June 22: ZAKA organization says Jewish man critically wounded in Montreal shooting

Organization backtracks on identity of civilian killed in Montreal shooting

Paramedics near the scene of an active shooter situation on June 22, 2026 in Montreal, Canada. (Andrej Ivanov /Getty Images via AFP)

The ZAKA organization appears to reverse its earlier announcement about the identity of a Jewish man killed during a shooting in a Jewish neighborhood in Montreal.

The organization now says that Michael Mizrachi was seriously wounded in the shooting and is in critical condition, with his family asking for prayers.

Montreal police have confirmed that a civilian was killed in the shooting alongside a police officer and the suspect. None of their identities have been officially released by authorities.

Iran to establish communication line for safe passage in Hormuz, top negotiator says

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says that Tehran has agreed to have a communication line regarding ship passage in the Strait of Hormuz to avoid conflict and incidents in the strategic waterway.

In comments given to state TV on his way back from talks with the US in Switzerland, the Iranian negotiator adds that the signing of the release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets has been finalized in the talks.

US sets up ‘monitoring mechanism’ for fighting in Lebanon; 3 days of fresh direct talks to start tomorrow

The US Central Command has started a “monitoring mechanism” of fighting in Lebanon so that policymakers have real-time and accurate information regarding the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a US official says in a statement to reporters.

A source familiar with the matter says that this monitoring mechanism is separate from the deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon that Vice President JD Vance announced earlier today. The latter mechanism is one that uses Qatar for the US to pass along complaints to Iran regarding alleged Hezbollah ceasefire violations in Lebanon, as opposed to the previous system that was more ad hoc, the source says.

The unveiling of the monitoring mechanism comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held phone calls with the leaders of Israel and Lebanon over the weekend, the US official says.

Israeli and Lebanese officials will build on the mechanism during three days of negotiations in Washington that will kick off tomorrow, the US official says.

Arab League confirms Egyptian diplomat Nabil Fahmy as secretary general

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy arrives at an EU-Arab league Foreign Ministers summit, in Athens, on June 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The Arab League has confirmed Egyptian veteran diplomat Nabil Fahmy as its new chief, during a meeting of foreign ministers in Amman, a statement says.

Fahmy’s five-year term as secretary general is to begin at the start of July, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit who served two consecutive terms as head of the regional body.

The former top diplomat, who led Egypt’s foreign ministry from June 2013 to July 2014, will become the eighth Egyptian head of the Cairo-based regional bloc. He was unanimously nominated for the post in March.

The 22-member bloc has only had one non-Egyptian secretary general — Tunisian Chedli Klibi in the 1980s — when Egypt was suspended for signing a peace deal with Israel, at the time, breaking a regional consensus.

Fahmy, 75, said in March that the role was a “great responsibility” to bear, given “the blatant violations of international law perpetrated by aggressors who have treacherously attacked our countries and our security, and by others whose prolonged occupation of our lands have obstructed our brothers from exercising their legitimate rights.”

He did not explicitly name Iran or Israel, but his statement echoed his predecessor’s line on both.

The Arab League, founded in 1945, is a mostly political forum for Arab countries to discuss and communicate points of consensus.

Trump congratulates Abelardo De La Espriella after apparent win in Colombia

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement speaks to supporters from inside a bulletproof booth at a celebration rally after runoff election results showed him leading in Barranquilla, Colombia, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

US President Donald Trump congratulates Abelardo De La Espriella, a nationalist lawyer who has been elected president of Colombia according to a near-complete but not yet official count.

Trump adds that he looks forward to working together to build a powerful relationship between the two countries.

The US leader had backed De La Espriella, who has also pledged to renew diplomatic ties with Israel and open an embassy in Jerusalem.

Vance leaves Switzerland, but says other US negotiators are still talking

US Vice President JD Vance leaves Switzerland, but says other American negotiators are staying behind.

“We left a lot of our team. The Iranians left a lot of their team at the resort there to keep on working at it,” Vance tells reporters just before he gets on Air Force Two for the return flight to the US.

Vance does not give details on which US negotiators are staying in Switzerland to continue to work out the details of the interim agreement with Iran.

ZAKA says Jewish man critically wounded in Montreal shooting

Illustrative. Montreal police. (Flickr/CC BY-SA/Jorge from Brazil)

This post has been updated with later developments.

The ZAKA organization named a man they said was killed in today’s shooting in Montreal, but then later backtracked and said the man they identified was instead seriously wounded.

The organization said late Monday that Michael Mizrahi was seriously wounded and is need of prayers as he undergoes emergency surgery.

Police have confirmed that a civilian and a police officer were killed in the shooting in a Jewish neighborhood of Montreal. None of their identities have been confirmed by authorities.

It is not clear whether the intended targets of the shooting were Jewish, but Rabbi Motti Seligson, a Chabad spokesman in New York, tells the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that, based on what he has heard from Chabad representatives in Montreal, the shooting does not seem to be related to the Jewish community.

Many members of the Jewish community are sheltering in place on the street where the attack took place, with two telling JTA that, to the best of their knowledge, the attack did not appear to be targeting Jews.

Yitzhak Rosenblum, a member of the local Chevra Kadisha, a volunteer burial society, says that he was working at his office “when I heard a bunch of cops flying by and I heard some gunshots.”

Côte-des-Neiges was the scene of postwar Jewish settlement as Jewish families ascending from the working to the middle class moved west from the area of St. Laurent Boulevard. The area, with treelined streets studded with duplexes and low-rise apartment buildings, had a friendly neighborhood ambience and lacked the anti-Jewish restrictions some of the wealthier enclaves maintained at the time.

There are a number of Jewish schools and synagogues in the area, including the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, the oldest congregation in the country, established in 1768 and relocated to the neighborhood in 1947. The neighborhood is now the site of a large Chabad community and a number of Jewish restaurants and delis.

The neighborhood has been targeted by gunfire in recent years, including incidents in 2023 and 2024, where shots were fired at Orthodox schools.

New Mossad chief said to order fresh probe into agency’s wartime conduct

New Mossad chief Roman Gofman has ordered a new, comprehensive internal probe of the spy agency’s conduct during the war and surrounding the failures related to the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, Haaretz reports, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the move.

The report notes that the new probe is not meant to replace several already completed internal inquiries on the subject, and is part of Gofman’s personal learning process as he takes the leadership of the Mossad.

Canadian police say 2 killed in Montreal shooting — a cop and a civilian; suspect also dead

A shooting in a neighborhood of Montreal that has a notable Jewish presence has left three people dead, including the alleged assailant, Canadian police say.

There is no immediate word on a motive in the attack, which left one police officer and one civilian dead, and another officer seriously wounded. Police give no immediate details of how the attack unfolded.

Mamdani defends calling AIPAC ‘monsters’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defends calling AIPAC “monsters” in comments that were widely decried as trafficking in antisemitic tropes.

“We’re talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis,” Mamdani says during a press event, mentioning the killing of Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Washah on Saturday.

The IDF said Washah was a Hamas operative. Purported journalists in Gaza have repeatedly been found to have been members of terrorist groups.

“When I am speaking about AIPAC, I’m speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but frankly, through much of the region,” Mamdani said. “It is a status quo for immorality. It is one that I will not accept.”

“It is important that when we ask ourselves how such death and destruction is happening overseas, we also name those who allow it to take place,” he says.

Mamdani made the previous comment during a rally on Thursday.

He said that “the monsters that we are up against, they take many different forms,” and then singled out AIPAC.

He described the pro-Israel lobby as an organization “for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and Netanyahu’s wars.”

Mamdani continued by alleging that AIPAC moves “millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power so that they can turn us against one another instead of our leaders turning towards the moral change we all know to be necessary.”

Jewish leaders and Jewish organizations say the comment crossed a line.

The head of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, says in a statement addressed to Mamdani: “When you call people monsters, you’re not debating ideas, you’re dehumanizing the people you disagree with.”

After watching @NYCMayor's recent speech at a political rally, I wanted to offer these thoughts to him.

Mayor Mamdani, referring to fellow New Yorkers as “monsters” is outrageous and dangerous, and the impact of your words extends far beyond politics.

