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Pressure on Israel to advance President Donald Trump’s framework for ending the Gaza war is mounting, with Jared Kushner expected to meet Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu on Monday and press for concrete steps to put the plan into effect.

Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, is set to travel to Israel as part of a broader regional trip with senior figures from the Board of Peace, including senior envoy Nikolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The trip will mark Kushner’s first visit to Israel since January 2026 and follows discussions he and other Board of Peace officials held with a Hamas delegation in Egypt.

Officials briefed on the discussions say Washington is approaching the current round differently from earlier negotiations. The Trump administration is no longer looking to renegotiate or revise the framework, they said, but instead wants the parties to begin carrying out commitments that have already been agreed upon.

One official familiar with the talks said the goal is to “translate the roadmap commitments into concrete and verifiable steps.” Among the measures Washington wants to see are an end to attacks in Gaza, an Israeli pullback toward the Yellow Line, a substantial expansion of humanitarian assistance entering the territory, and movement toward creating mechanisms for civilian administration and reconstruction.

The growing US pressure comes as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia and Turkey released a joint statement criticizing Israel for rejecting Trump’s plan. The countries asserted that “Israel bears responsibility for delaying peace efforts in Gaza and the Palestinian territories,” while cautioning that Israel’s position could jeopardize Trump’s effort to end the conflict.

US officials familiar with the negotiations say Trump views Netanyahu as having already accepted the framework in principle. According to those officials, the administration accommodated several requests made by the Israeli prime minister and now believes it is Israel’s turn to carry out the commitments expected of it.

One official, describing the thinking within Trump’s circle to Ynet, put the message this way: “Bibi has to agree to the deal. I did what he asked. Now he has to do what I’m asking.” Another official said the administration suspects Israel is trying to delay implementation by raising additional objections and seeking changes in the order of the plan’s provisions. “They feel Israel is playing games.”

Officials said Kushner is not traveling to Israel simply to conduct another round of shuttle diplomacy between Israel and the Hamas terrorists. “He is coming to get things done,” one official familiar with the talks said.

Washington’s stance is also based on Israel’s involvement in drawing up the proposal from its earlier stages. Officials familiar with the process say Israel’s National Security Council participated in developing the framework, with Israeli and US officials discussing both its provisions and mechanisms for putting them into practice. As a result, the Trump administration sees the outstanding issue not as whether a framework has been agreed upon, but whether that agreement will now be implemented.

A central disagreement between Israel and the US concerns the order in which the plan’s provisions would be carried out. The 15-point framework calls for military activity to stop, Hamas to surrender its weapons, civilian control of Gaza to be handed to a Palestinian technocratic body, Israeli forces to withdraw gradually, and an international stabilization force to enter the territory.

The framework envisions Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawals taking place through coordinated, verifiable stages. Israel has insisted, however, that its forces will not leave their positions in Gaza until Hamas has been fully disarmed and has publicly rejected the proposal in its present form.

Hamas, meanwhile, has said it accepts the framework. During Kushner’s discussions in Egypt, the terrorist group came under pressure to surrender its weapons and relinquish its governing authority in Gaza.

An official familiar with those discussions said Hamas is being pressed to take measures guaranteeing that the ceasefire remains intact, transfer governing powers to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and accept that it will have no place in Gaza’s future government. Hamas would also be required to dismantle its weapons and military infrastructure, while an international stabilization force would deploy, Israel would undertake corresponding withdrawals, and humanitarian assistance and reconstruction would be expanded.

Despite the public dispute with Israel, Board of Peace officials reportedly believe Israel is already carrying out portions of the understandings in practice. They view some of the tougher rhetoric from Israeli officials as being driven by domestic political pressures and are therefore paying greater attention to Israel’s actions on the ground than to its public statements.

Kushner’s talks in Egypt marked his first meeting with senior Hamas figures since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. Participants included Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya, Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Hassan Rashad, Qatari minister Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official.

{Matzav.com}

One hundred years after his petirah, the fire still burns. An unforgettable journey into the life, Torah, and towering legacy of Rav Meir Simcha HaKohen of Dvinsk zt”l, one of the greatest geonei Torah and baalei machshavah of the modern era. Discover his phenomenal hasmadah, breathtaking gadlus baTorah, profound understanding of Klal Yisrael, and extraordinary personality ;enriched with rare stories, fascinating giluyim, little-known episodes, and remarkable insights into the man behind the Ohr Sameach and Meshech Chochmah.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

The Navi Michah gives us one of the most quoted, and least understood, summaries of what Hashem wants from us: “הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה טּוֹב וּמָה ה’ דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹקֶיךָ” : He has told you what is good: to do justice, love kindness, and walk modestly with your G-d (Michah 6:8).

We tend to read v’hatznea lecheches as a dress code. But tznius was never primarily about a hemline. It’s the instinct to keep something private because it’s precious, not shameful, but because some things lose their kedusha the moment they become public property. A chuppah. A private conversation between spouses. A family’s pain. Tznius is the recognition that not everything sacred needs an audience.

That is the tznius we, as a klal, are forgetting how to practice.

A generation with no delete button

We live inside a machine engineered to extract the private and reward its exposure. Every platform runs on the same transaction: give us something raw that used to belong only to you, and we’ll give you attention in return. An entire generation has been trained to believe that an unshared experience is an unprocessed one, that pain doesn’t count until it’s posted, that a simcha isn’t complete without a caption.

We used to understand that some rooms have doors for a reason. Now we build content out of what used to happen behind them.

The podcast challenge

Nowhere is this clearer than in the explosion of frum podcasts and inspirational content. And the honest place to start is with the good. These platforms have brought real Kvod Shamayim into places it never used to reach, a person driving alone, a teenager scrolling at midnight, someone sitting in a hospital waiting room. They’ve given people who felt alone a sense that they’re not the only ones. They’ve turned commutes into chizuk, made Torah hashkafa accessible to people who would never have opened a sefer, and given ordinary people the courage to share nisyonos that used to be carried in total silence. That is not a small thing. It’s a genuine kiddush Hashem, and it deserves to be said plainly before anything else.

The challenge isn’t the impulse. It’s what happens when a business model built on engagement meets material that was never meant to be engagement in the first place.

A podcast needs episodes. Episodes need hooks. Hooks need drama. Even content that begins with good intentions, as chizuk, can get pulled toward its most “shareable” version: a dramatic thumbnail, a scandalous title, because a modest telling doesn’t perform the way a scandalous one does. The very platforms built to spread Torah values can end up structurally pulled against one of the most basic of those values, that not everything needs to be said to everyone.

