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.

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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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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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US ‘ups the ante,’ designates Iran-backed groups in Iraq terrorist organizations

The U.S. on Wednesday once again took aim at Iran and targeted its Axis of Resistance by designating four Iraq-based militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

According to the State Department, the groups identified were Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali – all four of which were previously designated by the Department of Treasury as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) in 2023. 

"Iran-aligned militia groups have conducted attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting U.S. and Coalition forces, typically using front names or proxy groups to obfuscate their involvement," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the statement.

TRUMP'S IRAN ULTIMATUM STARTED A 60-DAY CLOCK TICKING FOR DECISIVE JUNE STRIKES, BOMBER COMMANDER REVEALS

According to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), the four groups are all backed by Iran and form the core of an umbrella organization known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), which gained prominence following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The IRI is believed to be responsible for hundreds of attacks in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, and was behind the killing of three U.S. service members during a drone attack in January 2024 in Jordan. 

AL QAEDA REMAINS MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST GROUP 24 YEARS AFTER 9/11, EXPERT WARNS

"The Trump administration broke the taboo during term one when it proved it could name, shame, and punish Iran-backed militias in Iraq without the country devolving into civil war," Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iranian expert and senior director of the FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital. "Now in term two the administration is upping the ante continuing a campaign of designations against the agents of influence and terror of Iran in Iraq."

The four terrorist groups also operate within the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is a coalition force of largely Shia groups that was formed to counter ISIS by the Iraqi government, but which is also strongly influenced by Iran. 

"Tehran relies on these militias to literally have a state within a state in Iraq," Ben Taleblu said. "Sandwiching these and other Iran-backed terror groups between Treasury Department [Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons] SDN listings and State Department [Foreign Terrorist Organizations] FTO listings, as the Trump administration previously did with their patron, the IRGC, in term one is the right approach."

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Trump invokes Churchill and ‘special relationship’ as questions over UK free speech grow

President Donald Trump gave a toast Wednesday night ahead of the state dinner with King Charles III at Windsor Castle in which he championed the "special relationship" the U.S. and U.K. share.

"His Majesty spoke eloquently about the bond which inspired Sir Winston Churchill – the bust is in the Oval Office right now – the beautiful bust of Winston Churchill, to coin the phrase ‘special relationship,’ but seen from American eyes, the word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice," Trump said. "We're joined by history and fate, by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny."

SHOCKING CASES REVEAL BRITAIN’S ORWELLIAN FREE SPEECH CRACKDOWN

Trump joined King Charles and other members of the royal family, along with First Lady Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle for the unprecedented second state visit Wednesday morning. 

Royal events typically shy away from engaging in partisan issues as the family avoids public comment and remains neutral on hot-button issues — a practice Trump has occasionally broken.

But the president’s toast appeared to remain neutral even when he hit on an issue that has rankled some feathers in the U.S. and U.K. in recent months – free speech.

FARAGE TORCHES UK MINISTER OVER 'DISGUSTING' PREDATOR JAB IN FREE SPEECH CLASH

"The British Empire laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights virtually everywhere the Union Jack has ever flown, including a place called America," he said, in a message that could raise eyebrows as the U.K. government contests criticisms relating to free-speech issues.

U.K. online safety laws have been a matter of dispute and heated political jabs not only in Britain, but among top American leaders like Vice President JD Vance, who was not in attendance at the state visit on Wednesday.

Other free speech criticisms have arisen in the U.K. relating to abortion laws, online comments and what some, like right-wing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have called an "authoritarian" crackdown akin to laws seen in places like North Korea.

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Spain’s prime minister sparks outrage over alleged nuclear threat against Israel

The anti-Israel Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, is under fire from Israel and Spaniards alike for his alleged comments to use nuclear weapons against the Jewish state.

The socialist Prime Minister Sanchez, said in a speech last week that "Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers, or large oil reserves," adding, "We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying. Because there are causes worth fighting for, even if winning them isn’t in our sole power." 

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused his Spanish counterpart of making a "blatant genocidal threat to the world’s only Jewish state. Apparently, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews of Spain and the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, is not enough for Sanchez."

The Times of Israel reported that Spain summoned Israel's top diplomat in the country to "categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister’s office."

ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU RIPS IRELAND, SPAIN AND NORWAY RECOGNIZING PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD: 'REWARD FOR TERRORISM'

Juan Caldes, the European advocacy coordinator at the European Jewish Association, told Fox News Digital that, "It is beyond hypocritical and cynical to call Israel a genocidal state when one mentions how unfortunate the fact that Spain doesn’t have nuclear weapons to stop Israel. That is the definition of a genocide, when there is a deliberate intent to destroy a specific group (be it ethnic, religious or racial)." 

Caldez, who is Spanish, said, "Sanchez embraced the Palestinian cause in order to avoid talking about his own personal corruption scandals that surround some of his family members and also many of the corruption scandals involving many of his colleagues from the Socialist Party."

He claimed, "Sanchez’s coalition (of socialists and communists) have been expressing very antisemitic views since Oct. 7th." He cited Yolanda Diaz, vice president of Spain, who in a televised speech last year, said, "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free … In other words, from the Jordan River until the Mediterranean state a one-state solution erasing all Jews from the land."

