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Israel Police on Sunday morning arrested a 41-year-old man from Afula on suspicion of running a large-scale travel scam that left dozens of Chabad chassidim stranded as they attempted to travel to New York for the Yomim Nora’im and Tishrei Yomim Tovim.

According to the allegations, the suspect posed as a travel agent and sold what appeared to be flight tickets for trips to and from New York. However, the tickets were later discovered to be either forged or completely fictitious, leaving many travelers without valid travel arrangements.

In recent weeks, police have received numerous reports from across the country describing the same scheme. Each victim said they paid the man thousands of shekels per ticket, trusting that he would arrange their flights, only to find out at the last minute that they had been deceived.

Accounts from those affected reveal the extent of the chaos: some travelers en route to New York were stranded in Athens after learning that their connecting flights didn’t exist; others reached Ben Gurion Airport and discovered there were no reservations under their names. A few even made it to New York but were left without valid return tickets to Eretz Yisroel.

Investigators from the Northern District Police have so far identified 69 victims who collectively lost over 400,000 shekels to the scam.

Early Sunday morning, after gathering sufficient evidence, police conducted a raid on the suspect’s home in Afula. He was taken into custody for questioning and later brought before the Beis Mishpat HaShalom in Nof Hagalil, where police requested an extension of his detention as the investigation continues.

{Matzav.com}

Ukrainian drones struck a major gas processing plant in southern Russia, sparking a fire and forcing it to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan, Russian and Kazakh authorities said Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that Kyiv may have to give up territory in exchange for an end to Moscow’s more than 3 1/2-year invasion, in the latest of apparent reversals on how to pursue peace. The Orenburg plant, run by state-owned gas giant Gazprom and located in a region of the same name near the Kazakh border, is part of a production and processing complex that is one of the world’s largest facilities of its kind, with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters. It handles gas condensate from Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field, alongside Orenburg’s own oil and gas fields. According to regional Gov. Yevgeny Solntsev, the drone strikes set fire to a workshop at the plant and damaged part of it. The Kazakh Energy Ministry on Sunday said, citing a notification from Gazprom, that the plant was temporarily unable to process gas originating in Kazakhstan, “due to an emergency situation following a drone attack.” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Sunday that a “large-scale fire” erupted at the Orenburg plant, and that one of its gas processing and purification units was damaged. Kyiv has ramped up attacks in recent months on Russian energy facilities it says both fund and directly fuel Moscow’s war effort. Trump says Ukraine may have to give up land for peace Trump appeared to edge back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia, in exchange for an end to Moscow’s aggression. Asked in a Fox News interview conducted Thursday whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would be open to ending the war “without taking significant property from Ukraine,” Trump responded: “Well, he’s going to take something.” “They fought and he has a lot of property. He’s won certain property,” Trump said. “We’re the only nation that goes in, wins a war and then leaves.” The interview was aired on Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” but was conducted before Trump spoke to Putin and Zelenskyy last week. The comments amounted to another shift in position on the war by the U.S. leader. In recent weeks, Trump had shown growing impatience with Putin and expressed greater openness to helping Ukraine win the war. In Thursday’s interview, he was noncommittal about sending Tomahawk missiles requested by Ukraine, saying “I’m looking at it” but expressing concern about depleting U.S. weapons stocks. “We need them for ourselves too,” Trump said. “We can’t give all our weapons to Ukraine. We just can’t do that.” Contrary to Kyiv’s hopes, Trump did not commit to providing it with Tomahawks following their meeting at the White House on Friday. The missiles would be the longest-range weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal and would allow it to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with precision. Deliveries of Tomahawks could provide leverage to help push the Kremlin into negotiations, analysts say, after Trump expressed frustration over Putin’s refusal to budge on key aspects of a possible peace deal. Russians modified bombs for deeper strikes Meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors claim that Moscow is modifying its deadly aerial-guided bombs to strike civilians deeper in Ukraine. Local authorities in Kharkiv said Russia struck a residential neighborhood using a new […]

At his first meeting with Shin Bet field coordinators, incoming agency head David Zini made waves by reprimanding one of them for using the term “West Bank,” according to a report by i24News.

During the briefing, one of the coordinators referred to certain operational measures “in the West Bank.” Zini immediately interrupted and told the group that such terminology would no longer be used within the agency.

“What is this ‘West Bank’? From now on you erase that expression from your lexicon – there is only Judea and Samaria,” he said.

Attendees later told reporters that Zini’s comments carried a clear message: “Do not expect me to continue the line of my predecessors.”

Earlier in the day, Zini met with President Isaac Herzog. After their meeting, Zini reflected on the encounter, saying: “I explained to the lads the symbol we stand before here, and I explained to them what statesmanship is that the Presidency symbolizes and maintains in its apolitical role that is greater than all divisions – by virtue of what we rediscovered here 2,000 years ago – we returned only by virtue of unity, by virtue of our deep roots and our great future. We will act with statesmanship, loyal to this people, to this state, to its values, to all its shades and sides with full loyalty and great unity, and out of great comradeship for the security of the state and its citizens.”

He added, “We came here to receive your blessing and on this occasion to tell you that we will act to do everything and be faithful emissaries to this people with all our strength, as we have done up to now. My whole prayer is that the year and its curses end and a year of blessings begin, that you have a happy holiday, to the whole State of Israel – to our wounded, to our captives who will return safely, and to all the families of the fallen, comfort and consolation – and with God’s help may we have a complete victory and the return of peace to our home in all its aspects and shades.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Hamas has “promised” to disarm under the current Gaza ceasefire framework but acknowledged there is no fixed deadline for when that will occur. “They promised they would,” Trump told Fox News in an interview conducted Friday and aired in full Sunday. Pressed on when the terror group must follow through, Trump replied, “It’s not a hard timeline, but it’s a line in my own mind. At a certain point, if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, then we’ll have to do it for them.” Asked if that meant a U.S. intervention, Trump said Washington would not send “boots on the ground,” suggesting instead that Israel could act “as a proxy” if Hamas fails to meet its commitments. While Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan envisions Hamas disarming as part of a broader stabilization effort, the ceasefire agreement signed earlier this month in Egypt focuses only on the IDF withdrawal, a hostage–prisoner exchange, and humanitarian aid — not on disarmament or governance. The president also addressed reports of Hamas executions of rival factions in Gaza, calling the group “very violent people” and describing the region as “a very violent part of the world.” In the interview, Trump defended his revised Gaza reconstruction plan, which he said now encourages Gazans to remain in the Strip rather than relocate abroad — an apparent departure from his earlier, widely criticized proposal for neighboring Egypt and Jordan to host refugees. “The whole thing is all rubble, so it’s not too hard to top that,” Trump said. “We’d build houses… paid for by the wealthiest countries” in the region. Trump praised Arab states that have backed his plan, singling out Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling him a “fantastic man” and “very smart.” He said Qatar, one of the four mediating countries, “had great courage” in supporting the agreement despite regional risks. Asked whether he had to pressure Doha to push Hamas toward the deal, Trump replied, “I didn’t have to make too much of a case because they are very smart people.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel announced on Sunday evening that humanitarian deliveries to Gaza would soon resume, reversing an earlier decision to halt the shipments after Hamas violated the ongoing ceasefire agreement.

Earlier that day, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had ordered the IDF to suspend all aid transfers following Hamas’s assault on Israeli troops stationed in Rafah.

A diplomatic official confirmed that the convoys would shortly begin moving again, explaining, “Because of the massive attacks and the dozens of dead on Hamas’ side, Israel stopped the trucks’ travel today; it will renew at the conclusion of the attacks.”

The official further noted that “Rafah Crossing will open only when we see that Hamas is continuing to return the deceased hostages at a reasonable pace.”

Earlier on Sunday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid revealed that the Trump Administration had cautioned Israel against resuming large-scale military operations in response to the ceasefire breach, including the morning’s assault on IDF forces in Rafah.

According to Ravid’s report, U.S. officials advised their Israeli counterparts that the main strategic goal should be “isolating” Hamas and rapidly establishing a viable alternative to its rule in Gaza.

{Matzav.com}

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HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of Chassidim are gathered in Manhattan at the Satmar-led protest against the IDF drafting of Yeshiva Bochrim.

Morton Klein, the National President of the Zionist Organization of America, reacted to the deadly assault in Rafah today (Sunday), saying Hamas’s renewed breaches of the ceasefire pose a direct challenge to the credibility of President Donald Trump.

“In light of Hamas’s new ceasefire violations – yet again attacking Israel and murdering hundreds of their own people, it’s important to remember President Trump’s pledge that if there is a Hamas violation, ‘the U.S. will support Israel doing whatever it needs to do’ in response,” Klein said. “In order for President Trump to maintain his credibility and never be seen as a paper tiger and in the interests of a true peace, we believe that President Trump will support any necessary Israeli response.”

