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The Shin Bet and the IDF announced Sunday night that Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, was eliminated in an Israeli strike in Gaza City.

Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Israel Katz had posted on social media that Obeida had been killed, but the military typically waits to confirm until all intelligence is verified. In the past, political leaders have declared deaths prematurely, only for the army to later correct them.

In this case, officials explained that the Shin Bet directed the mission from its headquarters while working hand in hand with the IDF to carry out the operation.

There are occasions when the IDF executes airstrikes solely based on its own surveillance and data. The fact that this strike was coordinated with Shin Bet suggests that pinpointing Obeida required more advanced intelligence work of the type usually handled by the security agency.

According to Al Arabiya, the Israeli military targeted the apartment where Obeida was hiding, killing him along with everyone else inside. Reports said both his relatives and senior Qassam Brigades figures confirmed that he had been killed.

On Saturday, the IDF and Shin Bet had already issued a statement acknowledging that they had carried out a strike in Gaza City aimed at “a senior Hamas terrorist.”

The military added that, ahead of the attack, it employed careful measures to reduce civilian casualties. These included precision-guided weapons, close aerial monitoring, and intelligence assessments before the strike.

Throughout the current conflict, Israeli officials said Obeida had been at the forefront of Hamas’s propaganda efforts, issuing boasts of the group’s so-called “victories” on October 7, 2023, and in subsequent months.

He became a key figure in Hamas’s psychological warfare against Israel, using his messaging to sway public opinion abroad and foster sympathy for the terror group.

In recent months, Hamas has also effectively spread the narrative in the West that Israel was deliberately starving Gaza.

In reality, Israel had been carefully calibrating food deliveries, trying to ensure there was just enough supply to prevent widespread hunger while still applying pressure on Hamas by limiting its control over aid distribution. Even when shortages peaked last month, there was no actual famine in Gaza.

On Friday, Obeida declared that Israeli captives were being held in the same battle zones as Hamas fighters and subjected to identical dangers.

“We will preserve the lives of the captives to the extent that we can,” Hamas stated. “They will remain with our fighters in the places of confrontation, exposed to the same risks.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

