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R’ Yisrael Elias, a yungerman from Neve Yaakov, was spared from tragedy in the horrific shooting yesterday at Ramat Junction in Yerushalayim, where six Yidden were niftar.

Speaking on Kol Chai radio, Yisrael recalled the terrifying scene when a bullet pierced his vehicle, missing his head by a hair’s breadth.

“Hashem protected me with miracles,” he said. Yisrael was driving his regular route from home to his Yeshiva in Givat Shaul along Begin Road, when he suddenly hit an unusually heavy backup at the junction. “It took me an hour and twenty minutes to get there; it was unusually long.”

Just after he passed the busy bus stop, gunfire rang out. “I instinctively stopped the car; I don’t know why, instead of running,” he remembered. As he stepped out, he spotted a terrorist—bald, in jeans—about 15 meters away, firing at innocent people.

“He just shot one person, then another, moving between people as if it were a game,” Yisrael described, still shaken. Realizing the danger, he rushed back to his car, but the terrorist had noticed him and aimed directly at him.

“I sat in the seat and heard a boom. The bullet went through the rear windshield, passing right above my head,” Yisrael recounted. “If I had turned my head to look back, the bullet would have hit me directly. It was a matter of centimeters.”

He suggested that perhaps the attacker thought he was armed, or simply wanted to take him out. “I was right in front of the bus, two cars away from the massacre.”

Yisrael, who still vividly remembers the Neve Yaakov attack from a few years back, expressed his sense of helplessness. “I tried twice to get a gun license, but it didn’t work because of bureaucracy,” he said. “I saw a 15-year-old boy shot beside me when he tried to hitchhike. I hesitated to pick him up but didn’t.”

“Seeing people fall, their lives ending, and you can do nothing—it’s terribly frustrating,” he added.

Overcome with emotion, Yisrael voiced his gratitude to the Ribbono Shel Olam: “Hashem didn’t want seven more orphans and a widow.” He pointed out that the attack, carried out in a crowded area, could have been far worse. “Two terrorists with Carlo rifles shot continuously for three minutes. It’s a miracle there weren’t more victims.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

The Trump administration is imploring the nation’s public health agencies to prioritize investigations of vaccine injuries, prescription drug use, and the cause of autism in a new “Make America Healthy Again” report focused on children released on Tuesday. The 20-page report, overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., promises to put an end to childhood diseases in the U.S. by refocusing the nation’s public health agencies on the topics that those in Kennedy’s wide-ranging and politically diverse “MAHA” movement have demanded the government prioritize. His renewed push to investigate vaccine injuries could deepen a clash between Kennedy and the public health agencies he oversees, which have been upended by mass layoffs and disagreements over his controversial policies. Kennedy is releasing his blueprint for healthy children after weeks of tumult prompted by disagreements over vaccine policy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that resulted in the director’s firing and other top leaders walking out on the job. Just last week, senators grilled Kennedy over his anti-vaccine agenda and his leadership of the public health agencies. Kennedy’s latest report, released on Tuesday, does not make regulatory changes. Instead, it calls for the government agencies to further research a wide range of issues related to Americans’ health, though it lays out no plans for funding that research. The National Institutes of Health, which is facing a 40% cut to its budget, is tasked with undertaking much of the MAHA-related research in the report. Under Kennedy’s plan, the government would ramp up investigations of vaccine injuries and develop a framework to ensure “America has the best childhood vaccine schedule” that is simultaneously “addressing vaccine injuries.” The nation’s health agencies already investigate vaccine injuries that are reported by individuals or providers, but Kennedy has repeatedly criticized the current process. An earlier version of the report was first leaked and publicized in August. Slight changes have been made to the final draft, which was developed by a “MAHA” commission that included Kennedy and other members of the president’s cabinet. Despite pledging “radical transparency,” the commission never held a public meeting ahead of the report’s release. Among the differences in the final version of the report released on Tuesday is a call for the National Institutes of Health to use personal medical records and health insurance claims data to investigate the cause of diseases and disorders, including autism. “The NIH will link multiple datasets, such as claims information, electronic health records, and wearables data, into a single integrated dataset for researchers studying the causes of, and developing treatments for, the chronic disease crisis,” the report says. Kennedy has vowed for months that he would unveil the cause of autism, a complex developmental disorder that impacts the brain, by September. He has promised to execute a massive research effort to identify the disorder’s causes, but has stayed mum on details regarding who is conducting that research and when it will be released. Last month, President Donald Trump pressed Kennedy for his findings during a cabinet meeting. Those who have spent decades researching autism have found no single cause. Besides genetics, scientists have identified various possible factors, including the age of a child’s father, the mother’s weight, and whether she had diabetes or was exposed to certain chemicals. The “MAHA” report addressed a […]

Chareidim are currently protesting outside Prison 10 against the arrests of two Chareidim over the IDF draft.

Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney puts out a statement condemning the Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in Qatar.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and IAEA Director Rafael Grossi have officially signed the finalized cooperation framework between Tehran and the agency.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at today’s press briefing that President Donald Trump had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Israel’s airstrikes in Doha, Qatar, which were aimed at Hamas leadership based there.

“Netanyahu told Trump that he wanted to make peace quickly, and that the President believes that this unfortunate incident can be used as an opportunity for peace,” Leavitt stated.

She went on to say, “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and ally… does not advance Israel’s or America’s goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

Leavitt also noted that Trump spoke with Qatar’s Emir, giving assurances that “Nothing like this will happen again on your soil.” She explained further that “President Trump immediately instructed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to notify the Qataris of the impending attack, and he did. The President considers Qatar a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack.”

She concluded by emphasizing Trump’s position: “President Trump wants all the hostages in Gaza and the bodies returned and for this war to end now. To be clear, the President disagrees with the location of the attack, and he did convey that to the Prime Minister.”

{Matzav.com}

A kol koreh signed by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel, the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, and the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah has called upon Klal Yisroel to rise in protest against the renewed gezeirah of forced conscription. The letter, issued Tuesday, describes the situation facing Am Yisroel as “a sha’ah kashe — from within and without.” It warns that the threat of drafting bnei Torah into the army is an existential assault on the very kiyum of Torah and mitzvos. “Our strength and our protection has always been the Torah ha’kedoshah,” the gedolim wrote, declaring that “the Torah is what has sustained us through all generations of galus.” The gedolim decry the government’s insistence on pushing forward its conscription agenda despite the grave spiritual danger it poses. “They are seeking to tear bnei Torah away from the daled amos shel halacha, to uproot lomdei Torah from the yeshivos and kollelim, and to endanger the existence of the Torah world.” In response, Chareidi leaders have announced massive protests for this Thursday. Police have already approved demonstrations in Yerushalayim, Beitar, Tzefas, Haifa, and Kiryat Gat, with coordination underway for additional cities. “This is the time to cry out in tefillah and rachamim, to show before Hashem that the Torah world stands together in defense of Torah and lomdei Torah,” the gedolim wrote. They urge every member of Klal Yisroel to participate in these demonstrations as an expression of kavod haTorah and hiskashrus to daas Torah. The gedolim further urged bnei Torah and yeshiva families to strengthen themselves in limud haTorah and tefillah during this eis tzarah. “With the zechus of Torah, we will continue to exist and endure against the nations of the world and against all who seek to weaken us.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup is here. The tech giant on Tuesday unveiled four new models that mark the latest editions to its marquee product. That includes the introduction of the iPhone Air, which Apple says is its thinnest smartphone yet. And, as seen in years past, its newest phones boast better cameras, longer lasting batteries and a handful of other upgrades across the board. The latest devices come with a new a A19 chip, which will particularly help power Apple’s artificial intelligence features. Tuesday’s lineup mark the first phones Apple has released since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and unleased a barrage of tariffs impacting goods that businesses sell and consumers buy every day. Some analysts speculated that California-based Apple may raise iPhone prices leading up to Tuesday’s announcement. But for the most part, Apple is sticking with the same price tags it’s slapped on its newest iPhones over recent years, just weeks after Google also held steady on prices for its new Pixel smartphones. Here’s what to know about the iPhone 17, which officially hits stores Sept. 19 — and other gadget updates. iPhone 17 prices Apple’s going price for the iPhone 17 begins at about $800 — compared to $1,100 and $1,200 for its iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. The iPhone Air will start at $1,000. Most of that aligns with the pricing Apple has rolled out with its new iPhones over the last five years — with the exception of the Pro, which is $100 more expensive this year. But that still falls within the $800 to $1,200 range that the company has outlined between its most basic and top offerings since 2020. Apple’s latest iPhone lineup arrives as companies across industries face rising costs from Trump’s new punishing tariffs on imports from around the world. And the Trump administration has also repeatedly insisted that iPhones should be made in the U.S., rather than in the company’s current manufacturing hubs overseas. But analysts stress that this is an unrealistic demand that would take years to pull off — and could result in doubling, or event tripling, iPhone’s current average price of $1,000. A camera revamp and longer battery life In addition to better camera quality on its front and back facing lenses, iPhone 17’s front camera has been upgraded across its lineup to have a wider field of view and new sensor, allowing you to take landscape photos and other selfie orientations without having to rotate your phone. iPhone’s new Air offering also gives users the option to record videos using the front and back cameras simultaneously. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max added a more powerful telephoto lens, among other improvements. Apple also boasted longer battery life across its iPhone 17 lineup. It said that its new iPhone Air, in particular, would be the tech giant’s most power-efficient iPhone yet. What about AI? The iPhones Apple rolled out last year were the first the company designed with a wide range of new AI features. The iPhone 17 lineup announced Tuesday doesn’t make as many leaps as its predecessor — but each phone will come with Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 26, which will feature incremental AI advances. Previewed at its developers conference in June and set to also launch next week, iOS 26 will include capabilities like allowing you to take a screenshot and […]

