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The IDF confirmed early Sunday morning that Iran fired missiles toward Israel, triggering air defense responses and widespread sirens across multiple regions of the country.
In a statement issued shortly after 6:00 a.m., the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said missiles had been launched from Iran in the direction of Israeli territory and that aerial defense systems were engaged to intercept them.
Warning sirens were heard in central Israel, Jerusalem, and Samaria. Alerts were later extended to the Sharon region.
The military called on civilians to strictly adhere to directives issued by the Home Front Command.
Following nearly an hour marked by repeated sirens and sustained interception activity, the Home Front Command informed residents nationwide that they could exit protected spaces. However, the public was advised to stay near shelters as a precaution.
Magen David Adom said 14 people were treated for injuries sustained while rushing to protected areas.
Authorities reported no direct impacts or property damage.
{Matzav.com}It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rebbetzin Frimit Taub–Housman a”h, a woman whose life was defined by unwavering yiras Shamayim, profound Torah knowledge, and a lifelong devotion to her family and to communal service. Her presence radiated dignity, strength, and quiet depth; her legacy is etched in the generations she nurtured and the Torah she lived.
Born Frimit Werzberger on the Lower East Side, she was raised in a home distinguished by extraordinary mesirus nefesh for shemiras Shabbos during the grinding years of the Great Depression. At a time when Shabbos observance often meant forfeiting livelihood and security, her family stood firm. Those formative years, shaped by sacrifice and emunah, left an indelible imprint on her character and on the spiritual tone of the home she would later build.
She was a granddaughter of Reb Berish Elefant zt”l, revered maggid shiur at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and later rosh yeshiva of Nesivos Olam. From him she inherited a deep reverence for Torah learning and a broad, historically grounded understanding of the mesorah of Klal Yisroel.
In her first marriage to Reb Dovid Housman zt”l, a devoted Karliner chossid and shochet, she helped establish a true Torah home, one infused with chassidishe warmth and steadfast commitment to halacha. After his untimely petirah, she carried the mantle of responsibility alone. With remarkable inner strength and unwavering faith, she raised her children, guided them, and married them off, ensuring that the home they had built would continue to flourish in Torah and yiras Shamayim.
Later in life she married Reb Ahron Tzvi Taub zt”l, the Heiliner Rov. As the Heiliner Rebbetzin, she became a source of guidance and inspiration in her own right. She delivered shiurim to women, and those who attended recall her clarity, her command of Torah sources, and her sweeping grasp of Jewish history. Her learning was lived, integrated, and transmitted with warmth and conviction.
Even in her later years, when others might have withdrawn from public involvement, Rebbetzin Taub–Housman remained active in acts of chesed. She prepared food regularly for Yad Efraim, providing comfort and nourishment to hospital patients and their families. This quiet, steady giving, done without fanfare, reflected the essence of her life: Torah anchored, compassionate, and purposeful.
She is survived by her son, Rav Dov Housman of Monsey, and her daughters, Mrs. Eizikowitz, Mrs. Wollner, Mrs. Schwartz of Jersey City, and Mrs. Gober of Monsey. She was predeceased by her son, Reb Mordechai zt”l.
The levayah will take place Sunday morning at Kahal Yereim-Heilin, located at Fort Hamilton Parkway and 47th Street in Brooklyn, NY.
Yehi zichrah boruch.
{Matzav.com}
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed today in an Israeli strike carried out as part of a sweeping joint military campaign by the United States and Israel, according to confirmation from Iranian state media.
Tehran declared 40 days of national mourning following what it described as the “martyrdom” of the 86-year-old leader, who had governed the Islamic Republic for more than three and a half decades and stood as its ultimate authority since 1989.
President Donald Trump publicly praised the development, writing on Truth Social that Khamenei had been “one of the most evil people in History” and describing his death as “justice” for Americans and others killed by Iran over the years. Trump indicated that U.S. intelligence assets were instrumental in locating and targeting the Iranian leader, stating that Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems.” He also warned that military operations would “continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary” in pursuit of what he called “peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”
Trump further asserted that members of Iran’s security apparatus and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were already seeking protection, encouraging them to “peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
Khamenei’s death represents a profound shock to the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure. As one of the longest-serving authoritarian rulers in the world, he exercised sweeping power over the judiciary, state broadcasting, and all armed and security forces, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. His removal delivers a severe blow to the regime and may hasten the unraveling of its governing system, an outcome U.S. and Israeli officials have openly stated as an objective of their operation.
The immediate aftermath has triggered a succession dilemma with no obvious resolution. Under Iran’s constitution, temporary authority shifts to an interim council while the Assembly of Experts — an 88-member body of Islamic clerics — is tasked with selecting a new supreme leader. However, Israeli officials said their initial wave of strikes severely disrupted Iran’s chain of command, eliminating seven senior defense and intelligence figures and targeting approximately 30 top military and civilian officials.
Among those reported killed are Khamenei’s chief security adviser Ali Shamkhani; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour; Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; Khamenei’s senior military aide Mohammad Shirazi; head of Iranian military intelligence Saleh Asadi; Hossein Jabal Amelian, chairman of the SPND nuclear weapons research organization; and former SPND chairman Reza Mozaffari-Nia.
One high-ranking official believed to have survived is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, former parliament speaker, and a longtime confidant of Khamenei. With much of the senior leadership eliminated, Larijani now appears to be the most prominent civilian figure remaining in the hierarchy. In a statement posted on X, he vowed that Iran would deliver Israel and the United States an “unforgettable lesson.”
