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Tag: Hamas

  • Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza ministry says

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    The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday, while a hospital said that Israeli fire killed two Palestinian children in the territory’s south.The toll has continued to rise after the latest ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. Israel still carries out strikes in response to what it has called violations of the truce, and bodies from earlier in the war are being recovered from the rubble.The Health Ministry says the Palestinian toll is now 70,100. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and militants taking more than 250 hostages. Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.Staff at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies of the children in southern Gaza, said the brothers, ages 8 and 11, died when an Israeli drone struck close to a school sheltering displaced people in the town of Beni Suhaila.Israel’s military said it killed two people who crossed into an Israeli-controlled area, “conducted suspicious activities” and approached troops. The statement didn’t mention children. The military said it also killed another person in a separate but similar incident in the south.At least 352 Palestinians have been killed across the territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.Israel says its strikes are aimed at militants violating the truce. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of violating the deal. Hamas again urged mediators on Saturday to pressure Israel to stop what it called ceasefire violations in Gaza.A U.S. blueprint outlining the future of Gaza, which has been devastated by more than two years of war, is still in the early stages. The plan to secure and govern the territory authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.Israeli forces have pushed forward on a number of other fronts in the region in recent weeks.Syrian officials said that Israeli forces raided a Syrian village on Friday and opened fire when they were confronted by residents, killing at least 13 people. Israel said it conducted the operation to apprehend suspects of a militant group planning attacks in Israel, and that the militants opened fire at troops, wounding six.Israel also has escalated strikes in Lebanon, saying it’s targeting Hezbollah sites and asserting that the militant group is attempting to rearm.Hezbollah called on Pope Leo XIV to “reject injustice and aggression,” in reference to the near-daily Israeli strikes, despite a ceasefire that ended the 14-month war between the two sides a year ago. The pope is visiting the region on his first foreign trip.In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers were accused by Palestinians of executing two men on Thursday after footage aired by two Arab television stations showed troops shooting the men after they appeared to surrender. The Israeli military said that it was investigating.Israeli settler violence has continued to rise in the West Bank. On Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that 10 Palestinians were injured by beatings and live ammunition during settler attacks in Khallet al-Louza village close to Bethlehem.

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip —

    The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday, while a hospital said that Israeli fire killed two Palestinian children in the territory’s south.

    The toll has continued to rise after the latest ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. Israel still carries out strikes in response to what it has called violations of the truce, and bodies from earlier in the war are being recovered from the rubble.

    The Health Ministry says the Palestinian toll is now 70,100. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

    The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and militants taking more than 250 hostages. Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.

    Staff at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies of the children in southern Gaza, said the brothers, ages 8 and 11, died when an Israeli drone struck close to a school sheltering displaced people in the town of Beni Suhaila.

    Israel’s military said it killed two people who crossed into an Israeli-controlled area, “conducted suspicious activities” and approached troops. The statement didn’t mention children. The military said it also killed another person in a separate but similar incident in the south.

    At least 352 Palestinians have been killed across the territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

    Israel says its strikes are aimed at militants violating the truce. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of violating the deal. Hamas again urged mediators on Saturday to pressure Israel to stop what it called ceasefire violations in Gaza.

    A U.S. blueprint outlining the future of Gaza, which has been devastated by more than two years of war, is still in the early stages. The plan to secure and govern the territory authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

    Israeli forces have pushed forward on a number of other fronts in the region in recent weeks.

    Syrian officials said that Israeli forces raided a Syrian village on Friday and opened fire when they were confronted by residents, killing at least 13 people. Israel said it conducted the operation to apprehend suspects of a militant group planning attacks in Israel, and that the militants opened fire at troops, wounding six.

    Israel also has escalated strikes in Lebanon, saying it’s targeting Hezbollah sites and asserting that the militant group is attempting to rearm.

    Hezbollah called on Pope Leo XIV to “reject injustice and aggression,” in reference to the near-daily Israeli strikes, despite a ceasefire that ended the 14-month war between the two sides a year ago. The pope is visiting the region on his first foreign trip.

    In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers were accused by Palestinians of executing two men on Thursday after footage aired by two Arab television stations showed troops shooting the men after they appeared to surrender. The Israeli military said that it was investigating.

    Israeli settler violence has continued to rise in the West Bank. On Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that 10 Palestinians were injured by beatings and live ammunition during settler attacks in Khallet al-Louza village close to Bethlehem.

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  • UN panel says Israel operating ‘de facto policy of torture’

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    The United Nations committee on torture says there is evidence that Israel is operating a “de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture”.

    The committee regularly reviews the records of all countries which have signed the convention against torture, taking testimony from their governments, and from human rights groups.

    During Israel’s review both Israeli and Palestinian rights groups gave harrowing details about conditions in Israeli detention centres. It is alleged that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel since the Hamas attacks of October 7th 2023.

    Under Israel’s laws on administrative detention and on Unlawful Combatants – suspects who cannot be classed as prisoner of war – they can be held for long periods without access to a lawyer or family members.

    Many Palestinian families say they have waited months to even find out that a loved has been detained, amounting, the UN committee said, to “enforced disappearance”.

    The committee was particularly critical of Israel’s reported use of the Unlawful Combatants law to detain whole groups of Palestinians, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

    But it is the reported conditions in detention which make the grimmest reading in the committee’s conclusions, published today.

    Palestinians, the evidence suggests, are regularly deprived of food and water, and subjected to severe beatings, attacks by dogs, electrocution, water boarding, and sexual violence. Some are allegedly permanently shackled, denied access to a toilet, and forced to wear diapers.

    The committee concluded that such treatment “amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity”. It said evidence of a “de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture” by Israel was one of the acts which constitute the crime of genocide under international law.

    Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

    One committee member, Peter Vedel Kessing of Denmark, said he and his colleagues were “deeply appalled” by what they heard. Committee members also said they were very concerned at the lack of investigations or prosecutions into allegations of torture. They called on Israel to launch independent investigations, and to ensure those responsible, including senior military officers, are held accountable.

    Israel, which has long accused the UN of bias against it, did not comment publicly today on the committee’s findings, but during the committee hearings its ambassador, Daniel Meron, described the allegations of torture as “disinformation”.

    He said that Israel was “committed to upholding its obligations in line with our moral values and principles, even in the face of the challenges posed by a terrorist organisation”.

    In its conclusions, the UN committee took care to unequivocally condemn the Hamas attack of October 2023, and acknowledged the security challenges Israel faces.

    But it also warned that violations of international law by one side did not justify the other side doing the same. Under the convention, to which Israel is a party, the prohibition on torture is absolute: it is not allowed under any circumstances.