The Islamic Republic of Iran is showing signs of imminent collapse, according to a new report from the UK-based Henry Jackson Society, raising alarm among policymakers that the fall of the regime could spark civil war and intensify global instability. The report’s release comes as the United Nations accused Tehran of executing nearly 900 people in 2025 alone, describing the campaign as a deliberate “tool of intimidation” by authorities clinging to power. The think tank warns that mass executions underscore the regime’s weakening grip, and that the crisis could tip into violent fragmentation without a coordinated transition plan. “This is an outcome that must be avoided at all costs for the Iranian people, and every step must therefore be made to ensure that any transition is quick and painless,” the report said. The findings emphasize that despite sustained military setbacks—including joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June—the regime remains committed to its revolutionary ideology. That includes efforts to reconstitute its nuclear program and its policy of exporting terrorism regionally and abroad. Those strikes, which destroyed infrastructure and killed top Iranian leaders, “set back the regime,” the report found, but “have not eliminated the strategic and security threats posed by the regime.” The analysis highlights Iran’s domestic opposition as “culturally liberal and yearning for freedom,” but warns that the government’s ability to co-opt and suppress dissent creates volatility. Economic discontent and cultural resistance, it said, are converging into a combustible political environment. “This offers a greater prospect of galvanizing the Iranian opposition if there is a plan for the day after as opposed to a vacuum of governance,” the report said. “And in so doing, it contains the best prescription for both resolving the threat the Iranian regime poses to the international community, and to its own people.” At the center of the crisis stands Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose leadership has become synonymous with resistance to reform and a commitment to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The report argues that as long as the clerical elite continues to repress dissent while advancing nuclear ambitions, the regime will remain both fragile at home and dangerous abroad. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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The Iran-backed Houthis on Sunday raided offices of the United Nations’ food and children’s agencies in Yemen’s capital, detaining at least one U.N. employee, officials said, as the rebels tighten security across Sanaa following the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several Cabinet members. Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Program, told The Associated Press that security forces raided the agencies’ offices in the Houthi-controlled capital Sunday morning. “WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable,” Etefa said. Also raided were UNICEF offices, according to a U.N. official and a Houthi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media. Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said there was “an ongoing situation” related to their offices in Sanaa, without providing further details. The U.N. official said contacts with several other WFP and UNICEF staffers were lost and that they were likely also detained. The raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the United Nations and other international organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen. They have detained dozens of U.N. staffers, as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the now-closed U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. The U.N. suspended its operations in the Houthi stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen after the rebels detained eight U.N. staffers in January. At least 5 ministers confirmed killed in the Israeli strike Sunday’s raids came on the heels of the killing of the Houthi prime minister and several of his Cabinet in an Israeli strike on Thursday, in a blow to the Iran-backed rebels who have launched attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea in relation to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Among the dead were Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, Foreign Minister Gamal Amer, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Development Mohammed al-Medani, Electricity Minister Ali Seif Hassan, Tourism Minister Ali al-Yafei, Information Minister Hashim Sharafuldin, according to two Houthi officials and the victims’ families. Also killed was a powerful deputy interior minister, Abdel-Majed al-Murtada, the Houthi officials said. They were targeted during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year,” a Houthi statement said on Saturday, two days after the strike. Defense Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Attefi survived while Abdel-Karim al-Houthi, the interior minister and one of the most powerful figures in the rebel group, didn’t attend the Thursday meeting, the Houthi officials said. Thursday’s strike came after the Houthis attacked Israel on Aug. 21 with a ballistic missile that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at Israel since 2023. The missile, which the Houthis said was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, prompted air raid sirens across central Israel and Jerusalem, forcing millions into shelters. The Houthis are likely to escalate their attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, after they vowed in July to target merchant ships belonging to any company that does business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality. (AP)

A complete work that has never been published: Commentary on Torah, Nevi’im, and Kesuvim in the handwriting of the Maggid Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Lessla, author of Kli Tiferes. With a handwritten approbation by the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov of Lissa, author of Chavas Daas and Nesivos HaMishpat. The approbation is dated Elul 1819 and consists of seven full lines in his holy handwriting. It was originally written for his sefer Kli Tiferes, though it was not printed there due to the printing costs, as mentioned at the beginning of the sefer.

Israel is reportedly planning to detain Greta Thunberg and other activists in harsh “terrorist-level” conditions after they joined the largest flotilla yet headed for Gaza, with proposals to hold them in Ktzi’ot and Damon detention centers and potentially seize their vessels for police use.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, the biggest civilian effort to challenge Gaza’s blockade, departs today with over 50 ships representing 44 countries.

Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other anti-Israel activists set sail Sunday in what organizers call the largest protest flotilla to date, aiming to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and open a maritime “humanitarian corridor.” The Swedish climate activist — who has increasingly embraced anti-Israel causes since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel — is joined by far-left Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua and activists from 44 countries. Vessels departed from Barcelona, Sicily, Greece, and Tunisia under the banner of the Global Sumud Flotilla, promoted by the Barcelona Radical Book Fair as “history’s largest international civil humanitarian movement” against Israel. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a restricted meeting Sunday at his official residence to weigh Israel’s operational strategy. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and senior security officials participated, with Ben-Gvir pushing for far harsher measures against the more than 200 activists involved. According to Yisrael Hayom, Ben-Gvir’s proposed deterrence strategy was drawn up in an August 28 meeting with top police and Prison Service officials. The measures would see flotilla participants detained under what the minister described as “terrorist-level conditions” at Ktzi’ot and Damon prisons — stripped of television or radio access, denied enhanced meals, and held for weeks rather than overnight. Israel would also seize the vessels and convert them into police assets for maritime operations, a step sources said had already cleared judicial review. “Previous gentle handling failed,” sources close to Ben-Gvir told Yisrael Hayom. “After several weeks at Ktzi’ot and Damon, they’ll regret ever arriving. We must eliminate their appetite for another attempt.” The flotilla marks Thunberg’s second attempt to break the blockade. In June, she was detained aboard the Madleen and deported. Of the 12 passengers, four, including Thunberg, accepted voluntary deportation. All were banned from Israel for 100 years. Upon landing in Paris, Thunberg denounced Israel, claiming she had been “kidnapped” by the Navy. The IDF says the naval blockade is a critical security measure against Hamas. On August 11, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told JNS the military “enforces the security naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Illinois Governor Pritzker: “National Guard troops, any kind of troops, on the streets of American city don’t belong unless there is an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency. There is not.”

