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Iran's national airliner accused of flying weapons to Beirut airport for terror proxy Hezbollah: Report
An explosive report from the Iranian dissident group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) alleges that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s domestic airline, Iran Air, is providing support to the U.S. designated terror organization Hezbollah.
Citing a former Hezbollah member, the MEK said that flights between Iran and Beirut Airport in Lebanon often transferred Hezbollah personnel to Iran for training courses and "smuggle[d] food [and] light and medium weapons" into Lebanon.
That transfer was alleged to have delivered advanced light weapons from Iran to Lebanon, particularly through runway 17, which it claims "exclusively" belongs to Hezbollah. In January 2021, a Hezbollah member alleged that shipments arriving at runway 17 included anti-aircraft missiles.
Jason Brodsky, policy director for United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital that "Iran Air has a history of enabling procurement of Western products, particularly dual-use goods, for use by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC and Iran’s Defense Ministry, through Europe to Iran routes." Brodsky explained that Iran Air gets away with these transfers by using "carry-on luggage in European airport stopovers which do not require another security check." Brodsky said that "Iran purposely uses such civilian flights as a shield to avoid kinetic targeting by its adversaries."
The MEK also stated that public information and intelligence obtained from inside the IRGC and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) shows that the MOIS "has systematically used Iran Air to move MOIS agents and their equipment for terrorist activities outside of Iran." The MEK elaborated that Iran Air had transferred "shipments and packages necessary for activities of the MOIS in Europe to Austria" while "terrorist diplomat" Asadullah Assadi led the MOIS between 2015 and 2018.
Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in a Belgian prison for his plot to bomb a National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) gathering in 2018. He was released in exchange for a Belgian aid worker, a Danish citizen and two dual Austrian-Iranian citizens in May and June 2023, according to Yahoo News.
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MEK sources also issued a reminder of Iran Air’s historic ties to terror. As MEK reported, "most" of the 12 terrorists sent to Geneva to participate in an operation to assassinate Professor Kazem Rejavi, a human rights defender and member of the NCRI, on April 24, 1990, "were transported by Iran Air," as were their weapons. The MEK alleges that the return Iran Air flight after the assassination had a "delayed departure from Geneva…so the terrorists could make the flight." The Washington Post’s reporting from 1990 corroborates this claim.
The Treasury and State Departments sanctioned Iran Air on Sept. 10 on the basis of the shipments of equipment and aircraft parts it has provided to Russia. In its press release, the Treasury Department noted Iran Air’s "history of transporting goods on behalf of Iran’s [IRGC] and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL)."
The Treasury and State Departments did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about any known ties between Iran Air and Hezbollah. A spokesperson from the Treasury Department did emphasize that, per the new sanctions, "all property and interests in property of the persons above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to [the Office of Foreign Assets Control.]"
Following U.S. sanctions, France, the United Kingdom and Germany announced that they would likewise "cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran," and "will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air."
Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based NCRI, told Fox News Digital that "the clerical regime in Iran has strategically utilized the nation’s resources and recognized civil entities, including its national airline, to further its goals of domestic suppression and the international proliferation of terrorism and extremism."
The MEK notes that senior IRGC-Qods Force Commander Brigadier General Rostam Ghasemi, who is subject to U.S. sanctions, appointed IRGC Brigadier General Shamseddin Farzadipour to be the head of Iran Air on April 25, 2022. Prior to this role, Farzadipour was the IRCH Air and Space Force aviation operations commander.
Safavi said that Farzadipour’s appointment demonstrates "the airline’s alignment with [the IRGC’s] oppressive objectives," which "blatantly contravenes established international laws and norms."
Safavi has urged the international community to prohibit Iran Air from flying to its major hubs across Europe, and to designate the IRGC as a terror organization. He also called on the United Nations Security Council to reinstate sanctions against Iran.
When asked about the Hezbollah member’s allegations, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told Fox News Digital that "The Islamic Republic of Iran remains actively involved in the provision of humanitarian assistance to Lebanon via multiple channels and has formally expressed its preparedness to extend medical aid and receive the wounded – a proposition duly accepted by the Government of Lebanon."
The spokesman claimed that "Lebanon is not in need of military support. The foremost and urgent priority must center upon the establishment of a ceasefire and the facilitation of relief efforts."
Female captain not to blame for sinking of $61M navy ship: New Zealand defense minister
New Zealand's Defense Minister has clapped back at claims that the appointment of a female captain to commandeer a $61 million navy ship ultimately led to its sinking.
The navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, The Manawanui, sank on Sunday on a reef off the coast of Samoa that it was surveying. Its 75 crew and passengers were ordered to abandon the vessel on life rafts and were later rescued. The sinking marked New Zealand’s first ship lost since World War II and an investigation has been launched into what led to its demise.
The incident sparked debate online about whether the captain, Commander Yvonne Gray, was hired, in part due to her gender and sexuality in accordance with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ideology.
Judith Collins, who is New Zealand’s first female defense minister, rebuked such claims and said there is a "misogynistic narrative" surrounding the sinking. The cause of the sinking has yet to be determined.
"A court of inquiry has been stood up to establish what caused this terrible incident. "The one thing that we already know did not [because] it is the gender of the ship's captain, a woman with 30 years' naval experience who on the night made the call to get her people to safety," Collins said.
She said she was appalled to see the comments online from "armchair admirals, people who will never have to make decisions which mean life or death for their subordinates."
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"I thought seriously in 2024 what the hell is going on here with people who are sitting there in their armchair operating a keyboard making comments about people that they do not know, about an area they do not know and they are just vile. Where's a bit of decency," Collins said.
She added women in uniform were being abused in the street following the incident.
"This is outrageous behavior and New Zealand is not known for this and we are better than it," she added. "We are all appointed on merit, not gender," she added.
The vessel lost power and ran aground on Saturday evening one nautical mile off the southern coast of the Samoan island of Upolu. By Sunday morning, the vessel was "listing heavily," and smoke was spotted around 6:40 a.m., the navy said. By 9 a.m. the ship slipped below the surface.
The sinking prompted fears of a major fuel spill. On Thursday, officials in Samoa said while the vessel was leaking oil from three places, the amount was decreasing each day and was dissipating quickly due to strong winds in the area.
