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There are a number of reasons that draw travelers to Greece, from the sun-soaked islands to the historically rich mainland. However, one of the best reasons is having the opportunity to savor the extraordinary cuisine that the nation proudly offers. 

Even if a trip to Greece isn't in the cards, you can recreate the experience at home or explore your local Greek restaurant. Here are various delectable Greek dishes worth savoring at least once in your lifetime:

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The Mediterranean diet in Greece reflects a cultural connection to their food. Meals are viewed as a communal experience, bringing people together to share stories and create lasting memories. Local markets are crowded with produce, and the aroma of freshly baked bread emphasizes the importance of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

Characterized by olive oil, fresh vegetables, whole grains and an intake of fish and wine, this diet is not just a way of eating but a way of life in Greece. 

"The Greek Mediterranean diet is not merely a diet, but rather a way of life: it constitutes a set of skills, knowledge and practices, promoting social interaction, since communal meals are the cornerstone of social customs and festive events," reads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. 

No Greek dining experience is complete without indulging in mezes, a selection of small dishes meant for sharing. Tzatziki, a yogurt and cucumber dip, and Taramasalata, a creamy fish roe spread, are just the beginning. 

GREEK ISLAND HOLDS SECRET TO LONGER LIFE?

The variety within mezes reflects the country's regional diversity, with each region contributing its own unique twists to these shared dishes. Whether enjoyed in a seaside taverna with the sound of waves as a backdrop or in a cozy family-owned restaurant tucked away in a charming alley, the experience of mezes goes beyond the culinary – it's a celebration of togetherness. 

The iconic souvlaki and gyro, cherished as typical Greek street foods, are the very essence of Greek comfort food. Whether wrapped in warm pita bread or skewered and grilled to perfection, these dishes will hit the spot every time. 

WHERE DID THE GYRO COME FROM?

The interplay of meats, typically lamb, chicken or pork, with a medley of fresh tomatoes, crisp onions and a generous dollop of velvety tzatziki, creates delicious Mediterranean flavors in every bite.

Visitors can enjoy this Greek food on the streets of Athens or in a quaint village square. These beloved street foods are a testament to the Greeks' mastery of simple yet exquisite cuisine. 

With its extensive coastline, Greece offers a number of seafood delights:

TOURISM PICKS UP IN GREECE, BUT WITHOUT THE GREEKS

Kakavia is typically made with a variety of fish, shellfish and other seafood, combined with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and potatoes. The soup is seasoned with herbs and spices, creating a savory and aromatic dish.

Visitors can travel to coastal tavernas for a seafood feast that reflects the freshness and simplicity of Greek coastal life. 

1. Crete

Crete is known for its high-quality, tender lamb, and it's prepared in various ways to showcase its natural taste. Grilled lamb chops, slow-cooked stews and roasted lamb with aromatic herbs are some of the popular lamb dishes you might encounter on the island.

2. Thessaloniki

Bougatsa is a traditional Greek pastry that originated in the city of Thessaloniki. It is a type of phyllo dough pastry that can be either sweet or savory. The most common types are sweet bougatsa with custard filling or sweet cream, and savory bougatsa with cheese or minced meat filling.

MIKE EMANUEL SHARES A TRADITIONAL GREEK FAMILY FAVORITE 

3. Santorini

Domatokeftedes are a Greek dish hailing from the beautiful island of Santorini. These are tomato fritters that showcase the island's rich agricultural produce, particularly its vibrant and flavorful tomatoes. The dish perfectly captures the essence of the Aegean sun-soaked harvest, offering a burst of Mediterranean flavors.

Greek desserts are a sweet celebration of tradition and local ingredients. Sink your teeth into the luscious layers of baklava, a decadent pastry crafted from delicate phyllo dough and an irresistible medley of nuts. For a taste of golden perfection, savor loukoumades, delectable fried dough orbs generously drizzled with golden honey. 

Conclude your culinary journey with Greek spoon sweets, featuring fruits preserved in rich, syrupy perfection — a sweet note to end your Greek dining experience.

Sip the rich narratives of Greece's selection of wines, from the robust reds hailing from Nemea to the crisp Assyrtiko whites dancing on the vineyards of Santorini.

Each glass captures the essence of Greek winemaking. Elevate your toast with the anise-flavored allure of ouzo or the robust character of tsipouro, traditional spirits that embody the conviviality woven into the fabric of Greek dining.

From Greek mezes to seafood, regional specialties to sweet endings, every bite is a celebration of tradition and a testament to the Greek passion for life, food, and shared moments around the table.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces conducted a self-defense strike against Houthi forces early Sunday morning.

In a statement published on X Sunday evening, CENTCOM explained that American forces "struck four anti-ship cruise missiles, all of which were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea."

"U.S. forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM's statement read.

"These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels."

US RETALIATORY STRIKES WILL PROVE ‘INEFFECTIVE’: KIRK LIPPOLD

Earlier on Sunday, CENTCOM published video showing U.S. forces supporting joint strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi militants on Saturday.

The video showed rockets launching from the ships in pitch-black darkness. The efforts were part of joint strikes against the Houthis, which included support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Bahrain, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

CENTCOM said that the Saturday strikes were launched from the USS Carney, the USS Gravely and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

US STRIKES HOUTHI ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILE INSIDE YEMEN, OFFICIAL SAYS

Since the Israel-Hamas war escalated in the fall, Houthis have routinely attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

On Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the recent counter-strikes are aimed to "degrade the capabilities" of the Houthis.

"These strikes are intended to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to conduct their reckless and destabilizing attacks against U.S. and international vessels lawfully transiting the Red Sea," Austin said in a statement on Saturday.

"This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels," he added. 

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

Saudi Arabia may be willing to accept a non-binding commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state in its push to get a defense pact with the United States ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Saudi Arabia had been heading toward normalizing relations with Israel and recognizing the country for the first time thanks to U.S.-led diplomacy. But those efforts were shelved in October after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent counter-offensive that enraged the Arab world.  

Still, Saudi Arabia is increasingly keen to shore up its security and ward off threats from rival Iran, so the kingdom can forge ahead with its ambitious plan to transform its economy and attract huge foreign investment, two regional sources said.

Riyadh’s diplomatic push comes amid growing concerns over the military reach of Iran, which has proxies in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. 

To create some wiggle room in talks about recognizing Israel and to get the U.S. pact back on track, Saudi officials have told their U.S. counterparts that Riyadh would not insist Israel take concrete steps to create a Palestinian state and would instead accept a political commitment to a two-state solution, two senior regional sources told Reuters.

SAUDI ARABIA OPENS ITS FIRST LIQUOR STORE IN OVER 70 YEARS AS KINGDOM FURTHER LIBERALIZES

Such a major regional deal, widely seen as a long shot even before the Israel-Hamas war, would still face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold.

Another big hurdle to these plans is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has outright rejected any U.S. and Arab aspirations for a Palestinian state once the Gaza war is over.

A potential pact giving the world's biggest oil exporter U.S. military protection in exchange for normalization with Israel would reshape the Middle East by uniting two long-time foes and binding Riyadh to Washington at a time when China is making inroads in the region.

A normalization deal would also bolster Israel's defenses against arch-rival Iran and give U.S. President Joe Biden a diplomatic victory to vaunt ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The Saudi officials have privately urged Washington to press Israel to end the Gaza war and commit to a "political horizon" for a Palestinian state, saying Riyadh would then normalize relations and help fund Gaza's reconstruction, one of the regional sources said.

Reuters contributed to this report.  

Iranian officials warned the U.S. on Sunday about possibly targeting two cargo ships in the Middle East that are suspected of being spy ships for the country.

