World
Sinwar's ruthless brother Mohammed slated to take over as leader of Hamas
Israeli officials believe Mohammed Sinwar, brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed Wednesday, could be next in line for the top job, multiple Israeli media outlets reported on Friday.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the possible next head of the terrorist organization plaguing the Gaza Strip, but according to outlets citing the IDF, the younger brother is expected to take over political responsibilities for Hamas.
Mohammed Sinwar, 13 years younger than his notorious brother Yahya Sinwar, was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in 1975 after his family was originally displaced following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Growing up in the shadow of one of the founders of Hamas and his subsequent arrest in 1991 over suspected terrorist activities, enabled Mohammed Sinwar to form close ties with top officials in the terrorist organization that remain alive today, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Mohammed Sinwar seen traveling in a car inside a Hamas terror tunnel near the Erez Crossing in the Gaza Strip. The footage was obtained by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip and was checked by the IDF Intelligence Directorate. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
WHO WAS YAHYA SINWAR? THE ISRAELI PRISONER TURNED TERRORIST HAMAS LEADER KILLED BY IDF TROOPS
Despite the public’s relatively little knowledge of the younger Sinwar, his operational experience in Hamas allegedly made him one of the IDF’s most targeted terrorists of the group.
“You won’t find a key event in Hamas’s military buildup over the past 25 years in which Mohammed Sinwar wasn’t involved,” one military source told the Jerusalem Post.
Israeli security officials reportedly said that Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be even more ruthless than his better-known older brother. Describing him as an “arch-terrorist” and pointing to his direct involvement in the torturous interrogations and deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to gain knowledge of how the IDF and Shin Bet – Israel’s security agency – operate.
“No one in Hamas understands Israel’s covert operational patterns better than him. He conducted all the interrogations himself, learning everything from start to finish,” one official told the media outlet.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks with troops at the location with Hama leader Yahya Sinwar was killed. (Israel Defense Forces)
But despite concerns over the ruthless tendencies of the expected new Hamas leader, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday said the death of Yahya Sinwar could be an “extraordinary opportunity to achieve a lasting ceasefire.”
“We’ll see how things evolve,” he said from a NATO summit in Brussels when asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to continue fighting in Gaza. “But clearly there are opportunities for a change in direction, and we would hope that, you know, parties would take advantage of that, both in Lebanon [and] in Gaza.”
But despite Austin’s hopeful tone and a meeting reportedly to be held Friday by Netanyahu on the 101 hostages still in Gaza, Hamas has said that the hostages will not be exchanged until Israel stops its offensive.
Israeli reports also suggested that the IDF does not believe the threat posed by Hamas will be effectively eliminated until Hama’s hierarchical structure is eliminated.
Prior to his new role, Yahya Sinwar, shown here second from right in Gaza City in December 2022, was Hamas’ leader in Gaza. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
HAMAS ADMITS ‘PAINFUL, DISTRESSING’ LOSSES AFTER ISRAELI VIDEO SHOWS TERRORIST SINWAR MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH
While Mohammed Sinwar is expected to take over as the next leader of Hamas, the remainder of other top officials in the terrorist organization mean that the group continues to pose a threat.
Khalil Al-Hayya, who led the indirect ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel and was reportedly in Tehran when longtime Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in July, also served as Yahya Sinwar’s deputy and is believed to remain a major player in the terrorist organization.
Khaled Meshaal, who led Hamas between 2004 and 2017 and now resides in Qatar according to Reuters, was listed as an official potentially under consideration following the assassination of Haniyeh, though a report in August suggested that the oldest Sinwar brother was opposed to his reappointment to the top job.
A drone video released by the Israeli military shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar sitting on a chair in a damaged building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, in the moments leading up to his death. (IDF)
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior official in Hamas and one of the group’s founders, was also assessed to be on the short list for the top job after Yahya Sinwar was killed. He reportedly survived two assassination attempts in 1992 and 2003, though Reuters has said that he has not been seen since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Mohammad Shabana remains one of the most senior veteran commanders in the terrorist groups and reportedly heads a battalion in Rafah. He also played a significant role in developing the tunnels used to attack Israel during the 2006 conflict.
Several other officials were detailed in reporting by Reuters as top Hamas officials who would be critical in dismantling the terrorist network, though neither their whereabouts nor their deaths have been officially confirmed by Hamas.
World
Patriots rookie RB Tre’Veyon Henderson sidelined against Ravens with head injury
BALTIMORE (AP) — New England running back Tre’Veyon Henderson left Sunday night’s game at Baltimore in the second quarter with a head injury.
Henderson was slow getting up after a carry in Baltimore territory. He was able to walk off the field, but then headed to the tunnel a short time later. He was later ruled out.
Henderson entered the game with 773 yards rushing and is a Rookie of the Year candidate after teaming up with Drake Maye to help the Patriots close in on a playoff berth. He had touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards in last week’s loss to Buffalo.
He had just 3 yards on five carries before exiting against Baltimore.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
World
Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence
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Iranian officials executed a man over the weekend who was convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence arm and its army, according to state media.
The man was Aghil Keshavarz, who was put to death on Saturday, state media reported.
Keshavarz, 27, had “close intelligence cooperation” with the Mossad — the national intelligence agency for Israel — and captured photos of Iranian military and security areas, according to state media.
IRAN’S EXECUTION RATE TOPS 1,000 THIS YEAR AS DEATH ROW INMATES LAUNCH HUNGER STRIKE
Iran executed Aghil Keshavarz, 27, after he was convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. (Getty Images)
Keshavarz was arrested in May while taking pictures of a military headquarters in the city of Urmia, located about 371 miles northwest of Iran’s capital of Tehran.
He was accused of engaging in more than 200 similar assignments for the Mossad in various Iranian cities, including Tehran.
