The IDF now believes that Hamas’s military wing used a string of emojis as the coded order to initiate the October 7 massacre. The conclusion was reached after Israeli forces examined mobile phones taken from Nukhba terrorists during the assault.
Security officials said the same emoji combination discovered on those devices had appeared in two earlier episodes — in September 2022 and again in April 2023 — when Hamas had been preparing major attacks that were ultimately called off.
Investigators determined that in the hours leading up to the invasion of Israeli communities near the Gaza border, a prearranged message was distributed to operatives through WhatsApp. Only after reviewing the intelligence did it become evident that this message was the cue for militants to head to mosques and ready themselves for the operation.
According to the assessment, once the message was received, the terrorists gathered either at mosques or at other predetermined meeting locations, where commanders issued final instructions.
From there, some made their way to underground compounds to collect combat equipment, while others went to weapons depots, put on uniforms and tactical vests, and armed themselves with firearms and additional supplies.
The IDF stated that during the two prior instances in which the identical emoji sequence was detected, Hamas did not follow through with its plans, partly because of disagreements within the organization.
Senior military officials conceded that, before October 7, they would not have recognized preparations for a sweeping cross-border assault or the activation of Hamas’s so-called “Jericho Wall” strategy.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., ignited controversy at the Munich Security Conference on Friday by asserting that American assistance to Israel had facilitated what she described as a genocide in Gaza. Her remarks were delivered in Munich, the city historically associated with the rise of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement, which carried out the Holocaust.
Her comments criticizing Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza prompted swift condemnation from military analysts, scholars, and Middle East specialists. Israel’s ongoing war effort began after Hamas — designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union — launched its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israeli communities, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and kidnapping 251 people who were taken into Gaza.
Speaking during a town hall discussion, Ocasio-Cortez said, “To me, this isn’t just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws. And I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza. And I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that don’t, that was completely avoidable.”
She added, “And, so I believe that enforcement of our own laws through the Leahy laws, which requires conditioning aid in any circumstance, when you see gross human rights violations, is appropriate.”
The Leahy Laws, first introduced in 1997 by former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., bar the Department of Defense and the State Department from providing funding to foreign security force units when credible evidence exists that those units have committed “gross violations of human rights.”
Tom Gross, an international affairs analyst, sharply criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks in comments to Fox News Digital. “AOC has flown all the way to Munich — infamous as the city in which Hitler staged his Nazi Beer Hall Putsch that marked the beginning of the road to the Holocaust — in order to smear the Jewish people further with a phony genocide allegation.”
Gross continued, “Such preposterous allegations of ‘genocide’ form the bedrock of modern antisemitic incitement against Jews in the U.S. and globally. This shocking ignorance and insensitivity by Ocasio-Cortez should rule her out of any potential presidential bid or other high office.”
Specialists in military history and genocide studies have also challenged the claim that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. They argue that the legal definition under international law requires specific intent to eliminate a protected group, a threshold they contend has not been met.
Danny Orbach, a military historian at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-author of “Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7 2023, to June 1, 2025,” told Fox News Digital that Ocasio-Cortez’s allegation is an “accusation that is incorrect both factually and legally. Under the Genocide Convention, genocide requires proof of a special intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part, and as a baseline condition, an active effort to maximize civilian destruction.
“The evidence shows the opposite: as demonstrated in our multi-author study Debunking the Genocide Allegations, Israel undertook unprecedented measures to mitigate civilian harm, including establishing humanitarian safe zones that independently verified data show were approximately six times safer than other areas of Gaza.”
Orbach further stated, “Israel also issued detailed advance warnings before strikes and facilitated the entry of over two million tons of humanitarian aid, often at significant cost to its own military advantage, including the loss of surprise and the sustainment of an enemy during wartime.”
He concluded, “These measures were taken despite Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, its systematic use of human shields and hospitals for military purposes, and a tunnel network exceeding 1,000 kilometers — an operational challenge without historical precedent. Finally, no credible evidence demonstrates the kind of unambiguous, exclusive genocidal intent toward Palestinians that international law requires and that cannot be reasonably interpreted otherwise.”