The warning was issued after forces from the U.S. and U.K. launched an airstrike offensive against Houthi rebels located in Yemen.

The Associated Press reported that the statement from Iran referred to the Behshad and Saviz ships, which are both registered commercial cargo ships with a company based in Tehran, which the U.S. Treasury sanctioned as a front for the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

The statement also appeared to show Tehran’s increasing uneasiness with the U.S. strike in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, which targeted militias backed by the Islamic Republic.

IRAN VOWS TO ‘DECISIVELY RESPOND’ TO ANY US ATTACKS: 'NO THREAT WILL BE LEFT UNANSWERED

The attacks ordered by President Biden were in response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers and the wounding of dozens of others in Jordan. Attacks on U.S. troops and facilities in the Middle East have also increased since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip intensified after Hamas’ invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The U.S. continues to claim it is not looking for a war in the Middle East and is there to ensure the war between Hamas and Israel does not spread across the region.

U.S. and coalition forces launched more than two dozen strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Saturday, targeting 13 locations with deeply buried storage facilities, missile systems, launchers, air defense systems and radars, according to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

US, COALITION FORCES, LAUNCH MULTIPLE STRIKES AGAINST IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS IN YEMEN

After the attacks, the Houthis did not provide an assessment of the damage, though they issued a statement.

"These attacks will not discourage Yemeni forces and the nation from maintaining their support for Palestinians in the face of Zionist occupation and crimes," Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said. "The aggressors’ airstrikes will not go unanswered."

The Behshad and Saviz are suspected of being spy ships for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as both ships have loitered in the Red Sea off Yemen for years.

US RETALIATORY STRIKES WILL PROVE ‘INEFFECTIVE’: KIRK LIPPOLD

Saudi Arabia described the Saviz in 2017 as a maritime base and weapons transfer point for the Revolutionary Guard. The ship was staffed by men in military fatigues, and Saudi-owned television stations showed the ship with what looked to be a machine bolted to the deck of the ship and covered.

Iran’s regular army issued a statement in a video on Sunday, which, according to The Associated Press, has a narrator describing the two vessels as "floating armories."

The narrator also reportedly describes the Behshad as an aid for countering piracy in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," though Iran is not known to have been part of any campaigns recently against Somali piracy in the region, at least publicly.

US STRIKES HOUTHI ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILE INSIDE YEMEN, OFFICIAL SAYS

Before the U.S. launched its attacks, the Behshad moved south into the Gulf of Aden, and it is now docked in Djibouti in East Africa, near a Chinese Military base.

The video statement ends with images of U.S. warships, an American flag and a warning.

"Those engaging in terrorist activities against Behshad, or similar vessels jeopardize international maritime routes, security and assume global responsibility for potential future international risks," the video stated.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital on the matter.

The Saviz is reportedly in the Indian Ocean near the location where the U.S. claims Iranian drone attacks have targeted ships.

The same ship, in 2021, had a hole blown through its hull by a possible mine explosion in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Israel. The ship ultimately returned to its port.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Salvadorans are voting in an election Sunday that is widely expected to hand Nayib Bukele, the self-described "world's coolest dictator," a second term as president. 

El Salvador's constitution prohibits reelection, but his supporters have largely shrugged off such concerns. Nor has his popularity been hindered by allegations of chipping away at El Salvador’s system of checks and balances while tackling gang violence. 

Bukele's administration has arrested more than 76,000 people in a nearly two-year crackdown on gangs. Though crime has plummeted, and Salvadorans have retaken their neighborhoods, the massive arrests have been criticized for a lack of due process.

El Salvador's traditional parties from the left and right that created the vacuum Bukele first filled in 2019 remain in shambles. Presidential candidates for the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) are polling in the low single digits.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER ILHAN OMAR IN SPAT WITH PRESIDENT OF FORMER ‘MURDER CAPITAL’ AHEAD OF HIS RE-ELECTION

Bukele has gained fame for his brutal crackdown on gangs, in which more than 1% of the country's population has been arrested. 

While his administration is accused of committing widespread human rights abuses, violence has also plummeted, in a country known just a few years ago as one of the most dangerous in the world.

Because of this, many voters have largely overlooked concerns that Bukele has taken undemocratic steps to concentrate power. Since Bukele began his crackdown, that fear has dissipated. 

Bukele made no public campaign appearances in the run-up to Sunday’s vote. Instead, he drove home the message – via social media and television ads – that the crackdown on gangs would be in jeopardy if his New Ideas party didn’t win. 

"The opposition will be able to achieve its true and only plan, to free the gang members and use them to return to power," he said.

Houthi rebels vowed "escalation" in reaction to U.S. and U.K. strikes launched in Yemen on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Iran-backed group vowed to continue its campaign of disrupting regional trade "no matter the sacrifices it costs us." The U.S. and U.K. launched a series of attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen this weekend in reaction to a lethal drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan last week.

"The US-British coalition’s bombing of a number of Yemeni provinces will not change our position, and we affirm that our military operations against Israel will continue until the crimes of genocide in Gaza are stopped and the siege on its residents is lifted, no matter the sacrifices it costs us," Houthi spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Our war is moral, and if we had not intervened to support the oppressed in Gaza, humanity would not have existed among humans. The American-British aggression against Yemen will not go unanswered, and we will meet escalation with escalation," he added.

US TAKES ‘SELF-DEFENSE’ STRIKE AGAINST HOUTHI PROJECTILES POISED TO LAUNCH AT COMMERCIAL SHIP IN RED SEA

Tensions in the region have skyrocketed since three U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack in Jordan. President Biden vowed an ongoing response, targeting Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also refused to rule out the possibility of carrying out strikes within Iran in the near future on Sunday.

ISRAEL TO BAN REBUILDING OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN GAZA FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM BIDEN ADMIN

"The president has approached this with a straightforward principle, which is that the United States will step up and respond when our forces are attacked. And the United States also is not looking for a wider war in the Middle East. We are not looking to take the United States to war. So we are going to continue to pursue a policy that goes down both of those lines simultaneously, that responds with force and clarity, as we did on Friday night, but also that continues to hew to an approach that does not get the United States pulled into a war, that we have seen too frequently in the Middle East," Sullivan told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." 

"Inside Iran? Would you rule that out at this point?" Bash asked. 

 "Look, sitting on a national TV program, I'm not going to rule in and rule out any activity anywhere. What I am going to say is that the president will do what he thinks needs to be done and again, reinforce the point that he's going to defend our forces, and also that he is not looking to get into a war," Sullivan said.

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY CALLS FOR UNRWA COMMISSIONER TO RESIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS ITS WORKERS ASSISTED HAMAS

Meanwhile, tensions between Israel and Hezbollah threaten to open another front in Israel's current war against Hamas. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group in Lebanon, has launched hundreds of missiles across Israel's northern border since Oct. 7, and Israeli military officials warned Sunday that they would not hesitate to invade.

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"We do not choose war as our first priority, but we are certainly prepared," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said. "We will continue to act wherever Hezbollah is present, we will continue to act wherever it is required in the Middle East. What is true for Lebanon is true for Syria, and is true for other more distant places."

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report

A U.K. lawmaker is pushing legislation that would allow transgender people to have their legally recognized gender changed to match their gender identity after their death.

Labor Party MP Charlotte Nichols called for Britain's Gender Recognition Act of 2004 to be amended to allow the posthumous changes to gender in late January.

"My question follows on from a recent petition supported by many of my constituents, regarding amending the Gender Recognition Act," Nichols told The Telegraph in an interview.

