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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump's administration’s use of Elon Musk's DOGE to cut USAID spending is having a deep impact on the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), according to internal U.N. emails shared with Fox News Digital.

In an email sent early Friday morning, president of the U.N. Field Staff Union, Milan Victor Dawoh wrote that the USAID funding cut resulted in "approximately $30 million" having been "removed from the extra-budgetary (XB) resources, resulting in a significant reduction in staffing." 

Dawoh’s email warns that the U.N. "is currently experiencing its worst liquidity crisis since its establishment. The situation is expected to deteriorate further before any improvement occurs."

Dawoh said that UNDSS will lose 100 employees and that its presence will be eliminated in 35 to 45 countries, while noting that "regional hubs" will be established "in the remaining 120 countries where UNDSS will maintain a presence." 

‘UN80 INITIATIVE’ APPEARS TO SHOW WORLD BODY’S PANIC OVER POSSIBLE DOGE-LIKE CUTS

"The [under secretary-general of UNDSS] emphasized that UNDSS is not a protection agency but a risk management and analysis entity," the email reads. "This distinction should be clearly communicated to staff."

The Department’s website describes the UNDSS as "a global leader in security risk management principles" and explains that it "enables the safe and effective delivery of United Nations programmes and activities in the most complex and challenging environments, while maximizing resources." 

Fox News Digital asked Dawoh about the authenticity of the email and what portion of the UNDSS budget was paid for by USAID, but received no response.

Earlier this month, António Guterres warned about cuts to U.S. spending at the U.N., stating that "going through with recent funding cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous."

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital that UNDSS only received about $20 million from USAID last year. "USAID informed us that some of this funding has been terminated; other projects will continue with USAID support," he said. 

Whereas Dawoh’s email indicates that the UNDSS’s loss of funding is related to a cut in extra-budgetary resources, Haq stated that "extra budgetary funding from USAID is a relatively small proportion of the Department's budget, most of which comes from the U.N. regular budget, a U.N. cost-sharing mechanism, and the peace support account."

According to Haq, UNDSS has 2,250 personnel around the globe, "supporting the security of — and enabling operations by — 180,000 U.N. personnel." Haq added that "the majority of the Department's workforce is in the field, with a much smaller percentage in New York HQ. U.N. personnel serving in the world's most dangerous places deserve effective security as they work to save lives."

PAUSE IN US FOREIGN AID HAS UN IN PANIC OVER FUNDING CUTS, TRUMP SAYS WORLD BODY 'NOT BEING WELL RUN'

Haq said that an email sent to multiple U.N. mailing groups on Mar. 19 mentioning the funding-related closure of one staff entrance to U.N. headquarters was unrelated to UNDSS. "Funding for the UNHQ premises does not come from USAID," Haq explained. He said that the temporary closure is the result, instead, of some member states’ non-payment of dues.

A U.N. source speaking on condition of anonymity said that in the midst of financial uncertainty, U.N. staff "are very fearful of their immediate future." The source said that concerns include the ability to collect pensions and access their United Nations Federal Credit Union accounts. The source indicated that because "most of these staffers that are losing their jobs are . . . on G-4 visas," the change may even impact their ability to stay in the U.S. 

"This is an implication beyond just losing the jobs of individuals. It impacts families, and this could be massive in the coming weeks with new cuts that will impact U.N. agencies."

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for insight on how employees would be impacted by layoffs but received no response.

Calls for increased U.N. reform come a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of funding to the U.N. At the time, Trump said that the world body "has tremendous potential" but is "not being well run." 

As Israel comes into focus amid the ongoing war against Hamas, antisemitism has risen across the globe. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said it recorded over 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. between Oct. 7, 2023, and Oct. 6, 2024. The ADL said it was the highest number of incidents ever recorded in a single year since it began tracking such data in 1979. 

In the aftermath of the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, protests erupted on university campuses and in the streets of major cities. In fact, on Oct. 8, 2023 —just one day after the massacre and before Israel’s retaliation — a crowd gathered in Times Square to celebrate the attackers and condemn the victims.

PRO-ISRAEL INFLUENCER SAYS STUDENTS AT ELITE UNIVERSITY SHOWED ANTISEMITISM 'WITHIN SECONDS' OF GOING UNDERCOVER

"The very same lethal antisemitism that fueled the atrocities, the war crimes, the crimes against humanity perpetrated on October the 7th is the antisemitism that fuels the responses to the atrocities, to the war crimes, to the crimes against humanity perpetrated on October the 7th," Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism Michal Cotler-Wunsh told Fox News Digital. 

Cotler-Wunsh warns there is a "global tsunami" of antisemitism, and anti-Zionism is a "new strain" of "an ever-mutating lethal virus."

"If we track these moments in which we've seen this unfathomable backlash, we could track it to the execution — [the] point-blank execution of six of the hostages who were held in captivity—one, of course, being American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin," Cotler-Wunsh told Fox News Digital.

ADL ALLEGES WIKIPEDIA EDITORS ENGAGING IN 'COORDINATED CAMPAIGN' AGAINST ISRAEL

"And the understanding that in response to that point-blank execution, instead of seeing outrage in the streets — including in New York City — what we saw was support for Hamas, the executioners, if you will. Hamas, a genocidal terror organization designated as such by the United States of America."

While antisemitism was on the rise prior to Oct. 7, the attacks "ripped off many, many masks," according to Cotler-Wunsh. However, she emphasizes that this is not just a problem for Jewish people; this is a warning shot for humanity.

"What we have seen systematically in this normalization historically through time is that antisemitism, when it comes to this state of normalized mainstream lethal hate, just predicts what is a major threat to freedom, humanity, and the dignity of difference."

When speaking about the protests seen at universities across America, Cotler-Wunsh pointed to the examples of professors who either praised or downplayed the Oct. 7 attacks, including Cornell professor Russell Rickford, who described the massacre as "exhilarating." She believes that schools need to start consistently applying policies and cracking down on systemic violations of those policies, such as the anti-Israel demonstrations seen on so many campuses.

"No rule that is not applied equally and consistently is worth the paper that it is written on," Cotler-Wunsh told Fox News Digital.

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However, Cotler-Wunsh says that enforcing rules is only the first step. She believes institutions across the globe, not just universities, need to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The IHRA definition states: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."

While criticizing Israel is not necessarily an antisemitic act, even under the IHRA’s definition, "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor" is considered antisemitic by the IHRA’s standards.

Countries and institutions across the globe, such as the U.S. and the United Nations, have adopted the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. The Combat Antisemitism Movement says that as of Feb. 1, 2025, 1,266 entities have adopted the definition, which includes national and local governments, as well as international organizations.