It’s not only about your… https://t.co/q1sk86fFkL

— Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee (@AJCCEO) June 22, 2026

NYC coffee shop bars a Jewish congressman: ‘We don’t serve genocide enablers’

US Representative Dan Goldman speaks outside of Columbia University, April 22, 2024, in New York City. He is joined by Representatives Josh Gottheimer, Kathy Manning, and Jared Moskowitz. (Luke Tress/JTA)

A cafe in Brooklyn says it has barred US Rep. Dan Goldman after Goldman stopped at the coffee shop.

Poetica Coffee, in the Williamsburg neighborhood, posts a photo of Goldman on social media, writing: “We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice?”

“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers,” the post says. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”

The shop says it refunded Goldman’s $9.82 purchase.

“We don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways),” the post says. “Don’t ever come to Poetica.”

Goldman is a Jewish centrist who supports Israel’s existence, but has also been harshly critical of the Israeli government and the war in Gaza.

Last year, he said the war was a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called the Netanyahu coalition an “extremist government” that “unjustly hurts Palestinians.”

Goldman is facing a primary challenge from former New York City comptroller Brad Lander in tomorrow’s election.

Lander is also Jewish, and defines himself as a “liberal Zionist,” but is running to Goldman’s left when it comes to Israel.

Poetica is a chain with six locations around the city.

The chain’s website says that “whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.”

“Not as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,” the website says.

Report: Netanyahu ‘in panic’ over new US-Iran Lebanon oversight mechanism; US official denies Israel excluded

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a memorial event in Jerusalem, June 21, 2026. (Roy Avraham/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “panicking” over a new Lebanon deconfliction mechanism emerging from yesterday’s US-Iran talks in Switzerland that could limit Israel’s freedom of action and remove it from the oversight framework. He has launched diplomatic efforts to protect Israel’s interests, Channel 12 reports, citing a senior Israeli official.

US Vice President JD Vance said earlier today that a new “deconfliction mechanism” was established during yesterday’s talks in Burgenstock. According to an earlier Channel 12 report, the new arrangement would replace the one brokered in 2024 under the Biden administration, which comprised Israel, Lebanon, the US, France, and the UN, with a new body made up of the US, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, and Pakistan.

In this evening’s report, a senior American official denies to the network that Israel is excluded from the mechanism, stressing that, given Washington and Jerusalem’s close ties, a direct US-Iran channel will only benefit Israel. It is unclear whether the official means Israel will have a formal role in the mechanism or whether its interests will be represented indirectly through coordination with Washington.

While the 2024 framework aimed to coordinate between Israel and Lebanon on efforts to collect and remove Hezbollah weapons, the current arrangement is mainly focused on preventing friction between the IDF and Hezbollah, Channel 12 adds.

According to the Hebrew network, the Lebanon file has become Netanyahu’s chief concern regarding the US-Iran negotiations, and he has enlisted former strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer to engage Washington on the matter, believing no other Israeli official — including Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter — is currently able to do so effectively.

Senior US officials spoke with Dermer several times from Switzerland during negotiations and kept him updated on developments, particularly regarding Lebanon, the report continues, adding that US President Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social yesterday, in which he warned Iran that if it failed to restrain Hezbollah, he would resort to military action, was the result of an intervention by Dermer.

Unspecified ‘unusual’ incident in Gaza said to have happened on Saturday

Channel 12 news reports of a recent “disturbing nighttime incident” in the Gaza Strip, though the network does not actually provide any details as to what occurred.

The network’s southern Israel analyst, Almog Boker, claims that security officials in communities near the Gaza border were not updated in real-time regarding what was happening in the Strip during the “suspected unusual incident.”

When residents heard sounds of gunfire, security officials questioned the IDF, which told them that it was warning shots by troops, according to Channel 12.

The network claims that the Israeli Air Force was not updated on the incident until much later.

However, Boker admits in his report that “there was no threat to the communities, even those adjacent to the border.”

In response, the IDF says that “on Saturday night, unusual activity by several Hamas operatives was identified, and as a result, an alert was raised, and all required measures were taken.”

IDF to release members of northern civil defense squads from reserve duty, as Lebanon truce holds

The IDF will be releasing from reserve duty members of civil defense squads in northern border communities, as the ceasefire with Hezbollah appears to hold.

The members of the local security teams had been called up to reserve duty during the war with Iran, and when fighting with Hezbollah escalated.

Civil defense squad members normally have civilian jobs alongside their volunteering. During wars, the IDF has recruited them to serve as “area defense force” soldiers in reserve duty.

In a letter sent to the civil defense squads by a senior officer in the Northern Command, they are notified that, as of Sunday, they are being released from reserve duty.

The local security team members will continue in their roles as civilians and keep their weapons in case of sudden incidents.

Police: Cop killed in Montreal shooting, another officer and 1 civilian hurt; suspect ‘neutralized’

Montreal police say an officer has been killed in a shooting incident, adding that the suspect has been “neutralized.”

“It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of one of our police officers while on duty. Further details will follow,” police say.

Earlier, it said two police officers and one civilian were injured, adding: “The police operation is still underway. Please continue to avoid the area.”

Police do not say if there are other suspects involved.

It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of one of our police officers while on duty. Further details will follow. pic.twitter.com/vaMLXC4ZrR

— Police Montréal (@SPVM) June 22, 2026

Update – Imminent Threat #Alert
A suspect has been neutralized. Two police officers and one civilian were injured. The police operation is still underway. Please continue to avoid the area. More details to follow. pic.twitter.com/m17UWGXPs0

— Police Montréal (@SPVM) June 22, 2026

Active shooting reported in Montreal in area with Jewish presence; motive unclear

Canadian media reports an active shooting in the Côte-des-Neiges area of Montreal, with at least one police officer injured.

The area is home to Jewish sites, including a Chabad House and a kosher restaurant, but the target and the motive are not initially clear.

Authorities have issued an emergency alert, saying the suspect is armed and dangerous and urging residents to stay home and avoid the area near De Courtrai and Trans Island Avenues.

https://x.com/JonCohenBR1/status/2069093687968104959

Trump says Iran will agree to long-term inspections to ensure ‘nuclear honesty’

US President Donald Trump writes: “Everybody is fully aware that Iran will agree to have major weapons inspections in order to ensure ‘nuclear honesty’ long into the future.”

Trump’s Truth Social post apparently refers both to US Vice President JD Vance’s announcement that, in talks over the weekend, Iran agreed to allow UN inspectors back into the country’s nuclear sites, and to Iran’s subsequent denial that it made any new nuclear-related commitments during the talks.

Katz reiterates IDF’s ‘complete freedom of action’ to counter threats in Lebanon and elsewhere

Defense Minister Israel Katz attends an event for outstanding soldiers as part of Israel’s 78th Independence Day celebrations in Jerusalem on April 20, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterates that IDF troops have “complete freedom of action” to act against threats in southern Lebanon.

“IDF commanders and soldiers have full backing from the prime minister, from me, and from the IDF high command — and complete freedom of action to act decisively against any threat: in southern Lebanon, in the Gaza Strip, and anywhere it is necessary to defend the State of Israel,” he says in a video statement.

Katz says that the IDF “will remain in the security zone in Lebanon to protect the northern communities, thwart threats, and destroy terror infrastructure in the area, below and above the ground.”

A new deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon, established as part of the negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland over the weekend, would exclude Israel and reportedly limit Israeli military action to only responding to “imminent threats,” rather than to the broader category of “emerging threats.”

Rat pups found in Arkia plane; airline trades blame with catering firm

A bag containing rat pups was found yesterday inside an Arkia plane immediately after a flight from Israel to Greece, with the airline and an in-flight food catering company trading blame, Hebrew media report.

The bag was reportedly discovered as the plane was on the tarmac in Preveza, inside a cart containing water and single-use cups that was meant to be used during the subsequent return flight to Tel Aviv.

Arkia issues a statement blaming the incident on the Tamam Aircraft Food Industries company, saying the cart was received from the firm’s storage facility.

“Immediately upon the finding’s discovery, the cart was decommissioned and the matter was dealt with immediately,” it says, stressing that the animals had no contact at any point with the food served or meant to be served to passengers or crew.