According to reports from the Saudi network Al Hadath, five of Hamas’s most senior operatives, including the group’s head Khaled Mashal, had gathered in Doha on Tuesday afternoon when the IDF struck the location. Early accounts indicated that Mashal and at least three others were killed in the blast.

This strike in the heart of Qatar’s capital marks the first time Israel has gone after Hamas’s leadership on Qatari soil. For nearly two years since the October 7 massacre, Israel had avoided directly targeting the top figures who lived in comfort there.

Among those said to have been present at the meeting were Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, along with veteran Hamas figure Nizar Awadallah. Arabic media outlets claim that all three, in addition to Mashal, were eliminated in the operation.

Al Jazeera, however, cited a Hamas representative who insisted the leaders survived. For now, Hamas has issued no official confirmation or denial about their status, and Qatari authorities have not clarified whether the intended targets were killed.

The IDF disclosed that the mission was given the name “Summit of Fire.”

It was further reported that President Donald Trump authorized the strike in advance, with the attack carried out in coordination with the United States.

{Matzav.com}

Some 150 public-safety professionals from across New York City gathered at the Police Academy in Flushing, N.Y., for what the mayor’s office called a “high-level” and “first-of-its-kind” training on Jew-hatred on Sept. 8.

The training is “part of our city’s all-of-government approach to combat antisemitism head-on,” stated Moshe Davis, executive director of the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.

“We are not only responding to hate but working to understand where it’s coming from, who is fueling it, and how it’s evolving,” Davis stated. “Education is a powerful tool in that fight.”

Training public-safety professionals ensures that “they can confront antisemitism wherever it appears, whether it be in our parks, our schools, our streets and beyond,” Davis said. “This is how we protect the safety and civil rights of every Jewish New Yorker.”

Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, stated that his administration created the office that Davis directs to ” lead with clarity, coordination and education.”

“From swastikas and inverted red triangles to threats against Jewish students or synagogues, we will not let hate gain ground,” Adams stated. “In the face of rising global antisemitism, New York is setting a national standard. Here, we fight hate with action. We will fight for the city we love.”

The mayor said that every officer, trainer and city employee needs to know how to identify and fight “antisemitism and all forms of hate.”

“That’s why we brought together New York City’s public safety leadership to confront how antisemitism is evolving,” he said. “How ancient hatred is being repackaged through conspiracy theories, political extremism and propaganda masquerading as activism.”

Participants in the training came from more than a dozen city agencies, including the school safety division, parks enforcement patrol, and the taxi and limousine commission police, according to the mayor’s office.

The retired FBI agent David Collins, a senior research fellow at the George Washington University Program on Extremism, and EJ Kimball, director of interfaith engagement at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, trained participants.

