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Fox News
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Huckabee hits back at Western countries that 'side' with terror group Hamas
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee lashed out at almost 30 Western countries who on Monday called for Israel to end the war in Gaza, saying in a post on X that "when Hamas thinks you do good work, you are doing evil." "How embarrassing for a nation to side w/ a terror group like Hamas & blame a nation whose civilians were massacred for fighting to get hostages released," wrote Huckabee after Hamas – whose Oct. 7, 2023, mass terror attack on Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza – said it welcomed "the contents of the joint statement issued by the United Kingdom Government along with 25 other countries, calling for an immediate end to the war on the Gaza Strip." The U.S. and EU-designated terror group also reiterated its claims that Israel was carrying out a "policy of starvation" on the coastal enclave amid unverified reports that people have died due to hunger-related reasons. Fox News Digital has not been able to independently verify such reports. "The statement's condemnation of the killing of over 800 Palestinian civilians at the gates of U.S.-Israeli-controlled aid checkpoints underscores the brutality of this mechanism," Hamas wrote following a statement issued by the U.K. Foreign Office and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths," read Lammy's statement, which was also signed by the foreign ministers of 28 countries. "If Hamas embraces you – you are in the wrong place," Israel's Foreign Minister Gidon Saar responded on X. "Hamas's praise for the statement by the group of countries is the best proof of the mistake they made – part of them out of good intentions and part of them out of an obsession against Israel." Since launching a new model for food aid distribution in the war-torn strip in early May, Israel and the U.S. have come under fire from the international community over near-daily reports of people dying while attempting to receive aid or not receiving any aid at all. Israel has refuted claims that there is hunger in Gaza or that it is using starvation as a tactic of the now 22-month-old war. Rather, officials have said they are working to prevent Hamas from stealing aid being distributed by veteran, mostly U.N.-run, humanitarian agencies and sold for exorbitant prices in a bid to continue funding terror operations. Israel, which is tasked with securing routes to four aid centers run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, has also denied that its soldiers intentionally kill Palestinian civilians but is rather issuing warning shots as a measure of crowd control. The GHF has so far delivered some 85 million meals since it started its aid operation in May. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "deplored the growing reports of both children and adults suffering from malnutrition and strongly condemned the ongoing violence, including the shooting, killing and injuring of people attempting to get food." "As someone who has spent over 40 years in Israel's Security Establishment – both as IDF Chief of Staff & Minister of Defense, I can say this unequivocally: Not only has Israel never starved or targeted civilians, but it goes above and beyond to protect civilians in the most complex of war zones like Gaza," Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz wrote on X. "We must be clear – culpability for harm inflicted to civilians rests on terrorist Hamas and Hamas only," he added. On Tuesday, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, said in a statement that "twenty-one children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in various areas across the Gaza Strip." "Every moment, new cases of malnutrition and starvation are arriving at Gaza's hospitals," he said. Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who has been monitoring the situation in Gaza closely, told Fox News Digital that he was "not aware of a single official report that people died because of starvation or hunger." "I'm not familiar with any such report, but I am familiar with many warnings that were published by international organizations about the catastrophe that exists in Gaza and how in two months or so, 40 or 50,000 people will die because of hunger, but nobody has died because of hunger, because there is no hunger," he said, adding, "if there are some local problems of supply, it is because of Hamas – not because of the IDF." Michael, who is also a fellow at the Misgav Institute in Jerusalem, pointed out that Hamas "loots, robs and steals the humanitarian aid, partially for themselves, to feed themselves and the rest is sold in very high prices to the local population in order to make money." Israel's goal of weakening Hamas's grip on the Strip – and on aid agencies – appeared to be working on Monday, with The Washington Post reporting that the terror group "is facing its worst financial and administrative crisis in its four-decade history" and is struggling to find the resource it needs to continue fighting Israel or rule Gaza. Quoting a former high-level Israeli intelligence officer, and current Israel Defense Forces officers, the report said that Hamas could no longer pay its fighters or rebuild its underground terror tunnels, where it is believed to be holding some 50 hostages, both alive and dead, who kidnapped during its Oct. 7 attack.
