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Netanyahu declares 'victory is within reach' as Hamas reduced to 'last remaining bastion'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that victory over Hamas in Gaza is "within reach."
Netanyahu made the statement during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" with host Shannon Bream. He said Israeli forces have beaten Hamas back to its final stronghold in Gaza and argued the campaign must continue to deliver the final blow.
"Victory is within reach," Netanyahu said. "We have already destroyed three-quarters of Hamas' organized terrorist battalions. Three-quarters, 18 out of 24 – we're not going to leave the other six. That would be like you leaving a quarter of ISIS in Iraq in place and you say, 'Well they can have their little territory. It's OK.'"
"Obviously, ISIS would re-establish itself. Hamas-ISIS would re-establish itself, too, if we don't finish its last remaining bastion," he added.
Bream asked Netanyahu about recent comments from President Biden that appeared to criticize Israeli operations in Gaza. Biden said on Thursday that "the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top."
Netanyahu told Bream that he was not sure what Biden meant by the statement and added he has not spoken with Biden since he made the comment.
SEN. TED CRUZ ACCUSES UN AGENCY OF SUPPORTING 'HAMAS WAR MACHINE,' URGES BIDEN ADMIN TO HALT FUNDING
He went on to list the various efforts Israeli forces are making to minimize the loss of civilian life in Gaza.
Fighting in Gaza remains fiercest in the southern city of Khan Younis, where Hamas' top leaders are believed to be holed up in a network of tunnels.
Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will remain in Gaza for an extended period following the war, another friction point for the Biden administration. Biden has argued that occupying Gaza after the war would be a "mistake" and has urged Netanyahu to work out a two-state solution.
"The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas," Biden wrote in a November 2023 opinion piece in the Washington Post.
Critics argue a two-state solution is currently unrealistic. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman says Palestinians "are not willing" to accept a Jewish state, and added that any Palestinian state would be extremely likely to become a terror state.
"I do not think a two-state solution is possible, and, even if possible, it is not advisable. For more than 50 years, hundreds of self-proclaimed ‘peacemakers,’ led by the United States, have attempted to coerce Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution," he said. "The efforts repeatedly fail regardless of who’s in charge."
Hamas had command tunnel underneath UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza, Israel says
The Israeli military revealed a network of tunnels underneath Gaza City that they said extended below the United Nations' headquarters in the region on Sunday.
The IDF escorted foreign reporters through the tunnels, entering through a shaft that pierced the surface next to a school. Israel argues that the tunnels are even more evidence that the U.N.'s mission in Gaza was compromised by Hamas terrorists.
"Everything is conducted from here. All the energy for the tunnels, which you walked through them, are powered from here," an Israeli officer told reporters during the tour."This is one of the central commands of the intelligence. This place is one of the Hamas intelligence units, where they commanded most of the combat."
UNRWA denied knowledge of the tunnels and said it vacated the headquarters on the surface as early as Oct. 12.
"UNRWA does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises," the organization said in a statement.
ISRAEL'S EVACUATION ORDERS COVER MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE GAZA STRIP AS WAR WITH HAMAS CONTINUES
"In the past, whenever a suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises, protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict, including both the de facto authorities in Gaza and the Israeli authorities," the statement continued.
Meanwhile, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri argued that Israel's claims of a connection between the UNRWA and the tunnels were "lies."
News of the tunnels comes amid Israeli allegations that hundreds of UNRWA employees expressed support for or were complicit in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
IDF VIDEO REVEALS TUNNEL USED TO HIDE HAMAS MEMBERS, HOSTAGES IN TERRORIST GROUP'S STRONGHOLD
Several Western nations have paused funding for UNRWA, which overseas aid for Gazans, amid the allegations.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called UNRWA "Hamas with a facelift" this weekend. He argued on Saturday that it was time for the world to "dismantle UNRWA" and create an alternative mechanism for providing aid to civilians in the war-stricken Gaza Strip.
"I think the world needs to wake up and address this issue in a different way, while also addressing Gaza’s needs," Gallant told Fox News Digital. "UNRWA is a group of terrorists who receive salaries from many countries – these countries gave money to people who raped, murdered and took people into captivity."
Fox News' Ruth Marks Eglash and Reuters contributed to this report
Congressional committee chair slams TikTok's role in aiding Chinese migrant surge at southern border
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, slammed TikTok for aiding a surge of Chinese migrants trying to cross the U.S. southern border.
"This is further evidence that TikTok must be banned or sold to an American company. President Biden must also reverse his open-border policies," Gallagher said.
"You're not going to pay cartels thousands of dollars to smuggle you into the United States if you know you can't get in," Gallagher argued. "Instead, under the Biden administration’s policies, reports demonstrate that migrants receive step-by-step instructions from CCP-controlled TikTok on where to illegally cross into the United States."
CBS program "60 Minutes" ran a segment last weekend that discussed the crisis on the U.S. southern border, highlighting that Chinese nationals comprise the fastest-growing group of illegal migrants.
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TikTok did not respond to Gallagher’s comments by the time of publication.
But, in reaction to the initial report, a TikTok spokesperson said, "TikTok strictly prohibits human smuggling, which we remove from our platform and report to law enforcement when warranted."
Migrants reportedly use TikTok videos that instruct them step-by-step on how to find someone to help smuggle them across the border and where to find a gap in the wall. The videos often focus on how to get from China or Hong Kong to Ecuador or Panama, popular starting points for Chinese people’s journeys to the U.S.
Some of the content focuses on the pitfalls immigrants can face, such as unemployment in the U.S. and the difficult life illegal immigrants can face there. One piece on Baidu detailed a man's experience returning to China after failing to obtain asylum and the punishment he faced.
A video on YouTube shows Chinese people carrying their children on their journey across the border.
Chinese citizens have had mixed reactions to the "60 Minutes" report. Some support the people who try to flee the oppressive political regime, saying it’s "understandable" and complimenting people who dare to leave.
Others argue the belief that America provides more opportunities is a mistake, or they claim those who flee should not be allowed to return should things not work out.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) sources confirmed to Fox News they have encountered nearly 20,000 Chinese migrants already in fiscal year 2024 and are on track to shatter last year’s record of over 37,000, averaging around 150 migrants a day.
Between Oct. 1, 2023, and the start of fiscal 2024, over 1,000,000 migrant encounters have occurred along the southern border, he earliest that milestone has ever been reached. In the same period the prior year, the number hit just over 900,000.
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The "60 Minutes" piece claimed the number of temporary visas issued to Chinese citizens wishing to travel to the U.S. had dropped from millions to just 160,000 in 2022. The U.S. State Department pushed back on this framing, instead arguing that the number has increased over the past year.
"The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and U.S. Consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang collectively issued 325% more visas in FY2023 over FY2022, which is a substantial increase rather than a decrease in available visas," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson estimated around 8 million Chinese citizens hold valid visitor visas and that the process to obtain one is "currently around 80 calendar days, but as low as 30 days in Shenyang and 50 in Beijing," while the average wait time for a student or worker visa is around seven days.
