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Six top members of Hamas’s naval commando forces were killed in a series of recent operations in the Gaza Strip, the military and Shin Bet announce.

President Donald Trump announced during an interview with NBC News that he intends to deliver a “major statement” concerning Russia this coming Monday, though he offered no additional information on the nature of the announcement.

Over the past several days, Trump has voiced growing displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly over the continued conflict in Ukraine and what Trump perceives as Putin’s reluctance to earnestly engage in negotiations for peace.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump said in his comments to NBC News, stopping short of providing any further clarification.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are actively working on new proposals for sanctions targeting Putin’s regime, as the diplomatic efforts to end the war continue to stall.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said in a letter that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance. The Thursday letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March after months of threats. Trump’s tariffs were allegedly in an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling despite the relatively modest trafficking in the drug from that country. Trump has also expressed frustration with a trade deficit with Canada that largely reflects oil purchases by America. “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter. The higher rates would go into effect Aug. 1, creating a tense series of weeks ahead for the global economy as recent gains in the S&P 500 stock index suggest many investors think Trump will ultimately back down on the increases. But stock market futures were down early Friday in a sign that Trump’s wave of tariff letters may be starting to generate concern among investors. In a social media post, Carney said Canada would continue to work toward a new trade framework with the U.S. and has made “vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl.” “Through the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and business,” Carney said. While multiple countries have received tariff letters this week, Canada — America’s second largest trading partner after Mexico — has become something of a foil to Trump. It has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and pushed back on the president’s taunts of making Canada the 51st state. Mexico has also faced 25% tariffs because of fentanyl, yet it has not faced the same public pressure from the Republican U.S. president. Carney was elected prime minister in April on the argument that Canadians should keep their “elbows up.” He has responded by distancing Canada from its intertwined relationship with the U.S., seeking to strengthen its links with the European Union and the United Kingdom. Hours before Trump’s letter, Carney posted on X a picture of himself with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, “In the face of global trade challenges, the world is turning to reliable economic partners like Canada.” Implied in his statement was that the U.S. has become unreliable because of Trump’s haphazard tariff regime, which has gone through aggressive threats and reversals. When Carney went to the White House in May, the public portion of their meeting was cordial. But Trump said there was nothing the Canadian leader could tell him to remove the tariffs, saying, “Just the way it is.” Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trump’s latest move will make it more difficult for Canada and the U.S. to reach a trade deal, Beland said. “It doesn’t mean a new trade deal between Canada and the United States is impossible, but it shows how hard it is for the Canadian government to negotiate with a U.S. president who regularly utters threats and doesn’t appear to be a […]

Iran’s security services have threatened the life of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi after her native country’s war with Israel, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and activists said Friday. Mohammadi said that the threats have come through both her lawyer and other indirect channels as she’s kept up public statements about the Islamic Republic’s theocracy, women’s rights and others issues, the committee said. “The clear message, in her own words, is that ‘I have been directly and indirectly threatened with ‘physical elimination’ by agents of the regime,’” the committee said in its announcement. The Free Narges Coalition Steering Committee, which advocates for the 53-year-old laureate, said that the threats came from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. Iran’s government hasn’t responded to Mohammadi’s recent remarks, and Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The warnings about Mohammadi came as Iran has made arrests and conducted executions in the wake of the 12-day war with Israel, raising concerns of a further possible crackdown targeting human rights activists and others. Mohammadi has been giving a series of interviews with media abroad during the war, further raising her profile, while Israel at one point began striking targets synonymous with Iran’s ruling theocracy. She herself fled Tehran for a time during the Israeli airstrikes and said: “War does not have the capacity for the fundamental transformation that the Iranian people seek.” “In Iran, there is a misogynistic and religious government helmed by (Supreme Leader Ayatollah) Ali Khamenei who has taken us to hell while promising paradise,” Mohammadi told the Wall Street Journal recently. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is taking us to hell while promising freedom and democracy.” Mohammadi has been out on a medical furlough from prison, where she is serving 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government. She has kept up her activism, despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. That includes backing the nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which have seen women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab. (AP)

A recent nationwide poll conducted by Cygnal in early July reveals that most voters heading into the general election are in favor of removing illegal immigrants and sending them back to their native countries.