HAMAS TERROR OUTLET QUIETLY CUTS GAZA DEATH COUNT, REVEALS MOST KILLED WERE COMBAT-AGE MEN

According to Caldes, "Sanchez’s rhetoric and actions show how embedded antisemitism is part of the Spanish government. That being said, it is still important not to conflate it with the majority of the Spanish people who do not hold antisemitic views."

Santiago Abascal, the leader of the right-wing Vox Party, said, "Sanchez would like to have nuclear weapons … but not to defend Spain. To defend Hamas."

According to statistics from The Jewish Agency for Israel in September, the size of the Spanish Jewish community numbered 12,900 out of a population of just over 49 million. 

Last year Spain experienced "the largest increase in modern history in antisemitic speech, incidents, and attacks, up 321% compared to 2023 and 567% compared to 2022," according to a report by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spain’s embassy in Washington and its foreign ministry for comment.

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State of emergency declared as violent protests rock South American nation over diesel price hikes

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday implemented a 60-day state of emergency in an attempt to quell massive protests that broke out following his surprise removal of a diesel subsidy last week.

The decree was issued across seven of the nation’s two dozen provinces following "severe internal disturbance" and mobilized armed forces and national police.

The U.S. embassy in Ecuador said in a statement that the forces were mobilized in order to "to prevent the interruption of public services and maintain freedom of movement for the general population."

4 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE ANTI-CRIME PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR WHO WAS JUST RE-ELECTED

"The declaration does not restrict public movement or institute a curfew, but it does suspend the right to freedom of assembly at all times for any gatherings that seek to interrupt public services and impede the rights and liberties of the rest of the population," the embassy added. 

Footage of the protests showed Ecuadorians clashing with police forces in the capital city of Quito on Tuesday as protesters dismantled fences and barriers while police fired tear gas in the streets. 

Despite the unrest, the State Department has not adjusted its travel advisory status, which currently advises Americans to "exercise increased caution" and avoid large crowds where violence could erupt. 

The ongoing clashes came after the government on Friday announced it would eliminate the nation's diesel subsidy starting Saturday and redirect the funds to social programs in an attempt to alleviate the country’s straining finances.

14K MIGRANTS HOPING TO ENTER US TURN BACK, UN FINDS

"For decades, the diesel subsidy represented a $1.1 billion burden on fiscal accounts, without truly reaching those who needed it," the government said on X.

The decree drove up the price of diesel overnight from $1.80 a gallon to $2.80 – ending a decades-old subsidy in a move previously attempted but publicly opposed during prior administrations. 

The government has argued the subsidy was not being adequately distributed and disproportionately benefited higher-income individuals and business sectors more than it was aiding vulnerable populations.  

Noboa’s administration said it will use funds saved from the subsidy removal and allocate $220 million towards the transportation sector to prevent fare increases in public transportation. 

But Ecuadorians remain concerned that it will directly impact the pockets of the nation’s poorest. 

A price stabilization mechanism will be implemented on Dec. 11, reported Reuters, in a move to protect consumers from global price swings, though details on the plan remain unclear. 

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Cruz slams UN's Israel ‘genocide’ charge, pushes for consequences

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz criticized a United Nations report accusing Israel of genocide, warning that the Trump administration and Congress had tools at their disposal to sanction those behind it.

The report, issued Tuesday by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COI), said, "the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide, and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz said, "This latest announcement by the United Nations is no different than any of the other antisemitic smears and libels that have been leveled against Israel in their ongoing response to Hamas' atrocities on Oct. 7. 

"This campaign directly undermines American national security interests by eroding Israel's freedom of action against Hamas terrorists who killed Americans and fueling international lawfare against Israel, which will be turned against American servicemembers, and indeed American citizens in general. The Republican Trump administration and Republican Congress have developed tools and sanctions to deal with these threats, and they should be used against everyone involved in this travesty,' his statement concluded.

UN BLASTED FOR FUNDING COMMITTEE ‘CREATED TO DESTROY THE JEWISH STATE,’ DESPITE BUDGET CRISIS

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, told Fox News Digital that "the latest report of the U.N.’s phony ‘inquiry’ promotes genocide – against Jews." 

Bayefsky said the report "obscenely rationalizes the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas and other Palestinians on Oct. 7 as an understandable reaction to prior Israeli wrongs," and "downgrades the mass murder, rape, torture, and trauma of Israelis by suggesting that not enough Jews were harmed to pose an ‘existential threat’ to Israel."

Bayefsky said that the COI, which has previously been accused of omitting important facts from its reporting, "makes zero recommendations for Hamas." She also said the report mentions the terror group’s tunnel network, which was "integral to the Oct. 7 atrocities," only "in the context of criticizing Israel."

Salo Aizenberg, director of media watchdog group HonestReporting, pushed back on the COI report’s assertion that Israel has "impos[ed] measures intended to prevent births." He told Fox News Digital that, "If Israel truly aimed to destroy Gaza’s population, why did it allow WHO teams earlier in 2025 to vaccinate 603,000 children under age 10 — matching pre-Oct. 7 numbers?" 

He noted that it "disregards that more than 20,000 Gaza fatalities are fighters from Hamas and other armed groups, obscuring the true dynamics of the conflict." 

HAMAS TERROR OUTLET QUIETLY CUTS GAZA DEATH COUNT, REVEALS MOST KILLED WERE COMBAT-AGE MEN

In its recommendations, the COI report specifically calls for Israel to "ensure full, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale" and "end the distribution of food aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation." The report cites the commissioner-general of the controversial U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), who has called GHF "an abomination" and "a death trap" that is "costing more lives than it saves." 