"In the past year, we have observed increased encounters of irregular migrants from countries out of the Western Hemisphere," the spokesperson noted. "We continue to work with partners to identify countries of concern and to coordinate responses to address the challenges of irregular migration."
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The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital in a statement that the U.S. has experienced "historic global migration," and the department is trying to "disrupt the criminal networks who take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants."
"We are using every tool available to us, but we need additional funding and reforms from Congress to address our broken immigration system," a spokesperson for DHS said.
Assad’s billion-dollar drug industry keeps regime family ‘flush with money,’ wreaks havoc across region
Sixty-five million seized pills in Jordan, 15 million seized pills in Saudi Arabia and 86 million seized pills in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These are just a handful of numbers Gulf Arab countries have dealt with in recent years as the drug Captagon is smuggled across the region.
Captagon is a highly addictive synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant that has grown in popularity throughout the Middle East. It is largely produced in Syria and Lebanon by networks of individuals connected with Hezbollah and the Syrian military’s elite Fourth Division, led by President Bashar al-Assad’s brother, Maher.
Caroline Rose, director of the New Lines Institute’s Project on the Captagon Trade, told Fox News Digital Captagon appeals across demographics.
"The pill's ability to induce a euphoric rush attracts recreational users as well as those seeking to repress trauma, while others seek out Captagon for its ability to improve productivity, stave sleep for hours at a time and reduce hunger," Rose said.
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"For this reason, Captagon has had a mass appeal across classes, generations and sectors. Captagon is a name known to both the wealthy clubgoer in Dubai, the university student [in] Riyadh, the cab driver in Beirut and those struggling to find their next meal in Aleppo."
The drug was used by fighters in the Syrian civil war and has since been used as a type of party drug in the Gulf that is inexpensive and similar to low-grade cocaine.
Rose said the Captagon trade is largely conducted off the books, so it's difficult to determine exactly how much the Assad regime profits from the illicit alternative revenue source.
"The best estimate thus far that has been evaluated is from the Syrian Observatory for Political and Economic Networks, which assesses that regime-aligned networks have made at least $7 billion from the trade in the last three years," Rose explained.
"It is known that the largest industrial-scale manufacturing centers are located deep within regime-held territory, many of which are operated by individuals closely aligned with the Assad family, Fourth Division and/or Hezbollah."
"Even with increased awareness, Western sanctions on producers and traffickers and pressure from regional stakeholders, it's unlikely that these networks would shift production outside of Syria. Syria has the industrial-scale infrastructure, governmental complicity and demand for alternative revenue that is conducive for the Captagon trade to thrive."
Riyadh, Amman and Dubai have seen an uptick in Captagon smuggling in the past several years, but most recently after normalizing relations with Assad in May 2023.
Syria was brought back into the fold and welcomed to the Arab League last spring for the first time in more than a decade after it was expelled in 2011 due to its brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.
"We shouldn't have been surprised that Assad didn't crack down on Captagon," said Andrew Tabler, the Martin J. Gross senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
The cross-border drug smuggling has hit Jordan the most in recent months due to its proximity to Syria. Tabler explained that Jordan is important as a transit country to Sunni Arab Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, making it harder for Syrian smugglers to move Captagon through Iraq and other places due to instability.
"Jordan ends up being, you know, caught in the middle, literally," Tabler told Fox News Digital.
The Jordanian army said in late December that its armed forces engaged in a shootout with smugglers from Syria attempting to bring Captagon and hashish across the border.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah told a state news agency last month that more drugs and weapons were seized after another attempted smuggling operation.
AIRSTRIKES ON SOUTHERN SYRIA HITS ALLEGED DRUG FACTORY
"Drug and weapons smuggling from Syria to Jordan, which claimed and injured a number of our brave officers, represent a direct threat to Jordan's security, and it will continue to be confronted with all determination until it is completely defeated," Qudah said.
Amman has responded to the uptick in smuggling with airstrikes in Syria reportedly targeting suspected drug traffickers. Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes.
Tabler said Assad would have to be incentivized to stop or severely curtail the production of Captagon.
"You can do it with carrots, buying him off. That's what he wants. He wants reconstruction money," he explained. "The other way to stop this behavior is through military force. The Jordanians have used that repeatedly over the last month and throughout the last year."
"That's the quickest way to stop anybody's behavior. But you have to be able to sustain it. And there's just a lot more Captagon than there are bombs, so to speak, to knock them out. So, we're really at an impasse in trying to figure out how to deal with this."
UNRWA investigation: History shows United Nations incapable of investigating itself, experts say
JERUSALEM — The United Nations' plan to investigate 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency workers for participating in the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in October, including the murders of over 30 Americans, got off to a rocky start because its inquiries are allegedly infected with severe incompetence, anti-Israel bias and corruption.
Last month, the UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in the Near East confirmed the content of an Israeli dossier that stated 12 of its workers participated in the Hamas terror invasion.
"On the investigation into the alleged involvement of 12 UNRWA employees in the (Oct. 7 terror attacks) in Israel, as soon as UNRWA was told of this information by the Israel Foreign Ministry, the leadership of the agency took the swift action of terminating those involved," Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. secretary-general, told Fox News Digital.
IDF VIDEO REVEALS TUNNEL USED TO HIDE HAMAS MEMBERS, HOSTAGES IN TERRORIST GROUP'S STRONGHOLD
Yet there are big question marks over the U.N.’s ability to investigate itself. The problem conjures the famous Latin phrase, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? It is generally translated as "Who will guard the guards themselves?"
"The investigation will be done by the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (akin to an inspector general in a U.S. government department)," Dujarric told Fox News Digital. "Should criminal behavior be found, it could be referred to the appropriate national law enforcement entity.
"As far as the independent review is concerned, as you will see from the announcement we made earlier today, it is exactly that — independent. It is not staffed by the U.N. employees. It will be led by a former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who will work alongside three independent Nordic research institutes. The final report will be made public once handed over to the secretary-general."
Peter Gallo, an international lawyer and former Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigator at the U.N., told Fox News Digital his former employer "is as independent as my left kidney."
Gallo, who has submitted testimony to the U.S. Congress about alleged U.N. corruption, criminality and mismanagement, described a case of the UN’s OIOS allegedly sweeping a massive medical fraud case under the rug in connection with Hamas’ ally, Hezbollah.
"There was an investigation into medical insurance in Naqoura in south Lebanon, 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Israeli border," Gallo said. "They had something like 75 suspicious medical insurance claims. The company the U.N. used to administer medical insurance flagged these as suspicious. And they were putting claims in for powerful antibiotics, and there were no diagnostic tests."
Gallo said to submit a fraudulent medical claim, "you need the complicity of a doctor or pharmacist."
