Israel & the United States at War with Iran: Special Update

April 10, 2026

• The Ceasefire between Iran and Israel + the US is holding.
• Fighting with Hezbollah continues, as Lebanon and Israel announce ground-breaking direct talks.
• IDF Sgt. Aviad Elhanan Wolansky, 21, was killed in fighting in the north.

Join us on Wednesday, April 15 (CORRECTED DATE) at 1 pm ET for Israel at War: Ceasefire with Iran, Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli Society after Roaring Lion, a webinar with Col. (Ret.) Miri Eisin. Click here to register. 

Ceasefire

• Israel, Iran, and the United States entered a declared two‑week ceasefire following weeks of direct military confrontation, brokered through US-led diplomacy and confirmed publicly by President Donald Trump.
• The agreement is explicitly time‑limited and conditioned on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks on Israeli, US, and regional targets, while the US and Israel suspend strikes inside Iran.
• Both Washington and Jerusalem emphasized that the ceasefire is intended as a pause for negotiations rather than a comprehensive end to hostilities, with talks expected to begin shortly under international mediation. The US negotiating team will be led by Vice President JD Vance.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel’s support for the ceasefire, stressing that it was coordinated with the United States and subject to strict Iranian compliance. Netanyahu emphasized that Israel had achieved its key military objectives against Iran’s strategic capabilities but made clear that the truce does not apply to other arenas, particularly Lebanon.
• Israeli opposition figures sharply criticized the agreement, arguing that the ceasefire left core strategic goals unmet. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the deal failed to neutralize Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and warned it would allow Tehran time to regroup, while other critics across the political spectrum accused the government of ending the campaign without clear, enforceable gains.
• Iran, for its part, declared the ceasefire a diplomatic and strategic success, but in one area of contention, warned that it would withdraw from the agreement if Israel continued military activity in Lebanon. Tehran specifically said that it views continued Israeli operations against Hezbollah as a potential violation of the ceasefire framework, despite President Trump confirming that the agreement does not include Lebanon. Iranian officials also stated that the agreement did not constitute an end to the war and that Iranian forces remained on full alert.
• President Trump described the ceasefire as a major breakthrough, saying it prevented further regional escalation and created an opening for broader negotiations. Trump characterized Iran’s proposals as a “workable basis” for talks and said US military objectives had been met, while warning that renewed Iranian attacks would prompt a severe response.
• The agreement also leaves unresolved the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. The Trump administration has stated that Iran will be required to remove or relinquish its enriched uranium as part of any durable agreement and that the United States does not accept Iran retaining enrichment capabilities.
• Gulf states cautiously welcomed the halt in US‑Iran fighting, viewing the ceasefire as a step toward reducing the immediate risk of regional escalation while remaining skeptical about its durability. Officials in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf countries publicly supported de‑escalation and stressed the importance of protecting maritime security and energy infrastructure, particularly in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

War Concluded?

• After 38 days of fighting, including multiple daily missile attacks, MOST Israelis have enjoyed two quiet nights since Wednesday. Nonetheless, as noted, Israelis in the country’s north remain under significant fire, and restrictions in those areas remain in place.
• President Donald Trump ordered US air, and ground forces to remain deployed around Iran, describing the posture as “armed monitoring” and warning of a “bigger, and better, and stronger” response if the ceasefire is breached.
• A total of 37 soldiers and civilians have been killed in Israel since the Iran war began. In addition, 7,232 civilians have been injured in the current war. Of those injured, 40 are in serious condition, 249 sustained moderate injuries, and 6,943 were classified as lightly injured. 
• A total of 5,365 residents have been displaced: 3,381 evacuees are currently housed in 36 hotels—primarily in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Dimona, and Arad—while an additional 1,984 evacuees are being housed in community settings. Overall, 45 localities have been evacuated to hotels. Government and municipal authorities continue to address housing damage and to provide interim solutions for residents left without permanent shelter.
• During Operation “Roaring Lion,” Israeli forces fired approximately 36,000 munitions, compared with 3,700 munitions during Operation “Rising Lion” last June — nearly a tenfold increase in scope and intensity. In total, more than 11,000 American strikes and 5,000 Israeli strikes hit Iran during the campaign.
• As part of the campaign against Iran’s missile program, roughly 1,200 of an estimated 2,500 ballistic missiles were either destroyed or launched, with Israeli officials assessing that Iran’s ability to produce new missiles has been severely degraded. 
• While most of Israel’s population centers have now experienced two missile-free days as a result of the ceasefire with Iran, the country’s northern communities continued to be targeted by multiple rocket and drone attacks, triggering regular sirens and forcing populations to dash to shelters.