According to recent U.N. statistics, however, between July 21 and Aug. 18 there were double the number of deaths along U.N. convoy routes (576) as there were surrounding GHF sites (259).

Additionally, only 14.5% of U.N. aid trucks sent into Gaza have reached their intended destinations since May due to armed looting and theft. During the same period, GHF has distributed 165 million meals to Palestinians at its secure distribution sites. 

GHF released a statement explaining that the COI published its report "without ever contacting" the organization, calling its statements "falsehoods that could have been easily corrected had we been asked." GHF said there have been no shootings at its sites, and that claims, particularly that children have been shot, are "not only false" but "reckless."

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

While the COI currently casts specific blame on three Israeli officials for alleged genocide, COI member Chris Sidoti told the press on Monday, "there are many, many statements by Israeli political and civilian leaders that incite genocide, and also by others, including some media commentators in Israel, that have been inciting genocide." 

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, did not respond to questions on whether Sidoti’s remarks were an attack on Israel’s media. 

In response to press questions about the COI report, Guterres said that "it is not in the attributions of the Secretary-General to do the legal determination of genocide. That belongs to the adequate judicial entities, namely, the International Court of Justice." Guterres said, "the truth is that this is something that it is morally, politically, and legally intolerable." 

Bayefsky said that "U.S. law withholds funds for the COI, but clearly it has not had the intended impact." She argued it is "high time" to do a "lot more to terminate the dangers that the U.N. and its COI pose to both the United States and Israel." 

Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether it intended to sanction COI members or prevent their travel to the U.N. for next week’s General Assembly debate. The State Department did not issue a response by press time.

A spokesperson for the COI did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about its report.

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Pope Leo XIV told US ambassador he is praying for Charlie Kirk, his family after assassination

Pope Leo XIV told the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, that he is praying for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as well as his wife and children, following his murder last week in Utah, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Leo also expressed concern about political violence and addressed the need "to refrain from rhetoric and exploitation that lead to polarization rather than dialogue," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement, according to Vatican News.

The pope's remarks came on Saturday, when he received the ambassador in an audience to receive his credentials, marking the first meeting between the two.

TED CRUZ SAYS HATE SPEECH 'ABSOLUTELY' PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION

"The pope confirmed that he is praying for Charlie Kirk," Bruni said.

Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition before he was later pronounced dead.

The alleged gunman was identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, whose family persuaded him to turn himself in after a two-day manhunt. Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk's killing.

LONDON PUB DEDICATES ROOM TO CHARLIE KIRK AFTER TRAGIC DEATH, INVITES CUSTOMERS TO CELEBRATE FREE SPEECH

The pontiff had also sent a telegram message offering condolences last month after a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota, leaving two children dead and 18 others injured, including more than a dozen kids from the school.

However, the pope did not send a telegram about Kirk's assassination.

Burch hosted a welcome diplomatic reception on Monday, saying it was a "remarkable time to be in Rome," with the first American pope.

The ambassador spoke about his papal audience, noting to the assembled ambassadors, cardinals and guests that the pontiff "reminded me he is not an American pope. He is a pope of America for the world."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Trump and Zelenskyy to meet as Poland pressures NATO on no fly zone over Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could meet next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.

The meeting comes as NATO is seeing increasing pressure to more aggressively counter Russia by enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as Poland looks to prevent more Russian drones from entering its airspace. 

"President Trump [has had] multiple calls with Putin, multiple meetings with Zelenskyy, including probably next week again in New York," Rubio told reporters from Israel moments before he departed for Qatar. "He's trying to do everything possible to bring [the war] to an end." 

TRUMP SAYS HE'S RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH PUTIN 'FAST' OVER UKRAINE CONFLICT NEGOTIATIONS

"We've been working closely with our partners in Europe on security guarantees, because that's going to be necessary in any negotiated settlement," he added. "And he's going to keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it."

Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, on Monday called on NATO allies to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to better protect not only Ukrainians from Russia’s constant aerial bombardments, but neighboring NATO allies that share borders with the war-torn nation.  

"We as NATO and the EU could be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone," Sikorski told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine. "It can only be made with its allies."

The move is unlikely to be approved by NATO, which has previously refused to enforce a no-fly zone after the U.S., under President Joe Biden, turned down the request first made by Zelenskyy in 2022.

TRUMP DEMANDS NATO ALLIES HALT RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES BEFORE NEW US SANCTIONS

"If Ukraine were to ask us to shoot them down over its territory, that would be advantageous for us. If you ask me personally, we should consider it," Sikorski said.

Russian officials have already made clear they would view NATO strikes against Russian drones and missiles in aid of Ukraine as direct involvement in the war.

"The implementation of the provocative idea of Kyiv and other idiots about creating a ‘no-fly zone over Ukraine’ and the ability for NATO countries to shoot down our UAVs will mean only one thing – a war between NATO and Russia," Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Monday.

Trump has seen increasing pressure at home and from Western allies, including Ukraine, to take a tougher stance when it comes to countering Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has threatened on numerous occasions to hit Moscow with sanctions, though he has yet to employ the financial tool since re-entering office despite a series of deadlines he issued on Putin having come and gone.

Rubio said Trump may conclude at some point that a peace deal with Putin is not possible, but told reporters on Tuesday that "he's not there yet."