The U.N. sent investigators to Lebanon, and the Lebanese physician said he did not need to take tests, according to Gallo.
"The OIOS did not bring a medical expert. And the office closed the cases and said no there is no fraud," Gallo said, expressing frustration the U.N. was "relying on testimony" from "a co-conspirator."
Gallo noted that a pharmacist involved in the case was a mayor of a Lebanese city and was affiliated with the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah.
"Were drugs going to Hezbollah and was money going to Hezbollah?" Gallo asked. "I wrote to the under secretary of OIOS. They were not interested that there was an obvious Hezbollah connection."
An additional case of the U.N. allegedly whitewashing terrorism cited by Gallo involved a scandal that Fox News Digital reported on in 2015.
Edward Flaherty, an American lawyer who has represented whistleblowers throughout the U.N. system based in Geneva, Switzerland, told Fox News Digital that, in his years of experience, "OIOS and any internal investigation services of all the international organizations are not fit for purpose. They ultimately report to the executive, so are not independent and will never investigate the senior ranks for wrongdoing unless greenlighted by the executive — built-in protection.
"They operate like Stalin's secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, ‘Show me the man, and I’ll find you a crime.' The only way to fix UN/IO investigations is to lift the immunity and let national police forces carry out investigations of serious misconduct or the misconduct of the investigators."
When asked about the criticisms leveled by Gallo and others regarding the external investigation into UNRWA, Dujarric said, "I would suggest that people reserve judgment on the independent review until it's completed. The final report will be made public, at which point people will be able to opine."
ISRAEL'S EVACUATION ORDERS COVER MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE GAZA STRIP AS WAR WITH HAMAS CONTINUES
When confronted with the criticism of the U.N. investigations, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States has reached out to the government of Israel to seek more information about these allegations, and we have briefed members of Congress and their staffs. We welcome the decision by the U.N. to conduct an investigation and a ‘comprehensive and independent’ review of UNRWA, as well as Secretary-General Guterres’ pledge to take decisive action to respond, should the allegations prove accurate.
"There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of Oct. 7. We will remain in close contact with the United Nations and government of Israel regarding this matter."
Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, cast doubt on the integrity of the U.N. investigations.
"What we have here is the usual U.N. concept of problem-solving — smoke and mirrors," she told Fox News Digital. "There will be two ‘parallel’ so-called investigations on UNRWA, one in which the U.N. investigates itself, and the other put together ‘in consultation with the UNRWA commissioner-general’ — the U.N. person in charge of the massive corruption himself."
Bayefsky said the "description of the ‘independent’ review focuses on taking a look at ‘mechanisms’ and ‘procedures’ on ‘neutrality.’ That’s U.N.-speak for avoiding the rot at the heart of the matter. Which is systemic antisemitism throughout the UNRWA-run education system and a decades-long record of contributing to more racist intolerance and violence, rather than ending it.
"Maybe that’s why the secretary-general’s ‘new and improved’ UNRWA investigation lists a group of Scandinavian consultants — and not the country on the front lines paying the heaviest price for UNRWA’s dangerous record — Israel."
Fox News Digital reported Saturday that Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said the number of UNRWA employees who carried out the massacre now numbers "dozens." Gallant described UNRWA as "Hamas with a facelift"
Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, who said, "I’m not able to comment on anything to do with OIOS" and directed Fox News Digital to contact UNRWA’s New York office.
Fox News Digital's press queries to UNRWA’s New York and Washington D.C. offices were not immediately returned.
UK defense chief highlights AI as key to strengthening security against Chinese ambitions
British Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps has highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) as a key component to strengthening security alliances, such as the increasingly vital AUKUS alliance between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.
"We're both monitoring and working on these things very closely," Shapps told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
"Warfare has always changed and has always been the first to the punch. It's always been who can develop the defensive or weaponry that's going to best win the battle," Shapps said. "It's no different with AI.
"We're starting to see how it's being used, [and] the most important thing is to work on our alliances that make that stronger. There’s a fantastic alliance. It has cross-party support both at home and here in the U.S., called AUKUS, and it's an alignment between the British, the Americans and our Australian friends.
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"In that, we are doing work on things like AI. It's called the pillar two of AUKUS. It's a fantastic piece of work, and it will only strengthen our collective security. And it's just an example of the way that global Britain is working with America, [and] Australia in this case."
AUKUS, formed in September 2021, originally aimed to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines but quickly developed into a vital piece of security and foreign policy for the three countries involved. The alliance agreed in December 2023 to step up testing of maritime drone defense systems as a means of fighting back against Chinese naval expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.
The group revealed last week that it had also carried out a series of robotic vehicle tests in South Australia in the fall of 2023, experimenting with the movement and sensor capabilities of the robots during the Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in a Contested Environment (TORVICE) to identify and resolve "vulnerabilities faced by autonomous systems in a congested electronic warfare environment."
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The aggressive direction AUKUS has pursued with unmanned weapons and vehicles indicates an increasingly vital role for AI in the security alliance. Pillar II of AUKUS, known as the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Pillar, looks to develop and integrate leading-edge technologies and capabilities, according to the Pentagon.
The TORVICE tests, for example, allowed the group to see how its network of robotic ground vehicles fared when subjected to electro-optical and position, navigation and timing attacks, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in a statement released Feb. 5.
"Transitioning trusted robotic capabilities into the hands of our warfighters safely and ethically is a priority," Dr. Peter Shoubridge, chief land and joint warfare and defense scientist for Australia, said. He stressed, as many do, the need to keep humans in the operational loop of any autonomous system, particularly in the case of defense and weaponry.
Dr. Kimberly Sablon of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Principal Director for Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy, argued that TORVICE "builds upon the work the AUKUS partners demonstrated" in previous trials, another sign of commitment to pursuing AI as a means of helping contain Chinese regional ambitions in defense of allies.
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The group in the summer of 2023 tested AI-controlled drone swarm capabilities that could detect and track military targets in a "real-time representative environment" to find the "operation advantages necessary to defeat current and future threats across the battlespace," according to a press release from the U.K. Defense Ministry.
"We are committed to collaborating with partners to ensure that we achieve this while also promoting the responsible development and deployment of AI," U.K. Deputy Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Rob Magowan said at the time.
China considers the AUKUS alliance a "wrong and dangerous path" for "geopolitical self-interest, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community," according to PRC spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
China continues to push its territorial claims throughout the South China Sea. Chinese coast guards have clashed with fisherman in neighboring waters, trying to stake claims to shoals off the coast of the Philippines, for example, and leading to tense exchanges.
Northern Ireland's new first minister says Hamas will be thought of as 'future partner for peace': report
Michelle O’Neill, the recently elected First Minister of Northern Ireland, said on Thursday that the terrorist organization, Hamas, would eventually be regarded as the "future partner for peace" in the Middle East.
