Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman killed in Gaza strikes
The spokesman for the militant organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was killed in a massive Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the group said.
Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamsa, was killed during an "attack on his family and his brother's family," PIJ said.
The group is allied with Hamas, another Palestinian extremist group. Both organizations were involved in the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel that triggered the latest Gaza war.
Both are said to be backed by Iran.

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Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
Israeli hostage families make desperate plea to Trump as 'time is running out'
JERUSALEM—The family members of Israeli hostages held in captivity by the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas published an open letter on Thursday to President Trump, urging him to intervene to help free the 53 remaining people held in Gaza. "As Iranian missiles streak across the sky above us, our hearts remain consumed by thoughts of our beloved family members enduring brutal Hamas captivity. 53 precious souls—our children, parents, siblings, and spouses—remain trapped in hell. "For over 620 endless days, they have had no shelter, no family's embrace, no whispered words of comfort. Their time is running out. We write to you united in this unique anguish, yet bound by unshakable faith in your leadership and commitment to bringing our loved ones home," wrote the Israeli group Hostages and Missing Families Forum on the social media platform Truth Social -Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is the parent company of Truth Social. The family members urged the President to "seize the opportunity while Iran and Hamas are at their weakest point." President Trump secured the freedom of the 21-year-old American-Israeli Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity on May 12. Eden returned to his hometown in New Jersey on Thursday after nearly 600 days in captivity. Fox News Digital sent press queries to the White House and the U.S. State Department, seeking comment about the open letter published on Truth Social to President Trump. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva—the site of an Iranian missile strike—that "The real barrier of Hamas is Iran. It will bring down Iran . . . Hamas is dying, and it will undoubtedly help to return the hostages." Netanyahu said Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran is aiding the Jewish state's efforts to secure the release of hostages held by the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. He added, "I do not close my eyes for a moment" about the hostages. Netanyahu told Isarel's Kan public broadcaster that "Hamas relies on Iran." Hamas' recalcitrance about agreeing to a ceasefire that would enable the hostages to be released has been the major obstacle for America's efforts to secure their freedom after 623 days of war. Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and massacred over 1,200 people, including Americans. and kidnapped more than 250 people. Netanyahu stressed, with respect to the hostages and the war against Iran, that "I am determined to bring all of them home . . . I will not give up on this, and there are also steps that we will take in these moments for this goal. . . . The destruction of the nuclear weapons, the destruction of missiles, the elimination of our targets." The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters released a statement from family members about the burial of murdered hostage Yair Yaakov on Friday, who was laid to rest at Kibbutz Nir Oz after 623 days in captivity. Or Yaakov, Yair's son, who was released from Hamas captivity as part of a deal, said, "Dad, you were such a special person. An exemplary father, a true friend. You left behind an enormous void that nothing will ever be able to fill. But I promise you, I will keep your memories alive within me. I will tell your stories, I will laugh at and with your jokes, and most importantly, I will live the way you would want me to live - with flow, simplicity, and contentment. Rest in peace, my dear father. You will always be in my heart, with every breath I take. I love you forever." The Times of Israel reported that the operation to recover Yair Yaakov was carried out by the army's 36th Division following precise intelligence from military and security intelligence. Reuters named Aviv Atzili as the second person recovered during the operation. Atzili, a warrant officer in the reserves and a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz's civil defense squad, was killed battling Hamas-led terrorists in the Gaza border community on October 7, 2023.