Arkia claims that Tamam is responsible for the catering equipment and storage sites, as well as for sanitary conditions and quality assurance in its facilities, saying it “expects full explanations alongside corrective steps that will ensure that such an incident doesn’t repeat.”

Tamam hits back, saying that it operates in accordance with the highest quality standards and that any attempt to fault it “is unacceptable and, if needed, will be answered in court.”

The firm says the cart was checked before the flight by an airline representative and by a food factory representative, “and was found completely in order when it was loaded.”

“Arkia must urgently and thoroughly probe how such a grave incident happened on its plane,” it says.

Election officials push to label campaign materials that use AI

Election officials are seeking new safeguards against AI-generated political misinformation ahead of the upcoming Knesset election, including a requirement that parties and other campaigners label election materials created with or substantially altered using artificial intelligence.

Under the proposal, campaign content would have to be clearly identified as having been generated or manipulated using AI. The measure would not prohibit the use of artificial intelligence in political messaging, but it is intended to increase transparency and prevent disinformation.

Presenting the proposal to the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, acting Central Elections Committee director-general Din Livneh says the measure is intended to address the growing use of AI in political campaigns and ensure voters can identify digitally altered content.

Violations of the legislation could carry penalties of up to NIS 30,000 ($10,000) or six months in prison.

The proposal is part of a broader election bill that also includes measures relating to displaced voters, polling stations in nursing homes, and other preparations for the upcoming election set for late October.

During the hearing, Likud MK Amit Halevi also calls to install cameras in polling stations, arguing that they would deter voter fraud, drawing sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers and election officials.

Livneh rejects claims of widespread election fraud, insisting that existing safeguards are sufficient.

“There is no fraud in Israel. If it exists, it is on the margins,” he says. “I can refute these conspiracy theories, one after another.”

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv calls proposed cameras in polling stations “a direct attempt to undermine election integrity and suppress turnout.”

In previous elections, Likud armed polling committee representatives with hidden cameras and placed them at polling stations throughout Arab communities across the country, according to critics, as a form of voter intimidation to keep Arabs from the polls.

IDF says drill to take place tomorrow morning in Eilat area

The military says it will be conducting a pre-planned drill in the Eilat bay area tomorrow morning.

The IDF warns that as part of the military exercise, there will be an increased movement of security forces and vessels in the area.

Rubio heads to the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain as efforts intensify to end the war with Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to end the war with Iran while Gulf countries remain uneasy about a proposed deal.

The State Department announces that Rubio will visit the three countries for bilateral meetings with leaders to discuss the memorandum of understanding reached last week between the US and Iran, weekend talks in Switzerland between senior Iranian and US officials, and security for American allies and partners in the Middle East, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio will discuss “regional priorities” and “efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” the department says in a statement.

While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with Gulf Cooperation Council officials “to discuss shared priorities.”

Iran says it didn’t make any new commitments on nuclear issues during talks with US

Tehran did not negotiate on its nuclear program and did not accept any new commitments in yesterday’s talks with the US in Switzerland, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei tells the official IRNA news agency.

Iran’s interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue in accordance with current procedures, subject to the approval of Iran’s parliament and the decisions of the Supreme National Security Council, Baghaei adds.

Two cops said filmed having sex next to police car; incident being investigated

Two police officers were filmed last night having sexual intercourse next to a police vehicle during operational activity, apparently in the south, the Ynet news site reports.

The clip showing the two male officers was shared online earlier today and sparked an uproar.

Police comment that the incident is being looked into by relevant authorities.

Sa’ar and visiting EU official discuss Gaza, PA reforms and settlements amid tensions with Brussels

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, right, and European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica meet at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on June 22, 2026. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and visiting European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica offer contrasting views on Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and West Bank settlements during a meeting in Jerusalem today.

The visit comes at a tense moment in Israel-EU ties, after Sa’ar announced on Thursday that he was halting all contact with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for reportedly comparing Israel to South Africa’s apartheid regime — an allegation Kallas has not publicly denied — and accused her of “acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward Israel.”

“We believe in the importance of comprehensive, honest and open dialogue with the EU. But ‘dialogue’ cannot just be one side dictating its political positions to the other side,” Sa’ar says in joint remarks delivered ahead of the meeting with Suica at the Foreign Ministry.

Turning to address key foreign policy issues, Sa’ar reiterates Israel’s position that any postwar arrangement in Gaza must include the disarmament of Hamas and accuses the terror group of “delaying” that process.

In her own remarks, Suica agrees that “Hamas must have no role in the future governance of Gaza and must disarm,” while adding that the humanitarian situation in Gaza “remains very problematic” and that aid must reach those in need “at a bigger scale,” alongside conditions for early economic recovery.

She also says a “viable and financially sustainable Palestinian Authority is important for regional stability and security,” adding that “lasting peace requires a political horizon, not economic isolation through withholding tax revenues,” referring to Israel’s continued withholding of tax revenues that it collected on behalf of the PA since the Oslo Accords, and which the body says amounts to $5 billion after a year without transfers.

Israel defends withholding the funds by arguing that Ramallah allocates some of that money for terrorists and their families.

Sa’ar dismisses claims by the PA that it is implementing reforms on that issue, accusing it of continuing a controversial policy of providing payments to terrorists and their families through newly established channels, as well as “poison[ing] the minds of Palestinian society with endless incitement in its schools, textbooks, mosques and media.”

“There is, unfortunately, none of the change necessary to build a reliable and different relationship [with the PA],” he says.

Suica further says the EU has “deep concerns about deteriorating situation regarding the illegal settlements” in the West Bank and reiterates that Brussels sees a negotiated two-state solution as “the only sustainable path forward.”

Sa’ar rejects the widespread international view that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, saying that “no government in the past has accepted an approach that denies our basic right to live in our homeland,” adding that the settlements are “necessary for our security.”

During her two-day visit, Suica is scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog and with PA Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, with discussions expected to focus on Gaza’s recovery, PA reforms and regional cooperation, according to a statement from an EU spokesperson.

MKs okay putting Knesset House Committee in charge of discussions of bill making Torah study a foundational state value

Lawmakers vote 48-35 to approve the Knesset House Committee’s decision to take over discussions of a proposed quasi-constitutional Basic Law: Torah Study from the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Following a request from Constitution Committee chairman Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), the Knesset House Committee voted this morning to transfer the deliberations on the controversial bill declaring Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel.

IDF says Oct. 7 terrorist who held Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, and who Shem Tov was directed to kiss, killed in recent Gaza strike

This image released by the IDF on June 22, 2026, shows Hamas terrorist Sabaei Zahir Abd al-Hamid Abu Hasna standing alongside hostage Omer Shem Tov upon the latter's release on February 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught and held hostage Omer Shem Tov in captivity during the war was killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend, the IDF announces.

The military says the strike in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday killed Sabaei Zahir Abd al-Hamid Abu Hasna, a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force.

When Shem Tov was released by Hamas, he was seen being directed to kiss Abu Hasna on his head by the terror group’s cameramen, who were filming the carefully staged handover event.

שימו לב
עומר שם טוב לא העניק נשיקה מרצונו החופשי והאמיתי למחבלים סביבו. שימו לב לסרטון – הצלם של הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס עולה לבמה ומחלק לעומר הוראות. רואים שברגע שעומר מקבל את ההוראה, החיוך יורד לו מן הפנים!
המפלצות מהלכים אימים על חטופינו עד השנייה האחרונה
חמאס מודע לסופו הגמור! pic.twitter.com/VermNVUlT1

— GetLost! (@or8getlost) February 22, 2025

Abu Hasna invaded Israel on October 7, held Shem Tov in captivity, was involved in planting explosive devices during the war, and recently attempted to advance attacks on troops operating in Gaza, the IDF says.

In a separate strike over the weekend, three Hamas gunmen who attempted to advance attacks on troops were killed, the military adds.

The IDF in recent months has been ramping up strikes on terror operatives in Gaza, including several October 7 terrorists, claiming they posed a threat to Israeli forces.