"The genesis of the petition was the murder of my constituent Brianna Ghey, whose life was brutally cut short before she was old enough to have formal legal recognition of who she was and how she will be remembered by her family, friends and our community," she added.

PHILADELPHIA TEEN MURDER SUSPECT SEEN ON NEW VIDEO AFTER ESCAPE FROM CUSTODY

"At that time, the Government said they did not believe any reforms were necessary, but it is something I continue to have raised with me by my constituents and will continue to raise with the Government accordingly so that this can be an option available to bereaved families should they so wish," she said.

Ghey was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in the head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington on Feb. 11, 2023. Police do not believe the incident was a hate crime, however.

16-YEAR-OLDS CHARGED WITH MURDER IN FATAL STABBING OF TIKTOK TEEN BRIANNA GHEY

The culprits, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, committed the crime for "enjoyment" and a "thirst for killing," police said.

The defendants denied killing Brianna and blamed each other for the fatal stabbing. It is not known which one or if both wielded the knife. Neither had been in trouble with police before. The two were found guilty by a jury last month following a four-week trial.

BRITISH DEFENSE CHIEF WARNS WAR POSSIBLE WITHIN 5 YEARS WITH RIVALS CHINA, RUSSIA, IRAN: ‘INFLECTION POINT’

The trial heard that the defendants were intelligent and had a fascination with violence, torture and serial killers. 

The pair had planned the attack for weeks, detailed in a handwritten plan and phone messages found by detectives. They also had discussed killing others, which prompted police early in the investigation to rule out transphobia as a motive behind the murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C., met last week in part to find ways to help promote religious freedom on social media platforms and at the same time stop the spread of hate and disinformation. 

Paolo Carozza, who sits on the Meta Oversight Board and conference speaker, told Fox News Digital he was pleased to see Meta’s partnership and presence at the IRF Summit.

"What the Oversight Board is trying to do is, is essentially hold but accountable to, appropriate standards of freedom of expression in how they operate their content… I think it was really important for them to be there because… freedom of religion is so deeply affected by how social media is moderated and… what is present and what's not on the platforms," he said.

Lou Ann Sabatier, Sabatier Consulting principal and co-founder of FoRB Women’s Alliance, says it's a double-edged sword when it comes to international religious freedom.

"There are a lot of great things happening… Connectivity between closed communities that are trying to live out their faith in some way. Secondly, raising awareness," pointing to the Rohingya in Burma. "When the genocide started happening in Burma, when the coup happened and [Burma]… people think that's not just political, that also had religious overtones for the Muslim [population]. And what they were doing is using social media to promote that this was happening and warn each other and protect each other," Sabatier said.

At the same time, she added, "The harmful practices are everything from primarily on social media, their use for hate speech, or some kind of divisiveness or disinformation campaigns… that often leads to offline behavior… whether it's mob violence, somebody being arrested, somebody being [surveilled]…human rights online are just as important as they are offline."

SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES UNPREPARED FOR HAMAS 'HIJACKING' THEIR PLATFORMS, TECH EXPERT SAYS

The Hamas terrorist group-aligned Gaza Now had more than 4.9 million followers on Facebook before it was banned in October 2023. Gaza Now also had more than 800,000 collective followers across other social media sites before many of those accounts were also removed, according to the New York Times. 

Carozza says Meta overcame a crossroads with postings of the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, relating to the spread of terrorism and awareness of the events.

"Meta concerns about things like graphic violence or the glorification of terrorism changed their algorithms to be more restrictive. And what we found is…that really resulted in a hugely disproportionate removal of legitimate information about what was going on in the conflict and what had happened to the hostages. so, you know, we ruled in those cases that they had to allow a lot of content back on the platform," he said.

'I WILL BE HAUNTED FOREVER’: ISRAEL’S HORRIFIC VIDEO OF HAMAS ATROCITIES LEAVES VIEWERS SHOCKED AND SICKENED

Carozza added, "We all recognize that there needs to be restrictive standards with regard to bad content. A lot of times, more often than not, we've, sort of sided on in favor of restoring content, taking down or protecting content on it because, freedom of expression in these contexts is so important in order to understand and respond to what's going on."

North Korea, China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Cuba, Qatar and Syria are listed as countries that ban or heavily restrict social media, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

"I think we have to pay special attention to the roles that governments and authoritarian regimes are doing … they're trying to use internet shutdowns or impose certain standards on tech companies that, essentially allow them to use the platforms as instruments of monitoring and, surveillance and persecution of political and religious opposition," Carozza said.

He added, "We [need to] be very vigilant about the links between governments and platforms. And try to strive for a whole lot of transparency about that so that people are aware so that they can respond, they can criticize so that civil society can organize and healthy democratic governments can respond appropriately."

CHINA, RUSSIA BEHIND LARGEST CROSS-PLATFORM MISINFORMATION OPERATION, META REPORT FINDS

Sabatier called out the lack of collaboration as a main problem when it comes to the negative impacts and lack of promotion of social media and religious freedom.

"There's groups devoted to just studying hate speech… There's some NGOs, but people are writing books. But guess what… they’re not collaborating. How does that information travel out of that bubble of academia or tech companies and get over into religious freedom or into government officials?" Sabatier said.

The solution, she says, is "we need a task force for people working and that information sharing out, it doesn’t bridge over into communities, [we need to] bridge it into faith leaders on the ground. They're the most trusted people in any community."

The Israeli military offered a stark warning to Hezbollah and Iran on Saturday as the war in Gaza was just days away from completing its fourth month.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari addressed Hezbollah, saying that Israel will be "ready to attack immediately" if provoked, but said they do not wish for outright war.

"We do not choose war as our first priority, but we are certainly prepared," Hagari said."We will continue to act wherever Hezbollah is present, we will continue to act wherever it is required in the Middle East. What is true for Lebanon is true for Syria, and is true for other more distant places."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a similar warning this weekend, saying that even if Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas, the IDF would not hesitate to strike Hezbollah if necessary.

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY CALLS FOR UNRWA COMMISSIONER TO RESIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS ITS WORKERS ASSISTED HAMAS

Israel will mark four months since it began its retaliatory campaign against Hamas later this week. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that they expect the war to continue for "many more months."

ISRAEL TO BAN REBUILDING OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN GAZA FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM BIDEN ADMIN

An Israeli intelligence official told reporters last week that Israel remains far away from achieving its stated goals of capturing Hamas' leaders and ammunition reserves and rendering Hamas military bases and tunnels inoperative.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remains at large, though he is believed to be somewhere within the network of tunnels beneath Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza.

BIDEN SAYS HE'S DECIDED ON RESPONSE TO IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIA ATTACK THAT KILLED 3 US SOLDIERS IN JORDAN

Israel's warning this weekend comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran threaten to boil over. Iran-backed terrorist groups have caused chaos throughout the Middle East since Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, going so far as to kill 3 U.S. soldiers last week.

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President Biden's administration has vowed a response, and Iran has likewise vowed to "decisively" respond to any U.S. attacks. U.S. Central Command said Friday that forces conducted airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Forest fires in central Chile killed at least 51 people on Saturday as emergency crews attempt to put out flames threatening urban areas.

The death toll is expected to continue to rise, according to officials. Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said information suggests the region is "going to reach much higher figures" in the coming hours. Tohá said 92 forest fires were burning in the center and south of the country.

Black smoke filled the sky over much of the Valparaíso region as firefighters using helicopters and trucks worked to put out the fires. The deadliest of the fires were in the Valparaíso region, where thousands of people were urged to evacuate their homes. Tohá said four hospitals and three nursing homes in the Valparaíso region had to be evacuated.

