Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday night that Israel is surpassing expectations in its ongoing military offensive against Iran, boasting that the campaign is “ahead of schedule” and vowing that all of Iran’s nuclear sites — including the heavily fortified Fordo facility — will be targeted and neutralized. Speaking in a rare interview on Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu provided an expansive update on Israel’s week-old preemptive assault. He said at least half of Iran’s missile launchers have been destroyed, key military figures eliminated, and Iran’s feared Basij paramilitary forces heavily damaged. “We are ahead of the schedule we set, both in terms of timing and results,” Netanyahu said.

Authorities in El Salvador have extradited two Lev Tahor members, one to Israel and another to Guatemala, amid ongoing investigations into allegations of child abuse and human trafficking. Prosecutors confirmed that Eliezer Rumpler was handed over to Israeli authorities following his January arrest after crossing into the country from Guatemala. Rumpler, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, is accused of overseeing the abuse of students. According to prosecutors, the students were allegedly forced to disrobe before being subjected to beatings. Separately, 23-year-old Jonathan Cardona was extradited to Guatemala to face a slate of serious charges, including child abuse and human trafficking, Guatemalan officials announced.

A senior commander in the Mujahideen Brigades terror group, Ali Saadi Wasfi al-Agha, was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a hideout in central Gaza, the IDF announced. Al-Agha, who headed the group’s southern Gaza division, was slated to succeed its leader, Asaad Abu Sharia, who was eliminated in an earlier Israeli strike this month. According to the IDF, al-Agha played a key role in the October 7 attacks and was personally involved in the abduction, murder, and burial of Israeli hostages, including Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein. The military said the bodies of Haggai and Weinstein were discovered earlier this month in al-Agha’s home in Khan Younis, confirming his direct involvement in concealing their remains.

More than 60 IAF fighter jets truck dozens of military targets in Iran overnight, using approximately 120 munitions. During the night, several industrial sites used to manufacture missiles were struck in the Tehran area. These sites were developed over many years and served as a key industrial center for the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Among the targets were sites producing missile components and facilities manufacturing raw materials used in casting missile engines. As part of the ongoing efforts to degrade the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program, the IDF struck the SPND headquarters in Tehran. The SPND headquarters is used for research and development of advanced technologies and weapons supporting the Iranian regime’s military capabilities.

Following nearly 13 hours of relative quiet in Israel, early Friday morning saw a new barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles targeting southern regions. The attack forced millions of residents to take cover in bomb shelters as sirens blared across the area. One missile struck Beersheva, landing directly in front of an apartment building. The impact caused multiple vehicles to burst into flames and inflicted severe damage to the structure. Bichasdei Hashem, according to Magen David Adom, there have been no reports of physical injuries so far. A few civilians experienced anxiety and panic attacks due to the shock of the attack. Emergency services are on the scene providing support and assessing the damage.

President Donald Trump is holding off on authorizing U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, amid growing concerns that toppling Iran’s leadership could plunge the region into chaos and repeat the mistakes of Libya, the NY Post reports. According to multiple sources close to the administration, Trump has repeatedly invoked the NATO-led intervention in Libya during internal deliberations, citing it as a cautionary tale of regime change gone wrong. In 2011, the U.S. joined a coalition to remove Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, only to watch the country descend into civil war and lawlessness — a scenario Trump is determined to avoid with Iran. “He doesn’t want it to turn into Libya,” said one insider familiar with the president’s thinking.

Israel assassinated nine of Iran’s ten most senior nuclear scientists in their sleep during its initial assault on Iran last week, dealing an unprecedented blow to the heart of Tehran’s nuclear program. The operation — code-named Operation Narnia — unfolded in the dead of night between Thursday and Friday and was followed hours later by the killing of the tenth scientist, according to Israel’s Channel 12, which broke the story on Thursday. The assassinations were part of a broader, multi-pronged Israeli strike that also targeted Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, key nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz, and senior figures in the Islamic Republic’s military command.

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, the Nasi of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, published a halachic letter on Thursday regarding holding chasunos during the three weeks this summer. The letter comes amid Israel’s war with Iran and the resulting missile attacks on Israel. Due to the Home Front Command’s orders banning gatherings, many chasunos have been delayed or canceled. There is a shortage of chasunah halls in Eretz Yisrael, and finding a hall for a later date on short notice is very difficult. In response to many shailos he received, HaRav Yosef paskened that this year, it is permissible and even desirable to hold chasunos during the three weeks.

As war erupted between Israel and Iran late last Thursday night, panic and uncertainty gripped thousands of foreign nationals and dual citizens in Israel — prompting a flood of desperate calls and emails to the Tzedek Association, known for its lifesaving efforts during previous times of crisis. Just hours after the conflict began, Tzedek’s inboxes were inundated with urgent pleas from people seeking a way out of the country, echoing the group’s dramatic post-Oct. 7 evacuation efforts. While commercial flights via Egypt and Jordan are technically available, both the U.S. State Department and Israeli security services strongly advise against travel to those countries, especially during wartime, citing security risks.

The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization is threatening legal actions against the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief. In a letter shared by Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, Mohammad Eslami slammed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi for “inaction” during Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. The letter comes after Israel attacked Iran’s Arak nuclear facility in overnight strikes.