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Israel plans to reopen the Rafah Crossing with Egypt once a military effort now underway concludes with the recovery of the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, according to an announcement released Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The decision followed deliberations by the security cabinet and comes amid mounting international calls for Israel to resume operations at the key Gaza–Egypt border crossing.

Although the Prime Minister’s Office did not specify how long the current IDF mission is expected to last, a US official told The Times of Israel that American officials anticipate the operation will take several days, potentially clearing the way for the crossing to reopen before the end of the week.

Earlier Sunday night, the IDF confirmed that troops are conducting a search for Gvili’s remains at a cemetery in northern Gaza. The military said intelligence indicating the body is buried at the site is credible, while noting that other intelligence avenues are also being pursued.

Separately, the head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the Gaza envoy to the NCAG-supervising Board of Peace announced on Thursday that Rafah would resume operations this week, marking its first reopening in nearly a year.

In its statement, Netanyahu’s office said reopening the sole pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Egypt is contingent “on the return of all living hostages and on Hamas making a 100% effort to locate and return all slain hostages.”

Under the October 9 Israel-Hamas agreement tied to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s broader Gaza peace initiative, all hostages were to be returned within 72 hours of the October 10 ceasefire. The deal acknowledged, however, that retrieving bodies from beneath Gaza’s rubble could take longer and did not explicitly link reopening Rafah to the return of all captives.

Israel has declined to advance to the second phase of Trump’s plan — including reopening Rafah — until Gvili’s body is recovered. Hamas has said it does not know the precise location of his remains but claims it has attempted to search for them.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the IDF is currently carrying out “a focused operation to fully utilize all intelligence obtained in the effort to locate and return” Gvili.

Once the mission concludes, “and in accordance with what was agreed on with the United States,” Israel will move ahead with reopening the crossing, the statement said.

Netanyahu’s office emphasized Israel’s commitment to returning Gvili and vowed to exhaust all efforts to bring his body home.

The operation began over the weekend following intelligence assessments that Gvili was buried in a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City, near the neighborhoods of Shejaiya, Daraj, and Tuffah.

Gvili, 24, served as a policeman and was killed while defending Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, which ignited the Gaza war. He joined the fighting despite awaiting surgery for a shoulder injury.

On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attended the family’s weekly rally in Tel Aviv and reportedly told Gvili’s parents there was “room for optimism” regarding their son’s return.

During a security cabinet meeting Sunday night, far-right ministers reportedly voiced strong opposition to the plan to reopen Rafah.

“We did great things like kill tens of thousands of terrorists, but we still haven’t completely eliminated Hamas,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said, according to quotes reported by the Walla news site.

“We have to dismantle and disarm it. Enough with [Jared] Kushner and [Steve] Witkoff’s naivety — if Rafah Crossing opens, it will be a big mistake and a very bad message,” he reportedly said.

The US envoys, who met with Netanyahu and other senior officials during their visit to Israel, have been urging the government to proceed with the next stages of Trump’s Gaza framework.

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock also criticized the move, reportedly arguing that Israel was effectively transferring control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, which the government accuses of supporting terrorism and says should have no governing role in the enclave.

“This cabinet will eventually make a decision to send our soldiers to fight Hamas because no one else will do it, and then what will we tell them?” she said, according to Walla.

While Rafah has been used to transfer goods at various points during the war, its primary designation is for pedestrian crossings.

{Matzav.com}

Sunday’s monster storm was one for the history books, the biggest the New York City area has seen in years. Central Park recorded more than 10 inches of snow and sleet, while parts of the Hudson Valley had more than 18 inches. Some in New Jersey saw more accumulation than expected. The storm performed exceptionally […]

[Video below.] An American climber stunned onlookers by scaling one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers without ropes, completing a rare free-solo ascent in front of a global audience.

The climber, 40-year-old Alex Honnold, made his way up Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot tower in Taiwan, during a Netflix livestream that was pushed to Sunday after rain forced a delay, according to CBS News.

The ascent took roughly an hour and a half, and recorded footage captures the final moments as Honnold reached the summit.

Standing atop the building, he briefly took in the view and reacted with a single word: “Sick!” before peering down at the city far below.

WATCH:

Additional video shows him pausing to recover, then pulling out his phone to snap a selfie. “This is so cool… I’m so psyched and you know what, pretty tired, actually,” he said.

CBS News noted the prominence of the structure itself, writing: “Taipei 101 is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. The building was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and opened in 2004. It’s home to observatories, restaurants, a shopping mall and offices, as well as the Taiwan Stock Exchange.”

