The Hamas terrorist group is reportedly leaning towards agreeing to release the next set of three hostages on Shabbos, despite having previously announced the cancellation of the planned release earlier this week, according to Kan News.
Earlier in the day, Hamas stated that it would not respond to any threats and insisted that Israel must fulfill the terms of the first phase of the agreement, particularly those concerning humanitarian issues and the return of residents from the northern Gaza Strip to their homes.

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin discussions “immediately” to put an end to Moscow’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
“[W]e want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social. He stated that Europe’s largest and most deadly conflict since World War II “would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end. “No more lives should be lost!”

Orly Gilboa, the mother of Daniella Gilboa, a former hostage whom Hamas had falsely claimed was dead, shared on Wednesday that terrorists had forced her daughter to stage her own death as a form of psychological warfare.
“One of the captors simply came with a camera and told her: ‘Today we are filming you dead.’ She begged for her life and asked him not to do it,” Orly recounted during an interview with Channel 12 News.
She further explained how the terrorists fabricated the narrative that Daniela had been killed by IDF gunfire: “They actually took pictures there. He even poured powder on her to make it look like she had plaster on her and that she had been hit by our forces’ fire.”

President Donald Trump maintained his momentum in securing Cabinet confirmations on Wednesday, with Tulsi Gabbard officially confirmed by the Senate to serve as his director of national intelligence (DNI).
Gabbard’s confirmation marked her as the 14th Cabinet member to be approved, following a 52-48 vote in the Senate. The vote was primarily along party lines, with the exception of former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, who voted against Gabbard.
Although Gabbard faced significant challenges, particularly during her initial Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, the former Democratic representative was able to secure key Republican support, allowing her to move forward in her bid to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies.

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A sense of kedusha pervades this holy prayer book, in which Rav Chaim Kanievsky, the pillar of Torah and prayer in our generation, poured out his prayers to his Creator.

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, who played a key role in negotiating the current ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group, cautioned that there would be serious consequences if Hamas failed to meet Trump’s demand for the release of all hostages by noon on Shabbos.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization. They should not be allowed to be part of the government in Gaza. This is an unhealthy situation, they need to go,” Witkoff stated during an appearance on C-Span on Wednesday.
“The president said all that we all need to know, which is Saturday, 12 o’clock he expects there to be something different occurring, and if it’s not there’s going to be a big problem,” he added.

On Wednesday morning, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid sharply criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing him of lacking the desire to bring the hostages back to Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces is increasing troop reinforcements and mobilizing reservists in the Southern Command following Hamas’s announcement that it would delay releasing hostages.
Describing the reinforcement as “extensive,” the IDF confirmed the deployment of additional brigades and special forces units to the Southern Command. These units will supplement the existing defenses provided by the 162nd Division and the Gaza Division along the Gaza border and the Philadelphi Corridor.
Several more brigades are on standby for potential deployment, and additional divisions are preparing for possible operations in Gaza, depending on how the situation unfolds.

The family of Matan Angrest, an IDF soldier who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, announced today that they had received confirmation of his survival through testimonies from hostages who were recently released as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement.
Matan’s mother, Anat, revealed that the reports about her son’s condition contained “harsh details.” Matan was abducted from his tank on October 7, suffering from burns. “We heard that he was being held there in difficult conditions because he is a soldier,” she shared with Channel 12 News.

Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, who was freed from Hamas captivity, shared disturbing details about her brother’s ordeal during his time in captivity.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, she described how he endured sixteen months in the tunnels controlled by Hamas, facing unbearable living conditions. “Yarden was held in tunnels most of the time,” Bibas recounted. “He was in a corridor covered with moldy boards. There was no air. He was in the same place where six other hostages had been held for a month.” She also revealed that there were extended periods when her brother received very little to eat.