This isn’t a claim about any one podcast or story; it’s a claim about the pull of the machine itself, a pull that even the most well-meaning creator has to actively resist. An audience fed a thousand hours of content this week needs something sharper next week. That’s what oversaturation does: it raises the threshold of what people are willing to expose, of themselves and of each other, just to be heard, even on platforms that set out only to inspire.

The cost we don’t see

Tznius protects the individual, but it also protects the tzibbur. A community that consumes an endless stream of other people’s private pain slowly loses its own capacity for privacy. We start to feel entitled to know, to feel that a family’s struggle is ours to have an opinion on, because it arrived in a well-produced 45-minute episode.

Chazal tell us Bilaam, looking down at the tents of Klal Yisroel, could find nothing to curse, because the entrances didn’t face each other. מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב, “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov,” came from the fact that we historically built our lives so we weren’t looking into each other’s windows. That was never coldness. It was the thing worth blessing.

What it asks of us

To walk modestly with G-d doesn’t mean walking invisibly. It means knowing some things are between you and Him, or between you and the people closest to you, and that this isn’t a deficiency to be fixed with more disclosure. It’s the whole point.

Klal Yisroel’s beauty was never that we had nothing to say. It’s that we understood some of what we carry is holy specifically because it’s unseen. That instinct isn’t old-fashioned. It’s part of our DNA, baishanim, rachmanim, gomlei chasadim. As Chazal teach us, “אֵין הַבְּרָכָה מְצוּיָה אֶלָּא בְּדָבָר הַסָּמוּי מִן הָעָיִן”, “Blessing is found only in that which is hidden from the eye” (Taanis 8b). May we be zoche to internalize that truth, to guard what deserves to be guarded, and through that zechus, be zoche to the ultimate brachah, bimheirah b’yameinu.

Larry Brigson

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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israel to kill dozens of people in Gaza every night, saying during a conversation with released hostage Rom Braslavski that he believes Israel should dramatically expand targeted killings in the Strip. His remarks, which surfaced Sunday, were quickly picked up by Palestinian media.

Ben-Gvir made the comments during an appearance on Braslavski’s podcast as the two discussed the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and Israel’s response. The minister criticized the recent reduction in Israeli strikes in Gaza and openly acknowledged that his position differs from that of Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu.

“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

During the same podcast interview, Ben-Gvir also renewed his support for encouraging large-scale Palestinian emigration from Gaza and for rebuilding Jewish communities throughout the Strip.

“I see all of Gaza as ours,” said Ben-Gvir in the interview. “Settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”

{Matzav.com}

A day after Mali and Liel Yahalomi were located in Argentina following an intensive weeklong international search, the Israel Police representative in South America described the dramatic moment the mother and daughter were found, saying they apparently did not expect authorities to track them down. The precise reason behind their disappearance, however, remains unclear.

Lt. Col. Walter Kogan, the Israel Police representative in South America, spoke Sunday about encountering Mali and Liel after the pair had been declared missing and authorities launched a massive effort to locate them.

“They thought we wouldn’t catch them and wouldn’t find them,” Kogan said in a private conversation about the operation.

Kogan also described his emotions upon finally seeing the two alive and unharmed, saying he felt “excitement that we found them and that they are alive and everything is okay.”

While pleased that the search had ended successfully, Kogan said he was taken aback by the enormous public attention the case generated.

“Shocked by the exposure. I didn’t expect it. We did an excellent job. But it’s just another job, and that’s the role,” Kogan said.

Meanwhile, Israel Police spokesman Aryeh Doron told Kan News on Reshet Bet Sunday morning that investigators have still not established exactly why Mali and Liel decided to disappear.

“At this stage, the police still do not know the exact reason for the disappearance of Mali and Liel Yahalomi,” Doron said.

Doron also addressed footage showing Kogan meeting the two after they were found. He said police believed that after so many people had anxiously followed the search, the public deserved reassurance that Mali and Liel were safe.

“The people of Israel, who were worried, deserved to see them healthy and whole, standing on their feet. At this stage, we are not aware of any unusual incident, only small debts.”

Investigators said Vienna appears to have served as a convenient transit point for the two because of the Austrian capital’s major transportation network, which offers easy access by train and other means of travel to numerous destinations across Europe.

The investigation also uncovered evidence that Mali attempted to telephone the Israeli consulate in Vienna. The call went unanswered, and investigators have not yet determined why she was trying to contact the consulate.

Mali and Liel were ultimately located while traveling aboard a bus in Buenos Aires. Undercover local police vehicles stopped the bus, after which Kogan, representing the Israel Police Intelligence Division in South America, boarded and approached the pair.

The encounter reportedly came as a particular surprise to Mali and Liel, who suddenly found themselves face-to-face with a Hebrew-speaking Israeli police representative thousands of miles from Israel.

During a brief questioning at the scene, the two were asked what had prompted them to abruptly leave and cut off contact.

“What happened?” the police official asked.

“We simply want to disconnect from the family, from the country,” Mali and Liel responded.

They were then asked, “Is someone threatening you or trying to extort you?”

“No, no one,” they replied.

When questioned about whether they had fled because of financial debts, the two again denied it.

“No, we simply want to leave everything,” they said.

{Matzav.com}

Americans received $43 billion more in federal tax refunds during the 2026 filing season than they did a year earlier, with the Government Accountability Office saying new deductions enacted under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act contributed to the sharp increase.

A recent GAO report detailed the substantial jump in refunds and pointed to provisions of Trump’s tax law as one of the factors behind the larger payments received by taxpayers this year.

“The increase this year represented $43 billion more in refunds than the IRS had issued during the 2025 filing season for tax year 2024,” according to the report.

The GAO provided additional figures showing that both the total amount refunded and the average payment to individual taxpayers increased significantly from the previous filing season:

“By the end of the 2026 filing season, IRS issued $296 billion in taxpayer refunds — an increase of $43 billion, or 17 percent, from 2025 (see fig. 2). The average tax refund that taxpayers received in 2026 increased by $333, or 11 percent, compared to the same period in 2025. IRS attributed these increases to millions of taxpayers claiming new deductions in 2026, such as the ‘no tax on tips’ and ‘no tax on overtime’ provisions.”

Trump had predicted months earlier that Americans would see the impact of his signature tax legislation when they filed their returns.