Three shelters were set up in the Valparaíso region while 19 helicopters and more than 450 firefighters were brought into the area to help battle the fires, Tohá said.

FIRE CAUSED BY GAS EXPLOSION KILLS 3, INJURES MORE THAN 270 IN KENYA

Areas around the coastal tourist city of Viña del Mar were some of the hardest hit by the fires, and rescue teams were struggling to reach all the affected areas, Chilean officials said. The fires were burning on mountains that are hard to reach, including neighborhoods built on the edge of Viña del Mar.

In Villa Independencia, a hillside neighborhood on the eastern edge of Viña del Mar, several blocks of homes and businesses were destroyed. Burned cars with broken windows were seen on the streets, which were covered in ash.

"The condition of Valparaiso is the most delicate," Tohá said, noting that this is the country's worst disaster since a 2010 earthquake killed about 500 people.

President Gabriel Boric told the nation in a televised address that the situation "is really very difficult."

"If you are told to evacuate don't hesitate to do it," he said. "The fires are advancing fast and climatic conditions have made them difficult to control. There are high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity."

At least 1,100 homes were destroyed in the fires, officials said.

The fire also destroyed two bus terminals and officials reported power blackouts as a result of the fire.

Wildfires are not uncommon in Chile in the summer months. During a record heat wave last year, more than 25 people died and more than 400,000 hectares, or 990,000 acres, were affected.

"The area with fires today is much smaller than last year, [but] at this time the number of hectares affected is multiplying very rapidly," Tohá said.

AT LEAST 39 DEAD AFTER FIRE IN CHINA'S JIANGXI PROVINCE, OFFICIALS SAY

Between Friday and Saturday, the area affected by the wildfires increased to 43,000 hectares, or 110,000 acres, from 30,000 hectares.

Toha said the greatest concern was that some of the active fires were developing very close to urban areas "with the very high potential to affect people, homes and facilities."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE — British Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps lamented the delicate state of the international security landscape as more voters than ever head to the polls in a potentially defining year for the world. 

"I just think that we need to wake up to the risks that exist," Shapps said. "So, we've lived in a kind of a post-Cold War era in which we've taken the peace dividend. Fine. But you can't carry on taking that same peace dividend whilst at the same time you've got a very aggressive Russia right now. You see what Iran are doing and how they're increasing the tensions in the Middle East.

"You've got a very assertive North Korea with nuclear weapons," he added. "What happens when China is looking at all of this to see how the West responds? So, it seems obvious to me that what we need to do is make sure that we do not carry on trying to take a peace dividend that no longer exists."

Shapps warned in his first major speech as defense minister the world might see conflict between the West and rival nations, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran within the next five years, as tensions continue to ramp up in various regions, particularly and most recently the Middle East. 

BRITISH DEFENSE CHIEF WARNS WAR POSSIBLE WITHIN 5 YEARS WITH RIVALS CHINA, RUSSIA, IRAN: ‘INFLECTION POINT’

But Shapps noted that the state of the world remains in flux as more voters than ever head to the polls in a rare alignment of elections in dozens of major countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, the European Union, India, Mexico, Pakistan and many others. 

Taiwan kicked off the election year with a historic third consecutive term for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, beating China’s implied favorite, the Kuomintang party. The shocks started the year before with an upset victory for Holland’s Geert Wilders, who will become prime minister if he is able to form a cabinet. 

"It's obviously critical that we make sure that the world order in which billions of people actually get a good vote this year, 2024, 2 billion people will go and vote is the greatest Democratic year in history in that sense," Shapps said in an interview before the U.S. initiated retaliatory airstrikes in the Middle East. 

MIKE POMPEO, EX-MILITARY OFFICIALS PROVIDE CAUTIOUS ASSESSMENT OF US AIRSTRIKES ON IRAN PROXIES

The potential to reshape the political balance of the majority of big players on the international scene will set the direction for many issues, including support for Ukraine in the third year of Russia’s invasion, China’s regional aggression and, most pressing, the escalation of violence in the Middle East. 

The U.S. initiated airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq following an attack in Jordan that killed three American service members. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revealed the strikes hit 85 targets at six locations in the first wave. 

In his interview with Fox News Digital, Shapps offered his condolences for the U.S. deaths and stressed that the U.K. wants to see "restraint" from Iran and de-escalation. He cited the ongoing attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the attacks against American military personnel and assets as unacceptable actions Tehran has continued to endorse. 

"You cannot go about infringing on international waterways, freedom of navigation, and we call on Iran to step in there, but also with these militant groups," Shapps said, noting that his stance follows continued joint statements between Washington, London and their allies. 

"It is in no one’s interest to see this grow as a regional conflict. So, of course, we are calling on everyone to show restraint.

4 CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED FOR ALLEGEDLY SMUGGLING ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FROM US TO IRAN

"I want to see Lebanese Hezbollah stop," he added. "I want to see these Iran-backed militant groups stop, and, of course, most of all, we want to see an end to the conflict in Israel and Gaza as well, for which we need a bunch of preconditions like the hostages released, for example." 

Shapps reiterated the British position seeking a two-state solution, which necessitates recognition of a Palestinian state, an option the Biden administration has reportedly started to explore as the president plans for the aftermath of the conflict. 

"We’re going to have recognition of a Palestinian state, and that requires security guarantees to Israel as well, so that has to be the end state," Shapps explained. 

"I don’t think we could jump to that conclusion," he warned. "We have to see a bunch of things happening. First, a large number of agreements would need to go in place. That’s where we want to end up getting. … Of course, it’s said, much harder to do, but a good start would be for those hostages to be released and a sustainable cease-fire off the back of that." 

TOP REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN FOR REPLACING JOHN KERRY WITH JOHN PODESTA, WHO CALLED CCP OFFICIAL ‘FRIEND’

Shapps highlighted 2024 as a pivotal year not just for the upcoming elections but the fragile state of conflicts such as Ukraine’s defense against Russia. He suspected that Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to play "the long game" and wait out the West, hoping it will "get bored." 

"Will we turn our backs? Perhaps because of what’s happening in the Middle East … maybe just because he thinks we won’t have the stomach to support Ukraine until the end. So, I think 2024 is a really pivotal year," he said. 

"We have to essentially make the conscious decision. Are we in this for Ukraine to establish total sovereignty across all of Ukraine … or are we just going to say it’s OK for a democratic neighbor to be invaded with all that read across to China and others will be looking at this," he argued.

"North Korea, Iran and the situation we’re seeing right now in the Middle East … China will draw their own conclusions when they’re thinking about Taiwan and elsewhere," Shapps stressed. "We must wake up to the real threat that is posed, which is not just about Russia or Putin, but is about the entire world order." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

JERUSALEM — President Biden slapped sanctions on four Israeli settlers Thursday for violently targeting Palestinians in the disputed West Bank territory.  

The White House’s unprecedented executive order to penalize Israelis while the Jewish state wages a war against the Palestinian Hamas terrorist movement in Gaza and Palestinian terrorist cells in the West Bank sparked intense anger among supporters of the Middle East’s only democracy.   

"While I have no tolerance for violence, Biden’s selection of four Israeli Jews for sanctions, especially when Palestinian violence is far more prevalent and lethal, is just pure politics," David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a key architect of peace between Arab nations and Israel, told Fox News Digital. 

"Meanwhile, Biden is permitting hundreds of people on the Terror Watch List to enter the USA illegally and refuses to enforce sanctions on Iran. This order represents a huge hit to the prestige of the presidency. No one is falling for it."

ISRAELI FORCES DESTROY HAMAS TUNNEL SYSTEM BUILT UNDER CEMETERY, IDF SAYS 

Friedman, who served under President Trump, further excoriated Biden for singling out Israeli Jews for sanctions while Palestinian violence flourishes in the West Bank, according to the envoy and other experts. 

