HaGaon HaRav Zilberstein delivered his regular shiur Monday night in his shul in the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak and expounded on several wartime shailos. At the end of the shiur, there was a warning from the Home Front Command to stay near bomb shelters as a siren would soon be sounded. HaRav Zilberstein immediately instructed all those present to move to the bomb shelter, where he continued the shiur. One of the participants asked the Rav whether to recite the bracha of Hamapil before going to sleep since there would likely be sirens in the middle of the night. HaRav Zilberstein responded, “Say Hamapil because the bracha can be their downfall (להפיל). You’re stronger than them, you said Hamapil.

On the first night of Iran’s launch of airstrikes against Iran, mere minutes after dozens of Israeli fighter jets crossed the Iranian border, an F-15 pilot spotted a lone Iranian fighter plane taking off from a base in the west of the country. Within minutes, the enemy aircraft reversed course and landed. “The pilot probably realized what was coming,” speculates Maj. N., a combat navigator in Squadron 133, who spotted the plane. “He certainly didn’t want anything to do with the event and ran to hide. For me, that moment, more than anything else, illustrates the air superiority we brought with us all the way to Iran,” he said in an interview with Ynet. N. said that he and his fellow pilots were shocked by the lack of resistance from the Iranian pilots.

President Trump informed top advisers late Tuesday that he authorized plans for an attack on Iran, but was hesitant to proceed, preferring to wait and see if Tehran would give up its nuclear ambitions. One potential target for the U.S. is Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow enrichment site, which remains unscathed so far. Located deep beneath a mountain, the facility is widely regarded by military experts as virtually impossible to destroy with anything but the most advanced and powerful weaponry.

Prime Minister Netanyahu took to X on Wednesday, to reaffirm Israel’s unwavering resolve to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, as the IDF continue their bombardment of Iranian military and nuclear facilities near Tehran. “We will not let the world’s most dangerous regime get the world’s most dangerous weapon,” Netanyahu declared in a post, underscoring the stakes of Israel’s ongoing military operation aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities. Netanyahu’s statement sparked a wave of reactions on X, with some users, including individuals identifying as Iranian, expressing support for Israel’s actions. One user wrote, “As an Iranian I want to thank you for the incredible hard and important task you’ve took on.

President Trump stated that Iran was “a few weeks away” from developing a nuclear weapon before Israel launched recent strikes on the Islamic Republic. Speaking publicly, Trump emphasized his support for “total victory” in the ongoing conflict rather than a ceasefire. While he reiterated his long-standing stance that Iran should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump also expressed a desire to avoid direct involvement in foreign wars. He said he has not yet made a decision on whether the United States will act against Iran’s nuclear sites, but underscored that the U.S. military’s advanced technology is currently being used by Israel in the airstrikes against Iran. President Trump says Iran wants to meet at the White House. “They should’ve made that deal.

The IDF conducted a series of precision airstrikes in Tehran, targeting over 20 military sites, including facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear weapons development program and missile production, the IDF announced. The operation, involved 60 IAF fighter jets guided by the IDF Intelligence Directorate. According to the IDF, the strikes hit critical components of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, including weapons production sites, centrifuge production facilities, and research and development centers. “These sites were designated to allow the Iranian regime to expand the scale and pace of its uranium enrichment purpose of developing nuclear weapons,” the IDF stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Wednesday, 18 June 2025) [translated from Hebrew]: “Dear citizens of Israel, We are on day six of Operation Rising Lion. We began this campaign in order to remove two existential threats to the State of Israel: The nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat. We are advancing step by step to remove these threats. We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking the ayatollahs’ regime with great force. We are attacking nuclear installations, missiles, command centers and the symbols of the regime. I must tell you that I speak with world leaders and they are very impressed by our determination and the achievements of our forces. They are also greatly impressed by you, citizens of Israel, by your strong spirit and by your steadfastness.

Multiple television channels in Iran were reportedly compromised on Wednesday, with broadcasts displaying images and messages urging citizens to take to the streets in protest against the government, according to sources cited by the opposition-linked Iran International. Authorities in Tehran claimed the disruption only impacted viewers receiving signals via satellite, pointing to possible interference with the satellite feed. Adding to the turmoil, Iran experienced what a London-based internet monitoring group described as a “near-total national internet blackout” on the same day.

Since the beginning of “Operation Rising Lion”, dozens of IAF fighter jets have been operating in the skies of Iran and striking military targets belonging to the Iranian regime. The IAF’s aerial refueling aircraft support these fighter jets, conducting dozens of sorties and performing over 600 aerial refuelings in the skies of the Middle East thus far. Aerial refueling is a crucial component of the Israeli Air Force’s operations in Iran, enabling the continued maintenance of aerial superiority in the region.   (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee advised U.S. citizens who are seeking to evacuate from Israel on Wednesday. He directed Americans to a program that guides those who wish to depart toward evacuation flights as well as cruse ships. “Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel–The U.S. Embassy in Israel is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures. You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) You will be alerted w/ updates,” he wrote, providing a link to the program.