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At Camp Shura’s National Center for Casualties of Israel’s Defense Forces, hundreds of body bags have remained untouched since the devastating events of October 7. These bags hold both partial human remains and other matter requiring burial, including blood.

Despite extensive work over the past several months, a significant number of these remains have still not been conclusively identified.

As reported by Yediot Achronot, the military rabbinate sought authorization to perform an additional round of DNA testing on all of the body bags. However, their request was turned down by the Ministry of Religious Services.

In response, the military rabbinate turned to Chief Rabbi David Yosef, who issued a ruling permitting further DNA tests to ensure proper identification and halachic burial of the remains. The IDF even set aside a dedicated budget to fund this renewed identification effort and secured backing from the Israel Police.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Services, led by director Yehuda Avidan, continues to resist the idea of retesting. The ministry argues that such efforts are a misuse of public resources and may constitute “desecration of the dead.” Avidan’s stance is reportedly grounded in an expert opinion provided by Dr. Chen Kugel, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

The impasse between the military rabbinate and the Ministry of Religious Services has yet to be resolved, leaving hundreds of body bags in limbo. Officials at the Ministry of Religious Services are now contemplating a mass burial of the remains without conducting individual identifications—a move that has drawn sharp opposition from various IDF officials and rabbinic authorities.

A final resolution is expected to emerge following deliberations of a joint committee comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Religious Services, the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the police, which is currently meeting to address the issue.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Pakistani security forces overnight killed 54 militants who attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan, the military said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest such killings in recent years. In a statement, the military said intelligence reports indicated the killed militants were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban. Without directly blaming anyone, the military said the slain insurgents had been sent by their “foreign masters” to carry out high-profile terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border. The military said the infiltration attempt came “at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan” following a recent deadly assault on tourists in India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan in recent months has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then. Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tatar on Sunday told the foreign media that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan’s security forces from their focus on the war on its western borders. (AP)

Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs seen evacuating the area following an IDF evacuation notice ahead of an intended strike.

Intense gunfire in Dahiya signaled residents to evacuate a building after an IDF evacuation order was issued.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on an end to the war in Ukraine: “Just 100 days ago, Biden and his team had no end in sight … President Trump is determined to use diplomacy to bring this war to an end.”

The IDF issues an evacuation warning for a building and the surrounding area in Beirut’s southern suburbs, ahead of an airstrike against a Hezbollah asset in the Lebanese capital. “To everyone present in the building marked in red as shown on the map and the buildings adjacent to it: You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah.”

President Trump says income taxes with drop substantially when tariffs cut in.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly dropped 20 shekel bills attached to active SIM cards to try and recruit locals willing to provide intelligence.

Marco Rubio on negotiations around Ukraine: “We have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in… There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic… We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”

The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Halta earlier today.

Russia unleashed a large-scale drone barrage and airstrikes throughout Ukraine late Saturday into early Sunday, leaving at least four civilians dead, Ukrainian authorities reported. The assault came after U.S. President Donald Trump questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin truly has any desire to bring the war to an end.

In Kostyantynivka, located in the Donetsk region, three people were killed and four others sustained injuries Sunday morning due to airstrikes, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. Meanwhile, in Pavlohrad, situated in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a drone attack claimed one life and injured a 14-year-old girl, local Governor Serhii Lysak confirmed. Pavlohrad has now been targeted for the third night in a row.

These strikes followed Russia’s announcement that it had reclaimed control over the last remaining sections of the Kursk region captured by Ukrainian forces during a surprise offensive last August. Ukrainian authorities, however, stated that clashes in the area were still underway.

Speaking on Saturday, Trump expressed doubt about Putin’s intentions, suggesting that hopes for an imminent peace deal may be misplaced. This came just a day after Trump had remarked that Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.”

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote in a post on social media while traveling back to the U.S. from the Vatican. He had attended the funeral of Pope Francis, where he also briefly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump also hinted that additional sanctions targeting Russia could soon be imposed.

The conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Vatican marked the first time the two leaders met in person since their tense confrontation during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February.

The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia deployed 149 attack drones and decoys overnight. Out of those, air defenses managed to intercept 57 and jam another 67, according to officials.

Drone strikes also injured one person in the Odesa region and another in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukrainian authorities said. In Kherson, a Russian airstrike Sunday morning left four people wounded, local officials reported.