    Israel’s domestic law is less clear however, suggesting that the convention only applies to Israeli territory, and not to the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank – an interpretation that many international lawyers dispute.

    The findings come amid increasing pressure on Israel over its human rights record. On Friday in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Office said the killing by Israeli soldiers of two Palestinians in the West Bank looked like a “summary execution”. Video of the killing showed the two men with their hands up, apparently surrendering to Israeli forces.

    And UN aid agencies say conditions for people in the Gaza strip remain dire, despite the ceasefire. Thousands of families are facing the winter cold and rain in tents, they warn, not enough aid supplies are getting in, and Israeli air strikes against what Israel says are Hamas targets continue.

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  • Video shows Israeli soldiers execute 2 Palestinians as they surrender in West Bank raid, rights group says

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    Israeli human rights group B’Tselem shared a video on Thursday that it says shows Israeli soldiers executing two Palestinian men who had surrendered during a raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

    The video, which B’Tselem credits to Palestine TV and which CBS News has not independently verified, appears to show Israeli soldiers surrounding a garage-style door on a building as two men emerge with their hands in the air. The men can be seen lifting their shirts and kneeling on the ground as the soldiers approach. 

    One of the soldiers kicks one of the men before both men start moving back into the building through the large open door, seemingly at the orders of the soldiers. Gunshots are then heard, and one of the men still visible in the doorway can be seen slumping to the floor.

    B’Tselem identified the two men as Yusef ‘Asa’sah, 39, and al-Muntaser bel-lah ‘Abdallah, 26, both of whom the group said were wanted by the Israel Defense Forces.

    The IDF says a Nov. 27, 2025 incident in which two Palestinian men were killed during an operation in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, is being investigated.

    AP


    The IDF acknowledged an operation to apprehend wanted individuals in Jenin on Thursday, saying the men had “carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.”

    “The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited. Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects,” the IDF said in a statement shared with CBS News. “The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”

    Israeli security forces have been accused on many occasions since the war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack of using excessive, often lethal force against Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. 

    Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the national police, praised the Israeli forces after the release of the video showing the Thursday incident, saying they acted “exactly as they are expected to — terrorists must die!”

    The executive director of B’Tselem, Yuli Novak, said the killings were the result of “an accelerated process of dehumanization of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime.”

    Israel Palestinians

    Israeli soldiers are seen during an army raid in the West Bank town of Tubas, Nov. 26, 2025.

    Majdi Mohammed/AP


    In the West Bank’s capital city Ramallah, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas’ office issued a statement accusing Israel of executing the two men “in cold blood,” blasting the shooting as “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”

    The shooting came amid a larger operation in the northeast of the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel’s military for decades. The operation has seen more than 100 people detained since Tuesday in the town of Tubas alone, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, a spokesman for the advocacy group Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

    The IDF has called the ongoing operation a response to “attempts to establish terrorist strongholds and construction of terror infrastructures in the area.” 

    On Nov. 19, Palestinian attackers stabbed an Israeli to death and wounded three more at a West Bank intersection before being shot by security forces.

    Violence has flared in the West Bank, the much larger of the two Palestinian territories, since the war in Gaza started, and Israeli raids have continued there despite a ceasefire in Gaza.

    According to B’Tselem, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023. 

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  • Taking out Hamas’ million-dollar ‘root’ tunnel is game changer, analyst says

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    The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a video showing what it describes as one of Hamas’s “most complex” underground infrastructures extending beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

    According to the IDF, the seven-kilometer-long “root tunnel” runs roughly 25 meters underground, contains about 80 rooms and was used for command operations, weapons storage and sheltering Hamas operatives.

    The video shared on X on Nov. 20 travels through reinforced concrete passageways and large chambers, showing the sophistication and scale of Hamas’s underground network.

    The Israeli military claims the tunnel originated beneath a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound and stretched beneath civilian sites.

    Israel’s Doha Strike Sent A Decisive Message That Terror Will Find No Safe Haven

    “IDF troops uncovered one of Gaza’s largest and most complex underground routes, over 7 km long, ~25 meters deep, with ~80 hideouts, where abducted IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin was held,” the post read.

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    Israeli analysts say the demolition of this tunnel marks a strategic blow to Hamas and “paves the path to its defeat.”

    “The destruction of this tunnel as well as many others like it or similar… as well as other terror facilities pushes Hamas to the edge,” said Professor Kobi Michael, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute.

    Idf Holds Memorial Ceremony At Base Attacked By Hamas On Oct. 7 Honoring Fallen Troops 

    “It is one of the longest and [most] complicated tunnels that have been discovered, but it is not the only one,” he told Fox News Digital.

    Michael explained that Hamas’ root tunnels form the backbone of its underground warfare system.

    “This is an example of a root tunnel, a strategic one that feeds many tactic tunnels and is used for strategic purposes [such] as command and control, weapon storage, manufacturing platforms of weapon[s] and strategic logistics,” he said.

    Israel Set To Launch Gaza City Offensive: High Stakes, High Costs Ahead 

    Smoke rises from Gaza City seen from Deir al-Balah, following intense Israeli military attacks on northern Gaza, on Oct. 5, 2025.

    “Such a tunnel is usually manned by hundreds of militants and commanders.”

    The IDF believes this particular tunnel network may have been connected to the area where Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier abducted during the 2014 Gaza war, was held captive. Hamas returned Goldin’s remains earlier this month – after more than a decade.

    The tunnel’s exposure sheds new light on the extent of its underground operations.

    Israel’s Covert Campaign Targets Hamas Terrorists Behind Oct 7 Massacre

    “I have no idea about the cost but if you take into consideration the amount of the building materials, labor and facilities and its length, it is a matter of millions of INS,” he claimed. “Hamas chose routes under sensitive civilian and humanitarian facilities in order to prevent the IDF from attacking the tunnel.”

    As Israel continues operations in Gaza, the destruction of Hamas’s tunnel networks remains central to its strategy to dismantle the group’s military capabilities and prevent future attacks.

    In 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to destroy the tunnels, which Hamas militants used to infiltrate Israeli territory, “with or without a ceasefire.”

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    According to a 2023 investigation by Reuters, Hamas had said it had been using the tunnels to hide hostages seized in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

    Israel’s military said its ground forces had uncovered around 1,500 Hamas tunnels and shafts throughout the Gaza Strip, per the report.

    Original article source: Taking out Hamas’ million-dollar ‘root’ tunnel is game changer, analyst says

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  • New Gaza militia declares war on Hamas: ‘Your dirty shoes are more honorable’

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    ‘Whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. It’s those traitors that need to be dealt with,” Nasira said.

