Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday brushed off threats from New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who previously said he would have Netanyahu arrested if he set foot in the city. Speaking to reporters at the White House during a working dinner with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu dismissed the remarks as unserious and vowed to visit New York anyway. “I’m not concerned about that,” Netanyahu said when asked about Mamdani’s statement. “There’s enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends. This is folly, and it’s silly in many ways.

New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, visited a Brooklyn mosque led by an imam who has publicly called for the destruction of Israel and praised Hamas fighters. In a social media post dated January 17, Mamdani shared a photo of himself speaking at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge alongside Sheikh Muhammad Al-Barr, the mosque’s hate-filled imam. “It was a privilege to join Jummah prayers at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge today,” Mamdani wrote on X. The visit came just months after Al-Barr, during an August sermon at the same mosque, prayed in Arabic for the annihilation of Israel and praised Hamas fighters.

United Airlines will resume flights to Israel later this month, becoming the first American airline to restore service to Tel Aviv since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran. United plans to restart daily nonstop flights from its Newark Liberty International Airport hub on July 21, with two daily flights set to begin the following day. Flights were available for booking Tuesday on United’s website, with round-trip economy fares starting at under $1,150. United suspended all service to Israel on June 13 following the closure of Israeli airspace in response to Iranian missile attacks. At the time, the airline had said it would postpone its planned August 1 return due to ongoing regional instability. The newly announced July 21 relaunch marks a major shift in that timeline.

Syrian media reported on Tuesday that National Security Council Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi met directly with the new Syrian President, Ahmed al-Shar’a, in Abu Dhabi on Monday. However, footage from the White House meeting on Monday between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump shows that Hanegbi attended the meeting, contradicting the reports. It is not clear at this time whether the error in the reports is in the date of the meeting, which did not take place yesterday but in recent weeks, or in the identity of the Israeli official who met with a-Shar’a. One source described the meeting it as “a significant step in the Syrian-Israeli negotiations.” According to a Ynet report, this was not the first meeting between the parties.

The IDF on Monday struck and eliminated the terrorist Ali Abed Al-Hassan Haidar, a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. Haidar was involved in many terror attacks against Israeli citizens and IDF forces, including the Plan to Conquer the Galilee. In recent months, Haidar has been involved in attempts to restore Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The IDF stressed that  Haidar’s actions constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. About two hours later, the IDF eliminated another Hezbollah terrorist in the Beit Lif area of southern Lebanon. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship came under fire from Houthi rebels Monday in the Red Sea, with two on board reported to be hurt and two others missing in an assault a day after the Yemen-based rebels sunk another vessel. The attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Eternity C in the crucial maritime route came after the Houthis attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire Sunday, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The two attacks and a round of Israeli airstrikes early Monday targeting the rebels raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in U.S. and Western forces, particularly after U.S.

In recent weeks, security forces have identified a significant escalation in the operational patterns of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. According to a report by Army Radio, the IDF has observed a concerning increase in boldness among Hamas terrorists in recent weeks. Instead of their usual methods of planting and detonating explosives remotely, they are emerging from shafts and rubble, initiating direct combat with IDF forces, and carrying out ambushes, despite the increased danger to their own lives. Additionally, the terrorists are not retreating from the scene after engaging in combat but remain in place and continue fighting, at times, even attacking the rescue forces who appear on the scene.

In an unusual attack last week near Beirut, Lebanon, the IDF eliminated Qassem al-Husseini, a Lebanese operative in the Iranian Quds Force. Kan News reported on Monday evening that in recent months, Al-Husseini had been directing operations from Lebanon, on behalf of Iran, in southern Syria against Israel, including advancing terror attacks. Earlier on Monday, Israel announced that for the second time in the last week, IDF forces arrested an Iranian terror cell in southern Syria that was engaged in terror activities against Israel.

Five soldiers from the IDF’s Netzach Yehuda Battalion (97), Kfir Brigade, were killed in a devastating incident in Gaza. The IDF has officially released the names of two of the fallen; the names of the other three will be published once cleared for release. The fallen soldiers are: – Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, from Jerusalem – Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, from Jerusalem The tragic event also left two additional soldiers from the same battalion seriously wounded. They were transported to the hospital for emergency care, and their families have been notified. This marks one of the deadliest single incidents for the Netzach Yehuda Battalion since the beginning of the war.

A deep sense of shock and mourning has descended upon the Chareidi community in Kiryat Ata, following the sudden and tragic passing of R’ Menachem Moshe Weiskopf Z”L, one of the most prominent members of the city’s Litvish community. He was 75. The incident occurred Monday afternoon at the separate “Quiet Beach” in Haifa, where R’ Weiskopf lost consciousness while swimming. United Hatzalah and MDA medics rushed to the scene and began resuscitation efforts before evacuating him to Rambam Hospital in critical condition. Sadly, doctors were forced to pronounce his death shortly after. R’ Menachem Moshe Weiskopf Z”L was born on 9 Cheshvan 5710 (1949) to his parents, R’ Zvi Z”L and Mrs. Zisel A”H.