Hamas "Regrouping under Cover of Hostage Releases" - Melanie Swan (Telegraph-UK)
    Hamas has been using hostage release operations to rebuild its forces and map territory within Gaza, Israeli sources say.
    The terror group is deploying more soldiers at each successive handover and conducting reconnaissance with drones that film the ceremonies.
    "Each time they're changing the location of the handover, so they're mapping Gaza, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Gaza Port, so they're building the intelligence," said Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst.
    The Israeli sources claimed that Hamas recruitment efforts had not been as successful as estimated by the U.S. State Department. Israel estimates that only a few hundred new, young and inexperienced recruits have been taken on.
    The quantity of equipment still held by Hamas is also coming to light, with each round of hostage releases showing more arms, including machine guns, anti-tank missiles and drones.

How the IDF Helped Save Lives and Protect Property from LA Wildfires - Ronit Zilberstein (Israel Hayom)
    As devastating wildfires raged across California, a special unit of Israeli soldiers at the IDF Home Front Command headquarters provided vital data analysis that proved instrumental in saving lives and protecting property.
    During American nighttime hours, Israeli analysts conducted comprehensive data processing and prepared detailed operational assessments for the next day's firefighting efforts.
    "We developed a specialized daily portal for all American forces in the field... consolidating all wildfire information in a single platform," said Capt. Keren, who heads research and data at the Home Front Command's Operations Branch.
    "This included detailed mapping of fire zones, educational facilities, and power infrastructure. When the Israeli firefighting delegation arrived on site, they presented American forces with the comprehensive collected data, enabling strategic decision-making."
    "American teams would begin each day with comprehensive situation assessments we had prepared during their overnight hours," said Lt.-Col. Yosef Salem, head of data at the Home Front Command.
    "While the United States possesses significant technological capabilities, the crucial elements of emergency decision-making, information accessibility, and inter-force coordination remain challenging for many international emergency organizations," Capt. Keren explained.
    "They haven't yet reached the technological frontier where Israel excels and has valuable expertise to share."

Trump to View Video of Hamas Atrocities at Witkoff's Urging - Itamar Eichner (Ynet News)
    President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff watched the video of footage filmed by Hamas terrorists during their atrocities in the Oct. 7 massacre and told Trump he must see it for himself to truly understand what had happened on that day.
    Trump will see a shortened version before his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday.

U.S. Readies New $1 Billion Arms Sale to Israel - Jared Malsin (Wall Street Journal)
    The Trump administration has asked congressional leaders to approve new transfers to Israel of 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, worth $700 million, as well as armored bulldozers built by Caterpillar, worth $300 million.
    The new arms would be paid for from the annual U.S. military aid to Israel.

Swedish Government Says Stockholm Mosque Used by Iran for Spying (Reuters)
    Sweden's Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed said on Monday that the Swedish Security Service assessed that the Shi'ite Imam Ali Islamic Center in Stockholm was used by Iran as a platform to spy and conduct activities threatening security.

There Is No Moral Equivalence between Those Freed by Hamas and Israel - Danny Cohen (Telegraph-UK)
    The ugly scenes accompanying the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas are intended to project power, control and the promise of future terrorist violence.
    Their masked fighters strut and brandish guns for the cameras to warn they are ready to inflict genocidal terror attacks again if they are given the chance.
    What is unforgivable is the false equivalence made by so many news organizations - including the BBC - between Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
    News outlets across the globe have repeatedly referred to the Palestinians to be released as "hostages." They have equated the victims of a terrorist attack with violent murderers who seek to kill civilians and erase Israel from the map.
    Yet the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who are set for release have never been hostages, and the majority have been convicted of violent offenses, rightly jailed by the Israeli authorities after due judicial process.
    The writer was the director of BBC Television (2013-15).

Truth vs. Narratives - Marc D. Angel (Jerusalem Post)
    It simply is not true to say - as some Palestinian spokespeople say in their narrative - that the Land of Israel is the historic homeland of Palestinian Arabs.
    It isn't a "Jewish narrative" that Israel is the Jewish homeland; it has been true since biblical times.
    It is true that through nearly 2000 years of exile, Jews prayed facing Jerusalem and yearned for the return to their holy land.
    For there to be peace between Israel and its neighbors, it is essential to seek truth, not "narratives."
    When the Muslim Ottoman Empire controlled the Land of Israel for hundreds of years, the thought never occurred to them to establish Palestine.
    Jerusalem was an old, decrepit city that no one (except Jews) cared very much about.
    Between 1948 and 1967, Jordan controlled the West Bank and the Old City of Jerusalem, while Egypt controlled Gaza. Neither suggested the need for a Palestinian country nor took any steps in the direction of creating a Palestinian state.
    Israel is the only country in the world to have given territory to the Palestinian Arabs.
    The writer is director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, and rabbi emeritus of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City.