As top U.S. officials prepare for a meeting with a Russian delegation in Saudia Arabia Sunday, questions have mounted over how the Trump administration will push Moscow to extend a preliminary ceasefire. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which includes Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who will both travel to Jeddah for the negotiations, said the next step will be to secure a ceasefire over the Black Sea.

MILITARY LEADERS TO MEET ON UK-FRANCE 'COALITION OF THE WILLING' PLAN FOR UKRAINE

Moscow had previously agreed to a similar deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which attempted to secure Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to control global prices, but Putin pulled out of the agreement in 2023. 

Security experts remain unconvinced that Putin can be trusted this time around.

But there is another issue that apparently will be on the negotiating table in the Middle East — Ukraine’s nuclear power. 

As the president’s focus on a mineral deal with Ukraine appears to have diminished, he has turned his interest to a new business venture, U.S. "ownership" of Kyiv’s "electrical supply and nuclear power plants."

"American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure," a joint statement released by Rubio and Waltz said after Trump’s phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

TRUMP HOLDS 'VERY GOOD' CALL WITH ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING DEAL WITH PUTIN

When asked by Fox News Digital how Putin, who has made his interest in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant clear, will respond to Trump’s new ambitions, Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of "Putin’s Playbook," said she does not think it will go over well. 

"Putin almost certainly is not in favor of this idea and will attempt to sabotage such a deal," said Koffler, who briefed NATO officials of Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine years before the 2022 invasion. "Moreover, Zelenskyy is unlikely to sign off on such a deal also.

"Zelenskyy would likely agree to cede control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the U.S., which is currently under Russian control. The Russians will not voluntarily give up control of Zaporizhzhia. If someone tries to take it over by force, they will fight to the bitter end."

It is unclear when Trump’s interest in acquiring Ukraine’s energy infrastructure began, though it appears to tie into his previous assertions that Ukraine will be better protected if it has American workers and businesses operating within its borders. 

The basis of this argument has been debated because there were, and remain, American companies operating in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion. The debate contributed to an Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy last month. 

Koffler said Putin could view a U.S. takeover of Kyiv’s four nuclear power plants as a "backdoor way" for the U.S. to extend some security guarantees for Ukraine and a "clever way of controlling Ukraine’s nuclear capability, which the Russians believe can be militarized."

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE RUSSIA, UKRAINE CEASEFIRE TALKS?

"It would be viewed as a threat to Russia," Koffler said.

When asked how U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could affect negotiations, former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he is not convinced it will have much of an effect on actually securing peace. 

"Show me the deal. We don't have a deal yet. We have a ceasefire that's been broken on energy infrastructure," Hoffman pointed out. He noted that even after Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure on Tuesday, the following morning a drone strike hit a railway power system in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which led to civilian power outages. 

"It's just another discussion point. There are so many other issues that are of far greater importance. What Putin would probably do for his negotiating strategy is to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I'll let you do that United States of America, but I want this in return’. It's always going to be that way," Hoffman added, reflecting on his own negotiations with Russian counterparts during his time with the CIA.

"He wants Ukraine. He wants to topple the government. That's his objective," Hoffman added. "Whatever deals he agrees to in the short term, what he really wants to do is destroy Ukraine's ability to deter Russia in the future and to give Russia maximum advantage. 

"Right now, he can gain through negotiation what he can't gain on the battlefield." 

While a number of issues will be discussed, the former CIA Moscow station chief said the real key in accomplishing any kind of ceasefire will need to be an authentic signal from Putin that he actually wants the war to end.

"The big question that John Ratcliffe has to answer is explain to me why Putin wants a ceasefire. I would argue he doesn't," Hoffman said in reference to the director of the CIA. "There is zero indication that he wants one.

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"If he wanted to stop the war and stop the killing of his own people and stop spilling so much blood and treasure, he would have stopped it," Hoffman argued.

Ultimately, Hoffman said, when looking at how most major wars have concluded, history suggests the war in Ukraine can only truly end on the battlefield.

"One side loses, one side wins, or both sides don't have the means to fight anymore," Hoffman said. "That's how the wars end."

Sudan's military on Friday retook the Republican Palace in Khartoum, the last heavily guarded bastion of rival paramilitary forces in the capital, after nearly two years of fighting.

The seizure of the Republican Palace, surrounded by government ministries, was a major symbolic victory for Sudan's military against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — though it likely doesn't mean the end of the war as the RSF holds territory in Sudan's western Darfur region and elsewhere.

SUDAN'S ARMY DENOUNCES VIDEO ALLEGEDLY SHOWING ITS TROOPS CARRYING SEVERED HEADS OF ENEMIES

Social media videos showed Sudanese soldiers inside the palace, giving the date as the 21st day of Ramadan, the holy Muslim fasting month, which corresponds to Friday. A Sudanese military officer wearing a captain’s epaulettes made the announcement in the video and confirmed the troops were inside the compound.

The palace appeared to be in ruins, with soldiers’ stepping on broken tiles. Troops carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers chanted: "God is the greatest!"

Khaled al-Aiser, Sudan’s information minister, said the military had retaken the palace in a post on the social platform X.

"Today the flag is raised, the palace is back and the journey continues until victory is complete," he wrote.

Later, curious residents wandered through the palace. Walls stood pockmarked by rifle rounds. Smears of blood led to dead bodies, covered haphazardly with blankets.

Palace's fall a symbolic and strategic moment

The fall of the Republican Palace — a compound along the Nile River that was the seat of government before the war erupted and is immortalized on Sudanese banknotes and postage stamps — marks another battlefield gain for Sudan’s military, which has made steady advances in recent months under army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

It also means that the rival RSF fighters, under Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been mostly expelled from the capital, Khartoum. Sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the capital Friday, though it wasn't clear if it involved fighting or was celebratory.

Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Sudanese military, said its troops are holding the palace, surrounding ministry buildings and the Arab Market to the south of the complex.

Khartoum International Airport, only some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the palace, has been held by the RSF since the start of the war in April 2023.

Suleiman Sandal, a politician associated with the RSF, acknowledged the military took the palace and called it part of "the ups and downs" of history.

The RSF later issued a statement claiming its forces "are still present of the vicinity of the area, fighting bravely." A drone attack on the palace believed to have been launched by the RSF reportedly killed troops and journalists with Sudanese state television.

Late Thursday, the RSF claimed it seized control of the Sudanese city of al-Maliha, a strategic desert city in North Darfur near the borders with Chad and Libya. Sudan’s military has acknowledged fighting around al-Maliha, but has not said it lost the city.