Participants were asked, “Do you support or oppose deporting those illegally in the United States back to their country of origin?” Of all respondents, 61.3 percent said they back such a policy. Nearly 41 percent said they “strongly” support it. On the other side, 34.7 percent expressed opposition, including almost 17 percent who said they “strongly” oppose the idea.

The results displayed deep partisan divides. Among Republicans, a resounding 94 percent were in favor of deportation, with just four percent against it. Conversely, a majority of Democrats—68 percent—opposed deporting illegal immigrants, while only 26 percent supported the measure.

Independent voters leaned more in favor than against, with 59 percent supporting deportations and 37 percent standing against them.

One noteworthy finding was that among Hispanic respondents, half supported deporting illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds, while 48 percent were opposed.

Overall, the numbers marked a slight shift from May, with support for deportation dipping by two percentage points.

The survey also gauged public sentiment on the use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. A plurality, 49.5 percent, expressed support for ICE operations, while 47.5 percent opposed them. Another three percent said they were unsure. Republican support was again overwhelming—89 percent approved of ICE raids—while 86 percent of Democrats opposed them.

Among independents, more opposed ICE raids than supported them: 52 percent disapproved, compared to 42 percent who voiced support.

The poll, conducted July 1–2, surveyed 1,500 likely voters in the general election and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.51 percent.

These findings come at a time when federal authorities are ramping up deportation efforts, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emphasizing that most of those detained have criminal histories or pending criminal cases.

In a statement tied to the bust of a child exploitation ring run by illegal immigrants in Minneapolis, DHS stated, “70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens with convictions or pending charges.”

The agency further clarified that many individuals who are classified as “non-criminals” may in fact pose serious threats. “Additionally, many illegal aliens categorized as ‘non-criminals’ are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more—they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.,” DHS explained, adding, “This deceptive ‘non-criminal’ categorization is devoid of reality and misleads the American public.”

{Matzav.com}

Dear Hanhala,

You can take away our UGGs and sneakers, change the logo, or even rename the school—but the essence of this place remains. When you focus only on the external, you’re repeating the same mistakes so many other schools have made. You’re trying to mold us all into a picture-perfect Bais Yisroel, but it’s suffocating. When will you stop obsessing over how we look and start paying attention to what we’re going through inside? Because the truth is, we’re all struggling—whether you see it or not.

You’ve created rigid rules around phones and technology. The minute someone is caught breaking them, she’s punished—sometimes even expelled. “She broke a rule, she gets a consequence,” right? But what if you paused and asked why she broke that rule? What if you tried seeing it from her perspective? Our lives aren’t confined to the walls of your school. We live in a world saturated with technology—our siblings, cousins, friends, and neighbors all have it. It’s in our homes, yet you expect us to function without even a flip phone? Let’s be honest: many of your students have iPhones, smartwatches, and access to things that would devastate you—things that would break your heart—and you’re worried about sneakers? Please, get your priorities straight.

Why is it that being honest about our struggles automatically brands us as “off the derech” or “at-risk”? Struggles don’t always come in the form of tznius. Even the girl you proudly call your valedictorian, the one you think has it all together—she’s hurting too. But you’re so focused on maintaining an image that you’re ignoring our neshamos. We want to be good. We want connection. But we need space to be honest with you—without the fear that honesty will get us thrown out for not fitting into your narrow definition of what a “good girl” looks like.

You can’t keep saying, “This never would’ve flown in my generation,” because we didn’t grow up in your generation. We were born into a different world—one filled with challenges and influences you might not understand, but that are very real to us. Before you judge, ask: “How is she feeling? Why is she acting this way?” If a girl wears crew socks under her skirt, is she suddenly a bad person? If that’s what you believe, what hope is left for any of us?

Help us understand. Explain with compassion why certain things are considered wrong. Show us how to navigate this world with strength. Don’t just ban things or pretend they don’t exist. Technology, challenges, and pain are part of our reality, whether you acknowledge them or not. And if we don’t start being honest—if we don’t create a safe space for truth—I fear for what the future will look like. The world feels scary, and many of us are carrying so much inside. To survive, we reach for distractions—some of them harmful. Isn’t the school system supposed to help us grow into our best selves? But how can we, if we can’t even show you our true selves?

