to antisemitism. However, the testimony and surveys indicate that the war and the changing public atmosphere have become increasingly significant factors for Jewish families deciding where to educate their children.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis issued a direct challenge to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, inviting him to watch the IDF’s 47-minute film documenting the October 7 massacre and “see what the people he supports actually did.”

Akunis made the remarks at an official October 7 memorial ceremony hosted by the Israeli Consulate in New York and attended by approximately 1,000 people.

“Three years after the massacre, this is an opportunity to ask the leaders of the world — presidents, prime ministers, elected officials and mayors who continue to criticize us: What would you have done if those savages had invaded your country or your city and brutally murdered innocent civilians?” Akunis said.

“What would you have done if a member of your family — your son, your daughter — had been burned before your eyes?”

Akunis then turned directly to Israel’s critics.

“We are finished listening to your empty criticism,” he said. “We are not impressed by your cowardly actions, your hypocrisy and your weakness. We are not impressed by your approach aimed at appeasing your new political base.”

He then publicly invited Mamdani to attend a screening of the IDF footage in New York.

“In less than 48 hours, on October 7, we will screen in New York City the 47-minute atrocity film produced by the IDF,” Akunis said. “I invite Mr. Zohran Mamdani, the mayor, to come and watch the film.”

“For the first time, he will be able to see what the people he supports actually did, and perhaps he will stop his relentless incitement, hatred, and blood libels against the State of Israel.”

Akunis concluded: “Anyone who watches the film and has a human heart will understand who the real enemy is.”

In an open letter to Mamdani, Akunis wrote: “With your rhetoric against the State of Israel being the fundamental reason for the rise of antisemitism in New York City, it is even more crucial now for the safety and continued existence of the Jewish homeland.”

“Perhaps after watching this film, you will truly understand why the Jewish State is so important and why we will continue to defend ourselves.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

New York City’s Jewish community continues to bear the overwhelming brunt of hate crimes across the five boroughs, with newly released NYPD statistics showing that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city this year have targeted Jews.

According to NYPD data covering January 1 through September 30, police confirmed 245 anti-Jewish hate crimes during the first nine months of 2026, accounting for approximately 53% of all 463 confirmed hate crimes citywide.

The staggering figure means Jews were targeted approximately 4.7 times more frequently than the next most-targeted category, crimes motivated by sexual orientation.

The 245 anti-Jewish incidents represent a slight increase from the same nine-month period last year, when 242 such crimes were recorded — a rise of approximately 1.2%. During the third quarter alone, however, the NYPD recorded 59 anti-Jewish hate crimes, down 13% from the corresponding period in 2025.

The numbers continue a pattern that has persisted throughout the year.

At the end of June, the NYPD reported 178 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes, comprising 55.3% of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City during the first half of 2026. By the end of July, the number had climbed to 205, and by the end of August it stood at 229.

The latest NYPD figures show the enormous disparity between crimes targeting Jews and those directed at other groups. Through September, police recorded 32 confirmed hate crimes targeting Muslims, 31 targeting Black people, 20 based on gender, 16 targeting Asians, 13 based on ethnicity, 11 targeting Hispanics, five targeting white people and one based on age. Another 37 incidents were categorized as religious hate crimes without a more specific designation.

The statistics come amid heightened concern over antisemitic violence and threats against Jewish institutions across New York.

Ahead of the Yomim Noraim, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch acknowledged that while murders and shootings had fallen sharply across New York City, hate crimes were moving in the opposite direction. At the time, the city increased police deployments around shuls, yeshivos and other Jewish institutions.

The NYPD has emphasized that its figures represent confirmed hate crimes, rather than every incident initially reported as potentially bias-motivated. Cases are investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force, which determines, in consultation with the department’s Legal Bureau, whether an incident meets the legal definition of a hate crime.

The Anti-Defamation League has separately documented a broader wave of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and violence. ADL recorded a record 976 antisemitic incidents in New York City in 2024 and has highlighted the disproportionate danger facing Orthodox and visibly Jewish New Yorkers. More than half of the anti-Jewish physical assaults recorded by ADL in New York City in 2024 targeted Orthodox Jews.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested Tuesday in a major espionage investigation involving allegations that classified German intelligence was obtained and used in dealings involving foreign intelligence services. Hanning is suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and intelligence activity on behalf of a foreign service, Reuters reports.

Hanning, 80, served as president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, from 1998 until 2005, before later serving as a senior official in the Interior Ministry. His former close aide and BND official, identified by German authorities as Manfred D., was also arrested Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege that beginning in 2010, years after Hanning had left the BND, Manfred D. repeatedly supplied him with sensitive intelligence in exchange for payment. Investigators say approximately 2,000 documents were transferred, including classified BND material and intelligence briefings intended for Germany’s chancellery.

According to prosecutors, Hanning used some of the classified information in connection with his private consulting activities. He is accused of using intelligence obtained through the arrangement to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service and of providing political intelligence to another foreign intelligence agency over a period of several years.

Authorities have not publicly identified the foreign countries or intelligence services allegedly involved. Hanning was arrested in southern Germany, while his former aide was detained in western Germany, and authorities carried out searches as part of the investigation.

The case is particularly extraordinary because of Hanning’s former position at the pinnacle of Germany’s intelligence establishment. The allegations against Hanning and his former aide have not been proven in court, and the investigation remains ongoing.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

In recent days, reports circulated on Palestinian social media claiming that Jewish “settlers” had set fire to an abandoned car lot near the village of Ein Yabrud in the Binyamin area. However, footage from the scene presents the opposite picture — the Palestinians themselves started the fire.

According to findings from the scene and a video published by Army Radio, several Palestinians from Ein Yabrud attempted to set fire to an access road leading to a nearby outpost. During the incident, they lost control of the flames, which quickly spread toward the nearby car lot.

The footage shows the Arabs attempting unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze before being forced to flee the scene.