Al-Maliha is around 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the city of El Fasher, which remains held by the Sudanese military despite near-daily strikes by besieging RSF.

The head of the U.N. children’s agency has said that Sudan's conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. UNICEF on Friday separately decried the looting of food aid meant to go to malnourished children at Al Bashir Hospital on Khartoum's outskirts.

"Commercial supplies and humanitarian aid have been blocked for more than three months due to ongoing conflict along key routes," UNICEF warned. "The result is a severe shortage of food, medicine and other essentials, with thousands of civilians trapped in active fighting."

The war has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country. Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll.

The Republican Palace became the seat of power during the British colonization of Sudan. It also saw some of the first flags of independent Sudan raised in 1956. The complex had also been the main office of Sudan’s president and other top officials.

The Sudanese military has long targeted the palace and its grounds, shelling and firing on the compound.

Sudan has faced years of chaos and war

Sudan, a nation in northeastern Africa, has been unstable since a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. A short-lived transition to democracy was derailed when Burhan and Dagalo led a military coup in 2021.

The RSF and Sudan’s military began fighting each other in 2023.

Since the start of the year, Burhan’s forces, including Sudan’s military and allied militias, have advanced against the RSF. They retook a key refinery north of Khartoum, pushed in on RSF positions around Khartoum itself. The fighting has led to an increase in civilian casualties.

Al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court over carrying out a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s in the western Darfur region with the Janjaweed militia, the RSF precursor. Rights groups and the U.N. accuse the RSF and allied Arab militias of again attacking ethnic African groups in this latest war.

Since the war began, both the Sudanese military and the RSF have faced allegations of human rights abuses. Before U.S. President Joe Biden left office, the State Department declared the RSF are committing genocide.

The military and the RSF have denied committing abuses.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Friday that the U.S. could receive "severe slaps" if they act "with malice" following President Donald Trump’s threats to Yemen’s Houthis, a report said. 

Americans "make a big mistake and call regional resistance centers Iranian proxies. What does proxy mean?" Khamenei said, according to Reuters. "The Yemeni nation has its own motivation and the resistance groups in the region have their own motivations. Iran doesn't need proxies." 

"They issue threats," Khamenei reportedly added, claiming that "we have never started a confrontation or conflict with anyone." 

"However, if anyone acts with malice and initiates it, they will receive severe slaps," he was quoted by Reuters as saying. 

IRAN’S REACTION TO TRUMP’S HOUTHI THREATS, EXPLAINED 

Trump said Monday that "every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!"  

"Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.   

TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI ‘POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS’ 

"Iran has played 'the innocent victim' of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control," he continued. "They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, "Intelligence.'" 

U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had "initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation."    

Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday that he "ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen." 

Fox News’ Taylor Penley, Andrea Margolis and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report. 

Gal Dalal has spent nearly a year and a half fighting for the release of his brother, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. 

Dalal wants the world to know who his brother was before he was a face on a poster and why getting Guy out of Gaza is urgent.

"So, my brother is the most warm-hearted man I know. He's a very, very funny guy," Dalal told Fox News Digital. "For me, he's actually my best friend. We share the same interests and hobbies and we do everything together."

FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE TELLS UN, 'NO MORE EXCUSES,' SAYS AID IS FEEDING TERRORISTS

On Oct. 7, 2023, Guy was in the middle of experiencing his first-ever spiritual festival with his friends when Gal, a more seasoned festival goer, joined the group at approximately 6:15 a.m., less than 15 minutes before the attack began.

Dalal told Fox News Digital that when he arrived at the festival, an excited Guy ran up to hug him before pulling out his phone to take a selfie for their mother.

"That’s the only reason I went there [to the Nova music festival] was to watch over him. And, you know, the fact that I came back without him, I think that’s the worst part of it for me," Dalal told Fox News Digital.

Neither of the Dalal brothers could have known what was coming next. As the sirens began to sound, Dalal told Fox News Digital that he suggested that the group go to his apartment, and they agreed. While Dalal went in his own car, Guy decided to go with his friends. Dalal estimates that Guy and his friends took an additional 10 minutes before leaving the festival area. At this point, they were not alarmed despite the rocket sirens blaring.

FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT HIS 505 DAYS OF SURVIVING HAMAS HELL

"We [are] used to these alarms. We [are] used to missiles attack and no one thought it's going to be a terror attack in this kind of scale," Dalal told Fox News Digital.

Safety protocol for rocket attacks is widely known in Israel. There are designated amounts of time to seek shelter depending on the location’s distance from Gaza. Many at the Nova festival ran to shelters on the side of the road, which would later turn out to be deadly. Hamas terrorists used the shelters to carry out mass killings. They would throw grenades into groups of people, many of whom did not survive.

Dalal told Fox News Digital that outside the festival, he sat in traffic for about 20 minutes before he heard shooting. From there, he spent hours running for his life. He was too far to go back for Guy, but the two were able to talk on the phone one last time before Guy was taken hostage.

The Dalal family found out on Oct. 7 that Guy and his best friend, Evyatar David, were taken hostage. Hamas published a video of the two kidnapped men already in Gaza. Guy and Evyatar went to the festival with two other friends, both of whom were killed.

Dalal and his family have spent the last 17 months advocating for the release of all the hostages, including Guy. 

"I always say that in one hand, we are so tired. We are literally on the edge. This fight is taking so much out of us, and the only thing that we really care about is my brother seeing him again, knowing that he's well and protecting him. Hug him. Help him to heal. We miss him so much, I miss him so much," Dalal told Fox News Digital.

Recently, the Dalal family received a sign of life, but it was not a relieving sight. Guy and Evyatar were forced to take part in a Hamas propaganda video, in which they were forced to sit in a van and watch hostages be released only to have the door slammed in their faces.

Dalal told Fox News Digital that the video brought him back to Oct. 7 and showed the "psychological torture" the families of hostages endure. He says it’s clear that his brother and Evyatar are being "starved to death."

"It scares me that this negotiation can take more time, and Guy doesn’t have the time," Dalal told Fox News Digital. However, he believes that President Donald Trump and the U.S. have the power to bring the hostages home.

In his fight for his brother’s freedom, Gal traveled to the U.S. and met with members of both the Biden and Trump administrations. He said that meeting the Trump officials felt "different" and that they understood that time is not on their side.

"I think that the only one who can really put the pressure and bring these hostages back and make sure that they will return to their families is President Trump and United States as a nation, you have the power of that, the power and the support that we need to make sure the hostages will return and will come back home," Dalal told Fox News Digital.