Honnold’s website highlights his previous achievements, stating that he is the only person to have free-solo climbed Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot El Capitan.

The site adds high praise for his accomplishments, saying, “More people will walk on the moon than will do what Alex Honnold has done. His extremely rare skill and unmatched mental focus have helped make him climbing’s transcendent, breakout star, inspiring millions around the world.”

Footage from earlier in the event shows the married father of two beginning his climb as spectators looked on, applauding and cheering while he periodically turned back to grin at the crowd.

Before starting the ascent, Honnold explained that his focus was on precision and avoiding errors, according to People magazine.

“I’m sure I’ll feel a little nervous at the bottom, just because it’s something totally new. I’ve spent 30 years climbing rock faces; this is going to be my first big handmade structure, so I’m sure it’ll feel a little different,” he said, adding, “My life is on the line — I don’t really care who’s watching. I care about doing what I’m doing and doing it well.”

{Matzav.com}

Amid recent reports about a new and explosive “security affair” in Israel currently under heavy censorship, Rabbi Yosef Zini, the father of Shin Bet chief David Zini, published a cryptic message on Monday. “We have no doubt whatsoever that it’s all a blatant lie,” wrote Rabbi Zini. “Even if they produce a video or images […]

Spanish police have opened an investigation after vandals desecrated a number of Jewish graves in a Barcelona cemetery over the weekend.  Catalan police confirmed the incident at the Jewish section of Les Corts cemetery, though authorities did not specify how many graves were damaged. “We are aware of the incident and have opened an investigation,” […]

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An Israeli resident of the Shomron was miraculously unharmed after a frightening encounter with three terrorists near Shechem on Monday morning. The incident occurred when the driver got lost and accidentally entered the outskirts of Shechem on his way to Har Ebal. While trying to return to the main road near the city’s entrance checkpoint, […]

A stormy debate erupted during Sunday night’s security cabinet meeting over the Trump administration’s ultimatum to Israel to reopen the Rafah Crossing.  No vote was held on the issue, as the ministers were informed that Israel had already accepted the plan. Despite the strong opposition of the ministers, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Israel’s compliance […]

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A tragedy occurred in the Chareidi kehilla of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday after a tree fell on Michoel Mordechai Habuba, 12, z’l, critically injuring him. He was evacuated to the hospital with a severe head injury. The kehilla held tefillos and davened for his refuah for many hours, but he ultimately succumbed to his […]

A senior Israeli military commander said Sunday that Israel is preparing for the possibility that a U.S. military strike on Iran could prompt Iranian retaliation against Israeli targets, as Washington continues to build up forces across the Middle East. Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, head of the IDF’s Northern Command, told Israel’s Channel 12 that the […]

Tremendous excitement and anticipation are sweeping through thousands of Vizhnitz Chassidim in Eretz Yisroel ahead of the major Chasunah set to take place this coming Wednesday. The upcoming simcha carries special significance within the Vizhnitz Chassidus, as it marks the first Chasunah in Eretz Yisroel of a great-grandchild of the Vizhnitz Rebbe. This follows several […]

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and derided Vice President JD Vance during private donor gatherings last year, according to audio recordings obtained by Axios that capture some of the most pointed intra-party attacks from a Republican lawmaker since the administration took office.

The comments, made during two separate meetings, reveal Cruz leveling unusually blunt critiques of both Trump and Vance behind closed doors, at a time when he is widely viewed as weighing a potential 2028 presidential bid.

The recordings — totaling nearly 10 minutes — show Cruz framing himself as a pro–free trade, interventionist Republican, positioning his views in contrast to Vance’s more restrained foreign policy outlook as a possible primary challenge looms.

In the conversations, Cruz portrays Vance as closely aligned with conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson, whom Cruz has repeatedly accused in public disputes of promoting antisemitism and advocating an anti-Israel foreign policy.

The audio files were provided to Axios by a Republican source and were recorded in early and mid-2025.

In the later recording, Cruz warns donors that Trump’s tariffs risk triggering severe economic fallout and could ultimately expose the president to impeachment.

Cruz recounts that after Trump announced the tariffs in early April 2025, he and several other senators held a late-night call with the president urging him to reconsider. Cruz says the call stretched past midnight and “did not go well,” describing Trump as “yelling” and “cursing.”

“Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz tells the donors. “I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them.”

Cruz says he cautioned Trump about the political consequences, recalling that he told the president: “Mr. President, if we get to November of [2026] and people’s 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we’re going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath.”

“You’re going to lose the House, you’re going to lose the Senate, you’re going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week.”

