Matzav

Criminal syndicates operating from China have raked in over $1 billion in just three years by sending out fake text messages to Americans, according to the Department of Homeland Security. These messages often pretend to be official notices about unpaid tolls or postal fees and are designed to get victims to hand over their credit card numbers.

The Wall Street Journal revealed that the United States is being inundated by these fraudulent texts, which authorities describe as part of an advanced, large-scale operation benefiting criminal networks in China. The messages, which typically claim recipients owe money for toll violations or delivery charges, are used to steal financial information from unsuspecting victims.

As Breitbart News has previously reported, Departments of Motor Vehicles across the country have been warning about these text scams targeting drivers. Agencies in New York, Florida, and California have noted a spike in fake text messages using intimidation tactics to trick people into revealing personal data.

These “smishing” or SMS phishing schemes falsely tell drivers that they owe money for traffic fines and threaten severe penalties — such as suspended licenses or additional fees — if they don’t pay. In reality, none of these texts come from legitimate government agencies. They are part of a growing international web of fraudsters impersonating official institutions to deceive the public.

Investigators say the criminal groups running these scams use the stolen credit card numbers to buy luxury goods like iPhones, gift cards, designer clothing, and cosmetics. They exploit a loophole that allows them to load stolen card information into Google or Apple Wallets overseas and then share them digitally with people in the United States who make purchases for them.

The massive operations rely on “SIM farms,” which are warehouses filled with devices containing thousands of SIM cards — the tiny chips used in cell phones. These setups let scammers send out thousands of text messages from a single location, automating what would otherwise require countless phone numbers.

While the criminal masterminds control the SIM farms from abroad, they hire gig workers inside the U.S. to set up and maintain the equipment. These recruits, often found through the Chinese app WeChat, receive detailed instruction manuals and live tech support from overseas handlers. Authorities estimate that around 200 SIM boxes are currently active across 38 locations in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.

When someone clicks the link in one of these fake toll notices, they’re redirected to a convincing phishing website asking for their name, credit card, or banking details. The scammers use tools shared on Telegram channels to build these fake sites, allowing them to monitor victims’ keystrokes in real time and immediately enter the same data into mobile wallets under their control.

The thieves then recruit people in the U.S. through Telegram to act as “mules,” who make purchases using the stolen data. Typically, 400 to 500 mules operate daily, earning about 12 cents for every $100 gift card they buy. Using remote tap-to-pay software, the scammers link their own phones in China to the mules’ phones in America, letting them spend the stolen money seamlessly.

In some cases, the mules buy high-end electronics or clothing, but more often they purchase gift cards to obscure the money trail. Those cards are later used to buy merchandise that’s shipped to China and resold for profit — with the proceeds funneling back to the organized crime rings behind the scheme.

The wave of fake texts is intensifying rapidly. Proofpoint, a company that monitors mobile spam, reported that Americans received a record 330,000 toll-related scam messages in a single day last month. The monthly average for such messages is now more than triple what it was at the start of 2024.

In September, Breitbart News reported that the Secret Service uncovered a massive SIM farm operation in the New York City area involving 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. The network was not only used for financial scams but also for “swatting” attacks targeting public figures.

The Secret Service said the operation, located within a 35-mile radius of New York City, was run by foreign “nation-state threat actors” and criminal organizations. The agency’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit traced the fake emergency calls to multiple sites in the tri-state area and found an elaborate network of servers capable of sending huge volumes of calls and texts while constantly swapping SIM cards to avoid detection.

Among those targeted by the swatting attacks were Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and Nikki Haley, illustrating how the same technology used for large-scale fraud is also being weaponized for harassment and intimidation.

{Matzav.com}

A disturbing new TikTok trend powered by artificial intelligence is leading to frantic 911 calls from terrified people who believe a stranger has broken into their homes.

The viral prank uses AI tools to fabricate hyper-realistic images or videos of a so-called “homeless man” sneaking into someone’s house, rummaging through the refrigerator, or even lying on their bed. Pranksters then send these fake clips to family members or friends, who are tricked into thinking the footage is real and call the police.

According to The New York Times, police departments in multiple states have now responded to what appeared to be home invasions, only to discover that the supposed intruder was a computer-generated illusion.

Authorities near Detroit, Michigan, said they’ve received several such reports. The West Bloomfield Police Department confirmed that some residents had fallen for the AI prank and stressed that it wastes critical resources.

“Here’s the problem: officers are responding FAST using lights-and-sirens to what sounds like a call of a real intruder — and only getting called off once everyone realizes it was a joke,” explained the Yonkers Police Department in New York in a Facebook post. “That’s not just a waste of resources… it’s a real safety risk for officers who are responding and for the family members who are home if our officers get there before the prank is revealed and rush into the home to apprehend this ‘intruder’ that doesn’t exist.”