In an interview on Tonight with Andrew Marr on British broadcaster, LBC, O'Neill stressed the importance of communication, comparing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war to ongoing peace talks within Northern Ireland.
In the interview, Marr asked her if the terrorist organization Hamas would "eventually" become regarded as a "partner for peace."
"A long time ago the [Irish Republican Army] IRA was seen as a terrorist organization. The British Government and everybody else could not ever talk to them," Marr said. "Do you think that Hamas, although regarded as a terror organization by many people around the world, is going to eventually have to be a partner for peace?"
"Yes," O'Neill said, "I think you only have to look at our own example to know how important dialogue is and that's the only way you're ever going to bring an end to conflict."
"If republicans didn't talk to the British government or the British government didn't talk to the republicans, in the past in Ireland we would not be in the scenario we are in today, enjoying a peaceful and far more equal society today," the first nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland continued.
She also called for an immediate ceasefire and for the application of international law in Gaza.
"And I really only hope that in the coming days and weeks that we can get to a point where we see a ceasefire in the first instance, that we have dialogue, and that we get to the ultimate position of having the Palestinian state recognized and a two-state solution that the international community stands for," O'Neill said.
HUNGARY'S PRESIDENT RESIGNS AFTER BACKLASH FOR PARDON IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE
O'Neill argued that Israel was bombarding the Palestinian people and not defending themselves against the Hamas terrorists.
"Anybody can stretch Israel's position of being one of defense because this is bombardment, day after day, slaughter of the Palestinian people," O'Neill continued.
"This needs to stop, and we need the international community to stand strong and to stay firm in the court of international law. That's where everybody must be," she said.
"And I really only hope that in the coming days and weeks that we can get to a point where we see a ceasefire in the first instance, that we have dialogue, and that we get to the ultimate position of having the Palestinian state recognized and a two-state solution that the international community stands for.’
O'Neill also condemned the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, saying that they had violated international law by taking hostages.
"From day one, we've said that what happened on October 7 was wrong, and that does not apply in international law in any shape or fashion, the hostages taken was wrong," she said.
Israeli military kills Hamas terrorists, finds 'significant' weapons and assets inside UNRWA headquarters
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that it recently launched raids on Hamas facilities in Gaza, killing 120 terrorists, while discovering a "significant" amount of assets and weapons, including inside a United Nations-affiliated building.
In a joint statement made with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the Israeli military announced Saturday that the raids were conducted in northern Gaza over the past two weeks.
"The forces operated in the areas of Shati and Tel al-Hawa in northern Gaza," the joint statement read. "Approximately 120 Hamas terrorists were killed, and 20 terrorist infrastructure sites were destroyed as part of the operation."
ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: 'DOZENS' OF UNRWA STAFF TOOK PART IN HAMAS’ OCT 7 MASSACRE
The IDF explained that the ISA initially led them to a tunnel shaft near a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
"The shaft led to an underground terror tunnel that served as a significant asset of Hamas' military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA's main headquarters in the Gaza Strip," the IDF explained.
The Israeli military said that it seized a "wide variety of intelligence assets" while raiding the 700-meter-long tunnel, but did not specify what exactly was found.
"The newly-found intelligence will allow the forces to operate against additional Hamas targets," the IDF said. "The dismantling of the tunnel weakens Hamas' intelligence capabilities."
That discovery ultimately brought the military to the UNRWA's headquarters, where Israeli forces found that the UNRWA building supplied the Hamas tunnel with electricity.
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"Following these findings and based on preliminary ISA intelligence, the forces conducted a targeted raid on UNRWA’s central headquarters, which contains offices for various humanitarian and international organizations," the statement read. "Large quantities of weapons were found inside the rooms of the building, including rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives.
"Intelligence and documents discovered in the offices of UNRWA officials confirmed that the offices had in fact also been used by Hamas terrorists."
On Saturday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillippe Lazzarini said on X that his organization, "did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza."
"UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as bombardment intensified in the area," he wrote on X. "We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there."
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant recently told Fox News Digital that "dozens" of UNRWA employees took part in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that launched the Israel-Hamas war.
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"I think the world needs to wake up and address this issue in a different way, while also addressing Gaza’s needs," Gallant told Fox News Digital. "UNRWA is a group of terrorists who receive salaries from many countries – these countries gave money to people who raped, murdered and took people into captivity."
Fox News Digital's Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this report.
Hungary’s president resigns after backlash for pardon in child sex abuse case
The president of Hungary stepped down on Saturday following backlash to her pardon of a man who had been convicted of concealing sexual abuse of children.
Katalin Novák, 46, delivered a televised message on Saturday that she would throw in the towel after a Friday street protest against her pardoning decision.
"I issued a pardon that caused bewilderment and unrest for many people," Novák said Saturday.
Novák has served as president since 2022 and was the former family minister under conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
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"I made a decision to grant a pardon last April, believing that the convict did not abuse the vulnerability of children whom he had overseen. I made a mistake as the pardon and the lack of reasoning were suitable to trigger doubts over the zero tolerance that applies to pedophilia," Novák said.
According to Reuters, at least 1,000 people protested in Hungary's capital, Budapest, on Friday demanding the resignation of Novák over her decision to pardon a man convicted as an accomplice for helping cover up a sex abuse case in a children's home.
Novák was in Doha at the time of the protest, according to a post on her X account.
She posted a message on X to her over 121,000 followers about her meeting in Doha regarding the World Aquatic Championships. Novák did not address the pardon on X. She was forced to cut short her trip to Qatar and return to Budapest to address the mushrooming scandal.
Novák had decided to pardon some two dozen people in April 2023, ahead of a visit by Pope Francis, among them the deputy director of a children's home who had helped the former director of the home hide his crimes.
The director was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing several under-age boys from 2004 to 2016. The deputy director had been sentenced to more than three years.
Fox News Digital's requests for comment to Hungary’s government were not immediately returned.
Hungarian opposition parties also demanded Novák’s resignation. Protesters held signs stating, "Resign" at the Friday demonstration. "Resignation would be a very correct thing to do," said Bela Sedan, 53, who works as a carpenter.
"Someone who makes a mistake like this should go away and not represent me as president of the Hungarian Republic."
Trying to contain the political fallout from the scandal, Orban, whose Fidesz party is beginning the campaign for European Parliament elections in June, submitted a constitutional amendment to parliament late on Thursday depriving the president of the right to pardon crimes committed against children.
"The pardoning decision of the president of the republic has prompted a debate. This debate must be closed in a way that reassures all Hungarians," the text of the bill says.
On Saturday, Orban's former justice minister, Judit Varga — who was expected to lead Fidesz's list for the elections, and who had also signed off on the pardon — said on Facebook that she would step down as a Fidesz MP, taking responsibility for the decision.
Orban and Fidesz won a stunning fourth-term election victory in 2022.
