Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Will Be Extended By 3-Weeks
US President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Thursday (23rd) that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks.
His post came after he participated in the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House.
“The President of the United States, Donald Trump, Vice-President of the United States, JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Israel , Mike Huckabee, and Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, met today with high-Ranking Representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office. The meeting went very well. The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote.
“The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS. I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime MInister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a great honor to be a participant at this very historic meeting,” he wrote.
Trump’s announcement followed Hezbollah’s latest blatant violation of the ceasefire, when the terrorist group fired several rockets towards Shtula in the WesternGalilee just before midnight Thursday (23rd).
All of the rockets were intercepted by air defense systems. No impacts were reported inside Israeli territory, and there were no casualties.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement: “Following the sirens that sounded in the area of Shtula a short while ago, several launches that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified.”
It added, “The Israeli Air Force intercepted the launches. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”
In a separate statement, the IDF Spokesperson;s Unit said that earlier on Thursday (23rd) the IDF struck and eliminated three Hezbollah terrorists who launched a surface-to-air missile toward an Israeli Air Force aircraft unsuccessfully.
In an additional incident, terrorists launched an explosive UAV toward IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon. Shortly afterward, the IDF struck terrorist infrastructure in the area.
A reservist was lightly injured by the explosive UAV and required medical treatment. His family was notified.
Additionally, the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched rockets toward IDF soldiers operating south of the Forward Defense Line, in the Aainata area in southern Lebanon. Some were intercepted, while others fell near the troops. No injuries were reported.
In addition, the IDF identified and dismantled two loaded and ready-to -fire launchers.
“These constitute blatant violations of the ceasefire understandings. The IDF continues to operate in order to remove threats to Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” the statement said.
Danon: Lebanon Ceasefire Is Not 100%
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon told CNN on Thursday (23rd) that the extended ceasefire in Lebanon is “not 100%” and raised doubts over the Lebanese government’s ability to enforce the agreement in the south of the country, where Hezbollah operates under Iranian backing.
“I have to be honest,” said Danon. “You know the Lebanese government has no control of Hezbollah and Hezbollah is sending rockets trying to sabotage the ceasefire. And Israel, we have to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take action.”
Danon said the current arrangement is an improvement over the previous situation, but stressed it remains incomplete
“It’s a significantly better situation. It’s not 100%,” he said, “I hope to see that the Lebanese military are actually able to implement and to enforce this ceasefire.”
Danon’s comments followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement in a post on Truth Social that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks.
His post came after he participated in the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after the announcement Trump said he hopes to host a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington within the next few weeks.
A reporter asked Trump whether he believed there is a chance for peace between Israel and Lebanon this year, to which the President replied, “I think there is a great chance. I mean, you know, they’re friends about the same things and they’re enemies on the same things and it has to do with, I guess you could say, a couple of countries, but certainly it’s, if you look at Hezbollah, that’s where everybody seems to be united.”
Group Of Over 250 Bnei Menashe Immigrants Arrive In Israel From India
More than 250 Indians claiming descent from the Biblical tribe Manasseh, have landed at Ben Gurion Airport, as part of a government operation to relocate them in Israel.
They are the first Bnei Menashe (“Sons of Mannasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government decided in November to fund the immigrants of around 4,500 members of the community from the State of mani pur in northern India.
The community claims to descend from Manasseh, the forefather of one of the biblical “lost tribes” of Israel exiled in 720 BCE by Assyrian conquerors.
The Shavei Israel organization, which seeks to trace the descendants of the lost tribes, say that some 4,000 Bnei Menashe have already migrated to Israel since the 1990s, with around 7,000 others still living in India.
Their oral history tells of a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, all the while adhering to certain Jewish religious practices, like circumcision.
In India, some were converted to Christianity by 19-century missionaries. In Israel, they will need to convert in order to become Israeli citizens.
The 250 Bnei Menashe who arrived Thursday (23rd) are to settle in northern Israel, according to the Ministry of Immigration..
Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer, who welcomed the newcomers at the airport told AFP that their arrival marked a “historic moment”
“This is the beginning of an operation that will allow the entire community to immigrate, 1,200 a year,” hs said.
7-Year-Old Girl From Arad critically wounded In Iranian Missile Attack Last Month, Discharged From Hospital
A 7-year-old girl from the southern city of Arad, who was critically wounded in an Iranian missile attack last month has been discharged from Schneider Children’s Medical Center, the hospital said on Thursday (23rd).
“We went through moments that cannot be described,” the victim’s father said in a statement shared by the hospital.
