At the opening of Wednesday’s cabinet session, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered a somber and unwavering address to the nation, mourning the lives lost and reaffirming the government’s mission.
“We have a difficult day today. We lost seven of our heroic soldiers, who fell in the campaign to defeat Hamas and for the release of our hostages. Our hearts are with the families. We take them to our hearts in their unbearably difficult hour.”
Turning to his colleagues in government, Netanyahu praised their efforts in managing the ongoing war. “I would like to again commend the ministers of the Government. It is not self-evident that the State of Israel would succeed in maintaining functional stability in the face of barrages of lethal missiles. It was done by dedicated, expedited, and successful work by the Government ministries.”
He then shifted focus to the country’s rebuilding efforts, describing the approach his administration has mandated. “We are currently immersed in the task of rebuilding, of course. The directive that I have given, and I know that it will be carried out, is to render generous assistance quickly.”
Expanding on the specifics of that directive, Netanyahu said: “Generous – this means that the resources of the state will be directed, like we did during the Corona crisis. It helped and we got Israel out of that crisis first in the world.”
He continued: “Quickly – this means cutting through bureaucracy, which always makes these things difficult. It is a mission, and I know that you are dedicated to it.”
The Prime Minister went on to express his gratitude to one key figure in particular. “I would like to specially thank Defense Minister Israel Katz, who worked with me shoulder-to-shoulder in managing the campaign. This combination and the action that the Government ministries took to give us space to work, what we did together, Israel, greatly assisted, and was a critical component, in achieving the result. Thank you, Israel.”
During his remarks, Netanyahu shared a piece of writing he received from a member of the public, Naama Kadosh. “The name of the poem is ‘A People as a Lion’: ‘Sometimes we stand without words in the face of the greatness of the hour. The heart contracts and expands in the same breath. As we see everyone, lion and lioness, how the Eternal People, the Chosen People, has risen again before our eyes.'”
Concluding his address, Netanyahu pointed to the deeper meaning of recent events. “I think she says the primary thing, and we really do have a great achievement. We have a great victory in the campaign against an enemy who came to destroy us. By this victory we have removed two immediate existential threats in order to ensure the eternity of Israel.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
President Donald Trump addressed the recent hostilities between Israel and Iran and commented on the U.S. military response during his appearance at the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“Last weekend, the United States successfully carried out a massive precision strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities,” Trump stated. “This incredible exercise of American strength has paved the way for peace, with a historic ceasefire agreement.”
When asked what gave him confidence that the fighting between the two nations had ended, Trump replied: “I dealt with both and they’re both tiered and exhausted. They fought very hard and viciously. They were both satisfied to go home and get out.”
He acknowledged the possibility that tensions could flare up again, but explained: “I think a big telltale sign is that Iran somewhat, but not much, violated the ceasefire, and Israel had the planes going out that morning, they had a lot of them. 52 of them. I said ‘You gotta get them back,’ and they got them back, they didn’t do anything.”
A journalist inquired whether Iran had the opportunity to relocate any sensitive materials before the U.S. launched its bombing campaign. Trump firmly denied that possibility, saying: “No, just the opposite. We think we hit them so hard and so fast, it didn’t get to move… it’s very hard and very dangerous to move.”
He added further detail, noting: “We’ve collected additional intelligence and we’ve also spoken to people who have seen the site — and the site is obliterated.”
To reinforce his remarks, Trump read aloud from a letter he received from the Atomic Energy Commission of Israel. The letter stated that “the devastating US strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable.”
{Matzav.com}
New information has emerged from the ongoing investigation into the deadly incident in Khan Yunis, where one officer and six soldiers from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, part of the 188th Brigade, lost their lives. Military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported Wednesday evening on preliminary findings, which indicate that the blast was caused not by an explosive affixed to the Puma armored personnel carrier (APC), but by one hurled into it by a terrorist.
The tragic event unfolded during an assault carried out by the 188th Brigade in Khan Yunis. A fighter jet was dispatched to strike a target situated in close proximity to the unit. Just before the airstrike, another group from the same battalion had come under attack from an explosive device and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire, resulting in two injuries—one soldier in serious condition and another with light wounds.
Military safety regulations dictate that when an airstrike is about to occur near ground forces, the soldiers must seek shelter in armored vehicles to protect themselves from flying debris and shrapnel caused by the bombing. In line with this protocol, seven soldiers entered the Puma APC briefly to shield themselves ahead of the planned airstrike.
The inquiry found that during the time the soldiers were inside the APC, a terrorist rapidly closed in, managed to climb onto the vehicle in mere seconds, and tossed an explosive directly into the carrier from above. The report states that the soldiers were struck within moments of the blast, with the explosion inflicting immediate and devastating damage.
The investigation further confirmed that there were no additional explosives or demolition materials from the engineering unit stored inside the APC—only the standard ammunition carried by the soldiers themselves.
{Matzav.com Israel}
President Trump announced on Wednesday that American representatives are preparing to hold discussions with Iranian officials in the coming days, following the recent US bombing campaign which he claimed buried Iran’s enriched uranium deep beneath layers of rubble.
“We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement. I don’t know,” Trump stated during a press conference held after the NATO summit concluded in The Hague.
He did not disclose the location of the meeting or identify who would represent the United States in the talks. The announcement came on the heels of Trump brokering a cease-fire earlier in the week between Iran and Israel, putting an end to what he termed the “12-Day War.”