According to Cruz, Trump’s response was blunt: “[Curse] you, Ted.”

At one point during the donor session, when an attendee referenced “Liberation Day,” Trump’s label for the tariff rollout, Cruz quipped: “I’ve told my team if anyone uses those words, they will be terminated on the spot. That is not language we use.”

Cruz also told donors that he has been “battling” the White House to secure approval for a trade agreement with India. When asked which administration officials have resisted such deals, Cruz pointed to White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, Vance, and “sometimes” Trump.

Returning to Vance, Cruz again tied him closely to Carlson’s worldview, saying: “Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same.”

{Matzav.com}

The Pentagon has unveiled its 2026 National Defense Strategy, marking a sharp doctrinal shift toward a “peace through strength” posture that elevates Israel as a central U.S. strategic partner, prioritizes homeland defense, and places unprecedented demands on allies to shoulder more of the global security burden. The 34-page document, signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, […]

[Video below.] Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Satmar issued a sweeping directive prohibiting yeshiva bochurim and avreichim affiliated with Satmar institutions in Israel from taking part in street protests, following a series of deadly incidents in which two bochurim were killed during  or near demonstrations against the draft law and other issues.

The directive was delivered Motzaei Shabbos during a melaveh malkah marking the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe’s grandfather, the Atzei Chaim of Sighet, in Palm Springs. In his remarks, the Rebbe addressed the recent tragedies and announced an outright ban on participation in protests by members of the Satmar community.

The Rebbe’s comments followed recent demonstrations during which two bochurim, Yosef Eisenthal and Naftali Tzvi Kramer, were killed after being struck by vehicles. The Rebbe referred to the drivers involved as “רוצח’ישע דרייווערס,” saying they deliberately drove buses into crowds in order to harm bochurim.

Recalling earlier tragedies, the Rebbe referenced the 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the Shomron by Hamas terrorists. He said: “I spoke then and asked a very difficult question: Who gives permission to send bochurim into the occupied territories? It is a place of danger, Arab murderers roam there and kill bochurim, and the parents who sent their children to a place of danger, their blood is on their hands. At the time there were many Zionists who shouted that it was not a dangerous place, but the reality is known to all: sending bochurim into the territories is murder.”

Turning to the current wave of protests, the Rebbe said: “In recent weeks, when the decree of drafting yeshiva students reached a new peak, with harsh decrees and the kidnapping of bochurim from their homes, they began organizing protests in the streets. Unfortunately, at some of these protests there are people who block roads and do improper things. Recently, two bochurim were murdered in these protests, and I want to say from here — the Zionists are no less murderers than the Arabs.”

The Rebbe continued: “Just as everyone understands that we do not send bochurim into the territories where Arab murderers roam, in the same way we do not send bochurim to protests where Zionist murderers roam. It is exactly the same thing.”

Emphasizing that the ruling applies directly to his own community, the Rebbe said: “I cannot speak for the entire world, but we have yeshivos in Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak, we have kollelim in Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak — and I want from here to forbid our people not to participate in these protests where Zionist murderers are present.”

Citing the principle of ‘al pi shnayim eidim yakum davar’, the Rebbe added: “Two bochurim were murdered by the Zionist murderers, and that is enough.” He requested that his words be publicized in every place where there is a Satmar community, saying, “It needs to be heard throughout all of Eretz Yisrael.”

The Rebbe concluded by citing the Gemara in Chullin that “chamira sakanta mei’isura” — danger is more severe than prohibition and invoked the teachings of the Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, the Divrei Yoel. He said that anyone familiar with how the Divrei Yoel led the struggle against Zionism knew that he recognized the danger involved, and therefore ruled that all members of the Satmar community are forbidden from participating in such demonstrations.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Chinese President Xi Jinping has moved against one of his most senior and once most trusted military leaders, placing Gen. Zhang Youxia under investigation amid allegations that he leaked nuclear weapons secrets to the United States and accepted bribes in exchange for promotions. Zhang, 75, the first-ranked vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, was […]

President Trump said his administration is examining the fatal shooting of an armed protester by federal agents during an anti-ICE demonstration in Minneapolis, signaling that a formal assessment of the incident is underway.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal during a brief phone interview Sunday night, stopping short of offering a personal judgment on whether the agent’s actions were warranted.

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said in the same call. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”

Authorities identified the man killed as 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who had joined the protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials in Minnesota said Pretti was armed with a handgun at the time of the encounter and possessed a valid concealed carry permit.