Questions now loom over whether the Revolutionary Guard will attempt to consolidate power or whether the military strikes will create the internal opening for mass opposition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump have both publicly urged. Israeli officials said Khamenei’s sons were also targeted, though intelligence assessments suggest they survived. Mojtaba Khamenei, long viewed as a potential successor, remains among the most discussed figures in the unfolding transition.
Khamenei assumed power in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and spent 35 years tightening his grip over Iran’s political, military, and religious institutions. Throughout his rule, dissent was met with force. Thousands of demonstrators were killed during recent nationwide protests, and reform movements were repeatedly crushed under his authority.
In an overnight video address, Trump urged Iranian civilians to remain indoors during the ongoing air campaign but later rise up and “take over your government” once the operation concludes. Meanwhile, Iran’s exiled former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who has organized opposition efforts abroad, also called on Iranians to fill the streets. He appealed directly to members of the security forces, urging them to “Join the nation and help ensure a stable and secure transition. Otherwise, you will sink with Khamenei’s ship and his crumbling regime.”
{Matzav.com}
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rabbi Naftali Hertz Cukier z”l, a beloved longtime resident of Lakewood, NJ, and a leading figure in the spiritual revival of Russian Jewry.
As the leader of the extraordinary Dacha program and director of the Lakewood chapter of Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, Rabbi Cukier devoted his life to rekindling the flame of Yiddishkeit in souls long deprived of its warmth.
Rabbi Cukier’s own foundations in Torah were laid in the great yeshivos where he immersed himself in learning with the same passion he would later ignite in others.
He first learned at the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway, where he became a devoted talmid of Rav Mottel Weinberg zt”l. Rabbi Cukier maintained a close kesher with Rav Weinberg for decades, cherishing his guidance and drawing strength from that bond throughout his life. The imprint of those formative years — the rigor in learning, the clarity of thought, and the sincerity in avodas Hashem — never left him.
He later continued his aliyah at Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, where he learned under the rosh yeshiva, Rav Shnuer Kotler. Rabbi Cukier remained a loyal talmid of the yeshiva and a familiar, beloved presence in its batei medrash for more than fifty years.
For decades, Rabbi Cukier stood at the helm of the Dacha, a biannual three-week seminar that became a lifeline for unaffiliated Russian Jews from across the former Soviet Union. In a world often enamored with programming gimmicks and superficial inspiration, the Dacha was the opposite: a “no-shtick, no gimmick” immersion in pure limud haTorah. From early morning until late at night, the air vibrated with shiurim, chavrusah learning, and the steady hum of Torah study. It was the koach of unadulterated Torah itself — ha’or shebo machziro lamutav — that transformed participants, drawing them back again and again, until many progressed to advanced yeshivos, kollelim, and lives of authentic mitzvah observance.The remarkable and enduring success of the Dacha was rooted in Rabbi Cukier’s boundless mesirus nefesh. With unwavering dedication, he spearheaded this spiritual revolution together with a devoted team of shluchim who infused the program with positivity, warmth, and exuberance, all, incredibly, at their own expense. To Rabbi Cukier, this was not a project. It was a sacred mission.
The seeds of this movement were planted by Rabbi Mordechai Neustadt zt”l, who courageously gathered the first group of Refuseniks under clandestine and dangerous conditions for a hidden seminar behind the Iron Curtain. It was Rabbi Neustadt who urged Rabbi Cukier to assume leadership, entrusting him with the future of this fragile yet luminous beginning. Under Rabbi Cukier’s stewardship, what began in secrecy blossomed into a vibrant engine of Torah growth whose impact continues to reverberate throughout Russia and the broader Jewish world.
Every Dacha graduate who went on to build a Torah home, to raise children in the ways of Torah and mitzvos, and to produce generations committed to Yiddishkeit stands as an everlasting zechus for the neshamah of Rabbi Cukier. His legacy is not measured in accolades, but in living, breathing families shaped by his devotion.
For those who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s, the plight of Russian Jewry was a rallying cry that united Jews across the spectrum. Rallies filled city streets. Protests and advocacy campaigns captured headlines. Daring missions were carried out behind the Iron Curtain. For many secular Jews, the struggle mirrored the civil rights movement: a moral cause of freedom and dignity.
But when communism fell in 1991, it became clear that for the frum world, the real battle had only just begun. Political liberation was not spiritual rebirth. Seventy years of enforced atheism had left a vacuum where open Yiddishkeit once flourished. There were Jews who had never tasted Torah, who thirsted for mitzvos like wanderers in a desert longing for water.
The Vaad’s efforts predated the fall of communism. In 1988, Rabbi Cukier himself traveled to the USSR on a perilous mission. Constantly shadowed by the KGB, forced into clandestine meetings, and navigating an atmosphere thick with suspicion, he and his colleagues persevered in their attempts to bring Torah to those yearning for it. Upon returning to Lakewood, Rabbi Cukier organized a parlor meeting that laid the foundation for the Lakewood chapter of the Vaad. In those early years, shluchim were dispatched from Lakewood to sustain the underground work. Rav Sholom Kamenetzky and Rav Chaim Finkel were among the early volunteers who answered the call.