Conservative commentator Derek Hunter also weighed in, writing on X, “Imagine going to Germany to complain about a fake genocide by Jews…in Munich, of all places. @AOC is about as smart as clogged toilet.”
In December 2024, Germany aligned with the United States in formally rejecting claims that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide.
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Bnei Brak City Council Director-General Yisroel Ehrenstein has sharply criticized police conduct surrounding the unrest in the city, suggesting that the escalation may not have been accidental. In an interview outlining the sequence of events, Ehrenstein argued that the initial confrontation could have been avoided and questioned the manner in which both the military police soldiers and later police reinforcements handled the situation.
According to Ehrenstein, the episode began when two female military police soldiers entered Hagai Street in Bnei Brak. He said the municipality has yet to receive a clear, official explanation regarding the purpose of their visit. “It all starts when two soldiers enter Bnei Brak. We still have not received an orderly briefing explaining why they came and what the objective was,” he said.
He described the initial interaction as verbal provocation involving a small group of youths. “Apparently they encountered a small group of young people — a fringe, as we know there are extremists in Bnei Brak,” he stated. Ehrenstein claimed that local residents attempted to defuse the situation and advised the soldiers to leave the area in order to prevent tensions from rising. “People approached them and said it might be better to leave so there would not be a disturbance,” he said. “They chose to remain and effectively escalate the event. Based on how it later developed, either it was intentional, or there was some process aimed at reaching a certain outcome.”
Ehrenstein maintained that at the outset, the situation was still manageable and had not yet spiraled into violence. Even a motorcyclist who approached the area was reportedly told to leave, and tensions had not yet boiled over. However, he said that within a short time, large numbers of police forces began arriving, which in his view intensified the situation. While emphasizing that the city generally works in close coordination with local policing authorities, he argued that this time outside forces unfamiliar with the city were deployed.
He leveled particularly strong criticism at what he described as the conduct of some of those units. “They brought in forces not connected to the area who behaved in a disgraceful manner,” he asserted. Referring to municipal security camera footage, he claimed to have seen instances in which residents who were not involved in any disturbances were treated harshly. “They take a woman who is simply standing on the side, trembling in fear, and throw her to the ground. It’s horrifying,” he said.
At the same time, Ehrenstein made clear that the municipality condemns any violence by residents. “Of course we condemn any form of violence. It is not our way to set motorcycles on fire or overturn police vehicles,” he stressed, adding that those involved represent only a small minority and not the overwhelming majority of Bnei Brak’s residents.
He also pushed back against public descriptions of the incident as a “lynching,” calling that characterization a gross distortion. “To call this a lynching by the residents of Bnei Brak — that word is so far removed,” he said. He added that he reviewed footage showing what he described as harm to uninvolved individuals, including children and women. “I saw how they acted toward an eight-year-old child when a stun grenade exploded near him, a woman being humiliated, and a young boy wearing tefillin returning from cheder being taken even though he did nothing,” he said.
Ehrenstein emphasized that Bnei Brak is a densely populated city, particularly in the afternoon hours when thousands of children and kollel members fill the streets. “During those hours the streets are packed,” he noted, arguing that forceful policing tactics in such an environment heighten the risk of unnecessary escalation and harm to innocent bystanders.
He concluded by saying that city leadership is working to restore calm and renew coordination with law enforcement. The mayor, he said, has spoken with the district commander to ensure that future sensitive incidents are handled in a manner suited to the city’s unique character. The primary goal, Ehrenstein said, is to prevent further violence, restore residents’ sense of security, and return to responsible, coordinated management of public order.
{Matzav.com}
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s upcoming “rental ripoff” hearings are facing backlash after it was revealed that residents of public housing will not be permitted to testify — despite long-standing complaints that the agency overseeing those units is among the city’s most troubled landlords.
The administration is set to hold its first public session on Feb. 26. While promoted as an opportunity for tenants to raise concerns, the hearings will be limited to disputes involving renters and landlords in privately owned buildings. The roughly 500,000 residents living in properties managed by the New York City Housing Authority will not be included in the formal testimony process.