On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defense systems had downed five Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region and intercepted three more over Crimea, the territory Russia illegally seized in 2014.

Meanwhile, five individuals were hurt when Ukrainian shelling hit the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, according to Ivan Prikhodko, the Russian-installed mayor of the city.

{Matzav.com}

In a gambit to cling to power, Hamas says it would strike a deal with Israel that would leave it ruling Gaza under the protection of an internationally guaranteed five-year truce, according to sources cited by international media outlets. Under the proposed agreement, Hamas would release all remaining Israeli hostages in a single exchange—one of Israel’s key demands since the brutal October 7, 2023, massacre that ignited the current war. The latest maneuver comes after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer earlier this month, dismissing it as “partial” and insisting instead on a “comprehensive” arrangement to end the fighting. Israel, for its part, has remained firm: no final deal without the full return of the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas’s terrorist military infrastructure—conditions that Hamas has flatly declared as a “red line.” An earlier Israeli proposal offered a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages. Hamas rebuffed that offer as insufficient. More than a month into Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza, launched after a temporary two-month ceasefire collapsed, Hamas negotiators indicated they are now willing to discuss “new ideas” during ongoing talks in Cairo. Still, deep skepticism remains over whether the jihadist group would truly comply with any disarmament, even under international supervision. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The United States and Iran concluded their third round of nuclear negotiations on Shabbos, agreeing to meet again on May 3, according to a report from Axios citing Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who is serving as an intermediary between the two sides.

Yesterday’s session in Muscat represented the first time the negotiators delved into the technical details of a possible deal, focusing primarily on the nuclear restrictions proposed by the U.S. and Iran’s insistence on substantial sanctions relief.

“The talks in Muscat were positive and productive. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” said a senior U.S. official, as quoted by Axios.

Both working-level teams and top negotiators — White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi — participated in the meeting, which reportedly ran for over four hours and included a mix of direct dialogue and indirect exchanges.

An American source confirmed that talks would pick up again next week in Europe.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi commented, “US-Iran talks today identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments. Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, speaking to journalists traveling with him, expressed optimism about the talks. “This round of talks was much more serious than in the past, and we gradually moved into more detailed and technical discussions,” he said.

Araqchi shared that multiple written proposals had been exchanged during the marathon session. “Some differences are serious, some less so. I’m hopeful about reaching a deal, but yet cautious,” he concluded.

President Donald Trump has made clear that he would prefer to resolve the standoff with Iran through diplomacy, but he has also kept the possibility of military action on the table.

Earlier this month, Trump said that if military intervention becomes necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israel would play a leading role in the operation.

“With Iran, if it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will be the leader of that. But nobody leads us, we do what we want to do,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.

When asked about a specific deadline for negotiations with Iran, Trump declined to set a firm date. “I can’t really be specific, but when you start talks, you know if they’re going along well or not, and I would say the conclusion would be when I think they’re not going along well,” he said.

In earlier comments, Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach a deal would result in devastating consequences: “if they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

During an interview with Time Magazine on Friday, Trump reiterated that a nuclear deal could still be achieved without resorting to military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

He added that while he is prepared to use force if required, he is equally willing to meet directly with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in hopes of averting conflict.

