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For many years, the subject of Har Habayis was viewed in much of the yeshivah world as a closed discussion. The prevailing attitude was simple: the area is overwhelmingly forbidden to enter, the dangers of כרת are severe, and the matter was not something the average frum Jew involved himself with.

But quietly, beneath the surface, something appears to be changing.

Over the last few years, increasing numbers of visibly Chareidi Jews have been seen ascending Har Habayis in accordance with carefully mapped halachic guidelines established by rabbanim and researchers who maintain that certain peripheral areas may be entered after proper preparation. Organized groups, shiurim, and halachic discussions surrounding the topic have become far more common than they once were — even within circles where the subject was rarely spoken about at all.

Now, a recently circulated video featuring Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz has added another layer to that ongoing conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXI9G_m6GDQ 

See around minute 32:00 in the video

In the video, Rabbi Breitowitz discusses the complexity of the sugya and acknowledges that, according to many shitos, there are areas on Har Habayis that are not part of the מקום המקדש itself and may be permissible to enter under specific halachic conditions. While emphasizing the seriousness and sensitivity of the issue, his comments were widely viewed by listeners as reflecting a more nuanced approach than many in the frum world may have previously assumed.

To be clear, many Gedolim and major poskim over the decades strongly opposed ascending Har Habayis, citing both halachic concerns and the fear that public ascent could lead to confusion regarding prohibited areas. Those concerns remain significant and continue to shape the views of large segments of the Torah world.

At the same time, however, there is a growing sense among some Bnei Torah that the topic itself may deserve more serious examination than it has traditionally received. Much of the newer discussion focuses on the distinction between the areas universally understood to be forbidden and other sections which some authorities argue were never included within the boundaries of the Azarah or Makom Hamikdash.

Perhaps most striking is not necessarily the halachic debate itself, but the fact that the discussion is increasingly taking place openly and respectfully within Torah circles.

For decades, many frum Jews associated any discussion of Har Habayis with political activism or ideological agendas far removed from the עולם הישיבות. Today, however, the conversation is increasingly being framed around the halachic sugya itself: the geography of the Har, the locations of the original boundaries, the requirements of taharah, and the broader question of how Jews should relate to the site of the Beis Hamikdash in our generation.

Whether this shift remains limited or eventually grows into something broader remains to be seen. But one thing is becoming harder to ignore:

A discussion once considered entirely outside the mainstream of the frum world is no longer being dismissed quite so automatically.

MIAMI – A federal grand jury in South Florida indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro, in an attempt to hold him accountable for the 1996 killing of four people, three of them Americans.

Top Justice Department officials were expected to announce the unsealing of the indictment Wednesday in downtown Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community.

The extraordinary indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in April, comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure to try to force political turnover in Cuba’s communist regime, and it is the latest example of the Trump administration using its Justice Department to sway foreign policy.

Castro faces charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft, according to the court docket. Others were also charged alongside him, court records show.

The indictment had not been made publicly available as of Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern, though the court docket showed the charges against Castro and a request from the Justice Department to unseal it.

Castro, 94, took over the presidency of Cuba when his brother, Fidel Castro, stepped down in 2008. With Fidel’s death in 2016, he became the island’s preeminent revolutionary hero. Although he left the presidency in 2018, Raúl Castro remained first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba until 2021.

It is unlikely that Castro will be extradited to the United States to appear in court and face the charges. Absent Cuba’s cooperation, the indictment is likely to remain symbolic unless the U.S. takes aggressive action to remove Castro from Cuba.

The murder charges in the indictment stem from the 1996 shooting-down of two jets flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based humanitarian group formed in 1991 by Cuban exiles in Miami and headed by Jose Basulto, a veteran of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

The group’s mission became harassing the Cuban government, sometimes flying over Cuban airspace and dropping leaflets urging residents to rise up against the regime. Their campaigns had led to numerous complaints from Havana and assurances from the Clinton administration that it would stop.

On the day the planes were shot down, the group said it was looking for Cuban rafters trying to flee the country in the Florida Straits when the Cuban military downed the planes. Numerous investigations at the time concluded they were over international waters when the planes were downed.

The political fallout was swift, and Cuban Americans had long rallied for Fidel and Raúl Castro – the Cuba’s defense minister – to be charged in the killings.

Federal officials – including acting attorney general Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones – had a news conference set for Wednesday afternoon at Freedom Tower in Miami.

Freedom Tower is a symbolic monument for Cuban-Americans, the place where Cubans who were fleeing the communist revolution in the late 1950s and 1960s were processed and received aid when they arrived in Miami.

