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[Full video below.] Fresh video segments delivered to the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters by the IDF on Thursday brought the public face-to-face with the final months of six captives who were murdered in Rafah in August 2024: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lubanov, Almog Sarusi, and Carmel Gat. The material captures the group’s attempts to cling to routine and emotional stability deep underground.

The clips, filmed at various points during their imprisonment, show the hostages trying to normalize the unbearable. They sit together over chessboards and decks of cards, snack on whatever food they are given, trim each other’s hair, and offer physical closeness and encouragement in the cramped tunnel space.

In one scene, Alex Lubanov is seen buzzing a fellow hostage’s hair while joking, “You could enlist today.”

Another moment shows Hersh celebrating a small victory, announcing, “I won at Rummy,” to the amusement of Eden and Carmel. Hersh then turns serious, declaring, “Let all of Israel know that I am alive, healthy, and everything is fine.”

As the 2024 New Year approached, the group tried to mark the moment by filming a cheerful joint message. They counted down in unison, ending their brief celebration with a spirited, “Happy New Year.”

Eden looks directly into the camera and offers her own message: “Happy New Year to all the families. We are waiting to come home. Happy birthday to my little sister, May – may you be happy and healthy. With God’s help, soon, this year, as they say.”

Another recording shows Hersh, whose hand had been amputated on October 7, attempting to reassure loved ones: “We are healthy, alive, they are taking care of us, we are okay. We want to come home. Happy New Year.”

Almog follows with a message full of longing and resolve: “Happy New Year to everyone at home. We will come back to you healthy and whole. Don’t worry. We are here, and we are here to return.”

Chanukah brought its own bittersweet exchange. As they tried to recreate the holiday underground, Eden asks, “Where are the sufganiyot (doughnuts)?” Laughter follows, and someone replies, “We should have asked for a dreidel too.” Hersh chimes in with a craving for normal life: “We’re waiting for Roladin back in Israel.” During their makeshift candle lighting, the hostages expressed their hopes for “miracles” and pledged, “We will continue to believe.”

Ori Danino, wrestling with the impossibility of observing the mitzvah properly, is heard saying, “We are in a place where we cannot truly light Hanukkah candles, because of bandits, wild beasts, and enemies. What we are doing now is a mitzvah. We are trying to fulfill the commandment – but we cannot.”

Another video shows the immense pressure of captivity pressing in. Carmel Gat, in a quiet but firm voice, pleads with one of the terrorists about Almog’s deteriorating condition: “It’s been too long like this, it’s not good. He needs treatment.” She adds, “I’m not a doctor,” emphasizing that he requires real medical help.

Additional footage reveals the six making their way through the damp tunnel passages where they were ultimately killed. At one point, a hostage takes in a rare moment of ventilation and exclaims, “Finally, fresh air.”

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{Matzav.com}

Israel has received multiple new leads in recent weeks pointing to the possible burial site of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage from the October 7 attacks, according to the Jerusalem Post. The leads, described by officials as credible but still unverified, center on the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic […]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that millions of American wage earners should brace for unusually large tax refund checks at the start of 2026, crediting the surge to the tax provisions embedded in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Bessent explained that the measure’s tax cuts will translate directly into a significant round of refunds during the year’s first quarter, with households poised to receive substantial payouts once filings are processed.

“I think we’re going to see $100-$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000, $2,000 per household,” Bessent said Wednesday.

He attributed the expected cash influx to several components of the law, noting that features such as automatic deductibility and the elimination of taxes on tips form the backbone of next year’s financial boost.

A major factor, Bessent continued, is that working Americans have not yet updated their withholding to reflect the tax changes. As a result, many will have overpaid throughout the year and will get the money back once they file.

After receiving their refund checks, he predicted, people will adjust their withholding so that more of their earnings stay in their paychecks throughout the year.

Workers should then notice what he described as a “real increase” in their take-home pay, Bessent said.