Experts say the prank is disturbingly easy to pull off. Greg Gogolin, a professor and director of cybersecurity and data science at Ferris State University, demonstrated how quickly such technology can be used to manipulate reality.

“It’s frustratingly easy to do,” Gogolin said, noting that he created a program in just a few hours to show how AI can alter images. “This is a natural language processing machine learning program called a face swapping,” he explained.

The software can convincingly merge facial features from one person into another image or video, producing visuals that look nearly indistinguishable from real footage.

Gogolin warned that once these tools are released, they often end up in the wrong hands. “They share that out or sell it. … It’s dispersed and that’s where the real danger is because people without any technical background can then utilize that the way they wish,” he said.

While older versions of AI image generators often made obvious mistakes — like limbs in the wrong place or people with extra arms — the technology has advanced dramatically. “You might generate something and an arm will be off, the elbows are in the wrong place. It used to be you would often see people with like three arms. A long arm, a long leg, the dynamics were not correct. A lot of that has been corrected or at least drastically improved with the newer versions,” Gogolin noted.

He also cautioned that law enforcement agencies need better cyber training to deal with AI-related crimes. “There are very few degreed investigators that have a cyber security background, let alone a computer science background particularly at the local level, even at the state level,” Gogolin said.

Appearing on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed the Democrats’ insistence on reopening the federal government, saying the pressure from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) exemplified what he described as the “rise of Marxism” within her party.

Host Laura Ingraham began by asking, “Is [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] — does she have both oars in the water here, thinking that the president is going to bow down to these demands?”

Johnson responded with a smile, saying, “With every ounce of Christian character that I can muster, Laura, let me just say, bless her heart. OK. This would be comical if they were not so dangerous. You’re looking at the two leaders of the modern Democratic Party. We say all the time, this is not your father’s party. It’s not. These guys are full Marxist. You hear how vapid their ideology is, how empty, what empty suits they are. But they are the leaders of the party. They are dragging the rest of the old guard, the old party leaders, around by the nose, and they are subservient to their wishes.”

The Speaker went on to explain that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had chosen to oppose a short-term funding plan for political reasons, not policy ones. “I mean, Chuck Schumer has picked a fight over this very simple, clean CR to just keep the government funded for 21 additional days until November 21, seven more weeks, so that we could get the appropriations process done,” he said. “And the reason he did it is because he is afraid of that voice you just heard on that stage. He is afraid that AOC is going to challenge him. There’s a rise of Marxism in the party. It’s happening in New York, in their state, and he’s terrified, and that’s why all — everybody around the country is feeling such pain right now because of this nonsense.”

{Matzav.com}

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) unleashed a verbal tirade against White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday, labeling her “sick” and “out of control.”

Jeffries began his press briefing by claiming it was Day 17 of what he called the “Trump-Republican shutdown,” a statement that raised eyebrows since Republicans had already passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) — legislation that Democrats repeatedly voted down. Democrats had previously supported similar measures to extend funding during the Biden administration.

Despite the reality that Democrats pushed a partisan spending bill, Jeffries maintained his party was taking the high road, declaring:
“So House and Senate Democrats are going to continue to hold firm as it relates to a basic commonsense position that when we enact spending bills, we should be helping the American people, not hurting them. And so we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people, but we will continue to extend that offer to our Republican colleagues and to President Trump and members of his administration.”

He went on to accuse the Trump administration of intentionally inflicting harm, stating that “cruelty has been the point for this administration.”

Answering a reporter’s question about political violence, Jeffries acknowledged, “We’ve already seen a rise in political violence and hatred in America,” though he omitted any mention of recent left-wing incidents that have dominated headlines.

“You’ve got young Republicans engaging in the most anti-Semitic and racist speech possible. Like, this is apparently who many of these people are. They are ripping the sheets off in plain view of the American people, their words, their actions, revealing themselves in so many different ways,” he continued before pivoting to Leavitt.

“And then you’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control, and I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above. But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants — This makes no sense that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown,” Jeffries said.

He closed his remarks by asserting, “So their actions continue to speak for themselves, which is why they’re on the wrong side of public sentiment.”

{Matzav.com}

A senior Hamas leader has stated that the group intends to preserve its security authority in Gaza during a transitional phase, and stopped short of pledging to give up its weapons — a stance that underscores the challenges confronting U.S. efforts to achieve a lasting end to the war.

Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamas’ politburo, told Reuters that Hamas would agree to a ceasefire lasting as long as five years to allow for the reconstruction of Gaza, provided that Palestinians are offered “horizons and hope” for eventual statehood.

