One day after the body of Rani Gvili, who was killed in the Gaza Strip, was returned to Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and the government’s Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons, Gal Hirsch, delivered statements to the media addressing the ongoing war, the hostages, and Israel’s next steps.
Netanyahu focused on Israel’s objectives in Gaza and described what he called the essential components of victory. “The complete victory depends on three things-returning all our hostages, dismantling Hamas and its weapons, and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, we completed the first task.”
Turning to Israel’s plans for Gaza after the fighting, the prime minister drew firm red lines. “We will not allow Turkey to enter Gaza. We will not establish a Palestinian state in Gaza. Israel will maintain security control over the entire area of Gaza.”
Addressing regional threats, Netanyahu warned Iran against any escalation. “The Iranian axis is trying to recover, but we will not allow it to do so. If Iran makes a grave mistake and attacks Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has never seen before.”
Hirsch spoke emotionally about the cost of the effort to recover hostages and the scale of the losses. He acknowledged the extent of behind-the-scenes work that remains largely unknown to the public, saying, “In Israel, they don’t know everything you did. He helped bring people from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Venezuela.”
Reflecting on those who were murdered in captivity, Hirsch said, “87 of the kidnapped were killed. I remember them one by one, names and faces, love their families, and am tormented and pained by the terrible suffering and loss.”
Overcome with emotion, he described the personal toll of the mission. “This was the hardest task of my life. It’s not a holiday, but it’s a painful and also a happy day.”
Later, Netanyahu was asked whether national elections would proceed as scheduled amid the political crisis surrounding the conscription law. “That is my hope and aspiration. We need stability, and the last thing Israel needs is elections.”
He was also questioned about preparations for a possible confrontation with Iran and the role of the United States. “President Trump will decide what he decides, and the State of Israel will decide what it decides. We are prepared for any scenario, but I said the main thing here. If Iran makes the mistake and attacks us, it will receive a response it cannot even imagine.”
Netanyahu disclosed challenges Israel faced earlier in the war, including shortages of military supplies. “At a certain point in the war we didn’t have enough ammunition, and soldiers fell. Some of this loss of ammunition also came as a result of the embargo – this changed beyond recognition with the entry of President Trump.”
He concluded by outlining a long-term vision for Israel’s defense independence. “But we have reached security maturity – we must have an independent arms industry. And I intend within a decade to completely free ourselves from the financial component of American security assistance, which currently stands at $4 billion. I want us to move relations with the US from aid relations to cooperation relations – joint investments, joint development and production.”
{Matzav.com}
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday evening completed the reading of all sections of the proposed conscription law, marking a major step toward final approval of one of Israel’s most sensitive and long-debated pieces of legislation.
Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth announced at the conclusion of the session that the panel has reached the end of the reading stage and that the bill will soon be brought to a vote in the committee ahead of its second and third readings. “We are reaching the finish line,” Bismuth said. “What dragged on for years, what repeatedly got stuck in endless discussions, moved forward during my watch, because there was a clear goal: a law.”
According to Bismuth, the committee’s work was driven by a desire to reach a decision rather than prolong deliberations without resolution. “Brick by brick, through dialogue, cooperation, and determination, we succeeded in completing the complex stage,” he said.
Bismuth also referenced remarks made earlier in the evening by the prime minister, who said Israel is “on the verge of completing the passage of the conscription law.” He noted that responsibility now shifts to the next phase of the legislative process. “The torch passes to the entire Knesset,” Bismuth said, “to continue the process until the law is approved in the plenum.”
{Matzav.com}
Sad news emerged from London on Tuesday night with the passing of R’ Dovid Shimon Berger z”l, a prominent askan for the Satmar and Pshevorsk communities. He was 49.
R’ Dovid Shimon passed away after battling a serious illness over the past year.
R’ Dovid Shimon was the son of the philanthropist and askan R’ Yosef Yechezkel Simcha Berger, the head of the Pshevorsker kehillah in London, and a grandson of R’ Mendel Berger z”l and the renowned philanthropist R’ Getzel Berger z”l.
He was a son-in-law of R’ Avraham Schwartz, and a grandson of the late R’ Lipa Schwartz z”l.
