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Lebanese media report that an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern town of Yater has killed one person, while the IDF has not yet commented.

After intelligence investigations, the IDF and Shin Bet have identified 21 “key terrorists” from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were among hundreds of operatives killed in Gaza operations over the past six months.

Yisrael Meir Teharani, a talmid at the Shalhevet HaTorah yeshiva, has been in military detention for a week after being arrested during his sheva brachos. His family members expressed distress that all efforts to release the new husband have failed, and he spent his first Shabbos after Sheva Brachos in a military prison. “We feel as if a sharp sword has been plunged into our hearts,” his family members said. “Instead of sitting with his family around the Shabbos table, just a week after his wedding, he sat in solitude behind bars.” According to the Ezram U’Meginim and Notnim Gav organizations, Teharani’s arrest is a grave escalation in the persecution of the Olam HaTorah, as he appeared at the Holon police station to give testimony—at the request of the police. “If the Israeli police are laying traps for bnei yeshivos, it is encouraging crime within the Chareidi sector, and the consequences for the police could be disastrous,” a statement said. Over 20 Chareidim have been arrested on “draft-dodging” charges at Ben-Gurion Airport over the past week on the way to Uman. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Energy Minister Eli Cohen slammed the defeatist propaganda of the left in an interview with Kan News on Monday and explained that the strike on the Hamas leadership in Qatar was not a mistake. “In Arab countries, behind closed doors they are celebrating the strike,” he revealed. “I told the prime minister—we don’t need Qatar as a mediator.” “This decision proves that the State of Israel has no red lines regarding anyone who tries to harm it, regarding anyone who has Jewish blood on their hands.” “I’ve said more than once that, from our perspective, all Hamas leaders are marked for death. Hamas leaders have two options—surrender and release the hostages, or we will pursue them everywhere in the world.” Cohen also slammed Qatar, which is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. “It can’t play on both sides of the field—presenting itself to Western entities on one hand and, on the other, providing shelter to terrorist elements.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Hamas is reportedly bracing itself for the IDF’s anticipated ground entry into Gaza City, moving some hostages out of underground tunnels and into above-ground locations in an attempt to complicate the battle, Kan Reshet Bet reported Monday morning.

Arab sources inside Gaza indicated that certain captives are being kept inside civilian residences, while others have been placed in makeshift tents.

Additional reports said Hamas has tapped a group of high-ranking operatives to direct the fighting once the IDF pushes deeper. According to those sources, the four men given authority are Az al-Din Haddad, who commands the group’s military wing; Raed Saad, responsible for operations; Mohammed Odeh, overseeing intelligence; and Mahanad Rajab, a key commander in the Gaza Brigade tied to a powerful clan with deep Hamas loyalties in both Shejaiya and Tuffah.

Earlier in the day, Merav, the mother of captive Guy Gilboa-Dalal, told Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) that her son is currently being kept on the surface in Gaza and is being exploited as a “human shield.”

“I was informed that Guy is being held alone above ground in Gaza, serving as a human shield,” she said. “Don’t try to question me further – there are many things I want to say, but I’m holding back out of concern for my son’s safety. When he comes home, maybe I’ll scream louder, maybe I’ll shake things up more.”

{Matzav.com}

A framework deal has been reached for the ownership of popular social video platform TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after weekend trade talks between the U.S. and China in Spain. Bessent said in a press conference after the latest round of trade talks between the worlds top two economies concluded in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak on Friday to possibly finalize the deal. Bessent said that the objective of the framework deal on the social media platform would be to switch to US ownership. Bessent said that Trump and Xi would speak on Friday to complete the deal. “We are not going to talk about the commercial terms of the deal,” Bessent said. “It’s between two private parties. But the commercial terms have been agreed upon.” Chinese officials have yet to confirm Bessent’s statement and were not present at the press conference. The meeting in Madrid is the fourth round of trade talks between United States and Chinese officials since Trump launched a tariff war on Chinese goods in April. Now, the two governments are planning for a possible summit between Trump and Xi, though nothing has been confirmed. Analysts say there are possible trade bumps that could delay the visit. During Joe Biden’s Democratic presidency, Congress and the White House used national security grounds to approve a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake. Trump has repeatedly extended the deadline for shutting down TikTok, even though the law allows for just one 90-day reprieve, and only if there’s a deal on the table and a formal notification to Congress. TikTok is one of more than 100 apps developed in the past decade by ByteDance, a technology firm founded in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming and headquartered in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district. In 2016, ByteDance launched a short-form video platform called Douyin in China and followed up with an international version called TikTok. It then bought Musical.ly, a lip-syncing platform popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined it with TikTok while keeping the app separate from Douyin. Soon after, the app boomed in popularity in the U.S. and many other countries, becoming the first Chinese platform to make serious inroads in the West. Unlike other social media platforms that focused on cultivating connections among users, TikTok tailored content to people’s interests. The often silly videos and music clips content creators posted gave TikTok an image as a sunny corner of the internet where users could find fun and a sense of authenticity. Finding an audience on the platform helped launch the careers of music artists like Lil Nas X. TikTok gained more traction during the shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, when short dances that went viral became a mainstay of the app. To better compete, Instagram and YouTube eventually came out with their own tools for making short-form videos, respectively known as Reels and Shorts. By that point, TikTok was a bona fide hit. Challenges came in tandem with TikTok’s success. U.S. officials expressed concerns about the company’s roots and ownership, pointing to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government. Another concern became the proprietary algorithm that populates what users see on […]