Traffic flows in Strait of Hormuz despite Iran’s closure announcement

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP)

Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has continued today to flow at a faster pace than before the agreement between Iran and the United States on talks to end the Middle East war, according to tracking firms, despite Tehran’s announcement of a renewed closure.

As of 1100 GMT today, the Kpler maritime tracking platform had already recorded 15 transits by commodity ships.

This is comparable to Thursday and Saturday, when traffic approached 30 transits per day.

At least five other ships, whose transit had not yet been confirmed by Kpler, also appeared to have passed through the strait, according to AIS signals published on the MarineTraffic platform.

The Strait of Hormuz reopened last week after Iran and the United States reached an agreement aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. But Tehran announced on Saturday that it had closed the strategic waterway again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Since then, Tehran and Washington have agreed on mechanisms to end the fighting in Lebanon and secure the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.

Both agreed to establish a line of communication “to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the  Strait of Hormuz,” according to Qatari and Pakistani mediators.

“Despite uncertainty surrounding the US–Iran talks, the Strait of Hormuz remained operational over the weekend,” Nikos Pothitakis, press officer at Kpler, writes on X.

He adds that some ships have resumed sailing with their transponders turned off.

Report: Netanyahu backs away from bid to scrap Likud primaries, seeks 8-10 reserved slots instead

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in Jerusalem, June 15, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun, Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly abandoning plans to cancel his Likud party’s primaries and replace them with a committee to appoint its Knesset slate, in exchange for receiving eight to ten reserved slots on the slate for candidates of his choosing, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Netanyahu has been reportedly weighing either replacing the primaries, set to be held by the end of July, with a selection committee that would effectively allow him to shape the party’s slate, or securing a long-sought expansion of his authority to install up to 10 of his own favored choices into the top 35 places on the Likud slate.

According to Kan, the premier now believes that dropping the more sweeping proposal could help him win approval for the reserved slots — something he has repeatedly sought but has been denied by party institutions.

The arrangement, however, has yet to be approved, with Likud MK David Bitan and other senior lawmakers reported to oppose it.

The development comes after Bitan launched a public and legal campaign against efforts to replace the party’s primaries with a selection committee.

The veteran lawmaker filed a petition with Likud’s internal court last night to block any effort to cancel the primaries, arguing that such a move would amount to a “constitutional coup,” depriving tens of thousands of party members of their right to choose the party’s representatives.

Report: New US-Iran Lebanon mechanism to include Iran, Qatar, Pakistan, exclude Israel and limit Israeli response to threats; PM: IDF faces ‘no restrictions’

A man with a Hezbollah flag drives past a damaged building following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in the town of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, June 22, 2026. (AP/ Mohammed Zaatari)

A new deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon established as part of the weekend negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland would exclude Israel and limit Israeli military action to only responding to “imminent threats,” rather than to the broader category of “emerging threats,” Channel 12 reports, without citing sources.

US Vice President JD Vance said earlier today that a new “deconfliction mechanism” had been established during yesterday’s negotiations in Burgenstock.

He offered limited details on how it would operate but indicated that Hezbollah would be part of the conversation between Israel, Lebanon and “other partners in the region.”

Vance did not address the fact that a similar mechanism was created under the November 2024 Lebanon ceasefire brokered by the Biden administration.

According to Channel 12, the new arrangement would mark a significant departure from that earlier framework. While the original monitoring mechanism included representatives from Israel, Lebanon, the United States, the United Nations and France, the network claims that the new oversight body includes the US, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar and Pakistan — but not Israel.

That would appear to contradict Vance’s own public statements that Israel would be part of the conversation, and the IDF would almost certainly have to be looped in regardless.

Additionally, while the 2024 mechanism effectively gave Israel broad freedom to act in Lebanon against military threats, including what were defined as “emerging threats,” the new framework reportedly only allows for responses to “imminent threats.”

A US official familiar with the US-Iran talks does not deny the Channel 12 report when asked by The Times of Israel to confirm it, but says no further details can be shared at this time.

Shortly after the report is aired, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a Hebrew-language statement stressing that Israeli troops in southern Lebanon have “full freedom of action” against “direct or emerging threats” against them.

“The directive that the defense minister and I have given the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our forces in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat against them or against residents of northern Israel. The IDF faces no restrictions in this regard,” Netanyahu says.

“I remain firmly committed to maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary in order to protect the residents of the north and all citizens of Israel,” he reiterates.

Smotrich claims Yair Golan would reverse all his moves to advance settlements; Golan pans Lebanon security zone

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan trade insults in the Knesset, accusing each other of harming core Israeli interests.

Addressing reporters ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Smotrich accuses Golan of seeking to close the prominent Eli pre-military academy while also working on a plan to reverse “everything we have done” in advancing settlements in the West Bank.

“Today, I am giving a clear and unequivocal warning to the right-wing public in Israel: Yair Golan will be the defense minister in a [Gadi] Eisenkot government,” Smotrich claims. “The enterprise of the Religious Zionist pre-military academies (mechinot) and Hesder yeshivas will only be the beginning. Senior European Union officials, along with foreign elements funded by massive capital, have conspired with senior opposition figures, and together they are weaving a plan to dismantle everything we have achieved in the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria.”

For his part, Golan asserts that “the current Israeli government has no idea how to end wars,” telling reporters ahead of his own faction meeting that “when the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Deri government insists on maintaining a bloody security strip in the Lebanese mud without any political-security move that would translate the achievement into long-term security, our soldiers are the ones paying with their lives.”

US lifts sanctions on Iran to allow it to produce, sell and deliver crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products

The US Treasury Department issues a general license for Iran that authorizes the production, delivery and sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran, the United States agreed to issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances and transportation.

Transactions authorized in today’s general license include importation of Iranian-origin crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products to the United States.

It does not authorize transactions involving North Korea or Cuba.

Confirming that the US was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow it to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cites Tehran’s commitment to “free and open transit” in the Strait of Hormuz and permission for IAEA inspectors to enter the country.

Iran president to visit Pakistan tomorrow — state media

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Pakistan tomorrow, state media reports, following talks between Tehran and Washington in Switzerland, which were mediated by Islamabad.

Expressing appreciation to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “his mediation between Iran and the United States” is among the objectives of the visit, Habibollah Abbasi, director of public relations at the president’s office, says, according to the IRNA state news agency.

Almost all bills removed once again from Knesset agenda as Haredi boycott enters 2nd week

Nearly all bills are removed from the Knesset plenum agenda for today as the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties’ legislative boycott enters its second week.

The boycott was initially prompted by the coalition’s refusal to advance the so-called Daycare Law, which would restore daycare subsidies for the children of draft evaders, to a plenum vote.

“The violent arrests of Torah students must stop! We informed the coalition chairman that as long as the law to stop arrests and the Basic Law on Torah study are not advanced, we will not support any coalition legislation,” Shas chairman Aryeh Deri tells party lawmakers during their weekly faction meeting.

The only remaining legislation on today’s agenda is a bill to extend a temporary order regulating Israel’s imprisonment of illegal combatants captured during and after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, and a government bill expanding the power of the police to conduct searches. No other bills, including major coalition priorities, are set to be discussed, although lawmakers will vote to ratify the Knesset House Committee’s decision to take over deliberations on a controversial proposed Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel.

Lawmakers will also vote to approve the transfer of additional powers belonging to the interior minister, a position which is currently empty, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shas and UTJ’s ongoing legislative boycott has left the government unable to advance its own agenda — centered on splitting up the role of the attorney general, establishing a politically appointed commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7 attack, and giving the government significant control over the media before the upcoming pre-election Knesset recess.

Report: Shin Bet fears Oct. 7-style attack on Eilat, despite no intel pointing to such threat

Shin Bet director David Zini at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem during Memorial Day on April 21, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Shin Bet chief David Zini has warned in closed forums about a potential mass attack on the southern city of Eilat resembling the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023, Haaretz reports, citing several unnamed security sources.

The report says Zini has ordered senior officials in the security agency to give top priority to preparations for a scenario of a large-scale attack on the city coming from Jordanian territory or by sea, deeming the area a security weak spot due to its relative geographic remoteness.