{Matzav.com}

The White House on Tuesday moved quickly to distance President Donald Trump from Israel’s unprecedented strike on Hamas leaders inside Qatar, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the president was not consulted and did not support the action. “The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” Leavitt told reporters. She stressed that Trump did not authorize or encourage the move. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard, and greatly takes risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Leavitt said. While the administration has repeatedly backed Israel’s right to target Hamas operatives, the strike in Doha — home to much of Hamas’s external leadership and a key hub for negotiations — has long been considered a red line. However, analysts note that it is difficult to believe the White House really didn’t know about the strike beforehand and weren’t looped in on every details. It is possible – even likely – that the White House is claiming it didn’t know about it to lessen geopolitical fallout. Leavitt said Trump remained committed to eliminating Hamas but argued the strike undermined diplomatic channels. “Eliminating the mobs who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza is a worthy goal,” she said. She added that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff informed Qatari officials of the impending attack. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli Foreign Minister Sa’ar on Tuesday stressed that Israel seeks to end the Hamas war based on U.S. President Donald Trump’s truce proposal and according to the principles set by Israel’s Security Cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Aug. 14 outlined the Cabinet’s goals for ending the war as the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all 48 remaining hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control and establishing an alternative civilian administration in the enclave.

Sa’ar made his remarks in Zagreb during a closed meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, where the two discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Sa’ar thanked Plenkovic for Zagreb’s support following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror massacre and emphasized Jerusalem’s commitment to further strengthening diplomatic relations with the Balkan nation.

Israel’s top diplomat also referred to the Palestinian terror shooting that killed six civilians in Jerusalem on Monday, saying the Jewish state remains under assault on several fronts.

Sa’ar told Plenkovic that Israel’s enemies, led by Iran, continue to plot the country’s destruction, and that while Jerusalem desires peace, it “cannot compromise on the security of the state and its citizens.”

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart later on Tuesday morning, Sa’ar said that the Jewish state “has been fighting for its existence against radical Islamist terrorism for almost two years.

Sa’ar praised Zagreb for being among the “responsible countries” who chose not to join the French- and Saudi-led initiative to recognize a Palestinian “terrorist state” in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

“Countries like Croatia, Germany, Italy, which is fair, which is engaging fairly with both sides, contributed for example to the humanitarian issue in [the] Gaza Strip more than these countries who initiated unilateral initiatives like Spain, like France,” the top Israeli diplomat explained.

“For the sake of peace, it is very important to continue with this path of countries like Germany, like Italy, like Croatia, which understand that peace will be achieved in a bilateral context,” he stated. “I can assure you that we hear our friends, we take their words into consideration.”

Regarding the Gaza Strip, Sa’ar emphasized that the war “can end tomorrow” if Hamas agrees to the U.S. proposal for a hostage deal.

“President Trump said it clearly two days ago: Israel said yes to his proposal. We are ready to accept a full deal that would end the war based on the Cabinet decision,” the foreign minister stated. “We only have two simple demands: the return of our hostages, 48 are still being held in cruel captivity in Gaza, and for Hamas to lay down its arms.”

According to him, the second condition is not critical only for the Jewish state, but will also ensure “a better future of Gaza and the Palestinians.”

“On the contrary, the current initiative to recognize a Palestinian state undermines regional stability,” added Sa’ar, arguing that such a move would reward Hamas for Oct. 7 and serves as an incentive for the terrorists to prolong the war.

Trump said on Sunday that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas in Gaza could be imminent, telling reporters he believed all remaining 48 captives would be freed as part of the U.S. proposal.

The remarks came just hours after Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that Jerusalem had agreed to the latest framework.

“Everyone wants the hostages home. Everyone wants this war to end! The Israelis have accepted my terms,” he wrote. “It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

Hamas confirmed in an official statement on Sunday that it had received “several ideas from the American side to reach a ceasefire agreement,” conveyed through Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating the talks.

Hamas claimed it was willing to discuss a deal “in exchange for a clear declaration of the end of the war and a full [Israeli] withdrawal from the Strip, as well as the establishment of a committee to manage Gaza by independent Palestinians that would begin operating immediately.”

Hebrew media reported that under the latest ceasefire proposal, Israel would forgo its planned military operation to occupy Gaza City and instead enter talks to end the war under Trump’s personal auspices.

As long as negotiations continue, the fighting will not resume, with the president making the final decision, according to Channel 12 News.

Meanwhile, all hostages would be released on the first day of the truce, while Israel would commute the sentences of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists serving life terms for deadly attacks. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

At Long Beach Port in California, 100 containers fell off a cargo ship into the water, with several landing on a nearby aid boat, sending clothing and shoes floating across the harbor.

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Sebastien Lecornu, the current Minister of the Armed Forces, as the new Prime Minister.