Taliban hostage George Glezmann landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday after more than 800 days in captivity in Afghanistan, where he received a "champion's welcome."

"I feel born again," Glezmann told Fox News.  "I have no words."

"President Trump is amazing," he added before thanking Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and hostage envoy Adam Boehler. 

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

"A free American individual…abducted because of my U.S. passport."

"I've got no words to express my gratitude for my liberty," Glezmann added.

His wife, Aleksandra, arrived shortly after her husband landed, and the two embraced after she got out of the car for the first time since his Dec. 5, 2022, capture in Kabul. 

Ryan Corbett, who was released in January after nearly 900 days in Taliban captivity greeted Glezmann upon arrival.

Both Glezmann and Corbett were held together in Afghanistan.

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News of Glezmann's release was first revealed to Fox News Digital on Thursday after he departed from the Kabul International Airport headed for Doha, Qatar.

His release was secured by U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, and Qatari officials, who engaged in direct communications with the Taliban in Afghanistan.  

Boehler met Glezmann in Kabul before flying with him to the Maryland base located just outside of Washington, 

FIRST ON FOX: Hostage envoy Adam Boehler met in person with Taliban officials at the Kabul International Airport, Qatari sources told Fox News Digital, marking the first known time the White House has engaged with Afghanistan’s "interim government" following the 2021 takeover by the terrorist organization.

While the meeting between Boehler and Afghan officials representing the Taliban’s foreign ministry met to secure the release of George Glezmann on Thursday, advisor and spokesman to Qatar's prime minister, Dr Majed al-Ansari, told Fox News Digital that other "beneficial" issues were discussed. 

"U.S. envoy Adam Boehler came to Doha. He had meetings over here, and then we moved to Kabul, where he had meetings in the airport with the foreign minister and other Afghan officials," al-Ansari said. "That was the first meeting of its kind and opened the door for a lot of dialogue on lots of issues, including the issues of detainees."

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

"But also other issues that can be very beneficial for the Afghan people and for the people of the United States, and providing security regionally for Afghanistan, but also in general," he added. "It was a good first step that we helped facilitate."

The White House did not return Fox News Digital’s questions on whether Boehler’s in-person meeting suggests the Trump administration may look to establish ties with the Taliban government – a subject that has been taboo among Western nations following the toppling of the democratically elected government and the subsequent severe human rights violations, including the removal of essentially all women’s rights. 

Al-Ansari confirmed that while Qatar has been working with the U.S. since 2022 to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Kabul in the more than three years since the deadly takeover, this is the first time the White House has directly engaged with the Taliban government. 

FAMILY OF THIRD AMERICAN HELD BY TALIBAN CALLS FOR HIS IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 'WE ARE CONCERNED'

"We always said that the way to resolve all of these issues all around the world is through dialog, is through talking, and is through beginning a mode of engagement that is positive and that would bring about more trust between the parties, and would bring about positive results," al-Ansari added, nodding toward Qatar’s heavy involvement in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. 

Boehler, who has not been confirmed by the Senate after he removed his nomination as special envoy to avoid divestment stipulations, serves as a "special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," according to a statement by White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly.

The freedom of Glezmann is the second major release Boehler secured this month after Marc Fogel was returned from Russia following his August 2021 arrest. 

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Boehler, who helped secure the Abraham Accords as a lead negotiator during the first Trump administration, turned heads following the revelation that he met with another terrorist organization earlier this month – Hamas.

The hostage envoy met directly with Hamas officials in an attempt to secure the release of the five American hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, including Edan Alexander, who is the only remaining American hostage still alive. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize more territory in Gaza if Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages. Earlier this week, the IDF resumed the war in Gaza after a nearly two-month-long ceasefire that saw the release of 33 hostages.

"If the terrorist organization Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza for the benefit of protecting Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through permanent Israeli control of the territory," Katz said in a statement. "As Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more territory that will be annexed to Israel."

If Israel follows through on Katz’s threat of partial annexation, it would be the biggest shift to the status quo in Gaza in almost 20 years. In 2005, Israel evacuated Gaza and even sent in the IDF to physically take Israelis out of their homes. A year later, Hamas took control and has ruled over the Strip ever since.

HAMAS LAUNCHES FIRST ATTACK ON ISRAEL SINCE CEASEFIRE COLLAPSE

Katz also said that Israel will continue Operation "Strength and Sword" with increasing intensity until Hamas releases the hostages. Additionally, he affirmed Israel’s adherence to the proposal put forth by U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which involves getting all hostages, alive and dead, out of Gaza in two phases.

The Trump administration is standing by Israel’s military decisions. This is a very different approach than the one taken by the Biden administration, which supported Israel militarily and diplomatically, but also put pressure on the country to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.

​ISRAELI OFFICIAL THANKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AS THE COUNTRY RESUMES WAR IN GAZA

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that President Donald Trump "fully supports Israel and the IDF in the actions that they’ve taken in recent days." The president previously warned Hamas that there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released.

"Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose war," NSC Spokesman James Hewitt said on Thursday. "These terrorists bear total responsibility for this conflict and the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have and could have been avoided had Hamas accepted the 'bridge' proposal Special Envoy Witkoff offered last week."

While fighting the war against Gaza, Israel is also experiencing internal turmoil. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that a vote to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s version of the FBI, had passed. Current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will serve in the role until April 10, but that could change depending on when a replacement for him is found.

Netanyahu claimed he could not trust Bar, according to a statement from his spokesperson cited by Axios. In a letter distributed by the Shin Bet, Bar dismissed the claim and said the motives behind his firing were baseless. On Friday, Israel's Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction preventing Bar's dismissal, which will remain in place until the court can hear petitions against the dismissal.

A former special envoy to Haiti blames what he views as former President Joe Biden's absentee approach to decision-making for the current woes afflicting the Caribbean nation.

Daniel Foote served as special envoy to Haiti in 2021 but resigned in protest over what he said was the administration’s failed approach of supporting unpopular and unelected leaders.

"All of the governments that the U.S. has backed or anointed or imposed in the last 110 years have not represented the Haitian people," Foote said. He said the Biden administration backed the then-unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry solely for his unwavering loyalty despite lingering questions about how Henry rose to power.

GANG VIOLENCE IN HAITI AT RECORD LEVELS AMID CRITICISMS US HAS NO 'CLEAR STRATEGY'

Foote has been involved with Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people. He now believes the country has descended into near-total collapse.

"It's a thousand times worse now because we broke whatever weak social contract there was between the people and the government. And there has been no government since basically 2012. It's a failed state."

