The Israeli government voted on Sunday to extend a “special emergency” for the entire country until late July due to the faltering ceasefire with Iran, Hebrew media reported.
The “Special Situation on the Home Front,” which the government voted to extend through July 28, authorizes the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command to restrict public gatherings and civilian movement.
The resolution does not affect Israeli civilians directly, but enables the IDF to quickly decide on new restrictions in the light of developing threats posed by Tehran and its terrorist proxies in the region.
The proposal to extend the nationwide emergency measures is subject to approval by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
According to explanatory notes accompanying the Cabinet resolution and cited by Israel Hayom on Sunday, renewed fighting between Iran and the United States has heightened concerns that missile attacks on the Jewish state could resume.
“In light of security agencies’ assessments that there remains a high likelihood of an attack on the civilian population, the circumstances justify approving the proposed decision to extend the validity of the declaration,” the explanatory notes said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration would resume negotiations with Iran after Washington carried out another round of military strikes against the Islamic Republic.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,’” Trump wrote. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is over.”
The U.S. military struck 140 military targets in Iran—the third round of strikes in a week—after the Islamic Republic “blatantly” attacked the Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy as it went through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday night.
The military used “land- and sea-based fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels,” and it targeted “Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations,” said CENTCOM.