"The entire world can see that our brand of Christian democratic, conservative, patriotic politics has won," Orbán told his supporters after his 2022 victory. He added, "We are sending Europe a message that this is not the past – this is the future."
In October, Orban compared Hungary’s membership in the European Union to the over forty years of Soviet communist occupation of Hungary. Orban, who advocates traditional values, promotes a policy of restricted immigration and is opposed to the absorption of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
Saudi Arabia warns Israel of 'very serious repercussions' if ground invasion of Rafah proceeds
Saudi Arabia has warned Israel that a planned invasion of the city of Rafah may cause an imminent humanitarian disaster.
The oil-rich nation’s foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire to the conflict as Israel is poised to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, which borders Egypt at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. More than half of Gaza's estimated 2.3 million population is now packed into the city.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate the population city ahead of a ground invasion to destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there.
NETANYAHU PLANNING TO EVACUATE CIVILIANS FROM LARGE GAZA CITY AS EXPECTED INVASION LOOMS
Netanyahu said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the city ahead of the ground invasion. A large portion of the current population has fled into the city from other parts of Gaza since the onset of the conflict and Saudi Arabia says they have nowhere else to go. A timeline for a potential ground invasion is not known.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia warns of the very serious repercussions of storming and targeting the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which is the last resort for hundreds of thousands of civilians forced by the brutal Israeli aggression to flee," a statement by Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry reads.
"The Kingdom affirms its categorical rejection and strong condemnation of their forcible deportation and renews its demand for an immediate ceasefire."
The warning from Saudi Arabia came on the same day that 31 Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the city.
Earlier this week Netanyahu vowed that Israeli forces would fight on until "total victory", including in Rafah, after ceasefire talks failed.
NETANYAHU REJECTS HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL, SAYS 'COMPLETE VICTORY' IS WITHIN A 'MATTER OF MONTHS'
Rafah’s population stood at 264,000 in early 2022, but since the onset of the conflict, the population has ballooned to around 1.4 million as people seek shelter there, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. It is unclear where civilians in Rafah could flee to next.
At least 28,000 Palestinians have been killed and 67,600 others have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday, according to Reuters. The conflict has been raging for four months and was sparked after a surprise terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, in which militants crossed the border from Gaza and massacred some 1,200 people.
"This continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law confirms the need for an urgent convening of the U.N. Security Council to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian disaster for which everyone who supports the aggression is responsible," the Saudi statement concludes.
Saudi Arabia has never formally recognized Israel, although it had been in diplomatic talks with the U.S. to do so in the months leading up to the Oct. 7 attacks, leading Riyadh to shelve the matter in the face of Arab anger over Israel's offensive.
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Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital and main financial hub.
Saudi Arabia has told the U.S. it will not open diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Riyadh reiterated its call for permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that have not recognized a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital to do so, a ministry statement said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Greece poised to legalize same-sex marriage, bucking Orthodox tradition
Greece is poised to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, despite urgent warnings from the Greek Orthodox Church.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, an ostensibly center-right politician, is relying on a coalition with left-wing lawmakers to push through the legislation next week without support from a significant faction of his own New Democracy party.
The proposal has been vehemently opposed by the Greek Orthodox Church — the "prevailing religion" of Greece claiming approximately 90% of the population.
The Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece ruled in a unanimous decision last month that the implementation of same-sex marriage and adoption of children by same-sex couples is inadmissible.
HONG KONG'S TOP COURT ORDERS GOVERNMENT TO RECOGNIZE OVERSEAS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN LANDMARK CASE
"Obviously, the State legislates, but this parameter neither deprives the Church of its freedom of speech nor exempts the Church from the duty to inform the faithful people, nor can it indicate to the Church what constitutes sin," the report from the Holy Synod reads. "The Church does not legislate and is not responsible for the laws. If it remains silent, however, it bears a grave responsibility and abolishes itself."
The Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus went so far as to declare, "Those who vote for it cannot remain members of the church."
EUROPEAN COURT ORDERS GREECE TO PAY DAMAGES IN FATAL SHOOTING OF SYRIAN MIGRANT SMUGGLER
Mitsotakis has characterized the legislation as a matter of equality, to avoid "having two classes of citizens and certainly not to have children of a lesser God."
In a speech to his cabinet last month, the prime minister made no apologies for disregarding theology in his goals.
"I appreciate the perspectives of the Church, which I fully respect. This government has, in fact, addressed long-standing practical matters concerning the clergy," Mitsotakis said. "However, let me be clear on this matter: we are discussing the decisions of the Greek State, unrelated to theological beliefs."
The controversy provoked by the legislation highlights a growing divide between secular Greek leaders and the spiritual identity of Greece's population.
"Historically, we’ve had divergent opinions with the Church on civil marriage, cremation, and the omission of religion from Greek IDs," Mitsotakis said. "Experience has shown that these changes were necessary. They didn’t harm society or the collaboration between the State and the Church, and I am confident the same will apply now."
The prime minister and a coalition vote are expected to pass the proposal on Feb. 15.
Israeli strikes in Rafah leaves 31 Palestinians dead ahead of planned ground invasion
At least 31 Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip early Saturday as President Benjamin Netanyahu gears up for a ground invasion there to take out several Hamas battalions.
Three airstrike strikes killed 28 people, including multiple members of three families, with the youngest victim being three months old, according to a health official and The Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arriving at hospitals.
Later on Saturday, another strike killed three senior officers in the civil police, according to Rafah city officials.
ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: 'DOZENS' OF UNRWA STAFF TOOK PART IN HAMAS’ OCT 7 MASSACRE
Israel says that Rafah, which borders Egypt at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, is the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza after more than four months of war. Israel has carried out airstrikes in Rafah almost daily.
Rafah’s population stood at 264,000 in early 2022, but since the onset of the conflict, the population has ballooned to around 1.4 million as people seek shelter there, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. More than half of Gaza's population is now packed into the city with some of the recent arrivals living in tents. It is unclear where they would be able to flee to next.
Netanyahu's office has ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there. Netanyahu said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the city ahead of a ground invasion.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu vowed that Israeli forces would fight on until "total victory," including in Rafah, after cease-fire talks failed.
A timeline for a potential ground invasion is not known.
EGYPT STRENGTHENS ITS BORDER WITH GAZA AS ISRAEL CONTINUES ATTACKS
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia warned Israel of "extremely dangerous repercussions" if it launches a military operation in Rafah and called for the United Nations Security Council to intervene.
At least 28,000 Palestinians have been killed and 67,600 others have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
The conflict has been raging for four months and was sparked after a surprise terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, in which militants crossed the border from Gaza and massacred some 1,200 people.
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Saturday’s strikes come just two days after President Biden described Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas as being "over the top."
"I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top," Biden told reporters at the White House.
He said that he has been pushing for a deal to normalize Saudi Arabia-Israel relations, increased humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, and a temporary pause in fighting to allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
"I'm pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage cease-fire," Biden said. "There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it's gotta stop."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Three children among seven dead in Russian drone attack on Ukrainian gas station
Seven people, including three children, were killed in a Russian drone attack on a gas station in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, regional authorities said.