Earlier in the week, Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, offered a similar projection. He estimated that taxpayers would likely gain an additional $1,600 to $2,000 next year, largely in the form of refunds, according to CNBC.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cleared Congress in July, has drawn intense pushback from critics who argue the sweeping tax package disproportionately advantages the wealthy while slashing key programs such as Medicaid and food assistance.

{Matzav.com}

Amnesty International on Thursday issued its most extensive investigation to date into the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, accusing Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of committing crimes against humanity, including extermination, murder, torture and violence against women. The 173-page report asserts that the mass killing of civilians in southern Israel meets the threshold […]

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu is exploring the possibility of declaring several destroyed homes in Kibbutz Be’eri as protected national heritage sites, even as the community itself has just voted to remove nearly all of the structures shattered in the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. His office signaled this week that the option is on the table.

The kibbutz held an emotional internal referendum two years after the attack reduced entire neighborhoods to ruins. Residents ultimately supported tearing the homes down, approving the measure by a margin of 196 to 146.

Be’eri experienced some of the worst horrors of the onslaught. The small community of roughly 1,000 lost 101 civilians and 31 security personnel that day. Thirty residents and two additional civilians were abducted, and widespread destruction left dozens of homes burned, shot through, or totally collapsed during the battles that followed.

Channel 12 reported that Eliyahu is reviewing a rarely used provision in the Antiquities Law that empowers him to preserve modern buildings—not only ancient ones—if he deems them historically meaningful.

Under the law, the heritage minister can designate any post-1700 structure for national preservation status provided its significance is deemed clear and substantial.

Responding to inquiries, Eliyahu’s office issued a statement that all but confirmed the idea is actively under debate, saying it would be considered only “a last resort.”

According to the ministry, “many requests… from families of those murdered in the towns and kibbutzim” have been submitted, urging the government to use this legal mechanism to safeguard particular homes as national heritage sites. The office added that “the Heritage Ministry has been working tirelessly for over two years to reach broad agreements with each community and kibbutz according to its unique character and needs.”

On Monday, Be’eri publicly announced the results of its vote: every damaged home in the two most devastated neighborhoods will be razed, except for a single house that will be kept standing as the community’s chosen memorial to the tragedy.

The selected house will remain untouched for a period of five years, though the kibbutz has not revealed which home was chosen for preservation.

Be’eri’s community director, Ofer Gitai, explained that the decision is meant to “preserve the memory of the October events, in a way that respects the narrative that the community chooses for itself, and will leave it in full control of the story.”

Some residents argued during the debate that living among the ruins would trap them emotionally. One person declared that they “don’t want to go back to living in Yad Vashem,” invoking the famous Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. Another resident told Ynet, “We don’t want to live in Auschwitz. We need to recover and move on.”

Still, a portion of the kibbutz felt differently, insisting that demolition would wipe away an important physical reminder of Be’eri’s history and the trauma it endured.

A spokesperson for the kibbutz told The Times of Israel that the 62 homes slated for demolition were largely either burned or structurally compromised, and that all would be removed except the single house designated as a memorial. The community does not intend to rebuild in that area.

Meanwhile, construction is progressing on the opposite side of Be’eri. Eighty new homes are being built there with support from the Tekuma Directorate, the state body overseeing reconstruction of the Gaza-envelope communities. Roughly eighty residents have already returned to Be’eri. The majority, however, remain temporarily housed at Kibbutz Hatzerim in the Negev while they await the completion of the new neighborhood, with hopes of returning next summer.

{Matzav.com}

Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office led a group of delegates from across the state to the nation’s capital for a full day of high-level advocacy, meeting with nearly the entire New Jersey congressional delegation to advance issues of critical importance to the Jewish community. Throughout the day, delegates highlighted several top federal priorities. […]

President Donald Trump, speaking Thursday, tied the current dynamics in Gaza and across the region to what he described as a transformed strategic landscape following U.S. action against Iran’s nuclear program. In his view, the stability now taking shape stems directly from the blows dealt to Tehran.

During the exchange with reporters, Trump was asked about the selection of a general to oversee stabilization efforts in Gaza. He responded by emphasizing Washington’s ongoing involvement, saying, “Well, we’re working very strongly on Gaza. Yeah, we’re working very much on Gaza.”

