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Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for captives and missing persons, has revealed new and deeply troubling details about Hamas’s strategy regarding the Israeli hostages, saying that arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar ym”sh intended to keep them as a long-term bargaining asset for up to a decade.

Speaking in an interview with Amit Segal in Yisroel Hayom, Hirsch said Sinwar viewed the hostages as an investment designed to generate leverage over “10 years of negotiations.” Hirsch described how Israeli authorities internally categorized the captives based on intelligence assessments and rescue prospects. “We classified the hostages as Ron Arads, those with concern they may never be found; Wachsman cases — hostages in a known location but with low chances of rescue; Regev and Goldwasser — fallen soldiers; or Shalits, those who are returned in a deal,” Hirsch said.

Hirsch recounted the scale of the crisis in the immediate aftermath of October 7. “On the evening of October 8 I realized we were missing 3,200 people. In the second week, 1,060. Later, 400,” he said. During the second week, Israeli officials even considered granting American citizenship to all hostages, after Hamas hinted it might prioritize releasing captives with foreign nationality.

According to Hirsch, there was often an unbearable gap between the quality of intelligence and the slim chances of a successful rescue. “There were cases where one of our units was at the door, but we knew we wouldn’t achieve the vital seconds needed for extraction, so we gave up,” he said.

Hirsch also described how Qatar became the central mediator. He said he called a senior Qatari official, who offered his country’s mediation services. When asked how he could prove he could deliver results, Hirsch recalled replying, “Take out hostages.” The Qatari official then went south to Gaza to supervise a pilot release. The following day, Yehudit and Natalie Raanan were freed, followed later by the release of Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper via Egypt. From that point on, Qatar formally assumed the role of mediator.

Addressing the issue of disarmament in Gaza, Amit Segal wrote that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff noticed skeptical looks during meetings in the Prime Minister’s Office — looks that conveyed doubt over the idea that Hamas would ever disarm voluntarily without direct Israeli military action. “I was born at night,” Kushner told them, “but I wasn’t born last night.” American officials stressed that they had no illusions about Hamas or Gaza’s population, noting that not a single person had called the IDF hotline established for turning in hostages. They added that even in Nazi Germany there were Righteous Among the Nations — and that was without the promise of a $5 million reward.

Still, a senior American official said the most likely outcome remains the destruction of Hamas by Israeli forces. “Still, most chances are that the destruction of Hamas will ultimately be carried out by IDF soldiers,” the official said. “But what do you care if we start the demilitarization peacefully? It’s clear Hamas is stalling, and it’s clear it will want to keep weapons, but what happens if, for example, only 10,000 Kalashnikovs are handed over and only 50 tunnels are destroyed without fighting — how does that hurt? You and we are not in a rush anywhere. It will only save work for the IDF.”

{Matzav.com}

A heated confrontation erupted overnight Wednesday in the Knesset after Labor MK Naama Lazimi demanded that coalition members condemn right-wing activist Mordechai David, who blocked the car of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred as Barak left the “First Liberal Congress” organized by the left-wing provocative […]

An atzeres chizuk for yungeleit was held this week at Bais Medrash Govoha’s Bais Medrash Ateres Esther in Lakewood, NJ, focused on encouraging yungeleit to consider moving out of town to help build and enhance kollelim, mekomos haTorah and communities there.

The gathering featured divrei chizuk from Rav Yisroel Neuman, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoha, and Rav Elya Chaim Swerdloff, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah of Paterson.

WATCH:

President Trump said Thursday that it appears Hamas is preparing to disarm, despite Hamas officials continuing to publicly reject the idea. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said, “It looks like Hamas is going to disarm,” without providing details or citing any agreements. Hamas officials as recently as several hours earlier had insisted they would […]

A man claiming to be an FBI agent showed up to a federal jail in New York City on Wednesday night and told officers he had a court order to release Luigi Mangione, authorities said. Mark Anderson, a 36-year-old Minnesota native who has a history of drug and other arrests and disclosed last year in court […]

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration is preparing to launch a statewide online system that would allow residents to submit reports, videos, and other documentation of encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, an initiative modeled on similar efforts used by activists to monitor federal immigration activity.

Sherrill, a Democrat who was sworn into office earlier this month, revealed the plan Wednesday during an interview on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

“We are also going to be standing up a portal so people can upload all their cellphone videos and alert people,” Sherrill said. “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out. We want to know.”

ICE did not immediately provide a response when asked to comment on the governor’s remarks.

In addition to the reporting system, Sherrill said her administration intends to bar ICE from conducting operations on state-owned property. Several local governments, including Jersey City, have already enacted similar prohibitions at the municipal level.

“They have not been forthcoming,” Sherrill said of ICE operations. “They will pick people up. They will not tell us who they are.”

The governor, who has frequently clashed with Republican President Donald Trump, argued that ICE routinely withholds information about arrests and conducts itself in a manner comparable to a clandestine law enforcement agency.

