The UTJ party convened on Monday for a meeting ahead of the upcoming votes on the state budget and the recruitment law and made a decision that if no significant progress is made in advancing the recruitment law during the Knesset’s upcoming summer session, the party will stop automatically voting with the coalition. MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of the Finance Committee, did not physically attend the meeting but participated via Zoom and clarified his position: “If we do not see significant progress – we will stop voting automatically with the coalition,” he said. MK Yitzchak Pindrus concluded the discussion on a positive note: “Yesterday we saw the gathering of the Gedolei Yisrael.

Hamas has released a propaganda video featuring Israeli hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, both abducted from the Nova festival on October 7th and still captive in Gaza. The video shows signs of life from the two young men. Israel has condemned Hamas’ tactic of releasing such hostage videos as a cruel form of psychological warfare, a practice the group has employed before with other captives. The Hostage Families Forum has requested that media refrain from airing the video or sharing still images from it until the families of Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana grant their approval. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF is trying to persuade high school girls to enlist in the army despite the exemptions they received for religious reasons, Kol B’Ramah reported on Sunday evening. According to the report, the IDF sent numerous SMS messages to religious and Charedi high school girls who had obtained exemptions, offering them to enlist. The girls reported that they receive dozens of messages a year, mainly with offers to serve in the Air Force and the Communications Corps. “We offer you to take another look at service in the IDF. If you are interested in us contacting you (without giving up the exemption you hold), you can fill out this survey,” some of the messages read.

In recent months, the Shin Bet conducted a covert investigation against the police and the minister in charge of it, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, on suspicion of “undermining the foundations of government and the democratic regime,” Channel 12 News reported on Sunday evening. According to the report, a secret document compiled by the Shin Bet stated: “We have marked the spread of Kahanism to law enforcement institutions as a dangerous phenomenon, the prevention of which is part of the Shin Bet’s mission.

For weeks, Gedolei Torah in Eretz Yisroel have been grappling with a critical decision—whether to issue an ultimatum demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu pass a draft exemption law by Shavuos, or risk losing the support of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party in the coalition. The proposal, known as the “Pindrus Plan,” had gained traction among leading Roshei Yeshiva and Rebbes, with intense discussions behind the scenes. However, a dramatic turn of events unfolded Sunday when HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka and one of the preeminent leaders of the Torah world, indicated that UTJ would not be issuing an official ultimatum to Netanyahu.

Israel’s Cabinet convened on Sunday and unanimously approved a motion of no-confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Baharav-Miara refused to attend the meeting, a move slammed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who headed the meeting as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not attend due to a conflict of interest. At the beginning of the meeting, Levin said that he “views with great severity the Attorney General’s absence from the meeting,” and called it “further proof of the depth of contempt she has for the government and its members and that she has no answers to the claims against her.” Channel 14 News reported that Levin’s complaints were sent to Baharav-Miara several weeks ago in order to allow her adequate time to address the claims but she chose not to do so.

Hamas political bureau member Salah al-Bardawil was eliminated overnight in an IDF strike in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. The Hamas terror organization issued a statement early Sunday morning confirming his death. Bardawil was the head of Hamas’s communications department and one of its main spokesmen in Arab media outlets. He was the ninth of 17 members of Hamas’s political bureau to be killed in IDF strikes since the beginning of the war. Six others, including Khalil al-Hayya, left the Gaza Strip before the war. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Sirens blared in central Israel, the Shomron, and the Jerusalem area on Sunday at about 7:30 a.m. after the Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile toward Israel. The sirens were activated, among other places, in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, the Jerusalem area, Rishon L’Tzion, Netanya, Petach Tikva, Elad, Holon, Mateh Yehuda, Modi’in Illit, Ra’anana, Kfar Chabad, Ben Shemen, Telzstone, Palmachim, Savyon, and Kfar Saba. The IDF spokesperson announced: “Following the alerts that were activated a short time ago in several areas within the country, the Air Force intercepted one missile that was launched from Yemen.” “The missile was intercepted before it crossed into the country’s territory. The alerts were activated according to protocol.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Sirens blared in the northern yishuv of Metula in the Galil at 7:30 a.m. on Shabbos morning after Hezbollah fired six rockets at Israel, the first major rocket attack since November 2024. The IDF spokesperson said that three rockets were intercepted and three fell inside southern Lebanon. The IDF responded to the attack with artillery fire and a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah command center and dozens of rocket launchers. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Motzei Shabbos: “We will not allow a situation of rocket fire from Lebanon at the yishuvim of the Galil. We promised security to the northern yishuvim – and that is exactly how it will be. The law of Metula will be like the law of Beirut.

A devastating tragedy unfolded late Thursday night as R’ Eliyahu Fink Z”L, a 43-year-old father of 3 from Monsey, was struck and killed on the Garden State Parkway. R’ Eliyahu Z”L was the son of Rabbi Aharon Fink, a respected longtime mohel and the dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov, which he founded 25 years ago. According to New Jersey State Police, the fatal accident occurred just before 1 a.m. on the northbound lanes near milepost 146.5 in Essex County. Troopers arriving at the scene found R’ Eliyahu Z”L lying in the roadway, gravely injured and unresponsive. Despite immediate emergency response efforts, he was sadly pronounced at the scene. Preliminary investigations suggest that R’ Eliyahu Z”L had been involved in a minor accident before the fatal collision.