• Israel and Lebanon reach pilot zones agreement after marathon talks
  • IDF crosses Litani River and captures Beaufort Castle
  • 15th soldier killed since ceasefire began
  • Iran deal remains elusive, as Iran tests ceasefire with drones strike Kuwait airport
  • Netanyahu orders IDF to expand Gaza control to 70 percent
  • Dissolution bill passes first reading 106-0; election date range set at September 8 to October 20

Lebanon

  • Three IDF soldiers have been killed since last week’s update. Staff Sergeant Michael Tyukin, 21, of the Givati Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, an only child who immigrated from Ukraine with his mother in 2020, was the 13th soldier killed since the ceasefire began on April 17, struck by a Hezbollah drone during the capture of Beaufort Castle on Sunday.
  • Staff Sergeant Adam Tzarfati, 20, from Rosh Ha’ayin, a commando in the Maglan Unit, was killed early Monday by a Hezbollah drone near Yohmor, the 14th. Captain Dr. Ori Yosef Silvester, 30, from Tel Aviv, the medical officer for the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, was killed Monday afternoon when Hezbollah drones struck an armored vehicle in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah; seven soldiers were wounded in the same attack. Silvester is the 15th IDF soldier killed since the ceasefire began.
  • The IDF on Sunday crossed the Litani River and captured Beaufort Castle, a crusader fortress on a strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, raising Israeli and Golani Brigade flags over a site Israel last held during its 1982–2000 occupation. Defense Minister Katz said troops would remain at Beaufort “as part of the security zone in Lebanon.” Since last week, the IDF has struck approximately 550 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, according to the IDF. Read more in the Times of Israel.
  • President Trump announced Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire for Beirut; Defense Minister Katz denied it and Netanyahu said the IDF would continue striking “as planned.” Two tense calls between Trump and Netanyahu followed that night — Trump later acknowledged calling Netanyahu “crazy,” saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s Lebanon fighting was holding back Iran peace talks. By Tuesday, the ceasefire appeared to be holding in Beirut, with Israel holding off on strikes after a US request, though the IDF reissued a wide-scale evacuation warning for all of southern Lebanon. Read more in the AP
  • After an eight-and-a-half-hour negotiating session at the State Department on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon announced an agreement to advance the creation of pilot zones in which Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of territory south of the Litani River, to the exclusion of all non-state actors including Hezbollah. However, Hezbollah is rejecting the agreement.  See more in the Times of Israel.
  • A ceasefire is contingent on a “complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector,” according to a joint statement. Israel’s Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who led the Israeli delegation, said the roughly 2,000 Hezbollah operatives south of the Litani will be guaranteed safe passage north but warned: “After a certain amount of time, if they don’t make their way back to the north, then they know exactly what’s coming.” The two sides agreed to reconvene for a fifth round of talks during the week of June 22. Read more in JNS.

Iran

  • A deal to re-open the Strait of Hormuz remains elusive. After Axios reported last week that negotiators had agreed on a 60-day MOU pending Trump’s approval, the president returned the draft with what a source told CBS News were “somewhat significant changes” to terms on the Strait of Hormuz and highly enriched uranium. Iran’s foreign ministry said that no one could claim that the US and Iran were on the verge of signing an agreement.
  • The ceasefire was further tested today when Iranian drones and missiles struck airports and infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain; Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi defended the attacks as “self-defense strikes” on locations being used to “attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire” and warned of a “decisive response” to any further hostile acts. Read more on CBS News.
  • Trump told ABC News a deal remained reachable “over the next week” and said he had deterred Netanyahu from a major Beirut strike that could have further complicated the talks.
  • The MOU under discussion would establish a 60-day cessation of violence, reopen the Strait of Hormuz with no tolls or harassment, and open a framework for nuclear negotiations, with Iran required to clear mines from the strait within 30 days and sanctions relief following in stages. The MOU would also address the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, a provision on which Trump and Netanyahu have sharply disagreed. Read more on CBS News.
  • Trump appears to be softening his nuclear demands. According to the Arms Control Association, he has suggested the US may accept a 20-year enrichment suspension rather than a perpetual ban; Iran has offered to blend down its highly enriched uranium stockpile rather than export it.
  • Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking at a farewell ceremony Monday for outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, asserted that  the foundations of the Iranian regime “have cracked” and that it “is doomed to fall.”

Other Developments

  • Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the IDF to expand its control of the Gaza Strip from 60 to 70 percent, in defiance of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. “My directive is to get to 70 percent,” he said in footage aired by Channel 12. When an audience member called for Israel to seize the entire enclave, he said “we are going in order. First 70 percent,” without disputing that a full takeover could follow. Secretary of State Rubio appeared to push back, suggesting the directive contradicted the Trump administration’s vision for Gaza.
  • Netanyahu also said Israel’s central bank projects the economy will grow by 3.8 percent in 2026 despite nearly three years of continuous war, and pushed back on growing calls for divestment from Israel. Read more on CNBC.

Elections in Israel

  • The Knesset dissolution bill passed its first reading 106-0 Monday night, following an 8-0 House Committee vote earlier that day; two additional readings are required before it takes effect. Coalition whip Ofir Katz proposed a date range of September 8 to October 20, and the Central Elections Committee director told lawmakers that it needs at least 83 days to prepare.
  • Netanyahu prefers a later October date; the Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism are pushing for September, before the High Holy Days. United Torah Judaism broke ranks with Netanyahu this week after he told Haredi MKs the coalition does not have the votes to pass the yeshiva student draft exemption law and asked them to shelve it until after elections. Read more in JNS.

Jewish Federations and Partners

Nefesh B’Nefesh / The Jewish Agency for Israel

  • Nefesh B’Nefesh, together with the Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and Jewish National Fund-USA, launched the 2026 summer aliyah season this week with events in New Jersey and Toronto drawing more than 650 attendees combined, including 478 families preparing to make aliyah. Throughout the season, 47 group aliyah flights are planned from hubs across the United States.
  • Nefesh B’Nefesh also hosted the annual MedEx New Jersey conference this week in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel and Israel’s Ministries of Aliyah and Integration, Health, and Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience, drawing 350 medical professionals from 31 specialties — the largest international MedEx conference to date. During the event, 132 applications for medical license conversion were submitted to Israel’s Ministry of Health.
  • As part of Diaspora Week, the Jewish Agency for Israel marched in the Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City, with hundreds of Shlichim and partner organizations — including Hillel, JCCs, and synagogues — accompanying the Jewish Agency float. The delegation was led by Board of Governors Chairman Mark Wilf, Deputy Chairman Yaron Shavit, COO Hagit Weiss, Director of Aliyah and Absorption Eran Berkovich, and Head of North America Delegation Gal Atia.

Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA)

  • The Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA), housed at Jewish Federations of North America, applauded the passage this week of a Government of Israel resolution to support Israel educational travel during emergencies. The resolution comes as providers face severe financial pressure: since 2019, total program costs have risen 70 to 80 percent, the recent weakening of the dollar against the shekel has added 20 percent cost shock, and approximately half of all hotels in Israel remain closed. Despite the mounting pressures, demand for Israel educational travel is currently outpacing supply. See more on our blog.