A harrowing video shows a young boy walking along a high monorail track at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania before a bystander climbed up to rescue him; the park confirmed he was safely reunited with his family.

Sec. Kristi Noem: “We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago… but we do intend to add more resources to those operations… We will continue to go after the worst of the worst across the country.”

IDF Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir: “Most of the remaining Hamas leaders are abroad. We will get to them, too.”

Sen. Hagerty: “President Trump is moving [Putin] in the right direction. I think that we need to give President Trump maximum latitude here.”

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $1.1 billion after Saturday’s drawing produced no winner, marking the fifth-largest prize in the lottery’s history.

Democrat Eric McWilliams doesn’t approve of Donald Trump sending National Guard troops to cities like Washington, D.C. And he’s certainly not supportive of most of the president’s policies. But the 63-year old retired handyman and U.S. Navy veteran does praise Trump for one thing. “When it comes to crime,” he said, “He’s alright. He’s doing pretty good. How he’s doing it is another matter.” “Crime is a big problem,” he went on. “At least he is doing something.” McWilliams’ views reflect the thinking of a lot of Democrats, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It finds that while most disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue, a large majority, 68%, see crime as a “major problem” in large cities. That’s despite the fact that statistics show crime, overall, is down across the nation, with some cities reporting 30-year lows. The findings underscore the challenge facing Democratic leaders. They must thread the needle between criticizing Trump’s policies, which are deeply unpopular among their base, while at the same time not dismissing widespread concerns about safety, which are amplified in many news sources and in online forums like Facebook and the popular Nextdoor app. That could create a vulnerability for the party heading into next year’s midterm elections. Trump pushes Democrats to engage on an issue where he has the upper hand While Trump remains unpopular overall, the new poll finds his approach to crime has earned him high marks compared to other issues like the economy and immigration. About half of U.S. adults, 53%, say they approve of his handling of crime. The vast majority of Americans, 81%, also see crime as a “major problem” in large cities. That includes nearly all Republicans, roughly three-quarters of independents and nearly 7 in 10 Democrats. The issue is complex, though, even for those who are concerned. In interviews, participants who oppose Trump’s unprecedented takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police department and threats to expand his efforts to other cities expressed alarm, calling his actions anti-American and part of what they see as an effort to distract the public from issues the White House would prefer they ignore. They believe resources would be better spent investing in community policing, mental health services and passing meaningful laws to get guns off city streets. But many also bemoaned the state of public safety in the country, even if they said they felt safe in their own neighborhoods and acknowledged that violent crime is down after a pandemic-era spike. Several noted that they or their neighbors had been the victims of serious crimes and complained about what they felt was a lackluster police response. Brian Cornelia, 62, a retired foreman and lifelong Democrat who lives in Michigan, near Marquette, is displeased with the performance of both parties. “Defund the police was nuts,” he said. “Now with Trump what he’s doing, that’s nuts too.” He said that crime is “not at all” an issue where he lives and “down all over,” but nonetheless appreciates that Trump is doing something. “Something is happening. We’ll see if it helps or not, but it’s better than not doing anything,” he said. Either way, he said Trump had backed Democrats into a corner. “It’s bad. How are you going to say you don’t want crime to be dealt with?” he said. “If you argue […]

President Donald Trump took to social media to release security footage showing damage in the White House Rose Garden, blaming a subcontractor for leaving a deep crack in what he described as “the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere.”

