VFI News IDF Captures Terrorist Who Murdered a Father of Six Before Yom Kippur as Trump Weighs His Next Move on Iran

IDF commandos captured the terrorist who shot and killed a father of six at a spring in Judea and Samaria — just hours before Yom Kippur began. Here's what happened in this VFI News Update.

The IDF's elite Duvdevan Unit, acting on Shin Bet intelligence, seized the gunman at a hospital near Ramallah. Meanwhile, Trump is publicly weighing military strikes on Iran as the US naval blockade cuts deep into the Iranian economy — and Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh overnight.

Pray for Meirav Shukrun and her six children. Pray for wisdom over Washington. And share this if it moved you.

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The IDF and the Shin Bet announced on Tuesday, September 15, that they killed Nael Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip. Abu Obeid took over the brigade after his predecessor, Mohammad Shabanah, was killed by the IDF in May 2025. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the strike. “Our message is clear: no terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza,” they said.

The IDF described Abu Obeid as a key figure among Hamas’s leaders who previously served as deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and as commander of the Tel al-Sultan and Yibna Battalions. As brigade commander, he directed terror attacks and offensives against IDF troops. The IDF and Shin Bet had been tracking him for weeks without circumstances allowing a strike; it emerged on Wednesday, September 16. Abu Obeid rarely walked the streets alone, either keeping others around him or staying within populated areas.

The strike was the third on a senior Hamas commander in under a week. Earlier on Tuesday, September 15, the IDF announced that it had, in coordination with the Shin Bet, killed Ahmad Batash, commander of Hamas’s Jabaliya Battalion, in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip on the night of Monday, September 14; Batash managed logistics for the Northern Gaza Brigade and was integral to supplying weapons and equipment to Hamas terrorists in the area. On Thursday, September 10, the IDF and Shin Bet killed Muhammad Yazouri, commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade, in the Khan Yunis area. In announcing Abu Obeid’s death, the IDF said its forces “remain deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate to remove any threat.”

(JPost/VFI News)

Lord, we give thanks for the precise intelligence and skill that removed three senior Hamas commanders in under a week. We pray for the IDF soldiers deployed in Gaza, that the Lord would shield them and expose every attempt by Hamas to rebuild. We ask that Hamas’s hold on Gaza would be broken for good and that those living under its rule would be set free.

Nael Abu Obeid, the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade who was eliminated in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, had been involved for years in holding IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians abducted to Gaza, the IDF and Shin Bet have revealed. The information, made public on Saturday, September 19, 2026, was uncovered in a lengthy intelligence investigation by the two agencies.

Among the findings, Abu Obeid was involved in Hamas’s holding of the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin. In 2014, he served as deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and, as part of that role, was involved in holding Goldin. His involvement in holding captives continued into the current war, when he took part in holding several hostages, including Sergeant First Class Nimrod Cohen, who was kept in underground infrastructure in the Rafah area.

The IDF and Shin Bet described Abu Obeid’s elimination as “an important closure.” The two agencies stressed that they will continue to operate against the terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacre.

(INN/VFI News)

“The LORD is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.” – Psalm 9:16

President Donald Trump is weighing the United States’ next steps on Iran and indicated that significant developments could come in the near future, he told a television correspondent on Sunday, September 20, 2026. The options before him range from further military action to continued economic pressure or an agreement with Tehran. Trump emphasized that he remains in a decision-making phase and warned Tehran to exercise restraint while he considers his options. No timeline for a decision was given.

Trump said he would likely be willing to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected at the UN General Assembly in New York during the week of September 21, 2026. He described difficulties in identifying Iranian officials who are in a position to negotiate an agreement, saying some were attempting to avoid being located. Washington is dealing with differing factions within Iran, with Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on one side and more hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials on the other. Turning to the Iran-backed Houthis, after ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, Trump said the US remains in regular contact with the group and that it has agreed not to engage in fighting with the United States.

The US naval blockade of Iran remains in place and continues to pressure the Iranian economy. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said more than one billion barrels of crude oil have been escorted out of the Persian Gulf since the blockade began, further complicating Iranian attempts to stabilize its economy. With Iranian officials expected in New York for the General Assembly, diplomatic contacts remain possible as Trump weighs his next move.

(INN/VFI News)

“Heavenly Father, we pray in Yeshua’s Name that You grant President Trump and his advisers wisdom and clarity in the decision before them. We ask that You frustrate every plan of the Iranian regime to threaten Israel and the nations, and that You shield Israel, American forces, and all the peoples of the region from harm. We lift up the people of Iran to You and pray that You open a door for them to live in freedom and to know You. Our trust is in You and not in the strength of armies.”

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terrorist organization launched a ballistic missile toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at dawn on Saturday, September 19, 2026, as part of a broader wave of attacks targeting Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed the launch and said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the missile. The coalition said its defenses also thwarted attempted Houthi attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure in Baysh, Taif, the Farasan Islands, and Yanbu.

Saudi Civil Defense issued aerial threat warnings in Riyadh and Al-Kharj, southeast of the capital, before later announcing that the danger had passed. Residents heard explosions in Riyadh, and witnesses saw flames and thick black smoke rising near King Khalid International Airport, where firefighters extinguished a blaze involving a fuel tank bearing the Saudi Aramco logo at a nearby fuel depot. Saudi authorities have not publicly established that the fire was caused by a successful Houthi strike.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for a large-scale operation using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, saying it targeted “sensitive sites” in Riyadh and Saudi Aramco facilities in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed that those targets were hit. The attack comes amid an escalation in fighting, with the Houthis increasing their missile and drone attacks on the kingdom over the past several weeks. On Thursday, September 17, 2026, falling debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni resident and wounded two others in Taif.