Landlords and housing advocates criticized the city for excluding NYCHA residents while encouraging tenants in private buildings to appear and speak about alleged abuses, including so-called “rental junk fees” tied to amenities such as pet ownership.
“The city’s own tenants—those living in public housing—are demanding a real plan to improve their living conditions,” said Humberto Lopes, CEO of Gotham Housing Alliance. “It appears the Mamdani administration woke up to their own hypocrisy.
“If these hearings were truly about holding bad landlords accountable, the over 500,000 residents in NYCHA would be able to meaningfully participate,” Lopes added. “This is clearly the city trying to distract from its own failures while putting on a show, instead of having a real conversation with property owners, renters, NYCHA residents, and everyone else about how to improve housing for all.”
Following criticism, the mayor’s office revised language on its website, adding a question-and-answer section responding to: “Are these hearings for NYCHA residents too?”
“While these hearings focus on price gouging and living conditions for private-market renters, senior leadership and staff from NYCHA will be on-site to ensure that residents can submit in-apartment repair requests, file heat/hot water complaints, or discuss development-wide issues,” the updated note said.
“In the coming months, our administration will release a housing plan focused on improving housing quality for all New Yorkers, including those in public housing.”
NYCHA has repeatedly been labeled the city’s poorest-performing landlord in annual reports issued by the public advocate’s office.
In 2019, the agency was placed under federal oversight due to dangerous living conditions and controversies that included falsely certifying inspections.
Mamdani pushed back against claims that the hearings should cover public housing, arguing that his administration is pursuing multiple strategies to address housing problems citywide.
“So we are going to be approaching the housing crisis in a wide variety of ways. One of those are these rental rip off hearings,” Mamdani told reporters Sunday at an unrelated event on Coney Island.
The mayor also pointed to what he described as years of inadequate federal funding for NYCHA, noting the authority’s massive capital needs.
“We will also continue to work with NYCHA residents to ensure that they are being delivered the quality of service they’ve long been denied,” Mamdani said. “And while we know that so much of the reason that NYCHA residents are living through a system that requires around $80 billion of capital improvements. By last count, is a lack of commitment from the federal government.”
Still, Lopes and other opponents argue that limiting the hearings to private housing reflects what they see as a flawed housing agenda. Among the policies they criticize is Mamdani’s support for freezing rents on nearly one million regulated apartments through the city’s Rent Guidelines Board.
Attention has also turned to Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, who has faced scrutiny over previous remarks criticizing homeownership and advocating aggressive government intervention in the housing market.
“Impoverish the white middle class. Homeownership is racist/failed public policy,” she once said.
“Elect more communists,” Weaver also said.
According to the mayor’s website, the hearings will involve the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Buildings, and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Other agencies, including NYCHA, will be present solely “to provide resources.”
The world of halacha is enveloped in deep mourning last week with the passing of Rav Dovid Konigsbuch zt”l at the age of 77. A towering talmid chacham and visionary pioneer, he stood at the forefront of the halachic solutions that made it possible for observant Jews to navigate the complexities of modern electrical and digital technology on Shabbos. Through his groundbreaking work, most notably with the organization Mishmeres HaShabbos, countless potential violations of Shabbos were prevented in hundreds of thousands of homes worldwide.
Rav Dovid was internationally recognized as an expert in both advanced technology and halacha, yet first and foremost he was a gadol baTorah who toiled with extraordinary dedication in learning. Rav Menachem Karelitz testified that the depth and clarity of Rav Dovid’s penetrating questions during the shiurim of Rav Nissim Karelitz zt”l enriched and expanded the discussions that later formed the basis of many sections of the renowned sefer series Chut Shani. Every emerging technological question was carefully analyzed through his profound Torah lens, with one singular goal: to shield Shabbos-observant Jews from even the slightest concern of chillul Shabbos.
More than fifteen years ago, as the world rapidly transitioned to digital “smart” appliances, Rav Dovid immediately recognized the serious halachic implications embedded in the new systems. While many assumed that simple mechanical adjustments would suffice, he understood that digital circuitry records and reacts to each and every action, raising complex issues of melacha. Together with electronics expert Rima Robruto, Rav Dovid labored tirelessly to develop specialized mechanisms that would allow the safe use of modern refrigerators, air conditioners, and other devices without halachic compromise.