If you opened the door to real conversations about the hard stuff, girls would start to trust you. They’d come to you with their pain. You could change lives. I know this isn’t easy to hear, but it has to be said—because too many girls are slipping through the cracks. You’re shaping the next generation: our future teachers, principals, friends, shadchanim, bosses, and mothers. If we don’t start showing the world that struggling is normal, that it’s okay to talk about it and ask for help, then we’re just pretending. We’re building on a lie.

Your system teaches us that externals matter most. In class, the girl who takes notes and raises her hand is praised as “an amazing student.” But the one sitting quietly, listening intently, searching for meaning—she’s labeled as someone who doesn’t fit in. You don’t see a neshamah yearning for more; you just see someone who isn’t meeting your expectations.

Please, see us for who we are. We’re trying. We’re hurting. And we’re begging you to care.

Sincerely,
A Teenager

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{Matzav.com}

The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks, President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat said. “We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%,” Trump said in an interview with NBC late Thursday. “So what we’re doing is, the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said. “It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (U.S.) factory and get it there,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ukraine badly needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russian ballistic and cruise missiles. Trump’s Republican administration has given conflicting signals about its readiness to provide more vital military aid to Ukraine for its more than three years of fighting Russia’s invasion. After a pause in some weapons shipments, Trump said he would keep sending defensive weapons to Ukraine. U.S. officials said this week that 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets were on their way. Ukraine is seeking more coveted Patriot air defense systems Germany, Spain and other European countries possess Patriot missile systems, and some have placed orders for more, Rubio said. The U.S. is encouraging its NATO allies “to provide those weapons, systems, the defensive systems that Ukraine seeks … since they have them in their stocks, and then we can enter into financial agreements with them, with us, where they can purchase the replacements,” Rubio said. Ukraine has asked foreign countries to supply it with an additional 10 Patriot systems and missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday. Germany is ready to provide two systems, and Norway has agreed to supply one, he said. Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major aerial attacks. Earlier this week, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks. At the same time, Russia’s bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Impact of the latest Russian attacks In the latest attacks, a Russian drone barrage targeted the center of Kharkiv just before dawn Friday, injuring nine people and damaging a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials said. Mothers with newborns were being evacuated to a different medical facility, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. He didn’t say whether anyone at the hospital was among the injured. Also, a daytime drone attack on the southern city of Odesa injured nine people. “There is no silence in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said after the Kharkiv bombardment. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has endured repeated and intensifying drone attacks in recent weeks, as have many other regions of the country, mostly at night. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three […]

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) appeared on MSNBC’s “The Briefing” Thursday, declaring that not even the threat of jail from President Donald Trump would deter him from continuing his efforts to speak out and fight back.

During the segment, host Jen Psaki brought up recent attacks from Trump, noting that both Booker and others in public office had been targeted. She asked Booker what message he had for whistleblowers and those with critical stories to share during such a tense political climate. “Trump attacked you today, I believe, of being of Trump and people from the administration going after you. You’re in elected office. You accept that I know. What do you say to people? What is your message to whistleblowers or people whose stories are so important to tell about why they should do it now, and what impact it could have.”

Booker responded with a firm call to action. “Stand up and fight.”

He continued, emphasizing his own resolve in the face of personal attacks and threats. “I’m going to continue to fight. I don’t care if this president calls me out every day, mean tweets me, threatens me. We know I’ve had open conversations with senators I never thought I would have because we saw what they’ve done with a congressperson. My Congresswoman LaMonica McIver arresting her, my mayor they’ve arrested, they’re picking off, it seems, people that live in Newark that are in elected positions. But I don’t care throw me in jail. Do what you have to do. I’m going to continue to stand up for what’s right.”

In his closing remarks, Booker expressed hope that his stance would motivate others to act with courage and conviction. “I’m hoping that when one person stands up and calls this out, it ignites the courage of another person and another person and another person. We have to at a time that our fundamental rights and freedoms, that the very democracy that we that we know is precious, is under attack by this president. We’ve got to have more people willing to stand up and fight and take him on.”