Asked in January about the refunds taxpayers could expect this year, Trump said, “You know, the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill just kicked in, and you’re going to see some tremendous numbers,” according to Breitbart News.

Michael Faulkender, co-chair for American Prosperity at the America First Policy Institute, argued in an April Breitbart article that Washington has too often approached taxpayers primarily as a means of generating government revenue rather than recognizing their importance to economic growth.

“too many in Washington treat taxpayers as a source of revenue rather than as the lifeblood of a thriving economy. The result has been slower investment, fewer opportunities for families, and a sense that getting ahead is harder than it should be.”

Faulkender also credited the recent changes to the tax code with creating conditions that he said would encourage investment, higher earnings and greater financial stability for American families.

“Our enactment of a pro-growth, pro-family tax code is unleashing an era of American abundance where businesses expand, paychecks rise, and hard-working Americans build real financial security.”

The White House, meanwhile, has used the larger refunds to sharpen its political criticism of congressional Democrats, accusing them of being “affordability frauds” and arguing that their tax policies would have resulted in a historic tax increase on Americans.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the latest filing-season figures demonstrate that Trump’s tax policies are allowing Americans to retain more of their income.

“As we have seen this tax season, President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts have put a historic amount of money back into the pockets of the American people this year.”

Leavitt contrasted the administration’s approach with that of Democrats in Congress, portraying the difference as a fundamental disagreement over how much of Americans’ earnings should remain in their hands.

“Democrats in Congress have proven over and over again that they are the affordability frauds who believe the government should keep more of the American people’s hard-earned money. This President and Republicans in Congress fundamentally believe that Americans deserve to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. It’s a clear contrast for American families to keep in mind,” she added.

{Matzav.com}

Tommy John, the longtime major league pitcher whose remarkable comeback from a revolutionary elbow operation forever linked his name to one of baseball’s most important surgical procedures, has died at the age of 83.

John had been receiving hospice care at his home in Bradenton, Florida, before his death.

The left-hander fashioned an extraordinary 26-season major league career, compiling 288 victories. Even more remarkably, 164 of those wins came after the elbow reconstruction that at the time was considered an unprecedented attempt to save his career.

Among pitchers from baseball’s Modern Era who are not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, only Roger Clemens, whose candidacy has been overshadowed by controversy, finished with more victories.

John was already an accomplished pitcher and had earned an All-Star selection with the Chicago White Sox before suffering the injury that would ultimately define his legacy. Pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974, he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, an injury that ordinarily spelled the end of a pitcher’s career at the time.

Dodgers team physician Dr. Frank Jobe attempted something that had never before been done on a major league pitcher, reconstructing the damaged ligament in John’s throwing elbow.

John sat out the entire 1975 season while rehabilitating, then returned to the Dodgers in 1976 and proved that he could once again pitch successfully at the major league level.

His comeback became even more impressive the following season, when John emerged as one of the National League’s premier pitchers and finished second in voting for the 1977 Cy Young Award.

In a farewell letter published online on Aug. 8 in conjunction with Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium, John expressed his enduring gratitude to the doctor who had made his second baseball life possible. Jobe, John wrote, “saved my arm and made it possible for me to continue pitching. That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers, including many of the very best in the game today.”

John was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on May 22, 1943, and attended Gerstmeyer High School. Although he received scholarship offers to play college basketball, he chose professional baseball instead, signing with Cleveland as an amateur free agent directly out of high school.

He reached the majors with the then-Cleveland Indians in 1963 at just 20 years old.

Ahead of the 1965 season, Cleveland dealt John to the White Sox. He developed into an established major league starter in Chicago and was selected as an American League All-Star in 1968.

After seven seasons with the White Sox, John was traded to the Dodgers in December 1971 in a deal that sent future Hall of Famer Dick Allen to Chicago.

“We are saddened to hear the news of Tommy John’s passing today,” Los Angeles Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said. “Tommy was an exceptional pitcher throughout his career in Major League Baseball, and his courageous role in becoming the first to have surgery that would go on to bear his name can’t be overstated. His impact both on and off the field has been felt by ballplayers of all ages and will be for generations to come.”

John faced the Yankees three times as a starting pitcher in the World Series, once with the Dodgers in 1977 and twice more in 1978. He then crossed over to the other side of the rivalry, signing with the Yankees as a free agent before the 1979 season.

His arrival in The Bronx immediately paid dividends. John won more than 20 games in each of his first two seasons with the Yankees, finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting in 1979 and fourth in 1980.

Former Yankees teammate Ron Guidry remembered John as both a gifted pitcher and an invaluable resource for those around him.

“It was great having him on the team,’’ Guidry said at Old-Timers’ Day. “He was so knowledgeable. When we were together, we were pretty much 1-2 on the staff and having him around gave me great comfort. He could talk and it was nice to have him around because he would answer any question you had and he did so much in the game.”

The Yankees traded John to the California Angels in August 1982. He remained with the Angels until being released during the 1985 season, after which he joined the Oakland Athletics.

John’s remarkable career eventually brought him back to New York. He rejoined the Yankees in 1986 and remained in The Bronx through the end of his playing days. His final major league start came in May 1989, shortly after he turned 46.

By that point, John was the oldest active player in Major League Baseball. His 26 seasons also tied Deacon McGuire’s record for the most seasons played, a mark Nolan Ryan later surpassed by playing 27 seasons.

John’s longevity produced staggering career totals. He made 700 starts, eighth-most in major league history, and threw 4,710 1/3 innings, ranking 19th on the all-time list.

Yet for all those accomplishments, his most enduring impact on baseball can be traced to one pitch on July 17, 1974.

John, then 31, was starting for the Dodgers against the Montreal Expos when he threw a pitch to Hal Breeden and immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong.

He later described feeling the “strangest sensation I had ever known…Right at the point where I put force on the pitch, the point where my arm is back and bent, something happened. It felt as if I had left my arm someplace else. It was as if my body continued to go forward and my left arm had just flown out to right field, independent of the rest of me.”

John attempted one additional pitch before Dodgers manager Walt Alston removed him from the game.

When rest and conventional treatment failed to heal the damaged elbow, Jobe approached John with the radical idea of reconstructing the ligament surgically.

Similar operations had previously been performed on hands and wrists, but never on the elbow of a pitcher whose livelihood depended upon the extraordinary stress placed on his throwing arm. In September 1974, Jobe replaced the torn ligament with a tendon taken from John’s right forearm.

John later explained that, from his perspective, there was little reason not to take the chance.