A spy network being built in Europe by Belarus was broken up by intelligence services from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, the Czech counterintelligence agency said Monday. The Czech agency, also known as BIS, said in a statement that a team of European agents discovered spies in several European countries from Belarus’ KGB security agency. BIS said that a former deputy head of Moldovan intelligence service SIS who handed over classified information to the KGB was among them. The Czechs also expelled a Belarusian agent who was operating under the cover of a diplomat. That person was given 72 hours to leave the Czech Republic, the Czech Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Czech agency said that Belarus managed to create the network because its diplomats are able to freely travel across European countries. “To successfully counter these hostile activities in Europe, we need to restrict the movement of accredited diplomats from Russia and Belarus within the Schengen (borderless) area,” BIS head Michal Koudelka said in a statement. The agency didn’t immediately offer more details. Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said on Monday that it implemented an arrest warrant for a 47-year-old suspect on treason charges. The suspect had previously held management positions within Moldova’s SIS. The suspect allegedly disclosed state secrets to Belarusian intelligence officers that would likely “endanger national security,” DIICOT stated. The Romanian agency added that, between 2024 and 2025, the Moldovan suspect — who wasn’t named — met twice with Belarusian spies in Budapest, Hungary, and that there is “reasonable suspicion” that the meetings involved “transmitting instructions” and exchanging payments for services provided. The ongoing international investigation has been supervised by the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. Belarus is led by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko let Russia use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and later allowed the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles. (AP)

The U.S. Embassy in Nepal urges American citizens to shelter in place amid ongoing deadly protests, while Tribhuvan and Pokhara International Airports have indefinitely suspended all flights.

WH Press Secretary reads a statement on the Israeli strike in Doha: “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and ally… does not advance Israeli’s or America’s goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, currently holds the lead in a new poll, though the margin could narrow significantly if the contest becomes a two-man race, according to results from a New York Times/Siena College survey.

Between September 2 and September 6, researchers polled likely voters and found 46 percent backing Mamdani. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent, received support from 24 percent, while Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa drew 15 percent. Incumbent mayor Eric Adams trailed with just 9 percent.

The Times reported that if Adams and Sliwa were to drop out, Cuomo would capture a large portion of their votes. In a direct matchup, the poll showed Mamdani ahead with 48 percent compared to Cuomo’s 44 percent.

The report also revealed that conversations have taken place about encouraging Adams to bow out of the race, possibly by offering him a position in the Trump administration. At the same time, advisers have been exploring strategies to persuade Sliwa to withdraw.

Much of Mamdani’s momentum is tied to his emphasis on affordability, the survey indicated. Roughly seven out of ten respondents favored his plan to freeze rent hikes on rent-stabilized apartments, with significant backing even from Cuomo and Adams supporters.

When asked which candidate they trusted most to address affordability, nearly half—49 percent—named Mamdani, while 23 percent chose Cuomo. On the specific issue of housing, Mamdani again had a wide edge, 46 percent to Cuomo’s 24 percent.

Respondents also preferred Mamdani’s stance on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Forty-three percent supported his approach, compared to 16 percent who favored Cuomo. The Times pointed out that Mamdani has been outspoken in condemning Israel and has accused it of committing genocide in Gaza.

Still, many voters doubted his ability to follow through on all of his campaign promises. Nearly two-thirds, including more than half of his own supporters, said they believed he would fall short of achieving everything he pledged.

Cuomo continues to carry baggage from his resignation as governor in 2021 after facing sexual harassment allegations. The poll found more than 80 percent of voters believe he engaged in misconduct or illegal behavior.

The survey, conducted among 1,284 likely voters, carries a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.

{Matzav.com}

Israel notified the United States of its plan to strike Hamas leaders in Qatar only after its jets were already airborne, according to a Channel 12 report citing multiple U.S. officials. The U.S., which operates a significant military base in Qatar, detected Israeli jets heading eastward and sought clarification from Israel. Israeli officials then disclosed that the mission targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar. The information was relayed to U.S. President Donald Trump, who instructed his administration to alert Qatari authorities. However, the warning was issued only after missiles were already en route, the report claims. Notably, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Miami the previous day but did not disclose the impending operation, according to the report. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

PRESS SEC: “President Trump will commemorate the 24th anniversary of 9/11 on Thursday with a visit to the Pentagon memorial in the morning, followed by an appearance at the New York Yankees game at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx on Thursday evening.”