A recent U.N. report revealed that more than 1 million people have been displaced due to gang violence in Haiti, nearly 10% of the population. Another report indicated that 85% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is under gang control.

Foote said he never met Biden while serving as envoy, claiming that by then, Biden had "deteriorated to the point that they didn’t want him to see a lot of people." Instead, he said, Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, and U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison devised the plan to support Henry.

Foote said he recalled a remark that Biden allegedly made as a senator in 1994: "If Haiti just quietly sunk into the Caribbean, or rose up 300 feet, it wouldn’t matter a whole lot in terms of our interests."

"That explains Joe Biden's approach to Haiti," Foote said.

HAITIAN MAN CHARGED IN NC TRIPLE MURDER FLEW INTO US UNDER BIDEN MIGRANT FLIGHTS PROGRAM: ICE

Biden’s spokesperson and Sison did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Nuland rejected Foote’s accusations, calling them "completely false" and referred Fox News Digital to former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols.

"What I observed that there was intense coordination, and there was not one person or two people who would make a significant decision on the policy," Nichols said, noting that he got the job roughly a week before Foote resigned on Sept. 21 and so was not involved in earlier decisions. "All issues were debated extensively internally at multiple levels, all the way up to the principals, that's the Cabinet secretary level."

Foote said that in the past he felt no need for security while walking around Haiti because Americans were widely welcomed. Things are not the same anymore.

"Now the Haitians are looking at China, looking at Russia," he said. "They're like, ‘Somebody help us. The Americans just keep screwing us over,’ yet they still want the Americans to help them."

The Biden administration committed around $600 million to fund an international security force, known as the multinational security support mission (MSS), composed of personnel from countries like Bangladesh, Kenya, Chad and Guyana. But Foote said he sees the MSS strategy as a waste of taxpayer money.

"They don't have the security backbone to take on the gangs," he said. "They need help. And that help is not 5,000 random police officers from a mishmash of 10 different developing countries led by the Kenyans, who have never led a security mission in history."

Nichols defended the MSS, declaring their efforts "incredibly heroic."

"Having seen them on the ground in Haiti, it's an extremely professional force, extremely courageous and one committed to the mission," he said.

Foote recommends that President Donald Trump send 60 U.S. special forces personnel to train an elite anti-gang unit in Haiti and reestablish a signals intelligence program to monitor gang communication. Without such action, he said, the consequences would extend far beyond Haiti’s borders.

"It's just going to continue to create chaos right off the U.S. shores and create a massive surge in migration," he said. "Because if you walk down the street in Port-au-Prince, you look around and think, 'I can understand why people leave. Humans can’t live in these conditions.'"

Jack Brewer, who played in the NFL before founding a global foundation that has been in Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquakes, echoed Foote’s assessment.

"People are being burned alive, police officers are getting their heads bashed into the pavement – bloody, torturous deaths," Brewer said. "One of my doctors had five of his close friends and relatives murdered. This all just happened this week."

Brewer said that any real change can come only from within Haiti.

"I'm talking about a culture that doesn't accept stealing and doesn't accept corruption," he said. "Right now, culturally, it's acceptable to steal, and that has to change. Until you fix the moral fabric of a nation and reinstate law and order, it doesn't matter what America does."

UNITED NATIONS — Former Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi went before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with his heartbreaking story and a simple plea: "Bring them all home now."

Sharabi has been free for less than six weeks, but in that time, he has already advocated for the hostages and spoken with world leaders about the plight of those still languishing in Hamas’ hands.

"On Oct. 7, my heaven turned to hell," Sharabi, who was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri, recalled. "Sirens began, Hamas terrorists invaded and I was ripped away from my family, never to see them again."

Kibbutz Be’eri saw some of the worst of the Oct. 7 massacre. More than 100 of its residents were murdered, and 30 were taken hostage during the attacks, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Among those killed were Sharabi’s wife and two daughters. He only learned of their murders when he returned from Gaza.

FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT HIS 505 DAYS OF SURVIVING HAMAS HELL

"Then I arrived home. They told me my mother and sister were waiting for me. I said, ‘Get me my wife and daughters.’ And that was when I knew. They were gone. They had been murdered," Sharabi told the council. Sharabi’s brother, Yossi, was also taken hostage but was killed in captivity. His body is still in Gaza.

When Sharabi was released Feb. 8 alongside Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, the world noticed that all three men looked gaunt. At the time, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it was "what a crime against humanity looks like." President Donald Trump said the men "looked like Holocaust survivors" and seemed to be "in horrible condition."

Sharabi told the council that when he got back to Israel after spending 491 days in Hamas captivity, he weighed just 44 kilograms (97 pounds). He spoke about the pain of starvation and how, through the beatings — including one so severe his ribs were broken — he was consumed by hunger.

Sharabi testified that he was only given a pita a day and would be forced to beg for extra food. That was when he told the council where the U.N. humanitarian aid was going.

FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE BRIEFS UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON THE 'PURE HELL' THAT WAS CAPTIVITY IN GAZA

"I know that you discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza very often. But let me tell you, as an eyewitness, I saw what happened to that aid. Hamas stole it," Sharabi said. "I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the U.N. and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel. Dozens and dozens of boxes, paid by your governments, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family."

Many hostages who have returned say Hamas would eat in front of them as torture, never giving any food to the captives.

"When you speak of humanitarian aid, remember this: Hamas eats like kings while hostages starve. Hamas steals from civilians. Hamas blocks aid from reaching those who truly need it," Sharabi told the council.

Sharabi also slammed the U.N., the Red Cross and the world for their silence and inaction. 

"Where was the United Nations? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?" he asked.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon echoed this point, saying the security council "erased the hostages" and failed to mention "the humanitarian crimes Hamas is deliberately inflicting on the hostages." Danon then accused the "entire U.N. system" of abandoning its responsibility and the hostages.

Danon emphasized the war would not end until the remaining hostages were returned home.

Sharabi concluded his remarks with one demand.

"Bring them all home. No more excuses. No more delays. If you stand for humanity — prove it. Bring them home," he said.

Thirty years on from the fatal sarin nerve gas attack in Tokyo's subway network, survivors and families who lost loved ones are still seeking justice.

Thirteen people were killed and thousands were sickened when cult members released sarin nerve gas in the capital's subway trains on March 20, 1995. The attack remains one of the most shocking atrocities in Japan, a country known for its low crime rates.

20 YEARS LATER, A SURVIVOR RECOUNTS JAPAN'S SARIN GAS ATTACK AND HOW IT AFFECTED HIS LIFE

The cult, Aum Shinrikyo or Supreme Truth, has since disbanded. Its founder, Shoko Asahara, and 12 of his disciples were executed in 2018.

