Jewish Groups Welcome Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire As Vital for Stability, The Jerusalem Post
J Street, a pro-Israel and pro-peace North American organization, said the ceasefire was an important regional step. “However, the work of US diplomacy will not be complete until a ceasefire and hostage deal is reached for Gaza as well,” the organization said in a statement. “J Street hopes that today’s announcement can be a catalyst for progress toward returning the hostages, ending the fighting in the south and surging much-needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.”

J Street Welcomes Lebanon Ceasefire, J Street
We urge that all parties to the agreement ensure that the terms of the ceasefire are fully enforced so that civilians in both Israel and Lebanon can return safely to their homes as soon as possible. The Lebanese government and army, as well as the international community, have important work to do to ensure that this agreement is actually enforced and that Hezbollah is not allowed to return to the south of the country and once again pose a threat to the people of Israel.

Georgia Jewish Leaders Voice Support for Senators Warnock and Ossoff, J Street
The letter followed a recent vote by the senators to disapprove of sales to the Netanyahu government of specific offensive weapons implicated in mass casualty events. Signers thanked the senators for the vote, which they said represented the concerns of “a growing portion of the American Jewish community that believe that the US-Israel relationship should be grounded in our laws, national security interests and shared values.”

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah Start a Ceasefire After Nearly 14 Months of Fighting, AP
The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance.

Hamas Calls for Gaza Ceasefire As Lebanon Truce Takes Key Ally Hezbollah out of Fight, The Times of Israel
“We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,” a senior Hamas official told the AFP news agency, at the same time accusing Israel of obstructing an agreement.

Biden Hopes to Parlay Lebanon Cease-Fire Into a Broader Regional Peace, The New York Times
With the Lebanon accord in hand, Mr. Biden said he would now renew his push for a cease-fire in Gaza, working along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, and he called on both Israel and Hamas to seize the moment. He described the cataclysmic violence that Palestinians have endured in Gaza in more visceral terms than he typically has over the past 14 months of war.

Trump’s Israel Instincts Don’t Matter, Jewish Currents
Peter Beinart shares, “In the weeks and months to come, it’s likely that Trump will criticize Israel’s leaders, or its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and that the media—ever alert to stories that play against type—will warn that Netanyahu’s days of blank-check US support may be coming to an end. Don’t fall for it. For a Republican Party now defined by ethnonationalism, ardent support for Israel is as foundational as hostility to non-white immigration to the US. Trump may waiver in his support for Israel. But his presidency will not.”

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Strip Leave 15 Dead, Medics Say, Reuters
Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 15 people on Wednesday, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics in Gaza said, adding that the fatalities included two sons of a former Hamas spokesman.

Over 100 Prominent Jewish Georgians Voice Support for Ossoff/Warnock Vote Against Arms Sales for Israel, The American Saga
Over 100 prominent Jewish Georgians — including members of major Jewish cultural and civil rights organizations in the area — have penned an open letter praising Georgia’s Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for their votes in support of a series of resolutions disapproving of the sales of some arms systems to the Israeli government.

UN Resolution 1701 Is at the Heart of the Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire. What Is It?, AP
In 2006, after a bruising monthlong war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted for a resolution to end the conflict and pave the way for lasting security along the border. But while relative calm stood for nearly two decades, Resolution 1701’s terms were never fully enforced. Now, figuring out how to finally enforce it is key to a U.S.-brokered deal that brought a ceasefire Wednesday.

Merkel Slams Netanyahu in Memoir for ‘Completely Undermining’ Two-state Solution, Haaretz
From 2009 onward, however, she writes that the differences with Netanyahu became insurmountable. “We could only agree on the formula ‘We agree to disagree,’” she writes. Merkel further criticizes him, noting that although he “sometimes mentioned the words two-state solution,” in practice “he did nothing for it.”

How Israel Uses Palestinian Detainees as Human Shields [Audio], The New York Times
A New York Times investigation has examined one controversial tactic: the Israeli use of Palestinian detainees as human shields. Natan Odenheimer, a contributing reporter for The Times, explains what the investigation revealed, and what the tactic says about the nature of the conflict.

Sens. Ossoff and Warnock and the U.S.-Israel Relationship, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ari Kaiman writes, “I know that both Sens. Warnock and Ossoff deeply value the safety and security of Israel. Their track records show this — not only in their decisive votes when it matters most, but also in their personal engagement with the complexities of the U. S-Israel relationship.”

Netanyahu’s Coalition Silent as PM Pushes Lebanon Cease-fire Against Right-wing Ideals, Haaretz
Ravit Hecht shares, “Ending the war in Gaza would disappoint those of Netanyahu’s partners who have aspirations for Gazan real estate and might therefore dismantle his government. But ending the war in the north didn’t pose any such threat, because aside from a few fools, nobody wants to settle in Lebanon. And that is apparently most, if not all, of the story.”