World
American father of Hamas hostage Itay Chen pushes US, Israel on ‘Plan B’ as negotiations falter
“When was the last time you talked to your kid? Do you know where he slept last night? Do you know what he ate? Do you know if he had a blanket on him?” Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen who was taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, asked in a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital.
“All those types of questions are questions that we ask ourselves constantly,” he said. “The feeling is that we’ve been failed.”
Itay,19 years old when he was taken, has remained a hostage held in Gaza for 365 days after his unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was attacked in southern Israel when Hamas terrorists flooded the border in a series of mass assaults.
Chen, a New York City native, said he and his wife have been given “unprecedented” access to the White House, the CIA and other top agencies throughout the last year to discuss ongoing strategies to try and get the hostages out of Gaza.
IDF Sgt. Itay Chen was serving along the Gaza border when he was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. (IDF)
ISRAEL SAYS TOP HAMAS RAFAH BRIGADE ‘DISMANTLED’ ON PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR, 2,000 TERRORISTS KILLED
The Chens have not only met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan a dozen times, as well as CIA Director William Burns and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, they also hold a weekly call with the White House.
But ultimately, these supportive efforts have fallen flat when it comes to the real needs of American families whose loved ones are still held hostage by Hamas.
“We have been failed by the Israeli government, we, as U.S. citizens, feel we’ve been failed by the Biden administration despite all of the access that they’ve provided us,” he explained. “They share as much as they can. But at the end of the day, it’s… very black and white.
“Where is he?”
Itay Chen has been confirmed dead after being taken hostage on Oct. 7, Israeli officials said. (Fox News )
Chen explained that following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the Israeli government pushed a strategy to secure the release of the then 251 hostages by bombarding suspected Hamas positions in Gaza.
In the initial weeks following the deadly Hamas attacks, Israel began pounding northern Gaza – a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed would bring Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “to his knees” and make him be “willing to release hostages.”
A week-long cease-fire in November saw the release of 105 hostages. Twelve other hostages have been freed following negotiations during the immediate aftermath of the attack, or because of IDF rescue operations between February and August.
YAZIDI WOMAN HELD HOSTAGE FOR 10 YEARS IN GAZA RESCUED IN ISRAEL, US OPERATION
None of the eight American hostages that were kidnapped have been released, and only seven continue to be held by Hamas after the body of Hersh Goldberg-Polin was discovered by IDF forces in late August, after he along with five others were killed by the terrorist group.
More than 100 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip – 97 of whom were abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.
American hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and held in Gaza.
The Chens, other American families and the international community have repeatedly urged Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement and return all hostages to their families.
But disagreements over security corridors in Gaza have created a seemingly insurmountable hurdle as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari officials work to get Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement.
The father of the IDF soldier pointed out that so long as no one is discussing a “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians there, Hamas will continue to hold tightly to its most powerful bargaining chip, the hostages.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13: Surrounded by other family members of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, speak to reporters after a meeting with President Biden at the White House on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
“Where is Hamas in the day-after? And if no one is willing to talk about it, then Hamas believes that they are better off holding on to the hostages until something changes,” he explained. “It’s a jihad organization. They wish to have chaos. They are looking for a regional conflict.
“When they see that there’s now a conflict with Lebanon, that does not motivate them to get into a cease-fire agreement. On the contrary, they wish to belong, and have other players join in this jihad against Israel,” Chen continued. “So I question, what is the plan?”
“I am very critical of the time,” Itay’s father said. “The last 10 months, I’ve been asking Mr. Sullivan, What’s plan B?
“I haven’t heard of a Plan B. And that’s unacceptable,” he added.
A man walks past shelter tents erected near collapsed buildings in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza on Oct. 1, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
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Securing peace in the region became even more precarious last week after Israel, against the objections of the U.S. and its international allies, launched an incursion into southern Lebanon with the expressed intent of dismantling the threat posed by Hezbollah.
Chen pointed out that this second front not only added another dimension to securing the release of the hostages, but it also seemingly pushed talks with Hamas on the backburner as concerns remain high over a broader regional conflict.
“If you could follow the news, you could see that the hostage issue has been less prioritized,” he said. “And that’s a very difficult feeling for us and the families.”
Netanyahu has said his top priority is securing the release of the hostages, but his refusal to withdraw from the Philidelphi Corridor due to security reasons has created a negotiation impasse and questions have begun to mount over whether the prime minister is truly prioritizing the hostages over his push to “eliminate Hamas.”
But the parents of Itay – who has been described as a “fun-loving kid,” the “sandwich” of the family with an older sibling and younger sibling, everybody’s “best friend,” and a former Boy Scout turned a young man with a loving girlfriend – cannot allow for him, or the others still in Gaza, to be at the mercy of any political agenda.
“I’m a guy that comes from New York City – and we talk less, we look at actions. The actions of the last year show the opposite.” Chen said. “He can say whatever he wants. I don’t believe a thing that comes out of his mouth, I believe in what he does.”
The father of three also urged the Biden administration to question whether it is still in the U.S.’s strategic interest to unequivocally back Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
“There is no accountability from either side for failed negotiation. You do not see any equation that says, ‘OK, if you do not do A, then there’s a consequence’ on either side,” Chen said in reference to both Israel and Hamas. “There’s no consequence associated with a negative action to a strategic interest of the United States.”
Chen also argued that “effective pressure” needs to be put on Hamas by reevaluating what other “pressure points” can be utilized.
The father pointed to the clear need for tougher economic and diplomatic involvement when it comes to international aid sent to Gaza – including tougher sanctions not only on adversarial nations but on partner countries that allow aid to flow into Gaza.