{Matzav.com}

Israel has denied involvement in the massive explosion ripped through Iran’s largest port on Saturday, killing at least 28 people and injuring over 1,000 others. The blast shook the Port of Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas, a critical hub on the Strait of Hormuz. Thick plumes of smoke towered over the strategic facility after the blast, which initial reports suggested may have involved chemical materials linked to ballistic missile production. Iranian officials have remained tight-lipped about the true cause, saying only that the explosion had no connection to the country’s oil industry. Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management agency, told local media that “chemicals inside the shipping containers” were to blame. However, Western security analysts and ship-tracking data point to a more alarming possibility: that the chemicals involved included sodium perchlorate rocket fuel, part of a shipment previously offloaded at the port in March, according to private security firm Ambrey. The Financial Times had earlier reported that China sent Iran two shipments of rocket fuel to replenish Tehran’s missile arsenal following unprecedented attacks on Israel in October 2024. The orange-tinted smoke seen billowing over the port—a signature marker of burning nitrogen compounds, a key ingredient in rocket propellants—has only fueled further speculation. The Shahid Rajaee Port is no ordinary facility. Handling 85% of Iran’s maritime cargo and serving as a critical channel for arms transfers to the Houthis in Yemen, it represents a major artery of Iran’s regional power projection. The explosion’s disruption to operations could have significant ripple effects. Iranian media reported Sunday that fresh fires reignited at the scene after additional containers detonated, even as authorities claimed the initial blaze had been brought under control. Some of the injured were rushed over 650 miles to Tehran for emergency care, as the full scale of the disaster continues to unfold. The devastation in Bandar Abbas has drawn comparisons to the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which killed more than 200 people and was similarly linked to the improper storage of explosive materials—reportedly by Hezbollah operatives. While Iran has not publicly acknowledged receiving the recent rocket fuel shipments, the incident comes at a time of heightened strain on Tehran’s military capabilities. According to Cmdr. (res.) Eyal Pinko, a senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center, Iran’s missile stockpile has been severely depleted following two massive missile barrages against Israel over the past year. On Oct. 1 and again on April 13, Iran unleashed hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, including its most advanced projectiles such as the Emad, Khorramshahr 2, and the suspected Fatah 1 hypersonic missile. In both attacks, Israel’s Arrow 3 system, bolstered by U.S. and allied assistance, successfully intercepted the majority of threats. Israel struck back forcefully on Oct. 26, carrying out broad retaliatory raids on Iranian air defenses, missile production facilities, and nuclear-linked sites, including the Parchin complex. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Many Americans do not agree with President Trump’s aggressive efforts to quickly enact his agenda, a new poll finds, and even Republicans are not overwhelmingly convinced that his attention has been in the right place. Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has been mostly focusing on the wrong priorities as to say he has been focusing on the right ones, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Further, about 4 in 10 Americans say Trump has been a “terrible” president in his second term, and about 1 in 10 say he has been “poor.” In contrast, about 3 in 10 say he has been “great or ”good,” while just under 2 in 10 say he has been “average.” Most haven’t been shocked by the drama of Trump’s first 100 days. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say the first few months of Trump’s second term have been mostly what they expected, and only about 3 in 10 say the Republican president’s actions have been mostly unexpected. But that does not mean they are pleased with how those opening months have gone. In fact, Democrats seem even unhappier with the reality of the second Trump term than before he was sworn in on Jan. 20. About three-quarters of Democrats say Trump is focused on the wrong topics and about 7 in 10 think he has been a “terrible” president so far. That is an increase from January, when about 6 in 10 anticipated that he would be “terrible.” Rahsaan Henderson, a Democrat from California, said “it has been one of the longest 100 days I’ve ever had to sit through.” “I think the next four years will be a test of seeing who can resist the most and continue defying whatever he’s trying to do, since he defies everything, including the Supreme Court,” said Henderson, 40. Republicans are largely standing behind the president, but are ambivalent about what he has chosen to emphasize. About 7 in 10 say he has been at least a “good” president. But only about half say he has mostly had the right priorities so far, while about one-quarter say it has been about an even mix and about 1 in 10 said Trump has mostly had the wrong priorities. “He’s really doing the stuff that he said he was going to do,” said Tanner Bergstrom, 29, a Republican from Minnesota. He is “not making a bunch of promises and getting into office and nothing happens. … I really like that. Even if it’s some stuff I don’t agree with, it’s still doing what he said he was going to do.” Those who were surprised by Trump’s first few months seem to have had a rude awakening. The people who say Trump’s actions were not what they expected — who are mostly Democrats and independents — are more likely to say Trump has had mostly the wrong priorities and that he has been a poor or terrible president, compared with the people who mostly expected his actions. About 4 in 10 in the survey approve of how Trump is handling the presidency overall. The issue of immigration is a relative strength. According to the poll, 46% of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the issue, which is […]

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When we’re divided, we lose. 

The Liberal Left knows this, and played us. 

Now, because they successfully inhibited our votes by masterminding a smear campaign, we are lagging behind. 

To win this election, and really save the future of Kedushas Eretz Yisroel, we need to vote IN BIG NUMBERS. 

Please vote! 

You, your family, your friends. 

We must not let the Left win this! 

Elections close in just one week! 

Sunday May 4th. 