“I couldn’t pitch anymore,’’ John told The Post in 2019. “And I wanted to pitch and make a living playing baseball. If I didn’t have the surgery, I wouldn’t have been able to continue playing the game.”

The operation succeeded beyond virtually anyone’s expectations. It not only allowed John to resume pitching but eventually became a standard procedure that has prolonged or rescued the careers of generations of professional and amateur pitchers.

John nevertheless expressed concern over the years about how commonplace the surgery had become, particularly among increasingly young pitchers.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who underwent the procedure in 2025, credited John’s willingness to undergo the experimental operation with blazing a trail for the countless pitchers who followed.

“It’s weird to think about the surgery saving us, but the player had to step up to the table and do it. He had tremendous success afterwards. He was really writing the book for all of us. There’s a lot of gratitude towards him.”

When John finally returned to a major league mound at the beginning of the 1976 season, his extraordinary recovery earned him the nickname “The Bionic Man.”

His postseason career continued after he joined the Yankees. John appeared in one playoff game in 1980 and played a significant role in helping New York return to the World Series the following year. During the 1981 World Series against his old Dodgers club, he surrendered just one run across 13 innings in three appearances, although Los Angeles ultimately won the championship.

John also enjoyed notable success in shutouts during different stages of his lengthy career. He led his league in that category with the White Sox in both 1966 and 1967 and did so again with the Yankees in 1980.

Despite his 288 victories, four All-Star selections, remarkable longevity and historic impact on the sport, John never came particularly close to receiving enough votes for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

His years with the Yankees also included a terrifying ordeal away from the field. John’s 2-year-old son, Travis, was critically injured after falling from a third-story window, but survived.

The family endured another devastating tragedy decades later. John’s son Taylor died by suicide in 2010. John subsequently became involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

John remained connected to baseball after his pitching career ended. Among his post-playing roles, he worked as a broadcaster for the Yankees and Minnesota Twins and managed in the minor leagues, including a stint managing the Staten Island Yankees in 2004.

In his later years, John was diagnosed with bladder cancer. As his health declined, the baseball lifer prepared a goodbye message from hospice, reflecting on the extraordinary career and life that had followed a decision in 1974 to take a chance on an operation no major league pitcher had ever undergone before.

The surgery would carry his name for generations, but John’s own comeback remained its original success story: a pitcher who appeared to have reached the end of his career at 31 and instead returned to the mound, pitched until he was 46 and won another 164 major league games.

{Matzav.com}

The Likud party has rolled out a provocative election billboard portraying New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, casting all four as figures who want Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu defeated in Israel’s upcoming October election, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The campaign ad urges Israeli voters to “not let them win.”

Netanyahu amplified the message himself, sharing an image of the billboard on social media with the caption: “Don’t let them win.”

The billboard combines images of Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and Qassem beneath the message: “They want Netanyahu to lose, don’t let them win.”

Although some social media posts initially claimed that the advertisement had been erected in Yerushalayim, the billboard is actually located in Tel Aviv, overlooking the Ayalon Highway.

The campaign quickly prompted Netanyahu’s political rivals to produce their own altered versions of the ad, using Likud’s design and slogan to attack the prime minister.

Yashar, the party headed by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, released a version declaring: “They want the IDF to collapse, don’t let Netanyahu win.”

“Netanyahu, we fixed for you,” the accompanying post on X stated. “Only Eisenkot will establish a fully Zionist government.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s advisor Jared Kushner held direct talks with senior Hamas officials in Egypt on Sunday, pushing the terrorist group to begin taking concrete and verifiable steps toward disarmament and surrendering its control over the Gaza Strip, according to Axios, which cited two people familiar with the discussions.

The talks marked Kushner’s first meeting with Hamas officials since the agreement ending the Gaza war was signed last October. The meeting came as the White House and Trump’s Board of Peace work to move both Israel and Hamas into the next phase of the administration’s 20-point peace framework.

Following the talks in Egypt, Kushner is scheduled to travel to Israel on Monday for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One source told Axios that those discussions are expected to center on “corresponding steps” that Israel would be expected to take as the process moves forward.

Kushner was accompanied at the meeting by Board of Peace high representative Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who also serves as a member of the board.

Representing Hamas at the talks was the terrorist organization’s political leader Khalil al-Hayya. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official also took part in the meeting.

According to a source briefed on the discussions, a central objective of the meeting was to translate Hamas’ broader commitments to the demilitarization of Gaza into tangible actions that could be monitored and verified.

Among the measures discussed was the transfer of governing control in Gaza to the Palestinian technocratic government. The plan would also require Hamas to have no role in governing the territory going forward.

The Board of Peace is additionally pressing for Hamas’ weapons and military infrastructure to be decommissioned, while an International Stabilization Force would be deployed in Gaza. The framework also calls for reconstruction and recovery efforts to proceed without Hamas stealing resources or intimidating Palestinians participating in the rebuilding process.

The report said the board is simultaneously seeking Israeli withdrawals from additional areas of Gaza as Hamas begins implementing disarmament, along with an accelerated flow of humanitarian assistance into the territory.

“There can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure. And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel,” a source told Axios.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli police on Sunday disclosed new details about the weeklong international search for Mali and Liel Yahalomi, saying investigators initially feared the mother and daughter had been kidnapped before evidence increasingly pointed to a deliberately planned disappearance. The two were ultimately located in Argentina.

Tali Bankin, who heads an Interpol unit within the Israel Police, discussed the behind-the-scenes investigation in an interview with Kol Berama, describing how authorities gradually changed their assessment of the case as new information emerged.

Bankin said that when the pair first disappeared and could not be contacted, investigators treated the situation as a potential abduction.

“The initial working assumption was that this was an abduction incident. Later, we understood that it was a planned event,” she said.

As police worked to reconstruct Mali and Liel’s movements, Bankin said investigators also had to contend with a flood of unverified claims and speculation surrounding their disappearance, making it more difficult to establish a clear picture of what had occurred.

“There was a lot of fake news that created confusion. We tried to calm the situation,” she said, adding that once police determined that the disappearance had been intentional, “things were clearer in our work with the media.”

The investigation took a decisive turn several days ago when authorities received information indicating that Mali and Liel had traveled to Argentina. That development caused investigators to redirect the international search toward South America.

“The center of gravity then moved to South America,” Bankin said.

According to Bankin, Mali and Liel may not have realized just how extensive the search for them had become while they remained out of contact.

“I don’t think they knew about all the search efforts; they were cut off from contact,” she said.

