To view this email as a web page, go to the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser's address window.
[link removed]
[link removed]
Dear A.,
Vice President Vance met today with Prime Minister Netanyahu, following meetings with other senior Israeli leaders yesterday.
[link removed]
"We have a very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel. It's not easy. I think the prime minister knows that as well as anybody. But it's something that we are committed to in the Trump administration," Vance
[link removed]
said .
"In the last year, we've had an unmatched alliance and a partnership with the United States... That is changing the Middle East, and it's also changing the world," Netanyahu said.
Vance, alongside Second Lady Usha Vance and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee,
[link removed]
also met today with a group of freed hostages, family members of deceased hostages who are still in Gaza, and family members of those killed in Hamas' October 7 attack.
The vice president is
[link removed]
expected to meet tomorrow with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will
[link removed]
arrive in Israel tomorrow for additional meetings with top leaders.
Meanwhile, Israel
[link removed]
identified today the bodies of the two hostages released yesterday from Hamas captivity. They belonged to Chief Sgt. First Class (res.) Tamir Adar and Aryeh Zalmanovich.
[link removed]
Aryeh was 86 when he was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 and later murdered in captivity. He was a father of two and grandfather of five.
[link removed]
Tamir was 38 when he was killed on October 7 defending Kibbutz Nir Oz against Hamas terrorists. He is survived by his wife and two children.
May their memories be a blessing.
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.
Continue to
[link removed]
follow AIPAC on social media for the latest updates.
Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications
PICTURE OF THE DAY
Hostages remaining in Gaza
[link removed]
Murdered hostages whose bodies are still held hostage in Gaza: Meny Godard, Ran Gvili, Sahar Baruch, Dror Or, Joshua Mollel, Itay Chen, Asaf Hamami, Oz Daniel, Hadar Goldin, Sudthisak Rinthalak, Lior Rudaeff, Amiram Cooper, and Omer Neutra.
Omer Neutra and Itay Chen are both American citizens.
ICJ issues "corrupt" ruling against Israel, giving Hamas a free pass
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
[link removed]
issued an advisory opinion today asserting that Israel is legally obligated to allow UNRWA to operate in Gaza, once again demonstrating its pernicious anti-Israel bias while giving Hamas and its backers a free pass.
The ICJ's advisory opinion not only ignores Israel's efforts to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza, most recently in accordance with President Trump's peace plan, but it also excuses UNRWA's well-documented support for and participation in Hamas' atrocities.
UNRWA's staff kidnapped Israeli civilians and participated in the October 7 massacre. UNRWA's facilities were used to hold hostages, its electricity powered Hamas command centers, and its schools were breeding grounds to radicalize terrorists.
The U.S. State Department
[link removed]
said :
"As President Trump and Secretary Rubio work tirelessly to bring peace to the region, this so-called 'court' issues a nakedly politicized non-binding 'advisory opinion' unfairly bashes Israel and gives UNRWA a free pass for its deep entanglement with and material support for Hamas terrorism.
"This ICJ's ongoing abuse of its advisory opinion discretion suggests that it is nothing more than a partisan political tool, which can be weaponized against Americans."
UNRWA can have no role in the future of Gaza. American leaders must reject the ICJ's latest advisory opinion and demand an alternative to UNRWA.
Hamas leaders meet with Turkish intelligence chief, foreign minister in Qatar
Senior Hamas leaders met with Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Qatar today as Hamas continues to
[link removed]
violate the ceasefire by refusing to release the bodies of all the murdered hostages and executing Palestinian civilians.
Turkey and Qatar are both key sponsors of Hamas, routinely hosting the terror group’s leadership, while the leaders of both countries have expressed deep hostility towards Israel.
The United States must pressure Turkey and Qatar to compel Hamas to fully comply with the ceasefire agreement
IDF eliminates Hezbollah commander as terror group seeks to rebuild
The IDF yesterday eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist commander operating less than 15 miles from the Israeli border.
The terrorist was involved in "the transfer of weapons in Lebanon and advanced terror attacks against the State of Israel," the IDF
[link removed]
said .
Hezbollah is actively working to rebuild and rearm with help from its sponsor in Iran, and is "rebuilding faster than the Lebanese army is dismantling" the terror group’s infrastructure, Western intelligence officials said.
U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack
[link removed]
said that "If Beirut fails to act, Hezbollah’s military wing will inevitably face a major confrontation with Israel – at a time when Israel is at the height of its strength and Iran-backed Hezbollah is at its weakest."
The Lebanese government has committed to dismantling Hezbollah, but thus far has failed to do so.
Meanwhile, the Senate held a bipartisan hearing yesterday highlighting the threat Hezbollah poses to our own continent through its relationship with the Venezuelan regime and involvement in narco-trafficking.
"Hezbollah has operated in Latin America for almost 50 years, cultivating ties with drug traffickers and developing illicit finance and trade networks," Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
[link removed]
said .
"Iran is still believed to provide Hezbollah with about the same amount of money today that it did before the Oct. 7 attacks, but that is not enough money to do what it needs to do today... If you need big money real fast, you turn to illicit activities and especially to narcotics trafficking. Hezbollah has demonstrated its ability to play an important and lucrative, niche role in laundering the proceeds of narcotics trafficking for a wide array of cartels," one witness testified.
The United States must continue to increase the pressure on Iran and its terrorist proxies and urge our partners in Latin America to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
Iran behind recent cyberattacks in Israel
A recent wave of cyberattacks targeting Israeli hospitals, most recently on Yom Kippur, were perpetrated by Iran,
[link removed]
according to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate.
The unsuccessful attack at Shamir Medical Center was shut down before the hospital’s systems could be disrupted, but sensitive patient information was still taken.
"In the case of Shamir Medical Center, beyond the data leak, the very attempt to harm a hospital in Israel is a red line that could have endangered lives," said Yossi Karadi, head of the National Cyber Directorate.
[link removed]
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.
[link removed]
<!--
-->
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center">
<br>
<!-- FOOTER CONTENT -->
<tr>
<td style="color:#8a8a8a;"align="center" valign="top" width="100%">
<table class="container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
<tr>
<td align="center" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: #959595; padding:0px 0px 25px 0px;">
<span>AIPAC<br>
</span>251 H St. NW • Washington D.C. 20001 • TEL 202-639-5200
<br>
<br>
<span style="color:#8a8a8a;"> To Manage Your Email Preferences... <a style="color:#8a8a8a;" href=[link removed] alias="Link">Click Here</a></span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