Widely known in London as a dedicated askan, R’ Dovid Shimon devoted himself to the needs of the Satmar mosdos, particularly the Yeitev Lev network, as well as to the Pshevorsker court. He was deeply involved in fundraising for tzedakah and communal causes, and was admired for his generosity, warmth, and open heart.
Yehi zichro baruch.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that protesters “can’t walk in with guns,” responding to a second fatal encounter involving federal authorities in Minnesota and staking out a position that has angered gun rights advocates.
Trump’s comments followed the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was legally carrying a handgun when he was taken to the ground, disarmed, and shot by border agents during a protest in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The incident has placed Trump in a politically fraught position, forcing him to balance support for forceful federal law enforcement actions against potential fallout with gun rights groups that have long been among his strongest supporters.
“You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump told reporters when asked about Pretti’s death, which occurred just days after an immigration agent fatally shot unarmed activist Renee Good as she tried to drive away.
“You can’t do that. But it’s a very unfortunate incident.”
Trump’s stance has put him at odds with major conservative gun organizations, which argue that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms while exercising other constitutional freedoms, including the right to protest.
Gun rights groups reacted sharply after senior administration officials appeared to suggest that Pretti’s lawful possession of a firearm justified the actions taken by federal agents.
The National Rifle Association said such assertions were “dangerous and wrong,” calling on public officials to wait for the outcome of an investigation rather than “demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
Gun Owners of America similarly said that Americans do not forfeit their right to bear arms simply because they are participating in a protest.
Trump’s remarks also highlighted strains within his own political camp.
While the president dialed back some of the rhetoric used by aides — rejecting the unfounded description of Pretti as an “assassin” offered by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — he did not abandon the broader argument that armed protesters pose an inherent risk to law enforcement officers.
That view has drawn criticism from libertarian-minded Republicans, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who said that “carrying a firearm is not a death sentence.”
The controversy has also revived accusations of inconsistency from Trump’s critics.
During the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 protest at the U.S. Capitol, testimony from a senior White House aide indicated that Trump was aware some supporters attending his rally were armed, yet pressed for security measures to be relaxed so they could move closer, before urging the crowd to march on Congress.
The contrast has intensified Democratic attacks and unsettled segments of Trump’s base, particularly in light of the administration’s past defense of armed conservatives such as Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted after killing two people with an AR-15-style rifle during a 2020 protest.
{Matzav.com}
Federal border czar Tom Homan held talks Tuesday with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with the governor’s office saying the two sides committed to maintaining “ongoing dialogue” as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration enforcement efforts in the state.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minnesota on Monday following a second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE demonstrator over the weekend. Homan was also slated to meet later Tuesday with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“I hear that’s all going well,” Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa.
Trump spoke with Walz on Monday and outlined three concrete steps he says are necessary to halt the unrest and avert additional violence.
First, the president is demanding that Minnesota authorities hand over all criminal illegal aliens currently held in state prisons or local jails — along with individuals who have outstanding warrants or documented criminal records — to federal officials for immediate removal.
Second, Trump wants state and local law enforcement agencies to commit to transferring any illegal aliens arrested by local police directly into federal custody.
Third, the administration is insisting that local police departments actively cooperate with federal agents by helping locate, arrest, and detain illegal aliens wanted for crimes, particularly those accused of violent acts.
Walz and Homan “will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday,” the governor’s office said Tuesday. The statement also urged “impartial investigations into the shootings” of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“We’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation — I have to see it myself,” Trump told reporters.
Homan is briefing Trump directly on his discussions in Minnesota. Trump also met Monday night at the White House with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after directing Homan to the state.
That Oval Office meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, highlighted the administration’s resolve to reestablish order and sharpen its immigration enforcement strategy following violent demonstrations and a deadly encounter involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Trump met with Noem, her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, and other top White House officials as the administration weighs its next moves after Pretti’s shooting death.
Trump said Tuesday that Noem will continue serving in her position.
“I think she’s doing a very good job … the border is totally secure,” he said.
{Matzav.com}A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and critically wounded a man Tuesday morning in southern Arizona near a checkpoint roughly 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to authorities.
The shooting occurred just days after Border Patrol agents deployed to assist ICE operations shot and killed armed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a separate incident that has drawn significant attention.
Authorities said the gunfire broke out around 7:30 a.m. on a roadway approximately five miles north of the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Amado, located south of Tucson along the route to the Nogales border crossing.
