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Israel and Lebanon signed a landmark framework agreement in Washington today, marking a major diplomatic milestone intended to reshape the security situation along Israel’s northern border. The US-brokered accord establishes a roadmap for future understandings between the two countries while making the removal of Hezbollah and Iranian influence from Lebanon its central objective.

The agreement was formalized during a ceremony in Washington attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, signed on behalf of Israel, while Lebanon was represented by its ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Israel-Lebanon peace framework: "It's the beginning of the beginning. There is a lot of work ahead." pic.twitter.com/djoFtFMeaQ

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 26, 2026

Addressing those gathered before the signing, Rubio welcomed the breakthrough, saying, “We are pleased to announce the agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Both countries deserve it after years of suffering caused by external interference,” he stated.

Israeli officials had indicated earlier in the day that a framework agreement would be unveiled following four days of intensive negotiations held in Washington.

According to Channel 12 News, the Memorandum of Understanding is designed to create the conditions for a new security reality along the northern frontier. At the heart of the agreement is a shared commitment to eliminating Iran’s influence inside Lebanon and preventing Hezbollah from continuing to operate as the dominant military force in the country.

Under the terms of the agreement, Israeli forces will continue holding positions within the Yellow Line security zone until Hezbollah has been completely disarmed and the Lebanese government demonstrates that it can exercise full authority over all of its territory.

Explaining Israel’s position, a senior Israeli official told Channel 12 News, “We will withdraw from the territory we have taken only if Hezbollah ceases to be a factor in the entire country. We retain the freedom to respond to any threat that arises.”

The official also emphasized that Jerusalem is seeking broad international recognition for maintaining its military presence in the security zone for as long as threats against Israel remain.

The framework further includes a pilot initiative under which the IDF would gradually leave a limited area of southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to move into those positions and assume responsibility for security.

The pilot phase will initially focus on two designated sectors. One area is located outside the Yellow Line, west of the Salouqi River and south of the Litani River. The second extends north of the Litani, with portions both inside and outside the newly established Yellow Line.

Implementation of the pilot program is expected to begin once the Lebanese Armed Forces complete their deployment preparations. During the initial stage, US military personnel will accompany Lebanese troops to assist them in carrying out the transition.

Following the signing ceremony, a senior Israeli diplomatic official described the agreement as an important diplomatic breakthrough, stating, “Following lengthy negotiations, representatives from the US, Israel, and Lebanon signed a trilateral working framework this evening, designed to pave the way for future agreements and achieve a lasting peace settlement.”

The official stressed that Israel’s security requirements remain unchanged, adding, “Israel will maintain its security zone within the boundaries of the Yellow Line in Lebanon until the day Hezbollah and all other terrorist organizations in Lebanon are disarmed, and a threat to the State of Israel no longer emanates from Lebanese territory. The IDF will retain full operational freedom of action throughout the security zone to neutralize threats of any kind.”

Highlighting the broader significance of the agreement, the senior diplomatic official concluded, “This trilateral framework represents a major achievement for Israel.” He asserted that the framework agreement “categorically rejects Iran’s attempt to force a unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon,” effectively stripping both Iran and Hezbollah of any role or influence in the country.

[Video below.] Rav Shlomo Englander, rosh yeshiva of Bais Shmaya, delivered a forceful address condemning demonstrations, road blockages, and confrontational protest tactics, arguing that such methods run contrary to the teachings of the Chazon Ish and the traditional approach of gedolei Yisroel.

The remarks, published in the Daas Emes MiToraso publication by Otzar HaParshah, focused on what the rosh yeshiva described as the growing phenomenon of young bnei Torah embracing the view that the draft decree should be fought through public protests, force, and disruptive demonstrations.

Rav Englander cited a historic letter that the Chazon Ish dictated word for word following an incident in which a group of young men set fire to the vehicles of Shabbos motorists in Yerushalayim.

In the extraordinary public proclamation, the Chazon Ish wrote: “This is not the way, nor is it the portion of Yaakov… The holy Torah and its mitzvos will not prevail through acts of violence, for ‘Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.’”

The Chazon Ish went on to denounce such conduct in especially sharp terms.

“Terror is a foreign branch in the vineyard of faithful Judaism, a poisonous fruit of secular parties that educate people to admire brute force and the hands of Eisav. Blessed is He Who has not made us like the secularists. Their ways are not our ways, and may we have no share with them.”