“History has shown us that not responding to an illegal serious action brings war, not peace. The world didn’t respond to Germany illegally taking over the Sudetenland; the U.S. didn’t respond to Iran taking 66 American citizens hostage; In 2021, President Biden stopped Israel from responding properly to 4,500 Hamas rockets against Israel in a few days – Biden threatened to withhold arms from Israel if it didn’t stop its strong retaliation against Hamas. The U.S. and Israel didn’t respond to Yasser Arafat and Abbas violating the Oslo accords by continued terrorism, incitement and paying Arabs to murder Jews and Christians. This week, the Palestinian Authority paid the released terrorists over $70 million for their murder of Jews,” he said.

He warned: “The world must understand Hamas, Qatar, and Turkey agreed to a deal only because Hamas was in trouble with Israel on the verge of destroying them in Gaza City. They viewed this deal as an Islamic Hudna, a temporary ceasefire until Hamas is strong again after it regroups and brings in new Hamas leadership from the 2,000 released terrorist prisoners.”

“It’s also a mistake to allow Qatar and Turkey any real role in overseeing Gaza. Their leaders have supported Hamas, stating that ‘we are all Hamas’ and continuing to give safe harbor to Hamas leaders,” he said.

“This is a religious war against Jews, Christians and the West – it is not about a Palestinian state or economics. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly supports Israel responding forcefully to finally destroy Hamas by any means necessary, as President Trump has stated and pledged,” Klein concluded.

Officials confirmed that two IDF soldiers were killed this morning in the anti-tank missile strike near Rafah.

{Matzav.com}

A man convicted of spying for Israel has been executed, an Iranian prosecutor told the Mizan news agency. Kazem Mousavi, a judicial official from the Qom province in central Iran, said the unnamed individual was given a death sentence on charges of intelligence cooperation with Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad. “This individual, for personal and professional reasons, initiated contact with the Zionist regime’s services, held meetings with Mossad officers, engaged in intelligence cooperation, and began sending confidential information in cyberspace to the child-killing and fake Zionist regime, but through swift and intelligent actions by the country’s intelligence and judicial apparatus, he was identified and the leakage of sensitive information was prevented,” Mizan reported, quoting Mousavi. Last month, Iran handed down another citizen a death sentence on a similar charge. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Tens of thousands of Chasidic Jews are gathering outside the Israeli Consulate on Second Avenue in Manhattan to protest the Israeli government’s plan to draft yeshiva students into the army. The event marks a rare show of unity between the rival Satmar factions led by brothers Reb Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel and the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg, Reb Zalman Leib Teitelbaum. The rally comes just weeks after a anti-draft asifa in Lakewood, New Jersey, led by prominent roshei yeshiva, and attended by a few thousand people. It is the first time since 2013 that both Satmar factions appear together at a joint demonstration against the Israeli government. The last such rally, held that year in Foley Square, drew tens of thousands in opposition to similar draft proposals. Organizers said the timing of the Manhattan rally reflects a longstanding Satmar policy not to hold public protests against Israel while the country is at war. With fighting in Gaza now paused following the ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump, they said the time has come to voice their opposition to the gezeiras hagiyus — the decree of conscription. The planned demonstration follows months of debate in Israel’s Knesset over how to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling that the decades-long exemption for Charedi men from military service must end. Many Charedi leaders view the draft decree as an existential threat to their religious way of life. The Knesset is expected to resume debate on the matter in the coming weeks.

The Trump Administration has cautioned Israeli leaders against launching a fresh full-scale offensive in reaction to Hamas breaching the ceasefire, following an incident this morning in Rafah, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported.

Officials in Washington told their Israeli counterparts that the priority should be to isolate Hamas and to accelerate efforts to build a viable alternative to its rule in Gaza as quickly as possible.

Earlier today, terrorists from Hamas fired anti-tank weapons at IDF units in Rafah. The IDF confirmed that an anti-tank missile and small-arms fire were directed at troops working to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, despite the ceasefire terms.

The Israeli military said it responded by striking the zone to remove the immediate danger and to destroy tunnel shafts and other military installations used for hostile operations.