President Donald Trump, in an executive order issued the first week of his second term, declared a national emergency regarding Cuba, saying it presents “an unusual and extraordinary threat” because it has aligned itself with countries hostile to the U.S., including Iran, Russia and China.

Amid these tensions, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana last week for meetings with senior Cuban security and intelligence officials, including Raúl Rodriguez Castro, the powerful grandson of Raúl Castro.

The meeting came as extensive blackouts continued on the island, with the government acknowledging it was “without any reserves” to fuel power plants.

The Trump administration has adopted a policy of economic strangulation to try to drive the current leadership from power, actions that have gone above and beyond the U.S. economic embargo imposed more than six decades ago.

The administration’s actions include expanded economic sanctions, a naval blockade preventing ships from carrying oil to the island and the threat of secondary sanctions on any other country or entity that trades with the Cuban government or designated individuals or companies.

Trump has suggested he could utilize a playbook in Cuba similar to the one he used in Venezuela earlier this year.

The Justice Department first indicted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on narco-terrorism charges in 2020, though he was not extradited at the time. In January, the administration launched an attack on Venezuela, capturing Maduro and bringing him to New York to face charges.

The Trump administration, in part, described the capture as a law enforcement effort to ensure that Maduro faced his day in court on narco-terrorism charges. It left the rest of the Venezuelan government intact, saying that its Maduro-era leaders were cooperating with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined a similar plan for Cuba, while demanding economic and political changes.

Trump has said that Cuba is “next in line” as soon as he finishes his war with Iran, although the administration has not publicly declared that it intends to use military force to achieve its goals in Cuba.

In March, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department had formed a working group to examine possible federal charges against officials or entities within Cuba’s government.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida – which includes Miami, the center of the Cuban exile community – has been overseeing the prosecution group.

The indictment’s unsealing came on Cuban Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cuba after the end of U.S. occupation in 1902.

In a “Message to the Cuban People” on Wednesday, Rubio said he was aware of their “unimaginable hardships,” which he said were “not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S., but from the corruption of their leaders.

“In the U.S.,” Rubio said, “we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries. And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Perry Stein, Karen DeYoung 

An unique spiritual undertaking is unfolding this week at Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel in Modi’in Illit, where hundreds of bochurim have accepted upon themselves an extraordinary commitment in preparation for Zman Matan Toraseinu.

The initiative, launched under the leadership of Rav Yoel Shapira, began with the Shloshes Yemei Hagbollah leading into Shavuos.

As part of the program, large numbers of bochurim formally committed themselves to a  taanis dibbur, refraining from mundane speech every day from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. — thirteen consecutive hours of absolute silence combined with uninterrupted Torah learning.

The bochurim undertook not to utter a single word unrelated to Torah learning during the entire period.

According to the new yeshiva schedule established by Rav Shapira and the hanhalah, the regular afternoon rest period has been completely eliminated during these days. Bochurim leave the bais medrash only for tefillah and quick meals before immediately returning to their Gemoros.

Yeshiva officials described the initiative as an enormous physical and mental undertaking designed to elevate speech and thought in preparation for Kabolas HaTorah on Shavuos.

The hanhalah noted with satisfaction that more than 60 percent of the yeshiva’s bochurim have already officially joined the historic commitment.

Particularly striking is the fact that the initiative is also being promoted within the yeshiva as a powerful and time-tested segulah for older bochurim seeking their shidduchim.

According to the belief expressed by the roshei yeshiva, the intense continuity in learning together with the prolonged silence inside the yeshiva’s bais medrash has the power to “open the gates of Heaven” and bring long-awaited yeshuos in shidduchim even before Yom Tov.

{Matzav.com}

A growing storm is brewing within the chareidi community over Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s proposed media reform, with educators and public figures warning that the initiative could expose thousands of yeshiva bochurim to unrestricted television and secular media content.

While much of the criticism surrounding Karhi’s reform has centered on political and regulatory concerns, many in the chareidi world say the far greater issue is the potential spiritual danger posed by dramatically expanded access to television programming.

According to details revealed Tuesday, part of the reform would make Israeli television channels and news broadcasts available through a single free state-sponsored application accessible to every citizen.

Under the proposal, viewers would no longer need subscriptions to television providers, special streaming services, or complicated browser access. Instead, anyone could simply open the app and immediately watch television content.

Critics say the result could be unprecedented exposure to secular media among young chareidim.

A source involved in discussions surrounding the reform warned that the proposal could cause serious spiritual damage to the chareidi public.