Shortly later, accusations blaming Jewish hilltop residents for “setting the car lot on fire” quickly spread online.

The IDF said that security forces and trackers who arrived at the scene determined, based on the findings, that the fire had been set by Palestinians. Security forces are working to locate those responsible and bring them to justice.

Jewish residents of the nearby yishuv of Kfar Ana said: “We’re seeing yet another blood libel as part of the ‘settler violence’ campaign that has been disproven. This is a systematic, deliberate, and false attempt to smear the hilltop settlers — something that, unfortunately, sometimes succeeds and even receives cooperation from Israeli media outlets.”

“This time, by a neis, we managed to document the incident from beginning to end and disprove the despicable accusations, but that is not always possible because of the terrain and the complexity of such incidents.

“This is the time to remind Am Yisrael: If you encounter a report about ‘settler violence,’ take it with a grain of salt and check carefully to make sure you are not falling easy prey to a malicious and antisemitic campaign.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

For decades, Mizrahi has been a familiar name to those who know and appreciate rare seforim. It began the way many great seforim businesses do: with a small storefront in Brooklyn, shelves stacked to the ceiling, and a genuine love for the books themselves.

Over the years, millions of seforim have passed through Mizrahi’s hands — first editions, out-of-print classics, manuscripts, rabbinic letters, and treasured works that carry generations of Jewish history. Now, that experience is entering a new chapter.

Mizrahi Judaica Auctions has officially launched, bringing decades of expertise in rare seforim to the world of Judaica auctions. Its inaugural sale, Auction 1: Rare Hebrew Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinic Letters, features 155 lots spanning centuries of Torah scholarship and Jewish history.

Among the highlights is an extraordinary 67-page handwritten manuscript by Rav Shlomo Ganzfried, author of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. The manuscript contains his Torah novellae on Maseches Sukkah, including material that was never printed, offering a remarkable window into the Torah thought of one of the most influential halachic authors of the nineteenth century.

Another exceptional lot is a page handwritten by Rav Chaim Vital from his private book of remedies, segulos, and practical Kabbalah. Dating to the early seventeenth century, the page comes from the work now known as Sefer HaPe’ulot and contains remedies, practical traditions, and configurations of sacred names recorded in Rav Chaim Vital’s own hand.

Among the most historically significant printed works in the sale is a first edition of the Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim, printed in Venice in 1550–1551 during the lifetime of Rav Yosef Karo and under his supervision. This was the first portion of Rav Yosef Karo’s monumental Beit Yosef to appear in print — the work that would ultimately form the intellectual foundation for the Shulchan Aruch. The copy also preserves numerous scholarly marginal annotations and textual corrections from a later Italian hand.

The auction also offers an extraordinary collection of early Hebrew printing, including eight incunabula — Hebrew books printed before 1501 — representing some of the earliest surviving examples of Hebrew printing. Together with these treasures, the sale includes 17 volumes from Daniel Bomberg’s landmark first printed edition of the Talmud, produced in Venice in the 1520s. Bomberg’s edition was the first complete printing of the Babylonian Talmud and became the foundation for virtually all subsequent printed editions. The auction also features three volumes from the first edition of the Talmud Yerushalmi, printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice in 1523–1524. The volumes — Seder Moed, Seder Nashim, and Seder Nezikin — come from the landmark edition upon which subsequent printed editions of the Yerushalmi were based. Printed more than five centuries ago, Bomberg’s edition marked the first time the Talmud Yerushalmi moved from manuscript into print.

Another remarkable offering is a group of twelve handwritten pages from the Steipler Gaon, Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, preserved from one of his original working notebooks. Filled with corrections, additions, and revisions, these pages allow collectors to see the Steipler’s Torah being developed on paper before reaching its final form.

Additional highlights include a handwritten drush manuscript by the Ben Ish Chai, an extensively revised halachic manuscript by Rav Shlomo Eiger documenting his exchange with his father, Rav Akiva Eiger, and a seven-leaf handwritten teshuvah by Rav Moshe Feinstein that later became part of Igros Moshe.

For Mizrahi, however, the auction represents more than a collection of valuable manuscripts and rare seforim. The same understanding that guided the business for decades now guides the auction house.

Mizrahi understands what a first-edition sefer can mean to a collector, what a handwritten page of Torah from a gadol represents, and why provenance, accurate descriptions, and transparency matter when dealing with pieces of Jewish history. Every lot is approached with that perspective.

Mizrahi Judaica Auctions brings together exceptional Judaica, decades of experience, careful presentation, and a commitment to transparency for buyers and sellers alike.

The inaugural auction is now open for viewing and bidding.

CLICK HERE

Preserving the Treasures of Klal Yisrael.

Two Decades of Experience. A Reputation Unmatched.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has warned of an increased risk of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis and Jews around the world, as well as violent demonstrations and unrest.

The NSC said terrorist organizations, particularly Iran and its proxies, Hamas and global jihad groups, view the anniversary as a significant date for carrying out attacks.

Israelis currently abroad or planning to travel are urged to remain highly vigilant and avoid posting information about their movements or locations on social media.

The NSC also warned against sharing social media content that could reveal service in the Israeli security forces and advised Israelis to stay away from demonstrations and large gatherings.

In countries under a Level 3 travel warning, Israelis are advised to avoid speaking Hebrew as much as possible in crowded public places.

The NSC stressed that Israelis should completely avoid traveling to destinations under a Level 4 travel warning, including Jordan, Qatar, Somaliland, and Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Tuesday that the IDF is preparing on an unprecedented scale for a scenario in which Palestinian Authority security forces turn their weapons against Israelis and IDF troops in Yehuda and Shomron, warning that such an attack would trigger a full-scale military campaign.

The issue was raised during a Cabinet meeting marking three years since the October 7 massacre, as several ministers pressed Katz about the security threat in Yehuda and Shomron and the possibility of another October 7-style attack.

