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Dear A.,
Today, Hamas
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announced the three hostages who will be released tomorrow, including 65-year-old American citizen Keith Siegel, originally from North Carolina. The other two are 54-year-old Ofer Calderon and 35-year-old Yarden Bibas.
Yarden, Keith and Ofer.
Yarden's wife Shiri and their two young children Ariel and Kfir, who were kidnapped separately from him on October 7, are also held hostage in Gaza.
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Kfir, Yarden, Shiri and Ariel.
Relatives of the Bibas family
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said in a statement today: "Our Yarden is set to return tomorrow and we are all so excited, but Shiri and the children have not yet returned. The emotions are mixed, and we are facing very complex days... We love you, dear people of Israel and our amazing supporters from all over the world."
The IDF has expressed "grave concern" about the well-being of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
Under the terms of the hostage deal, all living children and women were supposed to have been freed before male hostage are released. Shiri and the children are all on the list of 33 hostages set to be returned in the first phase of the deal.
82 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, including seven Americans.
The United States must continue to stand with our ally Israel and increase the pressure on Hamas' allies Qatar and Turkey to ensure the terror group fully adheres to the agreement.
Continue to follow AIPAC on
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social media for the latest updates.
Shabbat Shalom,
Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications
Israel's ban on UNRWA went into effect
The United National Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has long been an obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, perpetuating the myth of the "right of return," maintaining Palestinians' perpetual "refugee" status, and indoctrinating generations of Palestinians with antisemitic and anti-Israel hate in school textbooks.
Then, UNRWA employees participated in the murder, rape, torture and kidnapping of Israelis and Americans during the October 7 massacre.
Intelligence released by Israel over the past 15 months — along with incontrovertible evidence uncovered in Gaza — has demonstrated conclusively UNRWA’s ties to terrorism and that the problems with UNRWA are grave, systemic and beyond repair.
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Click here to read an AIPAC memo about UNRWA that was sent to congressional offices.
AIPAC successfully lobbied Congress to suspend funding for UNRWA for one year in April 2024.
Following Congress' decision, the Israeli Knesset passed two laws in October 2024 with support from across the Israeli political spectrum: The first law bars UNRWA from conducting any activity within Israeli territory; the second prohibits Israeli authorities from having any contact with UNRWA or entities working on its behalf in the West Bank and Gaza.
Yesterday, these laws
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went into effect .
The current U.S. representative to the United Nations said at the U.N. on Wednesday: "It is Israel’s sovereign decision to close UNRWA’s offices in Jerusalem... The United States supports the implementation of this decision."
Congress must permanently end U.S. support for UNRWA and urge our allies to do the same. The United States and our allies should not fund organizations that enable terrorism.
Iranian foreign minister meets with Hamas officials in Qatar
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Qatar
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yesterday to meet with senior leaders of Hamas.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Araghchi was there "to hail the victory of the Palestinian people through 16 months of legendary resistance" in the Gaza Strip.
Araghchi also met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani as part of talks with "Qatari officials on current developments in the region."
Iran and Qatar are both key allies of Hamas.
The United States must increase the pressure on the Iranian regime, including by returning to maximum enforcement of economic sanctions.
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Iran is attempting to rebuild Hezbollah; Israel acts to enforce ceasefire
Iran is working to rebuild its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah amidst the ongoing ceasefire, following Israel's successful campaign to degrade the terror group.
Israel told the U.S.-led committee overseeing the ceasefire that Iranian diplomats and others are
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delivering tens of millions of dollars in cash to Hezbollah, flying from Iran to Beirut's international airport with suitcases stuffed with U.S. dollars.
Israel also alleges that Turkish citizens have been flying in cash from Istanbul to Beirut.
The terms of the ceasefire require Lebanon to secure the country's ports of entry and prevent the flow of arms and related supplies to Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to take action to enforce the ceasefire and prevent Hezbollah from rearming.
The
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IDF this morning said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets near the Lebanon-Syria border, targeting weapons smuggling sites, and also struck a weapons manufacturing site in the Bekaa Valley.
Also violating the ceasefire yesterday, Hezbollah flew a surveillance drone towards Israeli territory, which Israel intercepted.
The United States must continue to ensure Israel has the resources and support needed to defend its people, and increase the pressure on Lebanon and Hezbollah to fully comply with the terms of the ceasefire.
Israeli delegation helped combat California wildfires
14 volunteers and emergency responders from Israel
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deployed to southern California to help combat the devastating wildfires affecting the area.
The Israeli delegation worked with members of Cal Fire, California’s fire and forestry service, to discuss strategies and tactics, and shared technologies that they use to monitor and analyze wildfires.
Shay Levy, the head of the wildfire branch at the Israeli National Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "Firefighters all over the world are brothers, so we’re trying to help our brother to fight the fire… America is the best friend of Israel. So you have to help your friend when they’re in trouble."
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Read more here.
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After two months in a coma and losing both legs and a hand in Gaza, IDF soldier Ari Spitz refuses to be defeated.
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On October 7, Hamas brutally kidnapped Naama, Liri, Daniella, Karina and Agam from the Nahal Oz IDF base. 482 days later, they were reunited in Israel.
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Yarden Bibas is set to be released from Hamas captivity tomorrow. The rest of his family is not. #FreeThemAll 🎗️
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Arbel Yehud is receiving special medical treatment after being held in total isolation for 482 days. Her partner is still held captive in Gaza. #FreeThemAll 🎗️
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Support our work to keep Israel safe.
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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