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Dear A.,


This morning, Hamas broke the seven-day pause by firing a barrage of
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rockets at Israeli homes and refusing to release ten more kidnapped Israelis.


The renewed attack occurred as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was leaving Israel. In his
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remarks at the airport, Blinken was clear, "It’s important to understand why the pause came to an end. It came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas reneged on commitments it made."


Israel then continued its military operation to destroy Hamas and free the hostages. The air force struck Hamas targets in Khan Younis – a city in southern Gaza – while dropping
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leaflets across the Gaza Strip urging civilians to leave combat areas.


The IDF also released a map of safe zones in Gaza to help civilians evacuate from targeted areas, helping guide Palestinians to safety.

The failure of Hamas to abide by its commitments further reinforces why calls for a ceasefire now are impractical. Israel will not return to the pre-October 7 status quo, allowing Hamas to use a ceasefire to rearm and train for the future attacks it has already promised.


86 kidnapped Israelis returned home during the pause – a direct byproduct of the military pressure the IDF exacted on Hamas in the first six weeks of the war. 24 foreign hostages were also released from Gaza during the past week.

Keshet 12 News in Israel has interviewed family members of the kidnapped Israelis. Emily Hand’s father and sister talk about the 9-year-old’s first few days back home and the trauma she endured.
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Watch: "The plan is to fix my broken child, fix my broken baby," says Emily's father.
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Watch: Emily's sister describes the changes that have taken place since Emily was taken captive.
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Watch: Emily's father describes the reunion between him and his daughter.


Family members of the eight Americans still being held hostage wrote a letter to the Red Cross highlighting that the U.S. funds 25% of their budget, yet not a single American hostage has been visited by the organization after 55 days. The letter demands immediate and unfettered access to all those still kidnapped by Hamas.

As fighting resumes, America must continue to stand with our ally as it pursues its three specific and achievable goals: Free the hostages, drive Hamas from Gaza, and destroy Hamas’ capabilities to massacre Israelis.

Mobilization Next Week: AIPAC is leading a community-wide effort to increase the number of pro-Israel calls into congressional offices. Please set time in your calendar for next week to call Congress each day. You’ll receive emails and texts about the American Jewish Community’s National Mobilization next week.


As we head into Shabbat, I want to encourage you to share two videos and two photos from this week.

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Click here to watch and share a video AIPAC produced of family members reuniting with their freed loved ones.

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Click here to watch a video of Yagil Yaakov – a young boy who was released this week – and the wish he made as he celebrated his birthday in the hospital.


The
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first photo below my signature is of a father who survived the October 7 massacre holding his newborn triplets.
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The second is of 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, who was released last month. While in captivity, she came face to face with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and confronted him – asking why he wasn’t ashamed of himself. Now she is home and at the rallies in Tel Aviv, holding the poster of her husband Oded who is still kidnapped by Hamas.


In each of these images we see the spirit, love, and hope of the people of Israel, as well as a pain and trauma that will never go away.


Am Yisrael Chai.


Shabbat Shalom,

Adam Harris

Director of Communications


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Support our work to keep Israel safe.


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The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.


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