The Samaria Regional Council announced Thursday that 22-year-old Eitan Avner Ben-Yitzchak of Har Bracha was killed while fighting in Gaza.
Eitan, who served in the elite Egoz Unit and was in the middle of officers’ training, lost his life when an improvised explosive device went off.
Just three months ago, he had married his wife, Atara.
Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan, who was also related to Eitan, delivered a moving tribute: “Eitan grew up in a value-driven, Zionist family, a Torah scholar, a strong believer in settling the land, a frontline fighter, dedicated. Naturally, they established their home in Har Bracha. At their wedding, they held a special memorial for their fallen friends. Our hearts break for the youth, for the family that should have flourished here in Samaria, but now will not.
“Dear Atara, daughter of a longstanding Har Bracha family, who grew up here and brought him to Samaria, now we must accompany him on his final journey. All of us—the council and the settlement—will support the Ben-Yitzchak and Steinbach families in every way possible during this difficult hour. We will strengthen each other and never break; we are here to build the land and prevail.”
The Har Bracha community also released a statement expressing their pain: “We share in the grief of Atara, a resident who got married only about two months ago. We stand with Atara and the Steinbach family, a longstanding and rooted family in the community, who raise their eight children with dedication in the heart of Samaria.”
{Matzav.com}Two Israelis, one in his twenties and another in his sixties, were killed on Thursday afternoon in a terror shooting at the Allenby Border Crossing linking Israel and Jordan.
The assailant was shot dead at the scene by security personnel.
Preliminary findings indicate the attacker entered the crossing from Jordan while driving a truck that was supposed to be delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. When his firearm malfunctioned, he reportedly resorted to stabbing the two Israelis.
Security sources later clarified that the attacker was a Jordanian civilian employed by the Jordanian army to handle the transport of aid shipments moving from Jordan into Gaza.
An Israeli official told reporters that under the current arrangements with Jordan, trucks carrying such aid are not subjected to inspection.
In response to the incident, IDF forces launched searches in the vicinity and placed Jericho under closure.
Paramedic Bosmat Lubiner and MDA EMT Amit Weiss described what they encountered: “We arrived at the scene with significant forces and joined security personnel at the checkpoint. They led us to two men who were unconscious with gunshot wounds as we administered initial medical treatment. We continued medical care, including resuscitation efforts, but unfortunately had to pronounce their deaths. The terrorist was neutralized by security forces.”
Magen David Adom initially reported that two men were found at the site in critical condition and were being treated. Their deaths were later confirmed.
The IDF released a short statement: “A report was received regarding a shooting near the Allenby Crossing. The details are under review.”
This deadly attack comes roughly a year after another shooting at the same location, when Yochanan Shchori, 61, Yuri Birnbaum, 65, and Adrian Marcelo Podsmesser, 57, were killed. In that incident, the gunman opened fire at close range with a pistol before being shot by guards on site.
According to investigators at the time, the assailant had also crossed in from Jordan in a truck, concealing a weapon inside the vehicle. Once he reached the Israeli staff at the terminal, he drew the firearm and began shooting.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump has become increasingly displeased with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza, particularly after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The report, citing people briefed on the matter, said Trump viewed the Qatar strike as reckless and harmful to peace negotiations, especially since the United States had not been informed in advance. His irritation reportedly came to a head during a meeting with senior advisers, where he made an expletive-filled remark about Netanyahu.
“He’s [profanity] me,” Trump said, according to officials quoted in the article. The comment was made as he conferred with top administration members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on how Washington should respond.
Trump has reportedly argued that Netanyahu is depending too much on military action to compel Hamas to yield, rather than focusing on the president’s preferred path of a negotiated truce.
Following the incident in Qatar, Trump is said to have phoned Netanyahu twice, first to convey his anger, and later to ask whether the mission was successful. He also reached out to Qatari officials to commend their efforts at mediation.
Still, The Wall Street Journal noted that Trump has refrained from putting direct pressure on Israel. He has not tied military assistance to changes in policy nor criticized Israel publicly, continuing to endorse operations in Gaza City even as they make American diplomacy more complicated.
This approach has raised eyebrows in Washington.
“It’s slightly baffling and counterintuitive,” said Shalom Lipner, who served as an adviser to seven Israeli prime ministers. He told the paper that Netanyahu’s decisions have dragged out the war, strained US alliances, and undermined Trump’s attempt to broaden the Abraham Accords.
This is not the first time Trump has lashed out at Netanyahu. The Journal recalled that after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 election victory, Trump told journalist Barak Ravid, “[Profanity] him.”
Yet Netanyahu has managed to weather Trump’s eruptions. Former Israeli ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich told the outlet, “The only thing that’s really working for him is Trump’s support.”
An Israeli official dismissed any suggestion of friction, insisting the partnership between the two leaders is “excellent” and calling the reports “fake news.”
According to sources close to both, Trump and Netanyahu see themselves similarly—as political outsiders fighting entrenched establishments.
Omer Dostri, a former spokesman for Netanyahu, said their relationship is “very, very tight,” and suggested stories about a falling-out are likely part of a strategic media play.
The Journal also highlighted Netanyahu’s deep connections with Republicans and right-leaning American outlets. He is a frequent guest on Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN, and regularly welcomes GOP lawmakers on visits to Israel. Citing Gallup polling, the report noted that two-thirds of Republicans view Netanyahu positively, compared with only 9 percent of Democrats.
Still, criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza has started surfacing within Republican ranks. The Journal reported that some MAGA-aligned lawmakers have accused Israel of overstepping. In July, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Israel of “genocide” and cautioned that the conflict could drag the US further into Middle Eastern wars.
Trump, however, has resisted creating daylight between himself and Netanyahu, the paper said. He continues to tout the Abraham Accords as a signature foreign policy success and is pushing for a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal before the 2026 election.
Netanyahu, for his part, has sought to maintain strong ties with Trump. Over the weekend, he attended a ceremony with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in Bat Yam, where a beachfront promenade was named in Trump’s honor, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper added that Trump only learned about the Qatar mission after it was already underway, through US military monitoring.
Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, suggested Trump’s anger may have stemmed from the mission’s outcome.
“If our operation in Doha succeeded, Trump wouldn’t have condemned it; he would have taken credit for it,” Oren said.
{Matzav.com}Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), long known for his sharp criticism of Israel, escalated his rhetoric on Wednesday by accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
This marked the first time Sanders has publicly used that specific term to describe the conflict, a step that could pave the way for other progressives in Congress to adopt the same language.
For months, Sanders has faced mounting calls from his base to declare the war a genocide. On Wednesday, he finally made his position clear.
“The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” he declared. His remarks came in response to a recent report by a United Nations commission investigating the war, which similarly alleged that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza.
By saying so, Sanders became the first sitting U.S. senator to make such a definitive statement. He reinforced his stance by adding, “The truth is, whether you call it genocide or ethnic cleansing or mass atrocities or war crimes, the path forward is clear. We, as Americans, must end our complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people.”
The Jewish senator has also strongly opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump.
Sanders blasted the meeting as “a shameful day in America,” pointing to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged “war crimes.”
Though both the United States and Israel are not signatories to the ICC, Sanders nevertheless wrote, “Today, a war criminal under indictment from the ICC will be welcomed to the White House.”
Just weeks earlier, Sanders introduced a resolution in the Senate seeking to cut off American weapons sales to Israel.
That measure was defeated in a 70-27 vote. It was his third unsuccessful effort since late 2024 to halt U.S. arms shipments to Israel.
{Matzav.com}
