The Saudi-owned, London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asahrq Al-Awsat has disclosed details about an underground communications system used by Hamas leaders and officials in Gaza. The report, based on sources close to the leadership of the group, reveals that this network has been operational since 2009. Developed initially by engineers from the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, the system has been progressively enhanced with technology smuggled from abroad. The network is said to consist of switchboards installed underground, connected to older landlines above ground, enabling the group to exchange messages covertly. According to the report, the IDF has been aware of this communication system for several years and have made multiple attempts to either hack or destroy it.

One hundred and thirty IDF commanders and reserve officers who actively participated in the war in Gaza issued a rare public letter earlier this week to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi HaLevi and members of the war cabinet in which they demanded that Gazan civilians be prevented from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip until all the hostages are released. The letter states: “In recent days, the IDF has started releasing reserve units and we immediately asked ourselves: did we fulfill the mission for which we were recruited and how do the significant gains we achieved on the battlefield translate into achievements at the strategic level?

The firing of RPG missiles by Hamas terrorists at two bobby-trapped buildings where numerous soldiers were stationed caused the horrible tragedy in which 21 reserve soldiers lost their lives. A multi-casualty incident was announced and the Home Front Command’s search and rescue teams were called in. When they arrived at the site, they found a scene reminiscent of the destruction at the epicenter of an earthquake, Ynet reported. According to preliminary details, a combined force of infantry, engineering and armored reserve soldiers arrived at the site in the central Gaza Strip on Monday to clear an area for a buffer zone being established by the Gaza Division – in preparation for the “day after” the war and the return of Israelis to their homes in the Gaza border area.

Billionaire Elon Musk, fresh off a scandal in which he appeared to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his platform X, visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland on Monday morning with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and his son Techno Mechanicus, following a visit to southern Israel in November to see firsthand the atrocities Hamas carried out on October 7. Following his visit to Auschwitz, Musk participated in the European Jewish Association annual conference in Krakow. During the conference, which is running on Monday and Tuesday, Musk held a discussion with Ben Shapiro, during which they touched upon various contemporary topics pertaining to Jewish people worldwide.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Monday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem with representatives of the families of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Some of the relatives held a protest outside the Knesset, demanding a hostage deal with Hamas as soon as possible. “Contrary to what they’re saying, there is no genuine proposal from Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “I’m saying this as clearly as I can because there are so many incorrect things that are surely tormenting you. On the other hand, we have our initiative and I will not go into detail.” On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US, Egypt, and Qatar are trying to start a gradual diplomatic process that will lead to the end of the war in Gaza.

Heavy fighting is being reported in the Khan Younis neighborhood of southern Gaza after the IDF launched a major new offensive. The operation, led by the 98th Division, involves four brigades and commenced yesterday with a series of targeted airstrikes on Hamas facilities in the area, with the primary objective beingto dismantle the military structure of Hamas in Khan Younis. As of Monday morning, the operation has resulted in the elimination of approximately 50 Hamas operatives, including a number of commanders. This was achieved through the concerted efforts of ground troops from the Commando, Paratroopers, Givati, and 7th brigades. IDF soldiers have reportedly surrounded the Khan Younis refugee camp and are beginning to advance into it.

Elon Musk visited the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau World War II Nazi German death camp on Monday, after the billionaire faced criticism for subscribing to an antisemitic conspiracy theory and allowing hate messages on his social media platform, X. He was joined by Orthodox Jewish conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. The private visit was apparently in response to calls from some Jewish religious leaders for Musk to see with his own eyes the most symbolic site of the horrors of the Holocaust. Musk was photographed visiting the Birkenau site. Birkenau is an area near Oswiecim, in southern Poland, fenced off with barbed wire, where wooden barracks that were simple shelters for the inmates and the ruins of a gas chamber can be found and where a monument to the victims stands.

The relatives of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza traveled to Jerusalem on Monday morning. Some relatives participated in Knesset discussions and others held a protest outside the building, demanding that the government reach a hostage deal with Hamas as quickly as possible. A number of relatives burst into a meeting of the Finance Committee with signs stating: “You won’t sit here while they’re dying there!” The chairman of the Finance Committee meeting, UTJ MK Moshe Gafni, got up and addressed the relatives, saying that this position and the position of the UTJ party is that the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim is an extremely important one in Yahadus, especially in this situation where their lives are in danger.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his Republican presidential campaign Sunday on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, ending a White House bid that failed to meet expectations that he would emerge as a serious challenger to former President Donald Trump. DeSantis announced his decision in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The ambitious big-state governor entered the 2024 presidential contest with major advantages in his quest to take on Trump, and early primary polls suggested DeSantis was in a strong position to do just that. He and his allies amassed a political fortune well in excess of $100 million, and he boasted a significant legislative record on issues important to many conservatives, like abortion and the teaching of race and gender issues in schools.

A New York lawmaker, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, is advocating for a groundbreaking $14 trillion reparations measure. Bowman, a member of the far-left “Squad,” introduced a proposal calling for the federal government to take responsibility for the historical impact of slavery and its aftermath. Bowman highlights two significant examples to support his case: the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the historic “space race” endeavor. He argues that these instances demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed reparations measure. “When COVID was causing devastation, we invested in the American people in a way that sustained the economy,” said Bowman.