"The order targets anyone acting against peace and stability. On that basis, Biden must sanction all members of the Palestinian Authority, which pays terrorists to kill Jews. But we know he won’t. He’ll roll out the red carpet for them." 

Friedman’s comment about Biden playing "pure politics" appears to be a reference to Biden’s efforts to court Arab-American votes in the state of Michigan. Biden’s punitive measures against the four Israelis coincided with a campaign visit Thursday to Michigan, the state with the largest Arab-American community, in a push to shore up falling support among many community members who object to Israel’s war to root out Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.   

Biden's executive order stated that it is aimed at a "threat posed by the situation in the West Bank, including, in particular, high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction.  Such actions constitute a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region and undermine the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States." 

The executive order also noted: "I find that these actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I have declared a national emergency to deal with that threat." 

The four Israelis sanctioned are David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman and Yinon Levi. The Biden administration’s punitive action has also triggered outrage because Israel’s judiciary has either taken legal action against the Israelis or is in the process of litigating claims against the extremists. 

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office on X regarding the executive order said, "The overwhelming majority of residents in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting – as conscripts and reservists – to defend Israel."

It concluded by stating that, "Israel acts against all Israelis who break the law, everywhere; therefore, exceptional measures are unnecessary." 

Israel sentenced Chasdai in 2016 to six months in jail for planning to attack a Palestinian village. Israel’s Supreme Court is hearing a case against Levi for vandalizing Palestinian olive trees and water wells. Tanjil is facing charges for assaulting an Israeli activist in 2021. 

Shalom Zicherman faces an indictment from 2022 for attacking left-wing Israeli activists near the ancient city of Hebron. 

Biden’s sanctions bar the four men from commerce with Americans in the U.S. and travel to the U.S.  

ISRAEL TO BAN REBUILDING OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN GAZA FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM BIDEN ADMIN 

"Calling Israelis ‘settlers’ is an ahistorical slur," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Judea and Samaria are the rightful homeland of the Jewish people. For Biden to target these Israelis — especially as he shows weakness and deference to Iran — is a reckless policy." 

Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria prefer the term residents over "settlers" because of the connotation of invasion applied to settlers. From the legal perspective of Israel’s government, the region of Judea and Samaria is disputed territory.  

Most of the international community claims the territory is being occupied by the Israeli government. Israel seized Judea and Samaria in response to a self-defense war carried out by multiple Arab nations against the existence of the Jewish state in 1967. 

Pompeo, who like Friedman served during the Trump administration, recently appeared in a documentary with the former ambassador titled "Route 60: The Biblical Highway." The film covers major Christian and Jewish biblical sites along Route 60 in the Holy Land. 

JUDGE LETS LAWSUIT CLAIMING BIDEN ADMIN KNEW US FUNDS WERE AIDING PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS MOVE FORWARD 

Yisrael Medad, who lives in Shiloh in Samaria, told Fox News Digital, "I think the executive order does a disservice to the cause of justice. 

"There are many more Arab residents of the same territory that deserve the restrictions more, including members of the Palestinian Authority governing bodies. Actually, Mr. Biden should push applying the terms of the Taylor Force Act first." 

Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, named after West Point graduate Taylor Force, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. A Palestinian terrorist stabbed Force in 2016. The act seeks to stop economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until it pulls the plug on its monetary subsidy system to Palestinians convicted of terrorism and their family members. The program has earned the infamous name "Pay to Slay."  

WITNESS TO TERRORISM: HOW HAMAS RADICALIZED PALESTINIANS FOR THEIR GENOCIDAL ATTACK ON ISRAEL 

When asked about what is motivating Biden to punish Israelis living in settlements, Medad, who has written extensively about the area, said, "He is doing so to placate Mahmoud Abbas (the president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank), who Israel refuses to see a part of the post-Gaza War arrangements as well as help out his election campaign, which is threatened by pro-Palestine activists quite openly." 

He argued the violence in the region is "Terrorist killings of Jews, official incitement to terror by the Palestinian Authority and the like." 

In a recent opinion article for the Jerusalem Post, Medad disputed U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who said Dec. 6 that there has been "unprecedented levels of violence by Israeli extremist settlers targeting Palestinians and their property." 

According to Medad, Israeli media reported in early November that, when contrasted with 2022, "there has been an overall almost 50% decrease in incidents in which Jews were engaged in violent offenses in Judea and Samaria." Some half a million Israelis and an estimated three million Palestinians live in the West Bank. 

When asked about Ambassador Friedman’s criticism, the U.S. State Department referred a Fox News Digital press query to spokesman Miller’s press briefing Thursday.

"The president and the secretary have both raised our concerns with their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts about the level of violence in the West Bank and stressed that Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians and hold accountable those responsible for it," Miller said during Thursday's State Department briefing. 

Miller also noted that, "We continue to make clear that expectation to the government of Israel, and as we do, the United States will also continue to take actions to advance the safety, security and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike."

U.S. and coalition forces launched more than two dozen strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the Department of Defense said Saturday. 

The strikes targeted 13 locations with deeply buried storage facilities, missile systems, launchers, air defense systems and radars, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. 

"These strikes are intended to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to conduct their reckless and destabilizing attacks against U.S. and international vessels lawfully transiting the Red Sea," Austin said in a statement. 

"This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels."

US RETALIATORY STRIKES WILL PROVE ‘INEFFECTIVE’: KIRK LIPPOLD

The strikes were conducted with support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The Biden administration ordered the launch of self-defense strikes Saturday evening against six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea.

The cruise missiles were identified in parts of Yemen and were determined to present an imminent threat to U.S. Naval vessels and merchant ships in the region, U.S. Central Command said. 

The U.S. carried out another self-defense strike Thursday, targeting multiple projectiles that Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were preparing to launch. The U.S. has conducted more than 12 strikes against the Houthis since Jan. 11. 

The terrorist fighters have upended the global shipping industry with frequent attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The attacks are retaliation for Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, U.S. forces launched a series of strikes at various periods throughout the day against Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles. 

US STRIKES HOUTHI ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILE INSIDE YEMEN, OFFICIAL SAYS

The latest strikes come just days after three U.S. Army soldiers were killed in Jordan. The Biden administration has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah. 

Earlier this month, two U.S. Navy SEALs went missing during a mission in the Red Sea and have since been declared dead. 

Previous U.S. strikes have not deterred attacks against U.S. forces. Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Iranian-backed militant groups have struck U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria at least 166 times with rockets, missiles and one-way attack drones, drawing about a half-dozen U.S. counterstrikes on militant facilities in both countries. 

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz, contributed to this report. 

El Salvador voters stand poised to re-elect their current president and self-styled "world’s coolest dictator" Nayib Bukele in a landslide victory after he rehabilitated his country’s crime-ridden reputation.

"The opposition will be able to achieve its true and only plan, to free the gang members and use them to return to power," Bukele warned in a video that quickly spread across social media and news outlets in El Salvador. 

Bukele’s controversial tenure as leader of the Central American country looks set to continue, thanks to a revamp of the constitutional courts in which he replaced judges with loyalists who ruled that he could run for a second term despite a constitutional ban on reelections. 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called into question the U.S. relationship with El Salvador and urged the U.S. State Department to review its relationship with the Central American country, alleging that Bukele presented "threats to democracy." 

EL SALVADOR'S BUKELE, AN ANTI-GANG HARDLINER, TAKES REELECTION BID ABROAD

"The Salvadoran people deserve free and fair elections without fear of repression," Omar wrote on social media platform X. 