Passengers, including civilian scientists and foreign military personnel, left the vessel on lifeboats in "challenging conditions" and darkness, New Zealand’s Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told reporters after the sinking.
The vessel had been in service for New Zealand since 2019, was 20 years old and had previously belonged to Norway. The military said the ship, purchased for $61 million ($100 million NZ dollars), was not covered by replacement insurance.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
US Navy looks to robots, AI to extend vessel health and maintenance
The U.S. military will look to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve fleet maintenance and readiness, according to Gecko Robotics.
The company has worked out a deal that will see the U.S. Navy introduce wall-climbing robots and AI to "reduce delays and maintain its fleet" with an eye toward extending the life of ships and submarines.
"We’re proud to grow our partnership with the Navy around keeping ships in the fight and increasing the pace of production on the Columbia," Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, said, referring to the Columbia-class submarine program in a press release.
"Making sure the brave men and women of the U.S. Navy have the tools they need to perform their vital missions safely and effectively is the perfect example of what our team wakes up every morning focused on."
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The main benefit Gecko has promised is a reduction in work hours associated with maintenance. The company also believes it can improve data analytics to help find defects in these processes to improve defensive structures of the vessels.
Gecko said it can capture 4.2 million data points while traditional methods capture "less than 100 data points on key vital defense structures."
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Loosararian started Gecko Robotics in 2013 as an evolution of a project he started during college. He started developing his first robot in 2012 while at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, according to Fortune.
He built the robot to satisfy a project pitched by an engineering professor to handle structural issues at a nearby power plant. Loosararian’s project ended up donated to the plant, which used it for years.
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Loosararian redesigned the hardware to build the robots for his eventual company, Gecko, pouring his savings into the company. He cycled through co-founders and worked without pay for years before finally finding his footing with his new projects.
Gecko started partnering with the U.S. Navy in 2023 mainly to help decrease maintenance delays for ships and submarines, but it has seen a 400% increase in use during 2024. In the coming months, it will start to work on aircraft carriers and will start to gather "granular data on the health of the Navy’s vessels."
"That data is then fed into Gecko’s AI-powered operations platform, Cantilever, to help substantially reduce growth work, maintenance timelines and help the ships get back to sea faster," the company said in its press release.
"The new deals cement Gecko’s role in building and maintaining critical defense assets that support both national and global security," the release said. "It also makes the U.S. Navy a pioneer in using the very latest technology to reduce delays and unexpected maintenance for its fleet — a challenge faced by countries around the world."
Dozens wounded, at least 22 killed in airstrikes in Beirut as tensions escalate in Israel conflict with Iran
An air raid on Beirut left at least 22 people dead and dozens of others wounded after Israeli airstrikes pummeled neighborhoods in Lebanon, according to the Associated Press.
The latest attack, the deadliest one in over a year of war between the embattled countries, further escalated the conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Lebanon's health ministry told the AP that the air strikes targeted two residential buildings in separate neighborhoods at the same time, demolishing the eight-story building and taking out the lower floors of the other.
The Israeli military told the AP it was investigating the reported strikes. Israeli airstrikes have become more prevalent in Beirut’s tightly packed southern suburbs, where Hezbollah bases a large portion of its operations.
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The attack came the same day as Israeli forces fired on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and wounded two of them, the AP reported.
Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire to more populated areas deeper inside Israel, causing few casualties but interrupting daily life for people in the country.
The attacks across Israel come as the Jewish nation finds itself embroiled in multiple conflicts with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden spoke on Wednesday to discuss Israel’s anticipated retaliatory attack against Iran following its massive missile strike on Israel last week, reported Israeli news outlets.
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The Biden administration has grown increasingly frustrated with Israel over its withholding of security details and had previously urged it not to launch an incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah over concerns it could prompt a broader regional war.
The White House has urged Israel not to hit Iranian nuclear or oil facilities and to keep its retaliation "proportionate," though the administration has not specified what this type of attack would look like.
Roughly 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated last month. More than 400,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria, and roughly 1,400 people have been killed based on numbers provided by the Lebanese Health Ministry and the number of combatants believed to have been killed by Israel. Some 70,000 Israelis have been forced out of the country's northern communities since the start of the conflict.
Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israel continues to weigh options, timing on Iran strike following Biden-Netanyahu call
Details of the phone call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, in which Jerusalem’s pending response to Iran’s attack last week was discussed, remain limited.
A readout of the call noted Biden's "ironclad commitment to Israel's security," adding that Biden "condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st."
Prior to the readout, when asked about the details of the discussion, Vice President Kamala Harris – who sat in on the call – said she could not discuss "private diplomatic conversations," telling CNN it was "an important call."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was also short on any details, saying that the pair "continued their discussion on a response to Iran's attack" and that it was a "straightforward, honest conversation."
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Following the attack by Tehran, in which the U.S. helped defend Israel against the more than 180 missiles fired at it, Netanyahu vowed to make Iran "pay," prompting immediate speculation over what the counterattack would look like.
No casualties were reported in Israel, though one Palestinian was killed in the West Bank, and Biden has urged Netanyahu to issue nothing more than a "proportionate" counterstrike.
However, speculation has mounted over the type of attack Israel could hit Iran with, and security analysts have begun reviewing strike options that range from hitting military sites, infrastructure important to the Iranian regime like oil refineries and ports, to even an attack on Iran’s expanding nuclear program.
According to an assessment by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Iran has more than a dozen nuclear installations across the country, including uranium mines, fuel enrichment plants, a reactor and heavy water production plant, as well as several weaponization facilities – all of which could be in Israel’s crosshairs.
However, the U.S. has warned the Israeli prime minister against attacking Iranian nuclear or oil facilities over concerns it could prompt a regional war.
Following Iran’s attack in April, during which it levied some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, Jerusalem responded to Western calls for restraint by hitting Iran’s air defenses and destroying part of an S-300 long-range air defense system.
However, the precision strike, seemingly muted compared to the missile launch levied by Iran, likely sent a loud message to Tehran after Israel successfully hit one of Iran’s most coveted defense systems, strategically placed in between its nuclear sites.