(INN/VFI News)

“He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.” – Psalm 46:9

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For the second year in a row, the United States has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s application for an entry visa to address the UN General Assembly in New York, US and Palestinian officials said. Abbas’s office was notified of the decision on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Similar rejections were issued to dozens of other PA officials who had hoped to travel with him.

A notice sent to one PA official cited “Section 212(a)(3)(B), which prohibits the issuance of a visa to a person who at any time engaged in terrorist activities or was associated with a terrorist organization,” and called it “a permanent ineligibility.” It was not immediately clear whether Abbas’s own visa was rejected on the same grounds. The State Department said the PA violated US legislation that penalizes Ramallah if it targets Israel in international organizations, advances the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, pays stipends to terrorists, or glorifies violence. “As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the department said.

The administration will maintain a waiver allowing members of the Palestinian Mission to the UN to continue operating from New York. The mission submitted a resolution to allow Abbas to address the body virtually, as he did in 2025, with the measure set to come before the General Assembly on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Abbas is slotted to speak on Thursday, September 24, 2026, the same day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The PA’s foreign ministry called the visa decision “an unjustified measure.”

(TOI/VFI News)

Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, has composed a special prayer in memory of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who were murdered in the 2025 terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in north Manchester. The prayer is recited alongside Yizkor, the memorial service said in synagogues four times a year, including on Yom Kippur. This Yom Kippur marks the first anniversary of the attack, which took place during the holy day’s services.

The prayer asks God to “grant perfect rest beneath the wings of the Divine Presence” to the two men, “whose lives were cruelly taken on the holiest day of the year,” and to grant “healing of body and spirit to those who were injured and to all those whose trauma has not yet subsided.” It continues, “Guardian of Israel, protect all who gather in our synagogues to pray. Give wisdom and courage to those who safeguard our communities and deliver us from hatred and terror.” It closes with a plea for “peace and security to the State of Israel, and tranquillity for all the inhabitants of the earth.”

Cravitz, 66, and Daulby, 53, were murdered and three others were injured in the attack in Crumpsall. The attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, a Syrian-born British citizen, was shot dead by police after attacking people outside the synagogue and attempting to force his way inside. Counter Terrorism Policing has continued investigating, with eight people arrested in connection with the attack. A close associate of Al-Shamie, Mohammad Bashir, 31, pleaded guilty in June 2026 to preparing an act of terrorism and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years.

(INN/VFI News)

“Our Father in Heaven, we pray in Yeshua’s Name that You comfort the families of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby and heal all who still carry the wounds of that day. We ask that You protect every synagogue and Jewish community in Britain and throughout the diaspora, and that You strengthen those who stand guard over them. We pray that You uproot the hatred of Your people from the nations and raise up many friends to stand with them. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace.”

Some 150,000 worshippers came to the Western Wall on Saturday night, September 19, 2026, for the central and final Selichot gathering before Yom Kippur. The plaza, the surrounding balconies, and the alleys throughout the Old City basin were filled from the early evening hours through the climax of the event. Because of the huge crowds, the ceremony was broadcast live on giant screens at the outskirts of the plaza, on the walls of the Jaffa Gate, and at IDF Square.

Captivity survivors Eliya Cohen, Rom Braslavski, Elkana Bohbot, and Ohad Ben Ami attended, along with Nova festival survivor Ziv Abud, and tens of thousands greeted them with tremendous emotion and appreciation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were present, as were Chief Rabbis David Yosef and Kalman Meir Ber, Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. The Prime Minister offered a prayer for the safety of IDF soldiers and security forces and for the safety of the State of Israel. The Chief Rabbis prayed for the peace and unity of the Jewish people.

“This month has once again proven that the Western Wall is the beating heart of the Jewish people,” Rabbi Rabinowitz told the crowd, describing worshippers “holding every opinion and worldview, those who wear a kippah and those who do not,” who “stood together as one, with one heart.” The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said nearly two million worshippers visited the plaza during the month of Selichot. Thousands more were expected for the Yom Kippur prayers, with the largest crowds anticipated for the concluding Ne’ilah prayer and the blowing of the shofar that marks the end of the holy day.

(INN/VFI News)

“…because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins.” – Leviticus 16:30

In a complex engineering and conservation operation, the Israel Antiquities Authority has lifted an intact 2,000-year-old, 25-ton mikveh, or ritual bath, hole out of the ground in the new Carmei Gat neighborhood of Kiryat Gat. The Second Temple-era bath was transferred for safekeeping to the National Treasures Department to protect it from damage during the neighborhood’s development. When construction is completed, the mikveh will be returned and integrated into an open public space at the heart of the neighborhood.

The mikveh provides clear evidence of a Jewish settlement in the area approximately 2,000 years ago. The excavation also uncovered stone measuring vessels, which under Jewish law do not become ritually impure and were widely used by Jews in the Second Temple period. “The Jewish settlement we discovered here is the first and the only known one in this area,” said excavation directors Elena Kogan-Zahavi, Maayan Margulis, and Shira Lifshitz, noting that no Jewish settlement had been known in the seam between the Judean Lowlands and the northern Negev. The Israel Lands Authority financed the salvage excavations at a cost of about 28 million NIS.

Four conservators worked for about two weeks, exposing the bath on all sides and inserting steel beams through drilling beneath it, while the ancient plaster was protected with gauze and adhesives and the structure was reinforced with foam. A crane with a lifting capacity of 300 tons hoisted it onto a wide-load vehicle, and the road to the Beit Guvrin storehouse was closed to traffic for the journey. “Once you lift up a structure like this, there is no going back,” said senior conservator Eyal Kaho, who led the operation. “If it falls apart - we’ve lost the mikveh.”

(INN/VFI News)

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.” – Ezekiel 36:25

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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