Klal Yisroel is urged to be mispallel for the refuah sheleimah of the Zkan Rosh HaYeshiva, Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky who was taken to the hospital on Friday. His name for Tehillim is שמואל בן איטא עטיל.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned on Friday that Israel must brace for a “prolonged campaign” against Iran, declaring that the military will not allow an existential threat to mature unchecked. In a rare and forceful video statement, Zamir said that Iran has been methodically working toward Israel’s destruction for years, with recent developments pushing its capabilities to a dangerous new level. “The plan reached the point of no return,” he said. “The capabilities reached operational readiness.” According to Zamir, at the time Israel launched its preemptive campaign, Iran had amassed around 2,500 ground-to-ground missiles, with production on track to exceed 8,000 within two years.

A missile launched by Iran struck the downtown area of Haifa on Friday, sending shockwaves that damaged the historic Al Jarina Grand Mosque and nearby infrastructure. The blast shattered the mosque’s stained glass windows and caused structural damage to the 18th-century building. The Al Jarina Mosque, originally built in 1775 and expanded in 1901, typically draws around 200 worshippers on Fridays. However, only 15 people attended prayers due to a Home Front Command directive prohibiting large gatherings amid ongoing hostilities, according to Wakf representative Khaled Dagash. Dagash reported that the missile hit after services had concluded and the building was empty. One person, whose identity is unknown, was lightly injured outside the mosque.

Aflac says that it has identified suspicious activity on its network in the U.S. that may impact Social Security numbers and other personal information, calling the incident part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry. The company said Friday that the intrusion was stopped within hours. “We continue to serve our customers as we respond to this incident and can underwrite policies, review claims, and otherwise service our customers as usual,” Aflac said in a statement. The company said that it’s in the early stages of a review of the incident, and so far is unable to determine the total number of affected individuals. Aflac Inc.

As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he plans to strengthen the country’s deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it. Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey’s production of medium- and long-range missiles. Erdogan discussed the Iran-Israel war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a telephone call on Friday. He told Merz that the Iranian nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations, according to Erdogan’s office. Despite Turkey’s tense relations with Israel, analysts and officials don’t see an immediate threat of the conflict spreading into NATO-member Turkey.

Israel was rocked Friday by a fresh barrage of ballistic missiles launched from Iran, triggering a rare nationwide alert and sending millions of civilians scrambling to bomb shelters across the country. The IDF confirmed that approximately 25 ballistic missiles were fired from Iranian territory in the latest attack. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel—including in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheva—as air defense systems engaged incoming threats. Loud explosions were reported in multiple regions, including the south, center, and north of the country. The Home Front Command issued a rare directive instructing civilians across the nation to seek shelter and remain indoors. After the attack subsided, it later announced that citizens could safely exit bomb shelters.

Peak sunshine has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere — the summer solstice. Friday is the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer. It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and winter will start. The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” for sun and “stitium” which can mean “pause” or “stop.” The solstice is the end of the sun’s annual march higher in the sky, when it makes its longest, highest arc. The bad news for sun lovers: It then starts retreating and days will get a little shorter every day until late December.

Falling rocks struck people on a hiking trail in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, killing one and injuring three others Thursday. Rescuers had rushed to the park in the afternoon after receiving reports that a group of hikers had been struck by the rockslide. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Parks Canada later confirmed one died and three were injured near Bow Glacier Falls. The site is north of Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Calgary. It is also about 137 kilometers (85 miles) from the site of the Group of Seven summit held in Kananaskis, Alberta, this week. STARS Air Ambulance spokeswoman Kate Langille earlier said two of its units were deployed around 2 p.m. Parks Canada has asked visitors to avoid the area.

British lawmakers began a crunch debate on Friday a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, before a vote that could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. The vote, which is due to take place around 2:30 p.m. (1330 GMT), is expected to be extremely close, with those on both sides of the issue voicing confidence. As things stand, proponents of so-called assisted dying have the edge. When Members of Parliament, or MPs, last voted on the issue in November, those backing assisted dying won by 330 votes to 275.

An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids. The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor’s permission since 1965. In its decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded it was likely Trump lawfully exercised his authority in federalizing control of the guard.