With the collapse of the Iron Curtain, a new chapter began. No longer confined to secrecy, the Vaad could operate openly. Rabbi Cukier, then a full-time kollel yungerman, took upon himself the enormous task of organizing a summer retreat for those hungry to learn. That program — which would evolve into the Dacha — became a beacon of hope. Tens of American bochurim and girls sacrificed their vacations year after year to teach fellow Yidden about Yiddishkeit. In the early years, as many as 700 participants would pass through the camp over the course of an eight-week summer.
Based outside Moscow, the camp drew Jews from across the vast expanse of the former Soviet Union, some traveling from as far as Ukraine. The stated goal was not kiruv in the conventional sense. It was simply to learn Torah. And yet, in the steady glow of limud haTorah, lives were transformed. Communication was often halting — participants knew little English or Hebrew — but the will to learn was fierce. Devorim hayotzim min halev penetrated directly to the heart.
Rabbi Cukier once reflected with quiet awe: “The sippuk you get when you see the unbelievable products that have come out of our program is unmatched. There are tens of bnei Torah who have built real Yiddishe homes all over the world and advanced in their learning to the point where they are true talmidei chachomim. We have a yungerman who is a rosh chaburah in the Mir, a boki b’Shas b’iyun. He learns something like 17 hours a day. There are many alumni who have returned to Russia and started yeshivos and kollelim.”
Those words were not spoken just with pride, but with gratitude — gratitude to see barren soil transformed into flourishing gardens of Torah.
Rabbi Cukier is survived by his devoted wife, Mrs. Pessie Cukier; his sister, Mrs. Hinda Ben-Ezra; his children, Mrs. Blima Prag, Mrs. Feiga Gross, Mrs. Chana Brunner, Mrs. Silky Resnicoff, Mrs. Devora Landsman, Reb Yossi Cukier, Reb Dovid Cukier, Reb Aharon Cukier, Reb Avrohom Yehuda Cukier, and Reb Yitzchok Cukier; and numerous grandchildren who carry forward his legacy.
The levayah will take place tonight at 10 p.m. at Bais Medrash Govoah’s Bendheim (Yoshon) Bais Medrash on Seventh Street in Lakewood, NJ.
With Rabbi Cukier’s passing, a giant of quiet heroism has departed this world. Yet, his impact lives on in every daf learned by a former Dacha participant, in every Shabbos table illuminated by families he inspired, and in every child raised in the light of Torah because one man refused to let a generation remain in darkness.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump said tonight that he has potential successors in mind following the reported elimination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes, while also expressing confidence that diplomatic engagement with Iran may now be more achievable.
In an interview with CBS News, Trump addressed questions about who could assume leadership in Tehran after Khamenei’s death. “Yes, I think so. There are some good candidates. I know exactly who, but I can’t tell you,” he said.
The President added that he is fully aware of who is currently making decisions within Iran’s leadership structure in the wake of Khamenei’s elimination.
Despite the military escalation, Trump indicated that diplomacy remains on the table. “Much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly,” he said, suggesting that recent developments could make negotiations more feasible.
Earlier in the day, Trump publicly confirmed that Khamenei had been killed in the strikes. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”
{Matzav.com}
A dramatic miracle unfolded in Bnei Brak on Shabbos afternoon when a massive piece of shrapnel struck a residential building, penetrating two apartments, yet all 12 members of one extended family escaped unharmed.
The incident occurred around 4:35 p.m. when a large fragment fell onto a home at 4 Donolo Street in Bnei Brak. The shrapnel tore through the roof and damaged two apartments belonging to the Gumbo and Luria families.
According to reports, the family members were saved in what relatives are calling an open miracle. The grandfather, Rav Tzvi (Hershel) Gumbo, Rosh Kollel at the Makova Beis Medrash in Bnei Brak and one of the respected rabbanim of the community, lives on the third floor. Above him, on the fourth floor, resides the family of his daughter, the Luria family. Together with the grandfather, there were 12 family members in the building at the time.
When the air raid siren sounded, the family immediately left their apartments and descended to the building’s stairwell, where they recited chapters of Tehillim. Notably, the apartments do not have a reinforced security room, prompting them to seek shelter in the stairwell.
Rabbi Luria, the son-in-law, had been learning at that very moment together with his father-in-law, Rabbi Gumbo. Upon hearing the siren, they too quickly went down to the stairwell.
While they were there, they heard a powerful explosion. When they returned to their apartments, they found devastation. The massive shrapnel had pierced the fourth-floor apartment and continued downward into the third-floor residence, causing extensive destruction to both homes.
Family members described the event as “a Purim miracle,” emphasizing the extraordinary timing that placed them in the stairwell rather than inside their apartments at the moment of impact.
At Mincha, Rabbi Gumbo arrived at the Makova Beis Medrash on Rechov Rabbeinu Tam in Bnei Brak dressed in white — his shtreimel and bekeshe — and, visibly emotional, recited Birkas HaGomel in thanksgiving for the miraculous salvation.
{Matzav.com}
The Israel Defense Forces announced that senior figures in Iran’s security leadership were killed in a coordinated surprise operation launched after Israeli intelligence identified high-level meetings in Tehran.
According to the IDF Spokesperson, the unprecedented operation began with a sudden strike after Military Intelligence detected two locations in the Iranian capital where senior members of the regime’s security leadership had gathered.
Since the launch of Operation “Roaring Lion,” hundreds of Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from Military Intelligence, have struck hundreds of targets belonging to what Israel described as the Iranian terror regime across the country.
During the wave of attacks, the top echelon of Iran’s security leadership was eliminated, the IDF said.