On Truth Social, Trump said he recently found a “huge gash” stretching over 25 yards across the limestone just three days earlier.

“Surfaces are very important to me as a Builder,” Trump wrote. “As everyone knows, I built many GREAT Buildings, and other things, over the years. … [The limestone crack] was deep and nasty! I started yelling, ‘Who did this, and I want to find out now!’—and I didn’t say this in a nice manner.”

Trump explained that he initially questioned whether the cause was vandalism or simply “stupidity,” and he praised White House security cameras for uncovering the truth.

“They brought back the stupid people, with their boss watching (in sunglasses!),” he wrote. “It was a subcontractor that was installing heavy landscaping on a steel cart that was broken and tilting badly, with it rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone.”

The video clip he shared depicted two workers maneuvering a yellow cart holding what appeared to be a shrub, rolling it over the freshly installed stone.

The recording also showed at least two other individuals nearby observing the scene as it took place.

Although stressing his “love and respect” for laborers and contractors, Trump emphasized that such damage could not be excused and confirmed the stone would have to be replaced.

“Now, I’ll replace the stone, charge the contractor, and never let that contractor work at the White House again—But, how great is the video equipment? We caught them, cold,” Trump added. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

{Matzav.com}

Rabbi Evyatar Amrani, rav of Kehillas Neiro Ya’ir, has issued a sharply worded open letter to Rabbi Dovid Leibel, president of Achvas Torah, taking aim at his approach to resolving the longstanding issue of army conscription for yeshiva students.

In his letter, published on August 30, Rabbi Amrani acknowledges that Rav Leibel has invested “hours upon hours and vast resources” over the years in seeking a formula that would settle the debate over the draft. He notes that Rav Leibel has engaged in countless meetings, written letters and articles, toured military bases, and even gone into the field during times of war to speak with soldiers and propose initiatives. Recently, legal experts have been retained, and claims have been made of preliminary understandings reached with the army, all with the hope that such agreements could withstand Supreme Court scrutiny.

However, Rabbi Amrani argues that “in the test of results, the facts speak for themselves. The chareidi public—its leadership and its many segments—has not adopted your approach.” He adds that even within Rav Leibel’s own circle, “no significant movement toward enlistment can be seen.”

The letter suggests that the reason may not only lie with opposition from the government or military establishment, but also with Rav Leibel himself: “Perhaps you are simply not acting in the right direction.” Rabbi Amrani urges Rav Leibel to take his ideas to the highest rabbinic authorities: the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, Agudas Yisroel, and Shas. “If they express support, you could approach the army as a true representative, not as a lone voice. But as long as your proposals are not accepted by the gedolim, who lead the community and to whom over 95% of it adheres, they have no public standing.”

Rabbi Amrani warns that without rabbinic backing, Rav Leibel’s initiatives appear not as balanced compromises but rather as “one-sided concessions.” He goes further, charging that Rav Leibel himself seems aligned with a worldview that sanctifies the state and the army: “You yourself stand on one side of the debate, the side that views the state and the army as almost holy and seeks to integrate into them as an ideal. But the chareidi public, across its spectrum, does not see this as an ideal!”

He stresses that the struggle is not merely over military service conditions but over identity and belief: “Our battle is not only about the terms of service, but about the very consciousness. It is not about how one serves, but about whether at all. Not out of arrogance, but out of deep faith in a spiritual mission that cannot merge with another ideology and way of life.”

Rabbi Amrani concedes that Rav Leibel’s efforts may provide some benefit for individuals who already chose to enlist, provided that any frameworks created remain under proper supervision and agreements are honored. But on the larger question of preserving the independent character of the chareidi community, he argues, Rav Leibel’s approach “misses the core.”

