The Trump administration has launched a formal investigation into allegations that Columbia University may have hidden foreign nationals targeted for deportation following their participation in pro-Hamas protests.

A senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, speaking on Friday, announced the opening of the probe. As part of these efforts, federal agents conducted searches in university dormitories and implemented measures against foreign students and activists involved in the demonstrations.

Department of Homeland Security agents conducted searches with a warrant at two university dormitories on Thursday evening. No arrests were made during the searches, and authorities have not clarified whom they were specifically targeting.

On Friday afternoon, American authorities reported developments concerning two individuals connected to the protests. A doctoral student from India studying at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked by the Trump administration, fled the U.S. on a commercial flight. Additionally, a Palestinian woman who was detained during university protests in April last year was arrested by federal immigration authorities in Newark, N.J., for remaining in the U.S. after her visa had expired.

These actions are part of the president's mission to end antisemitism in the country, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday morning targeted and killed two Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the Islamists were involved in surveillance operations and played a key role in directing terrorist attacks in the Yatar and Mais al-Jabal areas.

The IDF emphasized that these activities by the terrorists breached the established understandings between Jerusalem and Beirut, highlighting a violation of the agreed-upon terms.

On Saturday, the IDF struck a Hezbollah terrorist operating in the area of Kfarkela (aka Kfar Kila) in southeastern Lebanon, the military said.

On Thursday night, the IDF attacked a site in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley used by Iranian-backed Hezbollah to produce “strategic weapons."

The situation in Lebanon remains volatile following the end of the truce on Feb. 18. The ceasefire, which went into effect on Nov. 27, ended more than a year of war, after Hezbollah began attacks on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas-led massacre in the northwestern Negev.

On Tuesday, Jerusalem and Beirut initiated negotiations toward settling their border dispute.

Representatives of the IDF, the United States, France and Lebanon agreed during a meeting in Naqoura in southwestern Lebanon to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilizing the region.

The working groups will focus on three main issues: The five strategic points in Southern Lebanon that remain under Israeli control following the expiration of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire; the U.N.-delineated Blue Line border and the 13 territorial disputes between the two countries; and the status of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.

Antisemitism on campus in the United Kingdom has reached a point where Jewish high-schoolers heading to institutions of higher learning have started attending workshops to train for the expected abuse.

Robert Halfon, a former Conservative MP and minister in the Department for Education, after speaking to Jewish students at one workshop two weeks ago, said that levels of intimidation and antisemitism were a “shocking stain on our university system,” The Sunday Times reported on March 14.

In a recent example this month, pro-Palestinian protesters commandeered an event at King’s College London, titled “From Conflict to Connection: Israelis and Iranians in Dialogue.”

The event moderator, a 21-year-old Jewish student who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Times that he hid in a nearby room when anti-Israel protesters burst in.

“It was a legitimate panel discussion that was focused on dialogue, so it is quite telling that it got shut down by the very people who say they don’t want violence,” he said.

Jews are made to feel unwelcome by some other students. “They say 'Zionists off our streets,' but they mean 'Jews off our streets.' It’s like saying breathing is OK, but oxygen is not allowed,” he said.

Universities that have allowed antisemitism to blossom on campus should have their funding cut, Halfon said. He called for Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's administration, to intervene.

“University is supposed to be the happiest years of your life. But Jewish students are frightened to walk from their halls of residence to lectures. And Jewish societies are being advised not to have stalls at freshers’ weeks. What’s going on is disgraceful—it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse,” Halfon said

Analysis by The Sunday Times found anti-Israel student groups lionizing Hamas, praising terrorist “martyrs,” including Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion, and liking images on social media of Hamas terrorists.

Among the examples provided by the paper:

The Students Against Apartheid Coalition at the University of Leeds liked a post referring to “messages from the resistance” and showed a photograph of Hamas terrorists on a stage during an Israeli prisoner release propaganda ceremony. (Ceremonies in which Israeli hostages are paraded before braying Gazans and forced to thank their captors have been roundly condemned.)

The Leeds’ student group also said Palestinians would defeat “Nazi Zionism.” Comparing Israelis to Nazis is a common antisemitic trope.

