The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.

The spiritual leader of Degel HaTorah, one of the two factions of the Haredi United Torah Judaism party, says in a statement: “Whether the authorities agree to it or not, not a single yeshiva student, not even one, will go to the army.”

Rabbi Dov Lando issues the statement as the government continues its efforts to pass a law that would exempt most, but not all, Haredim from service.

“The place of Torah scholars is solely within the walls of the yeshivas and kollels,” Lando says. “Let everyone know, whether they understand this or not: This is the fact; it has been so, and it will remain so.”

Lebanon’s government will decide next week how to move to the second phase of a plan to extend its authority and place all arms under state control in areas north of the Litani River, its information minister says.

The decision will be based on a presentation by the army outlining its needs and capabilities, the minister, Paul Morcos, tells reporters during a visit to Kuwait, where he is attending a meeting of Arab nations.

The Lebanese army said in January that it had taken operational control in the area between the Litani River and the border with Israel. The cabinet asked the army to brief it in early February on how to pursue disarmament in other parts of the country.

“We have completed the first phase, south of the Litani River. Next week the government will take a decision regarding the second phase, considering what the army commander sets out in terms of needs and capabilities, so that we can decide accordingly, based on that explanation,” Morcos says.

Lebanon has been seeking to place all arms under state control, in line with a November 2024 US-brokered ceasefire that ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Morcos rules out the possibility of any confrontation between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah, saying the objective is “to extend state authority and achieve stability, and insofar as these goals can be achieved together, we will proceed.”

Israel has carried out regular strikes in Lebanon since the end of the war with Hezbollah, saying it is targeting the terror group for ceasefire violations. Israel has accused Hezbollah of seeking to rearm in violation of the truce agreement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani met in Ankara today to discuss regional “de-escalation,” a week before the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s international Board of Peace, of which both countries are members.

The two officials – who last month signed the Board of Peace’s charter in Davos, Switzerland, along with other global leaders – discussed “the latest developments in the region, in addition to a number of topics of mutual interest,” according to a readout from Qatar’s foreign ministry.

Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister........

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