I hope you’ve had a good week.

I’m writing to share important updates from the region as well as J Street’s statements and resources from this past week. As a reminder, you can always find our most recent statements here.

I invite you to reach out to your J Street Public Affairs staff with any questions.

All the best,
Lily

—
Lily Adelstein
She/Her
Deputy Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 202-699-2701

This week on j street

Statement

J Street Welcomes the Return of Ran Gvili’s Remains to Israel

Israel recovers remains of the last hostage in Gaza. Ceasefire moves into tricky new phase

Israel brought home the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Monday, closing a painful chapter for the country and clearing the way for the next and more challenging phase of its ceasefire with Hamas. The next step is likely to be the reopening of Gaza’s border with Egypt, enabling Palestinians to travel in both directions and eventually allowing more aid to enter the territory devastated by two years of war. The ceasefire’s second phase also calls for deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza. The remains of police officer Ran Gvili were found in a cemetery in northern Gaza.

IDF Accepts Gaza Health Ministry Death Toll of Over 71,000 Palestinians Killed During the War

The IDF has accepted the estimate of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry that approximately 71,000 Palestinians were killed during the Israel-Gaza war, noting that the number does not include missing residents who are potentially buried under rubble. The IDF also said it is currently analyzing the data on the dead to see how many of them are combatants and how many are civilians. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 71,667 Gazans have been killed by IDF fire since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu, Citing Biden-Era Arms Delays, Vows to Cut Reliance on U.S. Military Aid

At the tail end of an hourlong news conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a startling accusation. Israeli soldiers died during the Gaza war because of a shortage of ammunition caused in part by the United States holding back some weapons deliveries. While Mr. Netanyahu did not explicitly blame the Biden administration in his remarks on Tuesday night, he implied it, saying that the situation had changed immeasurably since President Trump took office a year ago… Mr. Netanyahu leveled the accusation to lay out a bigger idea about phasing out Israeli dependency on billions of dollars annually in American military aid — an idea that may curry him even more favor with President Trump, who has been pushing allies to contribute more to their own defense. Israel is preparing to begin negotiations on a memorandum of understanding with the United States for a multiyear package of military aid. The last 10-year package provided $38 billion, the largest of its kind. It was signed by the Obama administration in 2016 and is set to expire in 2028.

Doctors Without Borders Will Not Share Staff Details With Israel Following NGO Suspensions

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said on Friday it will ‌not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza ⁠and the West Bank, saying it had not been able to obtain assurances ‌over the safety of its teams. MSF, which supports and helps staff hospitals in Gaza, is one ‍of 37 international organisations that Israel ordered this month to stop work in the Palestinian territories unless they meet new rules including providing ‍employee details. The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk, ‌pointing to the hundreds of aid workers who were killed or injured during the two-year Gaza war.

Board of Peace Set to Hand Trump Sweeping Powers Over Gaza

President Trump would have sweeping powers over the future governance of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the well-being of its people, under a plan drafted by the new international group he leads, laying out how it would operate. The group, the Board of Peace, met for the first time in Davos, Switzerland, last week, as member states including Azerbaijan and Qatar, signed its founding charter, which calls for securing “enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” Much about the Board of Peace has so far been unclear, but a draft resolution, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, would allow the chairman, Mr. Trump, to nominate senior officials who will help administer Gaza, and assign responsibilities.

Several Palestinians reportedly wounded during settler attacks in southern West Bank

A number of people were wounded in settler attacks on the Palestinian enclave of Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank on Tuesday, with dozens of Israelis reportedly torching homes in several villages. Others were wounded by IDF gunfire elsewhere in the territory, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, including a man who the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry later said succumbed to his wounds. The medical service said its own medics were stoned by settlers while trying to reach the hamlet of Khirbet al-Fakhit, where they treated a young man who suffered a head wound and a teenage girl whose arm was broken, both of whom were hospitalized. Several other people suffered bruises in a settler attack on the nearby village of Khirbet al-Halawa, where settlers also stole 150 head of livestock, according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.

Israel reopening Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt on Sunday after long closure

Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions over the weekend, marking an important step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement that starting on Sunday a “limited movement of people only” would be allowed through the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world… COGAT said both Israel and Egypt will vet individuals for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents. In addition to screenings at the crossing, Palestinians leaving and returning will be screened by Israel in the adjacent corridor, which remains under Israeli military control.

Israel’s High Court Again Postpones Ruling on Foreign Journalists’ Access to Gaza After More Than a Year of Delays

The Israeli High Court on Tuesday granted the government an additional two months to respond to a petition by journalists seeking access to Gaza, further delaying a decision on allowing reporters to enter the enclave after more than a year without a ruling… At a hearing on Monday, government representatives told the court that the opening of the Rafah crossing does not guarantee that journalists will be allowed to enter the Strip, arguing that “the entry of journalists is not an obligation of the state [of Israel].” Attorney Yonatan Nadav, representing the Israeli government, said the state’s position is that admitting journalists still poses a security risk – both to the journalists themselves and to Israeli military forces.

Opinion | Trump’s Path to a (Real) Nobel: Press Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti

“President Trump’s Board of Peace and plans for Gaza and Israel-Palestine won’t bring peace or garner him his coveted Nobel Peace Prize. But freeing one Palestinian from Israeli prison could possibly achieve these goals. Marwan Barghouti has sat in an Israeli prison since 2004, serving five life sentences plus 40 years. Fadwa Barghouti, his wife, along with her youngest son, Arab, granted me their first recent interview with an American journalist, on my recent trip to the region just after the New Year.”

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | January 30, 2026