Action For Palestine at Queen Mary University of London also posted in praise of terrorist “martyrs,” including Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader in Lebanon, killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Cardiff Students for Palestine captioned an image of Hamas terrorists surrounding Israeli hostages: “Glory To The Resistance.” Among other pictures of terrorists was one surrounded by children with the caption “The resistance will never die.”

At the University of Cambridge, students disseminated a message on Instagram claiming Israel traffics in organs of Palestinians, a modern take on a classic medieval blood libel.

The Sunday Times said its analysis found many other examples of universities across the U.K. where student groups shared Hamas propaganda.

Also, the paper noted that the London School of Economics refused to cancel a launch event for a book critics said provided "a platform” for Hamas.

Helena Cobban, co-author of the book, "Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters," said she respected Ismael Haniyeh, an assassinated Hamas leader, and that the Oct. 7 terrorist attack focused on military targets.

The Community Security Trust, a British charity engaged in research and security for the U.K.'s Jewish community, said the university societies' online support for terrorism required “urgent, clearly defined disciplinary action.”

Antisemitism on campuses has hit record highs, according to CST.

It reported 325 university-related antisemitic incidents in the last two academic years, a 117% increase over the previous two years.

The United States launched a large-scale military operation against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday night, following an order from President Donald Trump.

The strikes, carried out by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), come in response to ongoing Houthi attacks on American and international vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.

“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Saturday. “They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.”

Shortly after Trump’s statement, CENTCOM confirmed the operation via social media. “CENTCOM forces have initiated a series of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation,” the Command posted.

The strikes mark a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, which has seen the Houthis repeatedly attack U.S. and allied vessels in the Red Sea, causing disruptions to global trade. Trump blamed the Biden administration’s previous handling of the situation for allowing the crisis to escalate.

“Joe Biden’s response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going,” Trump wrote. “It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. The last American warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times.”

The U.S. president directly addressed Iran, accusing Tehran of funding the Houthis and warning of severe consequences. “Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American people, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in presidential history, or worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!”

Trump vowed that the U.S. military would continue using overwhelming force until its objectives were met. “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY,” he declared. “IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”

As of early Sunday morning, CENTCOM had not disclosed the full extent of the damage inflicted on Houthi forces or any immediate response from the group. However, military analysts suggest this operation could mark a turning point in the conflict, signaling a more aggressive U.S. stance against Iranian-backed militias in the region.

The Israeli Air Force carried out a strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Saturday, targeting a terrorist cell that included operatives disguising themselves as journalists, according to the military.

The strike killed several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, including individuals involved in attacks on Israeli forces.

Among those slain was Bilal Mahmoud Fouad Abu Matar, a Hamas terrorist posing as a photographer, and Mahmoud Imad Hassan Aslim from Hamas's Zeitoun Battalion, who had been operating under the guise of a reporter. The IDF said these men were actively engaged in terrorist activities and were using their covers to evade detection.

The targeted cell was operating a drone intended to carry out attacks on Israeli troops. Intelligence reports confirmed that the drone was consistently used by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, including in its most recent operations.

Other terrorists killed in the strike included:

• Mostafa Mohammed Shaaban Hamad—a Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
• Mahmoud Yahya Rashdi al-Sarraj—a member of Hamas's engineering unit.
• Suhaib Bassem Khaled Nagar—an Islamic Jihad terrorist who had been released as part of the latest hostage exchange deal.
• Mohammed Alaa Sobhi al-Jafeer—a Hamas operative.

The IDF reiterated its commitment to targeting terrorist threats and preventing attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Also on Saturday, the IDF attacked three terrorists trying to plant explosives near troops operating in the area of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, the military said.

The IDF on Friday attacked several terrorists attempting to plant bombs close to soldiers in central Gaza. A day earlier, an Israeli Air Force craft struck a group of terrorists trying to lay explosives in the same general area.

The initial 42-day phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which began on Jan. 19, expired on March 1 after the terrorist group rejected a U.S.-backed proposal to extend the truce by an additional 50 days.

Despite the ceasefire’s expiration, Israel has refrained from resuming full-scale military operations in Gaza, instead focusing on diplomatic efforts to secure the release of additional hostages held by Hamas.

