The Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday morning that Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, 21, from Hayogev, was killed during combat operations in Gaza.
Yafe was a member of the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit and was fatally wounded while operating in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Preliminary findings suggest that he was struck by friendly fire amid activity in Khan Yunis.
The incident took place at approximately 2:00 a.m. in the area known as the “yellow line” in southern Gaza. Two separate forces from the Paratroopers Brigade were engaged in a standard mission to search and secure buildings. During the course of the operation, one unit mistakenly believed the other to be a hostile force.
As a result of the misidentification, shots were fired at the second unit, leaving Staff Sergeant Yafe critically injured. Medical personnel were rushed to the scene and began evacuating him, but he was pronounced dead during transport before reaching the hospital. The IDF has opened a comprehensive investigation to determine exactly how the fatal error occurred.
Yafe is the fifth Israeli soldier to lose his life in Gaza since the ceasefire that began on October 10, 2025. The others killed in Gaza during this period were Major Yaniv Kula, Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, Master Sergeant (Res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum, and Sergeant Major (Res.) Asael Babad.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, 925 IDF soldiers have fallen. In total, 2,013 people have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities.
{Matzav.com}
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The Stoliner Rebbe sharply denounced the recent unrest in Bnei Brak, expressing deep anguish over the violence and particularly over reports that tefillin and a siddur were burned during the disturbances.
Speaking to his chassidim in a special address marking Rosh Chodesh Adar, the Rebbe addressed the events that took place in the city.
“We all heard with shock what happened two days ago in Bnei Brak. To our shame, these riots have become somewhat of a norm, and this is something terrible,” the Rebbe said.
He acknowledged the strain facing many in the chareidi community but stressed that hardship does not justify lawlessness.
“It is true that we are in a very difficult situation, many in the chareidi public are going through a challenging period and do not know how this will be resolved. But none of this justifies behaving in a wild and reckless manner.”
The Rebbe emphasized that throughout Jewish history, even in times of suffering, there was never any license to violate halacha.
“Throughout the generations we endured troubles and difficult times, and we never found any permission to act against clear halacha, against the Shulchan Aruch. It is forbidden to cause damage, it is forbidden to burn. We have the Torah and we have halacha above all. It is absolutely forbidden to harm others or damage property. Not garbage bins and not other objects — these are clear matters. How did we deteriorate to this point? Who permitted this?”
He also criticized the blocking of roads during the protests, pointing out the potential danger and hardship such actions can cause.
“And it is not only forbidden to cause damage — what permission is there to block roads and prevent the public from reaching their destinations, including cases involving danger to life, and causing distress to many? What has happened to us? Does this help anyone? It certainly does not add to ahavas Yisrael. This only harms and injures our own community. We are the ones who suffer from this without having done anything wrong.”
The Rebbe said the most disturbing aspect of the events was the reported burning of tashmishei kedusha.
“And what should shake all of us is that tefillin and a siddur were burned. Heaven forbid. If this had happened elsewhere, the entire Jewish world would be outraged and horrified. How did we reach such a dreadful situation that tefillin and a holy siddur were burned by Jewish hands? Where is our Jewish feeling? How low have we fallen? Have we completely lost our minds?!”
He concluded by calling for introspection and change.
“This decline must be stopped. We must conduct a serious accounting of the soul, correct what is required of us, and act according to the will of the Creator, may He be blessed — in all your ways know Him.”
{Matzav.com}
Knesset Member Michael Malkieli sharply criticized police conduct following the recent riots in Bnei Brak, accusing law enforcement of excessive force and staging what he described as a public relations display.
In an interview on an Israeli news broadcast, Malkieli addressed the violence that erupted in the city, stressing that the position of gedolei Yisrael is unequivocal. “Gedolei Yisrael, the roshei yeshiva, issued very, very clear letters that our path is not one of violence — certainly not to burn things and not to go out to uncontrolled protests — and we condemn every type of violence,” he said. At the same time, he argued that this condemnation does not justify what he characterized as harsh police behavior.
