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Regarding Airport ‘Abuse’ Story Dear Jewish Blast, In my humble opinion, your top story today about “Abuse at a Major Airport,” featuring some individual attempting to gain publicity, is not worthy of publication and is an insult to your readers’ intelligence (except mine, as it is sorely lacking, as I’m sure you will agree). Have a great day D .J. |
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| World News |
| Iran says it is in direct contact with groups in Syria’s new leadership |
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Iran has opened a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria’s new leadership since its ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to “prevent a hostile trajectory” between the countries. The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad’s fall as president removed a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world. Hours after Assad’s fall, Iran said it expected relations with Damascus to continue based on the two countries’ “far-sighted and wise approach” and called for the establishment of an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society. There is little doubt about Tehran’s concern about how the change of power in Damascus will affect Iran’s influence in Syria, the linchpin of its regional clout. But there is no panic, three Iranian officials said to Reuters, as Tehran seeks diplomatic avenues to establish contact with people whom one of the officials called “those within Syria’s new ruling groups whose views are closer to Iran’s.” “The main concern for Iran is whether Assad’s successor will push Syria away from Tehran’s orbit,” a second Iranian official said. “That is a scenario Iran is keen to avoid.” A hostile post-Assad Syria would deprive Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah of its only land supply route and deny Iran its main access to the Mediterranean and the “front line” with Israel. Iran and Hezbollah, like the Gaza-based Hamas, openly seek to destroy Israel. One of the senior officials said Iran’s clerical rulers, facing the loss of an important ally in Damascus and the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January, were open to engaging with Syria’s new leaders. “This engagement is key to stabilizing ties and avoiding further regional tensions,” the official said. |
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| Suspect arrested in connection to Assassination Of UnitedHealth CE |
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| Pic: NYPD |
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Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old tech expert and former Ivy League student, was taken into custody Monday morning at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a person of interest in last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel last week in what authorities are calling a coldblooded execution. While Mangione has not been charged, sources indicate he was found with a manifesto detailing grievances against the healthcare industry, including accusations of profiteering and unethical practices. Law enforcement sources revealed Mangione’s online activity reflects anti-capitalist and climate-change ideologies, along with sharp criticism of the U.S. healthcare system. His Goodreads account features quotes from figures ranging from Socrates to “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whose writings Mangione appeared to admire for their critiques of modern society and medicine. Police said that manifesto included no specific threats to others but “it does seem he does have some ill will towards corporate America.” Mangione has not been charged in Thompson’s death at this time. A high-achieving student, Mangione graduated valedictorian of Baltimore’s elite Gilman School in 2016 before pursuing studies in artificial intelligence at the University of Pennsylvania. Investigators believe Mangione acted alone but have not confirmed a motive. The investigation is ongoing. Officials said the suspect, who was arrested around 230 miles away from the scene of the New York shooting, had a silencer and a gun “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder”. They said the gun appeared to be a “ghost gun” – a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts and without a serial number – and that it was possibly made using a 3D printer. Mangione also had a fake New Jersey ID matching a document used by the suspect to check into a hostel in the city before the attack, Ms Tisch added. |
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| Israel News |
| 3 soldiers killed, 12 injured in Gaza as Hamas fires on troops prepping to leave Strip |
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| From left: Staff Sgt. Ido Zano, Sgt. Omri Cohen and Staff Sgt. Barak Daniel Halpern. (Israel Defense Forces) |
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Three soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced, amid the ongoing war against Hamas. The slain troops were named as Staff Sgt. Ido Zano, 20, a combat medic with the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Yehud-Monosson; Staff Sgt. Barak Daniel Halpern, 19, a squad commander in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Kiryat Ono; and Sgt. Omri Cohen, 19, of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Ashdod. In the same incident, 12 soldiers were wounded, including a Givati reservist and a member of the Artillery Corps’ Sky Riders Unit who were in serious condition, the military added. According to an initial IDF probe, the incident took place on Monday morning at an IDF encampment in Jabalia, as the troops were getting ready to head out of the Strip for a furlough. The troops were boarding a lightly armored truck used to transport troops when Hamas operatives launched anti-tank projectiles and opened fire at them. The military said it was further investigating the incident, which came amid an IDF offensive against Hamas in the Strip’s far northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun launched in early September. |
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| Israeli officials: Report Hamas gave list of hostages to be freed under deal is incorrect |
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Families of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were told Monday that an Arabic news report claiming serious progress in negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza was incorrect, even as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said chances for an accord were more positive than before. Earlier, the Qatari-owned, London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet reported that Hamas had sent negotiators a list of hostages it was willing to release as part of a deal and the names of Palestinian security prisoners it wanted in return. Citing a source familiar with developments, the paper said a Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday and delivered a list of elderly or medically unwell hostages who would be released during the initial stages of a proposed truce. In addition, the delegation was said to give the names of four hostages with US citizenship who did not fall into the previous category, but who would be freed. Discussions about who would be set free are considered an advanced stage of negotiations, with earlier stages relating to the terms of a truce. However, a statement sent to the families of hostages by the government coordinator for the hostage talks said: “In recent hours, reports emerged in the Arab press regarding negotiations to bring the hostages home. These reports, that have also been published in Israel, are not correct. “We continue to take all measures to secure the return of the hostages and take great care to keep this information secured. We urge you to continue to rely only on information coming from authorized sources,” the statement said. For more than a year, several waves of negotiations have stalled and failed to reach a sequel to an agreement reached in late November 2023, in which 105 hostages were released in a weeklong truce. Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Over the past 14 months, IDF troops have rescued eight hostages and recovered the bodies of 38. However, talks were recently renewed following the ceasefire in Lebanon, and recent regional developments, along with US President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to Hamas. |
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