As previously reported by Chaim V’Chessed, a significant travel update took effect at the start of 2025: all travelers to Israel are now required to complete an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before departure. Without an approved ETA, airlines will not permit passengers to board flights to Israel—with the exception of Israeli passport holders. Even Israeli citizens need an ETA – if traveling on a foreign passport.

At Camp Shura’s National Center for Casualties of Israel’s Defense Forces, hundreds of body bags have remained untouched since the devastating events of October 7. These bags hold both partial human remains and other matter requiring burial, including blood.
Despite extensive work over the past several months, a significant number of these remains have still not been conclusively identified.
As reported by Yediot Achronot, the military rabbinate sought authorization to perform an additional round of DNA testing on all of the body bags. However, their request was turned down by the Ministry of Religious Services.

Russia unleashed a large-scale drone barrage and airstrikes throughout Ukraine late Saturday into early Sunday, leaving at least four civilians dead, Ukrainian authorities reported. The assault came after U.S. President Donald Trump questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin truly has any desire to bring the war to an end.
In Kostyantynivka, located in the Donetsk region, three people were killed and four others sustained injuries Sunday morning due to airstrikes, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. Meanwhile, in Pavlohrad, situated in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a drone attack claimed one life and injured a 14-year-old girl, local Governor Serhii Lysak confirmed. Pavlohrad has now been targeted for the third night in a row.

The United States and Iran concluded their third round of nuclear negotiations on Shabbos, agreeing to meet again on May 3, according to a report from Axios citing Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who is serving as an intermediary between the two sides.
Yesterday’s session in Muscat represented the first time the negotiators delved into the technical details of a possible deal, focusing primarily on the nuclear restrictions proposed by the U.S. and Iran’s insistence on substantial sanctions relief.
“The talks in Muscat were positive and productive. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” said a senior U.S. official, as quoted by Axios.

A man who described himself as a Hamas operative and once bragged he had “been a terrorist since he’s been a kid” now faces a slew of new federal charges, along with two women from Pittsburgh, after authorities disrupted what appeared to be a terror scheme involving homemade explosives.
Mohamad Hamad, 23, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Lebanon, was already under indictment for vandalizing a synagogue. On Tuesday, he was hit with a nine-count superseding indictment alongside Talya Lubit, 24, and Micaiah Collins, 22.
“Mohamad Hamad lied about his loyalty to the United States, among other false statements, in an attempt to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance,” Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.

President Donald Trump reiterated that he is genuinely considering the idea of making Canada the 51st state, insisting in a new interview that he is not joking about the possibility.
Speaking to Time magazine in a piece published Friday, Trump was questioned about several territorial ambitions, including the acquisition of Greenland, reclaiming the Panama Canal, and potentially incorporating Canada into the United States. When the interviewer suggested he might be “trolling” with the Canada idea, Trump pushed back.
“I think Canada, what you said that, ‘Well, that one, I might be trolling,’ but I’m really not trolling,” Trump said. “Canada is an interesting case. We lose $200 [billion] to $250 billion a year supporting Canada.”

President Donald Trump met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome yesterday, with a White House official describing the conversation as “very productive” as both leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to pool reporters early Shabbos morning from the Vatican, “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow.”
The meeting marked the first time the two leaders have sat down together since a tense exchange in the Oval Office back in February and comes at a pivotal moment in efforts to secure a ceasefire in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

More than half of American voters view President Trump’s second term as both “chaotic” and “scary,” according to a new poll.
The latest New York Times/Siena College survey revealed that 66% of registered voters felt “chaotic” was an accurate way to describe Trump’s current presidency, while 59% believed that “scary” was an appropriate characterization.
Among Republicans, 47% said the president’s return to office has been “chaotic” during his first three months, a sentiment echoed by a striking 75% of Independents.
Meanwhile, a smaller share of Republicans and Independents — 36% and 61% respectively — agreed that “scary” accurately depicted Trump’s second term.

A federal judge issued a stern warning Friday, expressing serious concern that the Trump administration had deported a two-year-old American citizen to Honduras without granting her proper legal protections, even as her father was desperately trying to keep her in the country through the courts.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, appointed by President Trump, said that the child — identified in filings only as “V.M.L.” — appeared to have been released in Honduras earlier that day along with her Honduran-born mother and sister. The family had been detained by immigration officials earlier in the week.

Roughly 400,000 mourners gathered in Rome today for the funeral of Pope Francis, but Israel notably refrained from sending an official delegation, choosing instead to be represented solely by its ambassador to the Vatican, Yaron Sideman.
The decision came amid controversy surrounding the Foreign Ministry’s removal of condolence messages that Israeli embassies worldwide had initially posted after the pope’s passing. Pope Francis had been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Former Israeli ambassador to the Vatican Raphael Schutz harshly criticized Israel’s approach in an interview with Ynet. “When a leader of this magnitude passes away, you don’t deviate from diplomatic protocols,” Schutz said.