Israeli officials have reported progress in negotiations with Hamas in Qatar, raising the possibility of a limited interim agreement. Following a high-level meeting with security officials and negotiators on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the negotiating team to continue talks. The discussions will be based on a proposal from U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which calls for the immediate release of 11 living hostages and half of the deceased hostages still in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night directed his negotiating team to prepare for renewed hostage-ceasefire talks based on U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal that seeks the immediate release of 11 living captives and half of the bodies still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

The decision was made following a ministerial meeting in Jerusalem, and amid an apparent impasse in negotiations in Doha.

The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed that 35 of the 59 hostages still held by Palestinian terrorists in the Strip are dead. Intelligence assessments indicate that 22 remain alive, while the status of two is uncertain.

The crisis stems from the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people, injured thousands, and led to the abduction of 251 individuals to Gaza, triggering a regional war.

US condemns Hamas demands

Witkoff on Friday accused Hamas of stalling negotiations by demanding "impractical" conditions for an extended truce.

“Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire,” Witkoff said. “Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Hamas’s terms as “nuts,” reaffirming Washington’s commitment to securing the release of all 59 captives.

“These trades that are being made, they’re ridiculous—400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio said at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec. “We’re dealing with some savages. … These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such.”

Hamas offer rejected as 'psychological warfare'

On Friday, Hamas offered to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, 21, along with the bodies of four dual nationals, in an apparent attempt to restart stalled negotiations. Netanyahu dismissed the offer as “psychological warfare.”

“While Israel accepted the Witkoff plan, Hamas persisted in its refusal and did not move a millimeter,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “At the same time, [Hamas] continues to employ manipulation.”

Alexander, a soldier from Tenafly, N.J., is the only one of five American hostages in Gaza believed to still be alive.

Israel has agreed to the U.S.-backed proposal, which would extend a ceasefire through Ramadan (ending March 29) and Passover (April 12–19). However, Hamas has rejected the plan, insisting on advancing to a second phase of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly preparing to resume its military campaign against Hamas in the coming weeks. It has also restricted aid and cut the electricity supply to Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.

The reaction of the protest movement and its deep-state champions to the appointment of Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to head the Israel Defense Forces was predictable. Anyone approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to replace Herzi Halevi was bound to be discredited as a politically motivated pick, regardless of his illustrious professional credentials.

It’s part of the knee-jerk campaign against the government in general and Netanyahu in particular that keeps the left-wing punditocracy—as well as a slew of former security officials—in business. Not just figuratively. Unfortunately, the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, didn’t serve to slow the wheels of the disinformation machine. Quite the opposite.

Still, though not surprising, the attitude toward Zamir is cause for alarm where the bigger picture is concerned. Rather than embracing the new IDF chief’s stated mission—to review the thus-far insufficient investigation into the series of incomprehensible blunders on that deadly day, and serve as the country’s proverbial attack dog against any enemy who rises up to against it—the nay-sayers have been casting aspersions on his every syllable.

Given the magnitude of Israel’s failure to anticipate and prevent Hamas’s bloody massacre more than 17 months ago, Zamir’s approach should be welcomed, if not embraced, across the societal spectrum. But the chattering-class choir is refusing to change its tune.

Which brings us to what has come to be called the conceptzia. The Hebrew bastardization of “conception” is best translated as “confirmation bias.”

The psychological phenomenon has been noted by various sources throughout history. Among these was English philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon.

“The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion,” he wrote in 1620, “draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects or despises, or else by some distinction sets aside or rejects.”

It’s a perfect description of the Israeli blind spot that enabled Hamas to plan and execute the worst atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust. In the sovereign Jewish state, no less, with an army that’s admired far and wide.

Grasping this sad fact is necessary for rectifying it. Alas, doing so isn’t sufficient.

A comprehensive interview this weekend in the N12 Magazine with Ofer Grosbard, former head of the Research Division of the IDF Intelligence Directorate (Aman), is enlightening. A psychologist with a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University in Virginia, Grosbard—author of several books and articles on the difference in thinking between the Western and Muslim world—assumed the role in August 2021.

Six months later, he was fired for daring to voice assessments that countered the conceptzia. That’s not how anybody labeled the conventional wisdom of Aman, of course. But it was on full, arrogant display.

