An Israeli military representative has released updated figures and insights on the current campaign in Gaza, dubbed Operation “Gideon’s Chariots,” which builds on the IDF’s ongoing operations over the last 18 months.
According to the information provided, the Israel Defense Forces are on track to gain complete tactical control over roughly three-quarters of the Gaza Strip within the next two months. At present, they have secured just over 40% of the region.

A newly released exposé sheds light on what the authors describe as a deeply insular and powerful group of advisers controlling the Biden White House, likening the dynamic to that of a “politburo” operating behind closed doors, as the president’s physical and cognitive condition reportedly continued to diminish.
This inner circle, dubbed the “politburo” in Original Sin, consisted of longtime political operatives like Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, and Bruce Reed, as well as close family members, including First Lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

Rav Dov HaKohen Kook, the Tzaddik of Tiveria, has issued a directive sharply criticizing a common practice among religious emergency responders—returning home by car after responding to Shabbos emergency calls. The prominent mekubal has labeled the practice a serious violation of Shabbos.
“I was shocked to learn that all the chareidi and religious responders are returning home by car,” Rav Kook was quoted as saying on Kol Chai Radio. He added that he had been unaware of the phenomenon until this week.

Rav Yisroel Bunim Schreiber, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Nesiv Hadaas, is in need of great rachamei Shamayim.
Rav Schreiber, who also serves as rav of the Ashdod kehillah and is the author of the acclaimed sefer Nesiv Binah, was hospitalized last week at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Yerushalayim after suffering from a period of illness. Medical examinations conducted there revealed serious health concerns, prompting widespread concern and tefillos on his behalf.

The noted posek Rav Ezriel Auerbach will soon embark on a chizuk mission to the United States.
Scheduled to begin immediately after Yom Tov of Shavuos, the weeklong visit will feature Rav Ezriel as the guest of honor at the Adirei HaTorah gathering of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, to be held at Wells Fargo Arena. Rav Ezriel will deliver the keynote address.
Rav Ezriel will also deliver shiurim in batei midrash and yeshivos across the country.

In recent days, the United States has appealed to Israel to hold off on launching a full-fledged ground invasion of Gaza, according to two individuals with knowledge of the situation who spoke with The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. The appeal is rooted in Washington’s desire to give diplomatic efforts surrounding a potential hostage release more time to bear fruit.
The Biden administration’s request reportedly involved two central elements: holding back on an expansive ground campaign and allowing negotiations to unfold concurrently with military actions already underway.

The latest cutoff date set by the Trump administration for New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pull the plug on the city’s congestion pricing policy has passed without any action.
Despite federal pressure, the city’s network of monitoring cameras is still fully operational, and the congestion pricing system remains in place.
Trump administration representatives had notified Hochul that failing to disable the cameras by Wednesday could lead to New York being stripped of federal funding and warned that the government “may implement compliance actions as soon as May 28.”
However, Hochul’s office refused to back down.
“Congestion pricing is lawful — and it’s effective. Traffic is down, business is up, and the cameras are staying on,” a spokesperson said.

Agam Berger, who was held hostage by Hamas for over a year, met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, expressing deep skepticism about the effectiveness of diplomatic efforts in dealing with Hamas, according to Israeli news outlets.
“If it were possible not to choose war, we wouldn’t choose it. But the moment there is a war for the survival of our land, that’s what we will do,” she said.
Berger emphasized that the ideological and operational goals of Hamas leave no room for peaceful coexistence. “They [Hamas] don’t want ‘togetherness.’ All the diplomatic solutions – I don’t know what to call it – it won’t work because it’s either us or them.”

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the special envoy appointed by President Donald Trump to spearhead the fight against antisemitism, received an extraordinary letter of endorsement this past week from senior gedolim in Israel, both Chassidic and Litvish.
The letter, written in both English and Hebrew, expresses profound gratitude to President Trump and extends heartfelt blessings to his newly designated representative. Among the prominent signatories are Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rav Berel Povarsky, the Rebbes of Belz, Sanz, and Seret-Vizhnitz, as well as Rav Shaul Alter.

A devastating aerial barrage launched by Russia pounded Kyiv and multiple other Ukrainian locations for a second straight night, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 civilians and wounding dozens more, officials reported on Sunday morning.
The magnitude of the strike stunned Ukrainian defense forces, as Russia unleashed a combined total of 367 drones and missiles. According to Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force, this marked the most extensive aerial offensive since the full-scale war began more than three years ago.
Ihnat told The Associated Press that the attack included 69 missiles and a staggering 298 drones, many of them Iranian-designed Shahed drones.