After the violation, Prime Minister Netanyahu convened with the Defense Minister and top security commanders and ordered robust measures against terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Yisroel Katz stated: “Hamas will learn today the hard way that the IDF is determined to protect its soldiers and to prevent any harm to them. We have instructed the IDF to act with strength against Hamas terror targets in Gaza. Hamas will pay a heavy price for any shootings and any violation of the ceasefire, and if the message is not understood – the intensity of the responses will increase.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented on the incident: “I call on the Prime Minister to order the IDF to fully renew combat operations in the Gaza Strip with full force. The false illusions that Hamas will change its ways, or even abide by the agreement it signed, are predictably dangerous to our security. This Nazi terrorist organization must be destroyed completely – the sooner the better.”

{Matzav.com}

Trump administration agrees to deliver more student loan forgiveness • The Trump administration has agreed to forgive student debt under income-driven repayment programs it had partially blocked. • The outcome is the result of an agreement between the American Federation of Teachers and the U.S. Department of Education. • More than 2.5 million borrowers are in either the original Income-Contingent Repayment plan or the Pay as You Earn plan, according to an estimate by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Shlomo Abba Kohn’s levayah will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Lakewood High School in Lakewood, NJ.

WATCH SHLOMO ABBA COHEN’S LEVAYAH HERE.

Chaim Simcha Grossman’s levayah will be held at 5:15 p.m. at the Lakewood High School in Lakewood, NJ.

WATCH CHAIM SIMCHA GROSSMAN’S LEVAYAH HERE.

 

 

Matan Angrest, who was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, opened up about his harrowing yet deeply spiritual experience during his time in the hands of terrorists. Speaking with Shai Graucher, Angrest described how he maintained his faith and sanity through davening, song, and immersion in Torah study.

“I sang songs to myself, davened Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv every day using a siddur I found, and we had five Chumashim that I read at least twenty times,” he recounted.

Angrest also revealed a striking personal connection to the parsha with which he celebrated his bar mitzvah, Parshas Mikeitz. “It says there, ‘Mikeitz shnosayim yomim—At the end of two full years,’” he said. “Those words took on a whole new meaning for me.”

He added that when the time came for his release, Hamas refused to let him take his siddur or Chumash with him. “I wanted to bring them with me,” he said softly, “but they didn’t allow it.”

{Matzav.com}

Swiss athletic brand On is being taken to court by U.S. consumers who allege that the company’s pricey running shoes make an “embarrassing” squeaking sound with every step.

The lawsuit targets the brand’s “CloudTec” line — sneakers that sell for about $200 (£150) and are marketed as offering a sensation of “running on clouds.” Instead, the complaint says, they have become a source of frustration for customers, particularly nurses and other professionals who wear them for long shifts.

“No reasonable consumer would purchase Defendant’s shoes – or pay as much for them as they did – knowing each step creates an audible and noticeable squeak,” the plaintiffs stated in their filing.

On, which did not immediately respond to questions from the BBC, has so far declined to comment on the lawsuit. The class action case was filed on October 9 in the U.S. District Court in Oregon.

According to the plaintiffs, several On models are nearly unusable unless owners make “significant DIY modifications.” They accused the company of misleading consumers through “deceptive marketing.”

The group also claims they were denied refunds after reporting the problem, despite the ongoing noise issue, and are now seeking both compensation and reimbursement.

The complaint argues that On could have “fixed the design, and/or offered to fix the shoes or [given] consumers their money back but did none of those things,” referencing models like the Cloudmonster and Cloudrunner among the defective products.

One customer wrote that she was “no longer able to use her shoes as intended due to the embarrassment and annoyance,” saying the squeaking sound made wearing them in public intolerable.

The filing cites numerous social media posts from dissatisfied buyers on TikTok and Reddit, many of whom suggested home remedies to quiet the noise — including rubbing coconut oil on the soles.

On, which counts tennis legend Roger Federer among its investors, has been riding a wave of commercial success. In August, the company announced stronger-than-expected earnings driven by a surge in direct-to-consumer purchases.

Earlier this year, the brand said its Cloudmonster and Cloudsurfer models had played a “significant” role in its expanding sales — the very shoes now at the center of the class action complaint.

