Hamas continues to violate the ceasefire deal, launching attacks against IDF troops over the weekend.
Yesterday, the terrorist group shot an anti-tank missile at IDF soldiers working to dismantle the terror tunnels underneath Rafah. The attack claimed the lives of two Israelis, Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21 (left) and Major Yaniv Kula, 26 (right).
May their memories forever be a blessing.
Following these attacks, Israel announced that it will "continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it."
Additionally, President Trump reiterated that Hamas will be held accountable for any further breaches of the ceasefire deal.
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Israel today to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the status of the ceasefire following Hamas' recent violations.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive in Israel tomorrow to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the peace deal and to get Hamas to surrender and release the rest of the murdered hostage bodies.
As talks continue, Hamas has said that it intends to maintain its security control over the Gaza Strip and has no plans to disarm, according to senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office responded to Hamas' continued violations of the ceasefire agreement, saying "Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time."
The United States must increase the pressure on Hamas and its sponsors in Qatar, Turkey and Iran to fully comply with the agreement and release all the hostages.
"When Hamas turned its guns on us Gazans, the ‘pro-Palestinian’ chorus fell silent"
Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender Moumen al-Natour penned a new op-ed calling out the silence of the "pro-Palestinian" activists who are now silent as Hamas executes Gazan civilians:
"Repression is the [Hamas] regime’s primary instrument: surveillance, arrests, intimidation and unspeakable scenes of public executions and torture. Just as Hamas live-streamed the atrocities of October 7 to terrify Israelis, it makes use of video recordings of its brutality against alleged enemies within to strike fear into ordinary Gazans. A careless word can brand someone a traitor, a blasphemer, or a rival to be eliminated. And it works: Hamas is gradually reasserting control over areas beyond the reach of the IDF."
"Meanwhile, the world’s sympathy flows easily, but moral clarity does not. Where are the protestors who for two years claimed to care for Gazans, now that footage of Hamas’s cruelty against its own people floods social media? Are the activists who filled the streets of Western cities and all those human rights organisations truly for us Palestinians – or simply against Israelis?"
The Palestinian terrorists released as part of the hostage deal, many of whom were serving one or more life sentences for killing Israelis, received payments from the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA paid $70 million to the released terrorists as part of their "pay-for-play" program, which pays terrorists and their families, with more money paid to those who carry out the deadliest attacks. This total excludes the payments the PA made to the families of the terrorists while they were incarcerated.
The Palestinian Authority’s heinous pay-for-slay program incentivizes terrorism by paying hundreds of millions to attackers and their families.
Nuclear stockpile remains buried in destroyed Iranian sites
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said this weekend that “the majority” of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles remain buried underground in Iran’s destroyed nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz.
These three deeply-buried nuclear sites were “massively damaged” by the Israeli and American strikes during the 12-day war in June, the IAEA head added.
The United States must continue to impose maximum economic pressure on Iran to prevent the regime from rebuilding its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
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Israel continues to strike Hezbollah terrorists
The IDF this weekend eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in southern Lebanon who was attempting to rebuild the Iran-backed group’s terrorist infrastructure.
“The terrorist’s activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Israeli troops intercepted a weapons smuggling attempt from Syria into Lebanon, confiscating grenades, pistols, anti-tank rockets, and ammunition.
The United States must continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure our ally has the resources needed to counter ongoing threats across its borders.
Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen raid U.N. facility
The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists raided a U.N. office in Sanaa, Yemen, detaining over two dozen staff and confiscating their phones, servers and computers.
The Houthis terrorists have increasingly targeted U.N. employees in the areas they control, accusing them of being spies, prompting the U.N. to suspend its operations in parts of Yemen and relocate its top humanitarian coordinator to Aden, where the internationally recognized government is based.
The United States must increase the pressure on Iran and its terrorist proxies, including by interdicting the flow of weapons to the Houthi terror group.
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.