From there, Trump shifted to a sweeping description of regional diplomacy, arguing that unprecedented cooperation is now taking hold. “We actually do have a real piece in the Middle East,” he said. “We have 59 countries supporting it which is, you know, never happened before. We have countries that want to come in and take care of Hamas. We have countries that want to come in and take care of Hezbollah in Lebanon…we have countries that are volunteering to come in and literally take care of the whole thing. We have a great peace in the Middle East. It’s never happened before and I think it’s very strong actually.”

He linked that posture to the airstrikes in Iran, asserting that the operation fundamentally altered the balance of fear in the region. Describing the mission, he said, “When we went in with those B2s and we – and now I could use the word because it’s been confirmed by the Atomic Energy Commission – we obliterated their nuclear capability, their potential and their nuclear capability would have been there in about two months…they were very close to having massive nuclear weapons and these guys went in and they did a job and that made peace possible, because everybody was afraid of Iran and now they’re not afraid of Iran anymore.”

Trump stressed repeatedly that the United States alone could have carried out such a strike. “No other country could have done that,” he asserted. “No other country has weapons like we do. We have the best weapons in the world. We have the best military in the world, and when we took out Iran, that allowed for peace. There’s no way they could have done a deal if Iran was not really nullified. To a large extent, Iran is not the same country. Iran was a country that was feared by everybody. Now it’s a country that’s been very much downgraded.”

Looking ahead, he warned Tehran against any attempt to reconstitute its nuclear infrastructure. If Iran tried to rebuild, Trump said, “we’re going to obliterate that one [too]. You know, we can knock out their missiles very quickly. We have great power and we helped Israel a lot. We were shooting down the drones. We were doing a lot of things for Israel. We did a good job for Israel, but Israel did a good job. They fought and they all fought bravely.”

Trump then noted that he still sees room for diplomacy, insisting that Iranian leaders remain interested in talks with him. “They would love to be able to make a deal with me,” he said. “They would love to be able to make a deal with me and I’d love to make a deal with them if we could. We were reasonably there for a deal with Iran before the bombing, and they would have been much better off if they made a deal. They could have had a deal. They could have had a deal where they would have been much better off. Look at what we’ve done. Their place is blown up. Forget about the nuclear the nuclear is gone, but look at the damage they’ve suffered, the death that they’ve suffered. They could have had a deal – nobody would have died, no buildings would have been down, nothing would have happened. But they missed that opportunity, but they would like to make a deal right now. Iran would like to make a deal with me.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Security Cabinet signed off Thursday night on a sweeping decision to formally authorize and regulate nineteen communities throughout Judea and Samaria, moving forward with one of the most extensive expansion steps in years.

The move came in response to a joint initiative advanced by Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz. Among the newly approved locations are Ganim and Kadim, two communities in northern Samaria that were cleared nearly two decades ago during the Disengagement and are now slated for renewed development.

The authorization package covers a mix of longstanding neighborhoods seeking formal status as well as newly emerging sites still in the early phases of construction. The breadth of the decision underscores a significant political milestone in expanding Israel’s presence across the region.

The communities included in the government’s approval are: Esh Kodesh, Allenby, Givat Harel, Ganim, Har Bezek, Ya’ar El-Keren, Yatziv, Yitav West, Kadim, Kochav HaShachar North, Kida, Mishol, Nachal Doron, Pnei Kedem, Reihanit, Rosh HaAyin East, Shalem, and Tamun.