In an interview from Doha, where Hamas’ political bureau has long been based, Nazzal defended the organization’s recent executions in Gaza, describing them as wartime necessities. He said those punished were criminals guilty of murder and added that there are always “exceptional measures” in times of war.

Although Hamas has voiced similar sentiments in the past, Nazzal’s statements come at a critical juncture — just days after the first phase of a ceasefire was implemented — highlighting the deep divisions that remain between the group’s stance and U.S. President Donald Trump’s broader strategy for Gaza.

These comments underscore how far apart the sides remain as negotiations approach over the future of Hamas’ weapons and the governance of Gaza under the U.S.-led plan.

Responding to Nazzal’s remarks, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire arrangement and said it continues to meet its obligations under the agreement.

“Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time,” the statement said.

Trump’s September 29 proposal requires Hamas to first release every hostage and then surrender its weapons, with Gaza’s civil administration to be transferred to a technocratic committee supervised by an international transitional authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu endorsed the initiative, saying it would dismantle Hamas’ military strength, strip the group of political power, and ensure that Gaza can never again threaten Israel.

After months of heavy bombardment, Hamas is under tremendous pressure to disarm and relinquish its grip on Gaza or risk triggering another round of fighting.

Asked directly whether the group would give up its weapons, Nazzal responded: “I can’t answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you’re talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?”

He added that discussions about weapons would not concern Hamas alone but other Palestinian factions as well, meaning any final stance would need to be reached collectively by all Palestinians.

When questioned about the remarks, the White House referred Reuters to Trump’s comments a day earlier.

“We have a commitment from them and I assume they’re going to honor their commitment,” Trump said, noting that Hamas had returned additional bodies of hostages but did not elaborate on the matter of disarmament or Hamas’ interim authority on the ground.

Nazzal also emphasized that Hamas had no wish to keep the remains of those killed during the October 7, 2023, assault.

He said the group had so far handed over nine of the 28 bodies but was facing “technical problems” in locating more. He added that other countries, including Turkey and the U.S., might assist in the recovery efforts if necessary.

A Turkish official confirmed last week that Ankara would join a multinational task force with Israel, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt to help locate and retrieve the bodies.

Under an agreement reached on October 4, Hamas pledged to free all hostages and transfer administrative power to a technocratic body while broader political matters would be negotiated within a unified Palestinian framework. The group released the remaining living hostages on Monday.

According to Nazzal, talks for the second phase of negotiations are set to begin shortly.

On Tuesday, Trump said he had made it clear to Hamas that it must surrender its weapons or face consequences. He also acknowledged that Hamas had been granted temporary permission to handle internal security within Gaza and expressed support for the group’s targeting of criminal gangs.

Commenting on Trump’s position, Nazzal said there was indeed an understanding about Hamas’ continued presence on the ground — though he did not specify with whom — explaining that it was necessary to safeguard aid convoys from looters and armed factions.

“This is a transitional phase. Civilly, there will be a technocratic administration as I said. On the ground, Hamas will be present,” he stated. He added that elections should follow once the transition ends.

Nazzal further said that mediators had not broached the idea of an international stabilization force for Gaza, which was one of the key components in Trump’s proposal.

Although Hamas’ founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction, its leadership has at times floated the idea of a long-term truce in exchange for a viable Palestinian state on territories occupied by Israel in 1967 — an offer Israel dismisses as deceitful.

Nazzal said Hamas has already raised the possibility of a long-term truce in meetings with American officials and that it is seeking a three- to five-year pause in hostilities to rebuild Gaza. “The goal isn’t to prepare for a future war.”

Looking further ahead, he said, such a deal would require international guarantees to “provide horizons and hope for the Palestinian people.”

“The Palestinian people want an independent Palestinian state,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump offered a lighthearted compliment to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their much-anticipated meeting in the White House Cabinet Room, where top advisers from both countries were also present.

This time, Zelensky opted against his usual military-style look, choosing instead to wear a dark shirt paired with a jacket — though still not a full suit. Trump noticed immediately and made a point of praising the choice.

“Thank you. And I think he looks beautiful in this jacket. It’s beautiful. I hope people notice. It’s very stylish,” Trump remarked after Zelensky’s opening comments.

Zelensky’s wardrobe had sparked criticism earlier in the year when he appeared at the White House without a jacket during a tense session with Trump and Vice President JD Vance — a meeting that quickly devolved into heated exchanges.

Even before that visit, his decision to skip traditional formal wear had drawn attention. “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re in the highest level of this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit? I just want to see, do you own a suit?” Brian Glenn, White House bureau chief for Real America’s Voice, asked Zelensky pointedly at the time.

When Zelensky returned to Washington in August, he appeared more polished, sporting a coordinated coat and shirt ensemble, though he still skipped the tie. “President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit,” Glenn said after Trump called on him for a question in the Oval Office. “You look good.”

