Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced Monday that its operatives had come across the body of a hostage while conducting excavation work in an area north of Nuseirat in central Gaza. The group said it “found” the remains earlier in the day, echoing details first reported by Al Jazeera. Despite the claim, neither Islamic Jihad nor Hamas issued any immediate statement about transferring the body back to Israel.
According to Israeli authorities, three murdered hostages are still being held somewhere in the Gaza Strip: Dror Or, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, and Thai citizen Sudthisak Rinthalak. Their remains have been unaccounted for since the terror groups seized them, and Israel has been pressing for their return.
Over the weekend, Arabic-language outlets reported that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had launched renewed efforts to track down the final three bodies. The reports indicated that both organizations were scrambling to locate them, and that the process had accelerated in recent days.
Video circulating online showed Islamic Jihad fighters overseeing digging operations in Nuseirat, with excavators — some marked with Egyptian flags — working near them. Those images underscored the scope of the search efforts underway in the center of the Strip.
Al Jazeera said the searches began Friday, with teams expanding into multiple locations after earlier attempts failed to yield results. The operations have reportedly grown more urgent as pressure mounts to fulfill commitments made in negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Saudi outlet Asharq al-Awsat reported that Hamas was conducting an additional search in the Zeitoun area, south of Gaza City, focused on recovering another body believed to be held there. The group has been combing through several neighborhoods as part of its efforts.
Under the terms of the current ceasefire framework, the terror groups are obligated to return all bodies they are holding. They have claimed that repeated searches have not yet succeeded in locating the last of the remains — assertions Israeli officials have openly questioned.
The most recently recovered slain hostage was Meny Godard, who was murdered and taken captive from Kibbutz Be’eri. His body was returned on November 13, marking the last confirmed transfer prior to this latest announcement.
{Matzav.com}
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon used today’s Security Council session on the Middle East to deliver a forceful message directly to Palestinian Authority envoy Riyad Mansour. Danon confronted him across the table, arguing that the PA’s security establishment has failed to rein in violence in Judea and Samaria.
While speaking in the chamber, Danon charged that the PA’s sizable armed forces have done little to curb militancy. He pointed out that armed cells continue to flourish under the Authority’s watch and that its security apparatus has allowed dangerous networks to expand without interference. “The Palestinian Authority is unable to stop terrorism even in Judea and Samaria. It has more than 32,000 armed operatives. The PA has proven incapable of confronting radicals. Terror groups operate openly. Iranian weapons slip in unchecked. Extremists grow stronger because no one stops them,” Danon told the PA representative.
Danon said that Israel is consistently forced to step in where the Authority refuses to act. He argued that Israeli forces are compelled to dismantle what the PA ignores and to seize caches of weapons that pass through unchecked. “Israel has to step in to seize the weapons the PA ignores to dismantle the cells it won’t confront and to disarm the terrorists it refuses to challenge,” he declared.
The ambassador stressed that any entity that rewards extremists rather than dismantling them cannot be considered a legitimate governing option for the future. He reiterated that such conduct disqualifies the PA from any role in Gaza’s next chapter. “Those who are unable to confront terrorists and continue to reward them are the problem, not the solution, and they will certainly not rule Gaza,” Danon concluded.
{Matzav.com}
The Pentagon has launched a formal inquiry into Sen. Mark Kelly after President Donald Trump blasted him for what he labeled seditious conduct, thrusting a previously obscure video into the center of a high-stakes military-political clash. Officials signaled that the review could escalate into court-martial proceedings, an extraordinary step for a sitting senator with a military career.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth pointed directly to a video released days earlier by Kelly (D-Ariz.) and five other Democratic veterans, where they urged service members to “refuse illegal orders.” That message ignited outrage within the administration and drew Trump’s furious condemnation.
In responding to the uproar, the Department of War stressed in a written statement that the process will remain grounded in military law. “This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality,” the department said, reminding personnel that “All servicemembers are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice] to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful.”
The statement went further, underscoring a long-standing principle: “A servicemember’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order.”
Hegseth later clarified that most of the Democrats in the video fall outside his jurisdiction because they either served in agencies like the CIA or did not retire from military service. Kelly, however, did retire, making him subject to the UCMJ.
On social media, Hegseth excoriated the group. “The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false,” he wrote on X. “Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger.”
He added that investigators are evaluating Kelly’s conduct specifically because the senator addressed “all troops while explicitly using his rank and service affiliation—lending the appearance of authority to his words.” According to Hegseth, “Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately.”
Kelly said he first learned of the probe from Hegseth’s public post. He rejected the implication that he was trying to stir insubordination and said he would not be intimidated. “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly declared.
“I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution,” he added.
The disputed video—featuring Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, and Chrissy Houlahan—urged troops to remain loyal to the Constitution and resist “illegal orders.” None of the six cited any specific directive they believed warranted refusal.
Reaction from Trump and his allies was swift and blistering. “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” Trump thundered on Truth Social. He demanded severe consequences: “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.” At one moment, he even reposted, “Hang them George Washington would.”
Democratic leaders quickly urged heightened protection for the targeted lawmakers, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warning of potential threats.
By the weekend, Trump dialed back his language slightly—though still insisting the six Democrats belonged in jail. Despite the controversy, all six lawmakers have refused to retract or walk back the video.
{Matzav.com}A federal judge has abruptly shut down the criminal proceedings targeting James Comey and Letitia James, ruling that the Justice Department had no legal basis to install the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s demand. The decision instantly halted the prosecutions and signaled a major judicial rebuke of the administration’s attempt to handpick an inexperienced loyalist to helm a premier federal office.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s ruling concluded that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment was unlawful, making her the latest Trump-backed prosecutor removed for the same reason. Though both defendants pleaded for the cases to be dismissed with prejudice, which would have permanently blocked any future prosecution, the judge opted for dismissal without prejudice. For now, there is no clear indication of whether the Justice Department will attempt to resurrect the indictments.
The dispute over Halligan’s appointment was only one front in a broader attack by both Comey and James. Each has accused the Justice Department of mounting politically driven prosecutions, and Comey’s team separately flagged significant issues in the grand jury process. Those arguments, still unresolved, have not yet been addressed by the court.
Monday’s ruling focused solely on the way the Trump administration installed Halligan—who previously served as a White House aide and had never worked as a prosecutor—to run an elite U.S. attorney’s office. Her elevation occurred after Erik Siebert, then interim U.S. attorney, was effectively pushed out following pressure from the administration to bring charges against Trump’s adversaries.
Comey’s lawyers argued that once Siebert resigned, the judges of the district alone had authority to name a replacement. Instead, Trump tapped Halligan while openly urging Bondi on social media to move against his critics, posting, “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Just days later, prosecutors indicted Comey on obstruction of Congress and false-statement charges, and James was soon accused of mortgage-related wrongdoing.
Reacting to the dismissal, James said, “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country.” She added, “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
Federal judges in multiple districts—including New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Nevada—have also ruled that interim U.S. attorneys appointed under similar circumstances were improperly installed, though cases in those jurisdictions were allowed to continue. Attorneys for Comey and James insisted that the situation here was more extreme, as Halligan alone signed and propelled the indictments.
Comey has long been one of Trump’s most persistent foes. Appointed in 2013 during President Barack Obama’s administration, he was leading the FBI’s probe into potential coordination between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump removed him in May 2017, triggering years of public friction and political combat between the two men.
{Matzav.com}