"The only leader in the world that can talk to both the Ukrainians, Europeans, and also to the Russians is President Trump," Rubio said. "He's not going to easily forfeit that role.

"If somehow he were to disengage from this, or you know, sanction Russia and say ‘I'm done,’ then there's no one left in the world that could possibly mediate the end," Rubio added. "Now maybe we get to that point – we hope not, because it's a really bad war and he wants it to end."

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UK Police deploy 'comprehensive' drone operation across Windsor Castle for Trump visit

British police have readied the skies in a major policing initiative ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit on Wednesday by employing a fleet of drones and other "comprehensive" security measures around Windsor Castle. 

The Thames Valley Police force is leading the charge with one of its largest ever deployments of drones and sky closures starting on Tuesday, one day before the unprecedented second state visit with King Charles III.

"There will be policing drone tactics that the public will see, as well as policing drone tactics that the public won’t see," Inspector Matthew Wilkinson said in a statement ahead of the event. "These are all in place to keep everyone safe."

UK AMBASSADOR TO US FIRED OVER EPSTEIN TIES

The Thames Valley Police would not answer Fox News Digital's questions regarding how this policing event compares to other major visits in the past due to "operational reasons," though local reporting said efforts being taken for the Wednesday visit haven't been seen since the King's 2023 coronation.

The multi-force security front will have "resources everywhere across the town, including in the air, on land and on the waterways in order to keep everyone safe," said the Thames Valley Police. 

The security precautions, first launched on Tuesday for the rehearsal of the state visit, will run through Thursday, though Trump is not expected to leave the U.K. until Friday.

The Thames Valley Police extended their airspace restrictions late last week to Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire, which is some 27 miles north of Windsor, through Thursday evening as well. 

Trump is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.

"These restrictions apply to all aircraft, including drones, and are designed to support the safe delivery of the visit while minimizing disruption to the local community," the police force said in a statement. 

KING CHARLES PLANNING ROYAL SPECTACLE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP, WITH CARRIAGE RIDES AND STAR-STUDDED GUEST LIST

Thames Valley Police officials confirmed on Monday that its Firearms Unit had been "deployed to Windsor as part of the force’s comprehensive security operation."

A Specialist Search Unit was also deployed to the area over the weekend in what the police force said was standard procedure ahead of any major event.

"We will be searching everywhere to make sure everything is secure, before the event begins," Police Search Advisor, Sergeant Amber Timmis, said in a statement, noting the force often works "behind the scenes" to keep areas secure.

"These searches are routine, but they are also important, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we carry out our security operation," he added. 

A unit of officers mounted on horseback will also be patrolling the area throughout the 3-day security event. 

Though all the measures being taken are reportedly routine, they come as political violence is at the forefront of U.S. security concerns following a series of attacks, including the fatal shooting of conservative commentator and co-founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, 31, in Utah less than a week ago. 

His death was the latest in a string of violent attacks targeting political figures over the last year after two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were targeted in June, including state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were shot and killed.

Their murder followed an April arson attack on Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose residence was hit with Molotov cocktails while he and his family slept.

Trump was also the victim of two assassination attempts while on the campaign trail last year, including one shooting incident in which his ear was injured by a bullet. 

While gun violence in the U.K. is significantly lower than in the U.S., the heightened security measures are "standard" for any "high-profile visits and are designed to protect everyone involved, including members of the public," said Wilkinson.

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Exclusive: Rubio says US-Israel alliance remains firm as he heads to Qatar amid backlash over Doha strikes

JERUSALEM: Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists the U.S. relationship with Israel remains unchanged, despite the blowback over Israel’s strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last week.

"We're going to continue to be strong allies and partners," Rubio vowed in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Fox News in Jerusalem. "As the president said, he wasn't happy with the way things went down. That doesn't mean we're going [to] stop being their partner and their ally."

Rubio told Fox News he is now heading to Doha on Tuesday where he’ll urge Qatar to continue playing a "constructive role" in ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of hostages still being held by Hamas.

RUBIO SAYS VISA HOLDERS SHOULD BE DEPORTED IF THEY CELEBRATE CHARLIE KIRK’S KILLING

"We're visiting again with them very shortly here in the next day as well," Rubio said. "We understand they're upset about it. We understand the Israeli position on it. Irrespective of that, we still have hostages that we want released. We still have a Hamas that needs to be defeated or eradicated or removed so that we can get to the peace that everybody says they want."

Rubio’s trip to Qatar, a major non-NATO ally, comes just a day after the country hosted an Arab-Islamic summit over Israel’s strike. A draft resolution from the summit blames Israel for "threatening the prospects of peace and coexistence in the region."

"We're trying to get everybody to stay focused on what happens moving forward, not just only focus on what's already happened with what happened last week in Doha," Rubio told Fox News. "We want everybody focused on [what] comes next, because we still have these problems we have to solve."

Rubio refused to say whether the United States supports Israel’s plans to move forward with annexation plans in the West Bank, but blamed countries for forcing Israel’s hand for saying they would recognize a Palestinian state.

"We warned it would force Israel to now do things in reaction to that, and I think part of this conversation about annexation is in response to what's been coming out of Europe and Canada and other countries with this Palestinian statehood move, which is largely symbolic, but yet has these real-world implications in terms of making it harder to achieve peace."

TRUMP DEMANDS NATO ALLIES HALT RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES BEFORE NEW US SANCTIONS

Rubio denied Russian President Vladimir Putin was "emboldened" by his summit with President Trump last month, despite recent Russian drone incursions in both Poland and Romania.