“I said the same thing,” Trump added with a smile. “And he’s the one that attacked you last time.”

Following the tense February exchange, the dynamic between Trump and Zelensky has visibly improved, with both leaders now projecting a far friendlier rapport in public appearances.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House today.

WATCH:

New York City voters squandered an opportunity to prevent a far-left politician from rising to power by choosing Zohran Mamdani, said Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, who labeled the candidate a “radical.”

“They missed their opportunity, unfortunately, in this race during the summer, the powers that be needed to expose Mamdani for the radical-leftist positions he’s taken,” McLaughlin said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”

“Most New Yorkers don’t realize how radical he is,” he continued.

McLaughlin, who is originally from the New York area, said it was especially troubling to see what he described as the birthplace of American capitalism embracing far-left politics.

“I’ve lived my entire life in the New York City metropolitan area, and the fact that the bastion of capitalism and freedom, New York City, is going to be governed by a Marxist, it’s just terrible,” he said.

He added that such leadership would be damaging beyond the city limits. “It’s terrible not just for New York, but also the surrounding areas, New Jersey and Connecticut, and it’s the last thing that the voters need after the failures of the last two mayors,” McLaughlin said.

Switching topics, McLaughlin addressed the attorney general race in Virginia, calling out controversial text messages allegedly sent in 2022 by Democrat nominee Jay Jones, in which he joked about shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.

“Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor, has gone all in for the Democrat who made these [statements],” he said.

“There’s certain things that you say as an elected leader that are just indefensible, [like] wanting to murder not just your political opponents, but their children,” McLaughlin added.

He noted that polls indicate the attorney general contest is becoming increasingly competitive. “The last two media polls basically had the governor’s race getting closer and closer,” he said.

“They also have [Attorney General] Jason Miyares up by about five or six points, [so] I think it could be similar to what we saw after the first debate in the presidential race, where it takes some time for all this to come in,” McLaughlin observed.

Meanwhile, James Johnson, a pollster from JL Partners, told Newsmax on Friday that Republicans could make surprising progress in solidly Democratic New Jersey, though a full victory remains a long shot.

“Donald Trump did very well in New Jersey last year,” Johnson said. “Although he didn’t win the state, he did significantly better than Republican candidates have for a long time. It is possible, but I slightly doubt it. I think the Republican candidate will come close but not quite get over the edge.”

Johnson said a strong Republican turnout could reshape the political landscape going forward. “If Republicans do very well in New Jersey, and especially if they win the state, then we’ll see people looking at a slightly expanded map for 2026,” he said.

“Republicans will start to think, what about New Mexico? What about Minnesota?” Johnson added.

However, he cautioned that a poor showing would limit those ambitions. “If it’s another five-to-ten-point defeat, we’ll be back to talking about the classic swing states we’ve discussed over the last ten years,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

A top Kremlin official has suggested an ambitious new infrastructure project — a “Putin-Trump Tunnel” running beneath the Bering Strait — that would physically connect Russia and the United States, promote joint development of natural resources, and serve as a “symbol of unity” between the two powers.

The idea was presented by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special investment envoy and head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund. His proposal envisions an $8 billion venture financed by Moscow along with “international partners,” creating a 70-mile (112-kilometer) rail and freight tunnel to be completed in less than eight years.

Dmitriev, who has been at the forefront of Moscow’s recent diplomatic outreach to Washington, floated the concept Thursday evening following a phone conversation between Putin and President Donald Trump, during which the two agreed to meet in Budapest to discuss possible steps toward ending the war in Ukraine.

“The dream of a US–Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US–Canada–Russia–China railroad, and will support the most viable,” Dmitriev wrote on X.

The Bering Strait spans 51 miles (82 kilometers) at its narrowest point, separating Alaska from Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula. For more than a century and a half, engineers and political leaders have occasionally revived the idea of bridging or tunneling this stretch, though no proposal has ever advanced beyond the planning stage.

Dmitriev — who has developed ties with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and discussed opportunities for U.S. energy companies to invest in Arctic ventures — proposed that the tunnel be built by The Boring Company, the U.S.-based tunneling enterprise founded by Elon Musk.

“Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but @boringcompany’s tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let’s build a future together,” Dmitriev wrote to Musk on X.

Neither Musk nor Trump has issued a public reaction to the proposal.

Dmitriev also noted that a similar idea had been raised during the Cold War — a “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge” — and he shared an archival sketch showing the proposed route from that era, along with an updated map outlining the envisioned modern tunnel between Chukotka and Alaska.

