As Israel’s war with Iran continues, former Israeli National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror said the fighting could last six to eight weeks and may extend into the Pesach holiday, while suggesting that dramatic developments may already be unfolding inside Iran.
In an interview on Radio 103FM with hosts Amichai Etali and Gideon Oko, Amidror said Israelis may have to prepare for the possibility of celebrating Pesach under wartime conditions, including spending time in protected shelters.
“We’ll reach Pesach. I don’t understand what the problem is if we have to hold our Seders in shelters. If in order to destroy Iran we need to sit in shelters on Pesach, I think that is a worthy price,” Amidror said.
He explained that U.S. military assessments indicate that a successful campaign against Iran would likely require several weeks of sustained operations.
“I believe the Americans calculated targets for six to eight weeks so that the blow to Iran will be very severe,” he said.
According to Amidror, the central objective of the war is not necessarily the immediate collapse of Iran’s ruling regime in Tehran, even if such an outcome would be desirable.
“It would be better if the regime were replaced, but I’m not sure that can be achieved from the air,” he explained. “If we cannot replace the regime, we must ensure only one thing — that the regime will not pose a threat. We cannot change their worldview.”
He added that while the Iranian regime is currently weak, there is no organized opposition capable of stepping in and assuming power.
“The Iranian regime is weak, but there is no opposition that can take power. We want a regime weak enough that we can return and destroy whatever we want,” he said.
Amidror also addressed concerns surrounding Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles, saying that even the possibility of seizing the material cannot be ruled out, although such an operation would be complex.
“We can make sure there are no Iranians in the area and take it if we know where it is,” he explained. “You can create a bubble that you protect from the air, bring in a force with appropriate air support, and remove the material from there.”
He said the uranium itself does not currently pose an immediate danger in its present form.
“It is stored in containers that are not very large. From a rough calculation I made based on unofficial papers I read, it is something like between twenty and thirty containers.”
Amidror also commented on the possibility that Mojtaba Khamenei could emerge as Iran’s next supreme leader, warning that such a development could lead to further escalation.
“There is now a new ruler in Iran, and he will have to decide whether to sacrifice Iran for the sake of his rule or drink the cup of poison,” he said. “Based on his experience, I fear for the fate of the Iranians.”
At the same time, former figures in Israel’s intelligence community suggested that major covert operations may already be taking place inside Iran as part of the current campaign.
Shagiv Asoulin, a former senior Mossad official, said in a separate interview that some operations carried out inside Iran have not yet been revealed to the public.
“I can say that big things have happened in Iran, on the scale of the beepers and perhaps even more,” he said. “Maybe they don’t photograph as dramatically, but with time we will hear about them and they will be no less amazing.”
He added that additional significant moves may still be “up the sleeve” and could become known as the conflict continues.
{Matzav.com}Knesset member Zvi Succot, who chairs the Knesset Education Committee, traveled to Kiryat Shmona during the ongoing Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel and spent the night in a public shelter alongside local residents.
While in the city, Succot met with Kiryat Shmona’s mayor at the newly established municipal emergency operations center for a security briefing. During the meeting, he was updated on the situation facing the community and the difficulties confronting the local education system as the fighting continues.
Following the briefing, Succot visited several shelters throughout the city and spoke with residents about the challenges of living under constant rocket threats and frequent sirens. Later that evening, he decided to remain in the city and sleep in one of the public shelters together with residents.
Succot said, “I came here to experience firsthand what residents on the confrontation line are going through. The State of Israel must remain committed to the security and daily life of northern residents.”
He added, “We must not get used to a reality in which civilians live between sirens and shelters – our responsibility is to restore a full sense of security to the region’s residents.”
Addressing Israel’s security approach, Succot said, “The era of restraint is over; we have moved to initiating and striking our enemies until they are destroyed. Residents here are living in an unimaginable reality – there are people over the age of 60 who sat in shelters here as children.”
In closing, he declared: “All territory south of the Litani should be annexed. Woe to anyone who thinks about stopping before the threat from the north is completely eliminated.”
{Matzav.com}
Travelers arriving at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday hoping to depart after the airport reopened for outbound flights were stunned to learn that despite holding valid tickets, many were still unable to board their planes.
The unclear and shifting instructions triggered widespread frustration among passengers, with heated arguments, pushing, and confrontations breaking out in the terminal. Police were ultimately called in to restore order amid the turmoil.