The discussion began when Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu raised concerns about the Palestinian Authority’s forces.

“I live near Yericho. We see the PA training and hear what senior officials there are saying about turning their guns on us,” Eliyahu said. “What are we waiting for? For them to do what Hamas did — what they are preparing to do?!”

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen also raised concerns about the large number of weapons in the Bedouin community.

“It’s not only the Palestinian Authority. There are weapons among the Bedouins that will be turned against us. What is Minister Ben Gvir doing?” Cohen asked.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat compared the concerns in Yehuda and Shomron to the security failures that preceded the October 7 massacre.

“Are we going to wait for an October 7 in Yehuda and Shomron as well, chalila, or will we be sophisticated and act like we did with the pagers?” Barkat asked.

Katz responded that the IDF is preparing more extensively than ever for the possibility of PA forces turning their weapons against Israel, chalila.

“The IDF is preparing as never before for the possibility of guns being turned against us,” Katz said. “If anyone dares to turn their weapons against us, what we did in Gaza and Lebanon will come to Yehuda and Shomron. We will not deal with it using tweezers, but with a full-scale campaign.”

“The reference scenario established for the IDF regarding Yehuda and Shomron determines that preparations must be made for the possibility of an attack by jihadist elements against settlers and IDF soldiers, as a lesson from the October 7 events in Gaza,” Katz said.

“The IDF is conducting intensive operations against terrorist strongholds in the area, including the evacuation of refugee camps in northern Shomron, and terrorism has fallen to its lowest level in decades, although many challenges remain.”

Katz said the IDF is simultaneously preparing for a scenario in which PA security forces and Tanzim organizations affiliated with the Palestinian Authority turn their guns against settlers and IDF forces in Yehuda and Shomron and Israeli communities along the seam line.

“In such a case, war will be declared against the Palestinian Authority, and the IDF will launch a comprehensive offensive in accordance with an organized plan that was formulated and approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu and by me, based on the principles laid out for the IDF,” Katz said.

“The campaign will be short and powerful and will include the use of ground and air forces and special capabilities, the targeted killing and expulsion of senior officials, the destruction of weapons and military equipment, the large-scale evacuation of residents and the destruction of terrorist infrastructure inside cities and throughout the refugee camps in Yehuda and Shomron — based on the Gaza and Lebanon model — alongside the reinforcement of forces and protection of Israeli communities.

“There will not be an intifada lasting for years as there was in the past, but rather a short and powerful war with a clear victory and a change in reality.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

New details are emerging about the background of the Omani copilot accused of attempting to crash Flydubai Flight FZ1073, revealing an extensive international aviation history spanning Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Oman, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates — and raising major questions about how he ultimately made it into the cockpit of a passenger jet bound for Israel.

The suspect has been identified by sources familiar with the investigation as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hamami. UAE and Flydubai authorities have not formally released his identity.

Al-Hamami is currently being held in the United Arab Emirates, where Israeli Shin Bet investigators are also reportedly participating in the investigation into the attempted terrorist attack.

One of the most significant revelations concerns his previous aviation career in Oman.

According to reports citing investigators familiar with the case, al-Hamami was at one point barred from flying in Oman amid concerns over ideological radicalization. Authorities have not yet disclosed precisely when that decision was made, what triggered it, or whether the information was subsequently shared with other countries or airlines.

A since-deleted LinkedIn profile bearing his name indicated that he worked for Oman Air for approximately seven years, from February 2018 until February 2025, eventually serving as a first officer.

The emerging timeline shows that his international travels began years earlier.

Al-Hamami reportedly received an Australian student visa in 2014 and arrived in Australia the following year, studying there until 2017.

Australian authorities have now reopened scrutiny of his activities and associations during that period. A joint counterterrorism team involving the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is reviewing his history in the country.

His Australian student visa was canceled in 2019, but available information indicates that the cancellation was not related to terrorism, security or character concerns. Rather, he was reportedly no longer enrolled in studies and therefore no longer met the conditions of the visa.

Investigators are now attempting to determine when his alleged radicalization began.

Another newly confirmed piece of his background involves New Zealand.

New Zealand Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Johnson told Reuters that al-Hamami entered the country on November 30, 2018, and departed on May 23, 2019 — a stay of 175 days.

He held a six-month student visa and underwent part of his pilot training in New Zealand on behalf of a British company that is no longer operating there.

New Zealand authorities are now reviewing records connected to his stay and aviation training.

Al-Hamami also pursued academic studies in Britain. Buckinghamshire New University confirmed that a person by that name completed a distance-learning aviation management course, graduating in 2023. The university stressed that the program was academic and did not involve practical flight training.

After leaving Oman, al-Hamami attempted to join Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc.

The airline says he underwent approximately three months of theoretical training during 2025 as part of its recruitment process but never operated a Royal Air Maroc flight. His candidacy was ultimately rejected.

He later joined Flydubai.

Precisely what Flydubai knew about his previous employment, the reported concerns in Oman and the unsuccessful recruitment process in Morocco remains unclear.

Flydubai’s publicly described recruitment process for first officers includes psychometric testing, interviews, simulator assessments, medical examinations, verification of aviation documents and additional suitability evaluations.

International aviation authorities have also increasingly focused on the danger posed by “insider threats,” with enhanced background-checking and information-sharing standards introduced in recent years.

Yet on September 30, al-Hamami was sitting in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying passengers from Dubai to Israel.

According to UAE prosecutors, the copilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft.

The plane plunged more than 16,000 feet in just over half a minute during the terrifying struggle.

Despite being wounded, the captain managed to open the cockpit door. Israeli passengers and crew members then stormed the cockpit and subdued the attacker, reportedly restraining him with a headset cable.

Additional pilots aboard the aircraft subsequently took control and safely landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The United Arab Emirates has officially classified the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.

