Reporter’s Notebook: Israeli hostage families plead, peace falters, and war grinds on in Gaza

I’ve been reporting from the Mideast for some 25 years now. And that hackneyed cliche still works … "The more things change … The more they stay the same". 

Which is not to say the three weeks we’ve stayed here this time have been dull. There have been more ups and downs than a run-down roller coaster at an old Luna Park. 

Our first field shoot was appropriately enough to visit released hostages and families of captives of Hamas. Because, for the majority of Israelis, this is one of the most important topics. 48 people held by terrorists, 20 still alive. Their time of imprisonment, the nearly 2 years of this Gaza war. 

SPAIN'S PRIME MINISTER SPARKS OUTRAGE OVER ALLEGED NUCLEAR THREAT AGAINST ISRAEL

We met the families on Day 700 of the hostages’ captivity. Lishay Lava-Mira begged for her husband Omri to come home. Liron Berman was sure his twin brothers would make it ("They’re strong"). And Keith Siegel, a hostage, himself, for close to 500 days, articulate and healthy, looked beyond the Israeli government for help. "I call upon Trump to continue his efforts."

Early in our stay there was hope a new peace plan from the U.S. might gain traction. All 48 hostages would be released in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a cease-fire to assess the next steps. 

That seemingly reasonable plan took hits left, right and center. 

CRUZ SLAMS UN'S ISRAEL ‘GENOCIDE’ CHARGE, PUSHES FOR CONSEQUENCES

First a horror we learned about as we’d finished a quick breakfast at our hotel. Two gunmen shooting up a busy commuter bus and bus stop in Jerusalem, leaving six dead and many more injured. The scenes were horrific and the actions to eliminate the terrorists brave.

Then the next morning, as cameraman Ben and I were doing a routine round-up of the news on the hotel balcony we call home, I noticed in the corner of my eye longtime and dedicated producer Yael inside our studio room jumping up and down.  

Israel had done the unthinkable, targeting Hamas leadership in what should have been the neutral zone of Doha, Qatar. The militants claimed they were discussing the peace plan at the time. That U.S. proposal became as dead as any victims the Israelis managed to hit (apparently no leadership). 

And then to put the final "paid" to peace talks. The much-touted full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City by Israel was launched. To finish off some 3,000 remaining Hamas fighters and their infrastructure.  As Netanyahu put it "What starts in Gaza (the ugly Hamas massacre and hostage-taking of Oct. 7.) ends in Gaza." 

And this is when the frustration sets in for grizzled combat reporters like me, and our top-notch war team of camera Ben, Producer Yael, and Security Rob. As they have throughout the war, Israel limiting access to the Gaza action.

So we depend on local journalists to show us the horror. The destroyed urban scene. And most importantly, the vast and ugly images of human suffering. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, many not Hamas supporters, having to deal with the living hell that the terrorists and the fighting have imposed on them.  

Remember that line, "I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy"? Well, maybe I’d go with it regarding Hamas, but not these poor Palestinian children who know nothing of the geopolitics of the situation. 

To their credit, IDF officials tell us they are moving slowly through the lunar landscape that is now Gaza. Careful not to endanger civilians and /or hostages. Somehow, with Hamas-backed local health officials indicating 65,000 have already been killed after 2 years of war, it seems somewhat after the fact. 

But that means, again, according to the officials we’ve spoken to, this whole Gaza City process could take as long as four months to complete. Too long for the morale-sapped reservists fighting the war. Too long for the inhabitants enduring it all. Too long for the desperate hostages.

Unless there’s a breakthrough. 

No wonder the locals here look to President Donald Trump and/or a range of countries, bodies, figures (yes, Pope Leo) to try to intercede beyond the local leaders, Israel’s past duels with foes like Hezbollah and Iran seemed like well-tuned 21st century war-making. The fighting in Gaza is more like early 20th century ugly World War I trench warfare. 

In between our live shots and reporting in Tel Aviv, we occasionally nip out to a few of the bars and restaurants that dot this seaside metropolis—despite all, running full tilt. And wonder what this country would be like, as well, of course, what it would be like for the wonderfully diverse Palestinian population without the yoke of war around their shoulders.

No answers this trip. 

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Elderly British couple released by Taliban after eight months in custody following negotiations

An elderly British couple were released by the Taliban this week after eight months in captivity. 

