Popular Israeli actress and children’s entertainer Michal Weizmann, widely known as Michal HaKtanah, made a public commitment to fully observe Shabbos this past weekend, dedicating it as a zechus for the return of the hostages held in Gaza.
“This Shabbos, I chose to stop,” Weizmann wrote on her Instagram account. “A Shabbos of Rosh Chodesh. A Shabbos of new beginnings. A Shabbos I chose to keep in full, turning off my phone, opening my heart, and letting the light in.”
Weizmann explained the intention behind her observance: “I kept this Shabbos for the sake of our hostages, to bring them home now! For our soldiers, that they should return in peace. For my children. And for an entire nation that needs healing.”
She concluded with a heartfelt message of faith and unity: “It was a Shabbos of tikkun, of tefillah, of a silence that shakes the heavens. I’m taking this step with complete faith. Because when we are united and bring light, darkness disappears on its own. I promise you…very soon we’ll see miracles and wonders!”
Amein kein yehi ratzon.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Ticks can be active in any season and it’s important to check for and remove the bloodsuckers as quickly as possible — especially after you’ve been outside hiking, gardening or enjoying nature. “Humans are outside more in summer so we hear about more tick infections,” said Sam Telford, an infectious diseases expert at Tufts University. But he urges caution year-round because “every season is tick season.” While tick populations vary a lot regionally, some Northeastern states including Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are seeing “above average” numbers of American dog ticks this year, said Telford. And New York state is seeing a higher number of reported deer tick bites this year than last year, said Saravanan Thangamani, who studies tick-borne diseases at SUNY Upstate Medical University. How ticks can spread disease Ticks, like mosquitos, need to feed on blood. But instead of a quick prick, they are slow feeders – with hooked mouth parts that attach into the skin of deer, rabbits, dogs and people. There are many different species of ticks found globally and only some spread germs that can make people sick. A main worry is blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, which can spread Lyme disease. Once found mainly in New England and pockets of the Midwest, the ticks are now present over a wider range. A tick bite doesn’t always lead to illness. “If you remove a tick within 24 hours of attachment, it’s fairly unlikely that you will get infected,” said Telford. How to check for ticks Ticks are usually found low to the ground, in leaf litter or grassy areas. Check your clothing for ticks and do a full-body check including under the arms and behind ears, knees and hair. “If you’re out all day long, try to do a quick check for ticks every few hours,” said Bobbi Pritt at the Mayo Clinic. “When you go back inside, take a shower. That will wash off any unattached ticks, and you’re also more likely to spot any other ticks.” Use tweezers to remove the tick and grasp it as close to the skin as possible to pull from the head. If you don’t have them handy, you can also use your fingernails, the edge of a credit card or any semi-sharp object. How to keep ticks away The best approach is to minimize tick exposure altogether. Bug sprays containing ingredients such as DEET can be sprayed on exposed skin to ward off ticks and mosquitos, said Telford. Wear long sleeves and pants, and you can also spray clothing with repellents containing permethrin, a chemical similar to a natural ingredient in chrysanthemums that makes ticks avoid the flowers. Protect your pets from ticks Don’t forget to pay attention to outdoor pets. Medications can prevent fleas and ticks from attaching to a dog’s skin. But it’s still a good idea to check the fur after being outside. “Wherever pets can’t easily groom themselves, that’s where the ticks will be – on the ears, around the muzzle area, under the collar, between the toes,” said Thangamani. Dogs and cats roaming outdoors can also bring ticks into the house. “If pets bring ticks in, a tick can live in the house for months until it finds its next blood meal,” which could be another household member, he said. What to do after a […]
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Following the coordinated aerial assault led by Israel and supported by the United States against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is warning that Tehran may be able to restart its uranium enrichment operations within months.
In a conversation with CBS News—excerpts of which were published yesterday ahead of the full interview airing today—Grossi acknowledged that while the strikes caused some damage to Iranian nuclear installations, “some is still standing.”
“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Grossi explained, emphasizing the limited timeframe Iran would need to resume its program.
On June 13, Israel launched a series of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear and military assets. The operation was reportedly intended to halt Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Shortly thereafter, the United States took part in the campaign, targeting three central installations believed to play critical roles in Iran’s nuclear efforts.
