Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Sunday that IDF troops will remain in Palestinian refugee camps in the Shomron for at least a year. Katz stated: “The IDF is expanding its operations in northern Shomron and from tonight is also acting in Qabatiya as part of Operation Iron Wall to thwart terrorism in Yehuda and Shomron – and is reinforcing its forces with armored units and additional forces.” “40,000 Palestinians have evacuated so far from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur al-Shams, and they are now empty of residents. UNRWA’s activities in the camps have also ceased.” “The IDF is actively cleansing the terror nests from terrorists and destroying extensive terror infrastructure and weaponry as part of the operation that the Prime Minister and I ordered.

Incredible nissim occurred on Thursday night after terrorists placed five bombs on buses in central Israel with a plan to detonate them on Friday morning, potentially killing and maiming hundreds of people. In the first neis, the devices were “accidentally” set to detonate on Thursday night instead of Friday morning. The second neis was that when two of the devices exploded on buses in Bat Yam, they did so minutes after the route was finished and the bus drivers parked the empty buses in the parking lot and no one was injured. The third neis was that an alert bus passenger in Bat Yam spotted a terrorist trying to hide a suspicious bag below a seat and reported it to the driver only minutes before it would have detonated.

In a cruel and depraved move, Hamas brought two hostages to the release ceremony of Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, and Omer Shem Tov and forced them to watch it from the vehicle they were in. Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Eviatar David, best friends who were abducted from the Nova party in Re’im, were then forced to beg for their lives on camera. Their families approved the publication of the cruel video, in which the two, both looking emaciated, are forced to beg their families for their release and accuse Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of finishing them off. One of them is forced to say: “Military pressure is not the solution” and “Israeli citizens, don’t stop protesting.” Eviatar’s sister, Yaela Daivd, stated: “They’re alive.

Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that Shiri Bibas, H’yd,  who was abducted from her home on the kibbutz on October 7, 2023, along with her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, was brutally murdered in captivity. The announcement came two days after Hamas transferred the body of a Gazan woman instead of Shiri along with the remains of her sons, H’yd. Hamas transferred another body on Friday night that was later identified as Shiri Bibas, H’Yd at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. According to Abu Kabir officials, Shiri, H’yd, was brutally murdered in November 2023, along with her two sons, whom the terrorists choked to death with their bare hands. Kibbutz Nir Oz stated that “Shiri, who was kidnapped at the age of 32, was born and raised in Nir Oz.

In a stunning development, Israeli authorities have arrested two Jewish Israelis alongside a Palestinian suspect in connection with a series of explosions that rocked central Israel Thursday night. The detentions have sent shockwaves across the country, as investigators work to unravel how two Israeli citizens became entangled in what is believed to be a narrowly averted mass-casualty terror attack. The explosions, which targeted three buses in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon, miraculously caused no injuries. However, the discovery of two additional undetonated explosive devices—rigged with timers—has intensified fears that the attack was meant to strike during peak commuting hours.

Israel has confirmed receiving a list from Hamas with the names of six hostages scheduled for release from Gaza tomorrow. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the hostages’ families have been notified and urged the public not to spread unverified information or speculation. Hamas previously identified the hostages as Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed. Their names had already been shared earlier this week when their families were informed. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump’s bidding and go after the Republican president’s adversaries. “I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Thursday with Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar and the head of the Federation of Jewish Communities, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, in a discussion that touched on various matters of importance, including the recent release of Russian-Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov from Hamas captivity. During the meeting, Putin conveyed his best wishes to Troufanov, who was freed last week as part of ongoing negotiations. During the meeting, Rabbi Lazar reflected on the significance of securing the release of captives, telling Putin of the Jewish teaching that “anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Jewish world has yearned and waited. We prayed and waited. We cried in sorrow and pain while we waited. Our brethren—Jewish men, women, and children—were taken into the mayim sh’ain lahem sof, the bottomless depths of serpentine tunnels and hidden chambers, unheard of, unseeable, and unreachable. The only thing within reach was our siddurim and Tehillim, and so many, many of us turned to Shomayim with hope against hope. And now, this. There is a word for this in English: crestfallen. For some of us, our religious honor as Benei Yisroel has fallen. We felt helpless before this tragic turn, and we feel isolated now. The rest of humanity—whatever term we might use to represent those who abandoned us during this time—will move on.

As Hamas and Gazan civilians shamelessly displayed their barbarity to the world in a depraved ceremony in Khan Younis, gleefully celebrating the abductions and murders of babies, a young mother and an elderly man—Israelis stood in the pouring rain in Israel awaiting the return of the kedoshim. Police officers who took over the transport of the coffins after they entered Israel, stood on the side of the road to salute them as IDF forces drove them into Israel. Israeli residents of the Gaza border area also stood in respect, some after waiting in the pouring rain for an extended period of time. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)