The victims included two children aged seven and four, as well as a six-month-old child, Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov said on the messaging app Telegram.
An Iranian-made "Shahed" drone hit civilian infrastructure in the Nemyshlyan district of the city, causing a massive fire that burned down 15 private houses. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city and is located in the northeast of the country.
"Unfortunately, the death toll from the occupiers' attacks on Kharkiv have risen to seven," Synegubov wrote. "The occupiers struck Kharkiv with ‘Shahed’ kamikaze drones."
Synegubov said that the bodies of five people, including the three children, were found in a private house. The adults were the children’s parents, Syniehubov said.
Two more people – a couple aged 66 and 65 died at another facility, according to reports. "More than fifty people were saved!" he wrote.
The houses caught fire after three drones hit a petrol station in the Nemyshlianskyi district, according to the local prosecutor's office in Kharkiv.
Video from the scene shows heavy flames ripping through buildings.
SENATE REPUBLICANS PREPARE FOR LONG HAUL IN FIGHT OVER UKRAINE, ISRAEL AID
Kharkiv regional prosecutor Oleksandr Filachkov said three drones hit Kharkiv's Nemyshlyanskyi district.
"As a result, a building for critical infrastructure was destroyed. There was a large amount of fuel, which is why the impacts of the fire were so terrible," Filachkov said in a video posted online.
The Ukrainian air force said air defense systems destroyed 23 out of 31 drones launched by Russia overnight. The drones primarily targeted the northeastern Kharkiv region and the southern province of Odesa, the statement said, according to the Associated Press.
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Firefighters and rescuers worked through the night to cope with the consequences of the strike, extinguish fires and clear through the debris, officials said.
Russia has previously said that it does not deliberately target civilian sites.
The attacks came as the Russian invasion and ongoing conflict approached its second anniversary.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Iranian ayatollah removed from Facebook, Instagram over Hamas support
The Iranian ayatollah was banned from Meta's social media platforms this week due to rhetoric in support of terrorist group Hamas.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been banned from Facebook and Instagram.
"We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy," a Meta spokesperson told news outlet Agence France-Presse.
IRAN MANUFACTURED THE DRONE THAT KILLED 3 US SOLDIERS IN JORDAN, US OFFICIAL SAYS
The cited policy regulates rhetoric in support of violent groups or terrorist organizations.
"We do not allow organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on our platforms," the policy reads. "That includes those designated as terrorists by the U.S. government."
Khamenei began voicing regular support for Hamas on social media following the October 7 attack on Israel that killed over a thousand people.
Iran reportedly helped Hamas plan its attack on Israel, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Just days after Hamas' surprise assault on Israel, Khamenei reportedly said during a televised speech, "We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack."
The Wall Street Journal reported in early October that Iranian security officials approved Hamas' plan to attack Israel during a recent meeting in Beirut. Hamas and Hezbollah leaders said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has worked with Hamas since August on air, land and sea attack plans.
Iran backs multiple terrorist groups in the Middle East, including Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthi rebels, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Each group, which receives support from Iran through several methods, has increasingly become a threat to members of the U.S. armed forces, U.S. allies, commercial global shipping and the regions in which they operate.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
Kim Jong Un threatens attacking, 'occupying' South Korea in event of conflict
North Korea's supreme leader once again threatened military force against the country's southern counterpart
Kim Jong Un made the comments Thursday during a 76th anniversary celebration of the North's Korean People's Army.
"Defining the South Korean puppets as the most harmful primary foe and invariable principal enemy and deciding it as a national policy to occupy their territory in the event of a contingency is a reasonable measure for the eternal safety of our country and the peace and stability of the future," Kim Jong Un said, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
MOSCOW RELEASES $9M OF FROZEN ASSETS TO NORTH KOREA IN EXCHANGE FOR WEAPONS: REPORT
KCNA is a state-owned news outlet.
The statement from Kim Jong Un is the latest in a series of escalating comments from North Korean leadership threatening to destroy South Korea if prompted with an attack.
"Peace is not something that should be begged for or gained in exchange for talks," the dictator said.
KIM JONG UN ADMITS LACK OF 'BASIC LIVING NECESSITIES' IS 'SERIOUS POLITICAL ISSUE' IN NORTH KOREA
North Korea, a largely impoverished and ill-equipped nation, typically walks a thin line by voicing serious threats of military attack coded in the language of self-defense.
In recent weeks, Kim Jong Un has ordered a complete abandonment of efforts to eventually reunify with South Korea — a long-shot hope of both North and South since the beginning of the Korean War.
Kim has ramped up his country’s industrial efforts in recent months with the goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he perceives as threats from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
The navy "presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations," Kim said earlier this month during an inspection of the naval facility.
According to the Korean news agency, the warships being constructed in Nampho are related to a five-year military development plan set during a ruling party congress in early 2021. It did not specify the types of warships being built.
At the shipyard, Kim ordered workers to "unconditionally" complete the efforts within the timeframe of the plan that runs through 2025, KCNA said.
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Israeli defense minister: 'dozens' of UNRWA staff took part in Hamas’ Oct 7 massacre
FIRST ON FOX – Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant says Israel has new evidence that dozens of individuals employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – the controversial U.N. aid agency responsible for the welfare of millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants – were directly involved in the atrocities carried out against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, Fox News Digital has learned.
In an interview this week with Fox News Digital, Gallant said the country had knowledge that "dozens" of UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas-led massacre. While he declined to give a specific figure, Gallant said it was a far greater number than the 12 employees already acknowledged – and dismissed last month – by the organization.
Calling UNRWA "Hamas with a facelift," the defense chief, who is a member of Israel’s war cabinet and considered the highest ranking official after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that it was time for the world to "dismantle UNRWA" and create an alternative mechanism for providing aid to civilians in the war-stricken Gaza Strip.
"I think the world needs to wake up and address this issue in a different way, while also addressing Gaza’s needs," Gallant told Fox News Digital. "UNRWA is a group of terrorists who receive salaries from many countries – these countries gave money to people who raped, murdered and took people into captivity."
On Oct. 7, thousands of Palestinians, led by terrorists from Hamas’ elite Nukbah force, broke through the border fence from the Gaza Strip into Israel, murdering more than 1,200 people on multiple army bases, as well as in towns, villages, and at a music festival taking place in the area. In addition, some 240 individuals, including babies, children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage back to Gaza. More than 100 people are still being held captive some four months later.
The minister highlighted that many of those murdered or kidnapped held dual Israeli and U.S. citizenship.
Last month, UNRWA, which receives billions of dollars in funding from multiple countries, including the U.S. and the EU, acknowledged previous Israeli revelations that 12 of its workers were directly involved in the murderous rampage.