Among those killed was Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Defense Council. Shamkhani was described as a central figure in Iran’s national security decision-making process and a close security adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since Operation “Like a Lion” and a leading architect of what Israel called the “plan to destroy Israel,” was also killed. In his role, Pakpour commanded Iran’s primary military force and was responsible for directing strategic missile fire against Israel, as well as overseeing and supporting Iranian-backed terror organizations across multiple fronts. He was also said to have overseen the violent suppression of Iranian protesters during recent internal demonstrations.
Salah Asadi, head of intelligence for Iran’s emergency command and a senior intelligence officer within the Iranian high command, was likewise eliminated. Asadi was involved in shaping Iran’s strategy toward Israel and the United States and played a significant role in advancing what Israel described as the “plan to destroy Israel.”
Mohammad Shirazi, who headed the military bureau of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since 1989, was also among those killed. In that capacity, Shirazi served as a key liaison between senior armed forces commanders and the Supreme Leader, making him a central figure in the upper ranks of the Iranian regime.
Aziz Nasirzadeh, who served as Iran’s defense minister and previously held several senior posts including commander of the Iranian Air Force and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, was also reported killed. He was described as responsible for long-range missile production industries and for weapons systems transferred to Iranian proxies. Nasirzadeh was also linked to the SPND organization, which advanced projects related to nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons development.
Hussein Jabal Amelian, chairman of the SPND organization, was also eliminated, according to the IDF. He was said to have overseen the development of advanced weapons technologies for the regime and to have led projects in the nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons fields.
Reza Motafari-Nia, a former chairman of SPND who advanced nuclear weapons development efforts, was also killed in the strikes.
The IDF said that even now, the Israeli Air Force continues to conduct strikes throughout Iran based on precise intelligence, in coordination and cooperation with the United States military.
The military emphasized that it will continue operating against any entity that attempts to threaten the security of the State of Israel.
{Matzav.com}Israel has once again entered an emergency situation amid the escalating Iran crisis. As of this morning, the country is officially in a state of emergency.
Chaim V’Chessed offices remain open to serve the community at this challenging time. However, across the country, significant restrictions are now in place:
This airspace closure has left many people stranded. Chaim V’Chessed has been contacted by countless individuals seeking assistance in leaving the country – including tourists, students, and others with urgent travel needs.
Current Travel RealityAt this moment, the only potential ways to exit Israel are:
1. Via Taba (Egypt)Taba Border Crossing
Travel south to the Taba crossing near Eilat, enter Egypt by land, and then attempt to fly out from Egyptian airports. This route involves significant logistical challenges and uncertainty.
2. By Sea to CyprusTraveling by private boat to Cyprus – an arduous and highly complicated option that is not simple to arrange.
It is important to note that Jordan has closed its airspace, making travel through Jordan currently not viable.
Our Ongoing EffortsChaim V’Chessed is in close contact with the U.S. Embassy in Yerushalayim, which is actively exploring possible options to assist U.S. citizens. At this time, however, there are no concrete evacuation arrangements in place.
In parallel, together with our various partners, we are collecting information from foreign nationals who are seeking to leave the country. This information will remain confidential but may be used to contact you if relevant and viable travel options become available.
If you are a foreign national currently in Israel and wish to be contacted should options emerge, please click this link to submit your information.
{Matzav.com}
Two Israeli television outlets reported that an image purportedly showing the body of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was presented to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Channel 12, “A photo of the body was shown to Netanyahu and Trump.”
Public broadcaster Kan also reported that Israeli officials had been notified of Khamenei’s death. “Senior Israeli officials were informed of Khamenei’s elimination. His body was recovered from the rubble of his compound,” Kan stated.
Iranian authorities in Tehran have not confirmed Khamenei’s death, and no official announcement has been made by the Iranian government.
{Matzav.com}United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized the joint U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran today, warning that the operation poses a serious danger to global stability and could trigger wider instability across the region.
Speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Guterres described Operation Epic Fury as a “grave threat to international peace and security.” He cautioned that the unfolding conflict risks spiraling beyond anyone’s control in what he called one of the most unstable areas of the world.
“We are witnessing a grave threat to international peace and security,” Guterres said during his remarks to the Council.
He stressed that military action is not a sustainable path forward and urged diplomatic engagement instead. “Let me be clear, there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes,” he said, adding that lasting peace can only come through dialogue and negotiations.
Guterres also asserted that the United States and Israel had breached international law by escalating the conflict through military force and called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
{Matzav.com}
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a statement tonight after the United States initiated Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran’s regime, describing the campaign as unprecedented in scope and intensity.
“Overnight, on President Trump’s orders, the Department of War commenced OPERATION EPIC FURY – the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history,” Hegseth said.
He stated that Tehran had been given an opportunity to avoid confrontation but chose not to pursue an agreement. “The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal – and now they are suffering the consequences. For almost fifty years, Iran has targeted and killed Americans, always seeking the world’s most powerful weapons to further their radical cause. Last night, unlike any previous president, President Trump began dealing with this cancer.”
Hegseth emphasized that the United States would not allow threats against its citizens to go unanswered. “We will not tolerate powerful missiles targeting the American people. Those missiles will be destroyed, along with Iran’s missile production. The Iranian navy will be destroyed. And, as President Trump has said his entire life, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
He also made clear that Washington views the operation as a response rather than an initiation of hostilities. “The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it. If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world – as Iran has – then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you,” Hegseth warned.