The injured man was taken into custody and transported to a level-one trauma hospital following the incident.
“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,” the Santa Rita Fire District said.
The FBI said it is “investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer.”
At the request of federal authorities, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department will lead the use-of-force investigation, a spokesperson told The NY Post.
Officials have not released the identity of the suspect.
The sheriff’s department is expected to provide additional information about the shooting and the ongoing investigation during a press conference scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
{Matzav.com}
Joe Biden addressed the growing turmoil in Minneapolis with an extended post on social media, sharply criticizing federal conduct and urging investigations into recent deadly encounters involving federal authorities.
“What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans,” Biden wrote on X on Tuesday. “We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street.”
In the post, Biden charged that the Trump administration has permitted Americans to be “terrorized,” adding that “violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens.”
He went on to demand “full, fair, and transparent investigations” into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, noting that he and former first lady Jill Biden were sending “strength to the families and communities” impacted by the shootings.
Biden’s comments come as Minneapolis has been gripped by rising tensions after several fatal incidents over the past month involving federal law enforcement officers, incidents that have fueled protests, widespread outrage, and calls for accountability.
Opponents of the federal operations say the shootings highlight deeper issues surrounding the use of force and the erosion of civil liberties, while authorities maintain that formal investigations are underway.
Reaction to Biden’s statement was swift and combative online. Numerous commenters accused him of responsibility for the illegal immigration crisis and other federal policies, arguing that the unrest traces back to decisions made during his administration.
Some commenters also cast doubt on whether Biden personally authored the post. Journalist Nick Sortor wrote, “Who wrote this [garbage].” Another critic, Matt Van Swol, labeled Biden “a disgusting liar” and pointed to what he described as administration failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
“Tell your followers to stop impeding agents,” the conservative account Clown World added.
The episode highlights how the situation in Minneapolis has evolved into a national political flashpoint, pulling in past and present leaders alike and exposing deep divisions in public reaction across social media.
{Matzav.com}
Hamas survivor Emily Damari shared footage showing a long line of humanitarian aid trucks traveling toward the Gaza Strip and condemned the policy allowing the convoy to enter the territory.
“By myself, I counted over 15 trucks on the road, but it’s hard to believe that hundreds of trucks carrying food are flowing this morning to ‘non-involved’ people in Gaza,” Damari wrote in a social media post accompanying the video.
She continued with a harsh rebuke of the situation, saying, “Don’t you still understand that there are no innocent people there?! Apparently, we haven’t learned anything.”
Israeli officials say that since the ceasefire went into effect, approximately 4,200 aid trucks have been permitted to enter Gaza each week under directives issued by the political leadership. At the same time, senior IDF officials have advised cutting back the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Strip.
Data recently presented in closed-door security briefings and later reported by Ynet paints a stark picture of how the aid is being used. “The population in Gaza could survive with much less. 70% of the trucks belong to the private sector, which Hamas taxes twice, imposing a 15-25% tax on every truck of food, fuel, or medicine, and an additional tax when the goods are sold in the market. Hamas is making tens of millions of shekels a day, and the coffers are only shrinking.”
The report also notes that Qatar, identified as Hamas’s primary financial backer, insisted that thousands of aid trucks continue to enter Gaza each week as a condition of its involvement, effectively ruling out any consideration of stopping the aid flow.
{Matzav.com}A prolonged stretch of severe winter weather has turned deadly in New York City, with at least 10 people found dead outdoors over the past week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday as frigid conditions continue to blanket the region.
“At least 10 New Yorkers have tragically lost their lives after being found outdoors,” the mayor said at a storm briefing from City Hall.
“We don’t know if every case will be ruled hypothermia, but we need every New Yorker to be on alert, looking out for their neighbors.”
The dangerous cold is expected to persist for days. Gov. Kathy Hochul has described the weather system as an “Arctic siege on our state,” and forecasters say there is little relief in sight. According to AccuWeather, daytime temperatures are forecast to struggle past 20 degrees through the weekend, while overnight lows are expected to fall into the single digits and below zero.
Officials say wind chills will make conditions even more punishing, marking what they describe as the coldest period New York has experienced in nearly ten years. Subzero wind chills are expected Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with temperatures potentially feeling as cold as minus 10 degrees.