{Matzav.com}

MANHATTAN: Preparations are underway outside the Israeli Consulate on 2nd Avenue between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets ahead of a major protest against the IDF draft in Eretz Yisroel. The demonstration, scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM, is expected to draw thousands of participants, including both Satmar Rebbes, prominent rabbonim, and kehillos. The event is being arranged by YF Productions in coordination with Law Enforcement Chaplain Rabbi Abe Friedman, the NYPD, and Shomrim organizations.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague ruled to throw out Israel’s appeal seeking to void the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The warrants were tied to allegations of war crimes stemming from Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

According to Agence France-Presse, the panel of judges concluded that “the issue, as framed by Israel, is not an appealable issue.” Israel had petitioned the court in May to revoke the warrants while a broader legal question—whether the ICC even has jurisdiction to handle the case—was still under consideration. Israel is not a member of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

In mid-July, the court declined Israel’s initial request, declaring that there was “no legal basis” for it. A week later, Israel asked permission to appeal that determination. The ICC issued its latest decision on Friday, releasing a 13-page document that formally dismissed the appeal, AFP reported.

The question of the court’s jurisdiction remains unresolved, with ICC judges continuing to deliberate that matter separately. Meanwhile, in June, the United States imposed sanctions on two of the three judges from the ICC’s pretrial chamber who had authorized the arrest warrants. The move was in response to their approval of the request made by Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

Khan himself is currently on leave amid an internal investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct, including claims that he attempted to dissuade a victim from speaking out by warning it could harm his prosecution of Israel. He had already been sanctioned by Washington for pursuing the arrests of Netanyahu and Gallant.

Reports indicate that those sanctions have created serious operational challenges both for Khan personally and for the court at large. Netanyahu has condemned the entire case, stating, “Now Khan has since been suspended, but his preposterous arrest warrants and his patently false charges against Israel have not been removed. They should be removed and removed immediately for justice and for truth to prevail.”

The prime minister blasted Khan’s accusations that he and Gallant used starvation as a weapon and intentionally targeted civilians, calling them baseless and detached from reality. “Israel has let in more than 2 million tons of aid into Gaza. That’s 1 ton of aid per person and, by the way, Hamas stole much of it,” Netanyahu pointed out, emphasizing that the Israel Defense Forces have also “sent millions of texts and phone messages to Palestinian civilians urging them to get out of harm’s way.”

{Matzav.com}

LISTEN: In light of the horrific tragedies this morning with the untimely passing of Shloimy Kohn, Chaim Simcha Grossman, Yaakov Kilberg, and Ahron Nosson Leibowitz, Z”L, Rabbi Sruli Fried, MSW, from Chai Lifeline, shares some thoughts on how to speak to our Bochurim. To listen to the recording, please call the conference number at 425-436-6309, access code 745879. For any specific questions, please feel free to call the Chai Lifeline Crisis number at (855) 3CRISIS.

Britain’s media regulator issued a rare formal sanction against the BBC on Friday, ruling that one of its Gaza documentaries had “materially misled” viewers by concealing the fact that the teenage narrator’s father was a senior Hamas official.

Ofcom, the UK’s broadcasting authority, said the program violated its Broadcasting Code and “had the potential to erode the very high levels of trust audiences would have expected” from a factual news production about the conflict. The watchdog ordered the BBC to publicly acknowledge its findings during the network’s 9 p.m. newscast.

“Breaches of the code that have resulted in the audience being materially misled have always been considered by Ofcom to be among the most serious that can be committed by a broadcaster, because they go to the heart of the relationship of trust between a broadcaster and its audience,” the regulator said in its statement.

The controversy centers on Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, a documentary the BBC previously admitted contained “serious flaws” and later removed from its online player. The network had already issued an apology before Ofcom’s ruling.

On Friday, the BBC said the regulator’s conclusions were consistent with its own internal inquiry, which had identified a “significant failing” to uphold its editorial accuracy standards. The broadcaster confirmed it would comply with the sanction.

The program featured narration by 13-year-old Abdullah, whose father, Ayman Alyazouri, serves as Hamas’s deputy agriculture minister in Gaza — a fact that was never disclosed to viewers.

The BBC explained that the production company behind the film, Hoyo Films, bore the primary responsibility for the omission, as it had failed to inform BBC producers about Alyazouri’s role. Hoyo Films has since apologized for the oversight.

The broadcaster faced a wave of backlash over the episode — receiving hundreds of complaints from viewers accusing it of anti-Israel bias, as well as hundreds more protesting the documentary’s removal. Director-General Tim Davie acknowledged both sets of complaints while addressing Parliament earlier this year.

{Matzav.com}