The growing list of countries now reviewing al-Hamami’s history is likely to intensify scrutiny over whether warning signs existed long before he joined Flydubai — and, most critically, whether information about those warnings failed to follow him as he moved between airlines and countries.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Likud and the Religious Zionism party signed a surplus-vote agreement ahead of the elections, while Otzma Yehudit was left out of the deal — prompting a sharp response from the party.

“Unfortunately, Likud refused to sign a surplus-vote agreement with Otzma Yehudit, as part of Likud’s attempt to diminish Otzma Yehudit and keep Ben Gvir out of the unity government Likud is planning with Eisenkot,” Otzma Yehudit said.

“These are exactly the things that Likud candidate and former Labor Party MK Eli Goldschmidt said yesterday,” the party added.

The agreement between Likud and Religious Zionism joins other surplus-vote agreements expected to be signed between parties ahead of the elections.

The question now is whether Ben Gvir will sign a surplus-vote agreement with Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a statewide disaster emergency as a growing measles outbreak spreads through communities across the state, with more than 100 cases confirmed so far this year.

As of Oct. 3, New York had recorded 108 measles cases in 2026 — seven in New York City and 101 elsewhere in the state. Of those, 92 have been reported since July 15, primarily in under-immunized rural communities spanning 18 counties.

“After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease,” Hochul said.

“No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test. These emergency measures will protect New Yorkers and support our community partners as they work tirelessly to address the spread of this disease.”

The executive order, which took effect Monday and remains in effect through Nov. 4, significantly expands the number of healthcare professionals permitted to administer the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Paramedics, advanced EMS providers, pharmacists and midwives are among those being granted expanded authority, while registered nurses are being permitted to order testing for suspected measles cases.

Pharmacists are also permitted under the emergency order to vaccinate children as young as two. MMR vaccinations must be reported to state or New York City immunization registries within 72 hours. Patient or guardian consent remains required to administer the vaccine.

Local health departments have already administered more than 1,000 MMR doses in rural New York since July 15 as officials attempt to contain the outbreak.

The situation is considerably worse in neighboring Pennsylvania, where officials announced Monday that the number of measles cases has surpassed 1,000. Five deaths have been reported there, and the outbreak is the state’s largest in more than three decades.

Nationwide, nearly 3,900 measles cases have been reported in 2026, making this the worst year for the disease in the United States since 1991.

New York’s Department of Health has also launched a statewide measles dashboard to track cases and provide information about local outbreaks.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump has approved the execution by U.S. Army firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major convicted of carrying out the 2009 Islamist terror massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, that left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded.

The decision, announced Monday by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, came following a recommendation from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The Secretary of the Army will now determine the time and place of the execution.

“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009,” Parnell said.

“He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack.”

“Judgment day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell added.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, walked into the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, and opened fire with a handgun. Twelve active-duty servicemembers and one retired servicemember were murdered, while dozens more were wounded. Hasan was shot by police during the attack and left partially paralyzed.

Hasan later said his actions were intended as retaliation for American military operations in Muslim countries. During his 2013 court-martial, a military jury convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder and unanimously sentenced him to death.

The case has spent more than a decade winding its way through the military appeals process. The Supreme Court ultimately declined to take up Hasan’s challenge to his conviction and death sentence, clearing one of the final major legal hurdles to an execution.

Trump’s approval is particularly significant because executions under the U.S. military justice system are extraordinarily rare and require presidential authorization.

If Hasan’s execution is carried out, it would be the first execution conducted by the U.S. military since 1961, when Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It would also reportedly be the first U.S. military execution by firing squad since 1945.

Hasan remains imprisoned at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. Additional federal court litigation could still delay the execution even after Trump’s authorization.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A medical student aboard the Israel-bound Flydubai flight has described how he helped restrain the Omani terrorist co-pilot who attempted to crash the aircraft, while also treating the seriously wounded captain.

Adar Hayot said he is still struggling to comprehend how narrowly he escaped death.

“It is very difficult to process, as a passenger who was on the plane, that in the scenario where there was luck, I am alive—and in any other scenario, I am dead,” he said.

Hayot said he treated Captain Sumit Machhar, who suffered serious stab wounds inflicted by terrorist Hamam Al Hammami.

When passengers needed to move the attacker, who was still standing, Hayot obtained cable ties from another passenger and secured them around him to prevent him from resisting or breaking free.

Hayot said passengers also discussed whether they needed to kill the terrorist because they feared he still had a knife.

“We were afraid he had a knife. We debated whether we needed to kill him—but we didn’t really have a way to do that,” he said.

The investigation in the United Arab Emirates reportedly established that the other foreign pilots did not cooperate with the terrorist at any stage.

Separately, official figures show that dozens of Omani citizens entered Israel on tourist visas in recent years: 10 in 2022, 29 in 2023, nine in 2024 and 11 in 2025. Additional Omani citizens have entered during 2026.

The figures have raised questions about compliance with aviation agreement requirements, since some of those visitors may have been aircrew.

Under the requirements described, Omani aircrew must hold a diplomatic passport from a country that maintains relations with Israel.

Asked about possible violations, the Transportation Ministry said its working assumption was that they had not occurred, but acknowledged that it could not say so with certainty.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former hostage Avinatan Or says that even while imprisoned in Gaza, he opposed securing his freedom through an agreement that could encourage future kidnappings, believing Israel needed to emerge victorious from the war.

In an interview, Or recalled seeing televised demonstrations demanding the hostages’ release. He said he was certain his parents were not participating in those protests.

“The debate was over matters of life and death, whether you save lives now or protect lives in the future,” he said. “It was clear to me that if we made a deal then, I would be released, but later, someone else would be sitting in my place.”

Or stressed that this was a conviction he held while still in captivity, despite knowing that an agreement could bring him home.

“It was clear to me that we shouldn’t make a deal at any cost. Israel needed to emerge victorious from this war,” he said.