    Footage published over the weekend revealed that another anti-Hamas militia has been established in the Gaza Strip.

    The militia is headed by Shawqi Abu Nasira, who, according to media reports, formerly served as a Palestinian Authority officer. The published footage showed Nasira addressing a line of masked men standing at attention.

    “This is for Hamas to hear. Your dirty shoes are more honorable than the biggest beard in Hamas,” he told the assembled men, according to a translation published on X/Twitter by the Center for Peace Communications.

    Speaking to N12, Hossam al-Astal, leader of the Counter-Terrorism Strike Force militia, noted that Nasira’s militia is the fifth such group in Gaza.

    Shawqi Abu Nasira addressing his militia men in Khan Yunis, Gaza. November, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

    “There are now five militias operating in the Strip,” Astal told N12. “Abu Nasira has been in eastern Khan Yunis for several months. I started with four people, and today I have hundreds. We will put an end to Hamas. We are the day after.”

    “ Instead of trying to arrest me as a collaborator, how about you catch my d**k! From Hamas leader [Khalil] al Hayya down to the least of them,” Nasira said. “We aren’t afraid of their barking because we are…”

    ‘Death to Hamas!’ militia men chant

    The assembled men responded by shouting, “Lions!” The men thereafter chant “Death to Hamas!”

    Nasira continued, labeling the Iranians “the enemies of Islam and Sunnis” and told the assembled militia men, “You’re not Israeli collaborators. You are the best among the people. Whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. Whether it’s me or anyone else, whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. It’s those traitors that need to be dealt with.”

    Finally, he slams Hamas for obsessing over catching “collaborators” and asks, “If they aren’t spies and collaborators themselves, why don’t they start walking the streets without masks on?”

    Following the publishing of the footage, Abu Nasira issued a public statement disavowing Nasira and affirming its alignment with Hamas.

    “The Abu Nasira family in the homeland and diaspora affirms its adherence to the national principles and its complete alignment with the ranks of our people and its valiant resistance,” the statement read. “Regarding the actions of the individual known as Shawqi Abu Nasira and his joining the groups of the mercenary collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab, we hereby declare our complete disavowal of these behaviors, and we affirm that they represent none but their perpetrator.”

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  • Israel launches new strikes in Gaza after reported attacks against IDF troops

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    Israel’s military on Saturday said it launched airstrikes against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 14 people killed and another 45 wounded, including children.

    Similar waves of strikes have occurred during the ceasefire after reported attacks against Israeli forces.

    The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that an “armed terrorist” used a road through which aid enters the territory to cross the yellow line that was established in last month’s ceasefire. The boundary leaves Gaza’s border zone under the control of Israel’s military, while the area beyond it is meant to serve as a safe zone. The person fired at soldiers and was killed by the IDF, the Israeli military said. No IDF injuries were reported.

    The IDF called the incursion a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” and said that in response, it had begun striking “Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip.”

    In a separate statement, Israel’s military said its soldiers killed three “terrorists” in the Rafah area, and killed two others after firing at four people who crossed into Israeli-held areas in northern Gaza and advanced toward soldiers in two separate incidents. 

    In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement. The terror group accused Israel of altering the terms of the deal and asked that the United States “fulfill its commitments, compel the occupation to implement its obligations, and confront its attempts to undermine the path toward a ceasefire in Gaza.” 

    An injured Palestinian man is wheeled into Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah following Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

    Abdel Kareem Hana / AP


    One strike targeted a vehicle, killing seven and wounding 18 Palestinians in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The majority of those wounded were children, director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

    Another strike targeting a house near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and wounded 11 others, according to the hospital. It said a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed one child and wounded 16 others.

    And a strike targeting a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed three people, including a woman, according to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

    The IDF said that its Southern Command troops remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, and said they “will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.” 

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  • Eurovision plans changes to voting, security after allegations of Israeli government ‘interference’

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    GENEVA (AP) — Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest announced plans to change the voting system of the popular musical extravaganza to ensure fairness, a move that follows allegations of “interference” by Israel’s government.

    The European Broadcasting Union, a Geneva-based union of public broadcasters that runs the event, said Friday that the changes were “designed to strengthen trust, transparency and audience engagement.”

    Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years and won four times. But calls for Israel to be kicked out swelled over the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

    The allegations of Israeli government interference have added a new twist to the debate.

    In September, Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS — citing human suffering in the Gaza war — said that it could no longer justify Israel’s participation in the contest. Several other countries took a similar stance.

    The Dutch broadcaster went on to say there had been “proven interference by the Israeli government during the last edition of the Song Contest, with the event being used as a political instrument.” The statement didn’t elaborate.

    That same month, the CEO of Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Golan Yochpaz, said that there was “no reason why we should not continue to be a significant part of this cultural event, which must not become political.”

    Kan also said then that it was “convinced” that the EBU “will continue to maintain the apolitical, professional and cultural character of the competition, especially on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Eurovision” next year.

    As part of the new Eurovision measures, in next year’s contest — scheduled to take place in May in Vienna — the number of votes per payment method will be reduced by half to 10, the EBU said.

    In addition, “professional juries” will return to the semifinals for the first time since 2022 — a move that will give roughly 50-50 percentage weight between audience and jury votes, it said.

    Organizers will also enhance safeguards to thwart “suspicious or coordinated voting activity” and strengthen security systems that “monitor, detect and prevent fraudulent patterns,” EBU said.

    Contest director Martin Green said that the neutrality and integrity of the competition is of “paramount importance” to the EBU, its members, and audiences, adding that the event “should remain a neutral space and must not be instrumentalized.”

    The EBU’s general assembly on Dec. 4-5 is poised to consider whether Israel can participate next year. A vote on that participation will only take place if member broadcasters decide the new steps are “not sufficient,” Green said.

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  • Hamas Navy head, engineer of Khan Yunis tunnel network killed in Gaza, IDF confirms

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    According to the IDF, Wednesday’s strikes also targeted Hamas infrastructure and operatives across several sites in Gaza.

    Abdallah Abu Shamala, head of Hamas’s Navy in Gaza, and Fadi Abu Mustafa, a senior tunnel engineer in the Khan Yunis Brigade, were killed during IDF strikes on Wednesday, the military confirmed in a joint statement with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Thursday.

    The operation followed Hamas’s violation of the ceasefire agreement and was guided by joint intelligence. According to the IDF and ISA, Abu Mustafa also took part in holding hostages captive, including Nimrod Cohen and David Cunio.