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The S-300 system was permanently deployed at the Isfahan Air Base, just 60 miles south of the Natanz enrichment plant and less than 10 miles north of the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, two sites supposedly at the core of Iran’s nuclear program, according a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
However, even given the significance of the previous hit, one expert suspects Jerusalem’s response this time will be more "public," even as Israel continues to butt heads with its biggest ally, the U.S.
"It is unknown what target, or in what order, or with what exact political verse military goal in mind, Israel may choose to strike back at the Islamic Republic," expert on Iran-Israel security matters and senior fellow with the FDD, Behnam Ben Taleblu, told Fox News Digital.
"What seems certain, however, is that Israel is intent on returning fire and likely in a larger and more public fashion than it did in April," he said, adding it remains likely that Israel again goes after Iran’s air and missile defense capabilities.
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Tension between the U.S. and Israel has been brewing for months over mounting concerns about the number of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, and reports suggested last month the U.S. was kept in the dark over Israel’s alleged pager operation against Hezbollah in late September in which some three dozen terrorists were killed and 3,000 others were injured.
Additionally, Washington fervently warned Israel against any ground incursion into Lebanon, though Jerusalem ignored the international calls to ease fighting and argued its operations against Hezbollah were required to ensure the safe return of 60,000 citizens forced to evacuate from their homes near the border.
Despite U.S. objections over the ground incursion in Lebanon, the U.S. reinforced its troops in the region to better defend Israel ahead of the Iranian attack.
Questions over how the U.S. will support or respond to an Israeli attack on Iran remains as unclear as the type of retaliatory strike Jerusalem will throw at Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday issued an ominous warning to Iran and said, "Our strike will be powerful, precise, and above all – surprising. They will not understand what happened and how it happened."
Ben Taleblu said Israel’s forthcoming decision on what it decides to strike will "tell analysts a great deal if Israel envisions this to be an operation verses a campaign," as well as serve as an indicator as to how involved the Biden administration was in the counterattack.
"Israeli military planners, in my estimation, are likely to be exploring options that enable them to do as much damage while keeping the U.S. on board," he said. "But Israel's ability to signal the vulnerability of Tehran's nuclear weapons enterprise through other and more creative means ought not to be minimized."
Archaeologists unearth unexpected find inside a tomb likely belonging to a Roman gladiator
In Turkey, a team of archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman gladiator dating back to the third century B.C., with the remains of 12 individuals inside.
The tomb was unearthed during the excavation of St. John Monument in Selcuk, Izmir, Turkey, according to Türkiye Today. The excavation was authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and led by associate professor Sinan Mimaroglu from Hatay Mustafa Kemal University’s Department of Art History, according to the source.
While the tomb was from the third century B.C., it was determined that it was later reused during the fifth century A.D., to hold the remains of the 12 men and women, Türkiye Today reported.
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The Roman gladiator buried in the tomb was named Euphrates, per the source. In ancient Roman times, gladiators were professional fighters who engaged in battle in front of crowded arenas.
Many early gladiators were enslaved peoples and those who committed crimes, though that wasn't always the case, History.com reported. With the growing popularity of these battles, men began to voluntarily sign up to participate, according to the source.
Gladiators would typically engage in one on one combat, under the monitoring of a referee, according to The Colosseum's website. While early battles were often fought to the death, this less commonly became the case as the games continued, and as fighters underwent intense and expensive training and were costly to replace, according to the source.
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Historians estimate that around one in five or one in 10 battles ended in the death of one combatant, according to History.com. Many gladiators only lived to their mid-20s, per the source.
Tombs similar to the one belonging to Euphrates have been found in Istanbul, Marmara Island and Syria, according to Türkiye Today.
Inside the tomb recently unearthed by archaeologists, there were crosses carved within, dating back to the fifth century, as well as on the lid, which are thought to have been added during the seventh and eighth centuries, according to the source.
Not much is known about the 12 who were buried inside the tomb, but it's believed they came from an upper-class background.
"The burials inside the church likely belong to the upper class or clergy, as it’s unlikely an ordinary person would be buried in such a meticulous manner within a church," Mimaroglu said, per Türkiye Today.
The finding of this tomb holds significance in many different ways, including giving researchers more knowledge of the ancient city of Ephesus as well as ancient burial practices, the source notes.
Canadian woman charged with killing 3 people in 3 days, labeled a serial killer
A Canadian woman accused of killing three people in a span of a few days in separate slayings has been arrested, authorities said this week before labeling her a serial killer.
Sabrina Kauldhar, 30, was arrested at a hotel in Burlington, Ontario, after the slayings of a woman and two men in and around the Toronto area, the Niagara Regional Police Service said Friday.
"I think by definition she is a serial killer," Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy told reporters at the news conference. "Two or more offenses, so by definition, I think that’s a fair comment."
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Kauldhar's alleged killing spree began on Oct. 1 when authorities in Toronto responded and found a woman in her 60s dead inside a home. The next day, first responders were called to a disturbance at John Allan Park in Niagara Falls.
When they arrived, they found a man with critical injuries.
"Despite medical intervention efforts by Niagara Emergency Medical Services and the Niagara Falls Fire Service, 47-year-old Lance Cunningham was pronounced deceased at the scene," a Niagara Regional Police Service statement said.
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The third slaying occurred on Oct. 3. A man was found stabbed in a parking lot in Hamilton, a Toronto suburb. The victim, identified as 77-year-old Mario Bilich, a retired teacher, was taken to a hospital where he later died.
"Investigators were able to link the Hamilton homicide to the recent murder in John Allen Park in Niagara Falls, determining the suspect matched the description in both cases," police said. "An additional link was made to the active homicide investigation from October 1 in Toronto."
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Investigators said Cunningham and Bilich were randomly targeted but the Toronto victim was known to the suspect. Authorities later identified the Toronto murder victim but have not disclosed her name publicly.
Kauldhar is charged with first-degree murder for the Hamilton killing and second-degree murder for the Toronto and Niagara slayings, police said.
North Korea vows to block border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures
North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures to cope with "confrontational hysteria" by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally designate South Korea its principal enemy and codify new national borders.
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While the moves were likely a pressure tactic, it's unclear how they will affect ties with South Korea since cross-border travel and exchanges have been halted for years.
