Defense minister: Israel staying in south Lebanon; if Iran strikes, we’ll hit it ‘with full force’

Starmer says Britain will ban under-16s from using a range of social media apps

Britain will ban under-16s from using a range of social media apps, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says, calling it “a big moment for our country.”

Starmer says he will fight back if technology companies resist the move, intended to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time. He says he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”

The move makes the UK part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among others studying or developing similar approaches.

“How we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time,” Starmer says in a statement released before the announcement. “This is a choice about whose side we’re on: families across the country, or a status quo that isn’t working.”

The under-16 ban would apply to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Threads, Twitch, Kick and Reddit, the Sunday Times reports.

The decision follows a public comment period in which the government got 116,000 responses from parents, the tech industry and children. The number of responses was second only to one seeking input about marriage equality in 2012.

Israeli defense industry booths walled off at leading Paris arms exhibition

Wooden barriers have been erected around Israeli defense industry booths at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris by event organizers, the Defense Ministry says, despite the companies complying with French restrictions targeting Israel and displaying only defensive weapons systems.

In a statement, the ministry accuses organizers of taking a “cynical” and “discriminatory” step aimed at excluding Israeli technology from the international defense expo.

“The Defense Ministry will continue to promote Israeli defense exports around the world to new heights, despite French efforts to conceal Israel’s technological superiority from the global community,” the statement reads.

Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry said French authorities barred Israel from establishing a national pavilion or sending government representatives to Eurosatory, while allowing Israeli firms to exhibit only air defense systems and banning the display of offensive weapons.

French authorities similarly sought to block Israeli participation in the 2024 Eurosatory exhibition before reversing the decision, while organizers at the 2025 Paris Air Show erected black partition walls around Israeli company exhibits displaying offensive weapons systems.

Home Front Command ends nationwide gathering restrictions

Following a fresh assessment, the IDF Home Front Command is lifting the nationwide gathering restrictions imposed yesterday amid fears of Iranian missile fire.

“As part of the changes, it was decided to remove the restriction on gatherings of up to 5,000 people in all regions of the country,” the military says.

In communities on the northern border, there are no changes to the current guidelines, which restrict gatherings to 100 people outdoors and 400 indoors.

Photos show south Lebanese residents headed back to their villages

News agencies have photos of Lebanese residents of south Lebanon on their way back to villages in the south after the declaration of the US-Iran agreement.

It is not clear that the IDF will enable such a return (and permissions will likely vary by village).

Defense minister: Israel staying in south Lebanon; if Iran strikes, we’ll hit it ‘with full force’

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, following the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, which supposedly also includes ending the fighting against Hezbollah.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that determines that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect, from there, the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements,” Katz says in a statement.

He says the security zones will be “cleared of local residents, and all terror infrastructure, above and below ground, including the houses in the contact-line villages that served as terror outposts, will be destroyed.”

Katz says that holding onto the security zones is “among the IDF’s greatest achievements” in the war, and therefore, “we oppose an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all the existing pressures and those that will still come.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu made these points clear to US President Trump and to other senior American officials, and I also made this clear yesterday to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” he says, adding that the IDF also supports holding onto the security zone in Lebanon.

“We will not compromise on Israel’s security interests and the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones,” Katz says.

Katz also warns that “if Iran attacks Israel because of events in Lebanon, we will strike it with full force.”

“We are committed only to our citizens and to the security of the State of Israel,” he adds.

Katz’s statement is the first from an Israeli leader on the ceasefire that was announced last night.

EU will weigh role in Middle East after US-Iran deal, Kallas says

The announced deal between the United States and Iran marks a “potential breakthrough” in the war and the EU will now weigh how it can be involved in the next phase, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.

“From economic leverage to nuclear expertise and longstanding relationships with Gulf partners, the EU stands ready to contribute to a sustainable resolution,” Kallas says in a post on X, before a meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the 27 EU member states in Brussels.

European Central Bank chief welcomes Iran ceasefire agreement as ‘good news’

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde says that the ceasefire agreement reached with Iran is “good news,” especially as it could lead to a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“If this news is confirmed by developments in the coming days and the signing of a memorandum of understanding … it is good news. We can only welcome it,” Lagarde tells France Culture radio.

“We have not yet finished the story,” Lagarde says, adding that “the whole question of uranium enrichment remains to be debated, agreed and concluded in the form of an agreement.”

Lebanese media reports IDF drone strike, artillery fire in south Lebanon

Lebanese media reports that a car driving in the southern Lebanon town of Kfar Tebnit was hit by an Israeli drone strike this morning.

“Injuries were reported,” Lebanon’s National News Agency says.

NNA also reports that Israeli artillery shelling hit Kfar Tebnit and the nearby town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli officials have not yet commented on the ceasefire between the US and Iran, which supposedly also includes ending the fighting in Lebanon.

UK court to rule on ban of pro-Palestinian group

London’s High Court will rule today on a legal standoff between the government and activist group Palestine Action that has seen thousands of people arrested and carried away from protests by police.

The ban, which came into force on July 5, 2025, made membership of or support for the direct action group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison under terrorism legislation.

Today’s ruling will determine whether the government overstepped its powers in banning Palestine Action.

The ban, which has led to some 3,000 arrests, put the group on a government blacklist that also includes terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

The government has been criticized for taking too broad a view of the definition of what constitutes “terrorism.”

But Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended the proscription, arguing supporters of the group are unaware of the “full nature” of the organization. “It’s really important that no-one is in any doubt that this is not a non-violent organization,” she said last year.

Ben Gvir: Trump’s agreement does not bind us, we are not partners to it

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says in a statement: “Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subordinate to the United States. We are an independent and sovereign country.”

He adds: “We are not partners to this agreement, which does not safeguard our security. We must not withdraw from any territory [in Lebanon] that our fighters have captured.”