    Abu Shamala advanced attacks against Israeli forces and maritime targets throughout the war, according to the IDF.

    According to the IDF, Wednesday’s strikes also targeted Hamas infrastructure and operatives across several sites in Gaza.

    Smoke rises from Gaza following an explosion, as seen from Israel, May 16, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

    Multiple ceasefire violations in Gaza

    In recent weeks, Israeli officials and analysts have warned that Hamas is seeking to rebuild and test the ceasefire’s limits. In contrast, Israeli forces have responded to multiple threats and attempts to enter the IDF-controlled ‘Yellow Line.’

    On Wednesday, Israeli troops stationed behind the Yellow Line found an eight-tubed rocket launcher with four rockets aimed at Israel while clearing the area.

    In addition, during a separate operation by the Kfir Brigade, several weapons were found, including Kalashnikov rifles, fragmentation grenades, explosives, magazines, and military uniforms.

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  • U.N. Security Council approves U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan

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    The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved a U.S. plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the devastated territory and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

    Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote. The U.S. and other countries had hoped Moscow would not use its veto power on the United Nations’ most powerful body to block the resolution’s adoption.

    The vote was a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza’s future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Arab and other Muslim countries that expressed interest in providing troops for an international force had signaled that Security Council authorization was essential for their participation.

    The ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10, but accusations of violations of the terms by both Hamas and Israel had threatened to upend the deal in the weeks since its implementation. 

    The first phase of the deal called for Hamas to release all living and deceased hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel. While the living hostages were returned by the deadline, the remains of some of the dead hostages had not been handed over — with both Hamas and U.S. officials citing the difficulties in recovering some of the remains amid the destruction in the Gaza Strip — which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said constituted a violation.

    There have also been flare-ups of violence in Gaza, including airstrikes from Israel, which it said were in retaliation for Hamas attacks on Israeli forces, since the deal went into effect. International advocates have also accused Israel of not adhering to the requirement to deliver all of the aid it promised to Gaza in the deal.

    The U.S. resolution endorses President Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Mr. Trump would head. It also authorizes the stabilization force and gives it a wide mandate, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory. Authorization for the board and force expires at the end of 2027.

    “Congratulations to the World on the incredible Vote of the United Nations Security Council, just moments ago, acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me, and include the most powerful and respected Leaders throughout the World,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media following the U.N. vote. He thanked the members of the Security Council, including Russia and China, and said, “The members of the Board, and many more exciting announcements, will be made in the coming weeks.”

    Hamas criticized the U.N.’s adoption of the plan, saying, “Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation,” according to Reuters.

    “Any international force, if established, must be stationed solely on the borders to separate the forces and monitor the ceasefire, and must be entirely under the supervision of the United Nations,” Hamas said, according to Al Jazeera.

    During nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Arab nations and the Palestinians had pressed the United States to strengthen the original weak language about Palestinian self-determination.

    The U.S. revised it to say that after the Palestinian Authority — which now governs parts of the West Bank — makes reforms and after redevelopment of the devastated Gaza Strip advances, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

    “The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it adds.

    That language angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed Sunday to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state. He has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.

    A key to the resolution’s adoption was support from Arab and Muslim nations pushing for a ceasefire and potentially contributing to the international force. The U.S. mission to the U.N. distributed a joint statement Friday with Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey calling for “swift adoption” of the U.S. proposal.

    The vote took place amid hopes that Gaza’s fragile ceasefire would be maintained after a war set off by Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people. Israel’s more than two-year offensive has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority are women and children.

    Russia last week suddenly circulated a rival proposal with stronger language supporting a Palestinian state alongside Israel and stressed that the West Bank and Gaza must be joined as a state under the Palestinian Authority.

    It also stripped out references to the transitional board and asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to provide options for an international force to provide security in Gaza and for implementing the ceasefire plan, stressing the importance of a Security Council role.

    The U.S. resolution calls for the stabilization force to ensure “the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip” and “the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.” A big question is how to disarm Hamas, which has not fully accepted that step.

    It authorizes the force “to use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate” in compliance with international law, which is U.N. language for the use of military force.

    The resolution says the stabilization troops will help secure border areas, along with a Palestinian police force that they have trained and vetted, and they will coordinate with other countries to secure the flow of humanitarian assistance. It says the force should closely consult and cooperate with neighboring Egypt and Israel.

    As the international force establishes control and brings stability, the resolution says Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.” These must be agreed to by the stabilization force, Israeli forces, the U.S. and the guarantors of the ceasefire, it says.

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  • Hamas member’s diary published, reveals exploitation of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure

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    The terrorist described how Hamas used UN and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to its advantage in battle.

    IDF soldiers seized the personal journal of a Hamas commander from Beit Hanun in Gaza, N12 News reported on Sunday.

    Terrorist Khaled Abu Akram’s diary entries prove how Hamas exploits civilian infrastructure in Gaza. For example, in one entry from May 2024, Akram writes about how he went to set up an ambush at a school after tunnels in the area were bombed.

    “I went with Abu Saleh (a unit commander in a different company in the area) to set up a new ambush at the Al-Naim school after the tunnels in the area were bombed, and the previous ambush was destroyed,” he wrote.

    Akram also described how Hamas used UN infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to its advantage.

    “Additionally, we took the batteries from the UNRWA clinic, removed the solar panels, and prepared the water well,” Abu Akram wrote in his diary.

    A Hamas terrorist stands next to heavy machinery, after Hamas said that it found the remains of an Israeli hostage on Tuesday and prepares to return it to Israel through the Red Cross, in Gaza City, November 4, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

    IDF destroys Beit Hanun tunnel where three soldiers were killed 11 months ago

    On Friday night, the IDF destroyed a tunnel complex where three members from the Kfir Brigade’s 92nd Battalion were killed 11 months ago, the military said on Saturday.

    Positioned east of the Yellow Line, near the Beit Hanun area of the Gaza Strip in an IDF-controlled region, the tunnel ran one kilometer wide and was dozens of meters deep, the army added.

    The three IDF soldiers who were killed there nearly a year ago were Capt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, St.-Sgt. Netanel Pessach, and Sgt.-Maj. Hillel Diener. One other soldier was wounded in the incident.

    Hamas stockpiling weapons in sympathetic countries despite Gaza disarmament deal

    Hamas has started stockpiling weapons in African countries, Yemen, and other nations sympathetic to the terrorist organization, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported on Sunday.

    The report follows the implementation of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which stipulates the disarmament of the latter.

    According to KAN, the weapons are being stockpiled so that they can later be smuggled to locations, including the Gaza Strip, where Hamas can access them.