Concluding his remarks, Hegseth praised American forces and invoked divine protection. “Our warriors are the best in the world, and they are fully unleashed to achieve our objectives. May God’s providence protect them in this vital mission,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
American and Israeli officials signaled that the ongoing military operation against Iran is expected to extend for weeks, describing it as a broad and sustained campaign rather than a brief strike.
“This is an extensive, coordinated, probably multiweek campaign,” Jeremy Bash, the former chief of staff for the CIA and the Department of Defense during the Obama administration, said in an interview today. Bash contrasted the current effort with previous operations in recent years, including the January capture of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro, noting that “those were largely ‘one and done.”
Bash added that today’s strike “is much larger than we’ve seen before from the Trump administration,” underscoring what he characterized as the expanded scale and ambition of the mission.
Retired Gen. Jack Keane offered a similar assessment, saying it could take several weeks for the United States and Israel to significantly weaken Iran’s leadership structure and military capacity.
“The details in this campaign are extraordinarily impressive. This is not about days, this is about weeks. This is a major campaign designed to set the conditions for regime collapse,” Keane said, describing the American and Israeli militaries as the “two most proven militaries in the world.”
According to Keane, the opening stage of the operation — known as Operation Epic Fury — is focused on targeting Iran’s senior leadership and dismantling its air defense systems. He said those efforts were ongoing as of today.
He explained that a subsequent phase would aim to degrade the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as civilian militias and Iranian police forces.
“That will be achieved, there is no doubt about that,” Keane said.
In remarks delivered today, President Trump described the purpose of the mission, stating that its “objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
{Matzav.com}Military action by the United States and Israel against Iran today has thrown air travel across the Middle East into turmoil, forcing widespread airspace closures and stranding or diverting hundreds of thousands of passengers as major aviation hubs were affected by the escalating conflict.
Governments across the region shut down their skies in response to the unfolding situation. Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain all closed their airspace, leading to massive disruptions. According to FlightRadar24, there was also no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates after authorities announced what they described as a “temporary and partial closure” of the country’s airspace.
The shutdowns effectively halted operations at major transit hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, prompting more than 1,800 flight cancellations by leading Middle Eastern carriers. Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad — which together handle roughly 90,000 passengers per day through those airports — were heavily impacted, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The disruption extended to countless additional travelers heading to destinations throughout the region.
Airports in the United Arab Emirates reported direct effects from the conflict. UAE officials condemned what they called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles” today. Dubai International Airport confirmed that four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said one person was killed and seven others were hurt in a drone strike. Kuwait International Airport also reported being hit.
Although Iran has not formally claimed responsibility for the attacks, Gulf states attributed a broad series of retaliatory strikes to Tehran. The scope of those strikes appeared to extend beyond previously announced targets such as American military bases.
Industry experts warned travelers to expect prolonged complications. “For travelers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this,” said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.”
Airlines operating routes that typically cross Middle Eastern airspace have begun rerouting flights, with many aircraft now flying south over Saudi Arabia to avoid closed zones. These detours add significant travel time and increase fuel consumption, raising operating costs that could eventually be passed on to passengers if the crisis continues.
The additional traffic through alternative corridors is also expected to strain air traffic control operations, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where controllers may need to slow traffic to maintain safety. Meanwhile, nations that have closed their airspace stand to lose revenue from overflight fees normally paid by airlines.
Mike McCormick, a former Federal Aviation Administration official who oversaw air traffic control and now teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, suggested that partial reopenings could occur in the coming days if military authorities clarify operational zones for civilian carriers.
“Those countries then will be able to go through and say, okay, we can reopen this portion of our space but we’ll keep this portion of our airspace closed,” McCormick said. “So I think what we’ll see in the next 24 to 36 hours how the use of airspace evolves as the kinetic activity gets more well defined and as the capability of Iran to actually shoot missiles and create additional risk is diminished due to the attacks.”
It remains uncertain how long the aviation disruptions will persist. By comparison, a previous U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran in June 2025 continued for 12 days.
With the situation shifting rapidly, airlines advised passengers to verify their flight status before heading to airports. Some carriers offered waivers, allowing affected travelers to rebook without incurring additional charges or fare increases.
Travelers have already experienced confusion and frustration. Jonathan Escott and his fiancée arrived at Newcastle Airport in England today only to discover that their direct Emirates flight to Dubai had been canceled. Escott returned to stay with family an hour away but remains unsure when he will be able to depart.
“No one knows,” Escott said. “No one really knows what’s going on with the conflict, really. Not Emirates, Emirates don’t have a clue. No one has a clue.”
Flight tracking data from FlightAware showed that at least 145 aircraft headed to destinations such as Tel Aviv and Dubai were diverted to cities including Athens, Istanbul, and Rome. Other planes turned back mid-flight. One aircraft departed Philadelphia and flew nearly 15 hours, reaching Spain before reversing course and returning to its origin.
Airlines across the globe responded with widespread cancellations. India’s civil aviation authority designated much of the Middle East — including airspace above Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon — as a high-security risk zone at all altitudes. Air India canceled all flights to the region.
Turkish Airlines suspended service to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan until Monday, and halted flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The carrier warned that additional cancellations may follow. Numerous other airlines have also paused operations to Middle Eastern destinations through the weekend.
In the United States, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv through at least the weekend. KLM had already halted service to and from Tel Aviv earlier in the week.
