A draft U.S. Defense Department assessment warns that China is rapidly advancing its nuclear forces, including the loading of more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into newly built silo fields near its border with Mongolia, according to a report seen by Reuters.
The document, which has not yet been formally submitted to Congress and could still change, says Beijing has likely placed over 100 solid-fueled DF-31 missiles into the silo complexes. While the Pentagon previously revealed the construction of these sites, it had not publicly estimated how many missiles were operationally deployed within them. The report does not specify potential targets for the missiles.
The Pentagon declined to comment when asked by Fox News Digital about the contents of the draft assessment.
The report portrays China’s military expansion as unmatched in speed among nuclear-armed states, stating that Beijing is growing and modernizing its nuclear forces faster than any other country with such capabilities. Chinese officials have routinely rejected these conclusions, saying they are meant to “smear and defame China and deliberately mislead the international community.”
Although China’s nuclear warhead inventory stood in the low 600s in 2024, the report says that number is still expected to surpass 1,000 by 2030, even with what it describes as a slower production rate in recent years.
The assessment also addresses diplomacy, concluding that Beijing remains uninterested in formal arms control negotiations. “We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions,” the report said.
Those findings stand in contrast to comments made last month by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he may seek denuclearization talks with China and Russia.
China publicly maintains that its nuclear posture is defensive and governed by a no-first-use policy, but analysts cited in the report argue that Beijing’s behavior increasingly undercuts that message. “For a country that still advocates a policy of ‘no-first use,’ China has become increasingly comfortable showcasing its nuclear arsenal, including parading its nuclear triad together for the first time in September,” said Jack Burnham, a senior research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Burnham added that China’s refusal to engage in arms control talks aligns with the scale of its weapons buildup. “China has no interest in locking in a long-term strategic disadvantage, and every intention of building an arsenal on par with its perceived place in the world, alongside and potentially eventually ahead of the United States,” he said.
Beyond nuclear forces, the Pentagon assessment warns that Beijing believes it could be capable of fighting and winning a conflict over Taiwan by the end of 2027. China claims the self-governed island as its territory and has never ruled out the use of force. According to the report, China is refining plans to seize Taiwan by “brute force,” including long-range strikes reaching up to 2,000 nautical miles from the mainland that could disrupt U.S. military operations across the Asia-Pacific.
The findings emerge as the 2010 New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms agreement between the United States and Russia, nears its expiration. That treaty caps each side at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
Some analysts questioned the pace of China’s silo deployment. “What is surprising is that China has now loaded only about 100 of the silos it has built recently,” said Gordon Chang. “That’s an indication money is tight in the People’s Liberation Army.”
Chang also cautioned Washington against renewing New START without China’s involvement. “This is no time for the U.S. to agree to an extension of the New START Treaty with Russia,” he said. “Russia and China are de-facto allies, and they are ganging up on America. Without China in a deal — Beijing has flatly rejected every nuclear arms-control initiative of the U.S. —no treaty can be in America’s interest.”
Responding to the report, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital that Beijing follows a policy of “peaceful development,” adheres to a no-first-use nuclear doctrine, and keeps its nuclear forces “at the minimum level required for national security.”
Liu said China observes a moratorium on nuclear testing and cited a recently released arms control white paper as evidence of its commitment to disarmament and nonproliferation. He added that Beijing is willing to cooperate with other countries to strengthen the international arms control framework under the United Nations and promote global stability.
{Matzav.com}
Hundreds of talmidim of Yeshiva Birchas Shmuel gathered for a Chanukah mesibah attended by the yeshiva’s nosi, Chevron rosh yeshiva Hagaon Rav Dovid Cohen, who delivered a forceful address warning of what he described as an unprecedented threat to the Torah world.
The event was held for the first time in the yeshiva’s new and spacious beis medrash on its campus in Givat Shaul, following the yeshiva’s relocation earlier this year due to significant growth in enrollment.
Rav Uziel Leibowitz, one of the yeshiva’s roshei yeshiva, welcomed Rav Cohen and spoke of the privilege of having the yeshiva’s path guided directly by its president. He described the moment as the completion of the spiritual dedication of the new beis medrash, emphasizing the sense of divine assistance that accompanies the yeshiva’s growth and direction.
Rav Cohen then addressed the gathering, opening with words of gratitude for having accompanied the yeshiva since its founding and expressing deep emotion at seeing both its physical expansion and its spiritual growth. He said the development of the yeshiva, in students and rabbinic leadership alike, was profoundly heartening.
Turning to the message of Chanukah, Rav Cohen drew a sharp comparison between the Greek decrees of antiquity and the challenges of the present generation. “Greece wanted to turn all of Yisroel into a people living only for the body, like all other nations,” he said. “A world of nature — no spirituality, no soul — to secularize all of Israel. But Greece added one thing: ‘to make them forget Your Torah.’ Because as long as there is Torah, there can be no forgetting. Only through ‘making them forget’ can spirituality be uprooted.”