SING Entertainment is indicating an unparalleled collection of surprise stars by their flagship Chol Hamoed concert starring Benny Friedman.   SING Entertainment has just announced the second and final show of their highly-anticipated Chol Hamoed concert series starring Benny Friedman.   On Sunday, October 12 “Benny and Friends” will take the stage for an afternoon concert titled “Whee Want To Sing With You” live at the Newark Symphony Hall brought to you by Whee, a product of SR.   Benny has captured the hearts of yidden of all ages and sects over the years with his captivating performances and unique musical style.   His new album “Be Gebentched” that was released in August proved that to be true, with all thirteen songs becoming the top 13 trending songs of the 24Six Jewish music app, a feat that has never been done before.   “Watching how Benny’s popularity has continued to grow over the years, and coupling that with his new album release, he was sort of a no-brainer for this show” Eli Ickowics of SING Entertainment told YWN. “Our October 12 concert will be Benny’s first public concert appearance in the USA since his album release, giving fans the chance to hear his new songs live, along with Benny’s classic hits.”   The highly-anticipated concert, which will feature a top-notch band led by musical director Gershon Freishtat, also has an unbelievable lineup of Benny’s friends planned as star guest singers. “The audience is going to be stunned,” Benny Friedman shared with YWN about the planned surprises.   The concert is not just about music. It will also be in support of Bonei Olam and their priceless mission to help couples that struggle with infertility.   A show like this doesn’t happen too often, so be sure not to miss it. October 12 at the Newark Symphony Hall. Doors open at 2:00, show begins at 3:00.   Tickets are now on sale at https://t.ly/sing.ywn  

MetLife Stadium President Ron VanDerVeen meets with The Siyum Executive Board and askanim to provide an update on stadium upgrades ahead of the Siyum HaShas, scheduled to take place bez”h on June 6, 2027.

The BBC has ruled that one of its presenters violated editorial guidelines by calling Hamas a “terror group” during a June 15 broadcast.

British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sept. 11 that the corporation’s executive complaints unit (ECU) ruled that it was wrong to use the phrase to describe the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is responsible for leading the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border invasion of southern Israel and many other acts of violence against Israeli civilians over decades.

According to the ECU, the British public broadcaster does not brand organizations as “terror” or “terrorist” groups because of “due accuracy and impartiality” and instead reports that they are designated as such by third parties.

BBC external sign, London, England. Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images.
Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization under U.K. law.

The ECU added that the incident was “reported to the management of BBC News and discussed with the editorial team responsible.”

Less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and then-British prime minister Rishi Sunak agreed that the BBC should label Hamas as terrorists.

“We are dealing with one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world,” the president told Sunak in Jerusalem, calling the broadcaster’s policy “a distortion of facts.”

“I know that in modern democracies, like ours and yours, you can’t interfere per se, but since the BBC has a certain linkage and is known as British all over the world, there has to be an outcry for it to be corrected, and that Hamas will be defined as a terrorist organization there as well,” said Herzog. “What else do they need to see to understand that this is an atrocious terror organization?”

Sunak responded that “we should call it what it is—an act of terrorism perpetrated by an evil terrorist organization, Hamas.”

A prominent media watchdog two week ago accused BBC Arabic of being “sloppy, reckless” and lacking in judgment after it platformed a Palestinian pundit who the broadcaster knew had celebrated Adolf Hitler and the killing of Jews.

The Telegraph on Sept. 6 quoted a spokesperson for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) saying this in connection with a July broadcast on BBC Arabic where the journalist, Samer Elzaenen, was quoted as an eyewitness from Gaza.

He is quoted as saying that Israel has a “starvation” policy aimed at “genocide and takeover,” according to the report.

A BBC spokesperson told the Telegraph that the BBC “should not have used” Elzaenen as a source. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Israeli FM Sa’ar in response to rising tensions with Madrid: “The normalization of political violence by Spain’s Prime Minister threatens everything we stand for. It must end now.”

HATE IN CANADA: Two shuls and a Chabad center were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in Halifax, Canada, over the weekend, with swastikas and “Jews did 9/11” emblazoned on the structures.

Israel’s newest spy satellite, Ofek 19, launched on September 2 by the Defense Ministry and Israel Aerospace Industries, has sent back its first images nearly two weeks after liftoff, after engineers activated its synthetic aperture radar, though the ministry has not released the photos to the public.

KASH PATEL: The FBI is fully investigating Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s Discord chat of over 20 members and they may soon be questioned.

In a Friday sermon in Norfolk, VA, Imam Ismail Saleem said, “The world is a better place without Charlie Kirk, I don’t care about him at all; seeing his family and friends’ tears and anger makes me smile.”

