The IDF on Thursday confirmed the death of Hamas military commander Muhammad Deif who was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis last month. Although the IDF said that Deif’s death was certain, it did not receive concrete intelligence confirming it 100% until Thursday morning. It did not reveal what new intelligence information was received or how it received it. “We can now confirm: Muhammad Deif was eliminated,” the IDF spokesperson stated. Following the announcement, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant published a photo of himself crossing off Dief from a military chart on the wall of his office. “Muhammad Deif, the ‘Osama Bin Laden of Gaza,’ was eliminated on 13.07.24,” Gallant wrote.

Calls for revenge were heard as thousands attended the funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard in Tehran on Thursday. Senior Iranian and Hamas officials vowed to avenge Haniyeh’s death and carry on his legacy by destroying Israel. As is customary, the crowds screamed “Death to Israel” and “Death to America!” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation for Haniyeh’s humiliating elimination in the heart of Iran. Following the funeral, Haniyeh’s body will flown to Qatar where another funeral will be held on Friday. A brief view of the funeral from Tehran’s skies: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that top Pentagon and military officials were stunned by Israel’s elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran. According to the report, the Biden administration was not informed in advance of Israel’s plans to eliminate Haniyeh. US military officials were particularly stunned by its execution in the Iranian capital, humiliating the regime and making it difficult for it not to respond. However, a senior US military official told The Times that despite Iran’s embarrassment, it is still hesitant to launch an all-out war with Israel.

Israel is on high alert as it awaits retaliatory responses to its high-profile targeted eliminations of terror leaders in the capital cities of its two most powerful enemies, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an order on Wednesday to carry out a direct strike on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported. The IDF has bolstered Israel’s missile defense systems, Air Force fighter jets are patrolling the skies, and ground forces along the northern border are at increased alertness. The assessment in Israel is that Iran and Hezbollah may carry out a coordinated and combined attack on its common enemy Israel.

At the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago, former President Donald Trump engaged in a tense exchange with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott over the characterization of Vice President Kamala Harris as a “DEI hire” and her racial identity. The discussion began with Scott questioning Trump about accusations from some Republicans that Harris, the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president, was chosen for her race rather than her qualifications. Scott asked Trump, “Some of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President Kamala Harris as a DEI hire. Is that acceptable language to you?

A Toronto father and son have been charged with multiple terrorism-related offences, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of the ISIS, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested on July 28 in a Richmond Hill hotel room after a month-long investigation. The pair face a total of nine charges, including weapons offences for possession of an axe and a machete. RCMP Supt. James Parr said the alleged attack was targeted at Toronto, but the exact nature of the threat is under a publication ban. Both men are Canadian citizens and were not known to police before the investigation began in early July.

In an overnight operation, the IDF demolished the home of Murad Dahadhah, a Palestinian terrorist responsible for a fatal shooting attack in the West Bank in January. The attack, which occurred on Route 465 near the settlement of Ateret, claimed the lives of two individuals: Amar Mansour, a 33-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, and Lara Tannous, a 42-year-old Palestinian pharmacist from Ramallah. Dahadhah was arrested, along with two alleged accomplices, a day after the January 7 attack. The IDF has issued demolition orders to the families of the other suspects accused of participating in the attack. The demolition operation took place in the West Bank village of Atara, where Dahadhah’s home was located.

The tzibur is requested to daven for the Skulener Rebbe Shlita, who was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday for the second time in a few weeks. The Rebbe developed pneumonia a few weeks ago and was at Cornell Hospital until Monday when he was released and returned home. Today his condition worsened and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The Rebbe’s name for Tehillim is HaRav Shaya Yaakov Ben Reizel for a Refuah Shelaima. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Wednesday ordered the IDF to immediately begin sending draft orders to non-working bnei yeshivos, Kikar H’Shabbat reported. The IDF, not wanting to lock horns with the Chareidi community, began fulfilling the orders of the Supreme Court to draft Chareidim by sending draft orders to bochurim who are not learning full-time and are already working. Earlier this month, the IDF sent 1,000 draft orders, almost all to working Chareidim, and in recent days, the IDF’s personnel department has been preparing to send another 1,000 draft orders, also to working Chareidim. However, Baharav-Miara is determined to continue her warpath to create chaos in Israeli society and bring down the right-wing government.

Three of the five defendants held at Guantanamo Bay for their alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks have reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, the Department of Defense announced on Wednesday. Among those who have agreed to the deal is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks. The trial of the five defendants has been marred by extensive legal delays. The specific terms and conditions of the pre-trial agreement have not been disclosed. Besides Mohammed, the other two defendants who reached agreements are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council confirmed to ABC News that the White House was informed of the plea agreements on Wednesday.