Vote Slate 11 at EretzHakodesh.org

A man who described himself as a Hamas operative and once bragged he had “been a terrorist since he’s been a kid” now faces a slew of new federal charges, along with two women from Pittsburgh, after authorities disrupted what appeared to be a terror scheme involving homemade explosives.

Mohamad Hamad, 23, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Lebanon, was already under indictment for vandalizing a synagogue. On Tuesday, he was hit with a nine-count superseding indictment alongside Talya Lubit, 24, and Micaiah Collins, 22.

“Mohamad Hamad lied about his loyalty to the United States, among other false statements, in an attempt to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance,” Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.

“During that time, he openly expressed support for Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Hamas. In addition to his previously charged role in defacing Jewish religious property, he also conspired with others named in this Superseding Indictment to manufacture and detonate destructive devices.”

Previously, Hamad and Lubit had been charged with spray-painting anti-Zionist slogans in red at the Chabad of Squirrel Hill synagogue and defacing the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The new indictment centers around accusations that Hamad deceived federal investigators while seeking a top-secret clearance and engaged in constructing explosive devices.

Shortly after joining the Pennsylvania Air National Guard — part of the Air Force Reserve — in June 2023, Hamad, living in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, allegedly messaged a contact in Ohio saying, “[i]t’s still Palestine on top though make no mistake,” prosecutors said.

While undergoing Air Force training, Hamad shared graphic footage of Hamas attacks against Israel with an associate, adding that “Us Muslims never surrender or back down,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors say Hamad filled out paperwork to obtain a top-secret clearance in December 2023 and later sat for three interviews and a background check with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, during which he allegedly made false claims about his allegiance.

“Been a terrorist since I was a kid in Lebanon, real ….,” Hamad allegedly said in a Signal message sent to Collins in June 2024, alongside a childhood photo of himself holding a firearm.

Around that same time, Hamad and Collins are accused of conspiring to build a “destructive device” and testing it, exchanging messages about the strength of the blast.

“That …. was a blast,” Hamad wrote to Collins on July 7, 2024, according to prosecutors.

Authorities allege that Hamad went on to assemble two pipe bombs and other explosive devices, testing them following the initial detonation.

After the explosions, Hamad allegedly celebrated in private chats, calling himself a “Hamas operative” and joking about the fear he could cause by ripping down Israeli flags while masked in suburban neighborhoods, the indictment claims.

Hamad also posted tributes to Hamas leaders on Instagram, stating, “Without these men our resistance would be 100 years behind.”

Officials have not disclosed any concrete terror plot tied to the devices Hamad built.

Later that month, prosecutors say Hamad and Lubit vandalized Jewish institutions, scrawling “Jews 4 Palestine” in red graffiti on the Chabad of Squirrel Hill and “Funds Genocide Jews, Hate Zionists” on the Jewish Federation’s building.

“I can literally feel myself starting to see Jews as my enemies,” Lubit allegedly wrote to Hamad that July.

“Like, I’m ANGRY. I’m so tired of feeling like being Jewish means I have to second guess being anti oppression,” she said in another message. “I will not survive being Jewish if I don’t learn to get past that. I’ll just end up abandoning it.”

Lubit is further accused of helping Hamad identify Jewish-owned properties for targeting.

Investigators linked the vandalism to Hamad and, while building their case, uncovered evidence of his involvement with homemade explosive devices, according to the FBI.

“We always rely on tips from the public,” an FBI spokesperson told The NY Post. “This really started with the vandalism to the religious institutions here … determining the suspects in that and determining what their motivations were for the fairly strict criteria for a federal hate crime.”

Both Hamad and Lubit have previously shown political support for certain progressive lawmakers known as members of the “Squad.”

In 2023, Hamad donated $10 to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she called for a ceasefire following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

That same year, Hamad gave $5 to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) after she was censured by Congress for labeling Israel an “apartheid government” and defending Palestinian “resistance.”

Meanwhile, Lubit joined more than 130 Jewish signatories on a letter supporting Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) when she advocated for a ceasefire less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks.

Hamad now faces charges of making false statements, conspiracy, possession of destructive devices, and vandalizing religious property, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and fines totaling $250,000.

Collins is charged with conspiracy and faces a potential five-year prison sentence along with a $250,000 fine.

Lubit is charged with conspiracy and vandalism of religious property, which could result in up to one year behind bars and a fine of up to $100,000.