"This is an example of why this war, the President thinks, needs to end. Wars generally will escalate. They'll actually get worse, not better," Rubio told Fox News. "Understand that these drone operations are far from the front lines. They have no impact on the front lines. They're designed largely to weaken one another, and Ukraine is conducting strikes in Russia as well, and it's one of the reasons why the President has said he wants this war to end."

Rubio also took issue with claims the United States "put a bounty" on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s head after announcing last month a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

"Nicolas Maduro was indicted by the Southern District of New York. A grand jury returned an indictment. They read the evidence, they saw the evidence, they returned an indictment, not just against him personally, but against a network of people in that country who use the apparatus of what they claim to be of government to conduct drug trafficking operations against the United States," Rubio said.

"He's not the president of Venezuela, that's the title he's given himself," he added. "What he is, is someone who's empowered himself of some of the instruments of government, and they're using that to operate a drug cartel from Venezuelan territory," he added.

"When you traffic drugs into the United States, you're meddling into the internal affairs of America, when you are pushing drugs towards the United States of America, you are a direct threat to the national security and the national interest of the United States. And that's what we're addressing here."

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Israel’s military chief backs Witkoff plan over Netanyahu’s Gaza takeover, sources say

FIRST ON FOX: Israel's top military chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, is opposing a full military takeover of Gaza and urging adoption of the Witkoff plan, three senior sources told Fox News Digital amid mounting debate over the country’s next steps.

"The chief of staff is standing by his professional judgment, based on the experience of this war," one former senior IDF official said. "In recent days he told the cabinet that while the IDF is prepared for a ground maneuver, the correct path is to reach a deal to save all the hostages and to enter negotiations. A maneuver now could endanger the hostages, as we saw in Tel Sultan."

RUBIO, NETANYAHU DISCUSS GLOBAL IMPACT OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH, WARN OF ‘DESTRUCTIVE’ THREATS TO DEMOCRACY

The Tel Sultan incident in Rafah in 2024 remains a turning point in Israeli decision-making. During that operation, Hamas executed six hostages, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, as Israeli forces closed in, underscoring the risks of a large-scale ground maneuver before negotiations are exhausted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that Israel’s goal "is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists," arguing that seizing Gaza City is necessary because Hamas refuses to lay down arms. He has said this is the only way to secure the release of the roughly 48 hostages still held in Gaza.

But the former senior official told Fox News that military pressure has already brought Hamas back to the Witkoff framework of July 29. "The framework should be accepted, and Washington should understand the chief’s position as it was presented to the cabinet. Hamas is ready to stand by those conditions now. The chief of staff opposes military rule in Gaza and believes Israel should look ahead to the day after and draw a political solution accordingly. If necessary, the IDF can continue fighting after such an agreement."

ISRAEL’S GAZA OFFENSIVE SPARKS FIERCE CLASH OVER ULTRA-ORTHODOX MILITARY DRAFT

A spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office told Fox News Digital in response: "The Israeli cabinet decided to move forward with the operation plan presented by the chief of staff himself."

A recent Politico report quoted a source described as "close to the president’s national security team," saying the Tuesday strike against Hamas’s leadership in Doha may have been an intentional move to hinder negotiations. "Every time they’re making progress, it seems like he [Netanyahu] bombs someone," the source said in the report.

The officials confirmed to Fox News Digital that both the IDF chief of staff and the Mossad director opposed the timing of the Qatar operation. "The plan was long in the works, but there was no reason to choose this specific timing instead of waiting to get Hamas’s response in the negotiations," one said, adding that "that decision, as well as the decision to continue the Gaza operation, go against professional echelon advice."

A second source familiar with cabinet deliberations confirmed the chief of staff reiterated his position last Friday and again yesterday in both the Security Cabinet and the Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittee. "He has made clear that the Witkoff plan is a good one," the source said, pointing to its terms: a 60-day Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the release of 10 live hostages and 15 bodies, with Israel free to resume fighting if Hamas violates the deal.

 

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Trump demands NATO allies halt Russian oil purchases before new US sanctions

President Donald Trump doubled down on his demand that European nations cease all energy purchases from Russia as he mulls his first sanctions on Moscow since re-entering office amid its war in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters Sunday evening, Trump said European nations, especially those in NATO, are not doing enough to counter Russia, despite the new round of sanctions enacted by the EU last week. 

"They're not doing the job. NATO has to get together. Europe has to get together," Trump said. "Europe… they're my friends, but they're buying oil from Russia, so we can't be expected to be the only ones that are, you know, full bore." 

TRUMP SAYS HE'S RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH PUTIN 'FAST' OVER UKRAINE CONFLICT NEGOTIATIONS

"Europe is buying oil from Russia. I don't want them to buy oil," he continued, noting that the sanctions Europe has issued on Russia and Russian officials "are not tough enough."

 "I'm willing to do sanctions, but they're going to have to toughen up their sanctions commensurate with what I'm doing," Trump confirmed. 

While European nations have drastically cut their reliance on Moscow’s oil following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they have not cut it off entirely – particularly nations like Hungary, Slovakia, France, Belgium and Spain, which are Europe’s top importers of Russian energy. 

Hungary – whose president remains friendly with Putin despite being a NATO nation – is Europe’s chief importer of Russian crude oil and pipeline gas, purchasing more than double any other European nation’s Russian energy imports.

