Israeli security forces on Friday eliminated Nur Bitawi, the head of the Islamic Jihad terror branch in Jenin, during an operation in Shechem, the IDF announced. “Bitawi advanced major terror activities and was involved in directing, financing, and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces,” the IDF statement said. “He also maintained contact with Hamas officials in Gaza and abroad.” “Bitawi was responsible for funneling terror funds to Jenin and other villages in the area, and in this context, he worked to recruit and arm terrorists to carry out attacks against IDF forces.

The Hamas terror organization engaged in another act of psychological warfare on Shabbos, releasing a video of Elkana Bochbot and Yosef Chaim Ohana. Hamas previously released a video of the two on March 24 and released another video of just Bochbot on April 19. Bochbot, 34, a husband and father of a young son, was abducted from the Nova music festival. Ohana, 24, from Kiryat Malachi, was also abducted from Nova. When the attack began, Yosef Chaim and his friend began to flee the area. But when they encountered Israelis wounded by Hamas gunfire, the two, both trained as medics during their army service, stopped to help them. Eventually, they ran in different directions when they themselves were targeted by Hamas terrorists. His friend survived and Yosef Chaim was abducted.

by Shira Miller In a scathing critique of what he describes as institutional corruption, prominent Jewish organizational leader Marty Oliner has publicly called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take decisive action by nationalizing the World Zionist Organization’s assets and permanently shutting down its operations.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody on Friday afternoon after allegedly entering a federal immigration detention facility without permission, officials confirmed.
Alina Habba, the Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, posted on X that “The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon.”
According to a statement from the mayor’s office, Baraka was brought to the ICE field office located at 620 Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark. Officials have yet to disclose what specific charges, if any, he will face.

Mexico has taken legal action against Google after the tech company updated its U.S. version of Google Maps to reflect the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday.
Speaking during her regular morning press briefing, Sheinbaum confirmed, “The lawsuit has already been filed,” though she did not specify the location or date of the legal filing.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas, declaring that the “rules are about to change” as the IDF prepares to expand its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“To Hamas, I say one thing: The rules are about to change very soon,” Netanyahu said during a visit to reservists of the IDF’s 5th “HaSharon” Infantry Brigade at the Tze’elim training base in the Negev.
“I came to see firsthand the quality of our soldiers—our heroes—in preparation for the intense action we are about to undertake in Gaza,” he said in remarks released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s two key objectives: “First—to defeat Hamas, to be victorious over Hamas, to eliminate Hamas. The second, of course, simultaneously—is to release our hostages.”

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman What Happens When S

Newark Liberty International Airport experienced another radar disruption early Friday, marking the latest in a series of similar incidents affecting the airport in recent weeks.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the radar blackout, saying that preliminary details indicate it lasted for about a minute and a half. That duration matches a previous incident reported on April 28.
“There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace. The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds.”

A half-ton Soviet spacecraft that never made it to Venus 53 years ago is expected to fall back to Earth this weekend. Built to land on the solar system’s hottest planet, the titanium-covered spacecraft may survive its fiery, uncontrolled plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, predicted to occur on Saturday. But experts said it likely would come down over water, covering most of the world, or a desolate region. The odds of it slamming into a populated area are “infinitesimally small,” said University of Colorado Boulder scientist Marcin Pilinski. “While we can anticipate that most of this object will not burn up in the atmosphere during reentry, it may be severely damaged on impact,” Pilinski said in an email. By Friday, all indications pointed to a reentry early Saturday morning, U.S.