Ironically, then, the very expertise for which he was hired in the wake of "Operation Guardian of the Walls" against Hamas—"to provide an original perspective on the enemy’s mindset”—would get him sacked.

“Aman’s structure, like the entire military, is hierarchical in a way that restricts open, critical and creative thinking,” he told N12. “Commanders want to move up the ranks, so they don’t allow themselves to express their opinions freely. These elements are especially critical in intelligence, which is supposed to be the brain of the army and the state.”

A prime example he offered was the intelligence community’s perception of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

"I met people who had been closely monitoring Sinwar’s behavior for years and knew him in great detail," he recounted. "I asked them to express their feelings toward him. Some said they respected him; one felt sorry for him; another saw him as a warm father figure. Another admitted to harboring hatred for him."

Grosbard realized that their recommendations, though framed rationally, were heavily influenced by emotions: Those who viewed Sinwar as a “father figure” were less inclined to want to target him for assassination, and those who hated him tended to support his elimination.

"They bring in a few clinical psychologists and tell them, ‘Write a report on Sinwar.’ From their perspective, Sinwar is basically ‘Ashkenazi,’ said Grosbard. “They come from their clinics, build a profile and conclude that he’s a psychopath. But you can’t label an entire culture as psychopathic. Even in the DSM [the the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"], our diagnostic manual, it’s clear that deviant behaviors can only be considered pathological if they occur in a certain percentage of the population—not all Gaza residents or all Nukhba terrorists."

He continued: "It’s a great way to avoid trying to understand how the other side thinks. When you define [Sinwar] as a psychopath, you absolve yourself from the need to understand him. But if you say he has messianic thinking, combined with a proven ability to execute his plans over the years, and that he means every word he says, that’s an entirely different matter."

He also recalled a conversation with the assistant to the director of Aman, at the time Aharon Haliva, who resigned last year in well-deserved disgrace. Haliva’s deputy, he said, “rejected any possibility of generalizing about cultures and said it was all nonsense—that we all think in the same way.”

Grosbard went on to extend his critique to the State of Israel as a whole.

"Without emotional inquiry, we are on the path to destruction," he stressed. "We are talking about two sources of mistakes. One is the failure to understand the enemy’s thought process, and the other is our own repression, the repression of an entire nation."

He expounded, “There is something incredibly powerful about collective repression. The human tendency is to suppress dangers, especially when they are present over time. We are not built for prolonged states of anxiety that require high levels of adrenaline over extended periods. Eventually, we all get tired; we want peace; and we repress the danger. There were those who said, 'Hamas is deterred,' even though it kept firing from time to time. There were those who said, 'The IDF is strong,' all the time. But there were also those who said, 'I need to buy milk now; don’t confuse me.' I think most people were caught up in their daily routine.”

This, he added, is not only characteristic of Israel.

"The West is so narcissistic in its cultural perception that it is hard for it to understand that someone is lying to it,” he asserted. “In the modern West, truth is sacred and science is God. … There are fundamental differences between us and the enemy. We surpass them in analytical ability, and they surpass us in social skills.

"This is a process that has developed over the last 500 years in the West. Humans separated from the group, became individuals, and began making calculations within themselves. The manipulative ability and social skills needed to function within a group made way for personal analytical thinking, and this created a huge cultural gap. In the realm of social manipulation, [our enemies] have a significant advantage."

Let’s hope that Eyal Zamir is able to overcome that gap.   

A British court on Friday sentenced three men to eight years and one month each in prison for the attempted kidnap of an Israeli music producer in 2024, the BBC reported.

The three men were motivated by political and religious reasons, as well as money, the prosecution said.

Victim Itay Kashti recounted in the court hearings that he felt “shock and fear” and that the Aug. 24 attack was like his “own personal October 7,” referencing the Hamas-led mass-scale assault on Israel’s western Negev in 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Mohammad Comrie, 23, from Leeds, Faiz Shah, 23, from Bradford, and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime, 20, from Wallington, London, pleaded guilty to kidnap and each received a custodial sentence.

On Aug. 26, 2024, they lured Kashti to an isolated cottage they had rented in rural Wales, ostensibly for a “music recording camp,” posing as representatives of Polydor Records, the Swansea Crown Court heard.