He also described telling one of his captors that he was prepared to remain imprisoned for an extended period rather than serve as a bargaining chip.

“I told my captor: I’ll stay here for a day, two days, a year, two years, even ten years. Eventually, you’ll understand that I’m not worth holding, and that will be the victory.”

Or also recounted a deeply personal conversation with Hashem on his 70th day in captivity.

He said he acknowledged that he had not spoken to Hashem in seven years and felt hypocritical asking for help, particularly because he worried he might again forget Him after being freed.

Or then appealed to the Torah’s mitzvah of honoring one’s parents and its accompanying promise of long life. He said he had tried to honor his parents even before October 7 and asked Hashem to fulfill that promise.

Describing his reunion with his parents, Or said their first words to him left a lasting impression.

“When they saw me, they said, ‘We hope you’re not angry with us.’ I answered them, ‘I’m not angry with you. I’m proud of you.’”

“My parents fought for me like crazy,” he added.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A storm has erupted in Yerushalayim’s Minchas Yitzchak neighborhood after a Chol Hamoed event ostensibly organized to teach children about the Nisuch HaMayim ceremony in the Beis Hamikdash allegedly became a platform for promoting visits to Har Habayis.

HaGaon HaRav Chaim Aharon Blayer, a prominent posek in the neighborhood, issued a sharply worded warning to local residents after learning what had taken place at the event, which was held in an auditorium on Rechov Minchas Yitzchak.

According to Rav Blayer, after looking into the incident and hearing accounts from several people who attended, he learned that a representative associated with the Har Habayis administration addressed the gathering — including young children — and spoke about ascending Har Habayis in the present day.

Rav Blayer said the message presented at the event runs directly contrary to the accepted psak of the Gedolei HaPoskim and Gedolei Yisroel across generations who have prohibited Jews from ascending Har Habayis due to the severe halachic issues involved.

Of particular concern, the Rav wrote, was that the message was delivered to children without any opposing clarification, and by an individual dressed in Chareidi and Chassidish attire — something he warned could blur critical halachic boundaries and leave children believing that such conduct is accepted within the Chareidi community.

Rav Blayer subsequently issued an urgent directive to parents whose children attended the gathering, instructing them to speak with their children and make clear that ascending Har Habayis while tamei, without the ability to undergo the required purification, involves an extremely severe issur and can carry the punishment of kareis.

The Rav also noted that similar events have reportedly taken place in the neighborhood previously and urged residents to remain vigilant regarding programs to which they send their children and to carefully investigate the individuals and organizations behind them.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF says it will resume proactive operations to locate and arrest draft evaders this month, after suspending such arrests during the Yom Tov period while concentrating enforcement efforts at Israel’s border crossings.

The announcement came during a follow-up meeting chaired by Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, where new figures were presented regarding enforcement against Chareidi draft evaders.

According to the data, 212 draft evaders were arrested at Israeli border crossings during September, including 163 Chareidim.

Officials also revealed that 64 draft evaders managed to leave Israel without being apprehended and were arrested only when they returned through Ben Gurion Airport.

The Population and Immigration Authority has now been asked to investigate whether a loophole exists that allows individuals wanted for failing to report for military service to leave Israel despite outstanding orders against them.

During the meeting, the IDF said it had refrained from initiating arrests of draft evaders during the Yom Tov period because enforcement resources were focused on border crossings. The military said proactive enforcement operations will resume during October.

Limon reportedly demanded that the IDF restart proactive arrests and also called for a review of the military prosecution’s policies governing criminal charges against draft evaders.

Among the proposals being examined is lowering the amount of time an individual must have evaded service before becoming eligible for criminal prosecution, potentially significantly increasing the number of indictments.

The looming resumption of arrests is causing concern within Chareidi political circles, particularly following confrontations surrounding attempted arrests in Modiin overnight.

There are fears that renewed arrests of yeshiva bochurim could trigger widespread protests and confrontations, while further fueling anger among young Chareidim toward their political representatives over the failure to pass legislation protecting the status of lomdei Torah.

Chareidi political officials are also reportedly concerned about the broader political ramifications. A renewed wave of arrests and protests could return the draft crisis to the center of Israel’s political agenda and potentially further destabilize the governing right-wing bloc.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A new book by former senior Biden administration official Brett McGurk is revealing extraordinary behind-the-scenes details of the negotiations that produced the January 2025 Gaza hostage deal — including heated confrontations in which incoming Trump envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with President Donald Trump’s wrath if Israel backed away from an agreement.

According to details from the book reported by The Times of Israel, the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump team worked unusually closely during the final days of negotiations, as both sought to secure the release of hostages before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.

Trump had already publicly warned there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released by the time he entered office.

The negotiations accelerated in early January after Hamas provided a list of hostages it was prepared to release but presented additional demands, including the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and changes to the extent of an IDF withdrawal inside Gaza.

McGurk and Witkoff traveled to Doha, where Qatar’s prime minister reportedly believed the gaps could be narrowed to approximately 110 prisoners serving life sentences and an Israeli withdrawal of roughly 700 meters.

McGurk remained uncomfortable with the concessions. Witkoff, according to the account, had a dramatically different reaction.

“This is all [EXPLETIVE REMOVED], we’re saving lives here, and we can’t fail because of a line on a map or seventy-five or 100 prisoners,” Witkoff reportedly said.

The confrontation became considerably more intense during a January 11 meeting in Yerushalayim.

Netanyahu pushed back against the proposed terms and argued that additional pressure should be placed on Hamas. Witkoff reportedly lost patience.

“We’re closing this deal tomorrow. If you want to fight over ten or twenty prisoners, you’ll never get the hostages. Come on,” he told Netanyahu.

McGurk then proposed providing Israel with a letter from President Biden affirming Israel’s right to resume military operations if Hamas violated the agreement. Witkoff said Trump would sign the same commitment.

