The IDF on Monday morning announced that a reserve soldier was killed on Sunday morning in an operational accident near the Gaza border. He was identified as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, H’yd, 41, from Rechovot. He served as a heavy equipment operator in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 5067th Battalion. He was killed in the overturning of a military truck near Kibbutz Nachal Oz. Reservist forces from the Jerusalem Brigade are currently operating in the area to expand the buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip. The IDF said that it is investigating the incident. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

In this episode, Rabbi Reinman contrasts Rechavam, the first king of Yehudah, and Yeravam, the first king of Yisrael, after the partition.
WATCH:

Chapter Thirty: A Study of Two Kings
After Shlomo passed, his son Rechavam ascended to the throne. Rechavam did not possess a fraction of his father’s wisdom, and his rash actions immediately set into motion the fulfillment of the prophecy that the kingdom would be torn asunder.

As tens of thousands prepare to ascend Har Meron for the annual Lag Ba’omer hilula at the kever of Rav Shimon bar Yochai, the families of the 45 victims who perished in the 2021 Meron disaster have issued a heartfelt public letter, urging attendees to strictly adhere to safety guidelines.
The letter, released through the Meron Kedoshim 5781 Organization — headed by Rav Yisrael Shimon Elchadad, who lost two of his brothers in the tragedy — was penned with what the families described as “unfading pain” and a profound sense of “mission and responsibility for every Jew who sets foot on the mountain.”

Ynet reports that both the U.S. Army’s THAAD batteries in Southern Israel and the “Arrow-2/3” Anti-Ballistic Missile System failed to intercepted the long-range ballistic missile launched by Iranian-backed Houthis targeting Ben Gurion airport this morning.

POTUS on reopening Alcatraz to house our most ruthless, violent criminals: “It’s a symbol of law and order and it’s got quite a history, frankly — so I think we’re going to do that, and we’re looking at it right now.”

President Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a hard-to-reach California island off San Francisco that has been closed for more than 60 years. In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday evening, Trump wrote that, “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected his proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help thwart the illegal drug trade because she is fearful of the country’s powerful cartels The comments by Trump came a day after Sheinbaum confirmed that Trump pressed her in a call last month to accept a bigger role for the U.S. military in combating drug cartels in Mexico. Trump said it was “true” that he proposed sending the troops to Mexico and lashed into Sheinbaum for dismissing the idea. “Well she’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk, so you know that’s the reason,” Trump said in comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “And I think she’s a lovely woman.

Channel 14 commentator Yaakov Bardugo, who is considered a close confidant of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, revealed on Sunday evening that a deal to release about ten Israeli hostages that was already closed was thwarted by Qatar. “The time has come to declare Qatar as an enemy state of the Jewish people,” Bardugo said. These remarks follow the Prime Minister’s Office’s unusual statements against Qatar in recent days. The Prime Minister’s Office published a rare official statement on Motzei Shabbos, saying: “The time has come for Qatar to stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it’s on the side of civilization or if it’s on the side of Hamas barbarism.

A newly aired exposé on Channel 13’s Hamakor program has brought to light the deep friction that existed between Israel and the Biden administration, particularly surrounding sensitive security decisions. The report uncovers a specific incident in which Israel’s communication with Washington broke down over a planned military operation targeting Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.