France, which is the second-largest European purchaser of Russian energy, continues to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has largely bypassed EU sanctions, in part due to long-standing legally binding commitments.

These agreements mean Paris has committed to "take-or-pay" contracts through the early 2030s or would face arbitration or penalties. Reporting suggests, however, that the LNG imports are not only slated for French consumption, but are also being passed on to third-party nations like Germany.

RUSSIA FIRES DRONES INTO POLAND DAYS AFTER TRUMP MEETING WITH NATO ALLY

Last month, the EU’s Data Protection Authority confirmed that the bloc had imported nearly $5.2 billion worth of Russian LNG in the first half of 2025. 

Trump’s comments came just one day after he sent a letter to NATO that said he is "ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia," according to a post he made on Truth Social. 

But when asked on Sunday about his plans to hit Russia with additional U.S. sanctions – which have not been expanded since the Biden administration – he suggested Europe might need to stop all LNG imports as well.

The president claimed that all Russian imports are supposed to be barred at this time and said, "The deal is, they're not supposed – whether it's natural gas or whether it's cigarettes, I don't care – they're not supposed to be buying from Russia."

The president didn’t expand on which deal he was referring to, and he didn’t comment on the U.S.’s $2.1 billion worth of Russian imports it has purchased in the first five months of 2025, largely consisting of enriched uranium, palladium and fertilizers. 

In addition, he called on NATO allies to hit China with "50% to 100% tariffs" that he said would be withdrawn only after the war in Ukraine concluded – a rate which is currently higher than the 30% tariffs Washington has slapped on Beijing, though which could significantly expand given Trump’s recent threats to hit China with tariffs as high as 200%.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's questions regarding this reporting. 

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Rubio, Netanyahu discuss global impact of Charlie Kirk’s death, warn of ‘destructive’ threats to democracy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio likened the assassination of Charlie Kirk to a "death in the family" for the White House, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that such political violence only threatens democracy around the world during a joint press conference Monday.

Rubio and Netanyahu were delivering joint remarks in Jerusalem after holding a meeting to discuss the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, when a reporter asked them about the ramifications of Kirk’s assassination.

Rubio called the assassination "horrifying" and "shocking" to those in the White House, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who were both close with Kirk.

"He was a personal friend to a lot of people in that White House," Rubio said of Kirk. "The president, to the vice president, to multiple people. It was a combination, you know, political assassination, but also death in the family type event."

FBI INVESTIGATING LEFTIST GROUPS FOR POSSIBLE TIES TO CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION: SOURCE

Kirk’s work had him engage in debates with people with opposing views and ideologies across college campuses and online. He was shot and killed while engaging in a debate on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday at a Tuning Point USA event.

Both Rubio and Netanyahu said the assassination marked a threat to democracy in its effort to "intimidate" and "silence" the effort to hold discourse between people who disagree not only in America, but around the world.

"Once a society loses the ability of people with strong disagreements to engage in discourse, then the only option you're left with is either silence or violence," Rubio said. "Neither one of which is acceptable. Both are very destructive."

FETTERMAN URGES DEMS TO STOP CALLING TRUMP 'HITLER' AND 'AUTOCRAT' AFTER KIRK ASSASSINATION

Netanyahu rhetorically asked how democracies can address those members of society who don’t believe in free speech and resort to violence.

"How do you actually address the threat of the poisonous incitement of the people who don't believe in free speech, who believe in the imposition of their views on others? Speak of democracy, but actually want to trample democracy into the dust? How do you deal with that?" the prime minister asked.

Netanyahu then described democracy as "the nonviolent resolution of conflict within a society." 

"Nonviolent resolutions and decisions are made not by bullets, but by balance," he said. "And these people increasingly are more and more violent."

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‘God have mercy on us’: Sudan’s Christians struggle to survive under siege

FIRST ON FOX: Sudan’s two million Christians are among the hardest hit by the country’s two-year civil war, with Fox News Digital being told some are having to eat animal feed and even grass to survive. 

Sudan is the fifth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List. Open Doors is a faith-based nonprofit aiming to raise awareness of global persecution.

It is the world’s largest displacement — between 13 million and 15 million have been forced from their homes, and an estimated 150,000 have been killed since the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) started fighting in April 2023. The civil war’s roots lie in tensions following the 2019 ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.

Christians, an estimated 4% of Sudan’s population, suffer from a double whammy of desperation. Like the rest of Sudan’s people, they face chronic food shortages and the horror of war. But Christians are also allegedly singled out for discrimination and persecution by both sides in the conflict.

'NO MEANS OF ESCAPE': SUDANESE REBELS CREATE KILL ZONES AROUND BESIEGED CITY

Fox News Digital reached a senior Sudanese church leader working with colleagues on the ground in the country and the region. Talking from an unidentified location and withholding his identity for his safety, he told Fox News Digital, "Christians are seen as an enemy for both warring parties, and even the political parties. Sudan is considered as a land of one religion and one race."

He continued, "When even NGOs want to distribute food, the category of people who will receive this relief is controlled by government. So, government in these places doesn’t give it to minorities. Often Christians here have been told, ‘Unless you leave your Christianity, no food for you.’"

