President Donald Trump this afternoon that U.S. intelligence agencies believe they have identified where the body of Israeli soldier St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili is being held in the Gaza Strip, speaking during a press conference in Washington, DC.
“We got the 28 hostages; they have one left, that we think we know where it is. Amazing,” Trump said.
Gvili is believed to be the final Israeli hostage still in Gaza. He was taken on October 7 during fierce fighting at Kibbutz Alumim, where he was battling Hamas terrorists as part of the IDF’s Golani Brigade.
In a December interview with Ma’ariv, Gvili’s mother, Talik, shared information she said was based on intelligence assessments. “The intelligence is that Ran was not killed on the spot,” she said.
“We know he was wounded in the heroic battle at Kibbutz Alumim, hit by a bullet in his hand and shoulder area. Intelligence believes he didn’t receive medical treatment and therefore didn’t survive,” she added.
{Matzav.com}
Habochur Naftali Tzvi Kramer z”l, an 18-year-old talmid from the Satmar Yeshiva in Komemiyus, was killed in a horrific traffic accident while returning from a protest against post-mortem examinations.
Naftali Tzvi, a resident of Yerushalayim, was struck at the entrance to Moshav Komemiyus as he was making his way back to the yeshiva together with fellow bochurim. He passed away just weeks before his 18th birthday.
According to details released for publication, the accident occurred on Route 3533. Witnesses reported that a Metropoline bus transporting chareidi girls was traveling at high speed. Students walking along the side of the road stated that the bus struck Naftali Tzvias they were proceeding together on the shoulder. However, authorities have not established clear evidence that the driver acted intentionally.
Askani Shimon Shisha, together with ZAKA volunteers, has been working to ensure that the body is released without being transferred to the forensic institute.
Naftali Tzvihad returned from a protest opposing autopsies, which he attended in accordance with the directives of his rabbanim.
Naftali Tzvi was born in Yerushalayim on 27 Shevat 5768 to his father, Reb Yissachar Dov Kramer, a respected Satmar chassid, and his mother, Mrs. Bracha Beila Kramer, daughter of Rav Menashe Gottlieb. He was raised in a home steeped in Torah and chassidus.
He studied at the Satmar Talmud Torah in Yerushalayim, continued on to the Yeitev Lev Satmar Yeshiva L’tzeirim, and later joined the Satmar Yeshiva Gedolah, Yeitev Lev D’Rabbeinu Yoel, in Komemiyus.
Friends described him as an elevated and refined young man, devoted to avodas Hashem and meticulous in his conduct. “He would spend a full hour preparing himself before tefillah, with seriousness and focus,” one friend said. “He was noble, gentle, and always greeted others with a warm smile.”
Just a month ago, Naftali Tzviwas seen davening Shacharis alongside Rav Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, son of the Satmar Rebbe, during a visit to the yeshiva for the inauguration of a new mikvah.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
Rabbi Moshe Itach, a father of three who heads an educational framework for children with high-functioning autism, described the terrifying hours he endured after learning that his young son had been present at the Yerushalayim daycare where a fatal incident unfolded. Speaking with Kan Moreshet, he recounted how the family struggled to locate their child amid widespread confusion.
“My wife called me in the middle of the day to say there had been an incident at our son’s nursery and that six children had been taken to hospital. We didn’t know who had taken them, where they were taken, or what condition our child was in,” he said. For roughly two hours, the family went from hospital to hospital across the city, desperate for answers.
“Those were two hours of complete uncertainty. You hear rumors, people are talking about infants in serious condition, and you don’t know where your child is. In the end, we discovered he was at Shaare Zedek. Thank God, he’s fine,” Itach added, expressing visible relief.
Even as he spoke of his own son’s safety, Itach emphasized the broader national grief that followed the incident. “Yesterday, Klal Yisroel lost two children. It’s an unimaginable tragedy. It’s hard even to think about it. There are no words that can comfort parents who have lost an infant,” he said.
Responding to criticism directed at the daycare’s employees, Itach said he felt compelled to speak up on their behalf. “I know the head teacher, the caregivers, and the assistants. These are devoted women who chose this profession out of a sense of mission – not out of necessity. My son was happy to go to the nursery and happy to come home. That is not something to be taken for granted.”
He also pointed to structural problems that place families and caregivers in an untenable position. “The state makes staffing difficult, the pay is low, and parents – especially young couples studying in yeshiva – are often forced to choose between cost and safety. It’s an impossible situation,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Itach called on parents to engage in honest self-examination. “Every father and mother needs to ask themselves: Where am I sending my child in the morning? Is this a place I can truly trust? This isn’t about blame. It’s about responsibility.”
{Matzav.com}
Another Rosh Chodesh morning at the Kosel unfolded amid tension and frustration, as regular mispallelim reported preferential treatment for a Reform women’s group, while hundreds of people were delayed or blocked from entering the plaza.
According to on-site reports, the arrival of the group that identifies itself as Women of the Wall created a charged atmosphere from the early morning hours. Journalist Nati Kalish, reporting live from the scene, said many mispallelim were forced to wait extended periods before being allowed into the plaza.
Kalish described unusually long security checks. “A line of at least an hour, and even more, in the morning cold,” he said, explaining that guards allowed mispallelim through one at a time while carefully inspecting every item. He claimed the delays were intentional, aimed at keeping the plaza relatively empty during the group’s prayer.
