Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene Israel’s security cabinet tomorrow to review the terms of a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said today that “we are close” to a deal, which reportedly includes a 60-day transition period during which the Israeli military would withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army would deploy in areas near the border, and Hezbollah would move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.
American mediators have reportedly provided Israel with guarantees for the IDF’s freedom of action to operate against threats from Lebanese territory, and to disrupt Hezbollah from reestablishing a military presence near the border.
The IDF Home Front Command issued new restrictions in northern Israeli towns today, given fears that Hezbollah will use the moments before an agreement to ramp up rocket attacks. The IDF also has plans for an expansion of its operations against Hezbollah should an agreement not be completed.
Tell Senators: Sanction the ICC
Last week, the International Criminal Court issued outrageous, morally bankrupt, and legally baseless arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders.
The administration and leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle have made clear that the ICC's politically motivated campaign against Israel is dangerous and damaging to U.S. interests.
In June, the House passed legislation to sanction those who aid efforts by the ICC to prosecute Americans or Israelis.
Tell your Senators to sanction the ICC, and call on all members of Congress to speak out against the Court's actions.
Read this new AIPAC memo about the ICC’s dangerous decision and what Congress and the Biden administration must do to impose consequences on this rogue court.
IDF Strikes Iranian Smuggling Routes
For decades, Iran has been smuggling weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon through a land bridge through Syria. These routes, managed by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, involve storing thousands of missiles and other weapon components in Syrian military warehouses and transferring them through internal crossings.
Today the IDF announced that it has conducted extensive operations to disrupt these efforts and destroy the routes, preventing future attacks on Israeli civilians.
America must continue to stand with Israel and ensure it has the weapons it needs to destroy the terrorists’ capabilities and protect Israeli families.
New Congressional Letter: Serious Concerns About Turkey’s Support for Hamas
Following reports that senior Hamas members have relocated from Qatar to Turkey, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are raising the alarm about Turkey’s support for the terror group.
“We have serious concerns about the security implications of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member hosting, and potentially aiding, Hamas, a U.S. and EU designated foreign terrorist organization,” the members of Congress wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
“Turkey has maintained relations with Hamas and openly expressed support for its mission and movement. In spite of Hamas’s heinous October 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israel, the Turkish government has continued its unreserved public support for the terrorist group responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, including Americans and nationals from NATO allied countries.”
The letter was spearheaded by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY).
Hamas Operatives Charged in Germany
German federal prosecutors said Monday they had charged four suspected members of Hamas for sourcing and storing weapons for the Palestinian terrorist group in Europe.
The men "held important positions within the association with direct ties to leaders of the military wing" of Hamas, prosecutors said, and that Hamas had long ago "set up underground weapons depots in various European countries in order to keep them ready for possible attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe."
Hamas had identified the "Israeli embassy in Berlin, the U.S. Air Base in Ramstein or the area around Tempelhof Airport in Berlin as possible targets,” according to the prosecutors. The four suspects were arrested in December last year.
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