The Trump administration threatened Iran with military action over its support of the Houthis in Yemen amid ongoing negotiations between the two countries over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth conveyed a message to Iran on X on Wednesday night. “Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis,” he wrote. “We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalizing a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia. The two sides offered only barbones details about the structure of the deal, which they called the United States-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund. But it is expected to give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable rare earth minerals while providing Kyiv a measure of assurance about continued American support in its grinding war with Russia.

Yeshivas Ponevezh on Thursday upheld its mesorah of hanging an Israeli flag on the yeshivah’s roof on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The minhag began after the establishment of the state at the instructions of the Ponevezher Rav, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, z’tl, to fly the flag on the roof of the yeshivah for eight hours. Since then, the flag is hung from the yeshivah’s roof every year on Yom Ha’atzmaut from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Apart from the flag, there is no indication of Yom Ha’atzmaut at the yeshivah, with tefillos, shiurim, and sedarim taking place as usual. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The explosion that rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others, had its epicenter at a facility ultimately owned by a “charitable foundation” overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office. That foundation, known as Bonyad Mostazafan, faces American sanctions over it helping the 86-year-old Khamenei “to enrich his office, reward his political allies and persecute the regime’s enemies,” the U.S. Treasury has said. Its top personnel also have direct ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees Tehran’s ballistic missile arsenal and operations abroad targeting the Islamic Republic’s enemies.

Two IDF reservists were injured, one seriously, by an explosive device placed on the side of the road in the Shomron on Wednesday. The incident occurred while IDF forces from the Ephraim Regional Brigade’s 9221st Reserve Battalion were carrying out an operational activity in the village of Beita. The soldiers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. IDF forces imposed a siege on the village and launched a manhunt for the terrorists. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A Fire and Rescue Authority spokesperson said on Thursday morning that the wildfires that began in the Jerusalem hills on Wednesday are not yet under control after 163 firefighting teams battled the flames overnight. “Over 150 firefighting teams are still working at full capacity in all the fire hotspots in the Judean Plain area,” a spokesperson said. About 23 firefighting teams are operating in the Beit Meir and Shoresh area, and 10 firefighting planes are assisting the forces in the field. Firefighters are still battling flames at 11 locations on the outskirts of Jerusalem and seven yishuvim are still evacuated of their residents. The winds have weakened, and until 2 p.m., the weather, which includes a chance of rain, is in favor of the firefighters.

The live Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony at Har Herzl and small ceremonies across the country, scheduled for Wednesday evening, were canceled due to the fires still raging across Israel. Instead, a recorded dress rehearsal was broadcast on Israeli TV channels. One of the torch-lighters was freed hostage Emily Damari, who was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Speaking briefly from stage before lighting the touch, Emily said that she is lighting the torch in honor of the 59 hostages still in captivity; the 64 residents of Kfar Aza who were murdered during the massacre; including two of her close friends, the Israeli security forces who risk their lives; those who fell in battle; the orphan and widows, and bereaved families who lost their loved ones.

Anyone in the parsha—whether for themselves or for their children—knows the crushing anxiety that comes with researching a potential match. How can we possibly determine the right fit from a piece of paper? Is he/she like this or like that? Will their personality align with our hopes? With every profile, our minds spin endless possibilities—and anxiety, ever the pessimist, convinces us to assume the worst. Maybe they have this issue… Maybe they won’t understand that part of me… The doubts pile up, and before we know it, we’ve talked ourselves out of even considering the shidduch. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I adopted a new approach—one that has been nothing short of life-changing.

Jerusalem, Israel – As major fires ravaged multiple regions across Israel on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri took to X to demand harsh action against Palestinians he claims are responsible, urging the IDF to “eliminate from the air” those identified as arsonists. The Shin Bet security agency is investigating the fires’ causes, and several arson suspects were arrested in east Jerusalem and security teams in two other areas arrested suspects in two additional attacks, one in Rosh HaAyin and another in Beit Keshet, a kibbutz in northern Israel. Deri wrote, “Arsonists during wartime are terrorists in every sense.

An ISIS member accused of inciting the January 1st terrorist attack on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, which killed 14 people and injured 57, was arrested in Iraq, the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq announced Tuesday. The suspect, unidentified in reports, allegedly radicalized Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas who executed the attack. Jabbar drove a rented Ford F-150 truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street at around 3 a.m., killing 14 and injuring dozens before being killed in a police shootout. Jabbar had declared allegiance to ISIS in social media videos, stating he joined the group before summer 2024. Iraq’s First Karkh Investigation Court reported the suspect, part of ISIS’s Foreign Operations Office, was detained following U.S.