{Matzav.com}

“The Trump Administration is doing away with many taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants… The White House Says the move will preserve roughly $40 billion in benefits for American citizens.”

Trump on the assassination attempt in Butler almost one year ago: “It was unforgettable. I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked… People were screaming and I got down quickly… They shot eight bullets… One killed Corey, the firefighter… Great guy.”

The military also says, the brigade along with the Yahalom combat engineering unit, located and demolished a kilometer-long Hamas tunnel.

The military releases footage showing a recent drone strike on what it says is a cell of terror operatives in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

Thousands of Chareidi seminary students across Israel are voicing outrage over what they say is blatant discrimination and neglect by the Ministry of Education after the ministry failed to extend the same wartime exam leniencies to them as it did to students in the secular and religious school systems.

In the wake of the recent “Am KeLavi” war between Israel and Iran, the Education Ministry announced a broad policy allowing high school students across the country to forgo external Bagrut exams and instead receive internal grades in recognition of the nationwide trauma and instability caused by the conflict. However, this policy was not applied to seminary girls in the Chareidi system, leaving them to sit for full external exams under unchanged conditions.

Seminary students describe feeling silenced, overlooked, and pushed aside. One student related with frustration, “The pressure, expectations, and demands didn’t change—as if nothing happened, as if we didn’t go through a frightening and chaotic time. The sense of discrimination is overwhelming. Why did students in the secular and national-religious schools get support, while we were abandoned? Why aren’t Chareidi girls, who suffered just as much, if not more, given the same compassion?”

Another student echoed these sentiments: “We have no one to turn to. There’s no official body that speaks on our behalf. We’re trapped in a closed system that often prefers to stay silent to avoid ‘unnecessary drama.’ But that silence comes at a cost—emotional, academic, and personal.”

A senior teacher in the Chareidi school system sided with the students, placing the blame squarely on the ministry and its inspectors. “We’re not asking for easy outs,” she said. “We want basic fairness. Recognize that this year has not been normal, and that these exams—under current conditions—do not reflect our students’ real abilities. We want equal treatment. We want the system to care about our future the way it cares about other students.”

When the Ministry of Education was asked about this, officials insisted that the wartime leniencies applied equally to all sectors, including Chareidim. However, when confronted with reports that school heads and exam supervisors in the Chareidi system had not implemented the policy, the ministry said it would investigate.

One student recounted, “I asked my teacher, who said that many had submitted requests to cancel the exams or at least receive some leniency. But the answer that came back was always the same—‘no changes to external exams despite the war.’ My teacher spoke directly with the official who deals with the ministry, and she was cold and unresponsive. She said, ‘That’s the policy from the ministry,’ and admitted there’s no one to appeal to. They’re just blocking us out.”

She added, “Another coordinator told us that they’ve received dozens, maybe hundreds, of requests from girls and parents. But they said there’s nothing to be done, and it’s not even worth trying. They don’t respond because they don’t see us as important. The teachers are defeated—there’s nowhere to turn, and every path leads to a dead end.”

In response, students have launched an online petition demanding equal treatment and urging the Education Ministry to extend the same Bagrut exemptions to Chareidi girls as to the rest of the population. They’ve also filed a direct appeal to MeravD, the department responsible for external exams.

The Ministry of Education issued a formal response: “The Ministry of Education clarifies that in the summer session of 5785, following the ‘Am KeLavi’ war, all students in all sectors—including the Chareidi sector—were granted the option of receiving an internal grade in all exams. As for the second sessions in math, English, and Hebrew grammar, those exams are being administered as external exams, and this decision applies equally to all sectors.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

