The commander of the ground unit that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has spoken publicly about the mission for the first time, describing the intelligence trail, the moment of identification, and the emotions that followed the elimination of the October 7 mastermind.
Lt. Col. Ran shared his account during an interview on Shlomi Adler’s All in podcast, explaining that the night before the operation was filled with uncertainty and disbelief. “I was awake all night,” Ran recounted. “I kept telling myself, you’re imagining it. Don’t try to connect the dots. I gathered the company commanders, showed them yesterday’s drone image, and said: tell me, who does this look like?”
After zeroing in on a suspicious structure, the force moved in on foot, entered the building, and conducted a thorough search that led to Sinwar’s identification. Ran described the scene that followed the confirmation. “We’re standing over the body, smiling at each other, and saying: ‘Wow, this is Sinwar.’ It’s an insane closing of the circle.”
He said the recognition of who lay before them brought an intense emotional release, given Sinwar’s role in years of bloodshed and the October 7 attack. “This is the architect, this is the scoundrel, this arch-terrorist-this is the one who caused me, as a battalion commander, to lose so many fighters, who caused so much loss to the IDF, kidnapped people, and committed horrific atrocities against our people. This is him.”
Ran stressed that the killing was not the result of an airstrike or a high-profile special forces raid, but the work of regular ground troops who have carried the burden of the fighting throughout the war. “The one who killed him wasn’t an air force bomb, not a special operation, not Shayetet 13. No-it was infantrymen, it was tank crews, fighters who day in and day out throughout this war worked the hardest, and here-we succeeded.”
The remarks offer a rare, first-hand look at a pivotal moment in the war, underscoring both the operational reality on the ground and the personal toll borne by those leading and fighting in Israel’s ground campaign.
{Matzav.com}
Following the announcement that MK Yisrael Eichler has been appointed Deputy Communications Minister and has rejoined the coalition, a sharp public exchange erupted between senior Agudas Yisroel figure Moti Babchik and media personality Yinon Magal.
As reported earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu succeeded in bringing Eichler, a representative of the Belzer chassidus, back into the government by awarding him the deputy ministerial post, despite opposition within parts of Agudas Yisroel, particularly from the Gerer chassidus. The move effectively returned Agudas Yisroel to the coalition.
Magal quickly mocked the development on social media, posting sarcastically: “Breaking: Babchik’s car has been found abandoned at Tzuk Beach.” The jab alluded to Babchik’s reputation as a dominant power broker within Agudas Yisroel and suggested—tongue in cheek—that he had been outmaneuvered by Belz following Eichler’s return.
The comment drew an immediate and forceful response. Babchik, who serves as chief of staff to the chairman of United Torah Judaism, replied publicly: “I saw your mockery about my having abandoned my car at Tzuk Beach. It is better to abandon a car than to abandon values. I would have expected you—someone who speaks morning and night about his love and affection for yeshiva students—to stand by them and defend them, instead of acting as a spokesman and cheerleader for a government that tramples on them and imprisons them.”
Beyond the personal exchange, the political ramifications are significant. Eichler’s appointment triggered the return of Degel HaTorah MK Yitzchok Pindrus to the Knesset under the Norwegian Law, adding another vote in favor of advancing the draft law. As a result, tensions within the chareidi camp—particularly Lithuanian anger toward Belz for breaking earlier understandings—are expected to subside.
It bears recalling that after Netanyahu previously failed to pass the draft legislation, the chareidi parties—United Torah Judaism and Shas—had withdrawn from the government and relinquished ministerial posts until progress was made. Netanyahu’s decision to bring Eichler back is now seen as having fractured the united front of opposition to the law within Agudas Yisroel. With MK Meir Porush unlikely to oppose the legislation, Bezalel Goldknopf appears increasingly isolated, though representatives from Vizhnitz could still align with him.
A senior political source said that the move involving Eichler “was not improvised; it was carefully planned.” According to the source, the timing may be linked to an anticipated rabbinic arbitration ruling in a dispute between Eichler and Degel HaTorah over demands that Eichler resign to allow Pindrus to enter the Knesset. “The expectation was that the ruling would be unfavorable to Belz,” the source said, “and that is likely why the move was revealed today.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said that while Reza Pahlavi comes across as personable, he is unconvinced that Iranians would embrace the exiled shah’s son as a leader if the current Islamist regime were to collapse, and he suggested the situation has not yet reached the stage where succession planning is appropriate.
Speaking to Reuters, Trump also indicated that the wave of unrest sweeping Iran — now in its second week and marked by heavy-handed repression — has not progressed to the point where discussions about who might replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei should take place.
Opposition groups say demonstrations have erupted in as many as 195 cities since late December, with protesters demanding an end to the hardline rulers who have governed since 1979. Authorities have responded with mass detentions and lethal force, mirroring past crackdowns. Some estimates claim up to 20,000 people may have been killed over the past month. Despite the scale of the unrest, there has been no clear emergence of a single opposition figure capable of leading a post-Khamenei transition, leaving the question of future leadership unresolved.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has lived in the United States since before the 1979 revolution that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power. Although images circulating from recent demonstrations have occasionally shown monarchist symbols, Trump told Reuters he doubts Pahlavi has sufficient domestic backing to step in quickly if the regime were to fall. Pahlavi is also widely viewed as lacking any organized military or paramilitary force that could supplant the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which dominates Iran’s security apparatus.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country, and we really aren’t up to that point yet,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying. “I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me.”