“I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear. We’re probably going to ask for that, but they’re not going to be doing it anyway.”
Trump reiterated his stance: “We may sign an agreement, [but] I don’t care if I have an agreement or not.”
He went on to explain that he believes a significant amount of Iran’s enriched uranium — close to 900 pounds — is now buried beneath what he described as 300 feet of destruction at the Fordow nuclear facility, which had been targeted by a barrage of twelve massive “bunker buster” bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds.
“We think everything nuclear is down there, they didn’t take it out,” he said.
“We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn’t get to move. And if you knew about that material, it’s very hard and very dangerous to move,” the president said.
“They call it dust, but it’s very heavy, it’s very, very hard to move. And they were way down. You know, they were 30 stories down. They’re literally 30-35 stories down underground. We think it’s covered with granite, concrete and steel.”
On Tuesday, Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Fox News that the UN agency was unaware of the uranium’s current location.
“We do not have information of the whereabouts of this material,” Grossi said, adding that the uranium had been enriched to 60% purity — still short of the 90-93% needed to manufacture nuclear arms.
Speaking to reporters before heading home from Europe, Trump, 79, lashed out at the media, accusing some journalists of downplaying the effects of the US strikes and likening the operation to America’s atomic bombings of Japan at the close of World War II.
“It was so bad that they ended the war,” he said of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Addressing a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report that suggested the Iranian nuclear effort might be restored within months, Trump dismissed the claim as mere speculation, saying, “they didn’t see it.”
On Wednesday, the Israel Atomic Energy Commission released its own evaluation, strongly supporting the impact of the strike on the Fordow site. The commission asserted that the bombs “destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.”
“We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.”
One remaining question is how the US intends to handle sanctions enforcement against Iranian oil exports — an issue that Trump has toughened in recent months.
In a post on social media Tuesday, Trump remarked that “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran,” though he did not elaborate on the comment during Wednesday’s remarks, beyond noting: “they’re going to need money to put that country back in shape. We want to see that happen.”
{Matzav.com}
Just hours after a powerful tefillah gathering in the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak, news broke of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The timing did not go unnoticed by Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, who led the atzeres tefillah, nd whose moving reaction captured the emotion felt by many.
“This is a day of transformation,” Rav Zilberstein said on Tuesday, following the bris of his great-grandson, a grandson of his son-in-law Rav Yosef Tzikinovsky. “Such miracles that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is performing with us—it’s beyond words. All the nations are against us, and Am Yisroel rises like a lion. We ask no questions, we march forward like a lion—undaunted and unafraid.”
The previous night, the central shul in Ramat Elchanan had been packed with hundreds of residents pouring out heartfelt tefillos. The kehillah gathered under the leadership of Rav Zilberstein to cry out to Hashem during an anxious and dangerous time.
Before the event began, Rav Mordechai Blau, a respected mechanech, informed Rav Zilberstein that Iran had launched missiles at a U.S. military base. Rav Zilberstein calmly responded, “Only good will come from this.” Indeed, just hours later, the ceasefire was officially announced.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Rav Zilberstein reflected on the shift from fear to confidence. “This is a great day. Everything has turned around. We are returning to our yeshivos, returning to avodas hakodesh, returning to full trust in Hashem. Boruch Hashem, we are victorious. The resha’im were wiped out. It’s open miracles—one after the next. The nations have decided the war is over.”
He added, with visible joy, “With Hashem’s help we will see wonders. We’re going straight to kollel now. No pause. It’s been too long since we saw our kollel—now we’re going back.”
During the previous night’s gathering, Rav Zilberstein had delivered words of strength and encouragement: “We are part of a community that learns Torah day and night, boruch Hashem. But the world is shaking—talks of a world war. The world is in turmoil. And yet, here we sit, immersed in the Torah of Hashem, unafraid. But we must strengthen ourselves.”
He then shared a moving story about a man who had discovered he was a mamzer. When he turned to Rav Elyashiv zt”l, he was told to go to the Kosel and cry out to Hashem. There, a stranger approached him, learned of his plight, and gave him money to travel to his parents overseas. It was there that he discovered he had been adopted—and was not a mamzer after all. “Whoever did not witness his joy at that moment,” Rav Zilberstein said, “has never seen true joy in his life.”
He turned to the crowd and declared, “To anyone in distress—remember the words of my father-in-law: Cry out loud to Hashem! There is incredible power in such cries, especially at the Kosel. That’s what we must do now—cry out loud!”
He continued with another story about a single older woman who gave all her savings to her younger sister so she could marry. In the end, the older sister was zocheh to marry first—to a wealthy, prominent chassan.
Rav Zilberstein concluded with stirring words: “Let us all now grasp onto rachamim and chesed. We will call out in the Name of Hashem and be saved. We need abundant mercy today… oh, how much mercy we need… but Hashem is with us, I am certain.”
“Here sit talmidei chachamim learning day and night without interruption. Our kollel is not learning in Cholon; we are here, and those who walk through these halls know—no idle chatter, just pure Torah. I am confident we will be saved. Kol Hashem bakoach, kol Hashem behadar, kol Hashem shover arazim—the voice of Torah breaks the strongest barriers. We fear no one.
“In the Name of Hashem, we will ascend and succeed. And with His help, we will all rejoice in the yeshuah. We will witness salvation in the blink of an eye. We will learn Torah, and Hashem will guard us. With His help, we will merit only good, forever.”
{Matzav.com}