Rav Englander noted that following publication of the letter, tensions subsided, and even the most zealous elements refrained from acting in opposition to the Chazon Ish’s unequivocal position.

The rosh yeshiva also referenced another letter published in 1953 with the approval of the Chazon Ish, which stated that anyone who believes the spiritual struggle can be won through force and violence has adopted the worldview of “kochi v’otzem yadi.”

He further recalled the well-known account involving the Brisker Rav, who once confronted one of the leaders of Neturei Karta demonstrations by declaring, “You are a Zionist.”

According to the story, the Brisker Rav explained that had the man lived in Soviet Russia, he would never have dared stage such protests because he feared being shot. The fact that he protested in Israel, the Brisker Rav argued, demonstrated that he relied on the Zionist government’s laws and restraint. One who depends on those laws, he said, is, in that sense, a Zionist.

Rav Englander also cited the death of Rav Pinchos Segalov, who died after being struck by a police officer, as well as comments made by Rav Moshe Silber at the levayah of a bochur who was killed by an Arab driver during a demonstration. Rav Silber reportedly said that anyone responsible for organizing that protest should repent for the bloodshed.

Rav Englander also questioned why bnei Torah involved in such demonstrations later turn to civil rights organizations to complain about police conduct.

“Is that not Zionism as well,” he asked, “when they believe the authorities will uphold the law?”

Concluding his address, the rosh yeshiva said such methods fundamentally contradict the educational principles handed down by the gedolim. Just as children should not be disciplined through slaps and shouting because it teaches that force is an acceptable means of achieving one’s goals, he argued, the same principle applies to public protests.

“If people hold demonstrations, break into the homes of government officials, and smash their windows, even if, as a result, several bochurim are released from prison, anyone who follows that path is being educated in a way of force and violence,” Rav Englander concluded. He stressed that such an approach is inconsistent with the educational philosophy taught by the Chazon Ish and the gedolei hador.

WATCH:

A major public gathering in support of bnei yeshivah imprisoned in military jails has been postponed until Monday night, organizers announced. The event, titled Maamad Kevod HaTorah, will be led by the former Rishon LeTzion, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, president of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah, and is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants.

The rally follows a decision reached two weeks ago at a gathering of Sephardic community rabbanim in Bnei Brak, where leaders resolved to organize a mass demonstration in response to the draft of bnei yeshivah and the imprisonment of bnei Torah in military detention facilities.

Originally scheduled for Motzoei Shabbos following Parshas Balak, the event has now been rescheduled for Monday after numerous rabbanim and participants from outside Bnei Brak requested additional time to arrange their attendance.

According to organizers, the rally will bring together the city’s rabbanim, roshei yeshivah, roshei kollelim, and other gedolei Torah, alongside thousands of bnei Torah and avreichim, in a public demonstration of support for those currently incarcerated over the draft issue.

The gathering will take place along Rechov Eshel Avraham and Rechov Rabinov in the Ramat Elchanan and Ramat Aharon neighborhoods of Bnei Brak.

The rally is scheduled to begin Monday night, the 14th of Tammuz, at 9:30 p.m. Organizers say they are preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands and emphasize that the event will be conducted in an orderly fashion while expressing broad public support for lomdei Torah who have been imprisoned in military jails.

After an intensive diplomatic effort that lasted nearly two days, the body of the young Chernobyler chossid, Reb Akiva Rand z”l, who was tragically killed in a car accident near Kishinev, has been released by Moldovan authorities and is expected to be flown to Eretz Yisroel aboard a specially chartered private aircraft before Shabbos for burial. The development brought enormous relief to the grieving family and the many chassidim who had anxiously awaited the outcome.

Sources said that immediately after news of the tragedy emerged, members of ZAKA and its International Division launched an intensive campaign to prevent an autopsy and avoid unnecessary delays in releasing the body. The possibility of kavod hameis being compromised and the burial being postponed weighed heavily on the devastated family.

Senior askanim soon joined the effort. Through the extensive involvement of Motty Babchik, who personally enlisted the assistance of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s highest diplomatic channels were activated in negotiations with the Moldovan government. Working closely together, Babchik and Sa’ar pressed officials in Kishinev until authorities finally agreed to release the body.