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  • Hamas propaganda expert explains Israel’s internal conflicts influenced Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault

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    He emphasized that he relied exclusively on primary sources: Hamas’s official website, the organization’s official newspaper, and the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades’ website.

    Israel’s internal crises, including its internal conflicts within the military and the issue of judicial reform, influenced Hamas’s decision to launch the October 7 attack, Lt.-Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi said in an interview published Sunday.

    Halevi is an OSINT researcher, a senior Middle East expert, and a specialist in tracking Hamas and Palestinian propaganda.

    According to Halevi, events that began to escalate in Israel after December 2022, following the formation of the government and the deepening public crisis around the refusal to serve in the IDF and subsequent protests, were significantly reflected in Hamas’s media and Palestinian media in general.

    He explained that in Palestinian discourse, any harm to the cohesion of the IDF and the use of the army for political purposes was seen as a process serving a clear goal for Hamas.

    “The reflection of this on Hamas’s side was clear: they saw it as an opportunity, a golden opportunity,” he said.

    Halevi went on to point out that while some in Israel insist there is no connection between the protests and Hamas’s decision to attack, quotes from senior figures in the organization indicate that they attach significance to the internal unrest.

    An illustrative photo of Hamas terrorists with hostage demonstrations in the background. (credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90, Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

    “I’m not saying this on my own,” he noted. “I’m just quoting what they are saying. Yes, this is what they are saying. They see it as a golden opportunity to realize the dream of liberation and ‘the return to Palestine.’”

    Halevi further explained that immediately after the October 7 massacre, he initiated a research project to gather and document the statements, articles, and expressions that emerged from Hamas’s leadership in real time.

    Halevi relies only on official Hamas, Palestinian media

    He emphasized that he relied exclusively on primary sources: Hamas’s official website, the organization’s official newspaper, and the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades’ website.

    “I did not turn to secondary or external sources,” he added. “I presented what they themselves say, this is from their own mouths.”

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  • Opinion | What Does ‘White Guilt’ Mean in 2025?

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    Victim politics gave us pro-Hamas activism and a powerful reaction in the form of Donald Trump, argue Shelby Steele and his son, Eli.

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    Tunku Varadarajan

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  • Suspected Hamas member arrested in Germany

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    German prosecutors said on Wednesday they have arrested a suspected Hamas member accused of procuring weapons that they assume were intended for attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions.

    The suspect was arrested on the motorway as he entered Germany from the Czech Republic, the federal public prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe said.

    He is to be brought before an investigating judge in Karlsruhe, who will decide whether he is to be remanded in custody.

    Prosecutors accuse the Lebanese-born suspect of membership in a foreign terrorist organization.

    In August, he allegedly procured a fully automatic rifle, eight pistols and over 600 rounds of ammunition in Germany. He is then believed to have transported them to Berlin to pass them to another suspected Hamas member who was already in pre-trial detention.

    The weapons and ammunition were seized at the time of the arrest.

    The Danish police also searched premises belonging to the man and to another suspect in Copenhagen and the surrounding area, prosecutors said.

    Last month, German prosecutors arrested three suspected Hamas members in Berlin, who are in pre-trial detention.

    The three suspects, including a naturalized Lebanese-born man and a naturalized Syrian-born man, are accused of having procured firearms and ammunition since at least the summer of 2025.

    “The weapons were to be used by Hamas for assassinations targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany,” prosecutors said. However, there was apparently no concrete plan for an attack.

    In early November, a weapons cache was found in Vienna linked to the three suspects arrested in Berlin. Austria’s DSN domestic intelligence agency said five handguns and 10 magazines were seized.

    “The weapons cache is attributed to structures of the terrorist organization Hamas operating abroad,” the DSN said.

    Last week, another man was arrested in London who is alleged to have transported weapons to Vienna as a member of Hamas. According to the DSN, the man is a 39-year-old British citizen. He is to be extradited to Germany.

    The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. The onslaught sparked the Gaza war.

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  • Zohran Mamdani and London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, have much in common, but also key differences

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    LONDON (AP) — He’s the left-leaning Muslim mayor of the country’s biggest city, and U.S. President Donald Trump is one of his biggest critics.

    London’s Sadiq Khan has a lot in common with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — but also many differences.

    Khan, who has been mayor of Britain’s capital since 2016, welcomed Mamdani’s victory, saying New Yorkers had “chosen hope over fear, unity over division.”

    Khan’s experience holds positive and negative lessons for Mamdani, the 34-year-old Democrat who beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s election.

    Khan has won three consecutive elections but routinely receives abuse for his faith and race, as well as criticism from conservative and far-right commentators who depict London as a crime-plagued dystopia.

    Trump has been among his harshest critics for years, calling Khan a “stone cold loser,” a “nasty person” and a “terrible mayor,” and claiming the mayor wants to bring Sharia, or Islamic law, to London.

    Khan, a keen amateur boxer, has hit back, saying in September that Trump is “racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he is Islamophobic.”

    Khan told The Associated Press during a global mayors’ summit in Brazil on Wednesday that it’s “heartbreaking” but not surprising to see Mamdani receiving the same sort of abuse he gets.

    “London is liberal, progressive, multicultural, but also successful — as indeed is New York,” he said. “If you’re a nativist, populist politician, we are the antithesis of all you stand for. ”

    Attacked for their religion

    Mamdani and Khan regularly receive abuse and threats because of their Muslim faith, and London’s mayor has significantly tighter security protection than his predecessors.

    Both have tried to build bridges with the Jewish community after being criticized by opponents for their pro-Palestinian stances during the Israel-Hamas war.

    Both say their political opponents have leaned into Islamophobia. In 2016, Khan’s Conservative opponent, Zac Goldsmith, was accused of anti-Muslim prejudice for suggesting that Khan had links to Islamic extremists.

    Cuomo laughed along with a radio host who suggested Mamdani would “be cheering” another 9/11 attack. Mamdani’s Republican critics frequently, falsely call him a “jihadist” and a Hamas supporter.

    Mamdani vowed during the campaign that he would “not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own.”

    Khan has said he feels a responsibility to dispel myths about Muslims, and answers questions about his faith with weary good grace. He calls himself “a proud Brit, a proud Englishman, a proud Londoner and a proud Muslim.”

    Very different politicians

    Mamdani is an outsider on the left of his party, a democratic socialist whose buzzy, digital-savvy campaign energized young New Yorkers and drove the city’s biggest election turnout in a mayoral election in decades.

    Khan, 55, is a more of an establishment politician who sits in the broad middle of the center-left Labour Party.