Malkieli recounted that even before police forces entered Bnei Brak, residents had contacted him expressing concern about how officers would act. “People called and said, look, we have experience with the Israel Police, and it’s clear to us that now the police will want to put on a show,” he said. According to Malkieli, the police response was disproportionate. “It cannot be that they come and beat people who are not connected, take people into custody who are not connected to the incident.” He added that he has submitted a parliamentary motion and intends to demand explanations. “I expect the police to restore order, but they behaved there in a brutal manner.”
Addressing claims of selective enforcement, Malkieli reinforced his criticism. “Absolutely. Not only selective enforcement — there is a show here that the Israel Police put on for television to show that it is also doing something.”
Turning to developments surrounding the draft law, Malkieli said that gedolei Yisrael instructed representatives to continue negotiations rather than sever dialogue. “The instruction was unequivocal to do everything,” he said, describing ongoing cooperation with the committee chairman and legal advisers. He maintained that there is no political barrier to passing the legislation if an agreed-upon text is finalized. “The Prime Minister, the coalition chairman, say — when there is a version acceptable to you, it will have 61 fingers in the Knesset.” Still, he acknowledged the process has been marked by frustration and setbacks.
Malkieli also voiced serious concern about High Court involvement in matters relating to the Kosel. He argued that even when the Knesset enacts legislation, judicial intervention remains unpredictable. “We already don’t know, once there is legislation, what the court will do with that legislation. We have already seen very major laws in the Knesset that the court struck and put into storage.” In his view, this reflects a broader pattern of interference in sensitive issues.
As another example, he cited the authority of rabbinical courts. “The court stripped them of the authority, in an arbitrary, crude and inconsiderate manner, to adjudicate monetary cases.” He noted that a bill to expand those powers has advanced in the Constitution Committee but cautioned, “You don’t know what the High Court will do, you have no idea.” He described the situation as marked by “arrogance” and as undermining the dignity of Israel’s dayanim.
On the issue of funding for chareidi educational institutions following a conditional order from the High Court, Malkieli again attacked what he sees as judicial overreach. “The High Court behaves like the last member of the opposition in a Knesset committee,” he said. He emphasized that these schools serve tax-paying citizens. “Are we second-class citizens? Are we residents here? Where did we come from?” He concluded with a broader critique: “We were taught that the people are sovereign. The court was not taught that.”
{Matzav.com}
Taxpayers are seeing larger refunds at the start of this year’s filing season, with early Internal Revenue Service data showing the average refund climbing 10.9 percent compared to the same point last year.
As of Feb. 6, the typical refund stands at $2,290, up from $2,065 during the comparable period in 2025.
The IRS indicated that the average is likely to increase further in the coming weeks because the current totals do not yet reflect millions of refunds connected to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).
Changes enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump, are expected to increase refunds for many Americans this year. An analysis referenced by the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee projects that some filers could receive as much as $1,000 more.
At this stage, the average refund is $225 higher than it was a year ago, and that difference may expand as additional returns are processed.
The Bipartisan Policy Center cautioned in a January report that early-season figures can be misleading, pointing to past years when refunds initially appeared lower before rising as the filing period progressed.
The 2026 tax season officially began on Jan. 26. By Feb. 6, the IRS had processed roughly 22.3 million returns. That total is 5 percent below last year’s pace but accounts for only 14 percent of the 164 million filings the agency anticipates receiving.
In the previous filing year, the average refund amounted to $3,167, with approximately 63 percent of taxpayers receiving a payment. According to the IRS, most people who file electronically can expect to receive their refund within 21 days.
More than 7.4 million refunds had been distributed as of Feb. 6, compared to 8.1 million at the same point last year — an 8.1 percent decline.
The deadline to file federal income taxes is April 15.
It is typical for the average refund amount to fluctuate early in the season before increasing as more returns are completed.
One reason for that pattern is that the IRS is prohibited from issuing refunds tied to returns claiming the EITC or ACTC until after Feb. 15. In addition, returns filed by higher-income taxpayers, which tend to be more complex, often take longer to prepare and submit.
Data reviewed by the Bipartisan Policy Center shows that in recent years, the average refund has often surged in mid-February before leveling off somewhat as Tax Day approaches.
The IRS publishes the average refund in its weekly statistics rather than the median amount, meaning unusually large refunds can influence the overall figure.