The National Weather Service has issued a Cold Weather Advisory for Wednesday morning, warning residents of the serious risks posed by exposure. “Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures.”
In response, Mamdani said the city is stepping up emergency measures during what he called “life-threatening cold.” Outreach teams will be deployed more frequently, partnerships with community organizations will be expanded, and hospitals are being asked to limit overnight discharges in an effort to keep vulnerable individuals indoors.
“The city remains in Code Blue, which means that we’re intensifying outreach, that we’re conducting round-the-clock checks and have loosened traditional shelter intake procedures to accommodate as many New Yorkers as possible,” the mayor said. “311 calls are being rerouted to 911.”
Since Jan. 19, the city has moved nearly 500 unhoused individuals into transitional housing, Mamdani added.
Residents seeking help or information can find a list of warming centers on the NYC.gov portal and additional cold-weather resources on a separate NYC.gov page. Those needing assistance locating heat are urged to call 311.
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] The symbolic clock at Hostages’ Square in Tel Aviv was stopped at 5:35 p.m. on Monday, marking the first time it ceased since it began running at the start of the war.
The event was organized by the Families Headquarters for the Return of the Hostages and followed the return of Ran Gvili, the final hostage who had remained in Gaza.
The ceremony opened with the entry of the code that brought the clock to a halt. It then continued with remarks from Shira Gvili, sister of Ran Gvili; Michel Illouz, father of Guy Illouz, who was killed while in captivity; Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, who was killed defending Kibbutz Nir Oz; Segev Kalfon, who was abducted from the Nova music festival; and Malachi Shem Tov, father of released hostage Omer Shem Tov.
Captivity survivor Rom Braslavski told those gathered that the end of the countdown did not mean an end to struggle. “The clock may have officially stopped, but it hasn’t really stopped. We can officially say that one war has ended and that we have no hostages in Gaza. But now we’re moving from one war to another, much harder war: the war of rehabilitation, which is also very difficult to endure. I want to wish all those wounded by this war, whether soldiers, hostages, or myself, that we succeed in emerging from this cursed war, in rehabilitating ourselves, and doing everything necessary to restore our souls to what they once were.”
“I wish us all to complete this rehabilitation as we should. We’ve been through everything, and we’ll get through this too.”
Another captivity survivor, Segev Kalfon, reflected on seeing the clock while still held in Gaza. “I first saw this clock in footage that reached us in Gaza: a clock counting the hostages’ time not just in days but in minutes and seconds. That’s exactly how we felt, how every minute was an eternity and every second could be the last second we’d breathe.”
“When I saw photos of you from the square, standing here with our pictures, supporting our families and calling out in the clearest way ‘Until the last hostage,’ you were our light and hope. You were our strength, and no less than that, you were the strength of our families. For me, this is the time to say thank you. Thank you for being here for us. Special thanks I must give to the Hostages Families Forum. I see the connection the families have to this incredible place.”
Kalfon said the moment marked a turning point but not a conclusion. “Stopping the clock is a defining moment, but it’s not the end. It marks the completion of one critical and major phase in which all 255 hostages are no longer held by the abhorrent Hamas and its affiliates. Now 87 families of fallen hostages, including 46 who were kidnapped alive like me and murdered in captivity, these families, together with all of Israel, can turn to begin their rehabilitation process alongside us, the captivity survivors. Because this is grief that touches all of us, everyone who lost friends and brothers since October 7th,” Kalfon said.
Captivity survivor Elkana Bohbot addressed the crowd with gratitude, saying, “I have to tell you that you are the foundation of Israeli society. You are truly this nation’s soul. Really. I’m moved to stand here. Thanks to them, I received a photo of my son inside the tunnel. Thanks to you, we received hope, we received light, and we received faith that no one gave up on us. Ever. I love you all.”
Malachi Shem Tov, whose son Omer was released from captivity, spoke about the weight of the long countdown. “For 844 days, the clock kept running, counting every day, every minute, every second since our world stopped on October 7th. Thank God we can finally stop counting.”
“Thank you to all the people around the world, across every nation, who stood with us and raised our voices. Thank you to the Jewish Federations, the Jewish communities who supported us since day one, and the people of Israel who proved that this is our home. Thank you, President Trump, for making this day possible.”
