Israel lifts restrictions on public gatherings as ceasefire with Iran holds
(JTA) — Israel lifted all restrictions on public gatherings, allowing Israelis to engage in “full activity” as Israel’s ceasefire with Iran goes into effect.
The announcement by the Israeli Defense Force’s Home Front Command allows schools to resume in-person instruction, workplaces to reopen and public transportation to resume.
Some communities that border Gaza will continue to have restrictions on gatherings of over 2,000, a policy that had been in place prior to the launch of Israel’s attacks on Iran.
The lift on restrictions comes 12 days after Israel’s initial strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Public gatherings as well as air travel to and from the country came to a complete halt. The threat level was also raised Sunday following the United State’s attacks against Iranian nuclear sites.
The Ben Gurion and Haifa airports will also return to full operations following the decision by the Home Front Command, according to the Israel Airports Authority.
Witkoff: Hope for Iran deal, new Abraham Accords members
(JNS) — In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC on Wednesday, U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about the prospects for a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East, signaling ongoing dialogue with Iran and hinting at new countries joining the Abraham Accords.
His comments come as a tenuous Iran-Israel ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday continued to hold and after American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday.
A deal with Tehran would be a “renaissance” for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the region and the world, said Witkoff.
The envoy also suggested that the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states, may soon see significant expansion.
“We think we’re going to have some pretty big announcements on countries that are now coming into the Abraham peace accords, and we’re hoping for normalization across an array of countries that maybe people would have never contemplated would come in. So we’re excited for that prospect. That will also be a stabilizer in the Middle East,” said Witkoff.
7 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, in grim reminder that one war’s end leaves another grinding on
(JTA) — Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in a single incident Tuesday in Gaza, marking one of the deadliest days for the Israeli army in its 21-month-old war against Hamas there.
The incident came just after Israel struck a ceasefire with Iran, bringing to close a different war that had subsumed attention for 12 days.
The seven men killed were all combat soldiers between 19 and 21. They died after a bomb planted on their armored vehicle exploded in Khan Younis and efforts failed to extinguish the resulting blaze, the IDF announced on Wednesday.
Their deaths bring the Israeli military death toll in Gaza to 440 as the war there grinds on. Israeli leaders say a continued offensive is needed to rid the enclave of terror, but their many critics — including allied nations and the majority of Israelis — say the war should end for reasons including an unlikelihood of defeating Hamas, the high toll on Palestinian civilians and the impediment fighting places to bringing home the 50 Israeli captives, living and dead, still held there.
IDF fires at terrorists amid Jewish-Arab clashes in Samaria
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday night that it returned fire at Palestinian gunmen during a confrontation between Israeli Jews and Arabs in the eastern Samaria village of al-Mughayyir.
According to an English-language statement from the IDF, “dozens” of Israeli civilians entered the village earlier Wednesday, allegedly setting fire to property and throwing stones at Palestinians who confronted them.
After forces were deployed to al-Mughayyir in an attempt to break up the clashes, they came under gunfire and were pelted with rocks, the IDF said, adding that troops returned fire and “hits were identified.”
“Five Israeli suspects were arrested and transferred to the Israel Police for further processing,” the military noted.
CIA: Intel indicates Iran’s nuclear program ‘severely damaged’
(JNS) — The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday that intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged” during the Islamic Republic’s 12-day war with Israel.
“CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” according to a statement attributed to agency director John Ratcliffe.
“This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source indicating that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would need to be rebuilt over the course of years,” the statement continued.
The agency “continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency,” it added.
Israel halts Gaza aid, orders IDF plan to block Hamas seizure
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement overnight Wednesday ordering the Israel Defense Forces to present, within 48 hours, a plan to prevent Hamas from seizing humanitarian aid entering the northern Gaza Strip.
The directive follows intelligence reports indicating that Hamas is once again commandeering aid shipments and diverting them from Gaza’s civilian population.
The statement comes on the heels of a video posted to social media by former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, which appears to show armed Hamas terrorists riding atop food trucks after taking control of them.
“This video was filmed today,” Bennett wrote on social media. “Soldiers on the ground explained to me that these are the current instructions — to bring in trucks without control. This is how they continue to feed Hamas with money and power. Government ministers pledged that ‘not a single grain will enter,’ and as usual, the reality is the opposite. Shameful.”
Study: War caused long-term sleep disruptions in Israel
(JNS) — The war against Hamas in Gaza has caused a profound and lasting negative impact on civilian sleep, even among individuals not directly exposed to combat, a study released on Tuesday found.
Hebrew University researchers noted sharp increases in insomnia, short sleep duration, and reliance on sleep medication among Israelis during the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war.
The study found about a 20% rise in the prevalence of short sleep (less than six hours nightly) and a similar jump in clinically significant insomnia. It also cited a 5% increase in the use of sleep medication.
According to the study, these sleep disruptions persisted even six months into the conflict, suggesting that the impact on sleep may extend beyond immediate responses to acute stress and reflect longer-term consequences of living under sustained threat.
The survey was carried out even before the 12-day war against Iran this month. During this relatively short conflict, Israelis all over the country were repeatedly awoken from their sleep at all hours of the night. Air-raid sirens warned of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles more frequently than at any time during the war with Hamas.