China has failed to intimidate rival claimant states into surrendering their sovereign interests in the disputed South China Sea despite its intensifying “bullying tactics” and the United States and other allied countries are ready to further boost deterrence against Beijing’s aggression, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said. Adm. Stephen Koehler, who oversees the largest naval fleet command in the world, gave assurances Friday in a Manila forum of U.S. commitment to help defend freedom of passage and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. The Pacific Fleet’s mission, he said, was to deter aggression across the region with allies and partners “and to prevail in combat if necessary.” China’s tactics have “grown steadily and more aggressive with rammings, water cannons, lasers and sometimes worse,” Koehler said. “But despite these bullying tactics … China has failed to intimidate Southeast Asian claimants into surrendering their sovereign rights.” Chinese officials did not immediately comment on Koehler’s remarks, but they have warned Washington in the past to stop meddling in what Beijing says is a purely Asian dispute that China has been trying to resolve peacefully. Koehler cited how Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have sustained or expanded their offshore oil and gas operations in their Exclusive Economic Zones in the South China Sea despite Beijing’s growing assertiveness. The Philippines, he said, has boldly exposed China’s assertive actions by publicizing the dangerous maneuvers of Chinese forces, including the use of powerful water cannons and laser beams. “We’ve seen a laudable resilience and resolve to defend their maritime rights in the face of mounting pressure. Nearly all Southeast Asian littoral states are now prioritizing stronger maritime capabilities,” Koehler told the forum. “The U.S. Pacific Fleet is always ready to work with you to strengthen deterrence and show no individual country can be pushed around.” Deterrence, he said, has worked to prevent a larger conflict and crisis that could hamper the flow of trade through the waterway and affect many economies. Western and Asian ambassadors, including from the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the European Union, Japan and New Zealand, spoke at the forum, which marked the 9th anniversary of the issuance of a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s claims to virtually the entire South China Sea. The Philippines brought its conflicts with China in the South China Sea to international arbitration in 2013, a year after a tense standoff over a disputed shoal which Beijing’s forces surrounded and effectively seized. China refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected its outcome as a “sham” and continues to defy it. U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said the arbitration ruling was a triumph for the Philippines and “a beacon guiding us toward a future where powerful countries cannot trample on the legal rights of other states.” “Nine years on, Beijing has ignored the ruling and continues to operate with impunity,” Carlson said. “China continues to engage in illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions in support of its spurious claims.” She renewed a warning that the U.S. is obligated to defend the Philippines under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Philippine forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. With China’s “worrisome” rejection of the arbitration ruling, the Philippines has moved to strengthen its forces and territorial defense, including by pursuing […]

YWN regrets to inform you of the untimely and heartbreaking petira of Reb Yitzchok Tzvi Klein, a”h, who was critically injured in a horrific elevator accident earlier this week at Hatzlacha Grocery in Spring Valley. Reb Yitzchok Tzvi A”H was in his high twenties, a young man full of life and promise. Despite the tireless efforts of Rockland Hatzolah and hospital teams, and the heartfelt tefillos of Yidden around the world, he was sadly niftar on Friday morning from his injuries. He was known as a warm, ehrliche Yid with a gentle spirit and a kind word for everyone. He leaves behind his devoted wife and grieving family. The couple had no children. The Levaya will take place Friday 12:00PM at the Monsey Beis HaChaim on Brick Church Road. Baruch Dayan HaEmes. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

[Video below.] Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu concluded his four-day trip to Washington on Thursday night, boarding the “Wing of Zion” aircraft to return to Israel after meeting twice with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Following the visit, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement declaring, “All the goals Netanyahu sought to achieve during the visit were accomplished.”

In an interview with Newsmax before departing, Netanyahu shared a guarded sense of hope about the possible return of ten more Israeli hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.

During the conversation, Netanyahu spoke about the current diplomatic efforts to broker a temporary pause in fighting in order to facilitate the release of hostages who were seized during the October 7, 2023, attacks.

He described the suffering endured by the 255 hostages as “hell,” calling Hamas “monsters” for their treatment of those taken.

“Well, they’re monsters. I mean what they do to them and the stories we get are horrible,” Netanyahu stated. “So it’s not easy for us when we’re doing it.”

Netanyahu stressed that Israel is resolute in its mission to recover every last hostage still being held.

“We have 50 left; 20 definitely alive, and some 30 that are not alive, and I want to take them all out,” he told Newsmax. “We now have a deal that supposedly we’ll get half of the living and half of the dead out, and so we’ll have 10 living left and about 12 deceased hostages. But I’ll get them out, too. I hope we can complete in a few days.”

The potential agreement being discussed includes a 60-day pause in hostilities. During that time, some hostages would be released, and talks would continue in pursuit of a broader end to the war. Netanyahu reiterated that peace could happen immediately “if Hamas lays down its arms.”