Volunteers from ZAKA’s International Division remained at the accident scene, ensuring that the deceased was treated with the utmost dignity while carefully recovering all necessary remains so that he could be brought to kever Yisroel in accordance with halachah.

From the outset, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Embassy in Moldova, and ZAKA’s International Division coordinated the response, assisting the family while simultaneously working to secure the release of the body. Although Moldovan authorities initially demanded that an autopsy be performed, ZAKA ultimately succeeded in preventing the procedure and obtaining permission for the body to be transported to Israel for burial.

Nachman Dickstein, commander of ZAKA Europe, praised the successful outcome, saying: “The efforts that continued for nearly two days concluded, with siyata d’Shmaya, successfully. I would like to thank the Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Embassy in Moldova, Chabad emissary in Moldova Rav Mendy Axel, and all those in Israel and Moldova who worked tirelessly around the clock until the mission was completed. Thanks to this cooperation, we were able to preserve Akiva’s dignity, prevent an autopsy, and bring him to kever Yisroel.”

Chaim Weingarten, ZAKA’s Deputy Director of Operations, added: “I would like to thank ZAKA Europe commander Nachman Dickstein for his professional and dedicated leadership, ZAKA’s legal department and its coordinator Michael Gutwin, Yossi Landau, ZAKA’s Lachish District operations officer, the volunteers of ZAKA’s International Division, and all of our partners in Israel and around the world. Special thanks to the askanim in the United States who worked with American government officials, including Rav Moshe Dovid Niederman (UJO Williamsburg), Rav Moshe Margaretten (Tzedek), and Zvi Gluck (Amudim), whose efforts contributed greatly to completing this mission. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, all procedures were completed, Akiva’s body was released without an autopsy, and he will be brought to burial in Israel with the dignity he deserves.”

As previously reported, the olam hachassidus—and the Chernobyler chassidus in particular—was shaken by the tragic passing of Reb Akiva Rand, who was just 29 years old.

The fatal accident occurred while Reb Akiva was traveling with a group of chassidim to Moldova to visit the kever of the tzaddik Rav Yechiel Heshel of Krilovitz, whose yahrtzeit fell this week. While driving near Kishinev, Reb Akiva lost control of his vehicle, which veered off the road and plunged into a deep ravine. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene, while the other passengers sustained injuries and were transported to a local hospital.

A native of London, Reb Akiva was the son of Reb Mordechai Dovid Rand, one of the prominent Chernobyler chassidim, and the son-in-law of Rav Yosef Mordechai Weiss, rav of the Machzikei HaDas community in Zurich. After his marriage, he settled in Yerushalayim, where he learned in Kollel Nachalas Akiva and devoted himself to mentoring bochurim at Yeshivas Kochav MiYaakov–Tchebin.

Friends described him as a gentle and refined ben Torah, deeply devoted to Torah and yiras Shomayim. For many years, he and his wife waited to be blessed with children before finally meriting three young children, who have now been left orphaned by this heartbreaking tragedy.

{Matzav.com}

A major disruption to summer air travel has been avoided after Israel and the U.S. military reached an agreement to accelerate the relocation of dozens of American aircraft parked at Ben Gurion Airport, clearing the way for hundreds of thousands of additional commercial flights.

The Transportation Ministry announced Friday that the new understandings with the U.S. military will eliminate the remaining threat to more than 200,000 airline tickets scheduled for July and August. The agreement follows an earlier breakthrough about a week and a half ago that already prevented the cancellation of more than 2.4 million tickets.

Since June 16, when the first agreement was reached to ease the crisis, 15 American military aircraft have already been moved out of Ben Gurion Airport. Under the latest arrangement, another 30 aircraft will be gradually transferred to Israeli Air Force bases by next Tuesday, with an additional phase to follow that will relocate 20 more aircraft.

As part of the agreement, Israel committed that, should the security situation deteriorate, the American aircraft will be permitted to return to Ben Gurion Airport within approximately 72 hours.

The crisis developed after dozens of U.S. Air Force refueling and transport aircraft were stationed at Ben Gurion, occupying a substantial portion of the airport’s available parking space for civilian aircraft. In recent weeks, the Israel Airports Authority warned that unless the military aircraft were relocated, airlines would likely be forced to reduce their summer and Tishrei Yom Tov schedules. Initial estimates indicated that more than 2.4 million airline tickets could ultimately have been canceled if the congestion was not resolved.

{Matzav.com}