European carriers including Lufthansa, Air France, Transavia, and Pegasus canceled all flights to Lebanon, while American Airlines suspended its Philadelphia-to-Doha route.
Virgin Atlantic announced it would avoid Iraqi airspace, potentially extending travel times to India, the Maldives, and Riyadh. The airline was already steering clear of Iranian airspace and said flights would carry extra fuel reserves in case rerouting becomes necessary on short notice.
British Airways suspended service to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until next week and canceled flights to Amman, Jordan, today.
Harteveldt cautioned that travelers should prepare for extended disruptions. “Travelers should anticipate that there will be a lot of disruptions,” he said. “To be honest, if you haven’t left home, chances are you won’t be leaving home if you’re supposed to travel to or through these destinations for at least several days, if not longer. And if you are returning home, you will have to be very creative about how you get home.”
{Matzav.com}Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday sharply criticized the coordinated U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran, warning that the operation represents a significant and dangerous widening of the conflict.
Mamdani labeled the strikes “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”
“Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace,” Mamdani said.
The mayor emphasized that his primary concern is the protection of New York City residents. He said he has been in ongoing communication with the city’s Police Commissioner and emergency management leadership, and that precautionary steps are already underway. Those measures include heightened interagency coordination and increased security patrols at locations deemed sensitive.
Mamdani also spoke directly to the city’s Iranian community, describing them as “part of the fabric of this city” and affirming that their safety remains a priority.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris also issued a statement opposing the military campaign, accusing President Donald Trump of pulling the United States into a conflict that she argues lacks public support.
In a February 28, 2026 statement, Harris declared, “Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice.”
She described the strikes as a “dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives,” arguing that the action threatens both regional stability and the country’s standing on the world stage. While Harris acknowledged that Iran poses a serious threat and reiterated that it must never be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons, she said military force is not the correct approach to addressing that danger.
Harris also faulted the President’s earlier remarks about Iran, contending that prior assurances about ending wars and about the state of Iran’s nuclear program were inaccurate. She pointed out that the President has conceded the possibility of U.S. casualties as the conflict continues.
“Our troops deserve a Commander-in-Chief who approaches decisions on matters of war and peace with the same steadiness and discipline our troops show every day,” she said, urging Congress to exercise its full authority to prevent deeper American involvement in the fighting.
{Matzav.com}
An Iranian missile attack on central Israel late tonight killed one woman and wounded 21 others, including one person in critical condition and another in serious condition, according to emergency officials.
Three of the injured were listed in moderate condition, while 16 others sustained light injuries.
Rescue and medical teams rushed to two impact sites in the Tel Aviv area where missiles struck residential neighborhoods. Magen David Adom personnel transported a man in serious condition and another victim in moderate condition to the hospital, along with nine individuals who were lightly hurt.
The woman who had been critically injured later succumbed to her wounds.
Officials reported extensive destruction at the strike locations and said there were fears that additional victims could be trapped under debris. Search and rescue operations were continuing.
The Tel Aviv District commander told reporters that two homes suffered direct hits. “This is a serious scene and we are conducting searches. We evacuated five people from one of the homes, but the work is ongoing,” he said.
MDA EMT Ori Garbi described the chaos at the scene. “From the very first moment, it was clear to us that this was a serious scene. We saw thick black smoke rising from a residential building with extensive and significant destruction, cars going up in flames, and great commotion. We quickly established a casualty treatment point near the scene, where we provided medical care to several injured people, some of whom have already been evacuated to the hospital. Among the first casualties who reached us were a man in his 40s who was seriously injured and a man in his 30s in moderate condition. At the same time, together with Home Front Command, fire and police forces, we are conducting additional searches for casualties and actively treating more injured individuals at the scene.”
Air raid sirens sounded across central and northern Israel, as well as in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, during the barrage. Authorities estimate that 16 missiles were launched in total — eight toward Israel, two toward the United Arab Emirates, two toward Qatar, and two toward Jordan.
After the launches, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it had “launched the third and fourth waves against military and security targets belonging to the US and Israel.”
{Matzav.com}By Jonathan S. Tobin
The strongest argument that President Donald Trump’s political opponents can muster to decry his decision to order American forces to join with Israel to act against Iran is that he is launching a “war of choice,” rather than seeking to avert an imminent threat to American interests or security. Even his sternest critics, such as the editorial page of The New York Times, acknowledged that the government of Iran is not merely a brutal oppressor and a constant threat to the rest of the Middle East as well as to the West, but also combines a “murderous ideology with nuclear ambitions.”
Every U.S. president for the last quarter-century has asserted that America will never let Iran get a nuclear weapon and was prepared to use force to prevent that from happening. But only Trump seems to have fully grasped the stark nature of the threat that Tehran poses to the United States—and the world.
Halfway measures won’t work
And now, after last year’s U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, followed by a renewed effort at diplomacy that predictably failed due to the Islamists’ intransigence, he has faced up to the choice that the West has always confronted with respect to Iran. The Iranian threat cannot be ignored, reasoned with or appeased. It cannot be pressured through sanctions or bribed, as former President Barack Obama once put it, “to get right with the world.” Halfway measures that combine threats of force with elements of other approaches also won’t work.