The War with Hezbollah

• Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued over the past several days despite the US‑Iran ceasefire, with cross‑border exchanges intensifying rather than subsiding.
• Overnight, Hezbollah also succeeded in firing rockets at central Israel, triggering sirens in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas.
• On Thursday afternoon, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that groundbreaking direct talks between Israel and the Lebanese Government would begin immediately in Washington. Israel’s team will be led by its ambassador in the US, Yechiel Leiter. According to the sides, the talks were aimed at disarming Hezbollah, ending Israeli strikes, and working towards a peace treaty between the two countries. Following the announcement, the Israeli currency strengthened to a twenty-year high (against the US Dollar).
• Israeli strikes killed 220 Hezbollah operatives yesterday, the majority of whom were identified as command‑level figures, marking one of the deadliest single days for the organization during the current fighting. This largest wave of strikes against Hezbollah, codenamed “Eternal Darkness,” included 50 fighter jets dropping 160 bombs on 100 targets across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon within ten minutes.
• An IDF soldier was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon. The military announced that Sgt. Aviad Elhanan Wolansky, 21, from Jerusalem, was fatally wounded when a Hezbollah anti‑tank missile hit his unit’s tank north of the Litani River. Several other soldiers were wounded in the same incident.
• Ali Yusuf Harshi, the nephew and personal secretary of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, was killed in an IDF airstrike in central Beirut on Wednesday. According to the military, Harshi was a close advisor involved in managing Qassem’s office and security.
• Separately, the IDF reported overnight strikes on two key crossings along the Litani River used by Hezbollah to transport weapons into southern Lebanon, as well as around 10 additional targets, including weapon depots, rocket launchers, and Hezbollah facilities.
• Hezbollah resumed rocket and missile fire into northern Israel shortly after the truce was announced, striking army positions and communities in the Upper Galilee and along the border.
• Israel responded with expanded airstrikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah command posts, weapons depots, cross‑border transfer routes, and senior operatives. Israeli officials stressed that the ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Hezbollah.

Israel’s Home Front

• The ceasefire led to immediate adjustments in Israel. The IDF Home Front Command announced a significant easing of emergency restrictions, allowing a quick return to routine activities in most parts of the country while maintaining readiness. 
• Schools and other educational institutions returned to regular classes yesterday morning across the country, except in the far north. (In Israel, the Pesach holiday concluded on Wednesday evening.)
• The Education Ministry announced the extension of state‑subsidized summer programming by three additional weeks following five weeks of school closures due to the war with Iran. The program, which typically serves kindergarten through third grade, will now run for roughly six weeks and expand to include students through sixth grade. A new summer academic catch‑up program will also be launched for middle‑school students, focusing on addressing learning gaps created during the prolonged school disruption. The initiative is estimated to cost approximately $242 million.
• Separately, the IDF Home Front Command announced that wartime restrictions would be lifted across most of Israel starting Thursday, allowing schools to reopen and resume normal operations for the first time since February 28.
• Most restrictions on public gatherings, remaining close to shelters, and workplace limits and controls were also lifted in most parts of the country. Authorities emphasized that the changes are conditional and subject to ongoing security reassessments as the ceasefire evolves.
• In communities along the Lebanon border, the Upper Galilee, Golan Heights, and parts of the Haifa Bay area, educational activities were restricted to protected spaces, and gathering sizes and workplace operations remain limited.
• Ben Gurion Airport fully reopened at midnight on Wednesday night. It began preparations for significantly expanded operations, with Israeli carriers greatly increasing flight capacity and foreign airlines expected to return gradually, pending security assessments. Nonetheless, European carriers said they would not be returning to Israel until at least April 24.

Jewish Federations continue to monitor the situation on the ground very closely and will report as needed.