But 1,600 former members still operate under renamed groups and have ignored an order to pay damages to survivors and bereaved families.

Shizue Takahashi lost her husband, a deputy station master, in the attack. The couple was just starting to enjoy time to themselves after raising three children when tragedy struck.

"My life is still being ruined by Aum and its successor groups," said Takahashi, 78. "We need to carry on and not let the memories fade."

People gasped for air and collapsed

At 8 a.m. during the morning rush, five cult members got on separate train cars on three subway lines converging at Kasumigaseki, Japan’s government center, each dropping bags of sarin on the train floors. They punctured the bags with umbrellas, releasing the gas inside the train cars.

Within minutes, commuters poured out of the trains onto the platforms, rubbing their eyes and gasping for air. Some collapsed. Others fled onto the streets where ambulances and rescue workers in hazmat suits gave first-aid.

Kazumasa Takahashi didn’t know the puddle he was cleaning on the subway car floor was sarin. He collapsed as he removed a bag — a sacrifice some survivors say saved lives — and never woke up.

The attack sickened more than 6,000. A 14th victim died in 2020 after battling severe after-effects.

The subway gassing happened after a botched police investigation failed to link the cult to earlier crimes, says Yuji Nakamura, a lawyer for the survivors and the bereaved families. "It could have been prevented," he said.

Two days after the gassing, Tokyo police, carrying a caged canary to detect poison, raided Aum’s headquarters near Mount Fuji, where the cultists lived together, trained and produced sarin. Asahara was found in a hidden compartment.

Apocalyptic cult

Born Chizuo Matsumoto in 1955, Asahara founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1984. The cult combined Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and yoga, and attracted young people disillusioned with materialism. He taught that death could elevate their spirits and justified killing as a virtue.

Followers paid to drink Asahara’s bathwater and wore electrical head gear they believed synchronized their brain waves with the guru’s. He prophesized an imminent apocalypse, which only true believers would survive.

Asahara gathered doctors, lawyers and scientists from Japan’s top universities as his closest aides.

Using donations from followers and earnings from yoga classes and health food businesses, they bought land and equipment. Asahara’s scientists developed and manufactured sarin, VX and other chemical and biological weapons.

In 1989, its members killed Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer who opposed the cult, his wife and baby boy. Their criminal activities escalated after their defeat in the 1990 parliamentary elections. A 1994 sarin attack in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto killed eight and injured more than 140 others.

In all, Aum killed 27 people in more than a dozen attacks that culminated in the subway gassing. It was part of a plot by Asahara to hasten Armageddon, envisioning overthrowing the government.

Still seeking redress

Shizue Takahashi attended most of the Aum criminal trials. She has lobbied for government support, winning the enactment of a law to support crime victims and government benefits of 3 billion yen ($20 million) for more than 6,000 survivors and bereaved families of the Aum crimes.

The government has also enacted laws banning sarin production and possession, and restricted the activities of groups linked to mass killings. Police have since established nuclear, biological and chemical weapons units and beefed up training.

Aum’s main successor, Aleph, has ignored a court order to pay 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) in compensation to survivors and bereaved families. The group has allegedly hidden billions of yen of income from yoga and spiritual seminars.

Many of the subway gassing survivors still suffer health problems and trauma, according to support groups.

Takahashi and others last week called on Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki to do more to accelerate compensation by Aleph and keep them under close watch.

Survivors and their supporters say lessons have not been sufficiently shared with the public.

Shoko Egawa, a journalist and expert on Aum crimes, says attention on the group has largely focused on its crimes rather than teaching people to stay away from dangerous cults. "There is still a lot to learn from (the Aum problems), including how they attracted followers, so that we can prevent people from getting their lives ruined by cults," Egawa said.

Takahashi recently launched a website that compiles articles and comments by survivors, lawyers and writers, including Haruki Murakami’s 2007 article about his 1997 book "Underground."

Aum’s remnants

At its peak, the cult boasted more than 10,000 followers in Japan and 30,000 in Russia and elsewhere. Aum has disbanded, but about 1,600 people belonging to Aleph and two smaller groups in Japan still practice Asahara’s teachings, said the Public Security Intelligence Agency, which monitors the groups.

Minoru Kariya, whose father was killed by Aum members in early 1995 while he was trying to get his sister to quit the cult, said authorities need to do much more to tackle the threat.

"It’s scary that they still exist and are operating as organizations and recruiting new followers," he said.

Israeli forces began military ground operations in Gaza, particularly the Hamas stronghold of Rafah in an effort to degrade the terror group's infrastructure, authorities said Thursday. 

The Israel Defense Forces said a ground operation was taking place in the "Shavura" neighborhood, as well as parts of central and northern Gaza. 

ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN HOUTHI BALLISTIC MISSILE AFTER CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES

"In recent hours, IDF forces began a ground operation in the area of ​​the ‘Shavura’ neighborhood in Rafah," the IDF wrote on X. "As part of the operation, the forces destroyed several terrorist infrastructures."

In recent months, Hamas terrorists exploited a site in northern Gaza, which previously served as the "Turkish" hospital, as a command and control center, from which they directed and carried out terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israel.

In response, IDF troops operated to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure at the site.

Furthermore, over the past few hours, the Israeli air force has continued to target and dismantle terrorists and terrorist infrastructure throughout Gaza.

REMAINS OF SHIRI BIBAS, MOM OF TWO KILLED, ALLEGEDLY RETURNED TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING HAMAS' BROKEN PROMISE

Israel resumed military operations against Hamas this week following a short-lived ceasefire after it said the terror group repeatedly rebuffed offers to release the remaining hostages it took on Oct. 7, 2023. 

The IDF also struck a military site containing an underground terrorist infrastructure site in the Beqaa area in Lebanon, as well as another site with rocket launchers in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah terrorists actively operate. 

On Thursday night, siens blared across a number of areas following a projectile launched from Yemen, the IDF said. 

Sen. John Fetterman, who visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, posted a video on X as the sirens went off. 

NETANYAHU GIFTS FETTER A SILVER-PLATED BEEPER AFTER HE PRAISED ISRAEL'S LEBANON PAGER OPERATION

"Incoming rocket sirens sounding off in Israel," he wrote. "Imagine living under these conditions. Imagine being the Members of Congress voting against what protects Israel from this."

A holy site for Christians, Muslims and Jews also came under fire from Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have attached commercial shipping in the Red Sea and U.S. naval forces in solidarity with Hamas, the IDF said. 

