The Middle East stands on a knife’s edge as a cascade of developments suggests the United States may be poised to imminently join Israel in a dramatic military strike against Iran’s nuclear program. From fiery rhetoric out of Washington to Houthi aggression in the Red Sea and an unprecedented American military buildup in the region, the pieces of a volatile puzzle are falling into place with breathtaking speed. The question reverberating through diplomatic corridors and military command centers alike: Is this the moment the long-simmering standoff with Tehran erupts into all-out war?

The Shin Bet is investigating a new affair related to the activity of a senior employee in the Prime Minister’s Office who allegedly endangered the security of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu by leaking information about his whereabouts to leftist protesters, Haaretz reported on Sunday. According to the report, another person who is not an employee of the Prime Minister’s Office is also under investigation. The suspect is one of the leaders of the left-wing protests against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. A gag order has been imposed on the affair but it is known that the Shin Bet has taken unusual measures against those involved. Kan News reported that Netanyahu’s associates were shocked by the identity of the suspect in the Prime Minister’s Office involved in the affair.

A yeshiva bochur was arrested on Sunday evening by military police for desertion from the IDF and sentenced to 14 days in a military prison. The incident began when the 21-year-old bochur was stopped by traffic police on Purim for a routine check. His name came up as an army deserter and he was summoned on the spot to an immediate court hearing. When he arrived at the court, the military police were waiting for him and he was immediately sent to a military trial and sentenced. Kikar H’Shabbat reported that the bochur is a “mitchazeik” [someone growing closer to Yiddishkeit] and comes from a family who became frum in recent years. He is a talmid of the Maorot HaTorah Yeshiva in Telzstone, a yeshiva for bochurim from non-yeshivish backgrounds.

The Israeli Air Force has raised its air defense systems to the highest alert levels amid concerns that the Houthis will strike Israel in response to the US strikes on Yemen over the weekend, Channel 12 News reported on Monday. According to the report, the alert level was raised after a Houthi missile exploded in the Sinai in Egypt on Sunday – an attack that is estimated to have been aimed at Israel. The Houthis overnight Motzei Shabbos and Sunday launched dozens of explosive drones and at least one missile at the USS Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea in retaliation for the US strikes. The drones were all intercepted before reaching the ship.

Recently released Israeli hostage Tal Shoham revealed that Hamas’s terror infrastructure in Gaza remains intact, with its underground tunnel network expanding daily—even after more than a year of war. In an interview with Fox News, Shoham detailed his harrowing 505-day ordeal in Hamas captivity, revealing new insights into the terror group’s relentless efforts to rebuild and strengthen its underground stronghold. Shoham, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 while visiting his wife’s parents, endured months of physical and psychological torment, starvation, and complete isolation. Despite Israel’s intensive military campaign to dismantle Hamas’s labyrinthine tunnel network, he confirmed that Hamas has never stopped digging—not even for a single day.

Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, Rosh Yeshiva of Gateshead, has thrown his full weight behind the Eretz HaKodesh movement, urging Shomrei Torah u’Mitzvos to sign up and take an active role in the World Zionist Organization (WZO) – countering baseless rumors that he is not supporting voting. This latest endorsement comes after Gedolei Yisroel—HaGaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, and HaGaon R. Shmuel Kaminetsky, shlita—paskened that Torah’dige Yidden can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines while decisions affecting Yidden in Eretz Yisroel are being made by others. Rabbi Gurwicz had originally issued this call in 5782, but in his latest letter, dated Parshas Ki Sisa 5785, he’s making it clear that he holds voting in the WZO election is a chiyuv.

The US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, responded to a proposal from Hamas, stating that the terrorist organization’s offer was a “non-starter,” adding, “I spent close to seven and a half hours at the Arab Summit, we had really positive conversations there, I would have described it as a ‘game-changer’. We spent a good deal of time speaking about a bridge proposal that would see the release of five live hostages that would have included Eden Alexander. And also see the release of a substantial amount of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, which would be a wonderful thing for these Palestinian families.” “I thought the proposal was compelling, the Israelis were informed about it and advised about it beforehand.

In a high-stakes counterterror operation, Israeli security forces thwarted a planned shooting attack in Jerusalem’s Old City during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) and Israel Police announced Sunday that they had arrested 24-year-old Uday Mobarsham, an Arab Israeli from the village of Makr, who had purchased a homemade rifle and begun training for an attack targeting Israeli police officers and Jewish civilians near the Damascus Gate. Mobarsham, who had been undergoing religious radicalization, was captured in February, just before planning to execute his deadly plan.

FDNY firefighters and Boro Park Hatzolah volunteers are on the scene of a fire in a fourth-floor apartment at 1522 55th Street. Multiple patients are being treated for smoke inhalation. Boro Park Shomrim volunteers assisted in evacuating residents from the building as emergency personnel worked to contain the fire. THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON THE BORO PARK SCOOP STATUS CLICK HERE SIGN UP TO THE BORO PARK SCOOP WHATSAPP STATUS TO BE INFORMED OF BORO PARK NEWS IN LIVE TIME (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF has removed a group of reservists from their duties in the Gaza Strip following the emergence of a video. The footage, which surfaced online, shows the soldiers firing their weapons into the air during a Megillah reading on Purim, when hearing the name Haman. The incident reportedly took place amidst the festive atmosphere of the holiday, but the IDF deemed the behavior a violation of military protocol and safety standards. An investigation is underway, and the reservists involved have been withdrawn from operational activity pending further review.