"Since Sudan’s civil war erupted more than two years ago, Christians have faced relentless persecution at the hands of both warring parties," Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. "More than 165 churches have been forced to close. In 2023, RSF fighters stormed Khartoum’s Anglican cathedral, assaulting civilians and converting it into a military base, while SAF airstrikes leveled the Al Ezba Baptist Church in Khartoum North. Both sides have also carried out arbitrary detentions, with SAF interrogating and beating dozens of Christians in 2024 and 2025."

"The RSF has been especially violent in Wad Madani (central Sudan), Wahba continued. "In December 2024, its fighters set fire to the Evangelical Church of Wad Madani, and later that month attacked the Sudanese Church of Christ in Al Jazirah State during a prayer service, wounding 14 worshippers. One militant reportedly vowed to ‘eliminate all Christians.’"

POPE LEO XIV CONDEMNS BRUTAL MACHETE ATTACK THAT KILLED 49 CHRISTIANS DURING PRAYER IN CONGO

"RSF militants have allegedly forced Christians to convert to Islam in exchange for aid and protection. It’s important to remember that the RSF is the latest incarnation of the Janjaweed militias, infamous for their campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur two decades ago. That legacy of terror is now being carried out again."

"Together, these abuses have left Christians among the war’s most vulnerable victims," Wahba concluded.

The Sudanese church leader Fox News Digital talked to this week believes the situation is especially bad for Christians in El Fasher, a city under siege by the RSF. "For a long time now they’re eating animal feed and grass. No wheat, no rice, nothing can get in. And unfortunately now, no medicine — if you have just the flu it can kill you. We don’t know what to do. We are just always asking God [to] have mercy on us."

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Since the April 2023 outbreak of conflict in Sudan, we have witnessed significant backsliding in Sudan’s overall respect for fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom. This backsliding especially impacts Sudan’s marginalized ethnic and religious populations, including Christians."

The spokesperson continued, "Sudan was a Country of Particular Concern under the former Bashir regime, and the United States is focused on preventing the return of Bashir-era loyalists and other violent extremists who might reimpose particularly severe violations of religious freedom."

"In order to safeguard U.S. interests, to include the protection of religious freedom in Sudan, U.S. efforts seek to limit negative Islamist influence in Sudan’s government and curtail Iran’s regional activities that have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict and civilian suffering."

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Today in Sudan, there is desperation. The Sudanese church leader added, "For Christians, it’s forbidden even to pray in your home as a group in many places now. Logically there is no hope because it [Sudan] will become more radical. But I believe in God who can turn the curse to blessing. And we pray that the church continues to be like a light and salt in our country."

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Israel’s Gaza offensive sparks fierce clash over Ultra-Orthodox military draft

As Israel mobilizes an additional 60,000 reservists for its Gaza City offensive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a showdown over mandatory military service for the Ultra-Orthodox community, a debate sharpened by the strain on reservists pulled from their families for months at a time.

During Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion reached an agreement with the Ultra-Orthodox community to exempt full-time Bible students from the army. The arrangement, known as "Torato manuto" — literally "his Torah is his occupation" — originally applied to only a few hundred students. 

Today, that community makes up roughly 15% of Israel’s population of 10 million, a share projected to grow to about a third by 2050 due to high birth rates.

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When the Knesset broke for its summer recess at the end of July, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition was on the verge of collapse over the conscription issue, even as the war against Hamas in Gaza intensified.

Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein told Fox News Digital that the ideal outcome would see full-time Torah students continue their studies, while those who are not engaged in religious learning would enlist in the IDF.

"The army needs them, Israel needs them, and it’s manageable — we can do it. What makes it difficult is the lack of an oversight mechanism that the Haredim would agree to," Edelstein said.

In July, Netanyahu’s Likud party removed Edelstein as chair of the influential Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after he publicly accused Haredi lawmakers of refusing to engage in compromise on legislation the body was ready to advance.

The shake-up came a week after the Ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas withdrew from the coalition in protest over the failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service. However, they stopped short of joining opposition no-confidence motions that could topple the government.

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The Knesset reconvenes for its winter session next month, giving Netanyahu a little over a month to broker a deal.

"We insisted that anyone who joins the army as a Haredi should leave as a Haredi, and we insisted that the army build the infrastructure to make that possible. We really understand the sensitivity," Edelstein told Fox News Digital.

"The rabbis, for now, are not in favor of Haredim joining the army — not all of them, of course — but we are trying to work with them as well," he added.

Ido Keren is the founder of "Katef Le Katef" (Shoulder to Shoulder), an organization of young military reservists from across Israel’s political spectrum that advocates for universal conscription, both as a security necessity and a matter of equality.

"The IDF chief of staff has said there is a shortage of 10,000 to 12,000 soldiers, and these gaps must be filled," Keren told Fox News Digital. "While 64,000 Haredim are eligible for enlistment, they are not joining. During this time, reservists continue to serve without pause.

"It is not logical that entire groups in Israeli society serve and pay taxes," he continued, "while another group does not serve, does not pay taxes, and gets a free ride thanks to others. The Jewish state is built on values of mutual responsibility and unity."

Keren argued that the solution lies in enforcing a universal draft law backed by economic, rather than criminal, sanctions. Cutting public budgets for those who refuse to serve, he said, would push Haredim to enlist and enter the workforce, enabling them to contribute to Israeli society.

A former lawmaker from the Ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, Moshe Roth, told Fox News Digital that the roots of the debate go back to Israel’s founding. "From the establishment of the state, it was understood that, as the people of the book, it is vital for the country’s spiritual and national existence that a portion of the population devote themselves to Torah study," he said.