When Netanyahu’s advisers continued raising objections, Witkoff reportedly made clear that the incoming president was behind him.

“What Brett just said, that’s Trump’s position, so if you want to walk away, you can call Trump, and you’ll hear it from him. Come on, guys… You want to call Trump, Bibi?”

Netanyahu reportedly attempted to explain the political difficulties he faced with members of his coalition and Cabinet.

Witkoff was unmoved.

“So you’re leaving hostages in tunnels for what, another hundred days, forever, all for three hundred meters? That’s your position? Are you kidding me?”

The meeting was halted while Netanyahu consulted with his Cabinet. Later that night, according to McGurk, Witkoff informed him that Netanyahu had agreed to the terms.

Several days later, on January 15, the negotiations appeared to finally reach the finish line. McGurk threatened to leave Doha and tell Trump that Qatar and Egypt had failed to deliver Hamas.

Shortly afterward, Hamas gave its approval.

The atmosphere immediately changed.

Then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar opened a bottle of whiskey and poured drinks for those in the room. Witkoff, who generally does not drink alcohol, reportedly made an exception. Mossad Director David Barnea raised his glass and said, “L’chaim!”

Trump quickly announced that an agreement had been reached.

But the celebration nearly proved premature.

The following day, Netanyahu reportedly introduced another demand: Israel wanted advance approval of the identities of all 110 Palestinian prisoners who would be released.

Witkoff erupted.

“Are you [EXPLETIVE REMOVED] kidding me right now?” he reportedly said.

Barnea responded: “That’s our prime minister.”

Witkoff shot back: “No, no, you opened that whiskey. I told Trump we had a deal, there’s one thing you don’t do with me, or with Trump. Back out of a deal.”

According to the account, Witkoff threatened to immediately call Trump and have him publicly declare that members of Israel’s government did not care about their own hostages.

That prompted an angry response from Barnea.

“Steve, I run the Mossad! Don’t tell me about the hostages. I’m sorry, you crossed a line.”

Barnea asked for 45 minutes to speak with Netanyahu.

Witkoff gave him 30.

Barnea subsequently returned and confirmed that Israel would proceed with the agreement.

The first hostages were released on January 19, 2025 — Biden’s final full day as president and one day before Trump returned to the White House.

McGurk’s account portrays the deal as the product of months of negotiations and major changes on the battlefield — including the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israel’s devastating blows against Hezbollah — but also makes clear that Trump’s election fundamentally changed the diplomatic dynamic.

Even before taking office, Trump and his team were willing to apply intense pressure to all sides — including Netanyahu — to make certain the agreement was completed.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Shin Bet personnel have traveled to Dubai and are participating in the interrogation of Hamam Al Hammami, the Omani terrorist co-pilot who attempted to crash an Israel-bound Flydubai flight.

Israeli security officials have received additional details from the investigation in recent days. During questioning, the terrorist reportedly admitted his motive, saying: “I did it as revenge for Gaza. I wanted to die as a martyr.”

The military censor has cleared publication of the Shin Bet’s involvement in the investigation alongside authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Investigators are conducting a detailed examination of the contents of the terrorist’s cellphone.

At Sunday’s security cabinet meeting, a Mossad representative briefed ministers on newly uncovered details about Al Hammami’s travel history.

According to two sources familiar with the discussion, the representative said investigators discovered that the terrorist had made brief visits in recent years to countries hostile to Israel, including enemy states.

“We are checking whether, during those visits, someone or some organization directed or recruited him,” the representative reportedly told ministers.

Separately, Emirati authorities questioned the flight’s cabin crew, who denied any involvement in the plot. Accounts from the questioning described crew members as confused during the incident but said they did not assist the terrorist.

The Emirati authorities are not allowing Israeli investigators to participate in the questioning of the cabin crew.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has signed an order to extradite Alexander Blok, 49, to the United States, where he is wanted on charges involving fraud, computer crime, transferring stolen property and money laundering.

Israel’s Supreme Court extended the validity of the ruling declaring Blok extraditable until November 7 to allow authorities to arrange his transfer. The extension was granted at the request of the State Attorney’s Office’s international department, despite opposition from his defense team.

According to the extradition request submitted in December 2024, Blok exploited a vulnerability in the Nomad cryptocurrency bridge platform in August 2022 and took digital currency valued at more than $2.8 million. Prosecutors say steps were subsequently taken to conceal the origin of the funds.

The broader breach resulted in approximately $190 million being stolen after other individuals copied the method. Blok is accused of taking only a portion of that total.

Blok, a Russian-Israeli citizen born in Germany, was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport in April 2025 after changing his name in Israel’s population registry and attempting to board a flight to Moscow.

He had claimed that he previously lived aboard a fishing vessel off the African coast.

The Yerushalayim District Court declared him extraditable in July 2025. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected his appeal in March 2026, and Supreme Court President Yitzchak Amit denied his request for an additional hearing in August.

With Levin’s signature on the extradition order, authorities are now preparing to hand Blok over to U.S. law enforcement.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The sale of Israeli cellular provider HOT Mobile has been completed, with a consortium acquiring the company at a valuation of approximately NIS 1.88 billion.

HOT will receive approximately NIS 1.218 billion in cash from the transaction. The higher figure represents the valuation used for the deal rather than the cash payment to the seller.

Delek Israel and Keystone each hold 40% of the purchasing partnership, while Leumi Partners holds the remaining 20%. The acquisition brings the three companies into the telecommunications sector.

The seller, HOT Telecommunication Systems, is controlled by businessman Patrick Drahi’s Altice group. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce Altice’s international debt.

HOT Mobile serves more than two million private and business customers, with revenue estimated at approximately NIS 1.5 billion.

The company became part of HOT after the group acquired MIRS in 2011 and subsequently relaunched the business under the HOT Mobile brand.