“They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a 5-year-old child. We want documentation, and we’re going to make sure we get it,” Sherrill said.

Following her television appearance, the governor’s office said more information about the reporting portal would be released soon. The administration said the rollout is being coordinated with Jennifer Davenport, who was recently appointed acting attorney general of New Jersey.

“Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Gov. Sherrill’s top priority, and in the coming days she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

New Jersey’s plan comes after comparable action in New York, where Attorney General Letitia James announced a program in October to gather photos and videos of ICE activity following a widely publicized enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City, a neighborhood with a large immigrant population.

State officials said any submissions to New Jersey’s system would be reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether there were potential violations of state law.

Officials elsewhere have also signaled a willingness to challenge ICE through the courts. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has said he is prepared to pursue state-level charges against ICE agents in certain situations.

At the federal level, members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation said this week that they are organizing legal observer training sessions to teach the public how to document immigration enforcement actions.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said continued scrutiny of ICE is necessary.

“Their crimes must be recorded for the day when those who have violated our rights face justice,” Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., said. “It’s up to us to serve as witnesses now.”

{Matzav.com}

Iranian authorities are converting metro stations and underground parking facilities across Tehran into public war shelters, signaling growing concern among Iranian leaders over the possibility of a major military confrontation involving the United States and Israel. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani announced Thursday that underground infrastructure would be repurposed as shelters, according to Open Source Intelligence […]

Venezuela is overhauling its long-standing nationalist oil policy in an effort to attract investment, with changes aimed at making the country’s vast oil reserves more appealing to outside capital and support the industry’s recovery. The reforms are part of broader moves by the government and reflect a shift toward easing restrictions that had limited foreign […]

President Trump filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS seeking at least $10 billion in damages. The lawsuit alleges an unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax returns during his first term in office. The case was filed in federal court in Miami.

A suspect charged in a violent rock-throwing attack on a school bus on the New Jersey Turnpike that seriously injured an 8-year-old student has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials said.

Authorities identified the man as Hernando Garcia-Morales of Teaneck. The Department of Homeland Security described him as an illegal alien from Mexico with a lengthy criminal record accumulated while living in New Jersey.

According to DHS, Garcia-Morales was arrested in 2023 on burglary charges. Records also show a 2006 arrest for weapons possession and theft.

The attack occurred at about 2 p.m. on January 7 as a school bus was returning to Yeshivat Noam, a Jewish day school, after a class trip to the Liberty Science Center, officials said.

As the bus approached the area near Exit 70A-B in Teaneck, Garcia-Morales allegedly hurled a baseball-sized rock at the vehicle. The impact shattered a window and caused a fractured skull to a third-grade girl, who later required surgery, authorities said.

Two days after the incident, New Jersey State Police arrested Garcia-Morales. He was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering apprehension, police said.

Investigators said Garcia-Morales was located at a makeshift campsite he had set up inside Old Croaker County Park in Bergen County following a state police-led investigation.

State police also said the investigation connected him to several other rock-throwing incidents reported in Bogota Borough, also in Bergen County.

DHS said Garcia-Morales entered the United States at an unknown time and location.

“Violently targeting a school bus full of children is extremely wicked and heinous,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Hernando Garcia-Morales should have never been in this country, let alone released after multiple arrests into New Jersey communities.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s top intelligence officials have made separate visits to Washington in recent weeks to consult with U.S. counterparts on strategy toward Iran, as regional tensions rise and the United States increases its military presence in the Middle East. According to foreign sources, Israeli officials used the meetings to share intelligence on potential targets inside Iran. […]

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades. Lawmakers in the country’s National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry law earlier in the day, less than a month […]

The Senate reached an agreement Thursday evening to keep much of the federal government operating, finalizing a plan just one day before a looming shutdown deadline.

Under the deal, funding for the Department of Homeland Security will be carved out from a broader package that includes five other major appropriations bills. Instead of advancing DHS funding as part of that bundle, the Senate will move forward with a short-term continuing resolution that maintains DHS funding at current levels through February 13.

Negotiations over the temporary funding measure had focused on how long the stopgap should last. Democrats pushed for a two-week extension, which ultimately became part of the agreement, while Republicans had argued for a six-week continuation.

Two sources familiar with the talks confirmed the arrangement, noting that Republican leaders were still reviewing the details with rank-and-file members to determine whether changes or amendments might be required.

The remaining five appropriations bills — covering Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education — are designed to fund those departments for the full fiscal year. If enacted, they would provide funding for roughly 96 percent of the federal government through fiscal year 2026. Senate votes on the package were expected Thursday night.

President Trump signaled support for the agreement in a post on Truth Social.

“I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before),” he wrote.

“Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote,” he added.

If the Senate approves the funding measures, attention will then shift to the House, which will be responsible for taking up the bills in the coming days.

The House is not expected to reconvene until Monday, making a brief funding lapse likely. Uncertainty also remains about how smoothly the legislation will move through the chamber, as some Republicans have already called for revisions to the bills.