“RDIF has already invested in and built the first ever Russia-China railroad bridge. The time has come to do more and connect the Continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US,” said Dmitriev.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump acknowledged that his newly announced 100% tariff on Chinese imports could not be sustained long-term, while insisting that China’s actions were responsible for the current breakdown in trade relations — a dispute that escalated after Beijing moved to tighten restrictions on rare earth exports.

When pressed about the potential impact of such a steep tariff and whether it could be maintained, Trump answered plainly, “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is.”

“They forced me to do that,” he added during an interview with Fox Business Network that aired Friday morning.

Last week, Trump introduced a sweeping set of new trade measures, including a 100% tariff on all Chinese exports to the United States and upcoming export restrictions on “any and all critical software” beginning November 1 — just over a week before current tariff exemptions were due to expire.

These steps came in direct response to Beijing’s move to significantly expand its control over the export of rare earth elements, key materials used in advanced technology manufacturing. China remains the world’s dominant supplier of these strategic minerals.

Trump also confirmed that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in two weeks — a summit he had previously suggested might not occur — and expressed a measure of respect for the Chinese leader.

“I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair,” Trump said during the taped Fox Business interview on “Mornings with Maria.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s cabinet is scheduled to hold a vote on Sunday to change the official title of the ongoing conflict with Hamas and Iran-backed militias to “War of Revival.”

The initiative, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, would replace the existing title, “Swords of Iron,” which the IDF adopted on October 7, 2023—the day Hamas launched its deadly assault on Israel and Netanyahu declared the country to be at war.

Netanyahu originally introduced the name “War of Revival” last year during a cabinet session marking the one-year anniversary of the conflict’s outbreak. At that time, he stated, “This is the war of our existence — the ‘War of Revival.’”

Some critics have argued that the move to rename the war is an effort by the government to deflect criticism over lapses leading up to and during the October 7, 2023, attack.

Although “Swords of Iron” remains the IDF’s official term, most Israelis continue to commonly refer to the ongoing campaign simply as the “October 7 war.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel announced Thursday that it intends to step up efforts to compel Hamas to return the bodies of 19 hostages still held in Gaza. Reports indicated that a specialized task force has already entered the Strip to assist in locating and recovering the remains.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that despite Hamas’s claims to have already returned all the bodies it could find, “there is a double-digit number of hostages that it can return.” Meanwhile, Channel 13 reported that an international recovery team, acting on intelligence provided by Israel, entered Gaza within the last day to begin its search operations.

Since accepting the first phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, Hamas has handed over the bodies of nine hostages. The initial stage of the plan, finalized on Monday, also saw the release of the last 20 living captives still being held by terror groups in Gaza.

Under the ceasefire agreement, signed in Egypt on October 9, Hamas was obligated to free “all Israeli hostages, living and deceased,” within 72 hours of Israel’s partial troop withdrawal on October 10. The agreement, however, acknowledged that the recovery of some remains could take longer than the set deadline.

On Thursday night, Hamas claimed it could not return additional bodies without access to heavy machinery to remove debris, a statement that clashed with Israel’s position. An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem believes Hamas has the ability to return most of the 28 deceased hostages’ bodies within the timeframe originally established. The Wall Street Journal added that Israel has informed mediators Hamas knows the location of at least six more bodies. A senior official reiterated to Channel 12 that “there is a double-digit number of hostages that [Hamas] can return.”

Security officials, according to Channel 12, recommended that Israel consider restricting the entry of construction materials into Gaza or delaying the reopening of the Rafah Crossing for civilian movement until Hamas fulfills its obligations.

At the same time, Egypt conveyed a firm warning to Hamas to comply with the ceasefire terms, while reportedly urging Israel to avoid imposing additional punitive measures for the time being.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his advisers on Thursday to deliberate on possible actions to pressure Hamas further. Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for hostage affairs, informed the families of the deceased that the government intends to increase its pressure campaign but withheld specific details.

Israel has characterized Hamas’s limited cooperation on returning bodies as “a fundamental breach of the agreement.” The United States, however, has taken a more measured tone. “We will pursue the return of the bodies of the deceased until they all come home. And I’m confident they will all come home,” said White House envoy Steve Witkoff at a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum event on Thursday marking the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre that ignited the Gaza conflict.

Hamas issued a statement overnight asserting that recovering the remaining bodies will take time, alleging they are trapped under collapsed buildings or buried in tunnels destroyed during Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has countered that while some remains may indeed be inaccessible, Hamas is deliberately withholding others that it could easily hand over.

With differences emerging between Jerusalem and Washington over how to handle the impasse, Netanyahu spoke by phone with President Trump on Thursday night. According to Yisrael Hayom, Netanyahu updated Trump on Israel’s intended actions regarding Hamas’s refusal to return the bodies, and Trump voiced his full support.

A video aired overnight by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera showed what appeared to be Hamas members searching through the wreckage in Khan Younis, using bulldozers and other machinery to clear debris in their search for hostages’ remains.

