Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran - What you need to know

Meet the seven Americans still held hostage after thousands of Hamas terrorists breached the border between Israel and Gaza intent on terrifying and destroying the Jewish state.

On November 26, Israel’s security cabinet approved a U.S.-brokered 60-day ceasefire agreement that involves the Iranian-backed terror proxy Hezbollah that will go into effect on November 27 at 10 a.m. local time, marking a temporary halt to over a year of violent conflict. Here is what you need to know.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, welcomes today’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, and hopes its enforcement can lead to enduring security for both the Israeli and Lebanese people.

Amid the Israel-Hamas War, fears of a wider conflict with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group in Lebanon, are increasing as cross-border fighting has intensified.

Get the facts about the Inverted Red Triangle, an anti-Israel symbol often weaponized under the guise of "Palestinian Resistance" to identify, harass, and target Israelis and Jews, glorify Hamas’ terror, and call for increased violence against the Jewish people.

The U.S. Treasury Department and Canadian government sanctioned Samidoun, a nonprofit posing as a Palestinian rights charity, for financially supporting the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist group involved in Hamas' October 7 attacks. Cofounded in 2011 by American Charlotte Kates and her husband, PFLP member Khaled Barakat, Samidoun has also backed pro-Hamas protests on college campuses including at Columbia University; Kates was recently arrested in Canada for praising the October 7 massacre and traveled to Iran to accept a "human rights award" from the Iranian regime.

On October 1, Iran launched over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, marking the largest-ever single ballistic missile attack. Israel, with the help of the U.S. and its allies, intercepted most of the missiles using its multi-layered air defense system, but some hit central Israel, resulting in casualties. The attack, which Iran claims was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of key Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, is part of Iran’s long-standing campaign against Israel, which it seeks to eliminate. In response, Israel is preparing for further action, with global allies condemning the attack and offering support.

Last week, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands and the orchestration of the October 7 terror attacks.

AJC Statement on the Death of Hamas Head Yahya Sinwar

Known as the mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages, Yahya Sinwar was one of the most wanted terrorists. On October 17, 2024, Israeli officials announced the IDF killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip.

There is a renewed interest in the 18-year-old United Nations Resolution 1701, which was intended to demilitarize the border between Israel and Lebanon, but faces one critical obstacle: Hezbollah and its state sponsor Iran.

In a dispatch recorded from the Israel-Lebanon border, AJC Jerusalem Director Lt. Col. (Res.) Avital Leibovich shares an update on Hezbollah’s deadly drone strike on a military base in northern Israel.

Viciously ripped from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7 by Hamas terrorists, Kfir and Ariel Bibas—along with their parents Yarden and Shiri—remain captive in the terror group's dungeons in Gaza. Kfir and Ariel should be celebrating birthdays with their family and playing with their friends, not enduring physical and psychological trauma for more than 365 days.

Here is a collection of 11 resources that all advocates for Israel and the Jewish people need to know as we mark the anniversary of October 7.

On October 1, 2024 millions of Israelis rushed to bomb shelters as the Iranian regime launched the largest ballistic missiles ever at Israel. Here are the countries that have condemned the Iranian regime's ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Could Israel’s elimination of Hezbollah’s leaders reshape the landscape of power in the Middle East? Matthew Levitt, Director of the Washington Institute's Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, answers that pressing question, discusses the impact of Israel's recent offensive against Hezbollah, following the death of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and analyzes the ongoing military operations on the Israel-Lebanon border.

On September 27, the Israel Defense Forces launched a massive airstrike targeting Hezbollah’s headquarters in Lebanon. Senior Hezbollah officials, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, were killed in the attack. The death of Nasrallah marks a significant blow to Hezbollah, which has already lost almost all of its top leadership to counterterrorism operations conducted by Israeli forces in recent weeks. Since October 8, Hezbollah has escalated its attacks on Israel, launching barrages of rockets, drones, and mortar shells on a near-daily basis – more than 10,000 to date.

Bent on eradicating Israel and murdering Israelis, Hezbollah has launched 12,000 rockets and drones at the Jewish state since October 8, including the deadly strike in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in July that killed 12 kids and wounded several others.

Who are the Houthis? The Houthis are an extremist Shia-Islamist movement and terrorist army.  acked by Iran, this organization controls approximately one-third of Yemen’s territory and more than two-thirds of the country’s population. It has emerged as a prominent player in the Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7 with a mass murder attack by Hamas on Israelis. Find out what and who the Houthi rebels fighting for and how they are launching drone attacks at Israel.

In August, experts at The Washington Institute unveiled the Iranian External Operations Interactive Map and Timeline, a groundbreaking tool that tracks Iran's external activities since 1979. This searchable database provides crucial insights into Iran’s global operations, including historical and recent plots and ongoing surveillance and kidnapping operations.