Keshavarz was tried and sentenced to death in connection with the spying accusations. The country’s Supreme Court later upheld the sentence, according to state media.
Smoke rises from the building of Iran’s state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)
Iran has executed 11 people for espionage since a 12-day air conflict in June that was kicked off by Israel, killing roughly 1,100 people in Iran, including military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran countered with a missile barrage that killed 28 people in the Jewish State.
In October, Iran executed an unknown person convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency in the city of Qom.
IRAN HANGS A MAN CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL
A police officer stands guard as demonstrators wave flags and cheer during a gathering following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, on June 24, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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Various others have been executed in Iran in recent years before the June conflict on allegations of spying for the Mossad, including multiple earlier this year.
Iran routinely conducts closed-door trials of people accused of espionage, with the suspects often unable to access the evidence prosecutors used against them in their case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
EU plans to raise €90 billion in joint debt for Ukraine — here’s how
Reparations loan is out, joint debt is in. That is the agreement that the 27 leaders of the European Union reached at their make-or-break summit this week.
With the reparations loan ruled out for good, the bloc turns to common borrowing to raise €90 billion to meet Ukraine’s budgetary and military needs for the next two years.
It is a simpler, faster and more predictable solution compared to the high-risk scheme of using the immbolised Russian assets. But joint debt is expensive, and immediately so.
Here’s what you need to know about the plan.
Back to the markets
Since neither the EU nor its member states have €90 billion at their disposal at the moment, the European Commission will go to the markets and raise the money from scratch by issuing a mix of short-term and long-term bonds.
The €90 billion will be gradually dolled out to ensure a steady flow of assistance to Ukraine, which needs a fresh tranche as early as April. The country will be able to use the funds for both military and budgetary purposes for greater flexibility.
In the meantime, the EU budget will absorb the interest rates to spare Ukraine, already heavily indebted, from any additional burden. The Commission estimates that, under current rates, the interest payments will amount to €3 billion per year. This means the next EU budget (2028-2034) will have to make space for about €20 billion.
Member states will share the interest according to their economic weight. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland will carry the highest costs.
According to Commission officials, the €90 billion will not count towards domestic levels of debt because the issuance will be done exclusively at the EU level.
Forever roll-over
Under a non-recourse loan agreement, Ukraine will be asked to pay back the €90 billion only after Russia ceases its war of aggression and agrees to pay war reparations.
Given that Moscow has emphatically ruled out the possibility of any compensation, the Commission is already prepared to roll out the liability over time so that Ukraine does not have to pay out of pocket, which will be painful after suffering so much devastation.
“The assumption is, today it’s a non-recourse loan to Ukraine that is only paid back when reparations are there, and therefore this debt is going to be rolled over up until then,” a senior Commission official explained.
But will the roll-over continue for eternity?
That seems unlikely. At some point in the future, the EU will have to settle the fate of the €90 billion to stop paying interest rates. The go-to method will be the EU budget, which will act as the ultimate guarantor to ensure investors are always paid back.
The three opt-outs
The reason why joint debt for Ukraine is now possible is that, as first reported by Euronews during the summit, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to refrain from vetoing in exchange for being exempted.
This is key because under current rules, the EU budget cannot be used to raise money for a non-EU country. Any changes to that effect will require unanimous approval.
Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will commit to that unanimity. In return, the bloc will activate the so-called “enhanced cooperation” mechanism to spare them from any costs and responsibilities associated with the €90 billion.
The other 24 countries will take over their share of the interest. But the change will be minimal because the three opt-outs only amount to 3.64% of the bloc’s GNI.
The exemption will also be institutional. Once the budget rules are amended and the “enhanced cooperation” is triggered, the three countries will lose their voting rights to approve the regulation that will establish the new assistance programme.
In practice, they will be strictly removed from the initiative.
Strings attached
The Commission intends to recycle the now-discarded proposal of the reparations loan to set up the €90 billion common borrowing.
As a result, Ukraine will be subject to the same conditions to receive the funds.
One of them is a “no rollback” clause that will link the aid to the anti-corruption measures that Kyiv must implement to advance in its EU accession bid. The country was recently shaken by a corruption scandal in the energy sector that precipitated numerous resignations, including that of Andriy Yermak, President Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.
If Kyiv takes a step back on the fight against corruption, as it briefly did in the summer when it undermined the independence of two anti-corruption agencies and prompted widespread protests, payments will be suspended.
There will also be safeguards to strengthen oversight on how Ukraine allocates defence contracts, which have been a source of controversy in the past.
Additionally, there will be “Made In Europe” criteria to ensure the €90 billion fosters Ukraine’s and Europe’s domestic defence industries. Only when the equipment is not readily available on the continent will purchases outside Europe be allowed.
Assets still on the table
Resorting to joint debt means the cash balances from the Russian assets will not be touched, as was originally planned in the reparations loan.
However, in their conclusions, EU leaders say they reserve “the right” to tap the assets, or at least try, sometime in the future, as a way to repay the €90 billion borrowing.
“For me, it’s very difficult and very premature today to say how this will be translated in actual terms,” a senior Commission official said when asked about the meaning.
“I think the message is pretty political, which is to say that the option to use the cash balance assets of the Russian Central Bank is not off the table.”
The addition of the assets into the final wording is considered a way to placate those countries that were most vocally supportive of the reparations loan, particularly Germany, and had publicly ruled out the idea of common borrowing.
President Zelenskyy hailed the decision as an “important victory” for his country.
“Without these funds, it would be very difficult for us. In any case, this is tied to Russian reparations,” he said. “For us, this is a reinforcement. It is a signal to the Russians that there is no point for them to continue the war because we have financial support, and therefore, we will not collapse on the front line. We will support our army and our people.”
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