Feed aggregator

Hamas called on Iran Saturday to avoid launching attacks against neighboring countries after the Islamic Republic fired missiles across the region in response to the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign. Some of the strikes targeted countries such as Qatar and Turkey, both of which are also major state backers of the Palestinian terror group.

The statement from Hamas urged an end to what it described as “American-Zionist aggression” against Iran. The announcement came as Palestinian media outlets reported that at least three people in Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said it had killed three Palestinian gunmen since Friday but did not immediately address the specific reports, and the military frequently says such incidents occur after Hamas violates ceasefire arrangements.

In its first public appeal of this kind directed at Tehran, Hamas said that, “while affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries.”

A Hamas representative told AFP that the organization has been in communication with Iranian officials regarding the matter.

“The Israeli occupation seeks to sow discord between Iran and its Arab and Islamic neighbors,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

“Hamas’s leadership has also reached out to officials in several countries, including Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq, urging them to work toward halting the American and Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, including Israel, since Israel and the United States began a bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 28. The strikes were intended to weaken the regime and dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

Qatar said on Saturday that it intercepted two incoming missiles after explosions were heard in the capital, Doha, prompting authorities to evacuate certain areas. Meanwhile, Turkey reported on Friday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran was intercepted in Turkish airspace by NATO forces.

{Matzav.com}

Spring breakers and anyone flying may see longer-than-usual wait times and staffing shortages as TSA workers are going without pay amid the partial government shutdown.

HISTORIC RETURN: The American flag was raised at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas on Saturday for the first time since 2019, “exactly seven years after it was lowered,” the U.S. Embassy team announced. “A new era for U.S.-Venezuela relations has begun.”

A mail truck pushes through flooded roads in Oahu as a powerful kona storm drenches Hawaii, bringing torrential rain, flash flooding and wind gusts over 100 mph across the islands.

export facility, stating that although Tehran appears interested in negotiating an end to the conflict, the conditions currently on the table remain unacceptable.

Trump said the recent American strikes had already inflicted massive destruction on the key oil terminal, declaring that the operation had “totally demolished” much of Kharg Island. At the same time, he told NBC News that additional attacks remain possible, remarking that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”

Kharg Island sits roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) off Iran’s southern coastline and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. The facility is critically important to Iran’s economy, serving as the main export hub for approximately 90 percent of the country’s oil shipments.

{Matzav.com}

A pilot from Alabama had just been promoted to major in January and had been deployed less than a week when the refueling aircraft he was aboard crashed in Iraq this week, killing him and five others, his brother-in-law said Saturday. Alex Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, […]

Protests turned violent in Cuba as demonstrators attacked a Communist Party office, expressing anger over worsening blackouts that have been exacerbated by a US oil blockade

As New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces $7 billion budget hole, free parking may be history •⁠ ⁠New York City is facing an estimated $7 billion budget gap and while new Mayor Zohran Mamdani would prefer to tax the rich, his administration has conceded high property taxes and charging much more for parking are among ideas […]

Q: “When will the Navy start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz?” POTUS: “It’ll happen soon — very soon.”

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela raised the American flag for the first time in seven years following the resumption of diplomatic relations.

The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on the SAVE America Act. Majority Leader John Thune said the vote will proceed without a talking filibuster.

[COMMUNICATED]

Affordable Wood Bookcases introduces expandable dining room tables that solve your space and entertaining needs. The taupe finish table is 4 ft wide, closes at 8 ft, and expands up to 16 ft for large gatherings.

What’s Available

Expandable Dining Table – $2,750*

• Table stores 4 all wood leaves
• Each leaf is 4 ft x 2 ft
• Taupe finish

Matching Buffet – $750*

• Taupe finish
• 72″ x 36″ x 18″

Finishes Available

Choose from Black, Walnut, Espresso, Taupe, or White Grey to match your décor.

To Order

Contact Heshy Cutler at 732.534.5169 – please leave message Visit our website: www.affordablewoodbookcases.com

Prices exclude shipping

President Trump said Iran must “surrender” to bring an end to the ongoing war, while suggesting the country’s newly installed supreme leader may already be dead. Speaking with NBC News, Trump said he has been hearing reports that Mojtaba Khamenei may no longer be alive. “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he […]

Earlier today, IDF forces demolished in the city of Dura, in the Yehuda Brigade sector, the home of the terrorist Azmi Nader Abu Halil. The terrorist carried out the shooting attack on an Israeli bus at the Al-Khadr junction, in which Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simcha, aged 12, was murdered, and three additional Israeli civilians were […]

CENTCOM: U.S. forces dominate in the skies by launching from the sea.

The Trump administration has turned down efforts by Middle Eastern allies to open diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the war with Iran, according to Reuters. •⁠ ⁠A senior White House official said President Trump wants military operations to continue in order to further degrade Iran’s capabilities and is not interested in talks at this time. […]

President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. military strikes severely damaged Iran’s principal oil export terminal at Kharg Island and suggested that American forces could target the location again.

