Israel News for 7-14-2026
News Update
Israel has (thankfully) not been involved in this most recent fighting between Iran and the U.S., as Iran fires on shipping in the Strait and the U.S. attacks hundreds of Iranian targets and reimposes the blockade. Will it last? You’d think that Iran doesn’t have much to gain for getting Israel involved, but they haven’t often taken the rational route in the past.
A sixth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Rome today and Wednesday. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter said Israel is continuing to promote the “pilot zones” plan in southern Lebanon, but any further progress and IDF withdrawal will depend on dismantling Hezbollah’s presence on the ground. Because of the gaps between the sides, the current round in Rome is expected to serve as a bridge-building meeting ahead of a larger session with expanded teams next month. The Rome round will focus on reviewing progress in the pilot zones mechanism, expanding the Lebanese army’s deployment in the south and continuing security coordination under American mediation. A Lebanese diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday that “the Lebanese army is ready to gradually take control of the villages from which the IDF withdraws.”
The United Nations issued a rare condemnation of Hamas yesterday, after Hamas terrorists took over a humanitarian distribution point in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday and violently attacked drivers of aid trucks.
The Knesset passed the second and third readings of the basic law enshrining torah study as a fundamental value. The law is expected to be used by Haredi politicians against legal claims that draft exemptions discriminate between Torah students and those required to serve.
An Israel Navy delegation, led by the navy’s deputy chief, R.-Adm. Guy Levy, participated in events marking 250 years of U.S. independence. As part of the visit, the delegation met with senior US Navy officials, including the Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, Superintendent of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Marine Corps Lt.-Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, and other navy officials. The Israeli delegation also held meetings with senior naval officials from other countries, including Germany, Cyprus, India, Greece, Argentina, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Morocco, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Norway, and Finland.
Up to 50,000 flight tickets may be canceled during July following an American decision to freeze the evacuation of its refuelers stationed at Ben-Gurion Airport, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) warned last week. The airport is currently only operating at one third capacity.