    The son of a bus driver and a seamstress from Pakistan, Khan grew up with seven siblings in a three-bedroom public housing apartment in south London.

    He studied law, became a human rights attorney and spent a decade as a Labour Party lawmaker in the House of Commons, representing the area where he grew up, before being elected in 2016 as the first Muslim leader of a major Western capital city.

    Mamdani comes from a more privileged background as the son of an India-born Ugandan anthropologist, Mahmood Mamdani, and award-winning Indian filmmaker Mira Nair. Born in Uganda and raised from the age of 7 in New York, he worked as an adviser for tenants facing eviction before being elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020.

    Similar big-city problems

    Khan and Mamdani govern huge cities with vastly diverse populations of more than 8 million. Voters in both places have similar worries about crime and the high cost of living – big issues that many mayors struggle to address.

    Khan was won three straight elections, but he’s not an overwhelmingly popular mayor. As Mamdani may also find, the mayor gets blamed for a lot of problems, from high rents to violent crime, regardless of whether they are in his control, though Mamdani made freezing rents a pillar of his campaign.

    Mamdani campaigned on ambitious promises, including free child care, free buses, new affordable housing and city-run grocery stores.

    “Winning an election is one thing, delivering on promises is another,” said Darren Reid, an expert on U.S. politics at Coventry University. “The mayor of New York definitely does not have unlimited power, and he is going to have a very powerful enemy in the current president.”

    The mayor of London controls public transit and the police, but doesn’t have the authority of New York’s leader because power is shared with the city’s 32 boroughs, which are responsible for schools, social services and public housing in their areas.

    Khan can point to relatively modest achievements, including free school meals for all primary school pupils and a freeze on transit fares. But he has failed to meet other goals, such as ambitious house-building targets.

    Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics who specializes in local government, said one lesson Mamdani might take from Khan is to pick “a limited number of fights that you can win.”

    Khan, who is asthmatic, has made it one of his main missions to clean up London’s air — once so filthy the city was nicknamed the Big Smoke. He expanded London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, which charges the drivers of older, more polluting vehicles a daily fee to drive in the city.

    The measure became a lightning rod for criticism of Khan, spurring noisy protests and vandalism of enforcement cameras. Khan staunchly defended the zone, which research suggests has made London’s air cleaner. His big victory in last year’s mayoral election appeared to vindicate Khan’s stance on the issue.

    Travers said that beyond their shared religion and being the targets of racism, both mayors face the conundrum of leading dynamic, diverse metropolises that are “surprisingly peaceful and almost embarrassingly successful” — and resented by the rest of their countries for their wealth and the attention they receive.

    He said London is “locked in this strange alternative universe where it is simultaneously described by a number of commentators as sort of a hellhole … and yet on the other hand it’s so embarrassingly rich that British governments spend their lives trying to level up the rest of the country to it. You can’t win.”

    ___

    Associated Press writer Eléonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this story.

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  • From Africa to Iran: Mamdani’s mayoral win draws praise from unexpected quarters, sharp criticism

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    Zohran Mamdani’s historic win as New York City’s first Muslim mayor has sparked global reactions — from pride in Uganda to anxiety in Israel, to jubilation among leftists in Europe, and even praise from an Iranian lawmaker and a Hamas social media channel.

    The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist, born in Uganda to Indian parents, has become a symbol of a new, intersectional left — and a flashpoint for debates over socialism, Israel and U.S. foreign policy. 

    Uganda

    In Uganda’s capital of Kampala, Ugandans told Fox News Digital that Zohran Mamdani’s victory as New York City’s first Muslim mayor “felt like a homegrown win.” Although his family left Uganda when he was an infant, many in the East African nation say they view him as one of their own — proof that Ugandans and immigrants alike can rise to global leadership.

    Siraje Kifamba Nsamba, a social worker at Uganda’s Islamic Center for Education and Research, said Mamdani “has made history for Uganda.”

    MAMDANI TAKES COMMANDING 22-POINT LEAD OVER CUOMO IN NEW POLL

    Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City.  (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

    “He did not hide his identity as Ugandan by birth,” Nsamba said. “Against all odds, he broke every record. He showed the world that you can come from here and lead anywhere.”

    Nsamba added that Mamdani’s campaign — built on promises of rent freezes, free public transit, and affordable living — resonated not only with struggling New Yorkers but also with Ugandans who saw in him an example of immigrant success.

    “It motivates so many young people here,” he said. “He’s an example that you can come from home and become a leader in any field.”

    Another Ugandan citizen said: “I want to cry out load because we lost such a great leader to New York. We’ve missed out because we believe in a system where there is a classless society where rich work for the poor… New York, I want to tell you there are more Mamdani here in Kampala, more for you”.

    A Kampala rapper and local politician echoed that pride, calling Mamdani’s victory “a triumph for artists, dreamers, and immigrants.” Tom Mayanja, a musician known by his stage name The Myth UG, recalled interviewing Mamdani years ago and remembering him as “focused, witty, and deliberate.”

    MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’

    Supporters of New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrate

    Supporters of New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrate during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York on Nov. 4, 2025.  (Angelina Katsanis/AFP via Getty Images)

    Elsewhere, global reactions to Mamdani’s win were mixed, reflecting both admiration and alarm.

    Middle East

    Jusoor News, a pan-Arab media outlet, shared content from Hamas-affiliated Telegram channels hailing Mamdani’s win as “a moral victory for humanitarian politics.”

    The Hamas-linked channel Kol al-Hakika described Mamdani as “a supporter of Hamas and a hater of Israel,” claiming “everyone is cheering after the great winning of Mamdani.” Other terrorist-affiliated accounts framed the result as “a change in Western power structures.”

    SOCIALIST SHOCKWAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS’ FAR-LEFT FLANK

    Zohran Mamdani celebrating

    Socialist Zohran Mamdani won his New York City mayoral race, beating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

    In Israel, reactions were far more severe. Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, said New York “handed over its keys to a supporter of Hamas,” warning that “New York will no longer be the same, especially for its Jewish community,” and urging Jewish New Yorkers to move to Israel.

    Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Mamdani’s election “will be remembered forever as a moment when antisemitism triumphed over common sense,” calling him “a supporter of Hamas” and “a hater of Israel.”

    In Iran, lawmaker Abolqasem Jarareh told Iran International that Mamdani’s win was “a sign of the strength of the slogan ‘Death to Israel.’”

    Europe

    In the U.K., London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan congratulated Mamdani on X stating, “New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.”