כאוס בנתב"ג: באל על קיבלו אתמול אישור להעלות 200 נוסעים בחלק מהטיסות – אך היום המספר ירד חזרה ל-50 – נוסעים רבים נותרו זועמים בדלפקי הצ'אק אין לאחר שהגיעו לנתב"ג.
דיילי קרקע: "איבוד עשתונות – סגרו דלפקי צ'ק אין. יש אלימות בין המשטרה לנוסעים"@Dean_Fisher_ pic.twitter.com/VWNGoTxD3X
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) March 9, 2026
The confusion was traced to a sudden overnight reversal of wartime travel regulations. Just a day earlier, authorities had approved an increase in the number of passengers allowed on each flight, raising the cap from 100 to 200 people. Following that decision, airlines began offering additional seats to hundreds of customers who had previously been placed on waiting lists.
But during the night, the policy was abruptly rolled back without prior notice. The passenger limit was restored to 100 people per flight, leaving hundreds of travelers holding confirmed tickets for flights that no longer had space for them.
When those passengers arrived at the airport and approached the check-in counters, airline staff were forced to determine on the spot which travelers would be permitted to board and which would be denied seats.
Footage circulating from inside the airport showed tense and chaotic scenes as stranded travelers confronted airline representatives. “There are elderly people here. Why are you doing this? Take responsibility,” one passenger could be heard shouting at an airline employee.
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is not close to deploying troops into Iran to secure nuclear material at the enrichment facility in Isfahan, while also declining to reveal how he plans to deal with Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Speaking to The New York Post, Trump dismissed reports suggesting that Washington is preparing to send American forces to the underground nuclear site near the historic city of Isfahan.
“We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,” Trump said of reported discussions about a US deployment to Iran’s underground enrichment facility near the ancient Persian capital.
Trump also reacted to the elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who assumed leadership of Iran’s Islamic regime over the weekend following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei. The president made clear that he is dissatisfied with the development but avoided outlining any specific response.
“Not going to tell you,” Trump said about his plans for the younger Khamenei. “Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him.”
Trump made the remarks during a phone interview from Trump National Golf Club in Doral, Florida, where he also attempted to temper speculation that the United States might soon launch a ground operation targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. His comments echoed what he told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One, when he said that “we haven’t talked about” sending troops to Isfahan.
Nevertheless, several media outlets reported that the possibility of such a mission has been discussed among officials.
Trump’s guarded tone regarding Mojtaba Khamenei comes after stronger warnings he issued prior to the leadership transition in Tehran.
Shortly before the younger Khamenei was formally selected to succeed his father, Trump said during an interview with ABC News that the new Iranian leader would face consequences if he took power without American approval, saying he was “not going to last long” if “he doesn’t get approval from us.”
Trump also said in an interview last week that “Khamenei’s son is a lightweight” and “I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela.”
{Matzav.com}
Global oil prices jumped sharply Monday as the ongoing war with Iran raised fears about energy production and shipping routes in the Middle East, sending shockwaves through financial markets before prices later eased.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, climbed to nearly $119.50 per barrel earlier in the day before retreating and trading closer to $105 per barrel.
West Texas Intermediate, the main U.S. oil benchmark, also surged, briefly reaching $119.48 per barrel before slipping back to around $102.
Meanwhile, the conflict continued to impact civilian infrastructure. Bahrain accused Iran of targeting a desalination facility that provides essential drinking water supplies.
Following an Iranian strike that ignited a major fire at one of its refineries, Bahrain’s national oil company declared force majeure on its shipments, invoking a legal clause that frees it from contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances.
In Tehran, oil storage sites were left burning after overnight Israeli strikes hit the area.
Energy markets have been increasingly rattled as the war, now entering its second week, spreads to regions and infrastructure central to the production and transport of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf.
Prices later eased somewhat after The Financial Times reported that several members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations were considering releasing oil from their strategic reserves to calm the markets. The report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, has not been officially confirmed.
President Donald Trump addressed the issue Saturday and appeared to dismiss the need to tap into the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying domestic supplies remain sufficient and predicting that prices will decline soon.
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes, normally sees about 15 million barrels of crude pass through daily — roughly 20 percent of global supply — according to research firm Rystad Energy.
However, the growing threat of Iranian missile and drone strikes has effectively halted tanker traffic carrying oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran through the narrow passage, which lies along Iran’s northern coastline.