North Korea's military said it will "completely cut off roads and railways " linked to South Korea and "fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The North's military called its steps a "self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security" of North Korea. It said that "the hostile forces are getting ever more reckless in their confrontational hysteria." It cited what it called various war exercises in South Korea, the deployment of U.S. strategic assets and its rivals' harsh rhetoric.
South Korea’s military said later Wednesday that it won’t tolerate any attempt by North Korea to change the status quo. It said South Korea will "overwhelmingly punish" North Korea if it launches provocations. A South Korean military statement said North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have threatened peace on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean officials earlier said North Korea had already been adding anti-tank barriers and reinforcing roads on its side of the border since April in a likely attempt to boost its front-line security posture and prevent its soldiers and citizens from defecting to South Korea. In a report to parliament on Tuesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said that North Korea has been removing ties on the northern side of cross-border railways and nearby lamps and planting mines along the border.
KCNA earlier Wednesday said the Supreme People’s Assembly met for two days this week to amend the legal ages of North Koreans for working and participating in elections. But it didn't say whether the meeting dealt with leader Kim Jong Un's order in January to rewrite the constitution to remove the goal of a peaceful Korean unification, formally designate South Korea as the country’s "invariable principal enemy" and define the North’s sovereign, territorial sphere.
At the center of outside attention was whether North Korea makes new legal claims on the waters currently controlled by South Korea off their west coast. The poorly marked western sea boundary is where three bloody naval skirmishes and two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea happened in the past 25 years.
Some experts say North Korea might have delayed the constitutional revision but others speculated it amended the constitution without announcing it because of its sensitivity.
Kim's order stunned many North Korea watchers because it was seen as breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Experts say Kim likely aims to diminish South Korea’s voice in the regional nuclear standoff and seek direct dealings with the U.S. They say Kim also likely hopes to diminish South Korean cultural influence and bolster his rule at home.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with North Korea continuing a run of provocative weapons tests and South Korea and the U.S. expanding their military drills. KCNA said North Korea on Tuesday tested a long-range artillery system that observers say pose a direct threat to Seoul, the South Korean capital, which is only an hour’s drive from the border.
The history of the Hoxne Hoard, the largest collection of Roman treasure found in Britain
The Hoxne Hoard is one of Britain's unique archaeological finds, not just by its value, but also by how it was found.
Various sources note the Hoxne Hoard as the largest hoard of Roman treasure ever found in Britain. The collection of treasures is heavily made up of gold and silver coins, though there are other objects, such as tableware and jewelry that were also found.
How this collection of ancient treasures was found adds to its uniqueness.
On Nov. 16, 1992, Eric Lawes was scouring a field in Hoxne village in Suffolk, not on the hunt for hidden treasure, but simply looking for a hammer that had been lost on the land.
Lawes was scanning the area with his metal detector, when he came across a small portion of the treasures within what would become the Hoxne Hoard.
After shoveling up some of the silver spoons and gold coins he found, he quickly reported his find to be properly excavated.
Lawes was awarded £1.75 million for his find, which he shared with the farmer who owned the land the treasures were discovered on, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
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The very next day, the Suffolk County Council Archaeology Service (SCCAS) was on the scene, according to the World History Encyclopedia.
The gold and silver artifacts part of the Hoxne Hoard weigh around 60 pounds in total, according to Ancient Origins. There are around 15,000 Roman coins as part of the collection, per The British Museum, where many of the items are displayed today. The items were buried in the 5th century A.D.
Other unique finds include pieces of jewelry, like a body chain, six necklaces, three finger rings and gold bracelets, according to the source.
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Even though the Hoxne Hoard is heavily made up of coins, one of the best-known treasures that was found was the "Empress" pepper pot. This pot was one of four that were excavated from the site, according to The British Museum. The pepper pot is intricately formed to represent a woman.
Additionally, there were many tableware items that were part of the hoard, including a set of 19 spoons, in good condition, that were decorated with marine themes, according to The British Museum.
Archaeologists believe that the Hoxne Hoard was buried no later than 450 A.D., according to Ancient Origins.
At the end of the 4th century A.D., the western Roman Empire was in a place of uncertainty, with Roman soldiers exiting Britain, leaving citizens to fend for themselves.
While experts have posed varying hypotheses as to why the hoard was buried, one common suggestion is that it was done for protection, with the intent of the owners collecting their precious items once again. In the case of the Hoxne Hoard, the items were never retrieved by their owners.
Today, the Hoxne Hoard is on display at the British Museum in London. The display contains many of the coins, jewelry and tableware, as well as Lawes' hammer, which he was originally looking for when he stumbled upon the far more significant discovery.
Israel hit with multiple terrorist attacks as Hezbollah rocket kills 2 Israelis while walking dogs
Israel was once again hit by a terror attack on Wednesday, as a knife-wielding motorist ran rampant across the coastal city of Hadera, putting eight people in the hospital. The stabbing took place as rockets landed in a city in Israel’s northeastern region, killing two people.
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It is unclear at this time if any others were injured in the attack on the border city.
Though farther south on Israel’s north-central coastline, a knife-bearing terrorist took off on a moped in Hadera, hitting four different parts of the city and wounding eight people in a stabbing attack.
According to the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, the eight people injured in the rampage were being treated, including one victim who is in "grave condition" and one in "critical condition."
Four of the victims were described as in "moderate condition," while another was "lightly injured." An eighth individual was also hospitalized for anxiety.
The suspect, who was eventually subdued by armed residents until the police arrived on the scene, according to an initial report by the Times of Israel, was identified as an Israeli-Arab man from the city of Umm el-Fahm, located near the border with the West Bank, and was previously known to police for other criminal activities.
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The hospital said in an update that the suspect had been shot and wounded, and a video posted to X showed armed residents firing into the sky before one shot at the suspect, potentially hitting him, while others yelled at him to get onto the ground.
The Times of Israel reported that once police arrived on the scene, they pushed the suspect to the ground and yelled at the civilians standing nearby not to shoot.
The attacks across Israel come as the Jewish nation finds itself embroiled in multiple conflicts with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden are expected to hold a call Wednesday to discuss Israel’s anticipated retaliatory attack against Iran following its massive missile strike on Israel last week, reported Israeli news outlets.
The Biden administration has grown increasingly frustrated with Israel over its withholding of security details and had previously urged it not to launch an incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah over concerns it could prompt a broader regional war.