HOT said consistent growth in customer numbers, revenue and operating earnings, alongside improvements in key performance measures, was reflected in the transaction’s valuation.

The group said it had been preparing to complete the sale and transfer the company to its new owners since signing the memorandum of understanding.

The transaction follows HOT’s sale of its stake in the IBC fiber-optic venture, which was carried out at an overall venture valuation of approximately NIS 2.2 billion.

HOT said the sales form part of its strategy to focus on its core operations while continuing to invest in developing services for its customers.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel was prepared to shoot down Flydubai Flight 1073 — despite more than 150 Israelis being aboard the aircraft — if the hijacked jet continued toward Israel and appeared poised to be used in a 9/11-style terror attack, according to stunning new details revealed Sunday.

Two Israeli sources with direct knowledge of the events told CBS News that the Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets and activated a long-established emergency protocol after the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv Boeing 737 MAX suddenly plunged and Israeli authorities were unable to establish contact with its cockpit.

The disclosure provides the clearest picture yet of just how close the September 30 incident came to forcing Israel’s leadership into an almost unimaginable decision: whether to destroy a passenger aircraft filled overwhelmingly with Israelis in order to prevent it from being deliberately crashed into Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv or another major target.

According to CBS News, after Flight 1073 made its terrifying plunge, the IAF attempted to contact the cockpit but received no response. A pre-established emergency committee was immediately activated, a command center was opened, Israeli fighter jets were scrambled and Israeli airspace was closed.

Separate reporting on the IAF response said an Air Force officer first detected a distress signal at approximately 8:30 a.m. while the aircraft was between Saudi Arabia and Jordan and apparently headed toward Tel Aviv. What initially appeared to be a relatively routine aviation emergency changed dramatically when another signal indicated possible hijacking.

Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft initially transmitted squawk code 7700, the international code for a general emergency, and later transmitted 7500 — the code specifically used to signal hijacking or unlawful interference.

The aircraft then plunged with extraordinary speed. Reuters reported that Flight 1073 lost roughly 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds. An aviation simulator expert who recreated the descent for Reuters described what passengers would have experienced as similar to a “vertical roller coaster,” noting that anyone not strapped in could have been lifted from their seat by the negative G-forces.

With no communication from the cockpit and the aircraft behaving erratically, Israel was preparing for the possibility that the plane had become a flying weapon.

According to the Israeli sources cited by CBS, had Flight 1073 continued approaching Israel, IAF fighter jets would have entered Jordanian airspace to intercept and investigate it.

The Israeli pilots would first have attempted to fly close enough to establish visual contact with the cockpit and determine who was controlling the aircraft. They would then have examined the passenger cabin for signs of panic or a struggle and relayed their observations to the emergency command structure.

If Israeli authorities concluded that terrorists controlled the aircraft, were refusing communications and were continuing toward Israel, the emergency committee would have brought Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the decision-making process.

And the final decision would have rested with Netanyahu.

Under the protocol described by the Israeli sources, shooting down the aircraft was a real option. Officials considered that horrific outcome preferable to allowing a hijacked Boeing 737 to slam into Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv’s Azrieli towers or another “high-value target,” potentially killing hundreds or thousands more people on the ground.

The fighter jets ultimately never had to make the intercept.

Israeli authorities realized that Flight 1073 had turned away from Israel toward Saudi Arabia, approximately 400 miles away. Saudi Arabia scrambled its own fighter jets, and Israel recalled its aircraft.

Inside Flight 1073, meanwhile, an extraordinary battle for the aircraft was unfolding.

UAE prosecutors have formally described the incident as an attempted “terrorist attack,” saying the Omani copilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe and attempted to seize control of the plane.

The captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, despite suffering serious stab wounds, managed to fight his attacker long enough to unlock the cockpit door. Israeli passengers and Flydubai personnel then rushed in and subdued the copilot. Two off-duty pilots traveling aboard the aircraft subsequently helped take control of the jet, which was eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The alleged terrorist has been identified by sources familiar with the investigation as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami.

And new information emerging from the investigation indicates that the attack may have been planned long before Flight 1073 ever left Dubai.

Reuters reported Monday, citing two Israeli officials with knowledge of the investigation, that al-Hammami told UAE interrogators he had planned an attack even before Flydubai hired him. According to those officials, he applied to Flydubai after researching airlines that operated flights to Tel Aviv.

Even more chillingly, a source briefed on the investigation said al-Hammami specifically intended to crash Flight 1073 into Ben Gurion Airport.

Investigators also believe this may not have been his first opportunity to carry out the plot. The suspect had previously operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and allegedly considered hijacking and crashing that aircraft as well, but abandoned the plan. A source said he may have known someone aboard that earlier flight.

CBS News separately reported that sources said al-Hammami had previously been removed from flying duties at Oman Air after Omani authorities allegedly detected visits to radical websites. He was reportedly reassigned to an office position and subsequently left the airline. Flydubai later hired him.

Those revelations have intensified questions over how the suspect was ever permitted to operate a flight to Israel.

Netanyahu has said pilots who are citizens of countries without diplomatic relations with Israel — including Oman — are not permitted to operate flights into the country. Israel has since ordered a sweeping security review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.

The Transportation Ministry has said Flydubai had committed to carrying out required background checks on its crews, but acknowledged that its own security division did not receive the crew list for Flight 1073. Other Israeli authorities reportedly did receive passenger and crew information, raising questions about where the security screening system broke down.

The UAE has confirmed that its investigation remains underway to determine the attacker’s motives and whether he had assistance or connections to others. Israeli assessments have thus far leaned toward al-Hammami acting as a lone wolf, although investigators have not closed off other possibilities.

Authorities in Australia and New Zealand are also examining the suspect’s history. Australian authorities are investigating his links to the country after sources said he studied at RMIT University in Melbourne roughly a decade ago, while New Zealand police confirmed that he had also spent time there.

