US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew stated that Hamas is to blame for the failure to reach an agreement on the release of hostages, though he also suggested that certain actions by Israel have shifted the focus away from Hamas’ role in the deadlock.
In an interview with Kan 11 News, Lew was asked about the responsibility for the lack of a deal, to which he responded, “As in any complicated situation, depending on what day you ask, you might get a little bit different tone of answer.”
He continued, noting, “Overall, Hamas has been very rigid. In the weeks leading up to the murder of the six hostages, we were seeing no movement at all. We were negotiating where some of the names we were negotiating over were killed on [that] day where the six hostages were killed.”

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and Texas Rep. Pat Fallon (R) got into a shouting match on the Hill on Thursday during a hearing on the failures of the Secret Service to protect Donald Trump in Butler, PA earlier this year.
Fallon lambasted Rowe for waiting days before visiting the Butler, Pa., site where Trump was nearly killed on July 13 — and then presented a photo showing the acting director near the incoming president instead of his detail during the Republican’s visit to New York to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

During an appearance on The View on Thursday, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) told the daytime hosts he believed that Donald Trump’s case in New York was “politically motivated” and thinks he should be pardoned.
Fetterman argued that cases against Hunter Biden and Donald Trump are politically motivated and both are deserving of pardons.
“I think it’s undeniable that the case against Hunter Biden was really politically motivated. But I also think it’s true that the trial in New York for Trump, that was political as well too. Now, in both cases, I think a pardon is appropriate,” the Democratic lawmaker said.

Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Naim Qassem, released a recorded speech in which he addressed the ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon.
“This is not a new agreement, but rather a system that is meant to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” Qassem stated.
He went on to accuse Israel of consistently breaching the resolution, asserting, “there are over 60 Israeli violations of the agreement.”
Qassem explained that Hezbollah views the agreement as part of the ongoing effort to enforce existing resolutions, not as a separate initiative.

Former US President Bill Clinton did an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the 2024 New York Times DealBook Summit, where he shared his thoughts on Israel, the ongoing peace process with the Palestinian Arabs, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he suggested had been given a “lifeline” after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Authorities believe that the primary suspect in the brutal murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson traveled by bus from Atlanta to New York City ten days before the highly publicized killing, adding to the growing evidence that the act may have been planned in advance.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a statement on Friday morning following an arson attack on the Adass Yisroel shul in Melbourne, Australia.
“I spoke this morning, with President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Liebler, and expressed my deep sorrow and the support and solidarity of all the Israeli people for the Jewish community following the abhorrent antisemitic arson attack on the Adass Yisroel shul in Melbourne,” Herzog said in the statement.
He continued, expressing his admiration for the community’s resilience, “I was moved to hear how the entire community is standing united and strong in the face of this terrible attack and the wave of antisemitism they are experiencing.”

The chareidi factions in the Knesset are preparing to ramp up their efforts to secure the passage of the Draft Law. Mishpacha revealed on Wednesday evening that these parties, long regarded as steadfast supporters of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, are getting ready to present a significant challenge to him.
As per the report, the charedi representatives are planning to introduce two major pieces of legislation that could place Netanyahu in a tough political position.
The first piece of legislation is a Draft Law specifically designed for the chareidi population, which would grant exemptions to a significant portion of yeshiva students, allowing them to bypass mandatory military service.

The House Permanent Select Subcommittee on the CIA released an interim report on Thursday, asserting that it is “increasingly likely” that the mysterious health condition known as Havana syndrome is the result of a foreign entity’s actions.
This brief, unclassified report strongly criticized a previous US Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that dismissed the possibility of the condition being caused by an “intentional weaponized attack” and emphasized the necessity for continued investigation into the issue.
“I have discovered that there is reliable evidence to suggest that some Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) are the work of foreign adversaries,” stated Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Chairman of the Subcommittee, in his remarks.

Amateur internet sleuths are racing to identify the gunman who killed the chief of the nation’s largest health insurer in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, hoping to piece together clues and beat police investigators at their own high-profile manhunt.
The shooter seemingly vanished after being caught on video in one of the world’s most surveilled cities, offering an online community of wannabe detectives a tantalizing case. They pored over street footage and digital data to guess his brand of backpack, debate how he had silenced his pistol and scrutinize his getaway bike.