Zini is said to anticipate a coordinated land invasion and attack by several terror groups, including Yemen’s Houthis. He recently visited the city and also voiced concern about Arab Israelis increasingly moving to Eilat, which he views as an attempted “takeover.”

The sources claim to Haaretz that Zini’s concerns are unfounded and that nobody in the Shin Bet knows what intelligence he is basing this on.

The Shin Bet reacts by confirming Zini’s visit to Eilat, during which he “examined various preparations.”

The statement stresses that “there is no information or concrete alert,” but rather “thorough operational planning and studying of the threats on all the fronts the agency deals with.”

IDF says it targeted terrorist in Gaza strike that also reportedly killed a schoolgirl, regrets harm to civilians

The IDF reacts to reports by Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza that an 18-year-old high school student, Rarad Ashour, was killed in a strike while on a street in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, and that several other people were wounded.

Responding to an inquiry from The Times of Israel, the IDF says: “The IDF struck a terrorist in Hamas’s military wing while he was traveling in a vehicle in the Gaza City area. The claim that an uninvolved civilian was harmed as a result of the strike is known. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians and operates, whenever possible, to minimize such harm.”

Ben Gvir says Israel close to ‘decisive victory,’ urges Netanyahu to break with Trump on ceasefire

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on June 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

After paying “heavy prices” over the past several years of war, “we have reached the point closest to a decisive victory,” declares National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, arguing against what he described as “weak ceasefires.”

“The equation must be very simple and clear: the State of Israel must be safe. If Israel is not safe, Beirut will look like Beit Hanoun. The State of Israel must act out of a clear principle. We appreciate our friends. We love President Trump. But first and foremost, the soldiers of Israel. First of all our fighters, first of all our residents,” Ben Gvir says at his Otzma Yehudit party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“If Lebanon allows its territory to be turned into a terror base against the State of Israel, Beirut needs to understand that it cannot continue to conduct business as usual. Whoever chooses war against Israel must bear the consequences. My position is that we cannot tolerate a single tear from an Israeli mother, even if there are tears from a thousand Lebanese mothers, and we need to keep going.”

Asked about US Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of him for panning the US-Iran ceasefire deal, Ben Gvir says that while he appreciated Vance and US President Trump, there have been multiple “cases where the Americans were not with us, and despite that, we won.”

“I appreciate the vice president, but I am more committed to our soldiers and our residents. They are the ones we are committed to. I want to say thank you to the Americans, but our red line is harming soldiers and harming civilians.”

According to Ben Gvir, “Netanyahu needs to go to President Trump, embrace him, and say to him: ‘President Trump, thank you, but what can we do, we cannot fulfill this agreement. You wouldn’t tolerate having Nazis on your border. You wouldn’t tolerate your soldiers being attacked and being limited in terms of the response. Our response must be 100 percent.'”

IDF reserve officer Amir Strugo joins Bennett’s Together party

IDF reserve officer Amir Strugo (L) and Together party chairman Naftali Bennett, in an image published June 22, 2026. (Together)

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Together announces the addition of Amir Strugo to the party.

The IDF reserve officer served as a deputy commander of a reserve battalion in the Maglan unit during the October 7 war, serving 400 days in Gaza and Lebanon.

He was previously the CEO of Aharai, which runs various programs, including ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, that serve as “preparatory tracks for adult life,” according to the organization’s website.

Vance says US, Qatar crafting plan to direct unfrozen Iranian assets toward American goods

US Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the US and Iran held high-level talks at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

US Vice President JD Vance says the US seeks to create a process to ensure that any unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to “benefit” the Iranian people rather than fund terrorism, by directing the funds to American purchases.

Vance says during his press briefing that US President Donald Trump’s top aide Jared Kushner has worked with Qatar on a proposal under which, “if there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen,” the US and Qatar would both have approval over the process, and the money would be used to purchase “American soy, American corn, and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

He says the initiative would be mutually beneficial to Washington and Tehran, since “if Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people.”

“That’s a very, very good and very classic Trump deal that’s great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and fundamentally, again, will contribute to this regional security architecture that we’ve built and that we’re going to work very hard to ensure that it endures,” he adds, pushing back against public concerns about unfreezing Iranian assets, which he says were sparked by “misreporting” on the issue.

Vance adds that Washington has been in “constant contact” with Jerusalem and other Mideast partners throughout the US-Iran negotiations, rejecting the notion that the US is “imposing” a deal with Tehran on the region.

“We were in constant contact with the Israelis yesterday, but also, of course, with the Saudis and the Emiratis and others in the region. We talked to the Lebanese yesterday as well,” he says, adding, “We’re constantly trying to keep our regional friends updated about this. This is not a deal that the United States is imposing on the region. This is a deal that the region has desperately asked the United States to put in place.”

Vance likely refers to Gulf partners, which have broadly sought de-escalation after weeks of bombardment by Iran and the energy crisis created by Iran’s blocking the Strait of Hormuz, while Israeli officials have expressed grave concern over making concessions to Tehran.

Vance says Trump seeks to “lay the foundation, see if we can get to a permanent peace. If we can’t, the President of the United States still has a lot of options to accomplish America’s security objectives. But he has certainly committed us to this pathway for now, and we’re going to keep on working and seeing what we can accomplish.”

Vance says US made ‘very good progress’ on Israel-Hezbollah ‘deconfliction mechanism’ during Iran talks; Hezbollah will be part of the conversation

US Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the US and Iran held high-level talks at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

US Vice President JD Vance says that “very good progress” was made on a “deconfliction mechanism” between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon during talks with Iran in Burgenstock yesterday.

“We want a regional ceasefire, right? We want Hezbollah to stop firing at our friends in Israel. We want Israelis to be able to live in peace. We also want to make sure that, you know, when things happen, they don’t spiral into a broader escalation,” he says during a press conference in Switzerland.

He says the goal of the mechanism is to allow for direct communication when incidents occur between Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and other regional partners, since “there really hasn’t been a mechanism to have those discussions until basically [yesterday,] when we set that up.”

While Vance claims the concept is new, a deconfliction mechanism was in fact set up during the Biden administration as part of the November 2024 ceasefire it brokered in Lebanon.

That panel included representatives from Israel, the Lebanese government, the US, the UN and France, and remains in place to date, albeit with limited effectiveness.

One apparent difference between the deconfliction mechanism described by Vance and the one that already exists is that the vice president says Hezbollah will be part of the conversation.

“Sometimes a junior guy (in Hezbollah) fires a drone that didn’t have approval from the high command. Of course, Israel has to respond to that, but we could have a more peaceful situation if Israel responds in the context of the conversation that is ongoing between Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel and other partners in the region,” Vance says.

Vance and US President Donald Trump have criticized Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah attacks on its troops as disproportionate in recent days. Vance now stresses that “Israel and every other nation in the region has the right of self-defense, but we want to make sure that everybody has that right of self-defense in the background where we’re talking about how to de-escalate these conflicts rather than spiraling out of control.”

Asked by a reporter if the US wants Israel to withdraw from its southern Lebanon security zone, Vance doesn’t answer directly but reiterates that deconfliction efforts are ongoing and defends Israel’s reasoning: “We want Israel’s security to be protected, and we also want Lebanon’s sovereignty to be protected. And this is going to be an ongoing conversation.”

“The Israelis have been very clear they do not have territorial intentions on south Lebanon. The reason they feel they have to be there is because they’re worried about Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon firing into Israel,” he says.

He says getting to a place “where Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is protected” and “Israel’s security is protected” is going to require coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces as well as “the Iranians to rein in Hezbollah.”

Man charged for taking part in Haredi anti-draft riot outside Beit Shemesh police station

A Haredi protester being arrested in Beit Shemesh during protests at the police station on May 31, 2026. (Screentshot/X/ Yishai Cohen/Israel Police)

Prosecutors file charges against a man who allegedly participated in an anti-draft riot outside the Beit Shemesh police station at the start of the month, when Haredi extremists broke into the facility’s premises.

Yosef Friedman, a 46-year-old resident of the city, is accused of setting fire to shrubbery three times during the overnight riot on May 31, in which hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men gathered to protest the arrest of a draft evader.