The operation involved substantial resources and extensive international coordination as Israeli authorities attempted to determine what had happened to the pair and whether they were in danger.

“A lot of money from Israel was spent on the search,” Bankin said.

Once Mali and Liel were found and authorities established that they were safe, Bankin said the police’s role in the matter concluded.

{Matzav.com}

A new Chareidi political party centered on the battle against the drafting of yeshiva bochurim is reportedly being formed ahead of the upcoming elections, in a development that could pose a challenge to both Shas and United Torah Judaism.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 13, Chareidi political figure Moti Babchik met last week with a group of rabbonim who have taken a firm position against the draft, as discussions continue over the establishment of the new party.

The fledgling movement is currently operating under the name “Black Ink,” according to the report, and would make opposition to the conscription of bnei yeshivos into the IDF a central element of its platform.

Another primary objective would be the restoration of an arrangement allowing yeshiva bochurim and avreichim to continue learning Torah full-time while receiving deferments from military service, without financial or other sanctions being imposed upon those who do not enlist.

The effort is said to include rabbonim and roshei yeshiva representing various segments of the Chareidi community.

The organizers have reportedly commissioned extensive polling that they believe shows substantial potential support for the new party. According to the findings, tens of thousands of voters could back the movement, including younger Chareidim as well as people who previously cast their ballots for existing Chareidi parties.

Should the effort ultimately result in a new party running in the elections, it could reshape the Chareidi political landscape and present both Shas and United Torah Judaism with a new competitor for voters who believe the existing parties have not gone far enough in protecting the status of bnei yeshivos and preserving their ability to learn Torah without the threat of conscription.

Other sources, however, have downplayed the significance of the initiative, saying that support for the proposed party appears to be minimal and that it is unlikely to make substantial inroads among Chareidi voters. According to those assessments, even if the party ultimately runs, it may draw only limited support from the established Chareidi parties and have little, if any, meaningful effect on the overall political landscape.

{Matzav.com}

The House’s progressive “Squad” could emerge from November’s midterm elections twice as large as it is today, potentially giving the far-left bloc significantly greater leverage over Democratic priorities and legislation in the next Congress, the NY Post reports.

A string of victories by left-wing candidates in Democratic primaries around the country has positioned several new figures to enter the House next year, with many running in heavily Democratic districts where victory in November is considered highly likely.

The group, which currently numbers roughly seven members, could grow to as many as 14.

Two of the candidates considered almost certain to join Congress hail from New York City, the political home of “Squad” founder Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Claire Valdez, who has called for nationwide rent control if elected, cruised to victory in the June Democratic primary for New York’s 7th Congressional District. Because of the district’s overwhelming Democratic advantage, Valdez is heavily favored in November. The district includes Bushwick and other sections of Brooklyn that have increasingly become a center of far-left political activism.

Another likely newcomer is Darializa Chevalier, 32, who participated in an anti-Israel demonstration one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Chevalier has previously argued that the United States has committed atrocities worse than those committed by Hamas and has made comments blaming American policies for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Chevalier prevailed in her June Democratic primary and is widely expected to capture New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Harlem.

A number of other left-wing candidates around the country could also swell the Squad’s ranks.

Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old socialist in Colorado who would become the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress, defeated a 15-term Democratic incumbent. Her upset drew comparisons to Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning 2018 primary victory over longtime Queens Rep. Joe Crowley.

In New Jersey, Adam Hamawy, a 56-year-old Princeton plastic surgeon endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, captured the Democratic nomination in a district that strongly favors his party. Hamawy also has the backing of Justice Democrats, the progressive organization that played a major role in Ocasio-Cortez’s rise. While a medical student, Hamawy traveled with Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” who was later convicted in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot.

Texas pastor Frederick Haynes, 65, handily captured his Democratic primary in March. Haynes, who also received the support of Justice Democrats, has sought to stake out positions to the left of Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

In Philadelphia, Chris Rabb, 56, defeated establishment-supported opponents in one of the most Democratic congressional districts in America. Rabb, who calls himself a Democratic Socialist and has described himself as a “radical” and “rabble-rouser,” received endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. Among the policies he has supported are government-operated grocery stores. With no Republican candidate challenging him, Rabb is effectively assured of winning the seat.

Michigan activist William Lawrence, 36, also secured his party’s nomination. Lawrence co-founded the progressive Sunrise Movement and previously praised controversial streamer Hasan Piker, telling him, “You’re the man!” Unlike many of the other prospective Squad additions, however, Lawrence is competing in a swing district where the November outcome remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, traders on the prediction market Polymarket have placed Democrats’ chances of winning control of the House at 88%.

If Democrats do capture the chamber, a substantially enlarged Squad could become an important voting bloc capable of influencing whether major legislation advances or collapses. Its members could also push initiatives such as abolishing ICE or pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Trump, causes embraced by members of the original Squad.

One former House leadership aide predicted that the enlarged group would remain unwilling to bend on its priorities.

“They will not compromise,” the former aide said.

Its growth could also pull the broader Democratic caucus further to the left, according to longtime Republican strategist Doug Heye.

“It’s becoming a bigger part of the party,” Heye told The Post. “They will be the loudest voices pushing for impeachment,” he said of the radical group.

The term “Squad” dates back to the aftermath of the 2018 midterm elections. Ocasio-Cortez posted an Instagram photograph of herself with fellow incoming Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts during freshman orientation, captioning the picture simply “Squad.”

The nickname quickly became permanently associated with the four progressive lawmakers.

The group subsequently became embroiled in a high-profile dispute with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following controversy over Omar comparing the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban. President Trump also repeatedly invoked the Squad label while attacking the lawmakers and arguing that they were driving Democrats sharply to the left.

“The ‘Squad’ is a very racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart. They are pulling the once great Democrat Party far left,” he wrote in one series of tweets that June.

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Tommy Tuberville says ChatGPT has become a regular companion during lengthy drives across Alabama, with the Republican senator using the AI chatbot to discuss topics including Medicare and Medicaid while listening to its spoken responses from behind the wheel.

Tuberville, who is seeking the Alabama governorship, told The Washington Post that he turns to ChatGPT during long car trips to ask questions and learn more about complicated policy matters.

“It’s kind of like you can sit there and talk to an expert,” Tuberville said. “You don’t know whether or not they’re 100 percent correct. But they put you on the right path.”

Tuberville is far from the only member of Congress making use of artificial intelligence. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has advocated imposing a tax related to AI, said she has used ChatGPT to research demographic information.