{Matzav.com}

As Klal Yisrael prepares to light the first Chanukah candle on Sunday night, an astonishing discovery in the hills south of Yerushalayim may shed new light on one of the most dramatic episodes of the Chanukah story. Dr. Dvir Raviv of Bar-Ilan University revealed to The Press Service of Israel that his archaeological survey at […]

Fox News host Jesse Watters declared Wednesday that Republicans are likely to lose their House majority in next year’s midterm elections, even as he predicted “the strongest economic year” since the 1980s. Watters’ comments came during a heated segment on The Five, where the hosts debated affordability and economic messaging. Amid widespread public frustration over […]

A stunning new lawsuit is accusing ChatGPT of playing a direct role in a brutal murder-suicide in Connecticut, marking the first time an artificial intelligence platform has been formally accused of contributing to a killing. The complaint, filed Thursday in California by the estate of 83-year-old Suzanne Eberson Adams, alleges that ChatGPT fed paranoid delusions […]

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The United States has demanded in recent days that Israel take financial responsibility for clearing the vast amounts of rubble across the Gaza Strip and oversee the enormous engineering operation required, according to a Ynet report citing a senior Israeli official. Israel has agreed to the request, the report says, despite the projected cost reaching […]

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Indiana’s Republican-led Senate decisively rejected a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party, defying months of pressure from President Donald Trump and delivering a stark setback to the White House ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The vote was overwhelmingly against the proposed redistricting, with more Republicans opposing than supporting the measure, signaling the […]

In a dramatic escalation following a recent Israeli High Court ruling, officials in Israel’s Finance Ministry and Justice Ministry are now considering a complete halt to all yeshiva funding until the government can verify that none of the money is being directed—directly or indirectly—to students classified as draft-evaders.

The emerging proposal, reported by Kan News, comes days after the High Court ruled that the state may not finance, even indirectly, any yeshiva bochurim who are legally obligated to enlist and have not received deferments.

While government allocations to the Olam HaTorah have already been sharply reduced over the past year, funds are still being transferred to yeshivas under existing budget frameworks. Senior officials, however, fear that even with stipends to draft-evading students already frozen, general yeshiva funding may still ultimately benefit those individuals.

Earlier today, Kan News reporter Tamar Almog revealed on Reshet Bet that the Attorney General intervened to block an increase in funding for foreign-born avreichim for precisely that concern, arguing that until the government can prove that allocations are not “leaking” to draft-evaders, such increases cannot move forward.

Tonight, it was disclosed for the first time that ministries are weighing an across-the-board shutdown of the entire yeshiva budget unless and until the state can demonstrate clearly that no part of the funding is supporting students who are obligated to enlist.

Such a measure would freeze billions of shekels annually and would set off a major political and communal upheaval, dealing an unprecedented blow to the chareidi sector and triggering far-reaching implications in the coalition.

{Matzav.com}

Tensions rose on Thursday during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the United Torah Judaism faction, as the continued stalemate over the draft law leaves chareidi lawmakers under growing pressure from their constituents.

The meeting, held under significant time constraints, was described as partially heated. According to remarks aired on Channel 13, Netanyahu tried to calm concerns, saying he has no intention of going to elections now and that he would lead a public campaign in support of the law to ensure it passes.

The MKs, however, expressed the strain they are experiencing on the ground.

MK Yaakov Tessler reportedly told Netanyahu, “We can’t go to the batei knesses because people shout at us over the situation.”

UTJ chairman Yitzchok Goldknopf challenged the prime minister as well, saying, “Your grandfather learned Torah and sat in the mizrach. Here they are putting Torah learners in prison.”

MK Asher added that “the rabbonim have not yet approved the wording.”

According to the leaked comments, Netanyahu reiterated that he wants to maintain the long-term partnership between Likud and UTJ and said, “I am not interested in elections at this time. The alliance between Likud and United Torah Judaism is long term. We will run a campaign explaining why this law is good. Only Edelstein and Shasha-Biton will oppose.”

After the meeting, Likud issued a statement saying: “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu concluded a meeting with the United Torah Judaism faction, part of a series of meetings he is holding with all coalition parties. The prime minister and UTJ members discussed the issues currently on the agenda.”

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore billions of dollars in canceled FEMA disaster mitigation funding, siding with 22 states and the District of Columbia that sued over the canceled grants this summer. President Donald Trump’s administration said in April it was “ending” the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities […]

Speaker Mike Johnson defended the military’s second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel, saying after reviewing a classified video that “this is a straightforward case — narco-terrorists were caught smuggling deadly drugs en route to the United States.”