The White House has urged Israel not to hit Iranian nuclear or oil facilities and to keep its retaliation "proportionate," though the administration has not specified what this type of attack would look like.
British doctor admits to attempted murder after injecting mother’s partner with poison disguised as vaccine
A British doctor pleaded guilty Monday for the attempted murder of his mother’s partner by disguising himself as a nurse to inject the victim with poison but telling the victim it was a Covid-19 vaccine.
Thomas Kwan, 53, sported a wig, facial hair and medical mask when he administered the fake Covid vaccine to Patrick O’Hara on Jan. 22 in Newcastle, located in northern England, more than three hours north of London.
Northumbria police said Kwan arranged a fake medical appointment with O’Hara by sending him bogus letters stating that he needed a Covid vaccination, according to Reuters.
The police said Kwan wore a disguise so that neither his mother nor O’Hara, who are both in their 70s, would recognize him. They believed that he was merely a nurse.
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O’Hara developed a skin condition around the injection area and became "seriously unwell" just hours after it was injected, police said. O’Hara visited his general practitioner and was immediately admitted to the hospital. Upon his arrival, he showed hospital staff letters of his injection, which they deemed fake.
He underwent skin grafts to repair "extensive damage the poisoning caused to his body" and was left with "life-changing injuries," according to police. The skin condition is a fatal flesh-eating bacterial infection called necrotizing fasciitis. The British Crown Prosecution Service said O’Hara was injected with "an as-yet unconfirmed toxin."
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Police say that Kwan installed fake license plates on his vehicle before driving to O’Hara’s home, where the poisonous injection took place. Prosecutor Peter Makepeace said that Kwan’s motive likely regarded his mother’s will, which states that her partner would receive her home should she die and that O’Hara was still alive.
When police searched Kwan’s home, they found files on his computer that contained downloads of a "poisoner’s handbook" and other files related to using poisons to kill a person.
"Mr. Kwan used his encyclopedic knowledge of, and research into, poisons to carry out his plan," Makepeace told jurors on the first day of the trial.
Kwan was charged with attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Although he initially pleaded not guilty, he pleaded guilty Monday to the attempted murder charge.
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His sentencing will be held at a later date, and he remains in custody.
"The weight of evidence faced by Kwan was overwhelming and he has now admitted (to) attempted murder," Detective Chief Inspector Jason Henry, of Northumbria Police, said. "While nothing can change the impact of Kwan’s actions on his victim, we do hope the fact he has been brought to justice will help them move on with their life."
Netanyahu confirms Nasrallah's replacement dead: ‘Thousands of terrorists’ killed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that Hezbollah’s intended replacement of its former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed late last month, has also been "taken out."
"Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years," Netanyahu said in a message tailored directly to the "people of Lebanon."
"We’ve degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities, we took out thousands of terrorists, including [former Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of his replacement."
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE HAS ‘VERY LOW’ TRUST IN NETANYAHU REGIME, URGES TRANSPARENCY: REPORT
Netanyahu said Iran has "conquered" Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah serves Tehran’s interests in the region by turning it into a "stockpile of ammunition and weapons" serving as a pseudo "Iranian military base" on Israel’s border.
"Now you, the Lebanese people, you stand at a significant crossroads. It is your choice," he continued. "You can now take back your country. You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity."
"If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense," the prime minister added. "Free your country from Hezbollah."
Netanyahu did not explicitly say what it would take to stop Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, but earlier on Tuesday the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem suggested he may be open to a cease-fire without the inclusion of Gaza in the negotiations.
Netanyahu's announcement regarding the death of Hashem Safieddine, who sat as the head of Hezbollah’s executive council and was most likely slated to be the group’s next leader, comes as Israeli forces expanded their incursion westward along the border in Lebanon.
Though Safieddine was not as well-known as Nasrallah, who served as the leader of Hezbollah for more than 30 years, his close ties to Iran and his outspoken behavior following the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct. 7,2023 cemented him as a top target of Jerusalem’s.
It is not clear how or where Safieddine was allegedly killed, though the announcement of his death followed an update provided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which said "hundreds of terrorists" had been "eliminated" since the 98th Brigade first entered Lebanon last week.
The brigade, which is made up of paratroopers and commandos as well as top soldiers of the 7th Brigade and the Yahalom Unit, has been targeting and dismantling Hezbollah strongholds, weapons depots and tunnel routes used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces near the border with Israel.
The IDF has said it will carry out a "limited, localized, targeted" operation in Lebanon, but as Israeli forces continue to hit Hezbollah strongholds well north of the border including the capital city of Beirut, concerns are mounting that Lebanon could see similar destruction to that caused in Gaza, with one U.N. official referring to the strategy of bombardment as the "spiral of doom," reported multiple outlets Tuesday.
Internally displaced people from southern Lebanon have been pouring into Beirut following Israel’s increase in strikes three weeks ago, followed by the incursion earlier this month.
Beirut Mayor Abdallah Darwich urged a cease-fire to be reached between Hezbollah and Israel and told the BBC on Tuesday there was "no safe place in Beirut," warning that the capital city had reached the "limit of its tolerance."
"You do not know who is living in this building or that building, so you do not know if there is a target there," he said. "You can no longer say Beirut is safe. Where the next Israeli target is, nobody knows."
Roughly 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated last month. More than 400,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria, and roughly 1,400 people have been killed based on numbers provided by the Lebanese Health Ministry and the number of combatants believed to have been killed by Israel. Some 70,000 Israelis have been forced out of the country's northern communities since the start of the conflict.
Hungary’s Orban interrupted, accused of 'selling out' country to Russia, China during EU news conference
An activist and municipal councilor for a Hungarian opposition party disrupted a news conference in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was laying out his plans for Hungary's six-month presidency of the European Union.
The activist, Márton Gyekiczki, interrupted Orbán as he was speaking about his opposition to immigration, running toward the podium where Orbán sat and throwing a stack of what appeared to be banknotes at the prime minister.
"How much did you sell out the country for? How much did you sell out the country for, Mr. Prime Minister?" Gyekiczki yelled as the papers scattered. "He sold out to Putin, he sold out to Xi Jinping!" — referring to the leaders of Russia and China.