“We saw our daughter fighting for her life, and the team at Schneider never gave up on her, not even for a moment. Thanks to them, she is with us today. We have no words to thank everyone involved for their professionalism, dedication and compassion.
Following the March 21 missile strike, the girl was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva with severe bleeding and multiple-system injuries caused by the blast impact and glass shrapnel.
Scans later showed that fragments had punctured her abdomen, causing severe liver damage, including a torn blood vessel and injury to the bile duct, requiring emergency surgery. After being stabilized at the Beershexa hospital, the victim was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at Schneider Children’s Medical Center, where she underwent several additional surgeries and a prolonged hospitalization.
She was discharged earlier this week in good condition and will continue her recovery at home, the hospital stated.
Dr. Michael Gurevich, head of Schneider’s pediatric liver transplant department and one of the surgeons who treated the girl, described the case as a “complex multi-system injury with immediate life-threatening risk.”
“An intensive team effort involving multiple surgical disciplines was required to stabilize her condition and repair the damage to the liver and biliary system,’ he explained.
Fortunately, thanks to rapid intervention and continued care, we were able to save her life.”
Iranian ballistic missiles struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad on March 21, wounding 115, including 12 with serious injuries.
The Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it evacuated a total of 31 people to Soroka after a missile scored a direct hit in Dimona around 7 p.m.
One person sustained serious wounds, one was moderately injured and 29 others were listed as being in mild condition.
Around three hours later, 84 people were wounded by a direct impact in Arad, some 15 miles west of Dimona.
Among those evacuated to the hospital were 11 in serious condition, 20 in moderate condition and 84 in mild condition.
“Leaving Britain? UK Aliyah Hits 40-Year High As Antisemitism Rises Fast
According to a new report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, 742 Jews from the United Kingdom made aliyah in 2025, the highest annual total since the mid-1980s.
Over the past two decades, aliyah from the UK has remained stable, typically ranging between 400 and 740 people per year, with a long-term average of about 566 annually.
In practical terms that means roughly 2 out of every thousand British Jews make aliyah each year, higher than other countries like Canada but still far below places where migration levels are significantly higher.
So this is not, at least yet, a mass exodus. But something is changing. Firstly, this marks two consecutive years of growth, rising from 451 immigrants in 2024, to 742 in 2025.
Secondly, since October 7, studies show British Jews are more likely than before to consider aliyah, even if many have not yet acted on it.
That change is especially pronounced among younger Jews, Orthodox communities, and those who have personally experienced antisemitism.
Many British Jews find that there are many factors to consider regarding aliyah: economic opportunities, family, and connection to Israel all play a role.
Antisemitism in the UK has surged in recent years, which reshapes how many Jews view their place in British society.
There may also be a practical explanation for the 2025 spike.
Some of the increase may be due to delayed aliyah plans from previous years – particularly during periods when travel and relocation were disrupted, whether it was due to COVID or war.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Love The Jews? – Stephen Daisley (Jewish Chronicle – UK)
As the tide of antisemitism rises once more, a familiar question is posed: why do they hate the Jews? The answers are the same as before: ethnic and religious prejudice, political fanaticism, the conspiratorial mindset, each feeding and being fed by jealousy, ignorance and resentment.
Antisemitism is not a philosophy arrived at by reason. In fact, it’s a volcanic madness that is always there, waiting to erupt at the first rumblings of societal instability, economic precarity, or spiritual disorder. There might be more to gain from flipping the question on its head: why doesn’t everyone love the Jews?
It’s a thought that has occurred to this gentile more than once because, truth be told, Jews are kind of awesome. The original scribes and scholars of the Bible, defiers of pharaohs, and humblers of empires. Source of modern law and ethics, composers of some of civilization’s finest music, art and literature; bearers of an ancient covenant across two millennia of exile. Survivors of extermination; revivers of a nation and a language; and innovators in agriculture, medicine and technology. All this!
There is surely sufficient truth to foster a culture of philosemitism, by which I mean a respect and admiration for Jewish civilization and its fruits; for institutions, practices and teachings whose benefits stretch far beyond Jews and Jewish communities.
In practical terms, philosemitism means countering the ignorance of others, counseling your children in respect for Jewish people and revulsion for those who despise them, refusing to remain silent when Jews are targeted for harm or hatred.
Former Chief Rabbi of Britain Johathan Sacks said: “The way a culture treats its Jews is the best indicator of its humanity or lack of it” That culture must move beyond thinking of Jews as a minority to be accommodated and understand them as rightful co-authors of the culture.
The writer is a columnist for Britain’s Daily Mail.