Authorities also announced the deaths of Hamas senior leaders and another from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. 

China executed four Canadians in recent months, Canada's foreign affairs minister said Wednesday. Such executions of Westerners are relatively rare.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said she and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked for clemency in the drug-related accusations involving the dual citizens.

Beijing’s embassy in Ottawa said the executions were due to drug crimes and noted that China does not recognize dual citizenship.

CHINA'S US INFLUENCE COULD FACE CRACKDOWN UNDER SLATE OF NEW BILLS

"We strongly condemn the executions," Joly told reporters in Ottawa. "I asked personally for leniency ... They were all dual citizens."

Joly said Canada consistently asks for clemency for Canadians facing the death penalty abroad. She said the families have asked the government to withhold details of the identity of the four individuals.

Global Affairs spokeswoman Charlotte MacLeod said they continue to provide consular assistance to families and requested that the media respect their privacy. She said Ottawa continues to advocate for clemency for Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian who was sentenced to death for drug smuggling.

"China always imposes severe penalties on drug-related crimes," a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said. "The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadian nationals involved in the cases are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient."

China is believed to execute more prisoners each year than the rest of the world combined, though the total is a state secret. Executions are traditionally carried out by gunshot, though lethal injections have been introduced in recent years.

The embassy spokesperson said Beijing "fully guaranteed the rights and interests of the Canadian nationals concerned," and urged Canada's government to "stop making irresponsible remarks."

The two countries have some tensions. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm and food imports earlier this month, after Canada imposed duties in October on Chinese-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products. The tariffs add to global trade tensions amid rounds of tariff announcements by the United States, China, Canada and Mexico.

"China is sending us a message that we have to take steps if we want to see an improvement in the relationship," said a former Canadian ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques.

Ian Brodie, a former chief of staff to ex-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, posted on social media that it turns out "agricultural tariffs weren’t the worst part of the PRC response to EV tariffs."

And opposition Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong said "executing a number of Canadians in short order is unprecedented, and is clearly a sign that Beijing has no intention of improving relations with Canada."

China is Canada’s second largest trading partner, but relations have been bad since Canadian authorities in 2018 arrested a former Huawei executive who the U.S. had charged with fraud.

China jailed two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in 2021, the same day Meng returned to China after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities in her case.

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Many countries called China’s action "hostage politics," while China described the charges against Huawei and Meng as a politically motivated attempt to hold back China’s economic and technological development.

Amnesty International condemned the executions and noted that China executed thousands of people in 2023.

"These shocking and inhumane executions of Canadian citizens by Chinese authorities should be a wake-up call for Canada," the group’s head for English-speaking Canada, Ketty Nivyabandi, said Wednesday in a statement.

FIRST ON FOX: The Taliban on Thursday released American hostage George Glezmann after holding him for more than two years in Afghanistan following negotiations between the Trump administration and Qatari officials, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the release told Fox News Digital.

Glezmann departed the Kabul airport Wednesday evening local time on his way to Doha where he will then be met by U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler along with a team from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

The release of the 65-year-old American, abducted while visiting Kabul as a tourist on Dec. 5, 2022, comes after Boehler met with officials from the Afghan foreign ministry in direct talks alongside Qatari officials.

FAMILY OF THIRD AMERICAN HELD BY TALIBAN CALLS FOR HIS IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 'WE ARE CONCERNED'

While Qatar has maintained diplomatic relations with Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban takeover, the U.S. has not. 

The diplomatic source confirmed that Glezmann’s release was done as a "goodwill gesture" by the Taliban as an indication of "trust" in Qatar’s continued role as intermediary between Washington and Kabul. 

The exchange differs from the release of two other Americans freed earlier this year, including Ryan Corbett and William Mckenty, who were released in exchange for a Taliban member in U.S. custody in a final hour deal struck by the Biden administration.

Secretary of State Macro Rubio championed the release and said, "George Glezmann is free. George was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for two and a half years, but now he’s on his way to be reunited with his wife Aleksandra. Welcome home, George!"

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The Trump administration has made hostage releases around the globe a top priority, as well as renewing relations with adversarial nations. 

It is unclear at this point if Boehler's meeting with the Afghan foreign ministry signifies the U.S. will establish official diplomatic ties with the Taliban, particularly as Washington tries to secure the release of another American still held in Afghanistan.

U.S. citizen Mahmood Habibi has been held by the Taliban for more than two years, though the insurgent-run goverment denies it is holding him 

Check back on this developing story. 

Israeli troops re-imposed a blockade of the northern capital of Gaza City on Thursday, less than a day after once again deploying troops into the Gaza Strip.

Israel continued with its bombardment of Gaza as well, killing 85 Palestinians from Wednesday into Thursday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Israel maintained the blockade of Gaza City for much of the war prior to the January ceasefire, which collapsed earlier this week.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned residents not to use the main road to travel north into Gaza City.

The IDF is also conducting further ground operations in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. Most of the Palestinian deaths over the past 24 hours have centered on the town.

ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN HOUTHI BALLISTIC MISSILE AFTER CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES

Hamas launched a handful of rockets into Israel on Thursday, resulting in no casualties.

The total death toll in Gaza since Tuesday has risen to 592, according to the health ministry. The death toll has not been independently verified.

REMAINS OF SHIRI BIBAS, MOM OF TWO KILLED, ALLEGEDLY RETURNED TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING HAMAS' BROKEN PROMISE

In addition to the blockade at Gaza City, IDF troops are also deployed to the Netzarim corridor, a key section of Gaza that essentially cuts the strip in half. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will continue its military operations until every hostage has been returned from Hamas custody.

"Hamas refused offer after offer to release our hostages. In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action, in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn't happen. While Israel accepted the offer of President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Hamas flatly refused to do so," Netanyahu said in a video shared to X on Tuesday. "This is why I authorized yesterday, the renewal of military action against Hamas."

CEASEFIRE OVER AS ISRAEL STRIKES GAZA AFTER HAMAS REFUSED TO RELEASE HOSTAGES, OFFICIALS SAY

"Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists," he declared. "And when these terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they're the ones who are responsible for all unintended casualties."

A U.K.-France-led "coalition of the willing" is bringing together senior military officers from across the globe to devise a plan for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. 

France and the U.K. are the only two countries in the coalition that have said they would be willing to send troops, but Canada, Australia, Finland and other European nations are said to be open to being involved, according to the Associated Press (AP). However, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week that the coalition is entering its "operational phase."

As of now, it is not clear exactly how many troops will be on the ground, but according to the AP, officials say it will be between 10,000 and 30,000.