“Over the course of the night, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the area, and the protest deteriorated into violent riots,” prosecutors say of the incident.

Rioters broke through the station gate, attacked officers, threw stones and other objects, damaged property and set fires, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Friedman was arrested alongside seven other suspects during the disorder. He in particular is charged in the Jerusalem District Court on three counts of arson and one count of rioting.

Degel HaTorah spokesman says Haredi parties will keep up coalition boycott today

A spokesman for Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni confirms that the ultra-Orthodox parties’ boycott of coalition legislation will continue today.

Shas and UTJ’s ongoing legislative boycott has left the government unable to advance its own agenda — centered on splitting up the role of the attorney general, establishing a political commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, and giving the government significant control over the media before the upcoming pre-election Knesset recess.

The boycott was prompted by the coalition’s refusal to advance the so-called Daycare Law, which would restore daycare subsidies for the children of draft evaders, to a plenum vote.

Vance: US-Iran talks set up mechanisms for keeping Hormuz open, preserving ceasefire in Lebanon

Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the US and Iran held high-level talks at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Aside from returning IAEA inspectors to Iran, US Vice President JD Vance says that talks in Switzerland with Tehran accomplished three US goals, including setting up “a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open” and “a similar mechanism for deconfliction for the regional ceasefire,” primarily the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

“As the President of the United States has himself said, sometimes these ceasefires just mean you’re shooting a little bit less. But we wanted to make sure that we had the proper coordination set up so that if there is shooting, if Hezbollah fires at Israel or if Israel responds, if there are other conflicts that arise in the region, we’re actually talking to each other and figuring out how to stop the shooting.”

The groups also “set up the process for the technical negotiations that will follow,” Vance says, saying those talks should continue throughout the week.

Alan Greenspan, who led US Fed for five terms, dies at 100

Economist Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, is seen in his office in Washington, October 18, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alan Greenspan, the influential economist who steered US monetary policy during his five terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve under four presidents, dies at 100, NBC news reports.

Knesset House Committee to take over discussions on Basic Law on Torah study after Rothman’s request

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman leads a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Following a request from Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), the Knesset House Committee votes to take over deliberations on a controversial proposed Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel.

Writing to coalition whip and House Committee chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) on Sunday, Rothman requested transferring the bill, as well as another dealing with the appointment of senior officials, to the House Committee in light of his panel’s heavy workload and the limited amount of time before the upcoming elections.

This move has sparked speculation — including by a senior Haredi political figure who spoke with The Times of Israel — that Rothman’s Religious Zionism party is seeking to distance itself from the legislation, which is unpopular with its base, and shift the burden to a committee controlled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.

Asked about his motivation, Rothman replies in a WhatsApp message that “the reason is that I simply don’t have time in the committee. I am splitting [the role of the] attorney general and they are going to bring me two more Basic Laws that I don’t know how I’m going to manage.”

Addressing lawmakers, United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni, demands assurances that a committee change does not spell the end of the legislation.

“I have had my fill of promises during this term. Therefore, if the committee approves transferring the bill from the Constitution Committee to the Knesset Committee, I, as the sponsor of the bill, would like to know, even before the discussions begin, whether you intend to advance and approve it. I am notifying you unequivocally: I do not intend to be humiliated once again. I have had enough of unfulfilled promises,” he says.

Asked for a legal opinion, Knesset Legal Advisor Sagit Afik replies that the proper forum for the bill is Rothman’s committee, arguing that “a proper legislative process means that the competent committee should debate it. Pressure and a heavy workload on a committee do not, in my view, override the importance of legislating through a proper process.”

The Knesset voted 56-43 in favor of the preliminary reading of the bill earlier this month. As passed in its preliminary reading, the bill declared Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel, and effectively equated it with military service. Last week, the Knesset House Committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for preparation for the first of three additional readings needed for it to pass into law.

According to reports, an updated draft of the bill has removed wording referring to the benefits granted to yeshiva students and directly equating full-time Torah study to military service by referring to it as a “significant service.”

However, the Haredi parties do not believe that the wording change will make a substantive difference to their aim of passing a bill allowing yeshiva students to avoid conscription that will not be struck down by the High Court of Justice.

Vance says talks in Switzerland laid ‘good foundation’ for final deal with Iran

OBBUERGEN, Switzerland — Vice President JD Vance says peace talks with Iran had created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began at the end of February.

“The final deal is the house,” Vance tells reporters. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”

The vice president notes that Iran’s team did threaten to walk out of the talks, but he defends social media posts by US President Donald Trump that had caused Iranian officials to feel offended.

“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call ‘trash talk,’ you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Vance says.

WATCH: Vance briefs press on Iran talks; says Iran will let IAEA nuclear inspectors return

Vice President JD Vance is giving a press conference on the Iran talks.

He says the talks have made good progress and that the Strait of Hormuz is open.

He also says Iran has agreed to have IAEA nuclear inspectors return.

“The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country,” Vance says, calling this “the first step to permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.”

Vance says he expects the inspectors to arrive in Iran “at the minimum this week,” and that US officials could be in touch with them “as soon as today,” though he notes no arrangements have been finalized.

IAEA inspectors had been operating in Iran under the 2015 nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration and abandoned by US President Donald Trump. Following last June’s US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Tehran barred inspectors from accessing them.

Vance also says the foundations have been laid for a successful final deal.

Herzog denounces ‘derogatory’ critiques of Trump after Iran deal

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem, on June 22, 2026. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog denounces “derogatory statements” made by some in Israel about US President Donald Trump after he reached a memorandum of understanding and entered negotiations with Iran.

“Dear friends, President Donald Trump is a trusted partner of Israel. Our closest friend and ally and leader of the free world – the leader of the United States of America – has been staunchly combating the empire of evil and promoting stability in the Middle East,” Herzog tells the Jewish News Syndicate International Policy Summit in Jerusalem.

“We value the President’s ongoing friendship and his administration’s clear stance regarding Iran’s nuclear plans and intentions. We share values and interests, and I have every confidence that together we can find the best formula to tackle this challenge,” he says.

“I totally reject any derogatory statements aimed at senior officials in the administration,” he adds.

Bitan warns Likud could ‘disappear’ as Netanyahu weighs scrapping party primaries

Then-head of the opposition and the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to cast his vote in the Likud primaries, at a polling station in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2022, (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Likud MK David Bitan warns that his party could “disappear” within a decade amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to replace the party’s primaries with a committee that would determine its Knesset slate ahead of upcoming national elections.

According to Hebrew media reports, Netanyahu is weighing either replacing the party’s primaries with a selection committee that would effectively allow him to shape the party’s electoral slate or preserving the primary system in exchange for a significant number of reserved slots on the list.

“The entire foundation of Likud is the connection between elected officials and party members. That gives the party its vitality,” Bitan says, speaking to 103FM radio.

Asked whether Likud itself could disappear without primaries, Bitan replies: “Within eight years, in my opinion, yes.”

Likud has long prided itself on its internal democratic processes, as one of only a handful of Israeli parties that hold primaries to select both its leader and Knesset slate, including the left-wing Democrats and Arab-majority Hadash.

“You can’t change the system so dramatically a month before primaries. If people want to discuss changing the system, let’s discuss it for the next election,” Bitan says, arguing that Netanyahu himself would never have risen to lead Likud if not for the party’s democratic system.

The remarks come after the veteran lawmaker, one of the party’s most influential figures, filed a petition with Likud’s internal court last night to block any effort to cancel the primaries, arguing that such a move would amount to a “constitutional coup,” depriving tens of thousands of party members of their right to choose the party’s representatives.

He is also asking the court to require that any proposal to amend the party constitution be decided by secret ballot.

The issue is expected to come to a head on Thursday, when Likud’s Constitution Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss upcoming primaries, which are set to be held by the end of July.

Hamas-linked outlets report high school student killed in Gaza strike

Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza report that an 18-year-old high school student, Rarad Ashour, was killed in a strike while she was in the street in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

According to the reports, the area where she was killed was struck several times in succession. Footage from the scene shows a large explosion and extensive damage to vehicles in the area.

The IDF has not yet commented.