One of the chief concerns of Western powers is the fate of the 408.6 kilograms of uranium that Iran had enriched to 60 percent—far exceeding levels typically used for civilian purposes. If refined further, this stockpile could provide enough material for the assembly of multiple nuclear weapons.
“We don’t know where this material could be,” Grossi admitted during the CBS interview. “So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification.”
Complicating the global watchdog’s efforts, Iran’s parliament recently voted to halt its cooperation with the IAEA. Grossi’s request to inspect the damaged sites, particularly the Fordow enrichment facility, has also been turned down by Iranian authorities.
“We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where is it and what happened,” Grossi urged, highlighting the importance of access and transparency in the wake of the strikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Thursday that the military campaign led by Israel had resulted in “serious” harm to Iran’s nuclear installations, marking the first official Iranian acknowledgment of the extent of the damage.
“A detailed assessment of the damage is being carried out by experts from the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran),” Araghchi said in a statement broadcast on state-run television.
He further noted that Iran was considering diplomatic steps to address the destruction, saying, “Now, the discussion of demanding damages and the necessity of providing them has been placed as one of the important issues on the country’s diplomatic agenda.”
Araghchi emphasized that the situation remains dire, stating, “These damages are serious, and expert studies and political decision-making are underway at the same time.”
His comments seemed to reinforce earlier declarations by US President Donald Trump, who had consistently maintained that the US-led airstrikes in coordination with Israel had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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Palestinians are reporting intense Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia and Gaza City in recent hours, after the IDF issued evacuation notices for the areas in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF dropped thousands of leaflets over Gaza City and Jabalia, warning residents ahead of time to evacuate as military operations are planned in those areas.
ELIMINATED: Iranian state media confirmed that senior IRGC officer Abolfazl Nikoei, also known as “Haj Younes,” was ELIMINATED in an Israeli airstrike last week. Released photos show him alongside Qassem Soleimani, the former Quds Force commander eliminated by the U.S.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the U.S. and Israel, says its operation that began on May 26 has just delivered its 50,000,000th meal in Gaza.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi informed CBS that although recent attacks significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear program, they did not completely destroy it.
Over 60 Hamas operatives were detained and 22 weapons were captured during a crackdown on one of the largest terror networks in the West Bank in recent years, the Shin Bet security agency says.
Over the past week, Israeli troops conducted several raids in southern Syria, the IDF says. Reservists of the Alexandroni Brigade nabbed several terror suspects and brought them to Israel for questioning, and raided weapon depots, according to the military.
The IDF’s new 96th “Gilad” Division, set to be responsible for the entire Jordan border area, completed a first division-level drill last week, the military announces. The exercise on Thursday simulated “emergency scenarios and rapid response to sudden events, while increasing the division’s readiness for combat,” the IDF says.
The IDF has re-issues a wide evacuation warning for Palestinians in the Gaza City and Jabalia areas in the northern Gaza Strip. The area was already ordered to evacuate on May 29, and has been part of a no-go zone since.
The Jerusalem District Court announced that it is canceling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled testimony in his criminal trial this week, following his appearance in a closed-door court session today on the matter. Netanyahu requested in court that his scheduled testimony for the next two weeks be delayed due to diplomatic and national security issues, after two such requests were rejected on Friday. The head of IDF Military Intelligence as well as the head of the Mossad were also present in today’s court hearing, both of whom explained to the judges why it was necessary to postpone the testimony hearings. The move comes hours after US President Donald Trump insisted that the trial should be dropped because it was getting in the way of efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring hostages home, as well as diplomacy regarding Iran, sparking accusations that the premier was using major national security issues to escape prosecution. The judges state in their ruling that the explanations provided had substantial additional information over what was presented in the requests on Friday, and therefore decided to cancel this week’s two scheduled hearings. The court decided not to cancel next week’s hearings yet, but said that it would consider well-founded requests to do so if submitted. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The IDF has announced the tragic death of Sgt. Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld HY”D, a 20-year-old soldier from Ra’anana, who was killed earlier today during active combat operations in the northern Gaza Strip. Sgt. Rosenfeld served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion.
Oded (Dedi) Levinson z”l, a veteran Israeli journalist and longtime media personality, passed away at the age of 64 after battling a serious illness.