He concludes by acknowledging Rav Leibel’s sincerity but delivers a pointed caution: “I have no doubt you are acting with good intentions. But sometimes, precisely when good intentions are detached from an understanding of the community you seek to represent, they can push people further away instead of bringing them closer.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Congressional Republicans scored a massive victory this summer when they passed President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” of tax and spending cuts without a single Democratic vote. But as they return to Washington this fall after a monthlong August recess, they will have to find a way to work with Democrats — or around them — as a government shutdown looms. The annual spending battle will dominate the September agenda, along with a possible effort by Senate Republicans to change their chamber’s rules to thwart Democratic stalling tactics on nominations. The Senate is also debating whether to move forward on legislation that would slap steep tariffs on some of Russia’s trading partners as the U.S. pressures Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. In the House, Republicans will continue their investigations of former President Joe Biden while Speaker Mike Johnson navigates a split in his conference over whether the Trump administration should release more files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. A look at what Congress will be doing as lawmakers return from the August break: Keeping the Government Open The most urgent task for Congress is to avoid a government shutdown on Sept. 30, when federal funding runs out. And it’s so far unclear if Republicans and Democrats will be able to agree on how to do that. Congress will have to pass a short-term spending measure to keep the government funded for a few weeks or months while they try to finish the full-year package. But Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass an extension, and Democrats will want significant concessions. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s vote with Republicans to avoid a shutdown in March prompted furious backlash within his party. The Trump administration’s efforts to claw back previously approved spending could also complicate the negotiations. Republicans passed legislation this summer that rescinded about $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funds and Trump notified Congress again on Friday that he will block $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid. Democrats have warned that such efforts could tank the broader negotiations. “Trump is rooting for a shutdown,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted on social media Friday. Senate Nominations Fight Senators are expected to return to Washington right where they left off in early August — fighting over Trump’s nominees. Exasperated Republicans fled Washington for the month after making little headway with Senate Democrats over their nominations blockade, which has forced delays in confirmations and angered Trump as many of his administration’s positions remain unfilled. Republican leaders called it quits after a rare Saturday session that ended with a breakdown in bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Chuck Schumer could “GO TO HELL!” Republicans now say they’re ready to try and change Senate rules to get around the Democratic delays, and they are expected to spend the next several weeks discussing how that might work. Russian Sanctions Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s closest congressional allies, has pushed the president for months to support his sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill that would impose steep tariffs on countries that are fueling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by buying its oil, gas, uranium, and other exports. The legislation has the backing of 85 senators, but Trump has yet to endorse it, and Republican leaders have so far said they won’t move without him. Graham has stepped up his calls after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and […]

In an historic first, MDY (Mercaz Daf Yomi – Reb Eli Stefansky’s shiur) is releasing a new easy-to-understand English explanation on Maseches Horayos – just in time for the new masechta daf yomi beginning this Wednesday Sep 3rd. (MAKE A SIYUM IN UNDER 2 WEEKS!) The translation, worked upon together with Machon Aleh Zayis, is revolutionary in that it’s the first explanation designed to make the gemara easy to understand the first time around, without having to resort to further research. The gemara is Oz V’Hadar’s revolutionary menukad gemara – making this the first ever English translation of Horayos printed together with a menukad gemara! This brand new gemara can be purchased HERE or can be delivered to your home for FREE by trying Reb Eli Stefansky’s shiur! To get your FREE GEMARA – simply CLICK HERE Even if you don’t need the free gemara – you should join the shiur and change your life! It’s only 13 days!TO GET THE SHIUR DELIVERED DAILY VIA WHATSAPP – CLICK HERE!

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A complete work that has never been published: Commentary on Torah, Nevi’im, and Kesuvim in the handwriting of the Maggid Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Lessla, author of Kli Tiferes.

With a handwritten approbation by the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov of Lissa, author of Chavas Daas and Nesivos HaMishpat. The approbation is dated Elul 1819 and consists of seven full lines in his holy handwriting. It was originally written for his sefer Kli Tiferes, though it was not printed there due to the printing costs, as mentioned at the beginning of the sefer.