Both chambers of Congress have moved over the past year to permit lawmakers and congressional staff to use certain approved AI chatbots for official work. Among the platforms authorized are Copilot, ChatGPT and Gemini, while the House has also permitted use of Claude.

An analysis by CNBC of House spending records found that ChatGPT remains the most widely purchased paid AI tool in the chamber. The analysis also found that spending on the technology by Democratic offices was three times higher than spending by Republicans.

Some lawmakers have taken a relatively permissive approach toward how their staffs employ generative AI. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), for example, downplayed controversy after a member of her staff inserted an answer generated by Claude into the public record associated with the National Defense Authorization Act.

“A lot of staff will use ChatGPT, Claude, Grok. I personally like Grok better, but my staffer prefers Claude. I’m not gonna knock him for that. There’s nothing illegal about him doing a summary,” she stated.

The Congressional Research Service has also examined how artificial intelligence could be used by Congress and federal agencies, identifying possible applications “including for office tasks such as creating and summarizing content, writing speeches, and drafting bills.”

At the same time, the Congressional Research Service has cautioned that generative AI carries significant potential drawbacks, including “confabulation or hallucination,” which “might lead to the tools generating and amplifying misinformation or being used to create and spread disinformation.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has taken a more structured approach, working with her staff to establish rules and training governing the use of artificial intelligence. Her office has been instructed to employ the technology only to “enhance and streamline” its work.

“We didn’t want to prohibit the use of the newest tools,” Slotkin said. “But we also didn’t want absolute schlock showing up in my memos.”

{Matzav.com}

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro says Secretary of State Marco Rubio is unlikely to challenge Vice President JD Vance for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, arguing that entering such a contest would carry significant political risks for Rubio regardless of the outcome.

During a podcast interview with Patrick Bet-David released Wednesday, Shapiro described Rubio as a “very risk-averse politician” and laid out several scenarios that he believes could convince the secretary of state to stay out of the race.

“If you’re Marco and you’re … gaming out what the next few years look like for you, here are your choices: Run against JD, you lose, you’re done,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro argued that even defeating Vance in a Republican primary could leave Rubio facing a difficult general-election environment, while staying on the sidelines could preserve his prospects for the future.

“You run against JD, you win, it’s a rough election cycle anyway because the president’s riding in the 30s and the country’s in the mood for ‘something new’ and you lose, you’re done,” Shapiro continued. “You don’t run, JD may pick you as his VP candidate, JD loses, you’re next. JD does not pick you and JD loses, you’re also next.”

Based on that calculation, Shapiro said he believes “Rubio will not run out of risk aversion” and added that he would put his “money on Vance” if the two were faced with a potential 2028 showdown.

Neither Vance nor Rubio has announced plans to seek the presidency in 2028, and both are currently serving in senior positions in the Trump administration. Speculation about their political futures, however, has continued to build well ahead of the next presidential campaign.

President Trump has himself fueled talk of a possible Vance-Rubio ticket, previously describing the pair as a “dream team” for a future presidential campaign.

“I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate,” Trump told reporters in May, while declining to say which of the two he envisioned at the top of the ticket.

Vance subsequently dismissed suggestions that there was political friction between himself and Rubio, saying their relationship had become exceptionally close while emphasizing that neither should be focused on the 2028 campaign at this stage of the administration.

“I love Marco. I think he’s a great Secretary of State,” Vance said. “He’s become a very, very dear friend, but I think both of us are very much focused on accomplishing the American people’s business right now.

“If I was the American people, there are few things that I would hate more than a person who’s barely been in office a year-and-a-half who’s angling for a job two-and-a-half years down the road,” he continued. “Let’s do a good job now. We are, we’ve just got to keep at it.”

{Matzav.com}

Congressional Democrats are lashing out at the Trump administration over plans by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to purchase thousands of gloves capable of delivering painful electrical shocks, arguing that the agency should not be equipped with another use-of-force device amid scrutiny of recent encounters involving ICE personnel.

ICE disclosed Monday that it intends to spend as much as $20 million acquiring a device known as G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.

The agency described the technology in its acquisition notice as a “distraction and de-escalation device,” but Democratic lawmakers pointed to recent violent and fatal encounters involving ICE officers as they questioned why agents should receive an additional tool capable of inflicting pain.

“Senate Republicans had the opportunity to rein in ICE and CBP, they refused. Instead they handed DHS BILLIONS more of your tax dollars without any constraint after the shooting and killing individuals in the streets. Now, ICE is looking to purchase electrical shock gloves to continue terrorizing our communities,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote on the social platform X.

“How soon will they be used to inflict further cruelty?”

The controversy follows two recent fatal shootings involving ICE officers in Texas and Maine, as well as the emergence of video showing an ICE officer pointing a firearm at a woman in Virginia.

The Virginia woman, who is a U.S. citizen, said she possessed video contradicting the officer’s allegation that she had attempted to strike ICE personnel with her vehicle.

“ICE agents shoot innocent people. They pepper spray innocent people. And now the Trump administration wants to spend $20 MILLION to give them gloves to tase people. This is insanity,” Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee wrote on X.

“ICE does not need another weapon.”

Compliant Technologies, the company behind the gloves, includes a series of restrictions and warnings in its instructional material, cautioning that improper use could result in “injury or death.”

Although the manufacturer says the gloves are not considered dangerous when used on healthy individuals, its guidance advises against their use on pregnant women and elderly people. It also warns that individuals may have “underlying medical conditions that may or may not be easily discernable with casual observation.”

The company additionally instructs officers to “always give the subject(s) a reasonable opportunity to comply before force is used.”

ICE defended its decision to pursue the technology but did not directly answer questions about what specific rules would govern use of the gloves or whether agents would be required to follow all of the manufacturer’s recommendations. Instead, the agency pointed to its existing use-of-force policy and said officers “regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”

“ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country. Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the agency said in a statement.

The electrical charge requires direct contact with a person’s skin and cannot penetrate clothing. The manufacturer’s instructions also explicitly prohibit using the gloves merely in response to “verbal defiance” or employing them as punishment or torture.

White House border czar Tom Homan portrayed the technology as an option that could fall between lesser and more serious uses of force.

“Look, it’s another device to help someone be compliant, whether or not — you know, you just can’t go from zero to 100, right?” he said during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday.

Homan said there was no immediate timetable for deploying the gloves. He also suggested the technology might be better suited for detention centers, where officers generally have more information about the individuals they are dealing with, rather than encounters involving members of the public.

