A freed Israeli hostage has spoken out about her harrowing experience under Hamas captivity, revealing that the terrorists tried to force her to convert to Islam while also extorting her family for ransom. Moran Stella Yanai, 41, who was abducted during the brutal attack on the Nova Music Festival on October 7, shared her ordeal in an interview with the Israeli N12 network. Yanai described how her captors tried to pressure her into conversion, promising she would be freed sooner if she accepted Islam. “Almost daily, one of them would enter the room, saying, ‘It would be better for you to be a Muslim woman,’” Yanai recounted.

The IDF on Tuesday released footage from the rescue operation that freed Israeli-Bedouin hostage Qain Farhad Alkadi from Hamas bondage after 362 long days in harrowing captivity. The moment an IDF helicopter landed in the Gaza Strip to whisk away Alkadi Video from inside an IDF armored vehicle and helicopter shows Alkadi being transported to safety by his rescuers Bodycam footage from Shayetet-13 special forces shows Alkadi being loaded onto the helicopter back to Israel Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Commanding Officer of the 162nd Division, describes the rescue of the Bedouin-Israeli hostage Photos released by the IDF from the rescue operation

Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, the first Israeli hostage to be rescued alive from a tunnel, looked gaunt after being released from 326 days in captivity on Tuesday. He was rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza, where he was held alone. However, doctors at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva say that although he lost a lot of weight, he is in good condition. Al-Qadi, who has two wives and 11 children, held emotional reunions with his family members, including his one-year-old son, who was an infant when he was abducted. Qadi’s relatives, who didn’t even know until today if he was still alive, said that he “ate mainly bread in captivity and not every day. But he is on his feet and he’s coherent. He was constantly thinking about the family and never stopped believing that he would get out of there.

The IDF announced on Tuesday that Farhan Kadi, 52, a Bedouin-Israeli who was abducted on October 7 from Rahat was rescued on Tuesday. He was rescued in a complex operation by the Shin Bet and IDF in southern Gaza. Further details of the operation have not been released. His medical condition is normal and he has been transferred to Soroka Hospital for testing. Kadi is the father of 11 children and worked for many years as a guard at the Kibbutz Magen’s packaging factory. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The IDF announced overnight Monday that the suspected abduction of a young Jewish woman in the Shomron was a false alarm. The drama began late Monday evening when a 17-year-old standing at the Tapuach Junction called the Shomron Regional Council hotline and told them he saw a Jewish young woman screaming “Help!” from the back of a Palestinian car that drove through the intersection. A large number of IDF forces were deployed to the scene and immediately began searching the area and setting up roadblocks. Shortly later, forces stopped a car that fit the description of the suspected car and detained the two Palestinian men inside. However, a preliminary investigation revealed that they were not involved in any abduction incident.

The Lakewood kehilla has been plunged into mourning as news spreads of the tragic petirah of R’ Boruch Ber Ziemba Zt”l, a 39 year old Lakewood father of seven. R’ Baruch Ber, a Rosh Chaburah in BMG, z”l was swimming with his children in the Delaware River when catastrophe struck, as one of his children went out too far and began struggling. He swam out to rescue the child and managed to get the child back to shore. Unfortunately, he was pulled underneath the water by the waves. Rescue personnel located and pulled him from the water approximately 45 minutes later, and CPR was valiantly attempted before his petirah was sadly confirmed.

A 39-year-old Lakewood father of 7 is missing after disappearing near the Bushkill Boat Launch on the Delaware River a short time ago. Baruch Dov ben Sarah was on a small boat with his children when several of them fell or jumped into the water and required assistance vetting back on. The father jumped into the water and got them all back on their vessel when a wave reportedly overtook him and he disappeared below the surface. Emergency personnel are on the scene searching the lake, with a large team of volunteers responding from Chaveirem of Rockland, Catskills Hatzolah, Monsey Hatzolah and Lakewood Hatzolah. Please daven for Baruch Dov ben Sarah.

An Atzeres Tefillah will be held on Monday night for Rav Avrohom Nesanel ben Masha Leeba (Rav Avraham Zucker), the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Gedola Ohr Yisroel in Flatbush, who remains in critical condition after a serious biking accident on Sunday. Despite wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, the rosh yeshiva suffered a severe head injury and is in need of tremendous Rachmei Shamayim. A special minyan for Mincha/Maariv will be held Monday at 7:25 p.m. in the Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael Beis Medrash, followed by Tehillim for his Refuah Sheleima. For those unable to attend in person, a Zoom conference line will be open starting at 7:50 p.m. The Zoom can be accessed using this link, or by calling 929-205-6099, Meeting ID #293-224-1848, passcode 123456. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Iran’s foreign minister again has referenced his country’s planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday he made the remark in a conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone. “Iran’s reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured and well calculated,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X.

The Iraqi terror group Kata’ib Hezbollah, which is heavily supported by Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, was recently involved in terror plots against Jewish targets in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Iran International reported. The Kata’ib Hezbollah terror group, which abducted Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkiov last year, is an Iraqi Shia militia formed in 2007 which is also known as Hezbollah Brigades. The group recently expanded its operations to Syria, where it has joined other Iranian-back militias in fighting for Basher Al-Assad’s regime, and now in Central Asia. Sources told Iran International that Kata’ib Hezbollah has been involved in terror activities in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan via a Tajik operative named Muhammad Ali Burhanov.