Levinson, who served for many years as head of the economic division and a prominent broadcaster on Army Radio (Galei Tzahal), was widely known and respected in the world of Israeli journalism. A lawyer by training, Levinson experienced a profound personal transformation, becoming a baal teshuvah and joining the Amshinov chassidus.
In a statement released by Army Radio, the station expressed its sorrow: “Galei Tzahal mourns the passing of Oded (Dedi) Levinson, who for many years hosted the station’s economic program and served as a news and current affairs broadcaster.”
During the 1990s, Levinson also held the role of Public Complaints Commissioner and headed the station’s economics desk. He was deeply involved in the station and served for years as chairman of the journalists’ union at Galei Tzahal. Known for his willingness to help others, Levinson’s voice became one of the most recognizable on the station, and he played a pivotal role in shaping its content and character.
Col. Tal Lev-Ram, current commander of Galei Tzahal, shared the following tribute:
“Even as he battled illness over the past year, Dedi remained in close contact with the station. He offered advice and took a keen interest in everything happening here, driven by a deep sense of connection and belonging. Though his voice fell silent this morning, his legacy, spirit, and immense contributions to Galei Tzahal over the years will remain with us always. Galei Tzahal was his home.”
The levayah was held at the Shamgar Funeral Home and proceeded to Har Hazeisim for kevurah.
Yehi zichro baruch.
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A bombshell classified assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency stating that Iran’s nuclear program was not majorly affected by U.S. and Israeli bombings, leaked in the chaotic aftermath of U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, is being ripped apart by current and former intelligence officials as a deeply flawed product built on lies peddled by Iran itself. The top-secret report, which claimed the strikes caused only “moderate damage” to Tehran’s nuclear program, triggered headlines in CNN and the New York Times portraying the mission as a half-success. But veteran intelligence sources told the Washington Free Beacon the DIA’s conclusions were so riddled with Iranian deception that one former officer dismissed it as “worthless.” “The DIA basically repackaged propaganda,” fumed Michael Pregent, a former U.S. Central Command intelligence officer with nearly three decades in the region. “The Iranians knew their phones were tapped, they deliberately gave fake reports to their own leadership, and somehow DIA turned that into gospel.” According to sources speaking to the Washington Free Beacon, including a current U.S. official, intercepted Iranian communications — known in the trade as SIGINT — fed directly into the DIA’s hasty report, even though it was rated “low-confidence” from the start. Israeli intelligence quickly poked holes in the narrative, reporting that Iranian military officers were feeding false damage estimates to their political bosses. Those same phony figures appear to have made their way into DIA’s assessment, said multiple former operatives. “It’s basically IRGC messaging,” Pregent said, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “NSA scoops it up, DIA slaps a label on it, and CNN runs with it. That’s not intelligence — that’s a joke.” A senior U.S. official confirmed the damage report has since been “completely debunked,” including by international inspectors. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the official said, determined Iran’s nuclear centrifuges were “completely destroyed,” requiring years to rebuild. CIA Director John Ratcliffe backed up those findings, citing “an historically reliable and accurate source/method” showing catastrophic damage to Iran’s uranium enrichment sites. One former intelligence officer, speaking on background, described the DIA’s performance as “embarrassing,” noting that analysts failed to grasp the realities of a bunker-busting strike on the deeply buried Fordow facility. “You’re not going to see a giant hole,” the source said. “The bombs penetrate, then explode underground. But apparently these analysts didn’t understand what they were looking at.” Another ex-official who worked the Iran portfolio agreed, calling the DIA product nothing more than “Iranians repeating propaganda to each other,” which was then packaged by over-eager analysts. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the first week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles. So far this year, nine children have died after being left unattended in vehicles in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina, according to Kids and Car Safety, which collects data on hot car deaths. Five died in June. And last year, 39 children in the U.S. died after being left in hot cars. Why hot cars are so dangerous for children Human-caused climate change keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists say. But the temperature outside doesn’t have to be super hot for a child left in a vehicle to be affected by the heat, said Kathy Wall, director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County. “Inside, the vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in just 20 minutes,” Wall said. “So if you imagine it’s an 80 degree day, which in South Florida is a cool day, it could be over 100 degrees within 10 minutes inside the car.” Hot car deaths can happen any time of year, and since 1998, every state but Alaska has reported a hot car death, according to the National Safety Council. