I’m writing as a J Street advocacy leader to share important updates from the region as well as J Street’s statements and resources from the past week.

This week, over 100 aid organizations warned of mass starvation in Gaza, as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation faces growing criticism for failing to meet the needs of Palestinian civilians. The United States ended the latest round of ceasefire negotiations, attributing the breakdown to Hamas, while senior Israeli and Syrian officials held U.S.-brokered talks aimed at reducing tensions along the northern border. Meanwhile, Israel’s Knesset passed a non-binding resolution supporting West Bank annexation, as Democratic senators called for a formal US investigation into the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a Palestinian-American man, by Israeli settlers.

You can find more on each of these developments and others below, along with 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
J Street’s Congressional Resource Page

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Gazans Are Dying of Starvation

After 21 months of devastating conflict with Israel, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick — are facing what aid groups say is impending famine. … Gaza’s hospitals have struggled since early in the war to cope with the influx of Palestinians injured and maimed by Israeli airstrikes and, more recently, by shootings meant to disperse desperate crowds as they surge toward food convoys or head to aid distribution sites. Now, according to doctors in the territory, an increasing number of their patients are suffering — and dying — from starvation. “There is no one in Gaza now outside the scope of famine, not even myself,” said Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, who leads the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. “I am speaking to you as a health official, but I, too, am searching for flour to feed my family.”

Israel to Allow Humanitarian Airdrops Over Gaza

Israel will allow foreign nations to parachute humanitarian aid to a population in Gaza desperate for food, officials said Friday, during a widening crisis in which children have died of malnutrition. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates were expected to begin airdrops in the coming days, according to COGAT, the Israeli military agency that regulates humanitarian affairs in Gaza. The announcement followed rising international condemnation of the dire state of affairs in Gaza, with many countries — including some of Israel’s traditional allies — holding the Israeli government responsible for the situation. Israel says it is doing everything it can to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Knesset votes 71-13 for non-binding motion calling to annex West Bank

The Knesset approved a non-binding motion in favor of annexing the West Bank on Wednesday, a symbolic gesture that united the otherwise fractious right-wing governing coalition. The resolution, which passed 71-13, declared that the West Bank is “an inseparable part of the Land of Israel, the historical, cultural and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people” and that “Israel has the natural, historical and legal right to all of the territories of the Land of Israel.” It called on the government to “apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgment and administration to all the areas of Jewish settlement of all kinds in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,” the government’s term for the West Bank.

The Latest: US cuts short Gaza ceasefire talks, blaming Hamas

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday the U.S. is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar for consultations, after the latest response from Hamas “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.” The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the war until Hamas gives up power and disarms — a condition the militant group rejects.

Democratic senators demand probe of Palestinian-American killed by Israeli settlers

More than half of the Democrats in the US Senate have called on US President Donald Trump’s administration to conduct an independent investigation into the death of Saif Musallet, an American citizen allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Their request is unlikely to be met, though, as even the Democratic Biden administration refused to launch independent probes into the killings of Palestinian-Americans by Israelis in the West Bank, instead relying on Israeli authorities to investigate.

The for-profit companies behind Israeli-U.S. nonprofit Gaza aid plan

Humanitarian aid has been one of the most controversial aspects of the war between Israel and Hamas, which is now approaching its second anniversary. In recent weeks, it has emerged as a final sticking point in negotiations over a ceasefire, placing the Israeli- and U.S.-backed GHF squarely in the crosshairs of the latest talks…Behind the foundation, which is a registered nonprofit, is a web of interconnected U.S. and Israeli individuals, and private U.S. companies — including some that hope to eventually make money on the relief effort, according to public and private documents reviewed by The Post and interviews with more than a dozen U.S. and Israeli government officials, business representatives and others involved, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the controversial initiative.

Senior Israeli and Syrian officials hold U.S.-brokered talks on de-escalation

Senior Israeli and Syrian ministers met in Paris for four hours on Thursday under the auspices of President Trump’s special envoy Tom Barrack and discussed de-escalation of tensions between the countries. The meeting that was brokered by the Trump administration was the most high-level official engagement between Israel and Syria in more than 25 years. It was the first meeting between the parties since the crisis erupted last week in the city of Suwayda in southern Syria last week and the Israeli strikes on Damascus that followed.

Iran and Europeans hold ‘frank’ nuclear talks with UN sanctions looming

Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after “serious, frank, and detailed” conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear programme. Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran’s consulate for talks that the U.N. nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran.

Analysis | Is It Important to Call Israel’s Carnage in Gaza ‘Genocide’?

There’s one common cause between those who believe that Israel’s devastation in Gaza justifies the term ‘genocide’, and those who insist it’s an exaggeration: They both hope their arguments will influence a broader public. But there’s a terrible problem with the discussion taking place right now… Focus instead on the relentless investigations by Haaretz’s Nir Hasson, which answer questions like why so many Gazans are getting shot and killed trying to reach food centers, and how many are actually dying? Look at the pictures of starving children and stop worrying about what to call it: Focus instead on ending the war.

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | July 25, 2025