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The disruption came as Orbán was set to address the European Parliament on Wednesday during Hungary's six-month rotating presidency of the bloc. His government has long been at odds with the EU over what it sees as his curtailing of democratic rights, and has increasingly come under fire for his close relations with autocracies like Russia and China.
Gyekiczki, the activist, who was taken to the ground by a security guard and led out of the room, is a member of Hungary’s Democratic Coalition party and a local council member in a Budapest suburb.
The president of that party, former Prime Minister Ference Gyurcsány, later wrote on social media that he was "proud" of Gyekiczki for his actions.
"We will say it everywhere and always: Hungary has a traitorous government!" he wrote.
Orbán is expected to receive a mixed reception in the EU parliament on Wednesday. Many lawmakers have pushed for his government to be deprived of EU funds over what they see as rule-of-law and corruption violations.
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Two years ago, the parliament declared that Hungary under Orbán had become "a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy," taking it out of the community of democracies.
Yet Orbán this year successfully formed the Patriots for Europe group within the parliament, uniting far-right parties from around the continent to form the third-largest group in the EU legislature.
During the news conference on Tuesday, Orbán lamented what he sees as a declining EU economy and lagging competitiveness with the United States and China, saying that he saw that as "the most serious challenge we have to face."
He also argued against recently adopted EU tariffs on Chinese-produced electric vehicles, and railed against immigration which he said was resulting in the destruction of the EU's visa-free Schengen area as countries like Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia have introduced temporary border checks along their frontiers.
"These individual attempts will actually break up the Schengen system," Orbán said, adding that he proposed a regular "Schengen Summit" for member countries to meet and discuss border policy.
"We need a big, joint decision," he said.
Responding to the disruption by the activist, Orbán offered "a word of explanation for Hungarian political culture."
"When a Hungarian politician tells another one that he is a scoundrel, all it means in our culture is that ‘I disagree with you,’" he said.
Suspect in Madeleine McCann disappearance case acquitted of unrelated sexual offense charges
A German court on Tuesday acquitted a man who is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in a trial on charges of unrelated sexual offenses.
The Braunschweig state court acquitted the 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Christian Brueckner, of two counts of rape and two of sexual abuse.
However, Brueckner will remain in prison another year because he is still serving a seven-year sentence for rape in a different case, German news agency dpa reported.
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Brueckner had been on trial since February over offenses he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Defense lawyers had pointed to what they labeled a lack of evidence and witnesses who weren’t credible, and suggested he might not have been charged if he hadn’t also been a suspect in the McCann case.
Prosecutors had argued he should be given a 15-year prison sentence and kept in preventive detention once he has served it.
"The evidence we had was not enough to convict the defendant," presiding judge Uta Engemann said, according to dpa, adding that "we were dealing with unreliable witnesses, some of whom deliberately lied to the court."
Engemann argued that witnesses had been influenced in their statements by the media's reporting on Brueckner, who she said had been "stylized as a sex monster and child murderer."
Prosecutors said they would appeal the ruling.
"We believe that the decision is wrong, so we will appeal to the German supreme court so that the supreme court can check the verdict for mistakes," prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said.
Brueckner's lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, told reporters after the ruling that "it was foreseeable, at least from the point of view of the defense, that there can only be one outcome that corresponds to the factual and legal situation and that is the acquittal."
Brueckner has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.
He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 by the Braunschweig court for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.
The Braunschweig state court has jurisdiction because Brueckner had his last German residence in that city in Lower Saxony.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un pushes goal to become nuclear powerhouse in warning to South Korea
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un went after South Korea’s president for the second time in a week, warning again on Tuesday that Pyongyang will push forward with its plans to be a top nuclear player.
Kim accused South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol of issuing "some tasteless and vulgar comment about the end of the Republic" in a recent speech and said it shows "he is totally consumed by his blind faith in his master's strength," he added, according to a Reuters report, in reference to Seoul’s partnership with Washington.
"To be honest, we have absolutely no intention of attacking South Korea," Kim said during a speech at a military school named after him, the Kim Jong Un National Defense University.
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Kim’s comments came after South Korea’s president condemned Pyongyang’s recent reveal of a new nuclear facility last month and in turn, during its Armed Forces Day last week, displayed a new Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, which, according to a Newsweek report, is capable of destroying underground facilities in North Korea.
Yoon has repeatedly pushed for a denuclearized North Korea as regional tensions continue to escalate.
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But Kim, who has long looked to expand North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, objected to the calls to denuclearize and said, "Every time I stated our position on the use of military force, I clearly and consistently used the qualification ‘if.’"
"If the enemies try to use force against our country, the republic's military will use all offensive power without hesitation," he added. "This does not preclude the use of nuclear weapons."
"Our footsteps toward becoming a military superpower and a nuclear power will accelerate," Kim added.
The comments were the second time in a week that Kim directed an ominous message at his southern neighbor after he warned earlier this month that North Korea will respond with nuclear force if its sovereignty is threatened.
According to state run news agency KNCA last week, Kim "affirmed that 'if' the enemy, seized with extreme foolishness and recklessness, attempt to use armed forces encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]… the DPRK would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons," Reuters reported.
Mexican mayor's severed head placed atop pick-up truck 6 days after taking office
The mayor of a violence-plagued city in Mexico was killed on Sunday with his decapitated body left in a pickup truck and his severed head placed atop the vehicle's roof.
Alejandro Arcos, 43, was killed just six days after he took office as mayor of the city of Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in southwestern Mexico.
The city, the capital of Guerrero state, is so violent that a drug gang openly staged a demonstration, hijacked a government armored car and took police hostage in 2023 to win the release of arrested suspects.
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Images of what appeared to be Arcos’ severed head atop a white pick-up truck have been circulating on social media. In other images, his headless body partially covered with a blanket can be seen in the passenger side of the truck.
Arcos' social media posts leading up to his death showed him supervising disaster relief efforts following the impact of Hurricane John last month, which caused severe flooding in beach resort Acapulco and surrounding towns.
Mourners, including Arcos’ wife, attended a funeral for the slain official on Monday.
"His loss mourns the entire Guerrero society and fills us with indignation," Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said in a statement shared on social media.