A community note on her post noted that Bukele won the 2019 election with a 54% majority and that his crackdown on gang violence has helped cement his immense popularity with a 91% approval rating among voters. 

Bukele shot back at Omar, joking that he felt "honored" to "receive your attacks," saying he would be very worried if she had backed him in the election. 

Bukele came to power in 2019 and clashed with the Legislative Assembly over policies, including severe restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. His party took control of the national congress in 2021 and started instituting sweeping changes to other branches of government and instituting new laws that allowed him to effectively go to war with the gangs in his country. 

WHO IS GUATEMALA'S NEW PRESIDENT AND CAN HE DELIVER ON PROMISED CHANGE?

Once known as the "murder capital" of the world, El Salvador underwent significant reforms that allowed the government to sweep up alleged gang members by the hundreds and shove them into a rapidly established super prison. 

The prison, built in just months during 2022, can hold up to 40,000 people and has thousands of military personnel guarding it. Bukele made sure to share plenty of video and pictures of the prison and its first few thousands of occupants. 

The measures, which ultimately swept up many potentially innocent men, led to a drop in the murder and crime rates over the following year. Salvadorian Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro claimed that the country recorded 154 murders in 2023, marking a 70% drop from the previous year. 

That would account for a rate of 2.4 per every 100,000 people, which would potentially rank as the lowest in the Americas, apart from Canada, according to Reuters. 

FORMER PANAMA PRESIDENT'S MONEY LAUNDERING SENTENCE STANDS, LIKELY DOOMING ELECTION PROSPECTS THIS YEAR

During an interview with Fox News Digital in May 2023, Bukele’s vice president and running mate Felix Ulloa claimed his country would "face the problem" of gang violence and urged the United States to invest in the country so that it could continue to crack down on criminals. 

Ulloa argued that if El Salvador and other countries could similarly deal with their crime crises, it would help alleviate the migrant crisis on the U.S. southern border, as many of those who flee to the north do so to escape their crime-ridden homeland. 

El Salvador’s success has boosted Bukele’s popularity so much that other countries, such as Honduras and the Dominican Republic, have looked to replicate the model, which has raised concerns from civil rights advocates.

Ulloa admitted to The Associated Press this week that the government "made mistakes" in detaining thousands of innocent people as part of their regular sweeps, which often profile young men under the fear of gang involvement. 

Ulloa insisted that El Salvador "is not a police state" but rather "a state that provides security." Bukele continues to insist that if he loses the election, it would "put at risk" the country’s "war with the gangs." 

Critics also point to other troubling developments in the legislature, such as Bukele’s efforts to slash the number of municipalities, which could help ensure his victory and party superiority in local and congressional elections in March. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

The Ukrainian government will seek to change its recruitment rules, potentially including an alteration to age requirements, to bolster the military against Russia’s invasion.

"This law is necessary for the defense of our state and every soldier who is currently at the front," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov argued in favor of the legislative change. "It needs to be approved as soon as possible." 

"Our team has already prepared a new version of the draft law, taking into account all the proposals agreed in the working order with the members of parliament at the meetings of the committee on national security, defense and intelligence," Umerov added. 

The previous draft of the bill did not receive full approval, leading to its recall. Umerov said in a post on Facebook that the bill took "half a year in a working group" with representatives of all factions of government to compose. 

YELLEN TO URGE CONGRESS TO ‘ACT QUICKLY’ ON UKRAINE AID, WARNING OF ‘UNTHINKABLE CONSEQUENCES’ TO SECURITY

"After registering the bill in Parliament, we… participated in discussions and closed-door meetings, explained the necessity of this discussion," Umerov said. "All the warnings have been heard and taken into account." 

Umerov explained that the bill would allow the Ukrainian military to rotate forces, insisting the troops "need to be given a chance to rest," calling delays in the process "unacceptable." 

"Warriors who were released from captivity must be given a choice as to whether to remain in the army. Those who choose to stay will need at least a few months of leave. That's fair," he wrote. "The conscripted soldiers should finally be allowed to go home. That’s fair."

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS RALLY FOR INCREASED UKRAINE MILITARY AID TO FILL AMMUNITION GAP

One of the key points of contention in the drafted bill would seek to reduce the draft age minimum from 27 to 25 along with electronic call-ups and punishment for those who do not properly respond to the draft call. 

The newer draft language indicates that the mobilizations will have a 36-month cap and include exemptions for potential recruits from higher education or specialized fields. 

Ukrainians turned out in force at the start of the conflict, signing up in huge numbers that kept the fighting force strong. Stories recounted how even old women had signed up for military training to rebuff Russia’s invasion.

RUSSIAN TROOPS COULD DISAPPEAR AS KREMLIN TOUTS ‘INVISIBILITY CLOAK’

Going into the second year of the conflict, Kyiv hyped up its counteroffensive for the spring and summer, but the effort failed to produce the anticipated results, leading many to question the future of the conflict and resist further plans to fund and equip Ukraine without a clear end in sight for the conflict.

Ukrainians have started to ask the same question as the government pushes to expand its forces: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his year-end conference revealed that military officials have called for a surge of 450,000 to 500,000 recruits, NPR reported. 

Zelenskyy refused to back the order without further information, citing concerns over the heavy economic cost of mobilizing such a recruitment effort. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, head of Ukraine’s armed forces, days later denied any specific number requested but criticized the draft offices. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

Three people were injured Saturday by a man armed with a knife and hammer inside a bustling French train station, with police ruling out terrorism and suggesting the suspect may have mental health issues.

The attack occurred in the Gare de Lyon rail station in Paris at around 7:35 a.m. where one person suffered serious stomach wounds and was rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery. The victim’s injuries are life-threatening, police say. 

The other two victims suffered light wounds, police say.

A 32-year-old suspect has been taken into custody. The suspected assailant's motive was not immediately clear.

PARIS STABBING SUSPECT WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON AFTER PREVIOUS ISLAMIC TERROR PLOT: FRENCH MINISTER

French media reports the man is from Mali in Africa, while police say he was carrying residency papers from Italy and medicines suggesting he was undergoing treatment. The papers allow him to travel legally to other European countries.

"This individual appears to suffer from psychiatric troubles," said Laurent Nunez, the Paris police chief who is also in charge of the massive security operation for this year’s Olympic Games in the city which will run from July 26 through August 11.

While stressing that the police investigation was still in its early stages, Nunez said: "There are no elements that lead us to think that this could be a terrorist act."

PROTESTS OVER FRENCH TEEN’S FATAL STABBING LEAD TO CALLS FOR CRACKDOWN ON ‘FAR-RIGHT'

Passersby intervened to help railway police officers detain the suspect, Nunez said.

The attack took place in one of the station’s cavernous halls, authorities said. Millions of passengers ride the transport hub’s high-speed trains that link Paris to other cities and its commuter train services to the suburbs and towns in the Paris region.

Investigators are analyzing the knife and hammer, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. It said the police investigation is looking at a potential preliminary charge of attempted murder.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described the attack as an "unbearable act" and thanked those who detained the assailant.

There have been several knife attacks in France recently. 

In October, a Chechen immigrant on France's extremist watchlist allegedly stabbed a teacher to death and wounded two others in a suspected terror attack, while in June, a Syrian refugee armed with a knife stabbed four young children and injured two adults by a lake in the French Alps.

In January of last year, at least six people were injured in an attack at Paris’ Gare Du Nord train station.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hundreds of people of various faiths from around the world attended the third annual International Religious Freedom Summit, with the aim of shining a light on religious liberty around the world.

