A protest against Israel turned violent on Friday night in downtown Montreal, leaving a trail of destruction as cars were set ablaze, shop windows smashed, and an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu burned in the street. The demonstration began peacefully around 4:30 p.m. at Émilie-Gamelin Parc but quickly descended into chaos as protesters hurled small explosive devices and metal objects at police. Armed with hammers and planks of wood, some protesters vandalized storefronts while others ignited red smoke bombs to create a scene of anarchy. The violence escalated as demonstrators paraded through the city waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Tensions reached their peak when an effigy of Netanyahu was set alight, drawing widespread condemnation.

A Channel 12 report alleges that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ignored years of warnings from Israeli security officials about the growing Hamas threat in Gaza and rejected multiple opportunities to eliminate top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) strongly denied the claims, calling the report “a recycling of baseless lies” intended to discredit Netanyahu. According to the Channel 12 investigation, Netanyahu received intelligence as early as 2014 detailing Hamas’s plans for a large-scale incursion into Israel. Despite repeated incidents of Hamas operatives approaching the border, the report claims Netanyahu blocked military responses and opted for a defensive strategy.

Hamas’s armed wing spokesman, Abu Obeida, claims that a female Israeli hostage was killed during an IDF strike in northern Gaza. In the same statement, Obeida claimed that another female hostage was injured in the attack, though her condition remains unclear. Reports said that the female hostage that was killed, according to Hamas, is Daniella Gilboa. The IDF responded to the claims, stating that it is “currently reviewing the information” but cannot “confirm or refute its authenticity” at this time. “IDF representatives are in contact with her family and are updating them with any information available to us,” the military added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly denounced the investigation into the alleged theft and leak of classified military documents, calling it a politically motivated “witch hunt” designed to target him and his allies. In a nearly nine-minute video released on social media, Netanyahu expressed outrage at the prosecution’s handling of the case, claiming it is part of a broader campaign to damage him and the political camp he represents. “This reality, in which young people are held like the worst terrorists, handcuffed for days, days in which they are prevented from accessing their lawyers, and violating their basic rights as citizens, shakes me,” Netanyahu said, referring to the detention of his aide Eli Feldstein and an IDF reservist.

Muhammad Haydar, the “de facto chief of staff” of Hezbollah, was the target of an IDF attack in Beirut overnight Friday. The IDF fired five missiles at an eight-story building in central Beirut, killing at least 11 people. An Israeli security source confirmed to Kan News that Haydar, who is also a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, was the target of the attack, However, Israeli security sources told the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel that the assassination attempt failed. Haydar is considered to have been close to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He served as a member of the Lebanese parliament on behalf of Hezbollah from 2005 to 2009. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on him in 2019 due to his terror activities.

HaRav Tzvi Kogan, who is thought to have been abducted and possibly murdered by Iranian agents, is married to the niece of Harav Gavriel Holtzberg, H’YD, the Chabad shliach who was murdered by terrorists in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. Hebrew Mishpachah editor Yossi Elituv wrote on Motzei Shabbos that “Rav Tzvi Kogan, who is responsible for all purchases for the Jewish kehillos in the country on behalf of Chabad is married to the niece of HaRav Gavriel Holtzberg, H’YD, the Chabad envoy in India who was murdered 16 years ago in Cheshvan, just before the international gathering of Chabad shluchim.” [The 2024 gathering begins this Wednesday.] “His older brother, Rav Reuven Kogan, is the brother-in-law of Rav Levi Duchman, the chief shaliach in Dubai.

A recent IDF airstrike in Syria killed a senior Hezbollah commander who helped plan one of the most daring attacks against US troops during the Iraq war, NBC News reported on Friday, quoting a senior US defense official. The 2007 attack, carried out by a cell of terrorists disguised as a US security team, killed five US soldiers. Ali Mussa Daqduq, who helped plan the attack, was arrested by US forces afterward but was later transferred to Iraqi authorities, who released him in 2012. The senior defense official was not familiar with details of the IDF strike that killed Daqduq, including whether it targeted him specifically and when exactly it took place. Daqduq was active in carrying out terror acts against the IDF in southern Lebanon from 2003-2006.

Rav Tzvi Kogan, a Chabad shaliach in the Emirati city of Abu Dhabi, has been missing for several days and Israeli security officials fear he was abducted or murdered, chalilah. Kogan, who serves as an assistant to the Chief Rabbi of the UAE, Rav Levi Duchman, has not been in touch with his wife since Wednesday. The Mossad is involved in the case and they believe that Rav Kogan may have been under surveillance by hostile terrorist elements on behalf of Iran. It appears the murderers may have escaped to Turkey, but it is unclear where his body was transferred. Israeli intelligence officials have traveled to the Emirates to investigate the case together with Emirati authorities, who are leading the investigation.

Israel’s new Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, has announced the end of administrative detention orders for Jewish settlers in Yehuda and Shomron, a policy that allows suspects to be held without charge for extended periods. Administrative detention, which has been primarily used against Palestinian terror suspects, has also been employed in some cases involving Jewish Israelis. The policy allows individuals to be detained without charge for up to six months, with detentions renewable indefinitely. Suspects are denied access to the evidence against them, making the practice highly contentious. In explaining his decision, Katz cited the unique challenges facing Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1 caused alarm among commercial pilots and passengers as dozens of planes traveled near the missiles’ trajectory during their ascent. The projectiles were visible to some, primarily over Iran and Iraq. While ballistic missiles typically soar above airline routes, they pose risks during takeoff and landing. Iran reportedly issued no warnings to reroute flights, forcing many planes to change course mid-air to avoid potential danger. The report highlights the ongoing threat to civilian aviation as Iranian missile strikes and Israeli responses persist, with no concrete measures in place to safeguard commercial air traffic. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)