“There’s a lot of training involved. There’s still some background issues that need to be dealt with. So the implementation of these gloves out in the field are going to be a while. I think they serve a better purpose in detention facility, where detainees get out of control and there’s fights in the facility,” Homan said.

“So we’ll see. Still, the training protocol is being written and being reviewed. Then we’ll see when they get rolled out.”

Democratic lawmakers nevertheless portrayed the planned purchase as another example of what they say is excessive and abusive immigration enforcement.

“As if assaulting people and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough. Now, they’re spending $20 million of YOUR taxpayer dollars on painful electric shock gloves for their masked, lawless goons,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) wrote on X.

“This is just not the government people want. A government so sadistic and cruel that it delights in using your hard earned tax dollars to buy gloves that shock people upon contact,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on X.

The recent encounter involving Virginia resident Carolina Molina has also become part of the debate over whether ICE personnel can be trusted to use the devices appropriately.

Video Molina posted to social media begins with an ICE officer aiming a gun through her open vehicle window and accusing her of attempting to run over agents. Molina responds that they are “full of s—” and says she has dashcam footage that would disprove the allegation.

When Molina tells the officer that she is an American citizen, the agent threatens to arrest her and responds, “I don’t care.”

“Electroshock gloves to be worn by ICE agents. Masked agents pulling a gun on a U.S. citizen. We can’t keep funding agencies that encourage this kind of behavior in their ranks,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) wrote on X, also pointing to recent deaths at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said during a Wednesday press conference that her office is examining the planned purchase to determine whether there could be grounds for legal action.

James also warned that if anyone in New York is injured through use of the gloves, she would be prepared to pursue the matter in court.

“Of course, we are outraged, and in the event that a New Yorker is injured as a result of these gloves, obviously there will be a private right of action as well as action from the state of New York,” she told reporters.

“You can best be assured of that.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump on Friday night escalated his attacks on the nonprofit organization challenging his White House ballroom project in court, accusing the National Trust for Historic Preservation of disclosing sensitive military information through its lawsuit and arguing that the massive construction project is essential to presidential security.

“These are the TREASONISTS that brought the suit against the Military Complex,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “They revealed Top Military Secrets!”

Trump also denounced the National Trust for Historic Preservation as “very bad for our Country.”

“They stop many projects that are worthy, and hurt many others,” he continued. “In this case, they are trying to stop one that is vital to our National Security, and the Safety of all Presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and Cabinet members.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Trump’s latest allegations.

The president’s broadside came hours after the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn a lower-court order blocking portions of construction on the White House ballroom project.

The lower-court ruling prevents above-ground construction from proceeding but does not halt work on underground security infrastructure connected to the project.

Plans for the approximately 90,000-square-foot ballroom extend well beyond the event space itself. The proposal includes major security components, among them an underground military complex, a medical facility and a rooftop drone port.

The overall project is projected to cost roughly $600 million, with at least some of the expense expected to be borne by taxpayers.

The Trump administration has maintained that the construction is not merely an expansion of White House entertaining space but an important national-security project designed in part to better protect the president against potential assassination attempts and other threats.

Trump emphasized Friday that the underground and above-ground portions of the project cannot effectively be separated, arguing that each component depends on the other.

The “lower section does not work without the upper section, and likewise, the upper section does not work without the lower,” Trump wrote.

“It is all one highly integrated unit,” he added.

The National Trust, meanwhile, sharply criticized the administration’s emergency request to the Supreme Court, describing the filing as “audacious” and accusing the administration of attempting to circumvent judicial oversight.

“The Administration’s transparent efforts to evade the rule of law, frustrate judicial review, and limit the availability of meaningful relief in the courts must stop here,” the nonprofit said. “The Supreme Court should deny the Administration’s demand that it be allowed to continue Ballroom construction while it appeals.”

{Matzav.com}

An Israeli emergency delegation led by the IDF Home Front Command has begun search, rescue and recovery operations in Colombia following the powerful earthquake that struck the country last week.

The delegation, dubbed “Brit Achim,” arrived in Colombia on Friday as part of a joint mission involving the IDF Home Front Command, Israel’s Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry, according to a joint statement issued by the IDF and Foreign Ministry.

The Israeli forces arrived shortly after Colombia renewed diplomatic relations with Israel and were quickly deployed to some of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Colombia, led by Ambassador Alon Lavi, made advance preparations for the mission, arranging the diplomatic and logistical support necessary for the Israeli personnel to operate in the disaster zone.

Immediately after landing, members of the delegation began coordinating with Colombian authorities and local emergency professionals before deploying to several locations where buildings had collapsed.

Israeli personnel are currently operating at two major destruction sites, working alongside numerous local volunteers in efforts to locate and rescue people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

At a university hospital in the city that sustained significant earthquake damage, engineers from the IDF Home Front Command are working together with Colombian professionals on a particularly complex engineering operation.

The Israeli engineers are providing guidance on how to safely clear the wreckage in an effort to enable rescuers to reach anyone who may remain trapped while also working toward making the damaged section of the hospital usable again.

At the same time, the Israeli delegation and local authorities have begun surveying and categorizing buildings damaged in the earthquake. The assessments are intended to provide officials with a clearer picture of the scope and severity of the destruction and help determine which locations should receive priority attention.

Members of the delegation are also assisting Colombian officials in establishing a data-management system that will provide emergency authorities with an organized, updated overview of conditions across the affected areas and help officials make decisions as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

The Israeli mission is expected to remain on the ground, providing Colombia with Israel’s extensive experience, expertise and technological capabilities in disaster response and urban search and rescue.

Officials said the delegation will continue working alongside Colombian authorities for as long as necessary, with the primary goals of saving lives, locating survivors and assisting the country as it deals with the devastating aftermath of the earthquake.

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As previously reported, Mali and Liel Yahalomi, the Israeli mother and daughter whose disappearance triggered an intensive international search, were located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Shabbos, where they told authorities that they had left voluntarily and wanted to distance themselves from their family and Israel.

The two were questioned by Argentine authorities in the presence of an Israel Police representative and were subsequently released after investigators found no indication that a crime had been committed. However, Israeli police officials say significant questions remain unanswered and believe the two did not disclose the full story behind their disappearance.

According to information uncovered during the investigation, Mali and Liel had apparently planned their disappearance in advance due to personal circumstances connected to financial matters. Investigators also believe Argentina was not necessarily intended to be their final destination and that the two had planned to continue to another country.