    Former Labour Party leader and hard-left politician Jeremy Corbyn, who has been embroiled in accusations of antisemitism and who volunteered for Mamdani’s campaign, wrote, “This is a seismic victory — not only for the people of New York, but for all those who believe that humanity and hope can prevail.”

    French MEP Manon Aubry, co-chair of the Left bloc in the European Parliament, called the victory “a huge breath of hope in the world of Trump.”

    Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani hold hands during the town hall “Fighting Oligarchy” event at Brooklyn College on Sept. 6, 2025.  (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

    “He overcame the media, economic, and political establishment that spent tens of millions of dollars to block his path,” Aubry wrote, praising his refusal to “turn a blind eye to racism and Gaza,” she wrote.

    Canada

    In Canada, leader of the leftist NDP, Jagmeet Singh tweeted, “At a time when the odds feel so stacked against working-class people, the people of New York made history.”

    Adriana James-Rodil contributed to this article.

    Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.

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  • Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor draws global reactions ranging from celebrations and pride to anger

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    London — Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City’s mayoral race has ignited passions for and against him, from pride in his birthplace of Uganda and applause from his counterpart in London to anger from Israel’s top diplomat in the U.S.

    Mamdani is a self-described democratic socialist who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, and his victory left some people in Africa beaming with pride for a hometown son. Mamdani was born in the East African nation of Uganda 34 years ago, then lived in South Africa for two years before moving with his family to New York as a child. 

    “What a moment! It was beautiful! I am excited!” cheered Joseph Beyanga, CEO of Uganda’s National Association of Broadcasters, pumping his hands in the air as he spoke with CBS News.

    New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York, Nov. 4, 2025. 

    ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty


    Beyanga said he was Mamdani’s mentor when the now-mayor-elect interned at one of Uganda’s top newspapers, the Daily Monitor, during a vacation when he was in high school. 

    “Whatever he wanted to do, there was no middle point. Always he wanted the top,” recalled Beyanga. “Then I realized he was not just interested in current affairs. He was interested in how the current affairs affect the people. If you’re talking about big money, the budget and all that, how does this affect the last person … he was interested in how it affects the people.”

    “When it was time to interact with people, he talked to people looking straight in the eye,” he said.

    Beyanga added that even 17 years after he met Mamdani, he still sees the same person in the New York City politician. 

    “Nothing has changed. His heart is with the people, and I don’t think that will change,” he said. “I’ve seen other outlets calling him populist and opponents giving him all sorts of names. I see a man after the heart of serving people, serving the down-trodden people in society. And hey, that doesn’t come far away from who he is. He is a Ugandan boy, and the Ugandan boy cares for the people.”

    Beyanga compared excitement in Uganda now to the exuberance among many Kenyans and Indonesians when former President Barack Obama was first elected.

    “The Ugandans are having their Mamdani moment,” Beyanga told CBS News, “and yes, we say if he did it, yes we can!”

    In the United Kingdom, London Mayor Sadiq Khan — who became the British capital’s first Muslim leader when he was first elected in 2016 — voiced solidarity with his new counterpart. Khan is currently serving his third consecutive term. 

    “New Yorkers faced a clear choice — between hope and fear — and just like we’ve seen in London — hope won,” Khan said in a social media post. “Huge congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on his historic campaign.”

    Following Mamdani’s election win, Time magazine published an article by Khan, who called it “extraordinary” that two of the world’s most influential cities will be led by people of the same faith.

    “But — in two of the most diverse cities on Earth — it’s a bit beside the point,” Khan said. “We did not win because of our faith. We won because we addressed voters’ concerns, rather than playing on them.”

    “Mayor Mamdani and I might not agree on everything. Many of the challenges our cities face are similar, but they are not identical. Put policy differences aside, though, and it’s clear that we are united by something far more fundamental: our belief in the power of politics to change people’s lives for the better.”

    Mamdani, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, has been accused of antisemitism and being pro-Hamas, which he denies. 

    He has also been called out for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Intifada is an Arabic word that means uprising, but which is widely viewed as a slogan inciting violence against Israel. However, during his campaign he said he would “discourage” others from using the phrase and that it “is not language that I use.”

    “Mamdani’s inflammatory remarks will not deter us,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Dannon said in a social media post on Wednesday. “The Jewish community in New York and across the United States deserves safety and respect. We will continue to strengthen our ties with Jewish community leaders to ensure their security and well-being.” 

    CBS News’ team in Israel said domestic media reports and editorials covering Mamdani’s win were largely split along ideological lines. Left-wing commentary generally called for Mamdani to be given a chance, while more right-wing outlets leaned the other way. 

    On Wednesday morning, the Times of Israel‘s front-page headline read: “Far-left, anti-Israel candidate Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race.”

    The Jerusalem Post‘s top featured editorial said: “Mamdani winning in NY means antisemitism can win elections, would impact Jews globally.”

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  • Katz: Israel working to kill Hamas terrorists, destroy tunnels in Gaza area under Israeli control

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    “The goal, alongside the return of all the hostages and the casualties, is to disarm Hamas of its weapons and demilitarize Gaza,” he said.

    The IDF is working to kill Hamas terrorists and destroy the organization’s tunnels that are located behind the Yellow Line, in Israel-controlled Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media on Wednesday.

    “Israel’s policy in Gaza is clear: The IDF is acting to destroy the tunnels and eliminate Hamas terrorists without any restrictions within the Yellow Line under our control. The goal, alongside the return of all the hostages and the casualties, is to disarm Hamas of its weapons and demilitarize Gaza,” he said.

    This follows similar statements made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also stressed the need to kill the hundreds of terrorists on the Israeli side of Gaza’s Yellow Line in Rafah, stating that Israeli forces are close to eliminating them in the tunnels.

    Over the course of the last week, several terrorists have crossed the Yellow Line into Israel-controlled territory.

    Crossing Gaza’s Yellow Line

    On Tuesday, a terrorist was killed after he was identified crossing the demarcation line and approaching IDF soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip.

    A similar incident occurred on Monday afternoon, when Israeli air and ground forces struck a number of terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached an IDF position in southern Gaza.

    On Sunday, another Palestinian terrorist attempted to cross the Yellow Line.

    The Yellow Line was established as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

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  • IDF destroys hundred-meter long tunnel, rocket depot in northern Gaza

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    Two operations in northern Gaza were conducted and dismantled Hamas infrastructure, while undercover operations in the West Bank managed to detain Hamas operatives in Nablus.

    The IDF destroyed a Hamas compound in the Shejaia, northern Gaza, containing launchers and rockets, while a tunnel hundreds of meters long was located and destroyed in Jabaliya, the military said on Tuesday.