“Whether or not it falls, it’s going to be an interesting period of time,” Trump added, referring to the Iranian regime.
Reuters reported that Trump has previously said he has no intention of meeting with Pahlavi or engaging in talks about a transition. Speculation in Washington suggested that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, may have spoken with Pahlavi last weekend, though no public confirmation has been made. The news agency also noted that Pahlavi “appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board recently argued that Pahlavi helped energize some of the demonstrations, pointing out that “the Shah’s son called on Iranians to rally against the regime at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,” and that crowds responded. However, protests had already been underway in large numbers since December 31, making it difficult to assess the impact of calls issued from abroad.
The current uprising began in the final week of 2025, driven by two immediate triggers: the announcement of a new tax burden and the sharp collapse of Iran’s currency amid surging inflation. Footage from New Year’s Day shows demonstrators blocking roads and attempting to breach government buildings.
The unrest has been compounded by long-simmering crises, including severe repression enforced by morality police, water shortages so acute that “president” Masoud Pezeshkian has floated the idea of relocating Tehran’s roughly 10 million residents, and extreme weather swings. Iran pursued cloud-seeding operations in November to address drought, following destructive floods in western parts of the country.
From exile in the United States, Pahlavi has repeatedly urged President Trump to take “action” in response to events in Iran, without detailing what form such steps should take.
“The best way to ensure that there will be less people killed in Iran is to intervene sooner, so this regime finally collapses and puts an end to all the problems that we are facing,” Pahlavi said in an interview with CBS News on Monday. “The game-changer would be for this regime to know that they cannot rely anymore on a continued campaign of repression without the world reacting to it.”
“When asked whether he was pushing Mr. Trump to initiate regime change, Pahlavi said that the president stands in solidarity with the Iranian people, which means ‘ultimately supporting them in their ask. And their ask is that this regime has to go,’” CBS News reported.
In the same interview, Pahlavi said he was “prepared” to die for a free Iran, though there has been no indication that he plans to return to the country or join the demonstrations in person. Addressing criticism that encouraging protests from abroad could endanger lives, he responded that “this is a war and war has casualties,” while again calling for unspecified “action.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is not currently planning to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, even as the Justice Department conducts a criminal investigation involving the central bank leader, adding that it is still too soon to decide what steps he may ultimately take.
Responding to questions from Reuters about whether he intended to dismiss Powell, Trump said, “I don’t have any plan to do that,” signaling no immediate action against the Fed chair.
Pressed on whether the existence of the investigation could justify Powell’s removal, Trump indicated that the situation remains unresolved. “Right now, we’re (in) a little bit of a holding pattern with him, and we’re going to determine what to do. But I can’t get into it. It’s too soon. Too early.”
Trump also pointed to potential successors should a change occur, naming former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as leading possibilities. He said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would not be considered, explaining that Bessent prefers to remain in his current role. “The two Kevins are very good,” Trump said. “You have some other good people too, but I’ll be announcing something over the next couple of weeks.”
The Justice Department investigation centers on cost overruns tied to a $2.5 billion renovation of two historic buildings at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters. The probe was opened recently by the Trump administration.
Powell revealed the investigation earlier this week and has denied any misconduct. He has argued that the investigation is being used as leverage in response to his refusal to comply with Trump’s repeated calls for aggressive interest rate cuts.
Criticism of the investigation has emerged from several prominent Republicans in the Senate, whose approval would be required for any new Fed chair nominee. Their concerns have been echoed by foreign economic officials, investors, and former U.S. government officials from both parties, many of whom have warned that the probe risks injecting politics into monetary policy decisions.
Administration officials, however, have defended the investigation, saying the government is obligated to pursue any credible allegations of wrongdoing.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell in public for declining to slash benchmark interest rates as rapidly or as deeply as the president has urged. Powell was originally appointed to lead the Federal Reserve by Trump during his first term.
With November’s midterm congressional elections approaching, surveys show that voters view rising living costs as a major concern, and many give Trump low marks for his handling of the issue.
The president brushed aside objections from critics, including lawmakers whose backing he will need if he nominates a new Fed chair. “I don’t care,” he said. “They should be loyal. That’s what I say.”
He also rejected warnings from economists and financial leaders that undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence could weaken the dollar and fuel inflation. “I don’t care,” he said again.
Over the past year, Trump has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of presidential authority.
In a separate case, Trump has sought to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is challenging her dismissal in court. That dispute is scheduled to be argued before the Supreme Court next week.
Defending his involvement in monetary policy debates, Trump said, “A president should have something to say” about Fed policy, adding, “I made a lot of money with business, so I think I have a better understanding of it than Too Late Jerome Powell.”
{Matzav.com}