Fox News
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Huckabee hits back at Western countries for ‘siding' with terror group Hamas
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee lashed out at almost 30 Western countries who on Monday called for Israel to end the war in Gaza, saying in a post on X that "when Hamas thinks you do good work, you are doing evil." "How embarrassing for a nation to side w/ a terror group like Hamas & blame a nation whose civilians were massacred for fighting to get hostages released," wrote Huckabee after Hamas – whose Oct. 7, 2023, mass terror attack on Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza – said it welcomed "the contents of the joint statement issued by the United Kingdom Government along with 25 other countries, calling for an immediate end to the war on the Gaza Strip." The U.S. and EU-designated terror group also reiterated its claims that Israel was carrying out a "policy of starvation" on the coastal enclave amid unverified reports that people have died due to hunger-related reasons. Fox News Digital has not been able to independently verify such reports. STUDY CLAIMS US NEWS OUTLETS SERVED AS 'MEGAPHONES' FOR HAMAS IN GAZA WAR "The statement's condemnation of the killing of over 800 Palestinian civilians at the gates of U.S.-Israeli-controlled aid checkpoints underscores the brutality of this mechanism," Hamas wrote following a statement issued by the U.K. Foreign Office and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths," read Lammy's statement, which was also signed by the foreign ministers of 28 countries. "If Hamas embraces you – you are in the wrong place," Israel's Foreign Minister Gidon Saar responded on X. "Hamas's praise for the statement by the group of countries is the best proof of the mistake they made – part of them out of good intentions and part of them out of an obsession against Israel." Since launching a new model for food aid distribution in the war-torn strip in early May, Israel and the U.S. have come under fire from the international community over near-daily reports of people dying while attempting to receive aid or not receiving any aid at all. Israel has refuted claims that there is hunger in Gaza or that it is using starvation as a tactic of the now 22-month-old war. Rather, officials have said they are working to prevent Hamas from stealing aid being distributed by veteran, mostly U.N.-run, humanitarian agencies and sold for exorbitant prices in a bid to continue funding terror operations. US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES BOLD NEW SYSTEM TO DELIVER FOOD DIRECTLY TO FAMILIES Israel, which is tasked with securing routes to four aid centers run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, has also denied that its soldiers intentionally kill Palestinian civilians but is rather issuing warning shots as a measure of crowd control. The GHF has so far delivered some 85 million meals since it started its aid operation in May. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "deplored the growing reports of both children and adults suffering from malnutrition and strongly condemned the ongoing violence, including the shooting, killing and injuring of people attempting to get food." "As someone who has spent over 40 years in Israel's Security Establishment – both as IDF Chief of Staff & Minister of Defense, I can say this unequivocally: Not only has Israel never starved or targeted civilians, but it goes above and beyond to protect civilians in the most complex of war zones like Gaza," Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz wrote on X. "We must be clear – culpability for harm inflicted to civilians rests on terrorist Hamas and Hamas only," he added. HAMAS LOSING IRON GRIP ON GAZA AS US-BACKED GROUP GETS AID TO PALESTINIANS IN NEED On Tuesday, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, said in a statement that "twenty-one children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in various areas across the Gaza Strip." "Every moment, new cases of malnutrition and starvation are arriving at Gaza's hospitals," he said. Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who has been monitoring the situation in Gaza closely, told Fox News Digital that he was "not aware of a single official report that people died because of starvation or hunger." "I'm not familiar with any such report, but I am familiar with many warnings that were published by international organizations about the catastrophe that exists in Gaza and how in two months or so, 40 or 50,000 people will die because of hunger, but nobody has died because of hunger, because there is no hunger," he said, adding, "if there are some local problems of supply, it is because of Hamas – not because of the IDF." Michael, who is also a fellow at the Misgav Institute in Jerusalem, pointed out that Hamas "loots, robs and steals the humanitarian aid, partially for themselves, to feed themselves and the rest is sold in very high prices to the local population in order to make money." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Israel's goal of weakening Hamas's grip on the Strip – and on aid agencies – appeared to be working on Monday, with The Washington Post reporting that the terror group "is facing its worst financial and administrative crisis in its four-decade history" and is struggling to find the resource it needs to continue fighting Israel or rule Gaza. Quoting a former high-level Israeli intelligence officer, and current Israel Defense Forces officers, the report said that Hamas could no longer pay its fighters or rebuild its underground terror tunnels, where it is believed to be holding some 50 hostages, both alive and dead, who kidnapped during its Oct. 7 attack.