Roth noted that about 20 years ago, Israel’s High Court deemed the status quo arrangement illegal for violating the principle of equality. Since then, the Knesset has repeatedly tried — and failed — to pass legislation addressing the Haredi draft.

"It has become politically charged and weaponized. Many parties use it as a tool to win votes, which has made passing a law extremely difficult. Even when the Knesset succeeds, the High Court often rules that it falls short," Roth said. "Since Oct. 7, the issue has grown even more sensitive."

According to Roth, the IDF resisted drafting Haredim due to cultural reasons. "The army is progressive, and the yeshiva students would change its character and deter women from being integrated. It will change the situation dramatically; the military is not too keen about that," he said.

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During a tour of the Gaza Strip late last month IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir  called for enlistment from all sectors.

"Israel’s security requires the full partnership of all parts of the nation. This is a civic duty and a national imperative. I call on everyone to enlist and contribute their share equally; this is the call of the hour," Zamir said.

In the interim, the IDF is making strides to accommodate religious soldiers. In January, dozens of Ultra-Orthodox recruits joined the military’s new Hasmonean Brigade. The Netzah Yehuda Battalion, formerly Nahal Haredi, enables Haredi men to serve as combat soldiers while observing strict religious practices.

In June, the IDF announced it would issue more than 50,000 draft orders to Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students and increase enforcement against draft evasion.

"We are attempting to change a situation that has existed for 77 years," Likud's Edelstein told Fox News Digital. "It’s a big and difficult shift, a scary change, but it’s necessary."

"We have no choice — both for military and social reasons," he said.

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American veterans facing Hamas threats while delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza

American veterans working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) want to set the record straight on what’s happening on the ground nearly two years into the war.

Jason Murray, Scott Weimer and Brandon Zielinski — all U.S. military veterans — are working to ensure Palestinians in Gaza get the food they need. 

All three men spoke with Fox News Digital and said that they are proud of the work they’re doing on the ground with GHF.

"We kind of built a plane in flight … not even knowing where we were going to land," Murray said of the situation. 

GHF began its operations in May 2025, more than a year and a half after the war began. While facing challenges distributing aid in Gaza, Murray said he has seen parallels to his military service, which has helped him as a GHF volunteer.

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Weimer told Fox News Digital that when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a "natural fit" and that he felt he could fill a need in a way that others couldn’t. He also said that his service experience, along with Murray’s, worked in this type of environment where they were able to find people with the right skills and put them where they’d be most useful.

When he was in the military, Zielinski said he experienced a lot of bilateral training in which he did not always speak the same language as his counterparts. He said his experience working through language barriers has helped in his interactions with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which coordinates with GHF.

All three men spoke of the desperation they saw from hungry Palestinians trying to get food. They also described bad actors taking advantage of the situation – including Hamas operatives and gang members trying to harm people working with GHF, especially Palestinian locals.

Murray gave Fox News Digital some insight as to how the IDF and GHF coordinate when it comes to keeping bad actors out and letting civilians in need get to the aid.

"From a security standpoint, our goal is to provide aid in a safe and secure manner. Hamas does operate in this area. Again, we know that. We have been told through various means that, ‘Hey, Hamas was here today,’" Murray told Fox News Digital. 

He also said that the threat of Hamas is not one that GHF personnel take lightly.

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Weimer echoed Murray’s sentiment, saying that the GHF personnel "absolutely see Hamas in the background," but their focus in the foreground is working to get aid to those in need. He also gave Zielinski’s team credit for warding off the bad actors who try to interfere with GHF’s mission.

"They are amazing because the amount of people that are seeking food and seeking aid can be overwhelming at times. I have never once seen any of us overreact to what would be, I think, to anybody, a very scary situation," Weimer said of Zielinski and his team.

Before Zielinski’s team gets to work, they’re usually given an IDF briefing on the security situation regarding the 48 hours or so prior to their shift. Zielinski told Fox News Digital that he has seen changes to the secure distribution sites (SDS) over time due to the threats that exist in the area.

"We've had pistols seen before, there's been AKs seen before. There's grenades that went off," Zielinski told Fox News Digital. 

He also said that his team looks for patterns, records them and then turns into intelligence officials information or materials that can be used to catch bad actors.

"We'll see down the line that, okay, ‘Hey, we've seen this person before, he looked very suspicious,’ and next thing you know, this is a guy that has a pistol on him," Zielinski said.

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When asked what the American people should know about the reality on the ground in Gaza, the volunteers all said that it’s important to do some research.

Weimer told Fox News Digital that the media depictions of GHF upset him because they’re "so far askew." He said he has called home to tell his family that they should not "believe the hype."

"I guess that's what I would tell the American people is, you know, these people that are here, these military veterans that lived a long honorable life, we would never be a part of something [like] what I've seen in the media," Weimer said. "It really actually sickens me, it's just so far askew."

Zielinski emphasized the passion that GHF volunteers have for the work that they do. He said that the people he works with in the war-torn enclave strive to do whatever possible to help civilians in need.

Since it began operating in May, GHF says it has delivered more than 160 million meals to Palestinians in need. The organization has not operated in the smoothest environment. Despite facing terror threats and international criticism, GHF maintains its call to the international community to join its mission – to deliver food to those who need it.

"Everybody wants to help, and everybody sees the reward for doing so… We all just enjoy doing it," Zielinski said.

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