“From the time we founded the Families Forum, we knew it wouldn’t be a happy ending for all the families. It is a bittersweet ending to our struggle to bring them all home. All the hostages have come home. We will always remember those who lost their lives on October 7th and after. We must never forget what happened on October 7th.”
Shira Gvili, speaking about her brother Ran, whose burial was scheduled for the following day, described the meaning of the moment. “This clock can be stopped and we can return and walk, breathe with relief, mourn, and tomorrow bring Ran to his eternal rest. In the last 844 days, I felt every minute, every split second in longing and anticipation for Ran. The world kept moving, but I wanted it to stop with us. And now he’s here, not as we wanted, hoped, and prayed, but he’s here. He and 86 other fallen hostages have been returned to Israel for burial, and he is the last.”
“This square is a special place. This square is so much more than asphalt. This square is the people, it’s you. Fellow hostage family members who embraced me warmly, staff and volunteers of the Hostages Families Forum who never gave up until the last hostage.”
Captivity survivor Yosef Haim Ohana said the presence of supporters gave meaning to survival. “If they had told me then that I would stand here when this clock stops, I would have spent those entire two years smiling. But not because I would have known I’d finish this alive. Rather because I would have known there would be people who would be here until the end and wouldn’t give up. Thank you for not giving up. It’s all thanks to you.”
Michel Illouz, whose son Guy was killed in captivity, said the clock’s silence would not end his grief. “Those seconds, days, and hours that we’re now finishing counting will never erase the hands of thought and sorrow for me and 45 other families whose loved ones were murdered in captivity. I will never be able to stop thinking and calculating the number of days that maybe Guy would have returned alive if an earlier deal had been made. Maybe then they could have come home alive. I will never be able to erase the image of my parting from my firstborn son Guy, who returned as a bag of bones. Unfortunately, I will have to live alongside the infinite pain with my enormous loss and ours as a nation.”
Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, said the end of the countdown closed one chapter but opened another reckoning. “Today we turn off the clock counting the days that living and fallen hostages were held in Hamas captivity. We turn off the clock at the end of an inhuman chapter in which we fought for the return of the hostages, for social values of mutual responsibility, solidarity, concern for the helpless, and not leaving anyone behind.”
“But I will never stop counting the massacre, the lack of protection, the abandonment, and the breaking of the covenant between citizen and state. I will count these days until the end of my life, with every breath in which my Tamir is missing from this world.”
“On the day we stop the clock with emotion, with the return of the last hostage, I ask to remember the pain and loss of thousands of families who deserve a great embrace and eternal remembrance of the greatest failure in the state’s history. We must do everything to prevent the next failure. We turn off the clock with a prayer that we never have to turn it on again.”
WATCH:
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu responded to questions about the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza initiative, saying Israel’s political and security priorities would be fully safeguarded as the plan moved forward.
He said the government was concentrating on what he described as the final objectives of the war, stating, “Now we are focusing on completing the two remaining missions: dismantling Hamas’s weapons and demilitarizing Gaza of arms and tunnels.”
Netanyahu said he had reached a clear understanding with President Trump on how those goals would be achieved, warning that Israel would not compromise on outcomes. “As I agreed with President Trump… there are only two possibilities: either this will be done the easy way or it will be done the hard way, but in any case, it will happen,” he said. He rejected suggestions that Gaza could be rebuilt before disarmament, adding, “I am already hearing the statements that we will allow Gaza’s reconstruction before demilitarization. That will not happen.”
The prime minister also dismissed reports that foreign forces might be deployed in the enclave. “I am hearing that we will bring Turkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers into Gaza. That too will not happen,” he said.
Addressing claims that Israel would permit the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, Netanyahu spoke forcefully, saying, “I am hearing that I will allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza. That did not happen, and it will not happen.” He emphasized his long-standing position on the issue, stating, “I think all of you know that the one who repeatedly stopped the establishment of a Palestinian state is me, together with my colleagues in the governments I have led. Even today and tomorrow, we will not allow this.”
Netanyahu concluded by reiterating Israel’s security doctrine for the region, saying, “Israel will maintain security control over the entire area from the Jordan River to the sea, and that applies to the Gaza Strip as well.”
{Matzav.com}