This year, roughly 200 of the attendees were under the age of 25, with the youngest in attendance being 16 years old. Dr. Nguyễn Dinh Thang, the International Religious Freedom Summit’s Youth Chair, says young advocates have fresh brains and open minds.

"If we don't cultivate youth now to get them ready, to take over the leadership of this campaign of this movement, then we are not going anywhere. The anti-movement will [grow]," Thang told Fox News Digital.

FAITH IN GOD OR 'HIGHER POWER' ON THE RISE AMONG YOUNG AMERICANS IN WAKE OF COVID PANDEMIC: POLL

A George Washington University student, Kinan Abdelnour, is volunteering for his second year at the summit.

He told Fox News Digital that there needs to be greater youth involvement specifically concerning religious freedom.

"We see a lot of it where there’s a great deal of advocacy, advocacy coming towards like human rights in general. And people don't really like specifically talking about [religious freedom]. Like this is a very . . . niche problem that's occurring in the world," says Abdelbour.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, protests have erupted on college campuses nationwide. 

Syrian native Abdelbour says the act of protest within itself should not be taken for granted.

"I look at it as regardless of where their position is, it's a blessing that they can push, because in Syria, if you push for either side, you get killed. . . . In America, we're lucky that we can have this freedom of protest and assembly and speech. So for me, I kind of see that, right or wrong, I think it's a blessing that we're able to have this," he said.

COLLEGE CAMPUS PROTESTS ERUPT ACROSS US AHEAD OF ANTICIPATED ISRAEL OPERATION IN GAZA

Robert Rehak, ambassador and special envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue, and Freedom of Religion in the Czech Republic, became involved in religious freedom because he is now "on the other side" and feels responsibility to help those.

Rehak was a teenager in the late 1980s when the communist state police came to his school and told him not to share or speak about his religious beliefs after attending a lecture. 

"I came to my school, and there were two police cars, and . . . they came because of me. I was also [in] danger, because I heard on the radio that there were some people killed, and [saw] black [body] bags . . . and I didn't want to be in the plastic bag," he told Fox News Digital.

Rehak added "This was my first [experience] . . . [I was] actually very frightened because the communists didn't want anybody to be interested in how to practice religion…and then came the revolution."

CHINESE PASTOR WHO FLED COMMUNISM WARNS AMERICA IS DESCENDING INTO 'DARK REALITY' WITH LEFTIST CENSORSHIP

Mervyn Thomas, CEO of CSW, a Christian Human Rights Advocacy organization and chair of the U.K. based Freedom of Religion or Belief Forum (UK FoRB), says it is important to include younger generations in the conversation. 

Thomas says two seats are reserved for those between the ages of 20 and up to 30 on the FoRB main board to make sure not only are their voices being heard, but also that they are getting involved. 

"I’m really just passionate to bring young people into this space because . . . what's happening around the world is horrendous . . . and the world doesn’t know about this," he told Fox News Digital.

STUDENTS DESERVE TO KNOW THIS SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT COMMUNISM

Thomas believes that the cause of religious freedom should take a page out of the climate change movement's book on how awareness is being shared.

"I have got, you know, people of my age, have got no idea how to use all of the social media platforms. We need to harness all of those methods to tell the world this is horrific, in the same way that over the years has been done with, the environment and the green issues . . . people like Greta Thunberg, young people who are the face of this," he said.

Annie McKinney, one of the youngest members of the Board of Trustees at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, shared a similar sentiment: "I say take a look at pop culture. . . . You have what's going on in Israel and Palestine right now. You have the BringBackOurGirls campaign . . . that you saw an influx of youth tweeting out. But the movement never captured those people who were so involved and interested in those topics . . . so social media is one key way to go about it," said McKinney.

A British man outraged over how his kitchen was reportedly poorly remodeled is protesting the work by parking a decommissioned Cold War-era weapon in a home improvement store's parking lot – and is refusing to move it. 

"I intend to stay as long as it takes for justice. I find it bizarre that Wickes can choose which bits of the law they will obey. The tank is there as a peaceful protest. If they wish it to be moved, there is a simple solution: Pay me back what they have of mine and my out-of-pocket expenses," Paul Gibbons, 63, said of his protest against U.K. home improvement store chain Wickes. 

Gibbons said his kitchen ordeal started last year in February, when Wickes installed a new kitchen in his Kingsclere home for £25,000, or roughly $31,700. He told British media that he had scouted other home improvement shops and contractors before settling on Wickes to carry out the job. 

Gibbons argued he’s been left with a nightmare kitchen that has led to mold growing under his sink, drawers that don’t close, and one drawer that nearly fell on his dog. 

PROTESTING FRENCH FARMERS PLAN 'SIEGE OF THE CAPITAL' IN PARIS, REJECTING GOVERNMENT CONCESSIONS

"The finish throughout is so poor, and half of the kitchen doesn’t fit as it should. I agreed to the contract and what I was told would be two weeks of work, and 10 months later I am still left with a kitchen which I can’t even use as you should," he said in December, according to the Telegraph.

He said the store has not rectified the allegedly shoddy kitchen, and he is "making a stand" by parking a 1963 decommissioned Abbot self-propelled gun outside of a Wickes’ location in Basingstoke. 

"The worst thing about it is that Wickes refuses to accept that the quality of the kitchen is nowhere near the standard it should be," he said late last year. "They should deal with these issues when they arise rather than palming people off, and I’m making a stand simply to say that it’s not right."

FOUND IN A 78-YEAR-OLD'S CELLAR: A WWII TANK

Gibbons said he borrowed the artillery piece from his friend, who loans out the vehicle to people protesting big stores, and parked it outside the store on Dec. 27. He’s demanding the store refund his money. 

"Warning Incompetent Complacent Kitchen Equipment Supplier," a sign on the vehicle reads. 

This month, Gibbons said a note was posted on the gun warning it would be removed "within 14 days," as of Jan. 23. 

"This vehicle/item has been notified to us as being abandoned and/or not having valid road tax and will be removed within 14 days of this notice being issued," the note states, SWNS reported. 

"If this vehicle is not abandoned, please contact us on the below number immediately and/or arrange for it to be removed from site."

If it’s not removed, the vehicle will reportedly be "sold or destroyed."

'ALIEN TANK' FOUND ON THE MOON, UFO HUNTERS SAY

Gibbons shot back that he has no intention of moving the vehicle until he is refunded. He added that he plans to contact local police if the store attempts to move or destroy the vehicle.  

"I am not looking for huge amounts of compensation, I just want to be back to where I was last year when this debacle started," he said, according to SWNS. 

A Wickes spokesperson previously told local outlets they are aware of the vehicle and are working "to resolve the issue." 

"We are aware of the situation at the Basingstoke store and would like to apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused to shoppers visiting the store today," the spokesperson said. "Our Customer Relations team is in contact with the customer to discuss their installation and help to resolve the issue."

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 a number of methods, have 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.

Kata'ib Hezbollah is an Iraq-based, Iran-backed terrorist group believed to be responsible for the recent attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan.

US LAUNCHES MIDDLE EAST AIRSTRIKES AFTER SOLDIERS' DEATHS: 'THIS IS THE START OF OUR RESPONSE'

Originally formed in 2003, Kata'ib Hezbollah, which translates to "Brigades of the Party of God," is responsible for a large majority of the more than 160 attacks against U.S. forces operating in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.

The group has an apparent headquarters in Baghdad and has operated across Iraq. Believed to have approximately 3,000 members, the group has also operated in Syria, both in Aleppo and Damascus, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

The group was "an umbrella organization for several Shiite militant groups until 2007, when it issued a statement announcing a merger," according to FDD.

