The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, led by MK Yuli Edelstein, convened behind closed doors today at the Kirya military compound in Tel Aviv. Defense Minister Yisroel Katz joined the session and delivered a comprehensive update on the current state of Israel’s military campaigns across Gaza, the northern front, and in the Iranian sphere.
Minister Katz disclosed that Iran had been preparing to initiate a major assault, but Israel acted first to prevent it. “The Iranians planned to strike first and launch between 400 to 500 missiles in the opening strike. If we hadn’t acted first, it would have been much harder for us. Our biggest challenge was opening the skies and neutralizing Iran’s air defense systems. We controlled the skies and were able to continue.”

Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer (Chayni) Marom, who once led the Israeli Navy, reflected on Operation Rising Lion and the military strikes inside Iran during an interview with 103FM. Offering a candid assessment, he shared his perspective on how Israeli expectations about its adversaries may have been inflated.
“I completely agree that we overestimated not only Iran, but also Hezbollah. In the end, we took the intelligence assessment, analyzed it, and always forgot that Israel also has an offensive capability,” said Marom.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu addressed the country on Tuesday evening to mark the conclusion of Operation Rising Lion, describing the outcome as a groundbreaking success. “In the 12 days of Operation Rising Lion, we achieved a historic victory. This victory will stand for generations. We removed two immediate existential threats – the threat of destruction by nuclear bombs and the threat of destruction by 20,000 ballistic missiles. If we had not acted now, the State of Israel would soon be facing the danger of destruction,” Netanyahu stated.
He credited the boldness of Israel’s response with preventing catastrophe. “This did not happen because at the decisive moment we stood up like a lion and our roar shook Tehran and echoed throughout the world,” he said.

After nearly two weeks of restricted air travel due to the war, Israel is officially reopening its skies, with Ben Gurion Airport set to operate 24 hours a day. Minister of Transportation Miri Regev unveiled the country’s new flight framework on Tuesday, outlining the return of commercial air travel and the resumption of outbound and inbound flights to multiple destinations.
Under the new plan, Ben Gurion Airport will operate around the clock, the Haifa airport will function daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Ramon Airport in southern Israel is expected to resume service once it returns to the Transportation Ministry’s jurisdiction.

In a powerful address delivered at a fundraising dinner for Keren Olam HaTorah, the mashgiach, Rav Don Segal, spoke about the current cuts in government funding to yeshivos and kollelim, declaring that this shift reflects the will of Heaven. “It is the will of Hashem at this time that the funding for yeshivos come solely from Jews who are shomrei Torah u’mitzvos, who fear Hashem,” he proclaimed.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is reportedly considering calling early elections following Israel’s military campaign against Iran, which has garnered widespread domestic support and is being hailed as a strategic victory.
According to Channel 12, members of Netanyahu’s inner circle are urging him to capitalize on the success of the operation and the resulting bump in public approval to bolster his standing in a potential election.
The report noted that Netanyahu would likely campaign on a platform focused on forging diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and blocking the creation of a Palestinian state.

A halachic debate has emerged over whether weddings may be held during Bein HaMetzarim—the three-week period between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av—amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran.
While Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef has ruled leniently in light of the national crisis, permitting weddings for both Sephardim and Ashkenazim during this time, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Rav Kalman Ber has published a formal halachic response presenting the opposite view.

In a fiery speech delivered Sunday night, the Satmar Rebbe, launched a scathing rebuke of the Israeli government and those who express admiration for Israel’s military might in its current war against Iran, known as Operation Am K’Lavi.
Speaking at a siyum on Maseches Bechoros organized by the Satmar Zichru learning initiative in Boro Park, the Rebbe warned against falling into the trap of believing in kochi v’otzem yadi—human power and might—rather than in Divine salvation.

With Israeli airports shuttered due to the ongoing war with Iran, a wave of travelers sought unconventional and costly means to leave the country, many through the Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt. Some have paid staggering sums, often upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, for private jet charters.
Among those who flew in was the Gerrer Rebbe, whose travel arrangements have drawn particular attention.
In an unusual scene in Williamsburg, one of America’s top frum travel agents was summoned to the private residence of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe. The agent had just received a call from the Rebbe’s personal assistant and promptly closed his office to make his way over. Unsure of what urgent matter awaited him, he entered the Rebbe’s room with curiosity.

President Trump unleashed a fiery attack on his political adversaries Tuesday morning via Truth Social, challenging them to once again attempt to remove him from office.
“So go ahead and try impeaching me again, MAKE MY DAY!” Trump wrote, directing his anger particularly at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a leading voice among the progressive “Squad,” who had demanded impeachment in response to his recent military strikes on Iran.
Trump referred to Ocasio-Cortez as “one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress” and accused her of being unable to accept that “our Country [is] being successful again.” He criticized Democrats more broadly, mocking their supposed unfamiliarity with success and their aversion to his leadership style.