The organization’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said at the time that he had decided to "immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay."
ISRAEL'S EVACUATION ORDERS COVER MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE GAZA STRIP AS WAR WITH HAMAS CONTINUES
"Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution," Lazzarini said in a statement, acknowledging that the "Israeli authorities had provided UNRWA with information."
Following Lazzarini’s announcement, at least 19 donor countries, including the U.S., froze their funding to the organization. On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 30-19 to advance a bill to permanently cut all U.S. aid to UNRWA in response to the allegations.
There has, however, been some pushback against halting UNRWA’s funding, particularly at this critical stage when the organization, as well as other non-profits working inside Gaza, says a dire humanitarian crisis threatens thousands of people who have been forced from their homes during four months of fighting that has destroyed the healthcare system and other essential infrastructure.
Despite its past and current controversies, UNRWA and its commissioner-general were shortlisted this week for the Nobel Peace Prize.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres appointed a committee to look into what he said were "alleged breaches of U.N. staff regulations, rules and codes of conduct." Led by Catherine Colonna, a former French Foreign Minister, with assistance from three international research organizations, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the committee will begin its work next week and is expected to deliver an interim report sometime in March. A final report is slated to be completed by late April.
IDF VIDEO REVEALS TUNNEL USED TO HIDE HAMAS MEMBERS, HOSTAGES IN TERRORIST GROUP'S STRONGHOLD
A spokeswoman for UNRWA told Fox News Digital that to date "the Israeli government has officially informed UNRWA of ONLY about 12 staff who are allegedly involved in the attack against Israel on Oct. 7."
"That was in a meeting between the Israeli authorities and the UNRWA Commissioner General on 18 January," said the spokeswoman, adding, "No additional information has been shared by the government of Israel directly or indirectly or officially to UNRWA since then."
Israel has long claimed that UNRWA, which was established in 1949 to provide shelter, welfare and health services for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced when Israel was created, perpetuates the decadesold conflict. It points out that Palestinian refugees are the only group afforded their own separate aid agency – while refugees from almost every other global conflict past and present are cared for under the broader umbrella of the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Refugees – and the only nation where refugee status is inherited.
Israel has also highlighted multiple times that UNRWA’s education system allows antisemitic tropes to be taught to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian pupils in its schools throughout Gaza, the West Bank and the Arab countries in which it operates. In January, UN Watch, an NGO that monitors U.N. bias against Israel, published messages celebrating the Oct. 7 massacre that were shared in a social media group made up of some 3,000 UNRWA school teachers.
One of the U.N.’s largest agencies, UNRWA employs more than 30,000 individuals worldwide and operates out of two main headquarters located in Amman, Jordan and Gaza. According to its latest figures, around 5.9 million Palestinian refugees are eligible to receive UNRWA’s services and its annual budget for 2022 was more than $1 billion. Ninety percent of that funding comes from U.N. member states, with the U.S., Germany and the EU being the largest donors.
Speaking to his cabinet members last week, Netanyahu said that the evidence that some of UNRWA’s staff "participated in the atrocities and abductions on October 7… only strengthens what we have known for a long time – UNRWA is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem."
China moves closer to Taliban regime amid search for natural resources
Late last month, the Taliban ambassador to China, Bilal Karimi, presented his credentials to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, making China the first country to accept a Taliban ambassador.
It is a "normal diplomatic arrangement for China to receive the new ambassador," Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters. "China believes that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community. …. We believe that diplomatic recognition of the Afghan government will come naturally as the concerns of various parties are effectively addressed," he said.
Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that he considers the relationship between China and the Taliban as "strictly transactional." He said the groups are at an impasse because the Taliban cannot support China’s ongoing oppression of its Muslim Uyghur population and the Taliban host Uyghur militants from the al Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) despite assuring China that the TIP will not be allowed to operate within Afghanistan
A Taliban spokesperson, the Chinese embassy and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about the status of the countries’ relations or the Taliban’s myriad restrictions against Afghan women.
Jason Howk, director of Global Friends of Afghanistan, told Fox News Digital that China’s actions are a form of "soft recognition" used by several nations that "are legitimizing the Taliban and Haqqani terror regime without … fully recognizing the terrorists as a legitimate government."
Howk says "women and girls in Afghanistan are in the worst spot when it comes to … confer[ring] legitimacy on the terrorists." Without censure from external actors, the Taliban and Haqqani Network are able to use "unlimited violence to shut down all opposition to their regime policies," leaving women with "no recourse for reversing their misery in an open-air prison."
CHINA MOVES IN ON AFGHANISTAN AS RELATIONSHIP WITH TALIBAN GROWS: ‘WE WELCOME CHINESE INVESTMENT’
In response to press questions about the diplomatic development, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he "would let the Chinese government speak to … their relationship and whether they have formally recognized the Taliban," adding that the U.S. has informed Taliban leaders that "we will be looking to see them take a different course of action," especially with regard to Taliban human rights violations against Afghan women and girls.
Fueling concerns about China’s recognition of the Taliban are increased business relations between Kabul and Beijing. In the last year, Afghanistan has attracted multiple hundred-million and multibillion-dollar investments from Chinese companies interested in its reserves of copper, cobalt, gold, iron and lithium that are valued at about $1 trillion. China also agreed in May 2023 to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of its controversial Belt and Road Initiative, to Afghanistan.
Some business ventures are already underway. After signing a $540 million deal with the Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. in January 2023, Sinopec of China increased Afghanistan’s crude oil production by 300% as of December. The Taliban spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum told Bloomberg that China has drilled about 10 wells in Afghanistan and produces about 5,000 barrels of oil per day.
UN ADDS AFGHAN CRISIS TO AGENDA AFTER TALIBAN BANS WOMEN, GIRLS FROM SCHOOL, PUBLIC SPACES, JOBS
Other projects have hit snags. Chinese investors who purchased the contract to mine Afghanistan’s Mes Aynak copper reserves more than a decade ago have not started work. The copper mine is situated amid the ruins of a 1,000- to 2,000-year-old city. Though open pit mining of Mes Aynak is the more economical option for exploiting its resources, doing so would disturb the area’s archeological ruins.
Another possible future link between China and the Taliban could spell trouble for the Taliban's enemies. Reuters reported in September 2023 that the Taliban seek to create a "large-scale camera surveillance network" in Afghan cities, with Chinese company Huwaei providing a "verbal agreement" to support an installment contract.
Huawei products are banned in the U.S. and many Western countries. The Washington Post found that Huawei facial-recognition technology has been used to track China’s Uyghur population. Roggio says the Taliban "would use such technologies to advance its interests with China, including spying on problem elements of Uyghurs sheltering in Afghanistan." The technology also poses a risk to a population of 3,000 Uyghurs who fled to Afghanistan to escape persecution in China, according to The China Project.
For Afghans who already fear the biometric technology that Taliban members are said to be using at some of their checkpoints, the proposed surveillance network is likely to present new concerns.