Channel 13 later reported that a multinational team from the United States, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar is already operating in Gaza to assist in locating the remaining bodies. Qatar has supplied “engineering equipment” to aid the mission, the network said.

Channel 12 noted that Israel has shared precise coordinates pinpointing sites believed to contain the hostages’ remains. A Turkish Defense Ministry official confirmed that “there is already a team of 81 AFAD staff there,” referring to Turkey’s disaster response agency, adding that “one team will be in charge of seeking and finding the bodies.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel is preparing to physically mark what will be known as the “yellow line” inside Gaza — a dividing line that will clearly separate territory under Israeli control from that still held by Hamas.

The new demarcation is intended to serve as both a visual and strategic warning, signaling to residents and militants exactly where the boundary lies, in hopes of preventing unauthorized crossings into zones secured by Israeli forces.

At present, the IDF maintains control over roughly half of Gaza. The new border will be visibly reinforced and physically defined by the military, effectively creating a line that functions as both a political and security barrier reflecting the current scope of the army’s operations within the Strip.

Defense Minister Yisroel Katz formally announced the decision on Friday morning, emphasizing that Israel will respond forcefully to any breaches. “Any violation or attempt to cross the line will be met with fire,” he warned, underscoring that the boundary will be strictly enforced.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Thursday that the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues without resolution because neither government has been willing to commit to a peace deal despite ongoing talks.

“As much as energetic diplomacy from the president of the United States can get people to the one-yard line, eventually you have to have the two parties who are willing to cut a deal,” Vance told Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren on her program The Record With Greta Van Susteren.

“And right now, for all of our work, and we’re going to keep on working at it, the Russians and the Ukrainians are just not at the point where they can make a deal,” he said.

Still, Vance expressed optimism that an agreement could eventually be reached, noting that it would take considerably more effort. “I think there’s a fundamental misalignment of expectations, where the Russians tend to think that they’re doing better on the battlefield than they actually are,” he explained.

That misconception, he said, has complicated negotiations in recent months even though some movement toward dialogue has occurred.

Vance credited President Donald Trump’s diplomatic style with advancing talks further than previous U.S. efforts. “You know, I think that the thing that actually works in both cases is the Trump approach to diplomacy, which is energetic, that empowers his people on the ground, that actually encourages them to get a deal done and is willing to explore some unconventional means in order to get the deal done,” he said.

He added that the progress seen so far likely wouldn’t have happened without Trump’s direct involvement. “It turned out, as the president said, I think it surprised all of us, including the president, that this is a particularly tough nut to crack,” Vance said.

Discussing the administration’s economic strategy, Vance said tariffs have proven far more productive than traditional sanctions in pressuring Moscow. “You have to separate sanctions from tariffs,” he stated.

“Tariffs have been quite effective as a negotiating tool with the Russians,” he continued. “But sanctions have been tried for decades in this particular region of the world and all over the world, and I don’t think they actually work particularly well.”

Vance cautioned that sanctions often end up inflicting harm on the U.S. economy while failing to change Russia’s conduct. “The president has been very deliberate,” he said. “He hasn’t, you know, he doesn’t just apply blanket sanctions.”

He also noted that Trump has been engaging directly with major global economies to limit Moscow’s energy profits. “With the Russian case in particular, of course, a main driver of their economy is the oil that they sell to India and China,” he said.

“So he’s been working with both India and China to try to cut down on those oil sales, and again, in order to apply some pressure to the parties in the region to get peace,” said Vance, adding that Trump will “keep on aggressively working on it.”

Vance acknowledged that the drawn-out process has tested the administration’s patience. “Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes,” he admitted. “Yes, [Trump] gets impatient with everybody involved sometimes.”

Nevertheless, Vance said the president remains confident that persistence will ultimately pay off. “So long as he keeps working on it, I think the president has great confidence he can strike a deal,” Vance said. “I think that he will. It’s just a question of how long it’s going to take.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has refiled his massive $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, after a federal judge dismissed the earlier version for being excessively long.

The updated complaint, now properly formatted, was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. It accuses The New York Times of defamation based on two articles released in 2024, as well as a book written by two of the paper’s journalists the previous year. Trump is seeking $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation.

“President Trump is continuing to hold the Fake News responsible through this powerhouse lawsuit against the New York Times, its reporters, and Penguin Random House,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.

The lawsuit lists The New York Times Company, journalists Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt, as well as Penguin Random House, as defendants. Penguin Random House is the publisher of Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, written by Craig and Buettner.