The group, which has an allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed it is suspending military activity in the region this week. 

IRAN-BACKED PROXY GROUP THREATENS MORE ATTACKS ON US TROOPS

"We announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces — in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government," the group's leader, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, said in a statement late Tuesday.

Iran-funded proxy the Houthis have recently escalated their attacks against vessels in or near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and have stated their support of Hamas, which is engaged in a war with Israel. The group has also attempted to insert itself into the war by firing drones and missiles at Israel, resulting in fears the fighting could escalate into a regional conflict.  

The attacks by the Houthi rebels have prompted some shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through the maritime route where the Houthis initiated attacks on commercial ships.

The Houthis seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, launching a years-long, bloody war. The conflict soon became a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, which backed the Yemeni government in exile, and Iran, which backed the rebels. 

The war created a major humanitarian crisis that resulted in widespread hunger and misery in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world. The war reportedly killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.

A cease-fire that technically ended a year ago has largely been honored. The Houthis control most of Yemen and trace their history to a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam in the late 1990s. The sect ruled Yemen for centuries but was marginalized under the Sunni regime that came to power after a 1962 civil war.

As friction with the government grew, a series of guerrilla wars with the national army were fought, as well as a brief border conflict with Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.

Following a year of relative calm in Yemen, the Houthis have launched a number of missiles and drones. On Oct. 31, they attacked Israel, saying at the time there would be more "to help the Palestinians to victory."

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of training, arming and funding the Houthis, a claim Tehran continues to deny.

Backed by Iran, Hezbollah is a terrorist group that holds major influence over Lebanon. It operates with a broader goal of bolstering Iranian objectives.

Since Oct. 7, Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire in what's been described as low-intensify warfare. Hezbollah has fired more than 1,000 rockets, missiles and drones into Israel while losing almost 200 of its fighters, who were killed by the IDF in its targeted response against the terror group.

Hezbollah was founded during the 15-year Lebanese Civil War that started in 1975. Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provided funding and training to the group of Shiites who began fighting against Israeli forces. The group became known as Hezbollah, which means "The Party of God." 

The party's original objective was to remove the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from southern Lebanon. Although Israel withdrew its troops in 2000, Hezbollah justified its ongoing conflict based on Israel's presence in Shebaa Farms, an area within the Lebanon-Syria-Israel border region.

A 1985 manifesto consecrated Hezbollah's mission to expel Western influence from the Middle East and destroy Israel. The manifesto listed Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian Islamic revolutionary, as its leader. Khomeini ruled Iran as its supreme leader from 1979 until his death in 1989.

Hezbollah’s reach extends beyond the Middle East. The group is responsible for attacks and plots across Bulgaria, Peru, Cyprus, Thailand, Argentina and elsewhere. While Hezbollah has not succeeded with a terrorist attack in the United States, the group attempts to develop the ability to do so. 

Hezbollah operates networks inside and outside Lebanon to execute various criminal activities, including a series of attacks against U.S. interests. These attacks included the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 United States Marines, the deadliest day for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Led by Hassan Nasrallah, the terrorist organization has a history of carrying out terrorist attacks to support its mission stated in the manifesto.

Like the others, Hamas is a terrorist group made up of Iranian-backed terrorists.

The group is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the State Department. According to the U.S., EU and Israel, it has maintained an iron-clad grip on Gaza since violently taking over the territory in 2007, after Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005.

On Dec. 14, 2022, Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Hamas terror group, and others celebrated the 35th anniversary of Hamas' founding at the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist group, which receives funding and training from Iran, imposes a strict Islamic code on its 2 million-plus residents and continues to engage in fighting Israel, including firing endless rounds of rockets and incendiary devices into Israeli territory and mass protests along the border fence.

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, the Hamas terror organization attacked and infiltrated areas of southern Israel with thousands of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. That invasion resulted in 1,200 deaths, and the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel has resulted in the deaths of thousands more, mostly Palestinians.

Fox News' Louis Casiano, Breana Scheckwitz, Anders Hagstrom, and Gabriele Regalbuto contributed to this report.

The U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq will only succeed if they convince Iran to stop pushing its proxies to attack American personnel and installations "anywhere in the world," according to former officials.

"The single measure of their effectiveness will be whether they deter further Iranian aggression," Mike Pompeo, secretary of state during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. 

"Not just aggression in Jordan or Iraq, but Iranian attacks on U.S. interests anywhere in the world, support for Hamas and Hezbollah against our ally Israel and Iranian attacks on military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea included," he explained. 

He stressed he is not certain of the effect since he does not know the exact targets hit by the U.S. 

US RETALIATORY STRIKES WILL PROVE ‘INEFFECTIVE’: KIRK LIPPOLD

"To achieve this, after such a delayed response following the killing of three Americans, will take a level of seriousness and willingness to impose real costs on Iran we have not seen to date," he added. "This failure has caused escalation that will not stop until the Biden administration — along with our allies — restores deterrence."

Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin the U.S. commenced strikes against targets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militia groups in Syria and Iraq.

The strikes started at around 4 p.m. EST Friday, hitting 85 targets across six locations, including command and control headquarters, weapons storage facilities, underground bunkers and more hardened targets than in the past. 

President Biden authorized the strikes in response to the deaths of three U.S. service members Sunday during a strike in Jordan that also injured 40 other service members. The Iraqi group Kata’ib Hezbollah committed to halting military operations under pressure from the Iraqi government and the group’s backers in Iran. 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Gen. Lloyd Austin confirmed the attacks an hour after their execution, specifically naming the IRGC and stressing that the U.S. does not "seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else," but the Biden administration "will not tolerate attacks on American forces." 

IRAN-BACKED HOUTHI LAUNCH THREE ATTACKS IN RED SEA, GULF OF ADEN AS TENSIONS ESCALATE: US MILITARY RESPONDS

"We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our forces and our interests," Austin promised. 

Former military officials provided cautious reactions to news the U.S. carried out the much-anticipated strikes, with at least one former rear admiral suggesting the long delay allowed proxy groups to shift personnel away from potential targets.  

"This is a long overdue strike," retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. 

"I suspect that the delay in timing will mean most IRGC forces will have packed up their bags and returned to Iran," Montgomery suggested. "Even the proxy force numbers may be low. This is a good target package for day one. I hope it is part of a sustained campaign over weeks.

EU MUST DO MORE TO STOP RED SEA ATTACKS, SAYS FOREIGN MINISTER: ‘JUST STRIKING THE HOUTHIS WON’T DO ENOUGH'

"It’s also good to see long-range bombers utilized as they can employ more cost-effective ordinance options," he added, saying the strikes can "only restore deterrence if they are sustained and persistent." 

Former CENTCOM Cmdr. Joseph Votel during an appearance on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" called the widespread strikes "unsurprising" and argued that pursuing "dozens and dozens" of targets simultaneously is "well within our capabilities." 

"The strikes in Syria indicate to me that we are trying to go after, certainly the militia groups that are operating from that area that may have been responsible for this, plus, perhaps, some of the Iranian advisers and leaders and facilities that were supportive of that," Votel explained.

"So, I think we're going to have … to wait a little bit," he continued. "We have to be patient to kind of see what, what the plan is as it unfolds in the coming hours and in coming days.

"Certainly, they recognize they crossed the red line here with the death of our soldiers, so there certainly has been a reaction on the ground by militants," Votel added.

He noted it remains unclear if the buildings hit have enough value compared to striking against leaders and "others who are actually responsible for making the decisions" for these attacks. 

"This first tier might be after the militant groups, and the next tier might be after those that are enabling those, those militant groups," Votel suggested.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson and Sarah Rumpf-Witten contributed to this report.