مرعب هذا المشهد، فهو يعيدنا بالذاكرة إلى أيام أكثر بشاعة من اليوم، إلى ذروة الإبادة.

قبل قليل، كانت رغد عاشور في طريقها إلى مركز تقديم امتحانات الثانوية العامة في وسط مدينة غزة، ملاحقةً حلمها وسط هذا الظلم والمجهول، إذ أطلقت مسيرة إسرائيلية صاروخاً على المركبة فقتلتها. ثم تجمع… pic.twitter.com/OzeyNjjvj7

— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) June 22, 2026

Pakistan’s PM: US-Iran talks ‘held in a positive and constructive atmosphere and yielded encouraging progress’

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) speaks next to US Vice President JD Vance (L) and Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani during a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)

Talks between Iran and the US have concluded successfully in Switzerland, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says.

“The discussions were held in a positive and constructive atmosphere and yielded encouraging progress, including agreement on a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days, the establishment of a high-level committee to provide political oversight, and the commencement of further technical talks,” he says in a post on X.

Three Israelis killed in light plane crash near Washington, DC, Foreign Ministry confirms

Three Israelis were killed in a light plane crash in Maryland yesterday, the Foreign Ministry says in a statement, confirming earlier reports.

“Israel’s Consul in Washington and the Department for Israelis Abroad at the Foreign Ministry are accompanying the families during this difficult time, maintaining continuous contact with them, and assisting with coordination and communication with the local authorities,” the ministry says.

Local press and Hebrew media reported that the crash took place overnight, a few kilometers east of Washington, DC, killing all three occupants, a pilot and two passengers.

The cause was not immediately known. The plane belonged to a local flight school and may have been engaged in a training flight at the time of the crash, according to the reports.

Keir Starmer resigns as UK PM but will stay on until successor is chosen; says he ripped out ‘poison of antisemitism’ from Labour

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement on his future outside 10 Downing Street on the morning of June 22, 2026, in London. (Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party.

“Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party,” Starmer says as he chokes up in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen in the next few weeks.

Starmer says he “inherited a Labour Party that was politically, financially, and thoroughly bankrupt,” but disproved the critics who said the party was finished, notably by ridding Labour of antisemitism. “We proved them wrong by changing our party: ripping out the poison of antisemitism, restoring trust in the economy, defense, and national security, and standing proudly with our national flag.”

Starmer makes the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.

He has been in office since leading Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. In those two years, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

His departure was triggered by the victory of Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.

Iran says it held ‘brief discussion’ with US on nuclear program in Switzerland

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, second right, listens to the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami as he visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, on April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran says it held a “brief discussion” with the United States on its nuclear program during talks in Switzerland, but insists negotiations on the issue had not begun.

“One of the points raised by the American delegation was the presentation of its positions regarding the nuclear issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says

“A very brief discussion took place regarding the nuclear issue, but there was no discussion of details, and it cannot be said that negotiations on the nuclear issue have begun,” he adds.

Technical teams to continue US-Iran talks in Switzerland as delegations prepare to leave

Following the departure of the Iranian delegation from the US-Iran talks in Burgenstock, the US, Qatari, and Pakistani delegations remain in Switzerland for now but are expected to depart soon, an official involved in the talks tells The Times of Israel.

The delegations are expected to leave behind technical teams that will hold further discussions throughout the week, the official says.

Following the first round of talks aimed at ending the conflict with Iran, which continued overnight, the Swiss Foreign Ministry says in a statement that the roadmap agreed upon “creates the conditions for the immediate resumption of new technical discussions.”

Doha stated overnight that “technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues.”

Iranian delegation leaves for Tehran after 18 hours of ‘intensive talks’ with US

Delegation staff members meet in the lobby on the first day of a quadrilateral meeting between the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at the Buergenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, near Stansstad, Switzerland, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian delegation in talks with the United States has left the Swiss venue to return to Tehran after 18 hours of “intensive” negotiations, state media reports.

The group, headed by chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, “left the building where the talks were held after about 18 hours of intensive talks and consultations,” the IRNA state news agency reports, saying they were en route to Tehran.

Lebanon’s Aoun discusses ceasefire efforts with Vance in phone call

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discusses efforts to maintain a ceasefire and halt Israeli military escalation during a phone call with US Vice President JD Vance,  the Lebanese Presidency says.

White House envoy Jared Kushner and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani also take part in the call between Aoun and Vance, the presidency says.

Sa’ar: Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but won’t withdraw from security zone

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar insists Israel does not have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but it won’t withdraw from the security zone it has established in southern Lebanon.

Sa’ar says he told his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters over the phone that Israel will respect the current ceasefire in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah does, too.

“We don’t have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but we will not withdraw from the security zone and expose our citizens to Hezbollah’s attacks and possible invasion. Lebanon’s sovereignty has been breached for decades to this very day by Iran’s indirect occupation by Hezbollah. It’s the interest of both Lebanon and Israel that Hezbollah’s terror state will be dismantled. I invited the FM to Israel,” Sa’ar writes on X.

Good to speak again with the FM of New Zealand @winstonpeters.
I said that Israel will respect the ceasefire in Lebanon as long as it won’t be breached by Hezbollah.
We don’t have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but we will not withdraw from the security zone and expose our… pic.twitter.com/lhvuFWA3O0

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 22, 2026

Dozens of Haredi protesters scuffle with police outside IDF military prison

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators scuffle with police outside the IDF military prison in Beit Lid while protesting the arrest of draft evaders, footage shows.

The footage shows the protesters attempting to pull down barricades and sit in front of vehicles at the entrance to the base as police try to intervene and clear them away.

The protesters were called to gather by the Gur dynasty, the largest Hasidic sect in Israel.

גם הבוקר מפגינים הגיעו לכניסה לכלא 10 במחאה על מעצר העריקים, הפרו את הסדר והתעמתו עם כוחות במקום pic.twitter.com/Q1FzLa7A8I

— שילה פריד🇮🇱 (@shilofreid) June 22, 2026

IDF says it killed 2 Hamas operatives planning attacks on troops over weekend

Two Hamas operatives who had been advancing attacks on troops were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the IDF announces.

One strike in northern Gaza on Saturday killed Ahmad Munir Khalil Zaza, chief of engineering in Hamas’s West Jabalia Battalion, according to the military.

The IDF says Zaza was involved in manufacturing and distributing weapons to the battalion’s fighters and was responsible for building explosive devices and booby-trapping homes.

“Recently, Zaza attempted to plant explosive devices near the Yellow Line to harm IDF troops operating in the area,” the military says.

In a separate strike in northern Gaza, the commander of Hamas’s sniper array in Gaza City, Hussein Safadi, was killed, the IDF says.

“Safadi was responsible throughout the war for all sniper attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza City area,” the military says, adding that recently he “repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement and attempted to train terrorists and advance additional sniper attacks against IDF troops.”

לאחר שקידמו מתווי טרור: צה"ל חיסל שני מחבלים מארגון הטרור חמאס ברצועת עזה

צה"ל תקף בסוף השבוע בצפון רצועת עזה וחיסל את אחמד מוניר חליל זאזא, אחראי ההנדסה של גדוד מערב ג'באליה במרחב העיר עזה. המחבל פעל לייצור וחלוקת אמצעי לחימה בין הפלוגות ושימש כאחראי על בניית מטענים ובתים… pic.twitter.com/xPLDO9sb7H

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 22, 2026

Report: Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and wife whisked out of UAE after alerted to Iranian threat

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar speaks at Tel Aviv University's Cyber Week 2025 conference, December 9, 2025. (Dror Sithakol)

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and his wife were evacuated during a recent trip to the United Arab Emirates after they were alerted to an Iranian attempt to harm them, unnamed sources tell Channel 13 news.

According to Channel 13, Bar and his wife were attending an international security convention hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, though a source close to the Gulf country denied to the network that the minister hosted such an event.

Bar refused to comment on the report.

West Bank settlers reportedly set fire to car lot in Ramallah area

Settlers set fire overnight to a car lot in the village of Shuqba, in the Ramallah area, Palestinian media outlets report.

No injuries have been reported.

