IDF Spokesperson in Arabic Avichay Adraee on Monday morning issued an unusually large-scale evacuation notice, calling on all residents of Rafah and nearby towns in southern Gaza to immediately leave their homes and move to the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi. The notice stated that “the IDF is resuming intense combat to eliminate terrorist capabilities in these areas. For your safety, you must immediately move to Al-Mawasi.” This is the most extensive evacuation notice published by the IDF since the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Israel Police on Monday morning arrested two suspects as part of the “Qatargate” affair investigation: Yonatan Urich, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s media advisor, and Eli Feldstein, his former military spokesperson. This is the first time that the police have made an actual arrest in the affair, as opposed to previous times when the suspects were only detained for questioning. A third suspect, a journalist, was summoned for questioning. About two weeks ago, Kan New revealed recordings of Israeli businessman Gil Birger, in which he is heard talking about transferring funds from a Qatari lobbyist to Eli Feldstein. Birger said he was asked to transfer the funds for tax considerations and stressed that he does not even know Feldstein.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu selected former naval chief Vice-Admiral (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next Shin Bet chief, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday. Sharvit’s selection was unexpected and considered a surprising choice for several reasons: he was not one of the leading candidates for the position; he is an outsider to the Shin Bet, never having served in its ranks and has no intelligence background; and before October 7, he participated in the protests in Tel Aviv against the government’s judicial rform plan. “After extensively interviewing seven qualified candidates, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decided to appoint former naval chief Vice-Admiral (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

CBS’ 60 Minutes broadcast the full interview on Sunday night with Yarden Bibas, a survivor of captivity whose family was brutally murdered after being abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, terror attack.
During the conversation with journalist Lesley Stahl, Bibas relived the trauma, sharing the chilling and dehumanizing comments made by those who held him hostage.
“[Shiri and the kids] were murdered in cold blood, bare hands,” Bibas explained. “They used to tell me—‘Oh, doesn’t matter. You’ll get a new wife. Get new kids. Better wife. Better kids.’”
Stahl, clearly taken aback, asked in disbelief, “They said that to you?”
“Yeah, many times,” Yarden replied.

The prime minister of Greenland pushed back Sunday against assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump that America will take control of the island territory. Greenland, a huge, resource-rich island in the Atlantic, is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States. Trump wants to annex the territory, claiming it’s needed for national security purposes. “President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post. Nielsen’s post comes a day after the U.S. president told NBC News that military force wasn’t off the table with regard to acquiring Greenland.

At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, israeli Housing Minister Yitzchok Goldknopf launched a scathing verbal attack on Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli after Chikli publicly called for Goldknopf’s dismissal.
“Chikli chose ahead of the primaries to devour the chareidim without realizing that his public is disgusted by that. For that, we already have Yair Lapid,” said Goldknopf.
Goldknopf didn’t hold back, accusing Chikli’s office of failing in its core responsibilities. “Your ministry is supposed to fight anti-Semitism, unfortunately, it is not doing so successfully,” the housing minister charged.

A tree that’s nearly two centuries old will be removed from the White House grounds because it’s deteriorating, President Donald Trump said Sunday. The southern magnolia stands near the curved portico on the south side of the building. It’s where foreign leaders are often welcomed for ceremonial visits, and where the president departs to board the Marine One helicopter. According to the National Park Service website, “folklore tells us” that President Andrew Jackson brought the tree’s seeds from his home near Nashville, Tennessee. It was apparently planted in honor of his wife Rachel, who died shortly before he took office in 1829.

In a searing, gut-wrenching interview aired Sunday night on CBS’ 60 Minutes, former Hamas hostage Yarden Bibas relived the unthinkable horror of losing his wife Shiri and their two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were murdered in cold blood while in captivity after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. The raw emotion in Bibas’ voice was only matched by the chilling cruelty of his captors, who he says taunted him with merciless words as he endured the nightmare of captivity. “[Shiri and the kids] were murdered in cold blood, bare hands,” Bibas said to journalist Lesley Stahl. “They used to tell me—‘Oh, doesn’t matter. You’ll get a new wife. Get new kids. Better wife. Better kids.’” Stahl, visibly shaken, struggled to comprehend the cruelty.

Federal authorities are investigating a fire early Sunday that damaged the entryway to the headquarters of the Republican Party of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Agents working with local authorities recovered unspecified “incendiary materials” at the scene, said Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesperson Cody Monday. He declined to say what the materials were or to share further details. The fire follows numerous acts of vandalism in recent weeks directed against Tesla, the electric-car company whose owner, Elon Musk, has led Republican President Donald Trump’s effort to slash the federal workforce. Several of those cases involved Molotov cocktails that were used to start fires at dealerships. U.S.