A taxi picked up Kashti from his London home via a mobile phone registered to an unknown third party.

Both the taxi operator and driver Mohammad Amowar were “innocent parties and as much duped as the complainant,” the BBC reported.

On arrival at the property in Brynteg, Ceredigion, both Kashti and Amowar were attacked by the three men wearing “anonymous-style” face masks.

The taxi driver managed to escape through the front door, but Kashti was handcuffed to a radiator before being told he “would be killed” if he tried to escape.

Yet the Israeli managed to lift his hands “up and off the pipe” and run outside of the cottage, still wearing handcuffs, the court heard.

Kashti hid in nearby bushes and contacted his wife, who directed police to the scene.

During the abduction, Kashti “suffered swollen and bruised eyelids, a swollen nose and bruising to his back, knees and leg and a cut to the scalp,” the BBC reported.

Prosecutor Craig Jones said that the three convicts executed a “careful and elaborate” plan, which was discussed in “minute detail” over the Telegram messaging app.

Their aim was to “kidnap the complainant,” he noted.

They brought handcuffs and cable ties to the cottage, and also tried to source ketamine to drug their victim. The trio “perceived [Kashti] to be a wealthy individual” and intended to extort money from him, Jones continued.

Leading up to the failed kidnapping, cryptocurrency arrangements were discussed by the convicts in order to launder the funds obtained from the victim, and escape routes were considered, the prosecutor said.

“All three of us have complete 100% faith in Allah so we can’t fail,” one of their messages read.

Michael Cray of the Crown Prosecution Service was quoted by the BBC as saying, “This must have been truly terrifying for the two victims, who had no idea they were walking into a trap.

“We would like to thank them for supporting this prosecution and hope the fact these offenders have been brought to justice will help them move forward with their lives.”

A woman was lightly injured as the result of “celebratory gunfire” on Friday night as a delegation of some 100 visitors arrived in Israel for the first pilgrimage by Syrian Druze to the tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Lower Galilee near Tiberias in 50 years.

The tomb of the Prophet Shuaib is known in English as Jethro's Tomb.

Members of the local Druze communities said they could not leave their homes for hours, accusing the police of lax enforcement of the law, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.

The delegation consisted of dozens of Syrian Druze clerics, Hebrew-language media reported, although this received no confirmation from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Israeli Druze, condemned the celebratory shooting and issued a warning against further gunfire ahead of the delegation’s slated visit to the Druze town of Peki’in in the Upper Galilee on Saturday.

“Whoever dares to shoot in Peki’in is actually shooting at us. Whoever shoots is not one of us,” the leaders of the Druze community said in a statement.

The entry of the Druze delegation to Israel’s north is the latest testament to the tightening relations between Israel and the Syrian Druze community following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.

However, the Israeli Druze are not accustomed to shots being fired during celebrations, one local resident told Kan.

“We understand the feelings of the celebrants, but there is also concern because, for the first time, dozens of people from Syria are being brought here, and we know nothing about them,” said the resident.

“We were locked in our homes for hours,” another resident was quoted as saying.

“People were driving wildly on the access road at our junction, which leads to three towns and the tomb complex. They were shooting [in the air] from vehicles with half their bodies outside. Our houses have bullet holes on the balconies. There’s a shooting victim. The police stood by doing nothing. It was lawlessness for hours. Overall, a successful pilot of the Syrian sheikhs’ visit, who saw with their own eyes how we govern the country,” the resident added sarcastically.

After the incident, the Israel Police released a statement that read, “As part of the Northern District’s preparations for the visit of Druze religious leaders to the town of Peki’in, heavy traffic congestion is expected on the roads leading to the area. In this context, Route 864 between the town of Rameh and Monfort Lake [an artificial lake east of the city of Ma'alot-Tarshiha] is expected to be intermittently closed. Drivers and travelers in the north are requested to avoid the area and follow the instructions of the police officers stationed along the roads.”

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that members of the Syrian Druze community will be able to enter Israel to work starting on March 16.

The Druze are an Arab ethnic minority found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and are known for being extremely loyal to the states in which they reside. Most Israeli Druze men serve in the Israel Defense Forces and security services, many in combat positions.