San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
What to know about activist Mahmoud Khalil and his release from immigration detention
A Palestinian activist who participated in protests against Israel has been freed from federal immigration detention after 104 days. Mahmoud Khalil, who became a symbol of President Donald Trump 's clampdown on campus protests, left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday. The former Columbia University graduate student is expected to head to New York to reunite with his U.S. citizen wife and infant son, born while Khalil was detained. Here's a look at what has happened so far in Khalil's legal battle: The arrest Federal immigration agents detained Khalil on March 8, the first arrest under Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, was then taken to an immigration detention center in Jena, a remote part of Louisiana thousands of miles from his attorneys and his wife. The 30-year-old international affairs student had served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists at Columbia University who took over a campus lawn to protest the war. The university brought police in to dismantle the encampment after a small group of protesters seized an administration building. Khalil was not accused of participating in the building occupation and wasn't among those arrested in connection with the demonstrations. But images of his maskless face at protests, along with his willingness to share his name with reporters, made him an object of scorn among those who saw the protesters and their demands as antisemitic. The legal fight Khalil wasn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. However, the government has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the U.S. for expressing views the administration considers to be antisemitic and 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil's lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, arguing that the Trump administration was trying to deport him for an activity protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified Khalil's deportation by citing a rarely used statute that gives him power to deport those who pose 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.' The initial ruling Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans ruled in April that the government's contention was enough to satisfy requirements for Khalil's deportation. Comans said the government had 'established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.' Federal judges in New York and New Jersey had previously ordered the U.S. government not to deport Khalil while his case played out in court. Khalil remained detained for several weeks, with his lawyers arguing that he was being prevented from exercising his free speech and due process rights despite no obvious reason for his continued detention. Release granted Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. 'Petitioner is not a flight risk, and the evidence presented is that he is not a danger to the community,' he said. 'Period, full stop.' During an hourlong hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had 'clearly not met' the standards for detention. Speaking Friday outside the detention facility, Khalil said, 'Justice prevailed, but it's very long overdue. This shouldn't have taken three months.' Legal fight continues The government filed notice Friday evening that it's appealing Khalil's release. The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on the social platform X that the same day Farbiarz ordered Khalil's release, an immigration judge in Louisiana denied Khalil bond and 'ordered him removed.' That decision was made by Comans, who is in a court in the same detention facility from which Khalil was released. 'An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained,' the post said. Farbiarz ruled that the government can't deport Khalil based on its claims that his presence could undermine foreign policy. But he gave the administration leeway to pursue a potential deportation based on allegations that Khalil lied on his green card application, an accusation Khalil disputes. Khalil had to surrender his passport and can't travel internationally, but he will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the U.S., including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress. Khalil said Friday that no one should be detained for protesting Israel's war in Gaza. He said his time in the Jena, Louisiana, detention facility had shown him 'a different reality about this country that supposedly champions human rights and liberty and justice.' In a statement after the judge's ruling, Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, said she could finally 'breathe a sigh of relief' after her husband's three months in detention. The judge's decision came after several other scholars targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri.


Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
Iran Issues New Grave Warning to Trump, U.S.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Saturday that if the U.S. were to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, the result would be 'very, very dangerous' for everybody. 'The tweets, interviews by the U.S. President, [it's] quite clear that he's talking about the U.S. leadership on these questions [of a potential U.S. involvement],' Araghchi told reporters. 'Unfortunately, we have heard that the U.S. may join in this aggression. That would be very unfortunate and I think that would be very, very dangerous for everybody.' Araghchi also claimed that Iran has 'many indications' that the U.S. has been involved in Israel's bombardments of Iran since 'day one.' These remarks come amid uncertainty and debate as to the potential U.S. involvement in the conflict and what that might look like moving forward. Trump, who has said that the U.S. has not been involved in the Israeli strikes thus far, has given himself two weeks to make the decision as to whether the U.S. will strike on Iran. 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' said Trump, in a statement delivered by the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday. Leavitt went on to add that 'if there's a chance for diplomacy, the President's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well.' The U.S. and Iran had long been engaged in talks, in the hope of reaching a nuclear deal. Read More: How Netanyahu Pushed Trump Toward War Officials from both countries were set to meet in Oman's capital of Muscat last weekend for the next round of nuclear discussions. But Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced that, in light of the Israel-Iran active conflict, those talks would no longer be going ahead. This came after state television reported that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called nuclear talks with the U.S. 'meaningless.' While Trump has called for Iran to return to the table, Iranian officials appear to be reluctant. 'In order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped,' Araghchi said on Saturday. 'I cannot go to negotiation with the United States when our people are under bombardment, under the support of the United States.' Trump has stated multiple times in the first months of his second term that a deal with Iran would have to include a ban on the nation enriching uranium—something that would allow them to produce nuclear weapons. He has also called for something more permanent than a cease-fire. 'We're looking for better than a cease-fire,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One on June 17 as he left the G7 summit. 'A real end, not a cease-fire. An end… giving up, entirely.' Trump later doubled down on his view of what Iran should do via a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' Read More: Here Are the Top Iranian Generals and Scientists Targeted and Killed by Israeli Strikes However, Trump has delivered cryptic responses when asked exactly if and how the U.S. might get involved in the Middle Eastern conflict. On Wednesday, when asked if the U.S. is 'moving closer' to striking Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump said: 'I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do… I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble. They want to negotiate. I said, 'Why didn't you negotiate with me before? All this death and destruction.'' He later said in the Oval Office: "I like to make the final decision one second before it's due, because things change, especially with war.' Meanwhile, Araghchi's new warning is the latest in a long line of stern words and threats from Iranian officials in regards to a potential U.S. involvement in the current combat. Read More: Iran's Supreme Leader Calls Out Trump, Threatens 'Irreparable Damage' If U.S. Joins Israeli Conflict On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened 'irreparable damage' if the U.S. joins the Israeli conflict. 'The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' Khamenei said in a televised address. 'The U.S. entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.' The Israel-Iran conflict has entered its ninth day and shows no signs of slowing down. Israel's initial strikes on Iran, conducted in the early hours of June 13, targeted multiple nuclear and military sites, amid rising concerns of Iran's nuclear capabilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes, part of Operation Rising Lion, 'would continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.' Iran followed through on its promise to retaliate, and the rivals have been trading deadly missiles and threats since, with the reported death tolls in both countries rising as a result.