President Trump has described this year’s filing period as potentially “the largest tax refund season of all time,” citing more than 100 revisions to the tax code included in his 2025 legislation.
Individual refund totals will vary widely, however.
Measures such as an increased standard deduction, an expanded Child Tax Credit and a new deduction for seniors are expected to lower tax liabilities by several hundred dollars for tens of millions of households, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Other provisions are forecast to generate savings in the thousands for a narrower segment of taxpayers, including certain employees who earn tips or overtime pay.
Principal Asset Management, an international investment firm, estimates that the average refund could climb by nearly $700 to about $3,800 per filer in 2026.
The firm projects that middle- and higher-income households will benefit the most, potentially receiving around $1,000 more on average. Lower-income households, many of whom already owe little or no federal income tax, may see smaller increases — often less than $100 in additional refunds.
A newly filed bill in Congress is proposing a different solution to the long-running daylight saving time debate, calling for clocks to move ahead by 30 minutes permanently rather than by a full hour.
The Daylight Act of 2026, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), would shift clocks forward by half an hour from their current setting and eliminate the twice-a-year time changes altogether.
Sleep specialists caution that even a 30-minute adjustment could carry health consequences, though they acknowledge it would be less disruptive than a full-hour change. Experts say that any permanent move forward may still negatively affect long-term well-being.
“Medically, a half hour delay would be less harmful than a full hour delay of permanent daylight saving time and would have the benefit of ending the biannual change,” Dr. Karin Johnson, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, told Nexstar via email.
Still, Johnson noted that such a change would reduce exposure to morning sunlight, which researchers generally consider beneficial. She also warned that a half-hour system could complicate daily scheduling. Permanent standard time would prevent “the confusion of trying to sync schedules that are offset by a half hour,” she said.
Jay Pea, president of the nonprofit Save Standard Time, agreed, emphasizing that “the design of Standard Time (when aligned properly to longitude) is to minimize misalignment between clocks and the sun to within 30 minutes or fewer.”
Pea also raised concerns about logistical challenges, pointing to the “unintended complications for technology, transportation, and business.”
Those complications would be particularly significant for international coordination. Time zones function on a global scale, not just within the United States. For instance, when it is 3 p.m. in New York City, it is also 3 p.m. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Lima, Peru.
Although regions may use different names for their time zones — Eastern Time in New York and Quebec, Peru Time in Lima — they are structured according to their offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the worldwide 24-hour clock system often referred to as Zulu time, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Eastern Time and Peru Time operate at -5 UTC, meaning they are five hours behind Greenwich, near London, where the modern time zone system was established in the 19th century.
Most time zones differ by whole hours — Central Time is one hour behind Eastern Time, for example — though there are exceptions. Afghanistan follows Afghanistan Time, which is +4.5 UTC. When it is 3 p.m. in New York, it is 12:30 a.m. in Kabul. Iran uses a time zone one hour behind Afghanistan, making it 11:30 p.m. there when it is 3 p.m. in New York.
“I appreciate the congressman’s willingness to explore alternatives to [permanent daylight saving time]. However, [permanent standard time] remains both the simplest solution and the true compromise between ‘fast’ and ‘slow time,’ as supported by health science, historical precedence, and first principles,” Pea said, in part, in a statement to Nexstar.
Other Florida lawmakers are pushing a different approach through the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. If enacted, clocks would move forward in March and remain unchanged throughout the year.
Steube has previously voiced support for permanent daylight saving time. Last year, he wrote on X that “it’s time to end this pointless ritual.” In November, he submitted a discharge petition seeking to bring the House version of the Sunshine Protection Act to the floor for a vote.
The Senate attempted to expedite its own version of the Sunshine Protection Act last October, but the effort ultimately stalled.
Steube’s office did not respond to Nexstar’s inquiry for comment prior to publication.
As of Tuesday, the Daylight Act of 2026 remains under review in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
A separate measure also titled the Daylight Act, introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), has likewise been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. That proposal would give individual states the authority to observe daylight saving time year-round.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in multiple states are weighing their own proposals related to daylight saving time during the current legislative session.