​TRUMP, PUTIN AGREE TO BEGIN CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS IN MIDDLE EAST, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

President Donald Trump had separate conversations this week with Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

"He reiterated that all must work together to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to secure a just and lasting peace," a spokesperson for Starmer told Reuters in reference to the call with Trump. 

TRUMP HOLDS 'VERY GOOD' CALL WITH ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING DEAL WITH PUTIN

Macron also said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who the French leader says "demonstrated courage" in his acceptance of the U.S. deal. 

"We must now move forward with all our partners to present a concrete peace plan. A peace plan that provides strong security guarantees for Ukraine. A peace plan that ensures lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe. A peace plan that prevents Russia from attacking again," Macron wrote in a post on X.

Russia has rejected the idea of troops from NATO nations being based in Ukraine as part of this deal, according to the AP. 

Throughout the war, the Kremlin has made clear its stance against Ukraine joining NATO. Earlier this week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reiterated this stance with a Russian paper. Reuters reported that Grushko said the Kremlin demanded an "ironclad" guarantee that Ukraine would not be in NATO. 

Trump, who has promised to end the three-year war, also spoke with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his call with Zelenskyy was "very good," and added that the two discussed his call with Putin.

"Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs," Trump wrote.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt detailed Trump and Putin’s call in a statement. She said that the two agreed the war "needs to end with a lasting peace." Trump and Putin also apparently discussed the need for improved U.S.-Russian relations.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she agrees with recent comments from Vice President JD Vance that mass migration into Europe is a major problem.

Frederiksen made the comment during an interview with Politico published Thursday, saying it is critical that Europe begin stemming the flow of foreign migrants.

"I consider this mass migration into Europe as a threat to the daily life in Europe," Frederiksen said in a throwback to Vance's Feb. 14 speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Frederiksen has backed up her rhetoric with policy as well, with her administration building on anti-migrant policies. Denmark now confiscates valuables from migrants to refund the cost of housing them, and the country's "No Ghetto" laws ensure no neighborhood has an outsized concentration of migrants, Politico reported.

MD GOV DEFENDS $190K TRUMP-CENTRIC IRISH CONSULTANT CONTRACT AS POTUS MOVES IN NEXT DOOR

"I totally believe in equal opportunities and a Scandinavian welfare model with a tax-paid education, social benefits and health care. But for me that’s only one traditional pillar of being a social democrat," she argued to Politico.

"Being in control of migration is the second pillar," she added.

LAWMAKERS FROM STATE WITH MOST FEDERAL WORKERS PER CAPITA WARN AGAINST TRUMP BUYOUT BID

Vance's speech in Munich served as a general wake-up call to Europe from President Donald Trump's administration, admonishing leaders across the continent for straying from traditional values and quashing dissent.

"The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China. It's not any other external actor," Vance said at the time. "What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America."

Vance went on to reference efforts in Romania and Germany to prevent anti-migrant movements from gaining power.

"The crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together, is one of our own making. If you're running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you," Vance said.

Malaysia’s government gave final approval for a Texas-based company to resume the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 more than a decade after the airplane’s disappearance. 

Terms and conditions of a "no-find, no fee" contract have been agreed upon with Ocean Infinity to launch a seabed search operation at a new 5,800-square-mile site, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke. The company will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered. 

"The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the passengers of flight MH370," Loke said in a statement. 

The 2014 disappearance remains one of the most vexing mysteries in aviation. The Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur headed to Beijing on March 8, 2014, and disappeared around 90 seconds after leaving Malaysian airspace with all 239 of its passengers seemingly gone without a trace. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. 

NEW CLUES 10 YEARS AFTER THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MH370 

Ocean Infinity declined comment when reached by Fox News Digital Thursday morning. It told Fox News last year that it hoped "to narrow the search area down to one in which success becomes potentially achievable." 

An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to MH370’s location, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing, although CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the company had improved its technology since then. 

NEW THEORY ON THE VANISHED MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT 

Loke said his ministry will ink a contract with Ocean Infinity soon but didn’t provide details on the terms. The firm reportedly sent a search vessel to the site and indicated in December that January-April is the best period for the search. 

"While the next of kin of the passengers and crew on board attempt to rebuild our lives, the threat to global aviation safety remains a live issue," Voice370, a group of relatives of passengers from MH370, previously said in a statement. 

"As long as we remain in the dark about what happened to MH370, we will never be able to prevent a similar tragedy. Accordingly, we believe that it is a matter of paramount importance that the search for MH370 is carried out to its completion." 

Fox News’ Greg Palkot, Peter Aitken and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Hamas has claimed responsibility for rockets fired at Israel on Thursday.

"This launch is the resistance's first response to the zionist entity's violation of the ceasefire, which resulted over 710 martyrs in the last three days. It also comes after the IOF's renewed ground invasion into Beit Lahia this morning, and the failure of the mediators and the world to curb the IOF's aggression," according to reports.

Strikes launched by Israel killed at least 58 Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to hospitals via the Associated Press.

The Jewish State resumed attacks across Gaza earlier this week, breaking a ceasefire, which reportedly killed over 400 Palestinians – mostly women and children – on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

Israel's military indicated that it intercepted a missile fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Thursday before it entered Israel's airspace, the AP reported.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES NEW GROUND OPERATION IN GAZA

"Hamas refused offer after offer to release our hostages. In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action, in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn't happen. While Israel accepted the offer of President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Hamas flatly refused to do so," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video shared to X on Tuesday. "This is why I authorized yesterday, the renewal of military action against Hamas."

"Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists," he declared. "And when these terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they're the ones who are responsible for all unintended casualties."

Israel launched its war on Hamas in response to the terrorist group's heinous attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

CEASEFIRE OVER AS ISRAEL STRIKES GAZA AFTER HAMAS REFUSED TO RELEASE HOSTAGES, OFFICIALS SAY 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., a staunch supporter of Israel, continued to express his support while visiting the foreign nation this week.

"Hamas does not want peace. I unapologetically, 100% stand with Israel, and demand the release of all remaining hostages. Sending this from Israel," Fetterman said on X on Tuesday.

NETANYAHU GIFTS FETTERMAN A SILVER-PLATED BEEPER AFTER HE PRAISED ISRAEL'S LEBANON PAGER OPERATION 

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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said on X on Wednesday, "Hamas could end this war right now if it released the hostages held in Gaza. It could’ve done so months ago, but instead it’s brought devastation by prolonging this conflict. America must lead the world in pressuring Hamas to end this war and bring the hostages home."