Israel Lifts All Restrictions in Northern Border Communities Starting Monday Morning

Israel’s Home Front Command said on Sunday that all restrictions will be lifted from the northern border frontline area beginning Monday at 6:00 a.m., following a security assessment. The move covers the communities of Sifsufa, Meron, Or HaGanuz, Bar Yochai, Yesud HaMa’ala, Ksra-Samia, Beit Jann, and Sde Eliezer, all of which will return to full activity.

The border communities will again be classified as “green,” for the first time since May 1. Mevoot Hermon Regional Council head Shimon Gueta welcomed the decision, saying he hoped it marked the start of a longer period of safety and calm for northern residents and for Israel as a whole. He thanked the IDF, commanders, and all security forces for their efforts and said the time had come to invest in rebuilding the north, strengthening infrastructure, and creating the social and economic base needed for residents to return to full lives and growth.

The announcement came after five soldiers were killed over the weekend. Lebanese media reported overnight between Saturday and Sunday that “a cautious calm” prevailed in southern Lebanon from 6:30 p.m., and that Israeli attacks had stopped completely. After the United States for the fifth time announced a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon on Israel’s behalf, the IDF said troop advances had been halted under political instructions, but fire had not stopped and there was no withdrawal order.

Lebanon also featured prominently in negotiations held Sunday in Switzerland between the United States and Iran. President Donald Trump warned that “Iran must immediately stop their heavily funded proxies in Lebanon, Hezbollah, from causing trouble. If they do not, we will hit Iran very hard again, exactly like we did last week, only harder.” Iranian media later reported that the talks had broken down. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he spoke with Trump for four and a half hours last week and wrote that a new U.S. policy would be that if Iran attacks Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon, the United States will attack Iran.