Iran has armed its missile systems and placed them on standby across its network of underground facilities, according to a post on X made Sunday night by the Tehran Times, a newspaper aligned with the Iranian regime.
“Opening the Pandora’s box will come at a heavy cost for the US government and its allies,” the post cautioned further.
This threat followed a declaration by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who confirmed that Tehran had formally declined direct talks with the United States regarding its rapidly expanding nuclear program.
The announcement served as Iran’s first official reaction to a message sent by President Donald Trump. That communication was conveyed to Iran’s Supreme Leader by way of Oman.

President Donald Trump is planning a trip to Saudi Arabia in mid-May, which would mark his first journey abroad since returning to the presidency, according to two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the discussions, Axios reports.
Trump’s upcoming visit signals a strengthening relationship between his administration and Gulf states, with a strong emphasis on trade and financial collaboration. The trip comes as the administration continues to push for a truce in Gaza and works to free hostages being held by Hamas.
Interestingly, Trump’s decision to make Saudi Arabia his first overseas stop echoes his first term in office, when he also chose the Kingdom as part of his inaugural international tour in May 2017, the report pointed out.

In a new letter, the Pshvorsker Rebbe, one of the most respected chassidic rebbes in Europe, issued a strong warning against the wearing of shaitels, calling the practice a violation of das Yehudis (Jewish modesty laws).
The handwritten letter, addressed to the women of his community, was released to strengthen standards of tznius.
The letter is highly unusual, as the rebbe seldom puts his thoughts into writing.
“One of the fundamental pillars of the Torah, the splendor and dignity of the chosen nation, is the modesty of Jewish women,” the rebbe writes. “Our holy foremothers, generation after generation, sacrificed greatly for this value.”

At a special session of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate Council held today in the Achar Kosleinu Hall in the Kosel Tunnels, the newly formed Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel convened for the first time to discuss pressing issues of halacha in the State of Israel.
The meeting was attended by Israel’s Chief Rabbis, Rav Kalman Bar, nosi of the Chief Rabbinate Council, and Rav Dovid Yosef, Rishon LeTzion and nosi of the Great Rabbinical Court, alongside Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, rov of the Kosel and mekomos hakedoshim, and all recently elected members of the Chief Rabbinate Council.

A new chapter began this past Shabbos at Yeshivas Amalah Shel Torah of Beitar Illit, as the mantle of leadership was passed to the next generation. Rav Yisroel Feinstein, just 30 years old, was officially crowned as the successor to his father, the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Yosef Ze’ev Feinstein zt”l, who passed away suddenly on leil Purim at the age of 54.
Rav Ze’ev, a noted talmid chochom, founded Yeshivas Amalah Shel Torah at the age of 29 and dedicated his life to building it into one of the most esteemed chassidic yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel and beyond.
His passing left an enormous void, with countless talmidim mourning the loss of a father figure.

In a stark admission of his party’s struggles, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) warned Sunday that the Democratic brand is “problematic,” arguing that the party has become synonymous with elite coastal interests rather than the working-class Americans it once championed. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Bennet did not hold back in his critique, acknowledging that Democrats have failed to connect with everyday voters—especially as former President Donald Trump has twice managed to seize the White House. “We should have never lost to Donald Trump once, much less twice,” Bennet said bluntly.

A somber and heart-wrenching levaya took place on Sunday afternoon for Natasha (Sara) Saada A”H and her two young daughters, Diana (7) A”H and Debra (5) A”H, who were tragically killed in a devastating car accident on Shabbos afternoon near Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road. Hundreds of mourners gathered at Shomrei Hadas Chapels in Boro Park to give kavod acharon to the victims, whose lives were cut short in a senseless tragedy that has shaken the Flatbush Sephardic community and beyond. Rabbi Hillel Haber, Rabbi Yosef Ozeri, and Rabbi Shlomo Diamond delivered heartbreaking hespedim, offering words of chizuk and mourning the immeasurable loss. Leading Sephardic Rabbonim from across the community were in attendance, standing in solidarity with the grieving family.

At a Security Cabinet meeting, top Israeli officials gathered to review recent updates in the ongoing military operation in Gaza and to evaluate prospects for a possible agreement to secure the release of hostages. One of the matters that surfaced during the discussion was the continued presence of electricity in Gaza, prompting ministers to question why power is still available in the area.
Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer stated, “Hamas is blinking, military pressure has brought about a change in its position.”
Minister Ze’ev Elkin echoed the sentiment, adding, “We need to continue the military pressure and not stop.” Security officials who were present confirmed the shift in Hamas’s stance, saying, “there are significant changes in Hamas’s position.”

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