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in hot cars. About 80% of the heat rise in vehicles happens in the first 30 minutes of a child being left inside, when maximum temperatures can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius), according to data compiled by Jan Null, a certified consulting meteorologist at San Jose State University. “Children sweat a lot less than adults do and their internal temperature can increase three to five times faster than an adult. So that’s why it’s just as important to make sure that your child isn’t left in the vehicle, especially during these rising temperatures,” said Capt. Karen Derogatis of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. It can happen to anyone While it’s easy to place blame for leaving a child in a vehicle, even people trained to know the dangers have made that tragic mistake, Wall said. “It’s not a socioeconomic group, it’s not a cultural group,” she said. “This sadly has happened to doctors, it’s happened to dentists, it happened to school teachers, it’s happened to child care workers. Nobody is exempt from this.” Distraction often leads to forgetting about a child in the backseat, which is why it is important to create routines and reminders, she said. “It sounds crazy, but sometimes people get out of routines or are distracted, especially in today’s world. There’s lots going on in the news, lots going with families,” she said. A parent who normally doesn’t drop a child off at a day care facility might become distracted and forget that the child is in the vehicle, she said. Create a reminder that a child is in the backseat She encourages parents and caregivers to establish routines. “We have an acronym, ACT,” Wall said. A stands for avoiding leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. C stands for creating a reminder that works best for you. Authorities suggest leaving a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat so you’ll have to open the back door […]
An Israeli Air Force husband-and-wife team revealed they took part in high-risk bombing missions over Iranian skies, targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure and military assets. The wife, known only by the alias “Yud” in accordance with strict security protocols, is the first woman to serve as deputy commander of a fighter squadron in Israel’s history. Her husband, “Bet,” commands an air squadron and is slated to take command of a fighter squadron. The couple, who share two young children, described to Channel 12 how they balanced family life with the pressures of a full-scale air campaign. During the conflict, they did not see their children for two weeks, relying on family and friends to care for them. Reflecting on what it meant to leave for war as a mother, Yud told Channel 12: “It was a different hug, toward an unknown place. We didn’t know how these two weeks would end. We prepared, we got ready, we knew it would be difficult. And as we saw, unfortunately, we experienced losses on the home front of civilians being killed, civilians who were under rocket fire.” Iran’s missile salvos killed 28 people and wounded thousands more, devastating residential areas, universities, and a hospital, according to Israeli health authorities. Still, Yud said she believed in the mission: “On the one hand, it was not simple — knowing the home front was under fire. On the other hand, there is the thought and knowledge that what we’re doing is so that they will have a better future, without an Iranian threat.” Both pilots acknowledged compartmentalizing their emotions to remain focused. Yud explained that while she worries for Bet when he flies, she draws confidence from firsthand knowledge of their shared mission: “I know what he’s fighting for. I was there yesterday; I know the threat picture, and I’m not worried. On the other hand, I looked at the plane monitors and made sure our jets crossed the line back safely — and then I stayed for another five minutes to watch and make sure he came back safely too.” For the pilots in the skies, the mission was as personal as it was national. Yud concluded: “We’re doing this so that our children — and all of Israel’s children — can have a safer future.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israel and Syria are on track to sign a landmark peace agreement before the end of 2025, according to a Syrian source speaking to i24NEWS. Under the reported framework, Israel would gradually withdraw from all Syrian territory it seized during its incursion into the buffer zone on December 8, including the strategic peak of Mount Hermon. The deal, if finalized, would fully normalize ties between the two longtime adversaries, with one source describing the Golan Heights as being transformed into “a garden for peace.” The potential breakthrough comes as the region experiences a wave of dramatic diplomatic movement. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff revealed Wednesday that additional countries are expected to join the Abraham Accords soon. Speaking to CNBC, Witkoff expressed optimism about broader regional normalization, and confirmed ongoing negotiations with Iran centered on a civilian nuclear program that strictly prohibits uranium enrichment. “It is a red line if Iran tries nuclear enrichment again,” he warned. Meanwhile, in the wake of the massive U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a late-night call described by officials as “euphoric.” According to a Yisrael Hayom report, the two leaders agreed to push for an end to the Gaza war within two weeks, with plans to replace Hamas rule with a coalition of Arab states, exile Hamas leaders, release all hostages, and expand the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia and Syria. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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