Today, hundreds of thousands of Jewish families benefit from these adaptations every single week. A simple calculation reveals that over the years, billions of potential instances of chillul Shabbos have been prevented through these systems, an incalculable zechus now accompanying Rav Dovid to the Olam HaEmes.
At the levayah, which departed from his home on Chazon Ish Street in Bnei Brak, Rav Eliyahu Beifus, chairman of Mishmeres HaShabbos, delivered heartfelt words of tribute. He described how the enormous zechuyos of the organization — which has raised public awareness about Shabbos observance in the technological age and overseen tens of thousands of Shabbos-compliant appliances — are truly recorded in Rav Dovid’s merit.
Rav Beifus spoke of Rav Dovid’s extraordinary vigilance and foresight, noting that he was the first to identify emerging challenges and transform solutions from theory into practical reality. Yet despite his monumental achievements, Rav Dovid conducted himself with absolute humility. Once others began expanding and advancing the work, he quietly stepped back from the spotlight, returning to his beloved Torah and acts of chessed without seeking recognition or acclaim.
Rav Dovid merited to see his spiritual legacy continued through his son, Rav Yaakov Konigsbuch of the Shearis Yisroel kashrus organization, who follows in his father’s path, dedicating his life to strengthening kashrus and safeguarding the sanctity of Shabbos.
With his passing, generations of Shabbos-observant Jews owe him a debt of gratitude for the tranquility and kedusha of their Shabbos observance.
Yehi zichro boruch.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Bnei Brak on Sunday following the violent incident in which IDF female soldiers were attacked, sharply criticizing the government and the chareidi parties. His visit quickly triggered a heated response from Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, who accused Bennett of inflaming tensions and called for his immediate removal from the city.
Speaking in Bnei Brak, Bennett said: “A grave line has been crossed in Israel. Here, in the heart of the country in Bnei Brak — not in Ramallah — a violent mob chased IDF female soldiers, humiliated them and tried to lynch them. Not in Shechem, not in Ramallah — here in Bnei Brak, against our soldiers.”
He continued: “This is what happens when people sense that draft evasion is winning. There is an address for this; it did not happen in a vacuum. Netanyahu and the chareidi parties — what did you think would happen? When you turned a blind eye to the calls of ‘We will die and not enlist,’ what did you think would happen? What did you think would happen when you ignored violence directed at chareidi soldiers who do enlist?”
Bennett added: “Everyone who was involved in this incident will be thrown into jail as quickly as possible. And I say in the clearest terms: under my leadership there will be no place for anarchy or violence. Everyone will serve, everyone will enlist, everyone will uphold the law — and that is how we will unite the State of Israel.”
Deri responded angrily, calling Bennett’s visit a political stunt. In a sharply worded statement, he said: “I call on the Police Commissioner to immediately issue a restraining order barring Naftali Bennett from the streets of Bnei Brak.
“This inciter and agitator came to the city to inflame tensions and exploit a painful situation in order to gather votes for himself. This despicable man, who stops at nothing, is the last person who should be present at this scene.”
Bennett replied to Deri’s demand, stating: “The problem is not Deri, who has grown accustomed to acting as if he owns the country, but Netanyahu, who sold it to him. When Deri calls on healthy young chareidi men not to dare enlist to help IDF soldiers, Netanyahu remains silent, backs him, and advances a draft law that abandons our soldiers.”
Shas officials were quick to counter with a forceful rebuttal: “Bennett, how dare you speak about ‘selling the country,’ after you disgracefully sold it to Mansour Abbas in exchange for the prime minister’s seat? The public has not forgotten. When you disguised yourself as right-wing, you passionately defended Torah scholars, whom Rabbi Deri spoke about, and the merits they bring to the Jewish people. The moment the right expelled you from its ranks, you joined the left and became the fiercest attacker of the Torah world and an agent of national chaos.
“Your cynical use of IDF soldiers and bereaved families is no less severe than your arrival in Bnei Brak to dance on the blood of the divisions you created. It seems there is no depth to which you have not descended.”
{Matzav.com}