Channel 12 published excerpts from the initial questioning conducted shortly after the two were found, revealing a brief exchange between the women and an Argentine police officer identified as Walter.

“What happened?” the officer asked.

“We just want to disconnect from the family, from the country,” Mali and Liel responded.

The officer then asked, “Is someone threatening you? Trying to extort you?”

“No, no one,” they replied.

Asked whether they were fleeing because of financial debts, the two again denied it, adding, “We just want to leave everything.”

Despite those answers, Israeli investigators remain uncertain about the precise circumstances that led Mali and Liel to abruptly disappear and travel across several countries without informing their family.

A senior Israel Police official said investigators had hoped to conduct a much more extensive interrogation after the two were located.

“We very much wanted to question them thoroughly and deeply, because we do not fully understand the motive. Unfortunately, the Argentine police told us: ‘You do not have the authority to conduct the type of investigation you want to carry out.’”

As a result, Israeli authorities were limited to a relatively brief series of questions and answers.

“Therefore, we had to make do with their brief questions and answers. They cooperated, but our feeling is that they did not tell the full story. The bottom line is that they claim they left Israel of their own free will,” the official said.

Their discovery brought an end to a massive weeklong international search that involved hundreds of Israeli investigators and law enforcement agencies across several countries.

At the direction of Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy, special command centers were established in Israel and abroad and operated around the clock. Approximately 300 investigators were involved simultaneously, with Israeli authorities working alongside Europol and police agencies in other countries.

As the investigation progressed, the case was transferred to the Israel Police’s National Fraud Investigations Unit at Lahav 433. Investigators increasingly concluded that the disappearance was unlikely to have involved a kidnapping or an attack motivated by terrorism or nationalism.

The first significant indication of the pair’s whereabouts emerged on Friday evening and ultimately led authorities to Buenos Aires.

Evidence gathered by investigators reportedly indicates that Mali and Liel had prepared for their disappearance in advance. Among the evidence was a cellphone exchange between mother and daughter that appeared to show Liel willingly participating in her mother’s plans.

“I will go with you anywhere,” Liel wrote to her mother, according to the report.

Investigators also uncovered additional indications of advance planning. Mali and Liel allegedly deleted applications from their cellphones and took other measures apparently intended to make it more difficult for authorities to track their movements.

Authorities also discovered that the two had used the Gemini app and asked questions that investigators believe may have been connected to planning their route and journey.

Investigators reportedly suspect that Mali had made several previous trips abroad in an effort to familiarize herself with locations and prepare for the eventual departure.

Security camera footage from Vienna provided another significant clue. The footage showed Mali and Liel leaving the apartment where they had been staying while carrying all of their personal belongings. No other individual was visible accompanying them, strengthening investigators’ assessment that the two had departed voluntarily rather than being taken against their will.

Their movements ultimately took them out of Austria and onward to Argentina, where authorities were able to locate them.

An Israel Police official said the representative who met with the women confirmed that they were safe and did not appear to be under coercion.

“The two left of their own free will. The police representative verified that their lives were not in danger, that they were not being threatened, and that they could continue on their way,” the official said.

Investigators have nevertheless not closed every avenue of inquiry. Authorities reportedly believe it remains possible that another individual provided Mali and Liel with guidance or assistance during their journey, though that possibility has not yet been established and remains under investigation.

For now, the central mystery surrounding their physical whereabouts has been resolved: Mali and Liel are alive, were found in Argentina, and have told authorities that they left voluntarily.

What remains unresolved is why they went to such lengths to disappear, whether anyone assisted them, and why they chose to abruptly sever contact with their family and country — questions Israeli investigators say the brief questioning in Argentina did not fully answer.

{Matzav.com}

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci of deliberately misleading Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying newly revealed private communications show a stark divide between what the longtime infectious disease official was saying behind closed doors and what he was telling the public.

“He knew that he was lying, and there was something about his character that made him feel that that was okay,” Kennedy said Friday during an appearance on “The Alex Marlow Show.”

Kennedy, who authored a highly critical book about Fauci before becoming a member of the Trump administration, said the newly disclosed material largely reinforced conclusions he had already reached. Still, he said seeing Fauci’s private remarks placed alongside his public pronouncements was “really bracing.”

“There was just this massive delta between what he was telling himself every day and then what he was telling the country,” Kennedy said.

The HHS secretary further charged that Fauci became enamored with the public attention he received during the pandemic, pointing to what Kennedy characterized as Fauci’s “vanity” and “giddiness” about his newfound celebrity status.

“It was all, ‘Make people do what we want them to do,’ and then, you know, enjoy the fame,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s broadside comes as congressional Republicans renew their scrutiny of Fauci and his actions during the pandemic.

Fauci on Friday rejected a request to voluntarily appear before Sen. Ron Johnson’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. His attorney contended that subjecting Fauci to another appearance would “impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes.”

The refusal followed a combative July 29 Senate hearing during which Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination approximately 100 times.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee later voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, potentially clearing the way for the matter to be referred to the Justice Department.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of Fauci’s most persistent congressional critics, has argued that Fauci should not be allowed to rely on the Fifth Amendment when questioned about actions covered by President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardon.

Fauci’s legal team has countered that even with the pardon in place, answers he provides in new testimony could potentially expose him to additional legal jeopardy.

Kennedy conceded that Biden’s pardon presents a significant hurdle to any effort by the Trump administration to pursue criminal charges against Fauci over his actions during the pandemic.

“The problem with prosecuting Dr. Fauci is that the Biden administration gave him a full pardon,” Kennedy said. “So it makes it difficult.”

Kennedy’s acknowledgment highlights the practical obstacle facing Republicans who have spent years demanding that Fauci be held legally accountable for alleged wrongdoing.

Although Paul and other Republicans have repeatedly called for Fauci to face prosecution, Biden’s preemptive pardon has made the prospect of building a criminal case based on Fauci’s pandemic-era conduct considerably more complicated.

Kennedy maintained, however, that the importance of the newly disclosed Fauci communications goes well beyond the question of whether the longtime National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director can ever face criminal prosecution.

The HHS secretary said restoring Americans’ confidence in federal public health institutions will require officials to be candid about uncertainty rather than presenting unsettled questions as established facts. Government officials, he argued, must be willing to clearly distinguish between what they know and what remains unknown.

“It’s absolutely critical that people believe the government agencies when they say something,” Kennedy said.

“And that means that the government agencies have to trust the people and trust that they can tell them the truth.”