Democrats had previously warned they would block the entire six-bill funding package unless the DHS measure was removed, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

That backlash left Republicans on the defensive and led the administration to take steps aimed at easing tensions.

Discussions between Democratic leaders and the White House intensified Wednesday night, setting the stage for Thursday’s agreement.

“Hopefully, we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now. I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe want to see it either,” President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting earlier Thursday. “So we’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown.”

The compromise leaves lawmakers with only a narrow window to reach a longer-term solution for DHS funding for the remainder of the year.

On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats are pressing three conditions in renewed DHS negotiations: ending roving patrols by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and tightening warrant requirements; increasing oversight by establishing a universal code of conduct; and mandating body cameras for agents while barring them from wearing masks.

“Under President Trump, Secretary Noem and Stephen Miller, ICE has been unleashed without guardrails,” Schumer said. “They violate constitutional rights all the time and deliberately refuse to coordinate with state and local law enforcement.”

{Matzav.com}

Trump on Iran: “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now — and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”

President Donald Trump sent a personal letter to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, thanking him for advancing the decision to name a new seaside promenade in Bat Yam after the American president and expressing appreciation for the gesture.

According to a report by Ynet, the letter arrived unexpectedly in Israel and included a photograph from the groundbreaking ceremony for the promenade, personally signed by Trump. On the photo, the president wrote, “Bibi, This is so great. Thank you. Donald.”

The groundbreaking ceremony took place about four months ago and was attended by Netanyahu, Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. During the event, Huckabee photographed the beachfront and informed those present that he had sent the images directly to Trump. Shortly afterward, Huckabee announced that the president had “promised to visit the promenade.”

In the photograph signed by Trump, Netanyahu and Brot are seen laying the cornerstone for the new promenade together, with Ambassador Huckabee standing alongside them. In his letter, Trump thanked the prime minister for his role in promoting the project.

Ynet further reported that construction work on the promenade is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed within the next few months. Once finished, Trump is expected to receive a formal invitation to inaugurate the promenade during one of his future visits to Israel, together with the prime minister and the mayor of Bat Yam.

{Matzav.com}

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Thursday it assisted in the transfer of the remains of 15 Palestinians to the Gaza Strip following the return of the remains of Ran Gvili hy”d, the final Israeli hostage held in Gaza, marking the completion of a months-long operation tied to the ceasefire agreement. The […]

A new poll published Thursday night examines the political impact of a possible three-way alliance between Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, indicating that such a joint list could dramatically reshape Israel’s political map.

According to a Channel 12 News survey, no political bloc currently has a clear path to forming a government without support from the Joint List or parts of it. Under the present scenario, the Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, would emerge as the largest party with 27 seats. Naftali Bennett’s party would place second with 21 mandates, followed by the Joint List with 12 seats and the Democrats with 11.

Shas and Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, would each receive nine seats. Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, and Otzma Yehudit would secure eight seats apiece, while United Torah Judaism would be the smallest faction in the Knesset with seven mandates.

The survey also assessed the effect of a partial consolidation. In that scenario, the Joint List would gain two additional seats, effectively weakening the so-called “change bloc” by one mandate. The opposition would stand at 57 seats, compared to just 51 for the current coalition. Several parties would fail to cross the electoral threshold, including Religious Zionism (2.9%), Blue and White (1.8%), and the Reservists party led by Yoaz Hendel (1%).

However, the most striking results emerged when the poll examined Eisenkot’s proposal for a full merger with Bennett and Yair Lapid. In that case, the unified list would surge to 38 seats, making it the largest party in Israel by a wide margin, while Likud would remain steady at 27 seats.

In this scenario, the Joint List would retain 12 mandates and the Democrats 11. Shas would again receive nine seats, with Yisrael Beytenu and Otzma Yehudit each winning eight. United Torah Judaism would remain the smallest faction, holding seven seats.

At the same time, a separate poll released by Channel 14 painted a very different picture. That survey showed the right-wing bloc strengthening significantly, reaching 64 seats, compared to 43 for the left-wing bloc. Arab parties would collectively receive 13 mandates.

In the Channel 14 results, Likud would lead with 34 seats, followed by the Joint List with 13. Bennett’s party would receive 12 seats, and Shas would gain 10. The Democrats and United Torah Judaism would each secure nine seats, as would Yisrael Beytenu.

Otzma Yehudit and Yashar would each stand at seven mandates, while Yesh Atid would fall to six. Religious Zionism would receive four seats, and Blue and White would fail to pass the electoral threshold, polling at just 3%.

{Matzav.com}

For some, it was the children’s luggage and small ice skates that became indelible memories of the night a passenger plane and a helicopter collided over the murky Potomac River. Others remember boats navigating debris and shallow water to bring victims’ bodies ashore. And there was the suddenness: people seconds from landing, gone. Families of those on […]

Democrats and White House have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides have agreed to […]