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An Israeli airstrike targeted the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza City.

Powerball players will get another chance Monday at a jackpot estimated at over $1 billion, after no one won the big prize Saturday night. No one has matched all six numbers since May 31, allowing the jackpot to swell to $1.1 billion, which would be the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner could choose an immediate lump sum of an estimated $498.4 million, again before taxes. The odds of matching all six numbers are astronomical: 1 in 292.2 million. The likelihood of getting struck by lightning is far greater. But with so many people putting down money for a chance at life-changing wealth, someone eventually wins. The numbers drawn Saturday were 3, 18, 22, 27 and 33, with the Powerball 17. Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held each week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights. (AP)

On Motzei Shabbos, the Rishon L’Tzion and member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, HaRav Yitzchak Yosef shlit”a, delivered divrei chizuk to yeshiva bochurim, urging them to remain steadfast in their limud haTorah and not to be intimidated by rumors of possible arrests by military police. Speaking during his weekly shiur at the Yazdim Shul in Yerushalayim, the Rishon L’Tzion said: “Do not be afraid—you are the ones who give strength. Fulfill within yourselves the pasuk, ‘Vayigbah libo b’darchei Hashem.’ Baruch Hashem, the military police do not enter the yeshivos. Do not be afraid-will the military police come? Stand up against them! It is inconceivable that they will come inside; they don’t. Sit and learn with diligence-don’t think about it at all.” The Rishon L’Tzion emphasized that the Torah learning of bochurim provides protection for the entire nation. “Be even more scrupulous in your learning,” Rav Yosef urged. “The soldiers receive their strength from you. All of Klal Yisroel being saved from the missiles launched by the Houthis comes in the zechus of your Torah learning. You are the ones who provide the strength.” Concluding his message, the Rishon L’Tzion reminded the talmidim of the eternal truth of Torah: “We are ma’aminim bnei ma’aminim—this is our Torah. Anyone who says otherwise is a kofer, chas v’shalom. These are the words of our Rabbanim.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, delivered a fierce message to the prime minister at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, declaring that if her son comes back in a coffin, she will hold him personally accountable for murder, the Jerusalem Post reports.

“According to a senior security official, my Matan could have been home already last week,” Zangauker said. “The government of Israel and its leader put a partial outline for a deal on the table and decided to torpedo it at the last minute a month ago. Every time we face a new false spin from Netanyahu.

“If Matan returns in a bag, I will ensure Netanyahu is charged with murder,” she said.

Later that evening, Israelis planned to rally against the IDF’s looming operation in Gaza City, demanding a ceasefire deal without delay. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum warned that intensifying military actions endanger captives. “History is repeating itself! Forty-two of our brothers and sisters were kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity – we must not reach hostage number 43,” the forum said.

At the end of July, Hamas informed mediators it would not pursue further talks until the humanitarian conditions in Gaza were addressed. Communication was then cut off, according to an Israeli source cited by The Jerusalem Post. Around the same time, the Post reported that Israel had officially replied to a Hamas position paper, making it clear the government rejected Hamas’s demand to release prisoners still alive in exchange for the remains of hostages. In mid-August, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated at a press conference that Hamas had been deceitful in the negotiations. He said Hamas demanded the release of Nukhba terrorists, insisted on international guarantees to prevent renewed fighting, and called for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor. Netanyahu said that such conditions were unacceptable to any Israeli government. Although Hamas later signaled openness to a limited arrangement, Israel has maintained that it will only accept a full agreement that secures the freedom of all 49 hostages still held.

“Hamas is interested in a deal. More than a week ago, it gave its consent to Witkoff’s terms, and only Netanyahu refuses to send a negotiating team and sign a deal,” said Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, at Begin Gate. “Why hasn’t Israel discussed the proposal yet since Hamas’ response? There is one person who stands against the will and interest of the people – his name is Benjamin Netanyahu, and he is afraid of two things: the extremists in his government and public pressure.”

“While my son is fighting for his life in captivity and an entire nation is struggling to bring him out of there, the government intends to conquer the Strip and gamble on his life and on the lives of the living hostages, to erase the fallen forever, and to gamble as well on our heroic soldiers,” Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan Horn, said at Begin Gate. “Sitting in the government and the cabinet is a group of deranged people, and every citizen in Israel must ask whether these people are worthy of making decisions about their fate.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

On Friday night, a man walked Chicago’s Peterson Park neighborhood shouting antisemitic slurs like “Heil Hitler” and making violent threats. Because it was Shabbos, a resident asked a non-Jew to call police. While officers came, they only told him to leave — no further action was taken.

President Donald Trump became the center of a viral storm over the weekend after tens of thousands of posts on X falsely claimed the 79-year-old president had died. The phrase “Trump is dead” appeared in more than 90,000 posts, fueled by Trump’s recent absence from public events, ongoing questions about his health, and cryptic commentary from his political allies. The White House quickly sought to stamp out the rumors, calling them baseless and insisting that Trump remains in “excellent health and fit to serve.” On Saturday, cameras captured the president walking on a golf course with family members and Secret Service agents, looking healthy and energetic — widely seen as a staged rebuttal to the frenzy. Vice President JD Vance inadvertently fanned the flames earlier in the week when he told USA Today he was prepared to step in if a “terrible tragedy” struck the president. But Vance insisted Trump remains vigorous, describing him as “the last person making phone calls at night, and the first in the morning.” “Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” Vance said. “But I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term, and do great things for the American people.” Speculation around Trump’s condition is not new. Last month, the White House disclosed that he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency after tests on swelling in his legs. Officials also acknowledged that heavy makeup on his right hand in July concealed a bruise attributed to minor soft-tissue irritation caused by frequent handshakes and aspirin use. Those disclosures added fuel to social media chatter, with some users suggesting the administration was downplaying the severity of his condition. The president has faced false death reports before. In September 2023, Donald Trump Jr.’s X account was hacked, and a hoax post claimed his father had died and that he was entering the presidential race himself. Reactions to the latest wave of posts ranged from mockery to genuine alarm. Some users treated the rumor as dark comedy, while others expressed unease at the sheer volume of speculation. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Pro-terrorist Hasan Piker speaking at a American pro Palestinian event: “Do it out of spite… find that anger within your heart to continue.”

