Senior Israeli and Saudi officials are in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with the administration, as President Trump weighs potential U.S. strikes against Iran amid its ongoing crackdown against protesters.
Israel's Chief of Military Intelligence, Gen. Shlomi Binder, met with senior officials at the Pentagon, the CIA, and the White House earlier this week to share requested intelligence, including on possible targets inside Iran.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman is in D.C. today and tomorrow and is expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, to try to broker a diplomatic end to the standoff between the U.S. and Iran.
According to reports, President Trump is considering an array of options, including targeted strikes on the regime's forces and leaders to limit their ability to continue to suppress the ongoing protests.
Another option under consideration reportedly includes a much larger series of strikes that also target the regime's ballistic missiles and potentially another round of strikes against its nuclear facilities.
At a White House Cabinet meeting today, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said, "We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department.”
An X-ray of the legs of an Iranian protester with embedded birdshot pellets after being shot by regime forces.
Meanwhile, new reports out of Iran highlight the regime's systematic use of hospitals as a trap to detain injured protesters.
Injured protesters are reportedly refusing to go to hospitals to avoid arrest and torture by regime forces, while doctors and nurses who treat injured protesters have been arrested and even threatened with execution.
These horrific details continue to emerge despite the regime's ongoing internet and communications blackout, which has now lasted 21 days.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday, urging the administration to "surge resources to quickly enable critical internet freedom" to Iranian protesters:
"Without the continuous operation of internet freedom programming carried out by the State Department and Open Technology Fund, millions of Iranians will lose their last secure window and voice to the outside world."
"As we watch brave Iranians take to the streets, it is clear that supporting the Iranian people’s access to information is not a partisan issue but a matter of national security... The United States must pair its maximum pressure on the regime with maximum support for the Iranian people."
TAKE 30 SECONDS: Click here to urge your members of Congress to speak out in support of the brave Iranian protesters and condemn the brutal regime for violently suppressing them.
Hamas continues refusing to disarm, in violation of peace deal
A senior Hamas official is doubling down on the terror group's refusal to disarm, despite agreeing to do so in the U.S.-backed peace plan.
"Hamas must demilitarize as they agreed to do when they accepted the 20-Point Plan," a State Department spokesperson toldJNS.
"The demilitarization of Hamas remains a central challenge [to implementing the peace plan] — one that we are hopeful we can overcome. Demilitarization means Hamas can no longer pose a threat to Israel or the people of Gaza," the State Department spokesperson added.
Yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz announced a new plan to incentivize Gazans to help disarm Hamas. The new "internationally funded buyback" program was unveiled during yesterday's U.N. Security Council quarterly debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Hamas must not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly or indirectly, in any form, period,” Waltz added. “All military terror and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt.”
Israeli estimates indicate that Hamas still possesses roughly 60,000 assault rifles and thousands of rockets and anti-tank missiles. "These weapons are used not only against Israel but against Gazans who oppose Hamas rule," Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said at the Security Council meeting.
For a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike, the United States must increase the pressure on Hamas and its sponsors in Qatar and Turkey to ensure the terror group fully disarms.
Israel continues to surge aid into Gaza
Since Hamas' October 7 massacre, more than 112,000 humanitarian aid trucks have entered the Strip. Additionally, 13,000 food pallets were airdropped; more than 1.8 million tents and tarps have been brought in for shelter, 55,000 tons of medical equipment and medicine delivered; and more than 1.7 million tons of food sent in.
And just since the ceasefire agreement went into effect:
More than 60,000 humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza.
900,000 tons of food have been delivered.
9,600 tons of medical equipment have been delivered.
More than 600,000 tents and tarps have been brought in for shelter.
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