LATEST UPDATES

IRAN

In the early hours of June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a major pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Initial reports suggest that the strike was highly successful.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said:

“Last night, Israel launched a targeted operation to neutralize an immediate and existential threat to our people.

“The international community has seen how over the last decades, the Iranian regime—at the helm of a global terror empire—has continued to radicalize and destabilize the region with its proxies, while working relentlessly to advance its military nuclear capabilities and expand its ballistic missile arsenal.

“Iran’s leaders have made no secret of their openly repeated intention to annihilate the State of Israel. For years, the regime has prepared to turn that vision into reality.

“Israel has the inherent right and the solemn duty to defend itself—and will always do so with determination and clarity. We sincerely hope that this will change the trajectory of our region towards a more peaceful and prosperous future.”

Jewish Federations will hold a webinar today, Friday June 13, at 1pm ET on the latest developments. Click here for last night’s statement

HOSTAGES AND CEASEFIRE TALKS

  • In a covert operation last night, the IDF and Shabak (Shin Bet) recovered the bodies of two hostages and returned them to Israel for burial. One was the body of Yair Yaakov, 59, and the other name has not yet been released.
  • Ya’akov was kidnapped alive, along with his wife and two sons, from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. His family members were released in November 2023. Five months later, the family was notified that Ya’akov had been killed in captivity, probably on the day of his abduction. Horrifying video footage from Hamas during Ya’akov’s capture shows him sitting wounded on the floor of his kitchen, surrounded by terrorists.
  • The two bodies were located based on information obtained from a Hamas terrorist recently captured in Gaza.
  • Last weekend, the body of hostage Pinta Nathapong, 35, from Thailand, was located in Khan Yunis by the Israeli military and brought back to Israel. Nathapong was an agricultural laborer in the avocado fields in Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was kidnapped on October 7 and later murdered by his captors.
  • 53 hostages now remain captive by Hamas, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
  • Negotiations continue between Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement on a limited ceasefire and the release of around ten live hostages. Still, there are no signs of an imminent breakthrough.

IDF ACTIVITY

  • Last week, eight IDF troops were killed in Gaza, the largest number of fallen soldiers in a single week since January. A total of 866 IDF soldiers have been slain during the current war.
  • Last weekend, after issuing warnings to residents in the area, the air force attacked several sites in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, the site housed Hezbollah drone production facilities,

ROCKETS

  • Missile launches by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen continue on an almost daily basis.
  • On Tuesday, Israel attacked the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, an essential part of the Houthis’ infrastructure. For the first time, the attack was launched from the sea using Israeli navy missile ships.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

  • Major political turmoil in Israel has continued as a result of the government’s failure to pass a bill that will allow an exemption for ultra-Orthodox citizens (“haredim”) to avoid IDF conscription.
  • Early this morning, the Knesset voted against a draft opposition bill to disperse and head to new elections. The vote followed hours of filibusters and intense negotiations to bridge gaps over a potential conscription bill.
  • Israeli courts have ruled that, lacking a new bill, the IDF must begin drafting haredim immediately. The Haredi parties are part of the current ruling coalition; they had been promised legislation that would largely formalize the status quo, whereby most Haredim can study in yeshivot, instead of serving in the IDF. There has been widespread opposition to a haredi exemption for many years, one that has greatly intensified since October 7 with the need for significantly increased numbers of IDF personnel.
  • The Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, has been demanding that any new law impose personal penalties on eligible members of the ultra-Orthodox public who do not enlist. The Haredi political parties have strongly opposed this stipulation, leading to a deadlock.
  • Earlier in the week, the haredi parties declared they would support a vote to dissolve the Knesset if a new deal was not reached by Wednesday. However, according to many commentators, the ultra-Orthodox politicians feared new elections that would likely see them out of power. They backed down from that demand at the last minute. Instead, the parties agreed on a document that states the principles of what a future bill might look like, including some limited, personal sanctions on draft evaders.
  • As a result, the Haredi parties did not support the dissolution bill, which was defeated by a vote of 61-53. Nonetheless, Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of the Agudat Israel faction within the Ashkenazi haredi party UTJ, opposed the emerging deal and resigned as Minister of Housing in protest. A different Haredi member of Knesset will likely replace him, so his departure will not topple the government.
  • Crucially, since the preliminary bill on dissolving the Knesset failed to pass, a similar vote cannot take place until December 2025. This provides the current government with a measure of stability. With no ability to vote to dissolve the Knesset, the Haredi parties have  lost an element of leverage in their negotiations on a conscription bill.
  • If no other developments end the current Knesset’s term earlier, the next elections are scheduled for November 2026.

OTHER NEWS

  • Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed the deputy Shin Bet chief (known only as “S”) as acting head of the domestic security service. The High Court recently determined that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in firing outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar due to the agency’s participation in criminal investigations against his top aides.
  • This weekend, Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride Parade will take place, with the participation of Caitlyn Jenner. Unlike in the past, the US State Department has banned US Embassy personnel from participating in the parade. In previous years, the Embassy also flew the Pride Flag over its building in Tel Aviv, but will not do so this year. Last weekend, the Jerusalem Pride Parade took place in the capital, and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog became the first Israeli leader ever to join the festivities.

FURTHER READING