Bochrim from Yeshivas Mir Yerushalyim dancing after Kiddush Levana on Motzei Shabbos.

Mayor of Yerushalyim, Moshe Lion, was warmly welcomed together with MK Moshe Gafni to the singing of “Se’u She’arim” at the inauguration of the new building of Talmud Torah HaMasorah, which fully integrates children with special needs into the school.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, disclosed in a televised interview that the Mossad’s initial plan for striking Iran had been abandoned before October 7. He explained on Meet the Press that the strategy was ultimately set aside.

According to Gallant, the proposed operation was “too complex and not lethal enough.” He added that in March 2023 he had advanced an alternative strategy, which he described as a “100 day paper,” focused on concentrated aerial attacks against the Iranian regime.

The shelved proposal, he explained, would have cost the state billions of shekels and required an enormous amount of intelligence to implement effectively. Gallant said repeated delays meant it would not have been operational in time for Israel to respond when needed.

“Anyone going to war with Iran must assume Hezbollah will be drawn in,” he continued, while criticizing Naftali Bennett and Benny Gantz for failing to expand Israel’s military stockpiles when they were in government. “200,000 shells were taken from us for Ukraine. Did they order a single new shell to be produced? The answer is no.”

Gallant expressed admiration for the IDF’s role in Operation Rising Lion, stressing that while the Mossad played a small part, the Air Force executed most of the mission with intelligence gathered by the military.

He said Iran’s nuclear program has been pushed back “by years,” though he cautioned that Tehran will eventually rebuild and Israel must be ready for the next confrontation on that front.

Gallant also outlined that at the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, five objectives were defined. Of these, three have already been realized: dismantling Hamas’ organizational capacity, eliminating much of its leadership, and securing unrestricted military freedom for the IDF inside Gaza.

“To achieve the two remaining goals, returning the hostages and replacing Hamas’ rule with an adequate alternative, requires a political arrangement,” Gallant said on the program. He argued that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich currently wield “veto power” within the government.

He pressed them, and the rest of the cabinet, to accept the ceasefire and hostage-release proposal put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

“We do not leave anyone behind: Not wounded soldiers and definitely not civilians,” Gallant said. “I believe that we must bring all the hostages home and if we can bring home ten hostages, half of those who are still alive, and the remains of the deceased hostages in the first stage of the deal, then we must take it.”

{Matzav.com}

The White House has confirmed it is moving forward with a plan to rebrand the Pentagon, with officials saying the Department of Defense will once again be called the Department of War, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The original Department of War was created in 1789 to oversee the country’s armed forces. Its name was altered after World War II to the National Military Establishment, before being changed again to the Department of Defense.

Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly explained to Fox News that the move reflects an effort to bring back traditional American military principles.

“As President [Donald] Trump said, our military should be focused on offense — not just defense — which is why he has prioritized warfighters at the Pentagon instead of DEI and woke ideology,” Kelly wrote in a statement. “Stay tuned!”

This announcement followed comments from Trump earlier in the week, where he indicated the adjustment was coming soon.

“You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re going to change the name,” the president said at the White House earlier in the week. “You want to know the truth, I think we’re going to have some information on that, maybe soon.”

He also pointed to the legacy of the department’s original name, stressing its association with decisive victories.

“We won World War I [and] World War II. It was called the Department of War. To me, that’s really what it is,” he said. “I’m talking to the people. Everybody likes that. We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”

Since Congress is responsible for authorizing executive departments, a legal change would require an amendment, although Trump suggested he may not see that as necessary.

“I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that. But, if we need that, I’m sure Congress will go along,” Trump said. “Defense is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be. So, it just sounded to me like a better name.”

At this stage, the president could either push legislation to formally establish the new title or move ahead with an unofficial rebranding on his own.

{Matzav.com}

Trump announced he will sign an executive order requiring voter ID for every ballot and banning universal mail-in voting, declaring: “USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!”

The boats participating in the “Freedom Flotilla to Gaza” are preparing for their departure today from the port of Barcelona towards the port of Gaza.

In a joint operation, the Judea and Samaria District police, IDF troops, and Border Police arrested 10 suspects and seized dozens of weapons and explosives as part of their ongoing crackdown on illegal arms possession and use.

IDF forces foiled a weapons smuggling attempt on Israel’s western border after spotting a drone crossing into the Paran Brigade area on Saturday; soldiers intercepted the drone, seized the weapons, and transferred them to security authorities for further handling.

HATE IN FRANCE: The Holocaust memorial in Lyon, France, was defaced with graffiti reading “Free Gaza.”

Gazan journalists report a major movement of evacuees yesterday from northern Gaza to the south along the coastal road, ahead of Israel’s latest operation.

Lebanese media report that Israel has dropped leaflets over southern Lebanon, warning residents against assisting Hezbollah in rebuilding its border terror infrastructure.

A train derailed in Egypt’s Matrouh Governorate while heading to Cairo, leaving passengers outraged as help failed to arrive for hours; the accident killed three people and injured 54 others.

Organizers of the “Freedom Flotilla to Gaza” announced that a fleet will depart from Barcelona on August 31 and another from Tunisia on September 4, with around 70 ships expected to join in an attempt to “break the siege,” and Greta Thunberg is reportedly set to sail to Gaza again.