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israel demands UN scrap investigation body for Palestinian territories
Israel has demanded the UN Human Rights Council scrap a commission investigating rights violations in the Palestinian territories and Israel, accusing the body of bias, in a letter seen by Reuters. In the message sent on Wednesday, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, discriminated against his country. Israel has regularly criticized findings by the UN-mandated commission, which has condemned actions by the Israeli military since it launched its offensive on Gaza following the deadly attacks by Hamas militants in October 7, 2023. The commission - established in May 2021 by the Human Rights Council during earlier hostilities between Israel and Hamas - can provide evidence used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. 'The Commission of Inquiry, both in its mandate and in the work of its members, constitutes nothing less than a manifestation of the institutional discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council,' read the letter. Council President Jurg Lauber Lauber had received the letter but had no authority to abolish the commission, Council spokesperson Pascal Sim said. That would be up to the Council's 47 members, Sim added. In March a report by the commission said that Israel had carried out 'genocidal acts' against Palestinians. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report's findings biased and antisemitic.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Fact check: Clip about October 7 attack was taken out of context
A video has been widely shared on social media appearing to show political commentator Owen Jones saying: 'In 2023, 240 Palestinians had been killed that year by the Israeli state, including 40 children. What else was Hamas supposed to do on October 7?' Another video which was also widely spread on social media included only the last sentence. Evaluation The clips have been taken out of context. Mr Jones was making a point that asking such a question would be 'outrageous'. The facts The mention of October 7 is a reference to the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas against Israel on that date in 2023. The attack killed around 1,200 people and Hamas took hundreds of hostages. Following the attack, Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza, a conflict which has claimed more than 54,000 lives by an official count. The clip shared on social media was taken from an episode of Piers Morgan's YouTube show Uncensored. Mr Jones was interviewed about the situation in Gaza on the show on July 3, starting at around 42 minutes into the episode. The clip was from a section where Mr Jones attempted to make a point about Mr Morgan's questioning. Slightly before the clip starts, Mr Morgan had asked about how Israel should have responded to the October 7 attacks. He said: 'Three thousand terrorists have come over the border. They've annihilated 1,200 people. They've captured 250-plus hostages. Seven thousand people were wounded, many of them with irrevocable injuries. What would you have done?' After some back and forth, Mr Jones said: 'You would find this question offensive if I had put it to you. If I had said to you: 'In 2023, 240 Palestinians had been killed that year by the Israeli state, including 40 children. What else was Hamas supposed to do on October 7?' What would you say?' Mr Morgan: 'Are you justifying…' Mr Jones: 'No, no, that's the point. I'm saying: You would say – correctly – 'there is never any excuse for war crimes, this is an outrageous question for you to even ask me'.' Links Britannica – Israel-Hamas War (archived)
News24
09-07-2025
- Politics
- News24
Israel minister demands Netanyahu ends Gaza ceasefire talks with ‘Hamas murderers in Doha'
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged an end to Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the US to discuss a ceasefire. US President Donald Trump is confident of a truce agreement. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call back a delegation conducting indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar for a ceasefire in Gaza. 'I call on the Prime Minister to immediately recall the delegation that went to negotiate with the Hamas murderers in Doha,' Ben Gvir said in a post on X on the third day of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement. Instead, the minister who lives in a West Bank settlement called for 'total siege, military crushing, encouraging emigration (of Palestinians outside of Gaza), and (Israeli) settlement' in the Gaza Strip. He called these measures 'the keys to total victory, not a reckless deal that would release thousands of terrorists and withdraw the (Israeli army) from areas captured with the blood of our soldiers'. A Palestinian official close to the talks told AFP on Tuesday that the talks were ongoing, with a focus on 'the mechanisms for implementation, particularly the clauses related to withdrawal and humanitarian aid'. Netanyahu travelled to Washington for his third visit since Trump's return to power, where the US president on Monday voiced confidence that a deal could be reached. Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his meeting with Trump focused on efforts to free hostages held in Gaza, stressing his determination to 'eliminate' the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas. Netanyahu also said that they discussed the consequences and possibilities of 'the great victory we achieved over Iran', during his third US visit since the president began his second term on 20 January. The Israeli leader ruled out a full Palestinian state, insisting Israel would 'always' keep security control over the Gaza Strip. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said he hoped for an agreement within days. We are hopeful that by end of this week we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Steve Witkoff The deal would include the return of 10 live hostages held by Palestinian militant groups since Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, and nine dead hostages, Witkoff added. Qatar however said on Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a breakthrough between Israel and Hamas, as indirect negotiations extended into a third day in Doha. 'I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this,' Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said. Israel has been waging war on Hamas in Gaza for over 21 months, its troops gradually occupying more and more of the Palestinian territory. According to the UN, 82% of Gaza is now under Israeli military control or displacement orders. Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images The war was triggered by Hamas' unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The attack resulted in 1 219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army. At least 57 523 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The figures are deemed reliable by the UN.
