The IDF is preparing to significantly expand the military operation in the Gaza Strip, including a large-scale mobilization of reserve brigades. The decision was made by the government following demands by senior cabinet ministers and due to the lack of progress in hostage deal negotiations. Ministers have been pushing for the government’s immediate approval of an expanded military operation in Gaza, but the decision was delayed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz in order to first exhaust diplomatic efforts for a hostage release deal. An Israeli political source denied a report by Reuters on Monday evening quoting Egyptian officials as saying that there was “significant progress” in the talks currently taking place in Cairo.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who refused to step down after the government unanimously voted to fire him, announced on Monday evening that he will resign from his position on June 15. Bar’s refusal to heed the democratically elected government, supported by the Supreme Court and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Biara [despite a conflict of interest due to personal ties with him], was a shocking and unprecedented move, especially as the head of the agency that bore the most responsiblity for the failure to prevent the October 7 massacre. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi responded to the announcement by stating: “Ronen Bar…the government fired you on April 10. Your attempt to hold onto your position is a crime against state security! You’ve done enough damage.

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman In recent months, our commu

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war. After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservative Party, though it wasn’t immediately clear if they would win an outright majority that would allow them to pass legislation without needing help. The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state.

Israeli forces have deployed the newly developed “Bar” rocket, designed by Elbit Systems, for the first time against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Monday. According to the IDF, the “Bar” rocket is equipped with an advanced navigation mechanism specifically adapted for challenging combat environments, allowing forces to strike targets with remarkable speed and precision. The 282nd Artillery Brigade, operating under the IDF’s 36th Division, was the first to use the rocket during ongoing operations in Gaza. Artillery troops from the brigade, who have been active in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, have fired more than 5,000 shells at terror infrastructure along the “Morag” Corridor — a strategic strip separating Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The IDF is still holding two containers packed with roughly 350 bags of unidentified human remains — the shattered remnants of lives destroyed in Hamas’s savage Oct. 7 onslaught. The remains, many burned beyond recognition, are being stored at the Shura military base, home to the IDF’s Military Rabbinate. Each bag is believed to hold the remains of a single person. Yet, in the chaos and trauma that followed the massacre, mistakes were inevitable. Some bodies were mistakenly grouped together; some fragments may even belong to the Hamas terrorists themselves, their remains mixed with their victims’. Military Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen.

Seven new cases of measles have been identified in Israel over the past week in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Emek Hefer and Modi’in Ilit, the Health Ministry announced on Monday. A week ago, the Health Ministry announced that a resident of Tel Aviv was diagnosed with measles after returning to Israel on an El Al flight from London on Friday, April 18. The person took the train from the airport to the Tel Aviv University stop and a bus to his/her home. Over the weekend, the patient spent time at an escape room in Petach Tikvah and a restaurant in Herzliya before being diagnosed. A total of eight patients have been diagnosed with measles since April 20, six of whom were unvaccinated.

President Donald Trump, in a newly published interview with The Atlantic, reflected on the differences between his two terms in office, saying that this time he views his role as leading both “the country and the world.” “The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys,” Trump said in the interview released Monday. “And the second time, I run the country and the world.” Since returning to office in January, President Trump has pursued an aggressive agenda on multiple fronts, with immigration and trade policies drawing both attention and legal challenges. His administration’s move to impose broad tariffs on a wide range of countries — including close U.S.

An F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hanger deck of an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, as sailors were towing the aircraft into place in the hangar bay of the USS Harry S. Truman on Monday, the Navy said. The crew members who were in the pilot seat of the Super Hornet and on the small towing tractor both jumped out before the jet and the tug went into the Red Sea. According to a defense official, the sailor who jumped from the aircraft sustained a minor injury. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details. “The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the Navy said in a statement. The jet was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136.

In an exceptional and rare move, the State-Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that it is withdrawing its indictment against Ron Eilon, former CEO of Yes, in the Bezeq-Yes case, one of the cases against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The dramatic decision comes eight years after the investigation was opened and four years after the indictment was filed. Eilon was accused of taking part in an alleged “fraudulent scheme” related to the merger deal between Bezeq and Yes. The decision was made during the trial on Monday due to the presentation of new evidence and the exposure of flaws in the prosecution’s thesis during the cross-examination of key witnesses.