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Dear A.,


Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings with the president, senior White House officials, and Democratic and Republican members of Congress.


Departing Israel yesterday, Netanyahu
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said :


"In my conversation with President Trump, I will, first of all, thank him for his very powerful involvement for Israel's benefit.


"We have never had such a friend in the White House. Our joint involvement brought a great victory over our mutual enemy – Iran...


"This creates a great obligation and also great opportunities. The obligation is, first and foremost, to preserve the achievement, to remain vigilant against Iran's attempt to renew its effort to acquire nuclear weapons aimed at our destruction.


"That is one obligation, but there is also a great opportunity: The opportunity of expanding the circle of peace, far beyond what we could have imagined previously...


"At the same time, we are still in the Gaza arena. We have great achievements there as well, but also missions that need to be completed. As of today, we have freed 205 out of 255 hostages, 148 among them alive.


"Twenty living and 30 deceased hostages are left. I am determined – we are determined – to bring back everyone. We are also determined to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel."

Netanyahu is set to have dinner with President Trump this evening.


The two leaders are expected to discuss the war in Gaza, including negotiations to free the hostages, America and Israel's success against Iran, and the potential for increased Israel-Arab normalization, among other topics.


Earlier today, Netanyahu met separately with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.


Witkoff is
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set to leave for Qatar later this week to advance the ongoing hostage-ceasefire negotiations, with Trump saying he wants a deal this week.

The United States must continue to stand with Israel and increase the pressure on Hamas and its sponsors in Qatar, Turkey and Iran to free all 50 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza.

Hamas attacks American GHF aid workers

Two Americans working for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)
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were injured in a Hamas attack while helping to distribute aid to Gazans.


Those injured are reportedly U.S. military veterans. They received medical treatment and are reportedly in stable condition.


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GHF released an image of fragments of one of the grenades packed with ball bearings used to attack the two American workers.


"GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food. Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings," GHF said.


"The Hamas terrorist organization and other terrorist groups in Gaza continue efforts to sabotage and fail the distribution of humanitarian aid at the distribution sites and on the way to them. IDF troops facilitated a safe evacuation for further medical treatment. The Hamas terrorist organization and other terrorist groups in Gaza continue to harm the Gazan civilians," IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said.


Despite this horrific attack, GHF is continuing its humanitarian work,
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distributing more than 65 million meals to date, including nearly 2 million meals today.

Israel strikes Houthis, Iran-backed terrorists attack commerical ship

Last night, Israel
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struck Houthi targets in Yemen, including ports used to transfer Iranian weapons, power stations supporting its military operations, and the "Galaxy Leader" commercial vessel, which was hijacked by the Houthis in November 2023 and used to help conduct attacks on other vessels.


Prior to the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians near the targeted areas.


Within hours, the Houthis retaliated by launching two ballistic missiles at Israel. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Since mid-March 18, the Houthis have launched 56 ballistic missiles and over a dozen drones at Israel.


Before the Israeli strikes, on Sunday, the Houthis
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attacked the commercial ship Magic Seas in the Red Sea, the first such attack since President Trump announced a truce with the terror group in May.


The crew was forced to abandon ship when the vessel began taking on water after it was hit by gunfire and self-propelled grenades.

The United States must work with Israel to counter the threat posed by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.


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The IDF released footage of the strike on the ship Galaxy Leader, hijacked by the Houthis in November 2023.

U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to expand Israeli investment

U.S. tech giant Nvidia
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plans to significantly expand its investment in Israel, looking to build a multibillion-dollar campus in Israel’s north, creating thousands of jobs.


"It’s a very sizable investment, and to decide to locate it in Israel goes a long way and is a sign of confidence in the Israeli high-tech ecosystem. This declaration is mutually beneficial: Nvidia is enjoying the benefits of the local ecosystem and talent, and the ecosystem will enjoy this big investment of Nvidia because it will help Israel remain at the forefront of innovation and technology, especially in the artificial intelligence space," Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin said.

Progress in Lebanon as work remains to counter Hezbollah

U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack
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said today he was "unbelievably satisfied" with Lebanon's reply to a U.S. proposal on disarming Hezbollah following meetings in Beirut.


The proposal would reportedly see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for Israel halting air strikes and withdrawing troops from strategic points in southern Lebanon.


This came hours after the IDF carried out a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah terror targets, including "several military sites, storage and production infrastructure for strategic arms, and a rocket launch site," the IDF
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said .


"The presence of these weapons and the activities of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the area constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon."


Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem
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pledged earlier that day that the Iran-backed terror group will not give up its weapons before Israel withdraws from all of southern Lebanon and ends its airstrikes.


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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