Alejandro Moreno, the national leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, lamented Arcos' killing and said it came just three days after the new city government's secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot to death.
"They had been in office less than a week," Moreno wrote on his social media accounts. "They were young and honest public servants who were seeking progress for their community."
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Moreno called on the federal attorney general's office to lead the investigation into Arcos and Tapia's murders, given "the situation of ungovernability in Guerrero."
Guerrero has become one of the deadliest states for aspiring and elected public officials, as well as for journalists. At least six candidates for public office were killed in the state in the run-up to Mexico's June 2 elections.
Bloody turf battles have raged between two drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. The battle has resulted in dozens of gruesome killings and some high-profile scandals.
A previous mayor was caught on video apparently holding a meeting with leaders of one of the gangs at a restaurant. She was subsequently expelled from her party.
In July 2023, federal officials said a demonstration held by hundreds of people in Chilpancingo that month had been organized by the Ardillos gang to win the release of two gang leaders arrested for drugs and weapons possession.
The demonstrators largely blocked all traffic on the highway between Mexico City and Acapulco for two days, battled security forces and commandeered a police armored truck and used it to ram down the gates of the state legislature building.
The demonstrators abducted 10 members of the state police and National Guard, as well as three state and federal officials, and held them hostage to enforce their demands before releasing them.
Last week, the Mexican army seized the weapons of local police in the cartel-dominated city of Culiacan in the country’s northwest Sinaloa state, as violence and gunfights have ravaged that city in recent weeks also. The Mexican army has been known to seize weapons from distrusted police forces it suspects of either being involved in aiding the cartel, or over concerns the units were carrying unregistered arms that made abuses harder to trace.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The 4,000 items in the Staffordshire Hoard make it the largest collection in history of its kind
The Staffordshire Hoard is truly one of a kind as the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver found to date. There are around 4,000 items, most of which are military pieces.
The discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard came in 2009. A metal detectorist was scanning farmland in the village of Hammerwich in England when his detector signaled a find.
What was found buried in the soil turned out to be monumental. Over the following days, the metal detectorist began to pick up pieces of a collection that would later be known as the Staffordshire Hoard. He later contacted a finds liaison officer for the Staffordshire and West Midlands Portable Antiquities Scheme for further assistance, according to Ancient Origins.
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With permission from the landowner, a full excavation was conducted. Birmingham Archeology later joined in to assist, according to the source.
After the items were collected, a 10-year conservation and research project was in pursuit. The findings of the project were published in 2019 in the book "The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure" and online.
During this period, ancient objects found were carefully cleaned and x-rays were taken, according to Birmingham Museums.
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Another part of this effort was to begin matching fragments that belonged to the same object because many of the items were found in incomplete parts.
Through detailed research, there has been so much knowledge gained about this collection, including when it dates back to, but there are still questions unanswered.
Archaeologists believe the collection was buried during the 7th century (650-675 AD), according to Birmingham Museums.
Many objects that have been discovered from the time period have been jewelry, specifically brooches and pendants, according to the Stoke Museums.
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An element of the Staffordshire Hoard's uniqueness is that it is mostly made up of war gear, according to Stoke Museums.
One of the Staffordshire Hoard's most valuable items is an ancient war helmet. The helmet was far from complete when it was discovered because it was broken into 1,000 pieces, according to Stoke Museums. During the days when the helmet was completed, it likely sat atop the head of a king.
After months of research, there were two replicas of the helmet created, one of which is on display at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent and the other at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
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Fragmented pieces make up the majority of the Staffordshire Hoard, which put together equals 700 items, according to Birmingham Museums. Of the items in the collection, the large majority are swords, according to the source.
In large part, the items are gold. Since gold doesn't corrode in soil, the precious metal is able to stay well-preserved, according to the source. Around 150 of the items are silver.
Why the Staffordshire Hoard was buried in the first place is still a mystery, though experts have developed many theories. One is that the gear could have been buried as an offering to the gods, according to Birmingham Museums.
Today, visitors can see the Staffordshire Hoard at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.
Reporter's Notebook: Iran’s missiles strike Israel, and a deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV, Israel - Sirens blare outside our hotel balcony.
An imminent ballistic missile strike from Iran looms, but the current alarm is different – more immediate, more dangerous.
It’s a terror attack in Jaffa.
The details are still emerging, but we know this much: Several people have already lost their lives.
In a rush, we load up our gear and protective equipment into our vehicle. Just as we’re pulling out of the hotel, orders from New York come through: Get back inside. They don’t want us on the road with Iran’s attack approaching.
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Before my producer can even hang up, the car fills with a new sound: the blare of alarms. Iran has fired ballistic missiles – headed straight for us.
It takes about 12 minutes for a missile to travel from Iran to Israel. How far into those 12 minutes we are is anyone’s guess.
Our photographer, doubling as our driver, floors the accelerator, weaving through traffic as we race back to the hotel.
We make it back and join about two dozen others in the hotel’s shelter. Many of them are Israelis. A father plays with his two daughters, rolling on the ground, laughing. Nearby, people chat calmly, unbothered by the threat of nearly 200 ballistic missiles targeting Israel. I notice a young man standing calmly beside his girlfriend. He’s missing a leg from the knee down but stands strong and composed.
"Hamas terrorists," he tells me when I ask about his injury. "They hit us with an RPG."
He credits his – and others’ – composure during this attack to their faith in Israel’s air defense systems.
From the shelter, I go live on Fox News Channel, describing those around me. As Israel’s layered air defense – comprised of the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow systems – intercepts incoming threats, it becomes clear why the soldier’s confidence is well-placed.
HAMAS LAUNCHES ROCKETS FROM GAZA ONE YEAR AFTER OCT. 7 ATTACKS, WHILE IDF STRIKES TERROR TARGETS
Iran is launching the largest ballistic missile barrage in history. Amid this, a Palestinian man in the West Bank dies from falling shrapnel, but not a single additional person in Israel is seriously harmed by the missiles.
It strikes me: the calm in the shelter is born of a tragic familiarity – being fired upon has become normal here.
Terror attacks, while common, rarely reach Tel Aviv.
When we’re given the all-clear, we race to the scene of the attack in Jaffa, as originally planned.
Evidence of the brutality is everywhere along the light rail tracks: bloodstains and evidence markers hint at the horror that unfolded just before we arrived.