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter Reynolds, 80, arrived in Qatar on Friday following months of negotiations between Qatar, the Taliban and Britain.  
The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, where they ran an education charity.

Despite the ordeal, Barbie Reynolds said they would return to Afghanistan if they could. They are both Afghan citizens.

"God is good, as they say in Afghanistan," she added at the Kabul airport.

ISRAEL RECOVERS REMAINS OF THREE MORE BODIES HELD BY HAMAS: 'NO VICTORY UNTIL LAST HOSTAGE RETURNS'

The couple, who had been taken into custody in February, were met by relatives, including their daughter, when they arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. 

Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, was clearly emotional and told reporters in Qatar, "Thank you for giving us our family back."

She added that their family would be "forever grateful to the Qatari and British governments for standing with us during this difficult time."

"This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy and international cooperation," she said.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, told Sky News from the U.S. that their health would have started to deteriorate if they had been held any longer, despite Qatar making sure they had access to their doctor and medicines during their captivity. 

United Nations health experts had also warned that the couple’s captivity could harm or even kill them. 

AFGHANISTAN MARKS FOUR YEARS IN POWER BY LURING YOUNG FEMALE INFLUENCERS TO BOOST TOURISM 

Their family had accused the Taliban of mistreating the couple, and urged the government to explain why they had been detained. 

Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar's minister of state, said he was grateful "for the fruitful cooperation" between the U.K. and the Taliban in getting the pair released. 

The Taliban claimed that the couple had broken Afghan laws without going into detail. 

"We are very grateful that at least, today is a very great humanitarian day, that they will be reunited with their family," Richard Lindsay, Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan, said, adding that it was "obviously up to the [Afghanistan] authorities here to determine why they were detained." 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer added, "I want to pay tribute to the vital role played by Qatar, including the emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, in securing their freedom."

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The U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, leaving the Taliban to return to power. 

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Trump orders 'lethal kinetic strike' on alleged drug trafficking boat in international waters, three killed

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Friday that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel allegedly linked to a designated terrorist organization "conducting narco-trafficking" in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.

The strike, carried out on a vessel confirmed by intelligence to be trafficking illicit narcotics, left three narco-terrorists dead, Trump said in the post, along with a video showing the moment the boat was struck and became engulfed in flames.

"On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump posted to his Truth Social account Friday evening. 

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans."

US MILITARY CARRIES OUT SECOND STRIKE ON VENEZUELAN NARCOTERRORISTS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS

The strike took place in international waters, and no U.S. forces were harmed, he added.

TRUMP TOUTS US STRIKE AS MADURO SLAMS MILITARY ‘THREAT’ OFF VENEZUELA

"The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters," Trump said. "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!"

The announcement came just days after Trump announced the U.S. military had carried out its second strike on Venezuelan cartels as the administration continues its crackdown.

RUBIO PROMISES MORE STRIKES ON VENEZUELAN CARTELS: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO SIT BACK ANYMORE’

"This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. 

Earlier this month, a U.S. military strike blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists dead.

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In February, the Trump administration also designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and others as foreign terrorist organizations.

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Trump orders 'lethal kinetic strike' on drug trafficking boat in international waters, three killed

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel linked to a designated terrorist organization "conducting narco-trafficking" in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.

The strike — which was carried out on a vessel confirmed by intelligence to be trafficking illicit narcotics — left three narco-terrorists dead, Trump said in the post, along with a video showing the moment the boat was struck and became engulfed in flames.

US MILITARY CARRIES OUT SECOND STRIKE ON VENEZUELAN NARCOTERRORISTS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS

"On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump posted to his Truth Social account Friday evening. "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans."

The strike took place in international waters, and no U.S. forces were harmed, he added.

TRUMP TOUTS US STRIKE AS MADURO SLAMS MILITARY ‘THREAT’ OFF VENEZUELA

"The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters," Trump said. "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!"

The announcement follows just days after Trump announced the U.S. military had carried out its second strike on Venezuelan cartels as the administration continues its crackdown.

RUBIO PROMISES MORE STRIKES ON VENEZUELAN CARTELS: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO SIT BACK ANYMORE’

"This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. 