The latest revelations underscore how extraordinarily narrow the margin was between the dramatic rescue that ultimately unfolded and a catastrophe unlike anything Israel had previously faced.

Had the passengers and crew not succeeded in overpowering the attacker, and had Flight 1073 continued westward toward Israel, Israeli fighter pilots could have found themselves ordered to destroy an airliner carrying more than 150 of their own citizens.

Instead, the aircraft turned toward Saudi Arabia, its passengers survived, and the nightmare decision Israeli officials were preparing to make never reached Prime Minister Netanyahu’s desk.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New footage of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was released Monday by Hamas-affiliated media, nearly two years after Israeli troops eliminated him in southern Gaza.

Sinwar, one of the central planners of the October 7 massacre, was killed on October 16, 2024, during an operation by troops from the IDF’s Bislach Brigade in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood.

The troops identified three terrorists and engaged them. During the encounter, Sinwar fled into a building that Israeli forces subsequently struck with tank fire.

Only during searches afterward did troops discover that one of the terrorists killed was the Hamas leader.

Sinwar had assumed leadership of the terror organization following the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh.

The IDF and Shin Bet had spent approximately a year hunting him, gradually narrowing the area in which he could operate in southern Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Three Palestinians were arrested Monday morning in a series of operations carried out by detectives and officers from the “Chetz Yehuda” unit of the Yehuda and Shomron District on suspicion of pollution offenses, possession of weapons and terrorism, Arutz Sheva reported.

In the first case, a resident of the village of Deir Sammit in his 40s was arrested after posting videos on social media in recent weeks showing himself dumping sewage waste into streams in Yehuda and Shomron.

Police said the suspect also boasted about his actions and claimed that this was his way of harming Israeli residents and Israeli territory.

“These are our deeds that we are proud of,” he said in one of the videos.

The suspect was arrested at his home and taken for questioning on suspicion of contaminating groundwater. His sewage truck was confiscated for further proceedings.

In another operation, carried out with the assistance of troops from the Etzion Brigade, forces raided the home of a 52-year-old Beit Lechem resident. During the search, they found a Glock handgun, a magazine and ammunition.

The suspect was arrested and is expected to be brought before a court for a hearing on extending his detention.

At the same time, an 18-year-old Palestinian resident of Sa’ir was arrested on suspicion of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces.

According to police, in July the suspect threw rocks from the yard of his home at IDF troops passing through the area. In a separate incident in April, he threw rocks from the roof of his home at the forces.

He was also taken for questioning by the “Chetz Yehuda” unit and is expected to be brought before a court for a hearing on extending his detention.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A TUS Airways flight from Bologna, Italy, to Ben Gurion Airport was delayed for approximately three hours Monday after Israeli immigration authorities instructed the airline to remove three Georgian passengers.

Two of the passengers were found to be attempting to travel to Israel using forged Israeli passports. The third was determined to be barred from entering the country.

Following their removal, all remaining passengers were asked to leave the aircraft, and the luggage was unloaded for additional inspection.

One passenger, Idit, said travelers were given little explanation about the disruption.

“After those three passengers were taken off the plane, we were all taken off as well so our belongings could undergo another inspection,” she said. “They didn’t explain why the flight was delayed or why they had us get off.”

The Kavim Holidays tourism group said staff at Bologna Airport had been instructed by Israel’s immigration authorities to remove the three passengers for further checks.

TUS Airways said passenger and crew safety remains its highest priority and that it cooperates fully with aviation authorities in Israel and internationally.

The airline emphasized that passengers and crew were not in danger at any point during the incident.

The disruption comes amid heightened Israeli vigilance following the attempted terrorist attack five days earlier aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight, in which an Omani terrorist co-pilot attempted to crash the aircraft.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A London court has sentenced a 34-year-old Kuwaiti terrorist to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 20 years, after he attempted to climb the Israeli Embassy’s perimeter fence while carrying two knives.

Abdullah Albadri was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism and possessing two bladed weapons. He was arrested on April 28, 2025, after diplomatic protection officers pulled him down from the embassy fence.

Officers found two knives with blades approximately 10 centimeters long in his possession.

The investigation and trial established that Albadri was motivated by the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. He had arrived in Britain aboard a small boat 16 days before the attempted attack.

On the day of the incident, the terrorist approached the embassy, saluted police officers and then began climbing the fence.

During questioning, he asked officers why they were stopping him from “committing a crime” and said he wanted to “do something to stop the war.”

Prosecutor Catherine Pattison argued that Albadri intended to carry out an attack in which he would sacrifice his own life. She said people leaving the embassy at the time would have been unable to defend themselves.

Defense lawyer Chris Henley argued that the plan could not have succeeded and described the terrorist’s conduct as theatrical and extreme behavior intended to attract attention after he struggled to resolve his housing situation.

Helen Flanagan, head of London’s counterterrorism policing command, praised the officers’ response for preventing a breach of the embassy’s security perimeter.

She said the severity of the sentence reflected the danger the terrorist posed and his lack of remorse.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Three daycare assistants in Israel’s Sharon region have been arrested on suspicion of abusing young children after an 11-month-old infant was brought to Meir Medical Center with an ear injury.

Investigators from the Kfar Saba Police Station launched a covert investigation after receiving a report of suspected abuse at the daycare. Police used various investigative methods, including technological tools, to gather evidence.

The investigation raised suspicions that the infant’s injury was part of a series of violent incidents involving children at the facility.

According to police, the assistants were documented handling children violently, including lifting them roughly and throwing them to the floor, pulling their ears and throwing objects at them.

After gathering evidence, investigators moved to the overt stage of the probe and arrested three assistants employed at the daycare. All three are residents of Ra’anana, in their 30s and 50s.

The suspects were scheduled to appear in court Monday morning, with police seeking to extend their detention based on the evidence gathered and the needs of the ongoing investigation.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)