Shifting focus to the wider humanitarian crisis, Netanyahu condemned Hamas for its treatment of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, accusing the terror group of hiding behind civilians and turning them into pawns in the conflict.

“It is a fighting force and a governing force in Gaza that oppresses its people, targets our people, our civilians, and uses their civilians as human shields. And then they complain that the civilian losses are because of us,” he told Newsmax. “No, we say to the civilians, ‘Leave. Leave the war zone.’ … And Hamas says, ‘You don’t go. You try to leave the war zone, we’ll shoot you.’ And they shoot them because they want the pictures of dead civilians that they are causing put on Israel’s head. And that’s what you get in TikTok and the social media: ‘Israel is deliberately killing civilians’; no, we’re not. Hamas is deliberately killing its own people, preventing them from escaping the war zone. So they’re monsters.”

Netanyahu also pointed to a significant and unusual development unfolding within Gaza: Palestinian Arabs themselves are beginning to rise up against Hamas’s iron grip.

“There are Palestinians fighting Hamas because we weaken them to this point,” Netanyahu told Newsmax. “We see something that never happened before. Palestinians in Gaza are fighting Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza are defying Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza are saying, ‘We don’t want them. We don’t want to be tyrannized and subjugated by these monsters.'”

He ended the interview with a firm message of determination: “Well, that didn’t happen before, and we think we can bring it to completion. So I wouldn’t tell you that we have a war goal that is unachievable. We’re going to defeat these monsters and get our hostages back.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The State Department is firing more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan initiated by the Trump administration earlier this year. The department is sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with domestic assignments in the United States, said a senior State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters ahead of individual notices being emailed to affected employees. Foreign service officers affected will be placed immediately on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will formally lose their jobs, according to an internal notice obtained by The Associated Press. For most affected civil servants, the separation period is 60 days, it said. “In connection with the departmental reorganization … the department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” the notice says. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found from centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities.” While lauded by President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Republican allies as overdue and necessary to make the department leaner, more nimble and more efficient, the cuts have been roundly criticized by current and former diplomats who say they will weaken U.S. influence and its ability to counter existing and emerging threats abroad. The Trump administration has pushed to reshape American diplomacy and worked aggressively to shrink the size of the federal government, including mass dismissals as part of moves to dismantle whole departments like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Education Department. A recent ruling by the Supreme Court cleared the way for the layoffs to start, while lawsuits challenging the legality of the cuts continue to play out. The department had formally advised staffers on Thursday that it would be sending layoff notices to some of them soon. The job cuts are large but considerably less than many had feared. Rubio said officials took “a very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused.” “It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions,” he told reporters Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he’s attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum. “Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.” He said some of the cuts will be unfilled positions or those that are about to be vacant because an employee took an early retirement. The American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents diplomats, urged the State Department last month to hold off on job cuts. Notices for a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate positions altogether, “should be a last resort,” association President Tom Yazdgerdi said. “Disrupting the Foreign Service like this puts national interests at risk — and Americans everywhere will bear the consequences.” Michael Rigas, the department’s deputy secretary for management and resources, said in a notice Thursday that select staffers would be informed if they were being laid off and called it part of the department’s biggest reorganization in decades. “Soon, the Department will be communicating to individuals affected by the reduction in force. First and […]