President Trump warned on Monday morning that New York could lose federal dollars following Governor Kathy Hochul’s unexpected decision to throw her support behind socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani for mayor.

“Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has Endorsed [sic] the ‘Liddle Communist,’ Zohran Mamdani, running for Mayor of New York,” Trump posted online. “This is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City.”

“How can such a thing happen?” he continued. “Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!”

Hochul’s dramatic endorsement — after staying silent for months about the mayoral race — came to light Sunday night in The Post, just before her opinion piece appeared in the New York Times explaining her choice.

“In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements,” Hochul admitted.

“But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support,” she wrote.

Her support represents a significant breakthrough for Mamdani, who has battled to win over the Democratic establishment despite capturing the party’s nomination back in June.

Even now, top figures like State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not announced any endorsement of the Queens legislator.

It remains to be seen whether Hochul’s backing will open the door for those leaders to rally around Mamdani.

Trump’s reaction arrived only days after he remarked that Mamdani, the proudly DSA-backed candidate, seemed poised to dominate the contest against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, current Mayor Eric Adams, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

“I’m not looking at the polls too carefully, but it would look like he’s going to win,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” last Friday. “And that’s a rebellion.”

{Matzav.com}

Australia and Papua New Guinea’s defense forces will be integrated under a new security pact that will be signed this week, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, as his government attempts to curb China’s security influence in the region. Albanese said he and his Papua New Guinean counterpart, James Marape, will sign the pact on Wednesday, a day after celebrating the South Pacific island nation’s 50th anniversary of independence from Australia. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will also be in the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby, for the celebrations. “It is a very significant upgrade in our defense relationship,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp. in Perth in Western Australia state before flying to Australia’s nearest neighbor. “It provides for mutual defense, which means that we will provide support for each other, provide for an integration of our interoperability of our assets and our respective defense forces,” Albanese added. With an estimated population of almost 12 million people, Papua New Guinea is the most populous nation in the South Pacific after Australia. Australia has 27 million people. The deal will allow the nations’ citizens to serve in either militaries. Australia would offer Australian citizenship as an incentive for Papua New Guineans to enlist in the Australian military. Australia currently only accept recruits from its Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners, including the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Three Pacific island nations have changed their allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing since 2019 as China’s influence in the region has grown. The U.S. and its allies are particularly concerned by China’s growing sway in security through police training in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Australia and Papua New Guinea signed a security agreement in 2023 that broadened the two nations’ defense cooperation and strengthened Australia’s place as the preferred security partner in a region. The signing was delayed by six months after a separate security deal struck between the United States and Marape’s government sparked protests in Papua New Guinea in May 2023 over concerns that the U.S. pact undermined national sovereignty. Oliver Nobetau, project director of the Australia–Papua New Guinea Network at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute international policy think tank, said any wording around “exclusivity” of the partnership in the new Australia-Papua New Guinea pact would be significant. Several Pacific island nations avoid taking sides in the growing strategic competition between U.S. allies and China. “If there’s any wording around Australia being the security partner of choice for a country like Papua New Guinea, that would be a big win” for Australia, Nobetau said. “We know that Pacific countries, PNG in particular, have been quite adamant about protecting their sovereignty, which means removing the sort of language that excludes third-party partnerships,” he added. Albanese had hoped to sign a security and economic treaty with Vanuatu last week. But concerns within that island nation’s government about how the deal could impact its ability to secure infrastructure funding from China has extended negotiations. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the new bilateral treaty would replace an agreement struck in 1977 with a newly independent Papua New Guinea. “This is a transformational agreement between ourselves and PNG,” Marles said. Australia would continue to discuss with Fiji and Tonga advancing bilateral defense cooperation, Marles said. (AP)

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A Toronto public school teacher has been placed on suspension after allegedly playing a video of Charlie Kirk’s assassination for a class of fifth and sixth graders, according to a report in the New York Post.

In addition to showing the disturbing footage, the teacher is accused of telling the children that Kirk deserved his fate and using the classroom to give a talk about anti-fascism and transgender issues.

“Several students from his class went home and complained to their parents, traumatized at witnessing the on-camera death, which they were forced to witness numerous times over,” a source told the Toronto Sun. “Parents subsequently reached out to school administrators,” leading officials to remove the teacher from duty on Friday while an investigation proceeds.

Later that day, a letter was distributed to families of the students involved, describing the alleged actions as “extremely troubling and completely disturbing,” the Toronto Sun reported.

“During class, students were said to have been shown a portion of a violent video in response to questions being asked about a recent tragic event in the United States,” the letter stated. It explained that the footage was presented by a staff member overseeing a French immersion class and not the regular teacher of that group.

The communication further added that “the teacher has been relieved of all teaching responsibilities pending the outcome of the investigation and will not be at the school. Assistance is being offered to any children traumatized by the incident.”

{Matzav.com}

PM Netanyahu on targeting high rise buildings in Gaza city: “We’re not bringing down those towers to intimidate people, those towers are serving as Hamas strongholds.”