With exports slowed dramatically, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE have begun cutting production as storage facilities fill up. At the same time, oil and gas infrastructure has been struck in attacks carried out by Iran, Israel and the United States since the war began, further tightening supply.
The sharp rise in oil and natural gas costs is already pushing fuel prices upward worldwide, with ripple effects spreading through industries and hitting Asian economies particularly hard because of their dependence on Middle Eastern energy imports.
Iran itself exports about 1.6 million barrels of oil each day, much of it destined for China. Beijing has urged an immediate halt to the fighting, and disruptions to Iranian exports could force China to secure alternative supplies, which could push energy prices even higher.
“All parties have their responsibility to ensure stable and smooth energy supplies,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in a briefing Monday. “China will take necessary measures to safeguard its own energy security.”
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also addressed the crisis Monday, warning that authorities would strictly punish oil refiners and gas station operators found hoarding supplies or manipulating prices. He also urged the country to explore alternative sources of energy that do not rely on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Across Southeast Asia, motorists have already begun feeling the effects of the price spike, with long lines forming at fuel stations.
“Higher oil and gas prices will affect everyone and our economy,” said Le Van Tu, who was waiting outside a gas station in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. “All activities, including those using petrol based transportation will be affected.”
The last time oil prices reached similar levels was in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Brent crude and U.S. oil futures climbed sharply.
Rising energy prices tend to push inflation higher, increasing costs for households and reducing consumer spending — a key driver of economic growth in many countries. These concerns have already spilled into financial markets, sending stock prices sharply lower.
In the United States, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to $3.48 early Monday, nearly 50 cents higher than a week earlier, according to data from AAA. Diesel prices also jumped, rising more than 80 cents over the past week to about $4.66 per gallon.
Some analysts warn that if oil prices remain above $100 per barrel for an extended period, the global economy may struggle to absorb the impact.
Natural gas prices in the United States have also risen during the conflict, though not as dramatically as oil. Early Monday, natural gas was trading at about $3.34 per 1,000 cubic feet, compared with $3.19 at Friday’s close.
{Matzav.com}
Dozens of American students studying in Tzefas returned to the United States on Sunday after an extended and complicated trip that took them through Jordan, following the shutdown of Israeli airspace at the start of the war with Iran.
The group included Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva bochurim and seminary students from the Tze’irei Hashluchim–Mesivta yeshiva and Beis Rivka Seminary in Tzefas. Before the conflict erupted, the students had intended to travel to Georgia after completing an intensive learning program.
When the war broke out and Ben Gurion Airport was closed, those travel plans were abruptly canceled, leaving the students stranded in Israel.
According to a report published by the COLlive website, approximately thirty students reached out to a U.S.-based rescue organization, which arranged for them to cross into Jordan and then continue onward with flights to Europe and eventually back to the United States. On Purim, the yeshiva students departed for Jordan and were placed in a hotel there, where security concerns prevented them from leaving the premises.
Several days later, on Wednesday, roughly 35 seminary students joined the group. They too had been planning to travel to the United States for their Pesach break but were unable to leave once the war began. Until their departure, they had been staying with a local family in Tzefas.
Both groups eventually met in Jordan while waiting for a connecting flight to Athens. However, their departure was delayed by unexpected developments, including the temporary closure of Jordanian airspace due to missile activity and the tense security environment. The flight they had expected to take on Thursday was canceled, forcing them to return to their hotel and continue waiting.
Food presented another difficulty. With only a limited supply available, the students relied on small portions of food along with fruits and vegetables to sustain themselves. Rabbi Shalom Duchman of Colel Chabad attempted to send kosher food for Shabbos, but Jordanian border officials confiscated the shipment and discarded it. In the end, the group prepared their Shabbos meals themselves using basic ingredients they managed to purchase locally.
Despite the challenging conditions, the students observed Shabbos together, holding tefillah and meals while carefully maintaining halachic observance throughout the ordeal.
According to the report, senior American officials also intervened in the effort to help the students leave Jordan. Among those involved were Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, a close associate of President Donald Trump, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Their involvement and the pressure applied helped facilitate the group’s departure.
On Motzoei Shabbos, the students finally boarded a Royal Jordanian flight. They arrived Sunday morning at Washington airport and from there traveled by bus to the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
{Matzav.com}