Earlier this month, a U.S. military strike blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) narco terrorists dead.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In February, the Trump administration also designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and others as foreign terrorist organizations.

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UNRWA schools ‘hijacked by Hamas,’ watchdog report warns

A leading independent watchdog organization published a report this work on how the Hamas terrorist movement took control over the education system in Gaza and Lebanon from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The watchdog group — UN Watch — titled its 220-page report "Schools in the Grip of Terror: How UNRWA Allowed Hamas Chiefs to Control Its Education System."

According to the report, "These case studies show in detail how Hamas has hijacked UNRWA’s education through its domination of the local UNRWA staff unions, particularly the teachers’ sectors of the unions, enabling Hamas to control UNRWA schools — the physical facilities, teachers, and curriculum — including by preventing the agency from implementing changes to de-radicalize the curriculum, blocking efforts by UNRWA to discipline staff for inciting antisemitism and jihadi terrorism, and placing Hamas operatives in senior educator positions in schools."

IDF KILLS HAMAS TERRORIST IT SAYS WORKED FOR UNRWA, LED CHARGE ON REIM BOMB SHELTER MASSACRE

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The Administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement along with the return of remaining unspent funds. Other U.N. agencies and other more effective international partners are more than capable of stepping in to provide essential lines of support.

"As stated in President Trump’s February 4 Executive Order regarding ending funding or reviewing support for certain U.N. and international organizations, 'UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel."’

The spokesperson concluded, "President Trump and Secretary Rubio have long stated that Hamas will never govern Gaza again. That includes institutions they have infiltrated to sustain their power and influence."

Telling examples of Hamas control over UNRWA’s education system are, according to UN Watch, the expulsion of Matthias Schmale, a senior member of UNRWA’s international staff who headed the agency’s Gaza operation in 2021 because he issued an apparent pro-Israel remark in a media interview.

UN Watch alleged "it took less than 10 days" for UNRWA’s Palestinian leaders on the ground, Amir Al-Mishal, then head of the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union, who coordinated with his predecessor Suhail Al-Hindi, to oust Schmale.

Suhail Al-Hindi publicly appeared with Hamas terrorist leaders for many years while working for UNRWA, UN Watch wrote. UNRWA refused to fire Al-Hindi. The U.S. and Europe have classified Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

UN Watch accused UNRWA of failing to dismiss "Fateh Sharif, who had served for years simultaneously as the head of the UNRWA Lebanon Teachers’ Union and as a senior leader of Hamas in Lebanon."

Hillel Neuer, executive director, UN Watch, said "For years, governments have been writing billion-dollar checks to UNRWA believing they were investing in peace and tolerance. Our investigation reveals the shocking truth: UNRWA’s classrooms have been hijacked by Hamas and turned into incubators of hate. Donor states must confront the reality that they are financing terror by proxy."

DOSSIER REVEALS INFORMATION USED TO EXPLAIN UN AGENCY'S DEEP TIES TO HAMAS IN GAZA

The scandal-plagued UNRWA has bounced from one corruption and terrorism scandal to the next over the years, including aiding Hamas terrorists in the mass murder of Israeli Jews and Americans.

Fox News Digital reported in 2024 that former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has evidence that dozens of individuals employed by UNRWA participated in the massacre of more than 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel.

In August, Fox News Digital obtained a U.S. State Department public assessment to Congress, stating, "The administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement."

Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, told Fox News Digital that, "This report is part of a disinformation campaign that this organization, the so-called UN watchdog, has been launching against UNRWA for years now. Their reporting is full of unsubstantiated claims and clearly aims at destroying the agency which, at its heart, has provi[ded] education and health care in place where no one else actually wants to work with a group of people that is one of the most vulnerable in the region." 

Touma dismissed the report, claiming, "By the way to say most cases referred to in the report as new are not new. 90%, if not more, are already known to us.he vast majority have been found as unsubstantiated."

The US government stopped funding UNRWA because of its support for Hamas terrorists. 

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Stefanik asks AG Bondi to probe medical charity over Hamas propaganda claims

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., requested that Attorney General Pam Bondi undertake an investigation into Doctors Without Borders under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

In a copy of Stefanik’s letter reviewed by Fox News Digital, she accuses Doctors Without Borders, often known by its French acronym MSF, of having gone on a media offensive against U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing the organization of "orchestrated killing." 