Video footage that spread rapidly online appears to capture the moments leading up to the shooting, showing a struggle in which one agent seems to pull a firearm from Pretti’s waistband while other officers restrain him on the pavement. Seconds later, gunfire is heard, after which Pretti becomes motionless and was later declared dead.

Trump also indicated that the surge of federal personnel sent to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area would not be permanent, suggesting the deployment would be scaled back in the future.

“At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” he told the Journal.

He did not say when the federal agents would be withdrawn.

{Matzav.com}

UPDATE: A Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet carrying eight people crashed during takeoff from Bangor, Maine, Sunday evening, though the extent of any injuries is currently unknown. Emergency crews responded to the incident around 7:45 p.m. ET, and the airport remains closed. The crash comes amid a major snowstorm sweeping through the Northeast, with subfreezing […]

A chareidi IDF soldier wounded in combat delivered a searing rebuke during a stormy session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, accusing state authorities of completely erasing religious and chareidi wounded soldiers from the public and legislative conversation even as efforts intensify to draft more chareidim.

Eliyahu Pinchas Tzemach, a representative of the Metzuyanim B’Yisrael organization , which advocates for religious and chareidi IDF wounded, addressed the committee during deliberations on the draft law. Speaking with visible anguish, Tzemach described what he called the total disappearance of chareidi wounded soldiers from policy discussions.

“I hear debates, I see headlines, I follow this law from every angle, but there is one thing I have not heard even once: wounded soldiers,” he told lawmakers. “Not in the law, not in the discussions, not even in a single sentence. As if they do not exist.”

Tzemach pointed to what he described as a glaring and painful contradiction: the state tracks the lives of chareidi youth in minute detail, yet refuses to acknowledge them once they are injured in military service.

“The state knows exactly where every chareidi boy studied at age 14, which institution he transferred to at 15, what he eats, what level of kashrus he keeps, but when that same boy enlists, is wounded, and broken, the state is not even willing to know how many there are,” he said.

“Even to count us, they are not willing,” Tzemach added. “Forget rehabilitation, forget treatment … even the basic recognition that we exist is already too much for the system.”

According to Tzemach, this is not a bureaucratic oversight but a deep systemic failure with devastating consequences. Wounded soldiers are left without answers, families collapse under the strain, and there is no rehabilitation framework tailored to the needs of the chareidi public.

He described realities on the ground that, he said, are never voiced in the Knesset: mixed-gender therapy groups that chareidi patients cannot join; Beit HaLochem facilities with no accommodations for Torah-observant soldiers; rehabilitation gyms, activities, and overseas delegations that are entirely mixed; and the complete absence of transitional housing or structured rehabilitation tracks for chareidi wounded and their families.

“There is no rehabilitation. There simply is none,” he said. “And then they come and demand more enlistment, more targets, more numbers — without stopping for a moment to ask: what will be with those who were already wounded? And what will be with those who enlist now and will be wounded?”

Tzemach posed a direct challenge to lawmakers: “How can you demand more enlistment from the chareidi public when those who already carried the burden and were wounded have been completely erased from the discourse?”

Speaking afterward, he said that the focus on quotas and targets is fundamentally misplaced.

“Before talking about numbers, targets, and enlistment quotas, there must be a conversation about rehabilitation,” he said. “About responsibility. And about the future of chareidi wounded soldiers who have paid — and unfortunately will yet pay — a very heavy price.”

{Matzav.com}

Former President Barack Hussein Obama issued a rare and forceful public rebuke of President Donald Trump on Sunday, directly blaming the current administration for the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and warning that the situation surrounding federal immigration enforcement is spiraling dangerously.

“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Obama said in a statement posted on X. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”

In his statement, Obama sharply criticized the conduct of federal immigration agents operating in U.S. cities, saying their tactics have sparked justified outrage nationwide. “People across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, and provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” he wrote.

Obama’s comments came one day after Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during a confrontation on a Minneapolis street.

According to authorities, Pretti was carrying a loaded firearm when he stepped between federal agents and a woman they were pepper-spraying. Agents attempted to arrest him, removed the gun from his belt, and then fired roughly 10 shots, killing him at the scene.

While acknowledging that immigration enforcement is inherently challenging, Obama said the Trump administration bears responsibility for fostering an environment in which deadly force is used recklessly.

“The President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanation for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” Obama wrote.

The statement marked Obama’s first public comments on the unrest in Minneapolis, which erupted earlier this month after ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good. Authorities said Good had attempted to block immigration officers with her vehicle and nearly struck an agent, who then opened fire, killing her.

{Matzav.com}