Gaza Update and U.S.-Israel Developments
PrAfter Phase I of the Gaza ceasefire expired on March 1, Israel proposed an extension to release additional hostages, which Hamas has reportedly rejected thus far. Israel reportedly is preparing for renewed military operations in Gaza, and it has halted aid deliveries that could further empower and enrich Hamas.
Meanwhile, Arab heads of state opened a summit in Cairo on March 4 to discuss plans for Gaza’s longer-term future. In the backdrop, the Trump administration expedited $4 billion in military assistance to Israel, while Iran’s nuclear weapons program races ahead as the United States and its partners consider next steps.
To discuss these unfolding developments, JINSA hosted a discussion with JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror and JINSA’s Julian and Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish. The discussion was moderated by JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky, PhD.
IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF Major General (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy Distinguished Fellow. MG Amidror was formerly the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of the National Security Council, from 2011-2013. During his 36-year career in the IDF, MG Amidror served as Commander of IDF Military Colleges, Military Secretary for the Minister of Defense, Director of the Intelligence Analysis Division, and as Intelligence Officer for the Northern Command. |
IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish IDF Major General (ret.) Yaacov Ayish is the Julian and Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). MG Ayish served in the IDF for 36 years and retired in 2016, concluding an accomplished career during which he attained the rank of Major General. Throughout his distinguished service, he served in core and operational command positions in the IDF ground forces and in senior command and managerial positions in the IDF General Staff. In his last position, MG Ayish served for four years as Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States in Washington, D.C. |
Michael Makovsky, PhD Michael Makovsky, PhD is President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), which he joined in 2013. A U.S. national security expert, he has worked extensively on U.S. policy toward Iran’s nuclear program, Israel, and the broader Middle East, as well as the intersection of international energy markets and politics with U.S. national security. Makovsky has written articles, op-eds and editorials for various publications on U.S. national security issues primarily involving the Middle East as well as energy markets. He is also author of Churchill’s Promised Land (Yale University Press), a diplomatic-intellectual history of Winston Churchill’s complex relationship with Zionism. |