In an interview with NBC News, Trump described the recent attack as highly destructive and indicated that additional strikes on the island remain possible. “We totally demolished Kharg Island. We may hit it a few more times just for fun,” Trump told NBC News in an interview.

The President also said the operation deliberately avoided critical energy transmission infrastructure. “I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.”

Trump said Iran has shown interest in negotiating a ceasefire but indicated that he is not ready to agree to a deal under the current circumstances. “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he explained, adding that any terms will have to be “very solid.”

When asked what conditions might be included in an agreement to end the fighting, Trump declined to outline specifics. “I don’t want to say that to you.” He agreed, however, that a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.

The President also questioned whether Iran’s newly installed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive. “I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” said Trump.

Referencing reports about Khamenei’s status, Trump added, “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender.”

Speaking on Friday with Fox News Radio, Trump declined to offer a clear timeline for when the war with Iran might end, saying the decision would depend on his own judgment. He told the outlet the conflict would conclude when he feels it “in my bones.”

Trump also said he does not expect the war to drag on for an extended period but stressed that he alone will determine when it concludes.

During the same interview, Trump expressed confidence that the conflict may end soon but said the United States is prepared to continue operations for as long as necessary. He rejected concerns that the U.S. military could run short of munitions.

“Nobody has the technology or the weapons that we have,” he told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in the interview. “We’re way ahead of schedule. Way ahead.” He later assured that the US had “virtually unlimited ammunition. We’re using it, we’re using it. We can go forever.”

On Wednesday night, Trump spoke with reporters after returning from a rally in Kentucky and said Iran’s military capabilities have been severely degraded, describing the country as “pretty much at the end of the line”.

At the same time, Trump made clear that the United States is not prepared to immediately bring the conflict to a close.

“They’ve got no Navy. They’ve got no Air Force. They have no systems of control. We’re just riding free range over that country!” he said.

During his remarks at the Kentucky rally, Trump emphasized that the United States must see the conflict through to completion.

He added that the Iranians “don’t know what the hell hit them. They don’t know. They got hit by the American military – they don’t know. They say, ‘What the hell is happening?’ They didn’t expect anything like this.”

“We don’t want to go back every two years. Because someday there will be a time when you don’t have me as president,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

A newly published study suggests that artificial intelligence chatbots could present psychological dangers for certain users, particularly those who already struggle with mental health conditions such as psychosis.

Dr. Hamilton Morrin, a psychiatrist and researcher at King’s College London, reviewed 20 news reports detailing incidents he describes as “AI-related psychosis.” The reports documented situations in which individuals’ conversations with AI chatbots appeared to strengthen hallucinations or delusional beliefs they were experiencing.

In an article published in the medical journal Lancet Psychiatry, Morrin wrote that preliminary indications suggest AI systems can sometimes echo or affirm grandiose or delusional ideas that users express during conversations. He said this dynamic may be especially troubling for people who already have a predisposition toward psychotic symptoms.

At the same time, Morrin emphasized that there is still no clear evidence that chatbot conversations by themselves can cause psychosis in individuals who do not already possess some underlying susceptibility.

Several of the cases included in the review involved chatbots responding to users with mystical or spiritual phrasing, occasionally suggesting that the person communicating with the system possessed unique or elevated spiritual importance. In some situations, the chatbot even hinted that the user might be interacting with a cosmic or supernatural presence through the platform, something researchers say could further strengthen delusional thinking.

Morrin also cautioned that the concern may become more significant as the use of AI chatbots continues to expand. He pointed out that the first reports began appearing in April of last year, when accounts surfaced describing people whose hallucinations seemed to intensify during conversations with AI systems.

The study’s authors say additional scientific research is needed to better understand the phenomenon. They propose controlled clinical studies in which chatbot use would be observed alongside mental health professionals to determine whether such interactions can contribute to the emergence or worsening of delusional beliefs.

{Matzav.com}

An Israeli fighter jet narrowly avoided being shot down during an Israeli Air Force strike inside Iran this past week, according to Israeli military officials.

During the operation, an attempt was made to bring down the aircraft, and the jet came close to being struck. The effort ultimately failed after the pilot responded quickly and maintained control of the situation, allowing the aircraft to evade the threat and complete its mission successfully.

The incident was later reviewed by the military, and officials said the event has already been examined to draw operational conclusions.

Since the war began, Israeli fighter jets operating over Iranian territory have faced numerous attempts by enemy forces to shoot them down. Despite those threats, Israeli aircrews have repeatedly managed to counter the dangers and carry out their assignments.

“The Israeli Air Force will continue to fly and attack wherever necessary, including over Iranian skies under threat, and will complete its missions during every operational sortie,” stated an IDF spokesperson.

{Matzav.com}

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pushed back Saturday against claims by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran’s newly named supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been wounded and disfigured. “There is no problem with the new supreme leader,” Araghchi said in an interview with MS Now. “He is performing his duties according to the constitution, […]