“The FBI and our partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who reportedly choose to lie about being loyal to this country and instead engage in dangerous, menacing, and illegal activities,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is considering a major policy shift that could have serious repercussions for Israeli yeshivos and kollelim that rely heavily on donations from abroad.

According to reports previously disclosed here on Matzav.com, President Donald Trump is reviewing a proposed executive order that would prohibit American nonprofit organizations from transferring charitable funds to causes outside of the United States. If enacted, this measure would eliminate tax deductions for donations directed to foreign-based activities — a move expected to dramatically affect financial support for Torah institutions in Israel.

Similar to Section 46 of Israel’s Income Tax Ordinance, which provides a 35% tax credit for contributions to local nonprofits, the United States currently offers tax incentives for charitable giving, even when the funds are ultimately used abroad. Under the Trump administration’s new proposal, donors would only be able to claim deductions if their contributions stayed within U.S. borders.

Yeshivos and kollelim in Eretz Yisroel have long depended on overseas donations, particularly from the United States. Since April 2024, when Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that students subject to military draft obligations could no longer be included in government yeshiva funding, the chareidi community has worked to raise an estimated $100 million from American donors to offset the resulting shortfall.

Should the Trump administration move forward with this executive order, a sharp decline in American donations to Israeli Torah institutions is anticipated. Foreign donations — especially from the U.S. — have been a lifeline for yeshivos, kollelim, orphanages, hospitals, and needy families throughout Israel, particularly after state funding was curtailed for draft-age bochurim and yungeleit.

The potential impact could be far-reaching. Thousands of American nonprofit organizations, including many chareidi-run entities, provide critical support for religious and humanitarian causes in Israel. A change in tax policy would effectively sever this crucial lifeline, unless alternative funding channels can be established.

While the Trump administration is framing the proposed change as part of a broader effort to “prioritize American interests,” sources close to the White House told the New York Post that an additional motivation is to curb the flow of funds to high-profile liberal organizations that have poured billions into progressive causes worldwide.

“There is definitely an effort to restrict and review the use of federal tax benefits for funds sent abroad, and to intensify scrutiny over foreign investments. We are seeing this approach across various departments,” a source familiar with the internal discussions told the newspaper.

Such a policy shift could deal a heavy blow to Israeli nonprofits, particularly smaller organizations that do not receive direct government support.

Although the plan is still under internal review, Israeli nonprofit leaders are already bracing for the possibility of steep declines in foreign funding. According to estimates, approximately 7% of nonprofit income in Israel comes from donations abroad — a figure that is significantly higher among smaller organizations.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Agudath Israel of America blasted Harvard University’s decision to sue the Trump administration rather than cooperate with federal efforts to address the “endemic antisemitism” festering on its campuses. The standoff comes at a time of crisis for Jewish students nationwide, as antisemitic incidents on college campuses skyrocket in the wake of the October 7th Hamas massacre. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s newly released Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: 2024, campus-related incidents rose by a staggering 84%—the steepest increase of any category. Agudath Israel says it has received an alarming volume of reports from students who describe elite campuses spiraling into “anarchic cesspools of Jew-hatred.” And Harvard, long regarded as a symbol of academic prestige, has become a focal point in the national reckoning. Several lawsuits and active federal Title VI investigations have been filed against the university by Jewish students alleging harassment and discrimination. Yet instead of joining peer institutions like Columbia University in working with the Department of Education to implement reforms, Harvard has taken the combative route—filing a lawsuit to block federal oversight altogether. “This approach benefits no one,” Agudath Israel said in a statement. “Federal funding will be tied up, research will be halted, and Jewish students will remain less protected.” While Harvard claims to be taking steps to address the problem and preserve its institutional independence, Agudath Israel questioned the sincerity of those efforts. “Such claims would be more credible,” the organization said, “if Harvard had shown the same urgency and initiative in confronting the antisemitism it allowed to fester as it now does in battling the federal government.” The group thanked the Trump administration for its “moral clarity and principled stance” in demanding real accountability from academic institutions and called on universities nationwide to show the humility required to fix what has become a systemic failure. “In a moment that calls for bold leadership and introspection,” the statement concluded, “Harvard has chosen defiance. The Jewish community—and the nation—deserves better.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)