Citing classic Torah sources, Rav Cohen explained that without Torah, even the soul itself would be reduced to something purely intellectual. “Through the power of Torah, a person merits his soul,” he said, quoting the Ramchal’s teaching that “Torah is light that illuminates the soul of a person.” He added that the Chashmonaim restored that light by reestablishing Torah for generations.
At this point, Rav Cohen raised his voice in pain and delivered the sharpest warning of his address. “All the culture of the secular world outside the beis medrash — a world of moral filth — is entirely the war of Greek culture,” he declared. “All the war we are facing in our generation, a situation that no one ever imagined or dreamed we would reach, is a war of ‘to make them forget.’”
He continued with a stark comparison: “Today, in our generation, the decree is more severe than it was in Greece. Then, the Greeks wanted to make them forget Your Torah. Today, Jews want to make their brothers forget the Torah.”
Rav Cohen stressed that the struggle is being fundamentally misunderstood. “This war is not about more soldiers or fewer soldiers,” he said. “The war is about Greek culture — to secularize all of Israel, to remove them from the batei medrash, to destroy the entire standing of the Jewish people.”
He said he could not recall a similar battle throughout the long years of golus. “I do not know if in all the generations of galus there was ever such a thing,” he stated, emphasizing that the fighters in this battle are tragically “Jews themselves.”
Concluding his remarks, Rav Cohen told the talmidim that the only true weapon against this threat is Torah itself. “The power to stand firm is the light of Torah,” he said. “The House of the Chashmonaim established Torah for generations, and today we light the light and cry out: ‘For they are our life.’ You have merited to be in a beis medrash of the highest level of learning, a beis medrash of true toil in Torah. Through this, we will merit the complete redemption, speedily in our days.”
{Matzav.com}
The Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London has issued a sharply worded letter to the Jewish community of Antwerp, warning that standards of modesty have weakened in recent times and urging renewed commitment, particularly among women, to strengthen this foundational value.
The letter was written following the Rebbe’s visit to Antwerp during Chanukah, at the request of the city’s rabbinic leadership and in response to an earlier call by the Pshevorsker Rebbe to address what has been described as a recent breach in communal norms of tznius.
In his message, the Rebbe said he was joining the appeal of Antwerp’s rabbanim and the Pshevorsker Rebbe to confront what he called serious lapses that have emerged in matters of modesty. He emphasized that earlier generations of Torah leaders devoted enormous effort to instilling sanctity and restraint within Jewish homes, a commitment that enabled them to raise generations of families shielded from negative influences of the surrounding culture.
He warned that in recent years those protective foundations have begun to erode in many Jewish homes, attributing the trend to what he described as a spreading culture of permissiveness. According to the Rebbe, these influences creep in gradually, step by step, until even communities known for their piety begin to relax standards that were once carefully guarded.
Describing the situation as an urgent responsibility, the Rebbe called on every family to reinforce these values actively. He stressed that parents bear a duty to guide their households with sensitivity and warmth, while remaining firm in preserving the path upon which previous generations were educated, and to treat the boundaries of modesty with respect and seriousness.
In a personal note, the Rebbe expressed gratitude to women who undertook additional commitments during a period of illness he experienced, specifically those who chose not to wear long shaitels. He offered brachos that their sacrifices be fully rewarded.
Citing teachings from earlier chassidic rebbes, the Rebbe linked a range of communal difficulties—including financial hardship—to breaches in modesty, stating that such problems have increased in recent generations largely as a result of weakened moral boundaries.
He concluded on an optimistic note, writing that strengthening resistance to the challenges of the modern era would bring blessing, including livelihood, worthy matches, and both material and spiritual success. By maintaining distinctiveness from surrounding cultures, he wrote, families would merit a heightened sense of divine presence in their homes and ultimately the revelation of hidden spiritual light.
{Matzav.com}
Hod HaSharon has officially filled its long-vacant rabbinic post, with Rav Erez Elcharar elected as the city’s chief rabbi by a decisive margin on Tuesday night.
Rav Elcharar secured the support of 24 members of the electoral body, prevailing after a prolonged and closely watched selection process. He serves as one of the senior heads of the Yechaveh Daas kollel and is regarded as a leading talmid of Rav Dovid Yosef, the Rishon LeTzion.
Following the announcement of the results, Rav Dovid Yosef personally contacted Rav Elcharar to congratulate him and praise the choice made by the city’s electors. “This is a day of good news for the city of Hod HaSharon,” he said. “Rav Erez is an outstanding Torah scholar who combines deep Torah knowledge with refined character and an ability to bring people closer.”
Rav Yosef added that he was confident the new chief rabbi would lead the city with wisdom and warmth, strengthen the standing of the rabbinate, and work to foster unity among all segments of the population. He concluded with a heartfelt brocha that Rav Elcharar be granted great siyata d’Shmaya in his sacred mission, increasing kavod Shamayim and endearing the Torah to the public in the path of Aharon HaKohen, “a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace.”
Later in the evening, Rav Yosef traveled to Hod HaSharon to take part in a festive thanksgiving gathering held in honor of Rav Elcharar’s election.
{Matzav.com}