Since they seized power 47 years ago, leaders of the Islamic Republic have been animated by one big idea—a religious war to the death against the non-Islamic world. Their slogans of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are not talking points or empty rhetoric. They are the essential purpose of the regime’s existence. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. It is responsible for numerous attacks on Western and American attack, as well as for helping to foment and organize the genocidal war waged against Israel by its main terrorist auxiliaries and allies: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
And that is why Trump’s willingness to declare his intention to topple the Islamist regime is not so much a “war of choice” as one of necessity. It has been put off for decades by his predecessors, who lacked the vision or the will to see that the West simply cannot allow a government whose aim is to spread terror and intimidate America and its allies to continue to carry out those threats.In the end, it will be up to the Iranian people, who have in recent months taken to the streets to protest their oppressors and been slaughtered by them in the tens of thousands, to seize control in Tehran. Neither the United States nor Israel seeks to occupy Iran or impose a government on it. It is hoped that some regime elements will conclude that Iran must change and work with protesters to end the long Islamist reign of terror there. But both nations are entirely in the right in acting to strip this murderous regime of its military hardware and facilities that would fulfill its ambitions for weapons of mass destruction, as well as to take out its criminal leaders.
Undoing the mistakes of his predecessors
Seen in that context, Trump’s bold move is neither reckless nor an invitation to another “forever” war to bog down American forces and drain them of their ability to resist aggression elsewhere in the world. It is, instead, a long-put-off and entirely necessary action designed to prevent the Islamic regime from continuing its destructive and bloody war on the West.
If there is anything the world should have come to understand in the last 47 years, it is that there is no living with a regime wedded to a generational jihad against all those who do not share its medieval religious fanaticism, including Western nations, Israel and Arab nations who want no part of this mad quest. Nothing short of its overthrow will be enough to stop its long-running campaign first to destroy Israel and then the West.
That is a stark truth that the Western and American foreign-policy establishment has spent the last few decades trying to ignore.
Former President George W. Bush, distracted by his unsuccessful wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, prevaricated on Iran, leaving the problem to his successors. Obama sought to appease Tehran. His 2015 nuclear pact actually guaranteed that the regime would get a nuclear weapon rather than preventing it. That empowered and enriched the mullahs, thus increasing the Islamist regime’s ability to inflict terror and instability throughout the Middle East, and to advance its quest for regional hegemony. Former President Joe Biden ineffectively sought to revive that same failed policy.
In his first term, Trump correctly understood that sooner or later, an American leader was going to have to face up to the disaster that Obama had created. He abandoned the nuclear deal in May 2018 and sought, via a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions, to force Tehran to understand that it must not only abandon its nuclear quest but its war on the West and Israel as well. The religious fanatics who run Iran might never have surrendered their ambitions, and we will never know if that approach would have succeeded had Trump been re-elected in 2020. Biden’s decision to return to Obama’s disastrous policies and effectively end sanctions ensured that diplomacy would never succeed in dealing with the threat. And then, the spectacle of America’s disastrous and rapid retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021 helped convince Tehran that the United States was too weak and feckless to resist it.
Those colossal blunders led directly to Iran’s renewed push to dominate the Middle East and eliminate all obstacles to that goal. The Hamas-led, Palestinian-Arab terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, were the most obvious result of Biden’s retreat.
The subsequent war, however, didn’t work out as Iran’s “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei thought it would.
Israel was unprepared and badly damaged on Oct. 7. But despite the efforts of the Biden administration to hamstring its war of self-defense against Hamas in Gaza and Iran’s Hezbollah auxiliaries in Lebanon, which started attacking from the north on Oct. 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF persevered, and the terrorists weren’t granted impunity for their crimes. That happened amid an international propaganda campaign on social media, in city streets and on college campuses aimed at demonizing the Jewish state. Though Hamas was allowed to survive in part of the Strip and should not be left in place, it is badly weakened. Just as important, Hezbollah and its arsenal, which was long thought to be too strong for Israel to challenge, suffered devastating defeats in 2024.
That, in turn, led to the fall of the Syrian government—led by longtime dictator and Iran ally Bashar Assad—in December of that same year.
A historic opportunity
These catastrophic reversals of fortune also had the effect of reviving efforts by the majority of the Iranian people, who oppose its repressive regime, to take to the streets these past two months and seek an end to the mullahs’ tyranny. The subsequent mass murder of civilians again illustrated to the world the necessity of no longer tolerating or enabling these Islamist oppressors. The weakness of its rulers, along with the 12-day joint U.S.-Israel military offensive that degraded three nuclear sites last June, gave Washington the chance to make history and change the direction of the Middle East from one dominated by Iranian terror to one where reason can prevail.
Still, Trump gave diplomacy another try, sending his Mideast envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet with Iran’s representatives and attempt to work out a deal that would, unlike Obama’s pact, actually end the nuclear threat and avoid more fighting.
But rather than choosing to take advantage of this offer, the regime behaved as it has always done—refusing to seriously negotiate while clinging to its “right” to have a nuclear program and refusing to discuss its missiles or terrorism. While their delaying tactics worked like a charm on Obama and his envoys, who eventually bowed to all of Iran’s major demands, Trump was having none of it.
As with so much of what Trump has done with respect to Israel, this again proves that it is the president—and not his liberal and left-wing critics—who grasps the hardcore realities of the region. Putting off a confrontation that strips the Islamist regime of its ability to go on threatening the world hasn’t worked. Drastic action that will topple the mullahs can no longer be put off.