“If this reform passes, it is going to be a disaster for the chareidi public and particularly for yeshiva bochurim,” the source said. “I heard a senior official in the Communications Ministry say: ‘Our interest is to make television accessible in Israel to populations that are not exposed today’ — meaning the chareidi and Arab public. Now you understand how dangerous this reform is?!”

Chinuch leaders also voiced strong opposition to the plan, arguing that it would place unrestricted television access just one click away from yeshiva students.

“This is a dangerous move that the representatives in the Knesset must fight against,” education officials warned. “It will be a disaster if every bochur has all television networks available at the push of a button, without protection or filtering on the content, leaving them directly connected to secular media culture.”

Political sources within the chareidi parties are likewise expressing concern that some lawmakers may not fully appreciate the broader consequences of the legislation.

“I very much hope that Shas will not make deals with Karhi in order to pass the law,” one chareidi political source said. “Perhaps they do not fully understand the implications of the reform and the amount of damage it could cause to young bochurim.”

The source stressed that the legislation likely cannot pass without support from the chareidi parties.

“It must be understood that without the chareidim, this law has no chance of passing,” the source said. “That is why pressure and public outcry are necessary to ensure they do not mistakenly support it.”

{Matzav.com}

Housing Minister and ShlomEi Emunim chairman Meir Porush delivered a fiery speech Tuesday night at a gathering of hundreds of chassidishe gabbaim in Beit Shemesh, sharply criticizing the government’s handling of the draft law and accusing elements within Israel’s judicial establishment of seeking to “dismantle the Torah world.”

During the address, Porush revealed details of behind-the-scenes discussions surrounding efforts to regulate the legal status of bnei yeshiva and pass a draft law acceptable to the chareidi parties.

Porush, who has been one of the leading figures pushing for legislation protecting yeshiva students, claimed Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu repeatedly delayed advancing the law while offering various explanations for the hold-up.

“After the outbreak of the war, even those who until then agreed to an arrangement no longer really agreed,” Porush told the audience. “Maybe they agreed to promise, but not to actually regulate it. Although the truth is that we already had a problem even before that.”

Porush then disclosed details of a conversation he said took place with Netanyahu before the current government was formed.

“When I demanded that the law be passed before the government was established, Netanyahu told me he had four problematic MKs in Likud whom he needed to straighten out, and according to him, closer to the budget it would be easier for him to do so,” Porush recounted.

“Of course I did not accept that delay, but that is what he told me,” he added.

Porush referred to the ongoing tensions within the coalition over military draft legislation, as several lawmakers from Likud and the Religious Zionist Party have voiced opposition to various compromise proposals involving yeshiva students.

The ShlomEi Emunim leader also revisited controversial comments he made roughly a year after the government was formed, when progress on the legislation remained stalled.

“After about a year of his government and nothing moved with Netanyahu, I said in an interview: ‘If Netanyahu can’t do it? Then he should go home!’” Porush recalled.

The statement sparked backlash at the time, but Porush said subsequent events proved his concerns correct.

“They were angry at me, they said it was an attack on the prime minister — true,” Porush acknowledged. “But it turned out that the excuse remained the same excuse, and he still had no ability to pass the law regulating the status of bnei yeshiva.”

Porush also argued that the war had emboldened Israel’s legal system to intensify pressure on the chareidi tzibbur rather than ease tensions.

“The war changed nothing within the judicial system, which only exploited the situation to make things worse,” he declared. “If before that we were on a low flame, later on all the forces of evil from the ruling judicial elite arose and decided, in their own words, ‘to dismantle the Torah world.’”

He concluded with a broader accusation against the establishment, claiming it seeks to marginalize Jews connected to Torah and Yiddishkeit.

“They want to distance anyone who has even a Jewish spark from any connection to power,” Porush charged. “And their main way of doing that is through persecution against us.”

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact –

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com

An American has tested positive for Ebola while working in Congo and is being transported to Germany for treatment along with six other Americans who are high-risk contacts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The CDC also is enhancing public health screening and traveler monitoring amid a growing Ebola outbreak, and non-U.S. passport holders face entry restrictions if they have been to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.

“To the American public, the risk to the United States remains low,” said Satish Pillai, CDC Ebola response incident manager. “Travelers to the region should avoid contact with sick people, report symptoms immediately, and follow our travel guidance.”

Health experts are growing increasingly alarmed about this outbreak, arguing that cases have been spreading undetected in a volatile region as public health authorities are stretched thin amid funding cuts and the ongoing hantavirus outbreak.

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking before the World Health Assembly on Tuesday in Geneva, said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” adding that WHO would convene its emergency committee that day to seek temporary recommendations.