Much of the anger, according to the report, stemmed from how the Reform group was brought into the compound. “They go in first, bypass the line and simply enter,” Kalish said, adding, “It’s infuriating to see people in their 60s and 70s standing in the cold and waiting, while they walk straight through as if the place belongs to them.”
Witnesses also reported pushing and confrontations during the prayer itself. Accounts from the Lev Center said the group positioned itself near the partition, used loudspeakers, and prayed loudly. “The goal is one thing—to disrupt and to harm the sanctity of the Kosel,” Kalish said, adding that there were also incidents of violence directed at ushers.
Kalish reported that the group remained at the site for roughly an hour and a half to two hours before leaving under escort. “They’re treated with respect here,” he said, noting that only after their departure did services for regular mispallelim return to normal. Among other things, the coffee stand in the plaza was reportedly shut down while the group was present. “On Rosh Chodesh they don’t serve coffee to mispallelim out of fear of ‘unusual incidents.’ Only after they left did everything reopen.”
He also described the reaction of regular mispallelim . Many, he said, stood davening with their hands over their ears. “Hundreds of people are literally blocking their ears just so they can concentrate on tefillah and not hear the shouting,” Kalish said. He noted that about 100 yeshiva bochurim from abroad arrived later in the morning, singing and davening loudly, which largely drowned out the voices of the radical, controversial group.
The broadcast ended with a public call to attend the Kosel in large numbers next Rosh Chodesh, for the month of Adar. “The more Jews who come to daven, the less chance they’ll be able to get in,” the hosts said, calling the situation “a scandal that repeats itself every month” and urging those responsible for managing the site to intervene and safeguard the sanctity of the holy place.
{Matzav.com}The mother of Leah Goloventzitz a”h, who died in the tragic incident at a daycare in Romema, issued a public statement distancing her family from violent demonstrations linked to the debate over the proposed autopsy of her daughter’s body.
In a personal message addressed directly to the public, Brocha Goloventzitz wrote that the family is enduring an unbearable loss and, amid their grief, is also being forced to contend with rumors, interpretations, and misinformation circulating online and in public discourse.
She said that over the past 24 hours, the family’s tragedy has been tied to violent protests surrounding the intention to conduct an autopsy, stressing unequivocally that such actions do not reflect the family’s path or beliefs.
The mother emphasized that aside from those directly involved, no one truly knows the facts that led to Leah’s passing. She noted that the family has been exposed to headlines, images, and statements taken out of context, some of which are based on partial or incorrect information that does not represent the full reality.
Addressing the decision to oppose an autopsy, she wrote that the considerations and steps taken by the family after the incident are not known to the public. Those decisions, she said, were made only after thorough consultations and careful deliberation, including receiving information from police and medical professionals. She added that even the family itself does not yet know the complete picture, describing days without sleep or appetite as they struggle to understand what truly happened.
In closing, Leah’s mother appealed to the public to act with ahavas Yisroel, to halt the spread of unverified information, and to allow the family to mourn their devastating loss without the addition of unnecessary pain.
Earlier today, Israel’s High Court ruled that an autopsy would not be performed on the two toddlers who passed away.
{Matzav.com}
Drivers across New York City racked up an unprecedented number of summonses last year for blocking off parking spaces with traffic cones, a tactic that has drawn growing enforcement even as many residents say the chronic parking shortage helps explain why the practice persists, the NY Post reports.
According to a New York Post review of municipal records, the Sanitation Department issued 533 violations in 2025 for illegally obstructing streets or sidewalks with cones. That enforcement followed 7,208 separate complaints filed through the city’s 311 system, also the highest total on record.
The number of tickets climbed steadily over recent years. More than 530 summonses were written last year, mostly in Queens, marking an increase of nearly 6% over 2024, when 470 were issued. That figure was almost double the 287 tickets handed out in 2023 and roughly nine times higher than the 60 issued in 2022.
City data show that Queens accounted for more than 70% of all cone-related violations last year, with 380 tickets issued boroughwide. Since 2020, 1,376 summonses have been written citywide for the offense, and roughly 1,000 of them were issued in Queens alone.
Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola has pointed to weak enforcement combined with shrinking parking availability — including the loss of spaces to bike lanes and restrictive parking regulations — as major factors behind the rise in illegal space-saving.
“It’s been happening for years,” said Alex, a 21-year-old Queens driver, referring to the practice of using cones to hold parking spots.
Despite that, he said he understands why people do it.
“It’s so hard to park around here,” he said, “I understand people using cones to save parking spots.”
Sanitation Department officials told The Post that traffic cones placed on public streets or sidewalks are considered illegal obstructions and can result in administrative summonses, with repeat violations carrying fines of up to $200.
Yet enforcement remains limited. More than 25,000 complaints related to cones have been logged with 311 since 2020, but summonses were issued in just over 5% of those cases, according to the Post’s analysis.
“In order for us to issue a summons for this, the owner of the cones has to acknowledge that the cones are theirs,” a Sanitation Department representative said.
“We do investigate complaints for this by visiting the home and speaking with the homeowner. If they claim ownership of the cones, we will issue a summons for street obstruction. … If they do not claim the cones as their own, we will simply take them away.”
{Matzav.com}