A spokesperson for The New York Times told Fox News Digital, “As we said when this was first filed and again after the judge’s ruling to strike it: this lawsuit has no merit. Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”

Last month, the presiding judge instructed Trump’s legal team to revise and condense the original 85-page document into a shorter version not exceeding 40 pages, allowing them 28 days to do so. The new filing meets that requirement.

The updated complaint centers on allegations of defamation related to The Times’ coverage of Trump’s time as host of The Apprentice and its reporting on alleged questionable tax practices.

This case is one of several defamation lawsuits Trump has brought against major media organizations, including ABC News, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal. Over the past year, Trump has reached significant settlements with both ABC and CBS.

In December, ABC resolved its case by contributing $15 million to a future presidential museum or foundation and covering $1 million in legal fees.

Trump also filed an “election interference” suit against CBS over its 60 Minutes interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing that the network’s editing misled viewers. As CBS’s parent company, Paramount, prepared for an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, it agreed in July to settle the dispute for a figure reportedly approaching $30 million.

{Matzav.com}

New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani took direct aim at Andrew Cuomo during Thursday night’s debate, accusing the former New York governor of ignoring the city’s Muslim community throughout his decade in office.

“It took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary for him to set foot in a mosque,” Mamdani said during the live exchange. “He had more than ten years and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.”

Expanding on his criticism, Mamdani said, “What Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality and they want respect, and it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city, and that frankly is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.”

When Cuomo objected, saying, “I’ve worked with the Muslim community for many, many years,” Mamdani immediately challenged him. “Name a single mosque you went to while you were the governor. Can you name a single mosque you went to in ten years?” he pressed.

Cuomo defended his record, insisting his outreach to Muslims dated back long before Mamdani’s entry into public life. “Before you were ever here, before you were even in state government, I worked with the Muslim community,” Cuomo responded. “Imams presided over state of the states. We worked in religious working groups, tolerance groups, anti-Semitic groups, etcetera.”

Mamdani ended the exchange with a sharp rebuke: “You couldn’t visit a mosque.”

Cuomo had recently visited a mosque for the first time while campaigning in his current race, an event that drew both attention and criticism.

The debate quickly grew tense as Cuomo, Mamdani, and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa sparred over their records, with Mamdani and Sliwa occasionally joining forces to confront Cuomo on stage.

John Bolton, a long-standing figure in Republican foreign policy circles and one-time national security adviser, turned himself in to federal authorities on Friday following his indictment for alleged mishandling of classified information. The charges come after a federal grand jury issued an 18-count indictment accusing him of improperly keeping or transmitting sensitive government materials.

Bolton appeared at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, for his first hearing a day after the grand jury delivered the indictment. Prosecutors claim the 76-year-old retained and shared restricted national security documents during his time serving under President Trump, in violation of federal law.

According to the indictment, Bolton allegedly used a personal AOL email account to send some of the classified materials to individuals not authorized to receive them. The document further asserts that over 1,000 pages of sensitive notes were shared with his wife and daughter, neither of whom held the necessary security clearances.

Prosecutors also allege that Bolton transmitted information labeled “top secret” using various messaging platforms. The material reportedly included intelligence related to planned U.S. military operations and foreign adversaries, actions that investigators say violated strict national security protocols.

{Matzav.com}

The world was horrified months ago by a Hamas propaganda video showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David, frail and starving, digging what he said was his own grave. Now, a new Channel 13 investigation reveals the disturbing methods behind that footage, based on testimony from released captives and their families. According to the report, David and his fellow hostage, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were intentionally starved and separated inside the tunnels so that they would appear skeletal on camera for “proof-of-life” recordings. Once the footage was completed, they were given food again. The August video, later released publicly with the family’s consent to expose Hamas’ cruelty, showed David emaciated and clutching a shovel deep underground.

In the chilling clip, David is seen marking off the passage of time on a crude calendar attached to the tunnel wall.

He was bare-chested, his ribs protruding sharply, his body a shadow of what it once was. Every muscle seemed wasted away, and he appeared to have been isolated for months without human contact or adequate nutrition. His arms looked so thin that his biceps were barely distinguishable from his forearms.

Hamas had also filmed David and Gilboa-Dalal watching other hostages being released, a deliberate act meant to torment them psychologically. Families say these orchestrated scenes were designed to destroy morale — the captors selectively showed moments of freedom to make those still imprisoned feel abandoned and hopeless.

Fresh accounts from recently freed hostages’ families have shed further light on the nightmare and the courage that persisted despite it. The mother of Elkana Bohbot told Israeli media that her son used bits of cloth and thread given by his captors to sew a small teddy bear for his young child, Re’em, while still in captivity. That handmade toy was seen in his hands when the two were finally reunited at Sheba Medical Center.

