Dear A.,

Millions of Israelis were forced into bomb shelters today as Hezbollah continues to attack Israeli population centers with rockets and drones. A 17-year-old girl was hospitalized after being hit by shrapnel in Holon, and footage from Tel Aviv showed families running off the beach to seek shelter as sirens wailed.

Today’s attacks came after four 19-year-old Israeli soldiers (pictured below) were killed, and 58 others injured, in a Hezbollah drone attack last night on an IDF base south of Haifa.

The Israeli Air Force’s initial investigation found that the drone attack was part of a multi-pronged Hezbollah attack that the IDF was unable to completely intercept. Since October 7, around 1,200 drones have been fired at Israel, and 221 have made it through Israel’s defenses. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said this morning that Israel is "concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions to address the threat of [drone] attacks."

Meanwhile, Israel is continuing its operations in southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure, root out the terrorists there, and allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes.

Following the deadly drone attack, the IAF is prioritizing the complete dismantlement of Hezbollah’s Unit 127, which is responsible for its drone production, maintenance and operation. 

Also today, the IDF released a video from within a Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon stocked with weapons, motorcycles, and ammunition to be used for a 10/7-style invasion of northern Israel. Watch the 2.5-minute video here:

America to deploy anti-missile system to Israel

Yesterday, President Biden directed the Pentagon to send its most sophisticated missile defense system — called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) — to Israel to help defend against a prospective Iranian attack.

AIPAC applauds the president for the close coordination with our democratic ally to counter the threat of another Iranian ballistic missile attack.

"This action underscores the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran," the Pentagon said in a statement. "It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias."

A THAAD battery can shoot down as many as 72 ballistic missiles and has a near-perfect success rate in testing. America has seven of these systems in its arsenal. Approximately 100 U.S. troops will be deployed to Israel to operate the system.

THAAD will supplement Israel’s Arrow and David’s Sling missile defense systems. THAAD was previously deployed to Israel for testing and training exercises to ensure the American and Israeli systems are fully integrated to counter incoming threats.

Read this explainer to learn more about the THAAD system.

Documents from Gaza highlight Hamas-Iran ties ahead of 10/7

The IDF shared with several major American news outlets different troves of Hamas documents seized from Gaza over the past year. 

The Wall Street Journal reported on how the documents show the deep financial and military ties between Hamas and Iran and "suggest that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was negotiating with Iran over funding for a planned large-scale assault on Israel as far back as 2021," as well as advanced Iranian training for Hamas terrorists.

The Washington Post, which received other documents seized from Gaza, reported on "an annotated, illustrated presentation detailing possible options for an assault," including "dozens of maps, photographs and schematics depicting the movement of Hamas fighters against Israeli targets, and a possible sequence for attacks."

One of the possible attack options included "a Sept. 11-style toppling of a Tel Aviv skyscraper," according to the Post.

The New York Times, meanwhile, reported on Hamas’ military cooperation on "the big project" with Iranian commanders and Hezbollah officials in Lebanon as recently as July 2023.

Netanyahu pushes back against UNIFIL accusations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released another video today pushing back against "completely false" accusations that the IDF was intentionally targeting UNIFIL personnel.

Netanyahu goes on to once again urge UNIFIL members to move out of harm’s way and stop being used by Hezbollah as human shields. You can watch the full 1.5-minute video here.

America must continue to stand with Israel as our ally works to return the more than 80,000 displaced Israelis to their homes in the north. Click here to urge members of Congress to ensure Israel has the resources needed to keep its people safe.

Moran Brustin, her husband, and their three young children are from Kibbutz HaGoshrim — a beautiful community on Israel's border with Lebanon.

They are some of the 80,000 Israelis displaced from their home for over a year. Watch their story below 👇

American Omer Neutra’s second birthday in Hamas captivity

Omer Neutra turns 23 years old today. 

Instead of celebrating with family and friends, he’s enduring unthinkable torture and trauma at the hands of Hamas terrorists. 

Omer is one of seven Americans who has been held hostage for 374 days and counting.

Continue to follow AIPAC on social media for the latest updates.

Sincerely,

Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications