Australian authorities have released images of suspects involved in the arson attack on the Adass Yisroel Shul in December, causing devastating damage. The attack took place on the night of December 6, when three masked individuals arrived in a stolen blue 2020 Volkswagen Golf sedan, parked outside the shul, and violently breached its entrance with an axe. They then doused the interior with accelerants from red jerry cans and set the building aflame, fleeing the scene moments later. The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT)—which includes Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)—said the incident is being treated as an act of terrorism and is a top national security priority.

Tal Shachar Carmon, a friend of Tze’ela Gez, H’yd, who died of her wounds sustained in a terror attack on Wednesday evening, told Kan News about the heartbreaking conversation Tze’ela’s husband, Chananel, was forced to have with his children on Thursday morning. Chananel was lightly injured in the attack and, after being treated in the trauma unit, was released from the hospital. “These were unbearably difficult moments,” Tal said. “He told them in a well-thought-out way and allowed each child to react as they needed.

The measles outbreak in Israel continues to spread, with the Health Ministry reporting on Thursday morning that 48 people have been diagnosed across the country, 77% of whom are unvaccinated. There are currently 13 patients hospitalized with measles, including 11 children. Three of the children, all unvaccinated, are in critical condition and being treated in intensive care units. A Health Ministry spokesperson stated that the current data indicates a worse outbreak than was previously reported to the Ministry. The Ministry has warned that many of the cases are in Chareidi areas, where vaccination rates are low. Ministry officials are concerned that the outbreak could worsen considerably due to the upcoming mass event at Meron on Lag B’Omer.

Israel Police has completed its preparations for the Rashbi event at Meron which will take place on Lag B’Omer, on Thursday evening and Friday. Thousands of police, Border Police, National Guard, and traffic police officers are already deployed in the town of Meron, at the Rashbi compound, and on access roads in order to maintain public order and direct traffic. At the same time, Israel Police is operating a helicopter, observation equipment, drones, ATVs, off-road vehicles, and motorcycles in the entire area. Thousands of ushers from the Chareidi community will operate in all areas of Meron. The number of attendants has been limited through pre-purchased Ministry of Transport travel tickets. The drive up to Meron will only be permitted to public buses and shuttles.

Amid an outbreak of measles in the city of Modi’in Illit, the city Rabbanim published a letter this week calling on the public to urgently vaccinate themselves and their children against the disease. An outbreak of measles in Israel began last month, including in several Chareidi cities. There are currently 14 cases in Modi’in Ilit, eight in Jerusalem, and eight in Bnei Brak. According to data from the Health Ministry, there are about 350,000 Israeli children under the age of 10 who are not vaccinated – 100,000 of them in the Chareidi community. The Health Ministry is working to raise awareness of the risks and provide accessible information about vaccinations to the Chareidi public.

Tze’ela Gez, a resident of Bruchin and nine-month-pregnant mother of three, was identified as the victim killed in a terrorist shooting attack on a vehicle between Bruchin and Peduel Junction in the Shomron on Wednesday night. Her husband sustained minor injuries. The couple was on the way to the hospital to deliver the baby when the attack occured. Doctors at Beilinson Hospital managed to deliver her baby, who is now reported to he in stable condition. A security source said that, according to an initial investigation, the terrorist opened fire on three vehicles but only hit one of them. It was also reported that the terrorist pointed lasers at the vehicles before opening fire. IDF forces are still pursuing the terrorist who carried out the heinous act.

Republicans and Democrats alike on Wednesday questioned the deep staffing cuts, research funding freezes and drastic policy changes that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made in a few short months at the helm of the nation’s health department. Kennedy, who was to sit before the Senate’s health committee later in the day, appeared at a House appropriations hearing to defend the White House’s requested budget for his agency. The request includes a $500 million boost for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to promote nutrition and healthier lifestyles while making deep cuts to infectious disease prevention, medical research maternal health, low-income heat assistance and preschool programs.

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