"When the train stopped and opened its doors, the terrorists walked inside, began firing their automatic weapons, then stepped back out and continued their killing spree," the Israeli Police International Spokesman, Dean Elsdunne, tells me.
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"I even saw an image where the terrorists stood over a civilian who had clearly already been shot, and they continued shooting him," he adds.
Seven people lost their lives in the attack.
My mind flashes back to what I witnessed 63 miles south of Tel Aviv, in the devastated city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Weeks earlier, I had embedded with the IDF in the evacuated city, where soldiers exchanged gunfire with militants.
There wasn’t a single civilian in sight, but remnants of life before the war were scattered everywhere – a child’s superhero mask, clothes, household goods buried beneath the rubble from Israeli airstrikes.
A once-inhabited neighborhood is now a wasteland.
These are the costs of war.
Tens of thousands have died.
Millions are displaced.
And now, as the war enters its second year, the possibility of a major direct escalation with Iran looms on the horizon.
Mexican mayor murdered less than a week after taking office
The mayor of a state capital in southern Mexico has been killed just one week after he took office, officials said Sunday.
Alejandro Arcos was sworn in last Monday as mayor of Chilpancingo, a city so violent that a drug gang openly staged a demonstration, hijacked a government armored car and took police hostage in 2023 to win the release of arrested suspects.
Chilpancingo is the capital of Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located.
The state prosecutors’ office issued a statement Sunday confirming Arcos had been killed, but provided no details.
SHOOTING NEAR LUXURY MEXICO RESORT LEAVES 1 DEAD, SUSPECTS FLEE ON JET SKIS
Alejandro Moreno, the national leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, lamented Arcos' killing and said the newly installed secretary of the city council had also been murdered three days earlier.
"They had been in office less than a week," Moreno wrote on his social media accounts. "They were young and honest public servants who were seeking progress for their community."
Chilpancingo has long been the scene of bloody turf battles between two drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. The battle has resulted in dozens of gruesome killings and some high-profile scandals.
A previous mayor was caught on video apparently holding a meeting with leaders of one of the gangs at a restaurant. She was subsequently expelled from her party.
In July 2023, federal officials said a demonstration held by hundreds of people in Chilpancingo that month had been organized by the Ardillos gang to win the release of two gang leaders arrested for drugs and weapons possession.
The demonstrators largely blocked all traffic on the highway between Mexico City and Acapulco for two days, battled security forces and commandeered a police armored truck and used it to ram down the gates of the state legislature building.
The demonstrators abducted 10 members of the state police and National Guard, as well as three state and federal officials, and held them hostage to enforce their demands before releasing them.
Four American hostages remain in Hamas captivity a year after Oct. 7 massacre
Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Monday that the U.S. "will continue to work tirelessly" to bring home the four American hostages who have now been held by Hamas for more than a year inside the Gaza Strip.
The four that remain — Keith Siegel, 65, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Omer Neutra, 22, and Edan Alexander, 21 — were abducted by the Palestinian terrorist group exactly one year ago Monday on Oct. 7, 2023. The abductions took place alongside the murder of approximately 1,200 Israelis.
"Hamas also took 254 people hostage that day, including 12 Americans. Four of those Americans – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Itay Chen, Judy Weinstein, and Gad Haggai – were murdered by Hamas. Four were released through an agreement the United States negotiated last November, but four remain in captivity in Gaza: Edan Alexander, Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Omer Neutra," Blinken said in a statement.
"There are also an estimated 97 other hostages who remain held in Gaza today. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, two babies, and elderly people from more than 25 nations," Blinken added. "Hamas should release these hostages immediately. Every single one of them must be returned to their families, and the United States will continue to work tirelessly to bring them home."
HAMAS LAUNCHES ROCKETS FROM GAZA ONE YEAR AFTER OCT. 7 ATTACKS, WHILE IDF STRIKES TERROR TARGETS
Blinken, who on Monday called Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel the "largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust," also said "It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people, and ultimately brings an end to this war."
The youngest of the hostages, 20-year-old Edan Alexander, graduated from Tenafly High School in New Jersey in 2022 before volunteering to serve with the IDF.
"He was kidnapped Oct. 7th from his post, from the IDF post, and since then, we have no additional information about this abduction," his father Adi has said.
Adi and his wife Yael wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times in September saying that for hundreds of days "the world has failed our son and his fellow hostages: The Israeli government has abandoned them, too many countries have turned a blind eye, and while we’re grateful for the U.S. government’s steadfast support, its efforts have yet to yield results.
US ON ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ‘VIOLENT EXTREMIST ACTIVITY’ ON AMERICANS ONE YEAR AFTER OCT. 7
Omer Neutra, 22, also volunteered to serve in the IDF, according to his parents Orna and Ronen.
"He's like an all-American kid. He loved sports. He was accepted to Binghamton University, but decided to defer this school. And he went to Israel on a gap year, and he connected deeply with the country, with his peers, and he decided to volunteer to the IDF, and he was taken from his post," his mother Orna has said.
She recently told the New York Post from her home in Plainview, New York, "Our kid is a bargaining chip in this geopolitical nightmare, and we, the families, we’re just floating on this wave. We’re trying not to sink."
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Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose 36-year-old son Sagui is still being held in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, said in an interview with "Fox & Friends" in September, "It is absolutely clear, the only way to get hostages home alive is by some kind of negotiated agreement with Satan."
Dekel-Chen was abducted by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz one year ago, according to the American Jewish Committee. The organization said he made sure his then-pregnant wife and his two daughters were safe in a shelter before confronting Hamas terrorists who had broken into his home.
Last November, Elan Siegel, the daughter of 65-year-old Keith Siegel, wrote in a column for Fox News Digital, "They forced my parents, unassuming people filled with kindness and a quiet sensitivity, into my father’s car and took them to Gaza."
Siegel’s wife Aviva later was released from captivity.
"It’s just cruel to think that he’s in such terrible conditions for so long," Aviva Siegel recently told the New York Post. "What they’re going through is the cruelest thing on Earth."
The bodies of Americans Itay Chen 19, Gadi Haggai, 73, and his wife Judith Weinstein, 70, also remain held by Hamas in Gaza.
Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
