Israel is completely changing its strategy in the Swords of Iron war and aims for a full conquest of the Strip, while separating the civilian population from Hamas terrorists, Channel 12 reported on Thursday. Since the beginning of the war, Israel has been dealing with what seems to be an insurmountable problem: the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas uses as human shields. Since the beginning of the war, IDF soldiers have been clearing areas in Gaza of terrorists and then leaving the area and allowing civilians to return to their homes. But of course, Hamas would return to the area along with the civilians. IDF soldiers have been forced to return to the same areas time and time again, clearing houses and streets of Hamas terrorists, at great risk to their lives.

Gedolei Eretz Yisroel have been preparing to embark on a fundraising mission to the United States following Shavuos on behalf of Keren Olam Hatorah, and are now set to arrive on Sunday, June 15. The trip comes amid drastic reductions in Israeli government financial aid for yeshivos and kollelim, a move that has left countless institutions scrambling to cover basic operational costs. The first stop on this year’s mission will be in Los Angeles — notably making this the first time the city is included in the tour, which last year began in New York and New Jersey. From Los Angeles, the delegation will travel to Lakewood, with their arrival slated for Tuesday, June 17.

Agudath Israel of America applauds the inclusion of game-changing federal school choice legislation in the budget reconciliation bill passed this morning. This legislation will help millions of children across the country including those wishing to attend yeshivas and other nonpublic schools. Following a model already operating successfully in more than twenty states, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) will provide $5 billion in K-12 scholarships per year. It does this by allowing a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donors who contribute to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO).

House Republicans early Thursday took a major step forward on President Donald Trump’s agenda, approving a legislative package that combines tax breaks, spending cuts, border security funding and other priorities. House committees labored for months on the bill, which underwent late changes to win over holdouts in the Republican conference. It exceeds 1,000 pages and is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a nod to Trump himself. Republicans made one last round of revisions before the bill reached the House floor, boosting the state and local tax deduction to win over centrists and speeding up the work requirements in Medicaid to win over those who didn’t believe the bill did enough to curb spending.

The terrorist who murdered Yaron Lischinsky Hy”d, and Sarah Milgrim, H’yd, was identified as Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago. Witnesses said that Rodriguez told the police as before being arrested, “I did it, I did it for Gaza. Free Palestine!” Rodriguez was a member of the far left-Marxist pro-Palestine group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which accuses Israel of “genocide” on its social media pages. In 2020, he made a political donation to Joe Biden. In 2017, he participated in a protest over the death of a black teenager who was shot by a Chicago police officer. “The wealth that Amazon has brought to Seattle has not been shared with its Black residents,” Rodriguez was quoted at the time in PSL’s Liberation newspaper.

Missile alert sirens blared at midday on Thursday in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, the Yam Hamelech area, Yehuda and Shomron, and central Israel. Shortly later, the IDF spokesperson reported that one missile launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted. Hours earlier on Thursday morning, at about 3:00 a.m., sirens were heard across central Israel, the Sharon and the Shfela lowlands, forcing over a million  Israelis to leave their beds and rush to protected spaces. The IDF spokesperson said that a missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen was intercepted by the Air Force’s Arrow system. MDA reported that one man was lightly injured as he ran for shelter. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli politicians blamed Thursday night’s fatal terror attack in Washington D.C. on antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric around the world and many also placed blame on Israeli leftists such as Democrats chairman Yair Golan, who made irresponsible, outrageous, and false statements about Israel on Tuesday, insinuating that IDF soldiers “kill babies as a hobby.” Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu from Otzma Yehudit responded to the attack by saying: “Yair Golan’s blood libels are echoed by Nazis and Israel haters around the world. We’re now paying the price for them with the murderous attack in Washington, and history teaches us that we will continue to pay in the future.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a statement on Thursday morning about the fatal terror attack outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening which took the lives of a young couple, Yaron Lischinsky Hy”d, and Sarah Milgrim, H’yd. In the statement, Netanyahu said that he was updated on the details of the “horrifying antisemitic murder” by Israeli Ambassador to the US  Yechiel Leiter and US Attorney General Pam Bondi. The latter said that US President Donald Trump is involved in managing the event, and America will bring the murderer to justice. “Attorney General Bondi asked to convey her condolences to the families of the young couple who were due to become engaged soon,” the statement said.

Two staff members from the Israeli Embassy were fatally shot outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, in a violent incident that has sparked a sweeping investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. According to law enforcement officials, a man opened fire outside the museum just after 8 p.m., shouting “Free Palestine!” as he began shooting. The museum was hosting a private event for Israeli diplomats at the time. The gunman was quickly detained by responding officers. The names of the two victims—both employees of the Israeli Embassy—have not yet been publicly released, pending notification of their families. Initial reports also indicated others were injured in the attack, though the extent of their injuries remains unclear.

iPhone users who’ve recently experienced WhatsApp bugs—like mismatched images and captions on statuses or voice notes not showing when played—should update the app. WhatsApp released a new update tonight that fixes these issues. Simply head to the App Store and install the latest version to resolve the glitches. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)