Trump’s opponents and those who have been cheering on the war Tehran was waging on Israel and the West speak of the unintended consequences of this conflict and how they may undermine American interests. But what he is doing is merely a long-postponed push to cope with the consequences of past efforts to appease Iran that led to so much spilled blood. That was the result of Washington following the establishment thinking that Trump has rightly rejected.
A fight to defend American interests
This is no rerun of Bush’s Iraq war. Nor has Trump failed to make the case for dealing with the Islamist regime. Like those who pushed for ceasefires after Oct. 7, the failure to finish off the government that has been waging war on the West and Israel throughout its existence has brought continued war rather than peace.
Nor, despite the claims of the conspiracy theorists and antisemites that increasingly dominate the conversation on both the left and the far right, is this a war that Jerusalem has pushed Washington into waging. Iran’s efforts to annihilate the State of Israel and aid global entities intent on slaughtering Jews are reason enough to make the regime’s end a desirable goal. But in confronting a government that has never wavered from its pursuit of a war on the West, Trump is defending the interests of the United States and its citizens. An evil terrorist regime armed with nukes and missiles is a direct threat to Americans and the civilized world. Throughout its history, it has never hesitated to kill innocents or to seek to harm allies of the United States.
Apologists for Iran and its genocidal goals—on both the left and the right, whether motivated by hatred for Trump or Israel—are outraged by Washington’s decision. It is possible, as some fear, that failure in Iran will boost these destructive forces. But defeat is not an option for the United States, Israel or the West. One way or another, the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to go on terrorizing the world. It must be defeated, and then hopefully replaced, with one that will forsake the nukes, missiles and terror that far too long rendered it an outlaw rogue state.
Trump has shown that he dares to defy the conventional wisdom that the Washington liberal establishment has used to justify inaction or appeasement of Iran. As he did when he moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, pulled out of the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran, brokered the Abraham Accords and then joined with Israel to inflict grave damage last summer on Tehran’s nuclear program, the president is again correct to refuse to listen to his critics. Though the path ahead will present grave challenges and dangers the administration and its Israeli allies must successfully navigate, the decision to strike—and to topple the mullahs—was both wise and necessary. JNS
{Matzav.com}
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said today that the joint military operation with the United States was launched to remove “the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” while thanking our “great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership.”
In addition to explaining the geopolitical considerations that led to the operation, which he titled “Operation Roaring Lion,” Netanyahu, who spoke in Hebrew, highlighted its symbolic dimensions. He noted that it’s happening in the lead-up to Purim, a Jewish holiday whose story is set in Persia and in which Jews thwart a scheme to annihilate them.
Netanyahu stressed that for decades, the ayatollah “has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people. This murderous terrorist regime must not arm itself with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity.
“Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands. The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people—the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baluchis and the Ahwazis—to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-loving Iran,” continued Netanyahu.
The prime minister emphasized that in the coming days the Israeli home front will be required to demonstrate “endurance and fortitude.”
“Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the eternity of Israel,” he said.
In two days, Netanyahu said, “we will celebrate the holiday of Purim. In ancient Persia 2,500 years ago, a tyrant arose against us with the exact same goal—to annihilate our people. But Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, through their courage and wisdom, saved our people.”
In those days of Purim, he added, “the die was cast—and the wicked Haman fell with it. Today as well, the die has been cast—and the evil regime, too, will fall.”
Netanyahu then quoted the Prophet Amos, who said: “The lion has roared—who will not fear?” In “Operation Roaring Lion,” Netanyahu said, “We roar. Do not fear, Israel. You have risen like a lion’s cub. We will stand as one people, with one heart, and with God’s help we will secure the eternity of Israel.”
Netanyahu returned to Trump in his speech, adding, “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart President Donald Trump, the American people and the American military. President Trump is not only Israel’s greatest friend in the White House of all time, he is also a determined leader of the free world. He looks to future generations, decides what is good for America, and acts with responsibility and courage.”
Adressing the people of Israel, whom he called “my brothers and sisters,” the Israeli prime minister said: “In your name, citizens of Israel, I salute the commanders and soldiers of the IDF, our Air Force, Military Intelligence, the Mossad, the men and women of the security forces, and the men and women of the rescue services. I salute their courage and the power of their actions. And I say to you: An entire nation stands behind you. An entire nation prays for your success.”
He added in English: “Help has arrived.” JNS
Two hundred fighter jets streaked across Israel’s skies with a thunderous roar, in “the largest military flyover” in Israeli Air Force history, the Israel Defense Forces said today.
“The IDF completed an extensive attack against the missile array and the defense systems of the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran,” the military said in a statement.
The operation, based on high-quality military intelligence, involved hundreds of munitions targeting roughly 500 objectives, including surface-to-surface missile launchers and aerial defense systems.
The strikes significantly degraded Iran’s anti-aircraft capabilities and thwarted planned missile attacks against Israeli civilian population centers.
Among the targets was a missile site near Tabriz, used by Iran’s surface-to-surface missile units and assessed as a launch point for planned large-scale attacks on Israel.
The IDF said the destruction of key air defense systems enabled Israeli aircraft to operate more freely over Iranian territory, expanding aerial superiority and reducing threats to both IAF planes and Israeli civilians.
The operation follows Israel’s June 2025 campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure, which severely degraded Tehran’s air defense network and contributed to Israel’s ability to quickly establish effective control of the skies over key operational areas.
The military said operations remain ongoing, adding that Israel will continue efforts to degrade “every aspect of the Iranian regime.”
JNS