Federal agents faced fierce resistance Thursday during coordinated immigration and labor-enforcement raids at two Glass House Farms cannabis facilities north of Los Angeles. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), supported by FBI tactical teams and low-flying helicopters, descended on the state-licensed operations—illegal under federal law—to serve warrants for allegedly undocumented workers and child-labor violations. At the Camarillo farm, protesters converged on agents executing warrants, throwing rocks and bottles. Federal personnel deployed tear gas and smoke grenades to clear crowds. Witnesses reported military-style helicopters sweeping low over the fields, a tactic intended to flush out individuals hiding among the crops. Ventura County Fire Department confirmed four people were hospitalized with injuries—ranging from gas inhalation to minor trauma—and three others were treated at the scene. Video footage showed several detentions as vans marked “ICE” drove onto the property. In Carpinteria, roughly 50 ICE agents and federal officers raided a sister Glass House location, arresting additional workers amid similar protests. U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D–Calif.) was on site criticizing the show of force. “This is deplorable. This should not be happening on our soil,” Carbajal said. “Individuals dressed like military personnel… We don’t do that in America. This was overkill.” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced that the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of an “unknown subject” who allegedly fired a pistol at federal officers near Camarillo on July 10. The suspect remains at large. Local leaders condemned the raids as heavy-handed and harmful to immigrant communities. Oxnard Mayor Luis McArthur decried ICE’s “bold and aggressive” tactics on social media and vowed to seek legal remedies alongside state officials. “These actions are causing unnecessary distress and harm,” McArthur wrote. “I remain committed to exploring legal avenues to address these activities.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have also called for an end to aggressive enforcement in their jurisdictions. Newsom, on social platform X, posted harrowing footage of children fleeing tear gas and lambasted the federal operation as “chaos, fear, and terror within our communities.” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott countered that 10 juveniles—eight unaccompanied—were found at the Camarillo site and that the facility is under investigation for child-labor violations. The raids follow a similar operation earlier this week in Los Angeles’s MacArthur Park and come amid escalating tension between federal immigration authorities and California’s sanctuary policies. Los Angeles and eight other cities recently sued the Trump administration, accusing federal agents of using unconstitutional tactics to “instill fear” in immigrant communities rather than protect public safety. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the renowned matzo bakery in Dnipro has received a top-tier kosher certification from one of the world’s leading kashrus authorities.

Rav Asher Eckstein, a senior dayan from the United States and one of the foremost figures in the global kosher certification world, traveled to the Ukrainian city of Dnipro to personally inspect and grant his certification to the matzo bakery that has continued operating even during the war. Dnipro is considered the nerve center of Jewish life in Ukraine, home to the largest organized Jewish community in the country, as well as the Menorah Center.

Rav Eckstein toured the city’s Jewish institutions together with the city’s chief rabbi and head Chabad shaliach, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, and Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.

One of the key highlights of Rav Eckstein’s visit was his inspection of the Dnipro matzo bakery, considered the largest of its kind in Europe. The bakery exports its meticulously prepared matzos to destinations including the United States. After personally examining its wheat supply and witnessing its meticulous standards, Rav Eckstein granted the bakery his personal kosher certification, which will now accompany the certifications already issued by Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi of Kfar Chabad, the OK kashrus organization, and the Dnipro Vaad Hakashrus led by Rabbi Kaminezki.

Joining Rav Eckstein on his visit were Rabbi Elisha Baram, the former head of the Dnipro kashrus division, and his successor, Rabbi Yisrael Gurevich.

During his inspection, Rav Eckstein remarked on the extraordinary level of halachic stringency upheld by the Dnipro community and its institutions. “It’s remarkable to see such high standards of kashrus being maintained in a country at war,” he said. “The commitment to halachic excellence here, despite the challenges, is clearly blessed with siyata dishmaya.”

{Matzav.com}

At a Jewish heritage celebration Tuesday evening at Gracie Mansion, Mayor Eric Adams implored Jewish New Yorkers not to flee the city following Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s surprise Democratic primary victory, but to stay and defend their home against a growing tide of antisemitism. Addressing an audience of approximately 1,000 under the sweltering July heat, Adams drew on historical examples of Jewish exile to underscore the dangers of abandoning the city. “You have the right to be in this city and anywhere in this country,” Adams declared. “We will not be the generation of fleeing and of leaving. We will be the generation to push back against hate.” Using the metaphor of a frog slowly boiled by rising water temperatures—a science exercise he recalled from elementary school—Adams warned that antisemitism in New York has been ‘‘turned up one degree at a time.’’ “The heat of antisemitism has gotten too hot in our city, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel,” he said. “I’m here to turn off the flame and get the frog out of the pot.” Jewish Heritage Month events had been postponed by rain in May and rescheduled for Tuesday evening in Carl Schurz Park. Despite a citywide heat advisory, attendees gathered under lit tents and listened to Israeli pop music, performances by singer Yoni Zigelboum (Yoni Z), and speeches honoring community leaders. Recipients of community service awards included volunteers from Chesed 24/7 and journalist Douglas Murray, who praised Adams’s vocal stance against intolerance. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)