CDC officials noted the Americans impacted are being transported to Germany, a country that has experience caring for Ebola patients and is a shorter flight from Congo. Their travel itinerary is evolving, and the CDC is looking into lab-made antibody treatments.

“We are doing this to ensure that they are at the level of care that they can receive the either treatment or observation that’s required,” Pillai said.

The American who tested positive is Peter Stafford, a doctor working for the missionary organization Serge in Congo since 2023, according to a statement put out by the group. He tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola after treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital. The group has two other physicians being monitored, including Rebekah Stafford, his wife, and Patrick LaRochelle, as well as the Staffords’ four children.

“All three medical professionals have strictly adhered to established quarantine protocols since the potential exposure,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, the group said he had been “safely evacuated” and is “receiving specialized medical treatment.” Rebekah Stafford and LaRochelle “remain asymptomatic and continue to follow established quarantine and monitoring protocols.”

The missionary organization has not returned requests for comment.

Stafford met his wife, also a physician, at medical school at Ohio State University before the family went to work in Congo, according to a fundraising page on the nonprofit’s website.

“They are excited … to participate in the work being done to share God’s love and grace for a place that has suffered so much and experienced incredible loss,” the page says.

The National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska has not received a request for Ebola patients, said spokesperson Taylor Wilson, noting it has 20 beds and 18 are occupied by people linked to the outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship.

Although there isn’t another federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S., there are 13 “regional emerging special pathogen treatment center” locations nationwide.

The travel screenings come under a Title 42 order that allows banning non-U.S. passport holders who have traveled from those countries for up to 30 days.

The announcement comes as the WHO has declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency with more than 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths. Although the United States withdrew from the WHO officially this year, CDC officials have said they have been working with international partners and the health ministries in the affected countries. The agency also said it has been supporting response efforts through CDC country offices in Congo and Uganda to help with contact tracing, border screening, personal protective equipment and disease monitoring.

The U.S. is also coordinating with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify and manage travelers who may have been exposed to Ebola virus.

Signed by Jay Bhattacharya, who is temporarily running the CDC, the Title 42 order says its purpose is to “reduce the risk of introduction of Ebola disease into the United States” and help establish a full public health risk profile for this outbreak.

The order notes that while South Sudan has not reported confirmed cases, “it is considered at high risk because of its close border with affected areas in eastern DRC and Uganda.”

The order highlights that travelers departing from outbreak-affected regions frequently fly through airports in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi; Doha, Qatar; and Istanbul that are connected to major U.S. gateway airports including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Washington Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

The order said the amount of international travel increases “the likelihood that individuals exposed to Ebola virus disease could enter the United States before symptoms become apparent.”

In the largest Ebola outbreak – which killed more than 11,300 people and infected 28,600 people and was centered in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 – passengers from affected countries underwent temperature checks, answered a health questionnaire and were visually assessed for markers of disease.

The Trump administration first implemented Title 42 during the coronavirus pandemic, in March 2020. Its use triggered skepticism from public health officials at the time because the virus was already spreading widely in the U.S.

Last year, Trump administration officials also weighed issuing a public health order to close the southern border to migrants from a dozen countries, administration officials have said, but that order was ultimately not issued.

Health authorities have said they are particularly concerned about this Ebola outbreak because it was discovered after scores of people became ill. This strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, does not have a vaccine and treatment consists of supportive care, according to the CDC. This strain has death rates of 25 to 50 percent.

The CDC said patients in this recent outbreak have experienced typical Ebola symptoms: fever, headache, vomiting, severe weakness, abdominal pain, nosebleeds and vomiting blood.

Symptoms may begin within two to 21 days after contact; the average is eight to 10 days.

In Congo, the majority of cases so far have been in patients ages 20 to 39, with two-thirds of them among female patients, according to the WHO. WHO officials have said they are concerned about spread among household contacts and caregivers.

Tedros on Tuesday said that 30 cases have been confirmed in Congo, in the northeastern province of Ituri. He said two cases had been confirmed in Kampala, Uganda, as well, among two people who had traveled from Congo.

The CDC also said it is working on interagency efforts to extract Americans in the affected areas and is sending a technical expert from Atlanta to Congo at the country’s request.

The CDC announced Monday that in early May, a hospital in northeastern Congo “identified a cluster of severe illnesses affecting healthcare workers.” That has grown into the 17th Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history, one that is expected to exponentially expand in the coming weeks.

The risk of the spread was compounded, the WHO said Sunday, by “the ongoing insecurity, humanitarian crisis, high population mobility, the urban or semi-urban nature of the current hotspot and the large network of informal healthcare facilities.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Lauren Weber, Lena H. Sun