    “Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, IDF soldiers from the 11th Brigade identified a compound containing launchers, rockets, and launch positions belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the center of the Shejaia area in northern Gaza,” the IDF stated.

    “An underground tunnel route spanning hundreds of meters long and tens of meters deep was located in the Jabaliya area and dismantled by soldiers from the 188th Brigade, together with Yahalom soldiers,” the statement also specified.

    In a separate operation, soldiers from the elite Duvdevan unit, under the direction of the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency), arrested two terrorists who were hiding in neighborhoods of the city of Nablus.

    IDF soldiers operate in the West Bank, July 25, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

    “Two wanted terrorists identified with the Hamas terrorist organization in the Balata camp and the village of Masachen in Sha’biyah,” the military specified.

    Hezbollah rearming at an alarming pace

    In the northern front, a classified report shared in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset stated that Hezbollah’s rearming rate was faster than the current attacks against it by the IDF.

    The report specified that Hezbollah is strengthening its forces at a faster pace than the IDF is managing to hit it, with the blows inflicted during the last war starting to wear off as the organization recomposes its forces.

    Amichai Stein contributed to this report.

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  • Hamas returns remains of 3 more Israeli hostages, leaving 8 in Gaza, including an Israeli American

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    Jerusalem – Palestinian militants have so far released the remains of 20 hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war. But the process of returning the bodies of the last eight remaining hostages, as called for under the U.S. peace plan, is progressing slowly, with militants releasing just one or two bodies every few days.

    Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s government and the families of the hostages have accused Hamas of dragging its feet, however, and officials have threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all of the remains are not returned.

    In the most recent release, Hamas returned the bodies on Sunday of three troops killed during its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on southern Israel. Israel’s military confirmed that the remains belonged to hostages Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel and Col. Assaf Hamami.

    An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicle transports the bodies of three Israeli hostages that were handed over by Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, Nov. 2, 2025.

    Stringer/Anadolu/Getty


    In return, Israel has so far released the bodies of 270 Palestinians back to Gaza, including 45 handed over on Monday, according to Palestinian media. Israel has not provided any details on their identities, and it is unclear if they were killed in Israel during the attack on Oct. 7, or if they were Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody, or bodies that were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.

    Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits.

    Who are the 8 hostages whose remains have not been returned?

    Itay Chen was an Israeli American originally from Netanya, in central Israel, who was abducted along with two other members of his tank battalion: Daniel Peretz, who also died, and Matan Angrest, who survived and was released from captivity on Monday. Chen loved basketball and studying human biology, according to the Israeli Hostages Families Forum.

    Chen was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken to Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, has met frequently with American leaders about bringing all of the hostages back to Israel, including the remains of the dead. Itay Chen is survived by his parents and two brothers.

    ISRAEL-FRANCE-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-HOSTAGES-CEREMONY

    Ruby Chen holds up a portrait of his 19-year-old son, American-Israeli IDF soldier Itay Chen, who was then believed to be a hostage in Gaza, as people watch a tribute to victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, in Tel Aviv, Feb. 7, 2024.

    AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty


    Meny Godard was a professional soccer player before enlisting in the Israeli military and serving in the 1973 Mideast War, according to Kibbutz Be’eri. He served in a variety of different positions in the kibbutz, including at its printing press.

    On the morning of Oct. 7, Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were forced out of their home after it was set on fire. She hid in the bushes for a number of hours before militants discovered her and killed her. She was able to tell her children that Meny had been killed before she died. The family held a double funeral for the couple. They are survived by four children and six grandchildren.

    Hadar Goldin’s remains are the only ones that have been held in Gaza since before the war. The Israeli soldier was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending that year’s war between Israel and Hamas. The military said it was determined that he had been killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

    Goldin is survived by his parents and three siblings, including a twin. He had proposed to his fiancée before he was killed. Earlier this year, Goldin’s family marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. The military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war earlier this year.

    Ran Gvili, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder he sustained in a motorcycle accident but rushed to assist fellow officers on Oct. 7. After helping people escape from the Nova music festival, he was killed fighting at another location and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

    Joshua Mollel was a Tanzanian agricultural student who arrived at kibbutz Nahal Oz only 19 days before Oct. 7. He had finished agricultural college in Tanzania and hoped to gain experience in Israel he could apply at home. Two smaller Palestinian militant groups posted graphic footage on social media showing their fighters stabbing and shooting Mollel, according to a Human Rights Watch report. He is survived by two parents and four siblings in Tanzania.

    Dror Or was a father of three who managed the dairy farm on Kibbutz Be’eri and was an expert cheesemaker. On Oct. 7, the family was hiding in their safe room when militants set the house on fire. Dror and his wife, Yonat, were killed. Two of their children were abducted and released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

    Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. According to media reports, Rinthalak was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. A total of 31 workers from Thailand were kidnapped on Oct. 7, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. Rinthalak is the last of three Thai hostages whose bodies were held in Gaza. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.

    Lior Rudaeff was born in Argentina and moved to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak at age 7. He volunteered for more than 40 years as an ambulance driver and was a member of the community’s emergency response team. He was killed while battling militants on the morning of Oct. 7 and his body was brought to Gaza. Rudaeff is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

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  • Hamas hands over three coffins it says contain bodies of Gaza hostages

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    Hamas has handed over three coffins it says contain the bodies of deceased Gaza hostages, according to the Israeli military.

    Israel has received the coffins, via the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, and transported them to Israel for formal identification.

    If confirmed as deceased hostages, it would mean eight Israeli and foreign deceased hostages remain in Gaza.

    Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel that started last month, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living and 28 dead hostages it was holding.

    Israel has accused Hamas of being too slow to return the deceased hostages, while Hamas has said it is working to recover bodies trapped under rubble in the territory.

    Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said the remains had been found earlier on Sunday “along the route of one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip”.

    Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official X account said: “All of the hostages’ families have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour. The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned.”

    The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is pressing Netanyahu to act urgently to recover all remaining deceased hostages from Gaza.

    “The Hostage Families demand that the prime minister act with determination and firmness in order… to return all of the deceased hostages to Israel’s hands,” the campaign group said in a statement.

    Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

    On Sunday, an Israeli air strike killed a man in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

    The Israeli military said it had struck a militant that was posing a threat to its soldiers.

    Under the first phase of the ceasefire, all the living Israeli hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

    Israel has handed over the bodies of 225 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 15 Israeli hostages so far returned by Hamas, along with those of two foreign hostages – one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.

    Prior to Sunday, nine of the 11 dead hostages still in Gaza were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.

    All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

    Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,500 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

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