Israel was shocked when the US suddenly announced the halt of the military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, saying that a “ceasefire” had been reached and the Houthis agreed not to attack US ships. According to a New York Times report on Monday, President Donald Trump decided to halt the offensive against the Houthis in Yemen after realizing it was an expensive campaign that was not yielding significant results. The initial military plan against the Houthis was a months-long military campaign of powerful airstrikes to destroy Houthi air defenses, followed by targeted assassinations, largely modeled on Israel’s war agaist Hezbollah.

Disturbing details about the conditions that released hostage Edan Alexander endured in captivity in Gaza were revealed only hours after his release, Kan News reported. According to his initial testimony, Alexander endured severe torture in Gaza, mainly during lengthy interrogations, as well as physical violence and psychological terror. He was confined to a metal cage for an extended period of time, shackled by his hands and feet. When he was released, he required assistance to walk due to the long period he was shackled. He was deliberately starved while in captivity and endured extreme hunger. Iin recent months, as the Trump administration engaged in efforts for his release, he was provided with more food.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Jack Ciattarelli for governor of New Jersey, delivering a key boost to the Republican frontrunner in a hotly contested primary.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Israeli military forces carried out a targeted operation against high-ranking Hamas operatives who were entrenched within the Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Yunis.
According to a statement issued by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the site functioned as a strategic base for planning and executing attacks aimed at Israeli citizens and soldiers.
The army further revealed that Ismail Barhoum, who succeeded the head of Hamas’ governing authority in Gaza and oversaw the group’s financial and institutional branches, had been directing operations from this very hospital until his elimination in a previous precision strike in March.

After Edan Alexander’s return from captivity in Gaza, Dr. Hagar Mizrachi, who oversees the medical division at the Health Ministry, voiced serious alarm regarding the physical and psychological state of those still being held hostage.
Speaking at Tel Aviv’s Sorousky Medical Center—where Alexander is currently receiving care—Dr. Mizrachi addressed the media to express her concerns.
“It is obvious to us that the terrorist organizations are denying the hostages medical treatment, holding them in subhuman conditions, and subjecting them to physical and mental abuse,” she said.
{Matzav.com Israel}

The Kurdish militant group PKK announced Monday that it is disbanding and renouncing armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, ending four decades of hostilities. The decision by the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, promises to end one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, days after the PKK convened a party congress in northern Iraq. In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband and disarm.

Am I allowed to make egg and onion on Shabbos? How to choose a shirt from a pile of clothing and not transgress borer on Shabbos? Can you put food in the oven on Shabbos? Numerous Shabbos questions are impossible to answer without thorough knowledge of its laws. Shabbos comes once a week, so if a person is not well-versed in its intricacies, then it is inevitable that transgressions will take place. The many books of basic laws are wonderful, but to really understand the halachos and to apply them, it is essential to learn and remember hilchos Shabbos with the background discussion.  What is the challenge we face? It takes several years for a full-time advanced Torah learner to cover the laws of Shabbos in depth.  Kinyan Hilchos Shabbos for men offered a solution.

TEHILLIM: The name of the Lakewood resident seriously injured in Monticello this evening is Yehuda ben Rivka. Please include him in your tefillos.

BREAKING IN MONTICELLO: A Lakewood man in his twenties was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of East Broadway and Rose Valley Road earlier this evening. He was transported by ambulance to Garnet Health Medical Center (formerly Orange Regional) and is listed in serious condition. Catskills Scoop will share a name for Tehillim as soon as it becomes available.