The IDF announced today that Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut earlier this month. Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, was considered the likely successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The IDF confirmed that Safieddine, along with Hussein Ali Hazima, the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence division, was killed during an airstrike on October 4. The strike targeted Hezbollah’s underground intelligence headquarters, located in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, a southern suburb that serves as a stronghold for the terror group. The military also reported that more than 25 members of Hezbollah’s intelligence division, including other top commanders, were present at the headquarters when the airstrike took place.

Ariane Tabatabai, a senior staffer in the office of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, has been identified as the source behind the recent leak of classified documents detailing Israel’s military preparations for a potential strike on Iran. According to reports, Tabatabai allegedly leaked highly sensitive information about Israeli air force exercises, missile deployments, and covert drone activities. The documents were shared on a Telegram channel and revealed Israel’s response plans following Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israeli territories. The leaked documents, attributed to the U.S. Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, have sparked concerns among U.S. and Israeli officials about the implications for U.S.-Israel relations.

A Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon this past Shabbos struck Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea, causing minor damage to the property, the Israeli military censor revealed today. According to reports, the drone’s impact cracked the glass of a bedroom window but did not penetrate the building. Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported. An image of the damage, initially withheld from the public by the military censor, has now been released, showing the extent of the impact on the residence.

Israeli authorities arrested seven Palestinians from East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood on suspicion of spying for Iran and plotting attacks in Israel, the Israel Police and Shin Bet security agency revealed on Tuesday. The arrests mark the fifth such case in just over a month, and the second within two days, highlighting escalating concerns over Iranian espionage in the region. The suspects, aged 19 to 23, were reportedly planning the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and the mayor of a major city in central Israel. According to the authorities, six of the suspects hold Israeli citizenship, while the seventh is a permanent resident. The alleged ringleader, 23-year-old Rami Alian, is said to have been recruited by an Iranian agent.

The IDF on Monday revealed the secrets behind Hezbollah’s finance network, including slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s former emergency bunker located under Al-Sahel Hospital in Dahieh in southern Beirut which holds hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold. The IDF on Sunday and Monday struck about 20 out of 34 branches of Hezbollah’s financial arm, the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association (AQAH), in southern Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern Bekaa Valley. AQAH, officially a “charity” organization, is often referred to as Hezbollah’s bank. A senior Israeli intelligence official described AQAH as “one of the largest centers of economic power for the Iranian proxy” in remarks to The Press Service of Israel.

As the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to deepen, Jewish life continues in both countries. The Jewish kehilla in Iran, headed by HaRav Yehudah Gerami, held a party for children in a sukkah on Chol Hamoed, and various Sukkos events were held in several cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. Israeli media reports on Monday said that seven Israelis were arrested last month for alleged espionage for Iran – the most severe espionage case ever seen in Israeli history. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Seven Israeli citizens have been arrested on suspicion of espionage for Iran, according to an announcement from state prosecutors. The accused, all Jewish residents of Haifa and northern Israel, reportedly completed hundreds of tasks on behalf of Tehran, gathering intelligence on key military sites. Among the suspects is a soldier who deserted from the IDF and two minors. The adult suspects have been named as Azis Nisanov, Alexander Sadykov, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe, and Yigal Nissan. They stand accused of collecting and photographing sensitive information on IDF bases, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, and Iron Dome missile defense sites.

Yigal Calek, the visionary composer, choir director, and founder of the London School of Jewish Song, was niftar today. Yigal z”l, whose contributions to Jewish music revolutionized the genre beginning in the early 1970s, had been seriously ill in recent months. Yigal began his career as a sixth-grade rebbi, but his deep passion for music led him to create the London Pirchim Choir, later known as the London School of Jewish Song. His debut album, Ma Navu (1970), featured iconic songs such as “Sali Umetzudasi” and “Al Zeh Hayah Daveh Libeinu,” and marked the beginning of a groundbreaking era in Jewish music.

Flatbush Shomrim has been contacted by the NYPD and asked to convey this very important message. Last night during the simchas Beis Hashoeva celebration in Crown Heights, several boys were arrested from the Flatbush Community. These are not Crown Heights boys, rather boys who decided to attend and cause havoc. This included fist fights with other boys and incredibly assaulting police officers. This is a huge Chilul Hashem! These boys who are going from Flatbush to Crown Heights to cause trouble, WILL be arrested, and will have records that will follow them moving forward. It’s not worth it!!

At a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, former President Donald Trump confirmed that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. During the rally, Trump ripped President Joe Biden for reportedly advising Netanyahu on military decisions. Trump said that Biden told Netanyahu, “don’t do this, don’t do that,” in reference to the war against Hamas and Hezbollah, but that Netanyahu ignored the advice. “Bibi didn’t listen to him and I’ll tell you what, they’re in a much stronger position now than they were three months ago,” Trump said. Trump highlighted recent Israeli military operations, including the assassinations of key terror figures, as evidence of Israel’s stronger stance.