Speaking for the first time from his hospital bed, released hostage Maksim Herkin told Channel 13 that the public demonstrations in support of the captives were what gave him and others the strength to endure. “I said I would be back in the morning; it took me two years,” he said, offering an emotional apology to his mother and describing his return as “the victory of every citizen.”

In another testimony, the mother of Rom Braslavski detailed the mental and physical torment her son endured. She said Hamas guards kept him alone for long stretches and manipulated him with false news meant to convince him that Israel had fallen. For a time, he was so starved that he resorted to burning bits of clothing to boil pasta after being given only half a pita each night. She added that he wasn’t held in tunnels but was force-fed shortly before his release, leading to dangerous fluctuations in his blood sugar since his return.

{Matzav.com}

US special envoy Steve Witkoff reaffirmed the Trump administration’s determination to recover the bodies of all hostages who remained in Gaza, speaking with resolve about the mission’s ongoing urgency.

“We will pursue the return of the bodies of the deceased until they all come home. And I’m confident they will all come home,” Witkoff said during remarks at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, where an event was held marking two years since Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

Witkoff credited President Donald Trump with playing a decisive role in achieving the ceasefire last week that led to the liberation of every living hostage still held by Hamas.

“President Trump understands something most leaders forget — that moral clarity without strength means nothing, and it is that combination of conviction and power that has saved lives,” the envoy declared.

Reflecting on the delicate diplomacy that led to the agreement, Witkoff said that during the final phase of negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month, mediators succeeded in convincing “Hamas that keeping the remaining 20 hostages was no longer an asset. It was their liability, and they began to believe it.”

He recalled his personal experiences on two visits to Gaza over the past year.

“Each time I wear my black MAGA [hat], and people come up to me on the Gazan side because they want peace too,” Witkoff said.

“They want stability, opportunity, a better life for their children. A future for Gazans must include jobs, education, hope, aspirations — not just guns and violence,” he continued.

“Israel should never have to live under the threat of rockets flying at its people or the fear of terrorist attacks. But Gazan people must be able to live a decent life as well or there won’t be a possibility for long term peace.”

Witkoff reiterated that “Hamas must unequivocally disarm, and they can have no future in Gaza; no future as they have been,” hinting that Washington could accept Hamas’s continued presence in the territory only if it completely renounced its extremist ideology.

“Only when extremism ends can prosperity begin. Peace in the region will save countless lives of Israeli and Gaza alike, and bring dignity to those who have suffered for far too long,” Witkoff said, pledging to accelerate the expansion of the Abraham Accords in the aftermath of the ceasefire.

{Matzav.com}

During a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont grew visibly frustrated when Ocasio-Cortez was asked if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should be worried about a possible primary challenge from her.

Both lawmakers bristled at the question, raising their voices as they dismissed the topic and accused the media and Republicans of ignoring more pressing national concerns.

“I mean, no, because I don’t think this is about anything… This is what we’re talking about!” Ocasio-Cortez exclaimed.

As she began to respond, Sanders jumped in forcefully. “Let me jump in on this one,” he said, before launching into a tirade about the nation’s problems.

“That’s exactly what we’re talking… we have a country that is falling apart!” he shouted. “We had a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, massive income and wealth inequality, corrupt campaign finances, and the media says, ‘Are you going to run? What are you going to run for?’ Nobody cares!”

CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins countered that the question wasn’t random, noting that both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump have recently brought up the possibility of Ocasio-Cortez challenging Schumer in 2026.

Sanders argued that those remarks from Vance and Trump were simply an attempt to “deflect attention away from the real issues,” pivoting again to what he described as America’s systemic failures.

“We’re living in the richest country in the history of the world, right? All right, you tell me why we’re the only nation not to guarantee health care to all people. The only nation not to guarantee paid family and medical leave, why we have a $7.25 an hour minimum wage, why we have 800,000 people sleeping out on the street,” Sanders said.

“Let’s talk about that issue — not her political future. She’ll decide that,” Sanders added, bringing the exchange to a close.

The discussion was only the latest instance of speculation about Ocasio-Cortez’s potential rise within the Democratic Party, which has intensified amid internal disputes over Schumer’s approach to the ongoing government shutdown.

Earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez appeared on MSNBC to discuss the stalemate, telling Republicans, “My office is open, and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly,” a statement that prompted fresh questions from GOP lawmakers about who is truly steering Democratic strategy.

In the days following that appearance, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was confronted by a reporter asking if Republicans should take Ocasio-Cortez up on her offer.

“There was a thought from the Republicans that AOC is directing this, and she said that senators are welcome to go to her office directly. Is she driving that?” the reporter asked.

“Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?” Pelosi shot back. “She’s wonderful, she’s a real team player, and the rest of that. You started by saying Republicans say that she’s directing this. She is not, Hakeem Jeffries is.”

{Matzav.com}