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Dear A.,
Hamas
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announced today that it will not release additional hostages from captivity this Saturday, in direct violation of the hostage-ceasefire deal.
In response, President Trump
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said this evening that if the hostages in Gaza are not released by 12:00 PM on Saturday, the ceasefire should be canceled and "let all hell break loose."
Hamas' announcement comes the day after the IDF withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor, a significant strategic chokepoint dividing Gaza's north and south, in compliance with the agreement.
Israel has fully adhered to the terms of the agreement, withdrawing from the corridor and surging vast quantities of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Speculating on Hamas' refusal to release hostages, Israeli analyst Haviv Rettig Gur
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said today, "I'm sorry beyond words and thought to say this, but I'm starting to think Hamas has frozen the hostage deal because the world was horrified at the condition of the hostages released on Saturday. We've been hearing from those released that the remaining hostages are in worse condition than they were. Hamas may have concluded it's too costly to release them."
One of the hostages still being tortured in Gaza is
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Alon Ohel , who turns 24 years old today. In a heart-wrenching interview yesterday, his mother Idit
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said she had just been told that he is being held starving in chains in a Hamas tunnel and has multiple untreated injuries.
There are
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17 hostages still in captivity that are meant to be released in the first phase of the ongoing deal: Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, Sasha Trufanov, Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz, Tsahi Idan, Hisham al-Sayed, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert, Itzik Elgarat, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, and Omer Shem-Tov.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, President Trump said the three hostages released Saturday "looked like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors, and I don’t know how much longer we can take that."
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Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation that was in Qatar on Sunday for further discussions about the agreement landed back in Israel today. The delegation discussed with mediators technical aspects of the first phase of the deal and the possibility of extending it and adding more hostages to the list of 33 releases set to be complete by the end of the first six weeks of the agreement.
According to the terms of the deal, Israel and Hamas are now supposed to begin talks about the second phase of the agreement, during which Hamas would free the remaining living hostages in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from additional locations in Gaza.
76 hostages, including 6 Americans, are still being held hostage in horrific conditions by Hamas terrorists. The United States must increase the pressure on Hamas and its sponsors in Iran, Qatar and Turkey to release the hostages.
$8.4 billion arms sale to Israel moving forward
The Trump administration on Friday
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formally notified Congress that it plans to move forward with a major $8.4 billion arms sale package to Israel.
The Pentagon said it was selling 3,000 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles worth $660 million, $6.75 billion-worth of bombs and guidance kits, and artillery shells.
This arms sale was originally announced by the Biden administration in early January.
The United States must continue to ensure Israel has the offensive and defensive weapons needed to defend itself, by itself.
White House envoy meets with Israeli FM following Lebanon trip
Over the weekend, White House Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in Israel, following her trip to Lebanon last week where she met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Sa'ar
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said : "Following Israel’s achievements against Hezbollah there is an opportunity for a better future in Lebanon, and maybe even for better relations between our countries. Under President Trump's leadership and Israel's strength we are committed to working closely together to build a better future in the region."
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets carried out several
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airstrikes in Lebanon last night, including against a tunnel between Lebanon and Syria used by Iranian-backed Hezbollah to smuggle weapons.
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King of Jordan in Washington this week
Jordanian King Abdullah II
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arrived in the U.S. yesterday for a series of meetings with senior administration officials this week.
He will meet with President Trump tomorrow, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The Palestinian Authority's heinous pay-for-slay policy
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas
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signed a decree today reportedly canceling legislation that provided payments to Palestinian terrorists who murder Israelis, commonly known as "pay-for-slay."
However, Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov
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reported :
"They are doing no such thing... The PA is just restructuring the mechanism through which they pay terrorists so that they can claim it's not them, it's an 'independent' foundation doing it. An 'independent' foundation funded by the PA and whose board is appointed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas."
Israel's Foreign Ministry
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added , "This is a new fraudulent exercise by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue making payments to terrorists and their families through other channels."
Meanwhile, the United States Supreme Court is
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set to hear a case in the coming months to decide whether American victims of Palestinian terror attacks can sue the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and PA for damages based on their support for such attacks through the pay for slay program.
The case revolves around the bipartisan Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, passed by Congress in 2019.
October 7 survivor gives birth against all odds
On October 7, Hamas attacked the Israeli community of Kfar Aza. Elia, Ariel and their daughter Yael were sleeping in their home in Kfar Aza that day when Hamas tried to burn them alive.
Forced to run through the flames with her family, Elia’s burns were so severe that she spent 51 days in a coma.
Last week, against all odds, she
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gave birth to a baby boy.
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Other notable headlines
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IDF raises alert level, bolsters Gaza border forces, after Hamas announces hostage release delay
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Netanyahu asked U.S. for AI chip export waiver
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Suez Canal Chief Expects Traffic Recovery To Start By End-March
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Iranian opposition group rallies some 6,000 in Paris, calling for fall of regime
Continue to
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follow AIPAC on social media for the latest updates.
Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications
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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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