مستوطنون يضرمون النيران في ممتلكات المواطنين ببلدة شقبا غرب رام الله في الضفة الغربية pic.twitter.com/Dbrrsbqug6

— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) June 21, 2026

Regional council head questioned over suspected corruption, police say

The head of a regional council was questioned this morning over suspicions of corruption by the Lahav 433 major crimes unit, police say.

Police say that the regional council head’s home was also searched.

The specific suspicions and the name of the official investigated are not mentioned.

Sa’ar congratulates Colombia’s right-wing, pro-Israel presidential candidate on win

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulates Abelardo de la Espriella, the right-wing, pro-Israel candidate in Colombia’s presidential election, on his narrow victory.

He sayd he has invited the president-elect to visit Israel.

“The Tiger won, Colombia won!” he posts on X, using the candidate’s nickname. “Congratulations to my friend Abelardo”The Tiger” de la Espriella on his impressive win in Colombia’s presidential election. We expect to work with president-elect de la Espriella to revive relations between Israel and Colombia and bring them to an all-time high.

הנמר ניצח, קולומביה ניצחה! 🇨🇴 🐅

ברכות לידידי אבלרדו "הנמר" דה לה אספריאלה @abdelaespriella על ניצחונו המרשים בבחירות לנשיאות קולומביה.

אנו מצפים לעבוד עם הנשיא הנבחר דה לה אספריאלה כדי להחיות את היחסים בין ישראל לקולומביה ולהביאם לשיא של כל הזמנים.
🇮🇱🤝🇨🇴

הזמנתי את הנשיא… pic.twitter.com/yjEONfuZ80

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 22, 2026

Injured toll rises to 54 in Qatar gas export terminal explosion, with 18 missing

This April 4, 2009, file photo, shows a gas production facility at Ras Laffan, Qatar. (AP/Maneesh Bakshi)

An explosion tore through Qatar’s key natural gas export terminal last night as workers tried to resume operations there after Iran bombed it during the war, causing a fire that hurt at least 54 people, as another 18 were still missing hours later.

The blast at the Ras Laffan industrial area could cause further chaos in global energy markets, particularly as Qatar remains one of the world’s top natural gas producers. Qatar shut down its production after Iran’s wartime chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz meant it couldn’t get shipments out to its clients.

With Iran loosening its grip on the strait as negotiations continue over a permanent end to the war, Qatar began work to try to restart its export terminal. Last night, that work sparked an explosion and fire at the Barzan gas supply facility, the state-run firm QatarEnergy says.

The scale of the damage remains unknown after the blast, with officials initially saying only a few people had been hurt. But now, Qatar’s Interior Ministry offers the far-greater casualty figures.

The Barzan plant had a capacity of almost 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day, which Qatar used primarily for local electricity generation and to power its crucial water desalination plants in the desert reaches of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar owns nearly all of the plant, with a small share also held by ExxonMobil. The oil company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In March, an Iranian missile hit Ras Laffan, sparking a fire that caused “extensive” damage before it was extinguished, authorities said. Qatar had already halted production there because of Iranian attacks.

Iran’s foreign minister says ‘major progress’ made to end Lebanon war in talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center, arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, early on June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool via AP)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says there was “major progress” in talks with the United States over ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War,” Araghchi posts on X. He says the establishment of a deconfliction cell in the Lebanon conflict is the “1st real test.”

He notes other areas of progress in the negotiations in Switzerland.

“Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran.”

The conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has continued despite multiple declarations of truces, and has threatened to derail US-Iran peace talks, to which Israel is not a party.

The memorandum of understanding signed between the US and Iran declared a ceasefire in Lebanon, but Israel has vowed to keep its military in a buffer zone in the country’s south.

Iran, US to set up ‘deconfliction cell’ to stop military ops in Lebanon, mediators say

A man inspects the damage at the site of Lebanon's central bank building that was targeted in an Isreali strike the previous day in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on June 21, 2026. (Abbas FAKIH / AFP) /

Iran and the United States agree to set up a “deconfliction cell” with Lebanon to stop military operations there, Pakistan and Qatar, which are mediating the US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland, say in a joint statement.

The conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has continued despite multiple declarations of truces, and has threatened to derail US-Iran peace talks.

“The parties agreed on the creation of a de-confliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon,” the joint statement reads.

The statement mentions neither Hezbollah nor Israel, which are not parties to the Switzerland talks. The memorandum of understanding signed between the US and Iran declared a ceasefire in Lebanon, but Israel has vowed to keep its military in a buffer zone in the country’s south.

Israel is conducting a separate track of negotiations with Lebanon, with the next round of those talks set to take place beginning on Tuesday.

Iran, US agree on roadmap to reach final deal in 60 days, talks to go on all week, mediators say

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) speaks next to US Vice President JD Vance (L) and Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani during a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)

Iran and the United States agree on a roadmap toward reaching a final deal to end the war within 60 days, mediators Pakistan and Qatar say in a joint statement on Monday.

“The High Level Committee has agreed upon a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks,” the joint statement reads. It adds  that the High-Level Committee was established to oversee the talks.

The statement also says that talks will continue all week. “Technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues,” the statement says.

The United States and Iran also agree to set up a “communication line” to avoid incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, the mediators say.

“A communication line between the parties has been formed… to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement says.

Shipping slows after Iran says it has again shut the Strait of Hormuz

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026. (AFP)

The number of ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply on Sunday after Iran announced it had again closed the waterway, claiming Israeli and US violations of the interim US-Iran peace deal, shipping data shows.

Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, compared with 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler shows. These included three Very Large Crude Carriers carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude and fuel oil each, one of which was heading to Japan. The data may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.

Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday declared the waterway shut once again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, after opening it under the MOU. The US military said commercial vessels were still operating.

Among the ships that exited the strait on Saturday, three of them were VLCCs carrying crude from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq while there were also three tankers carrying various oil products, the data shows.

A total of 13 ships entered the strait on Saturday, including two VLCCs, the data shows.

Gulf producers Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Kuwait Petroleum Corp have issued tenders selling crude with the option of loading from inside and outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s delegation still at talks, US diplomat says, contradicting Iranian report

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, third from right, and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, second from right, with the delegation of Iran at the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Buergenstock resort in Switzerland, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler, Pool Photo via AP)

A senior US diplomat says Iran’s delegation remains at the negotiations venue in Switzerland, contradicting an Iranian state media report claiming that the team from Tehran had left the site in protest of US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against the Islamic Republic.

The US delegation expects to continue working through the night, the senior US diplomat engaged in the negotiations says, adding that discussions are ongoing.

The US diplomat says discussions have focused on “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the strait will remain fully open.”

Iranian state media had claimed that Tehran had closed the strait in response to Israeli actions in Lebanon, even though the US has insisted that the channel remains open.

Iranian state media has reported a series of claims that the US has asserted to be false, and motivated by a desire to present a harder line to Iran’s domestic audience.

“We have also worked through deconfliction mechanisms and enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon,” the US diplomat says, regarding Sunday’s talks in Switzerland.

The latter part of the statement further highlights how the US-Iran talks have become the central venue for discussions regarding Lebanon, even though they include neither Israel nor Lebanon or the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

The US diplomat says negotiators in Switzerland also have had “robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal,” and that they plan to use “today’s work as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward.”

Iran holds Belgium to a goalless draw in Los Angeles World Cup game

Belgium's Thomas Meunier, left, heads the ball past Iran's Mohammad Mohebbi during the World Cup Group G soccer match between Belgium and Iran in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles, June 21, 2026. (AP/Andre Penner)

Belgium’s 10-man World Cup soccer team is held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in their World Cup Group G match in Los Angeles on Sunday, as they fail to break through Iran’s resilient defense.

Boosted by an LA crowd largely in their corner, Iran repels waves of attacks to share the points, with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand making seven saves on a mostly sunny day in Southern California.

In a frustrating game where they dominated possession, Belgium was reduced to 10 men after Nathan Ngoy was shown a red card for hauling down Mehdi Taremi, who was through on goal, in the second half.

Iran has two points and will next face Egypt in Seattle on Friday. Belgium, also on two points, next plays New Zealand in Vancouver.