Stefanik claimed the attacks "mirror propaganda continuously pushed by Hamas and threaten to undermine the only large-scale humanitarian food operation currently working in Gaza." 

US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP SLAMS DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, ACCUSES IT OF SPREADING ‘FALSE CLAIMS’

GHF has distributed 167 million meals to Gazans since it started operations in May. During the same period, less than 18% of aid sent into Gaza by the U.N. has reached its destination due to theft and armed looting, per the United Nations Office for Project Services.

Stefanik stated in her letter to Bondi that by "using its platform and resources to amplify Hamas-aligned disinformation," MSF "may cross well into unlawful activity." Stefanik noted, the Anti-Terrorism Act "makes clear that no individual or organization may provide material support to a designated terrorist group, including through propaganda."

HAMAS PLOTS INFILTRATION AT US-BACKED GAZA AID SITE, FORCES TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN

Stefanik pointed out several indicators that demonstrate MSF "are in fact not neutral in the Gaza conflict and in fact only seem to promote Hamas-supported rhetoric." She said MSF "has made no reference to hostages illegally held by Hamas in Gaza," and has not "campaigned for them to receive medical treatment."

Stefanik described several hostages who required specialized care. One hostage was being treated for cancer on Oct. 7. Another lost his hand during a grenade explosion at the Nova festival. A third was kidnapped while nine months pregnant and gave birth while held captive. "None is included in MSF’s ‘humanitarian’ advocacy," Stefanik said.

Stefanik also called into question the "extremist actions and rhetoric" of MSF staff, which have led to criticism of the organization. In one case, after MSF lamented the death of a staffer who was killed in Gaza in June 2024; the Israel Defense Forces confirmed he was a rocket expert for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In another, a staffer publicly called for Palestinians to "fight and die as martyrs" according to the French publication Le Journal du Dimanche in March 2024. 

Stefanik also questions whether MSF, a registered 501(c)(3), has violated the "strict prohibitions" that come with nonprofit status. She asked that Bondi’s office review MSF’s "political attacks" and, if necessary, refer the group to the Internal Revenue Service. 

"This is not a matter of routine oversight," Stefanik concluded. "It is a matter of national security, the protection of U.S. taxpayers and donors, and the defense of legitimate humanitarian organizations in one of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. President Trump has made clear that the United States will never tolerate support for terrorist organizations in any form, and this case demands that same clarity and resolve."

MSF did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about Stefanik’s letter.

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Trump: US trying to get Bagram Airbase 'back' from Taliban in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration is "trying" to get the former U.S. Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan "back" from the Taliban.

In remarks to the press while standing alongside U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the president criticized the handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden and said he had "a little breaking news."

"We're trying to get it back," Trump said. "We're trying to get it back because they need things from us."

TALIBAN PARADES AMERICAN WEAPONS 3 YEARS AFTER CHAOTIC WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

Trump did not expand on whom he was referring to or, if referring to the Taliban, the terrorist organization that took over the country in 2021, what they "need" from the United States.

"We want that base back, but one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons," Trump added. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's questions regarding the president's claims. 

In March, Fox News Digital reported that White House hostage envoy Adam Boehler met in person with Taliban officials at the Kabul International Airport as he worked to secure the release of George Glezmann.

US FAILURE IN TALIBAN INTEL HAS OPENED AFGHANISTAN UP TO CHINA, RUSSIA

Sources confirmed this was the first direct meeting between a U.S. administration and the terrorist-run government since the collapse of Kabul in 2021.

A report by AP later said that the Taliban were allegedly interested in normalizing ties with the U.S. after experiencing a virtual geopolitical blackout in international diplomacy over its immense human rights abuses.  

Boehler, along with another U.S. envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with the Taliban's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and reportedly discussed ways to "develop bilateral relations between the two countries, issues related to citizens, and investment opportunities in Afghanistan," according to a Taliban statement. 

The removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan began during the first Trump administration in March 2020, and open-source intelligence showed that the Taliban had been making gains across Afghanistan in the year leading up to the August 2021 withdrawal. 

Under the deal forged by the first Trump administration, the U.S. agreed to withdraw all U.S. forces by May 1, 2021, but Biden extended the withdrawal date to August 2021. 

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