Whether or not China officially recognizes the Taliban, its growing relationship with Afghanistan’s ruling party is "a bitter pill to swallow" for Mariam Solaimankhil, a parliamentarian from the former Afghan government. Solaimankhil told Fox News Digital that she feels the Chinese are "telling [Afghan women that] our struggles and pleas for freedom are worth less than political and economic gains. The message is loud and clear: Afghan women’s rights are up for sale, and the Chinese are all too ready to make a deal."
Indian town sets curfew after mosque clashes, police ordered to shoot violators
Authorities in a northern Indian town imposed an indefinite curfew and ordered police to shoot violators after clashes over the construction of a Muslim seminary and a mosque left at least five people dead and more than 150 injured, officials said Friday.
The violence Thursday also led authorities to shut down internet services and schools in Haldwani, Uttarakhand state government official Chief Radha Raturi said.
The situation was brought under control with nearly 4,000 police officers rushing to the area, said police officer A.P. Anshuman. He said police were ordered to shoot protesters violating the curfew.
MILITANTS IN INDIAN-CONTROLLED KASHMIR OPEN FIRE ON PUNJABI WORKERS, KILLING 1
On Thursday, thousands of protesters tried to block government officials and police who arrived to demolish the seminary and mosque following a court order that the structures were being built on government land without local authorization, Anshuman said.
As violence escalated, police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protesters using petrol bombs and stones to attack a police station and set several vehicles on fire, Anshuman said.
State police chief Abhinav Kumar said five people died in the violence. He did not give details but said no fresh violence was reported on Friday.
Government administrator Vandana Singh Chauhan over 150 police officers were injured and several people were hospitalized.
Anshuman did not say whether police fire killed the protesters. He also didn't identify the religion of the victims.
Haldwani is about 170 miles northeast of New Delhi.
Muslim groups and rights organizations have accused India’s Hindu-nationalist government of demolishing their homes and businesses in the past. Officials have defended their actions, saying they are only targeting illegal buildings, but critics call it a growing pattern of "bulldozer justice" aimed at punishing activists from minority group.
INDIA LAW ENFORCEMENT CLEAR SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY PIGEON
In a report released this week, Amnesty International condemned several instances of bulldozers razing Muslims’ homes, businesses and places of worship, which it said was often done under the guise of illegal encroachment and without adequate notice.
"The unlawful demolition of Muslim properties by the Indian authorities, peddled as ‘bulldozer justice’ by political leaders and media, is cruel and appalling. Such displacement and dispossession is deeply unjust, unlawful and discriminatory," said Agnès Callamard, the rights group’s secretary general.
The group’s researchers found that between April and June 2022, authorities in five states used demolitions as punishment following incidents of communal violence or protests, and documented at least 128 demolitions during this period.
Critics and opponents have long accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of looking the other way and sometimes enabling hate speech against Muslims, who comprise 14% of India’s 1.4 billion people.
Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party denies the accusations.
Malaysian high court strikes down state's Sharia-based laws
Malaysia's top court on Friday struck down Shariah-based criminal laws in an opposition-run state, saying they encroached on federal authority. Islamists denounced the decision and said it could undermine religious courts across the Muslim-majority nation.
In an 8-1 ruling, the nine-member Federal Court panel invalidated 16 laws created by the Kelantan state government, which imposed punishments rooted in Islam for offenses that included sodomy, sexual harassment, incest, cross-dressing and destroying or defiling places of worship.
The court said that the state could not make Islamic laws on those topics because they are covered by Malaysian federal law.
THAILAND AND MUSLIM SEPARATIST REBELS AGREE TO END CONFLICT, MALAYSIAN FACILITATOR SAYS
Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with both government laws and Shariah — Islamic law based on the Quran and a set of scriptures known as the hadith — covering personal and family matters for Muslims. Ethnic Malays, all of whom are considered Muslim in Malaysian law, make up two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million people. The population also includes large Chinese and Indian minorities.
The case decided Friday was filed in 2022 by two Muslim women from Kelantan, a rural northeastern state whose population is 97% Muslim. The conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS, has governed the state since 1990.
Lawyer Nik Elin Nik Abdul Rashid, who brought the challenge to the state laws with her daughter, said the court’s ruling attested to the Malaysian Constitution as the supreme law of the country.
Hundreds of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party supporters gathered outside the Federal Court calling for the protection of Shariah.
"We are very sad today. This is a black Friday for Islamic Shariah laws," PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan told reporters. "When Shariah laws in one locality become invalid, this means that Shariah laws in other states may now face the same risk."
Malaysian media quoted Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat as saying the ruling does not dispute the position of Islam as the official religion and dismissing claims that the court was trying to curb the powers of Shariah courts.
The PAS is a member of the opposition bloc but is the single biggest party represented in Parliament. It also runs the governments in four of Malaysia’s 13 states.
The party favors tough Islamic legal norms and once sought to implement a criminal code known as "hudud," which prescribes penalties such as amputations for theft and death by stoning for adultery. The federal government blocked the move.
Mohamad Na’im Mokhtar, the government minister in charge of religious affairs, promised that the court ruling woold not affect the position of Shariah courts. He urged Muslims to stay calm and said that ongoing efforts to empower Shariah courts would continue.
The issue could pose a challenge for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is struggling to win Malay support after taking office following a 2022 general election.
Anwar has also disputed PAS's assertion that the court case was an attack on Shariah. He has said the the root issue was about state jurisdiction and that the matter shouldn't be politicized.
Suspect in London chemical attack probably disappeared into Thames River, UK police say
The suspect in a London chemical attack that left a woman hospitalized with life-changing injuries and injured her two young daughters likely has vanished in the River Thames, police said Friday.
Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said closed-circuit television images showed Abdul Ezedi walking on a bridge over the river but never exiting it. Investigators concluded he had probably "gone into the water,'' although they haven't found a body.
A MAN EXTRADITED FROM SCOTLAND CONTINUES TO CLAIM HE'S NOT THE PERSON CHARGED IN 2 UTAH RAPE CASES
"At this time of year, the Thames is very fast flowing, very wide and full of lots of snags,'' Savell told reporters. "It is quite likely that if he has gone in the water, he won’t appear for maybe up to a month, and it’s not beyond possibility that he may never actually surface."
Police launched a nationwide manhunt for Ezedi, 35, after the woman and her daughter were attacked with an alkaline substance in the Clapham area of south London on Jan. 31. Images of Ezedi captured after the attack revealed he suffered significant injuries to the right side of his face.
The woman had previously been in a relationship with him, according to police.
British media reported that Ezedi is an Afghan refugee who was granted asylum even after he was convicted of a sex offense in Britain in 2018. Ezedi’s asylum application was initially rejected, but he was later given permission to remain in the U.K. after claiming that he had converted to Christianity, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
Police said their inquiries continue.
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