This includes stricter oversight of United Nations-provided humanitarian aid, which though intended for the Palestinian people, is falling into the hands of Hamas, a group that is not designated as a terrorist organization by the UN.
Hamas has long been accused of seizing basic goods in Gaza and then reselling them in a black-market scheme at exuberant prices.
Reports have further indicated that Hamas for years has had substantial access to monetary aid siphoned from funds provided by top organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has been directly used for combatant operations against Israel, including tunnel building and access to arms.
Itay Chen’s father pleaded with President Biden to help his family find their son. (Obtained by Fox News)
But aside from the substantial need to address aid-based concerns, Chen also argued that diplomatic solutions are not being fully recognized by the U.S.
Nations like Russia and Thailand secured the release of their citizens taken by Hamas, and Chen argued Washington – which was able to negotiate with its biggest adversary just months ago to free U.S. citizens from Russian prisons – should be working to do the same to secure the release of those held in Gaza.
“So, it’s possible,” Chen said. “Complicated, yep. Doable, yep.”
“The assumption that was put in front of us at the beginning was that U.S. hostages will come out via a larger deal that Israel will be a part of. And if that assumption is not working out after a year, then yes, we need to challenge the administration and look at that assumption.
“Is that still valid after one year?”
Ahead of attending the long-awaited G7 summit in Évian, US President Donald Trump has announced a peace deal with Iran could be finalised on Sunday, paving the way for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Donald Trump also says the US will take Iran’s enriched uranium ‘dust’ when ‘all is calm’.
Trump’s statement, however, ran counter to Iran’s foreign ministry which indicated earlier in the day that the deal would not be signed on Sunday, according to state media reports.
Earlier, Pakistan’s prime minister said on Saturday that a peace deal between the United States and Iran is likely to be finalised within the next 24 hours.
Writing on X, Shehbaz Sharif said: “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before”.
But Trump’s post also contained a warning to the Islamic Republic to fully implement the plan or face serious consequences.
“Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly,” the US president wrote. “If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
Throughout the negotiations Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium.
Trump’s post does not mention Israel and the war in Lebanon, nor the US blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz which so far have been the Iranian leadership’s two key demands for any peace agreement.
Trump appears to offer an olive branch to the Iranian leadership by saying that the “relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous administrations had,” and that “we look forward to working with Iran, and the entire Middle East, long into the future,” signalling a significant change in the US messaging after the prior threatening statements.
Trump mentions “hopefully” when he expresses his wish for the process to “work out quickly, easily and smoothly,” given how complicated the peace negotiations have been, and he states that military options remain on the table, calling it “the ultimate alternative,” which he hopes “never to be used again.” Another key Iranian demand has been the assurance that the US and Israel will never attack Iran again.
The status of US-Iran talks aimed at ending the Middle East war will be a dominant concern at the G7 summit, as will the be the war in Ukraine.
Trump to work with Zelenskyy, says official
Trump will take part in a G7 working session with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in France on Tuesday, but no bilateral meeting between the two is scheduled, a senior administration official said.
“On Tuesday morning, President Trump will participate in a working session with G7 leaders and President Zelensky of Ukraine,” the official told reporters Saturday on condition of anonymity.
The G7 summit will take place in Evian on June 15-17, and Trump is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on its sidelines with French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and India, the official said.
Trump is also scheduled to dine at the Versailles palace west of Paris with Macron on Wednesday evening, after the summit wraps up.
The dinner is a way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence in a “landmark of Franco-American friendship where the treaty establishing the independence of the United States was signed in 1783,” according to Macron’s office.
Trump has shifted his attention away from efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.
World
Kristin Scott Thomas Receives Crystal Nymph From Prince Albert II at Monte-Carlo Television Festival Opening
Prince Albert II of Monaco opened the 65th edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Friday and presented the Crystal Nymph Award to Kristin Scott Thomas, in recognition of her “outstanding contribution to television and screen storytelling.”
The evening culminated in the international premiere of the first two episodes of Season 3 of AMC Studios’ “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” in the presence of actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, together with showrunner Seth Hoffman.
The International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent was awarded to Spanish actress Ester Expósito, who broke through with the hit series “Elite.” The festival also paid tribute to French TV journalist and host Michel Drucker, who received the Honorary Nymph Award in recognition of “an extraordinary career and his exceptional contribution to television history.”
The opening ceremony was joined by the jury members.
The fiction jury is chaired by British actress Lesley Manville, who serves alongside British actor Kevin McKidd, U.S. showrunner Greg Daniels, French actress Frédérique Bel, South Korean producer Hojin Kwon and British actress Yasmin Finney.
The feature reports and news jury is chaired by American filmmaker Joshua Seftel and includes Mouhssine Ennaimi, Emmy-winning French documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist, French TV producer and journalist Hélène Mannarino and Dutch investigative journalist Margo Smit.
The digital jury is chaired by American media executive Susanne Daniels, former global head of original content at YouTube, alongside British writer, producer and director Luke Hyams, and French actor and content creator Morgan Niquet. It is the first time that the award for an innovative original digital format has been included.
Prince Albert II of Monaco stated: “Sixty-five years later, the ambition of the festival remains more relevant than ever. It continues to promote an industry in perpetual transformation, while remaining faithful to its essence: celebrating stories and outstanding individuals capable of moving, questioning, enlightening and informing.”
Laurent Puons, general manager of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, commented: “As we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the festival, we are proud to continue bringing together the very best of international television in Monaco. This milestone edition reflects both the heritage of the festival and the extraordinary dynamism of today’s audiovisual industry.”
Cécile Menoni, executive director of the festival, added: “This opening sets the tone for an exceptional anniversary edition celebrating both the festival’s remarkable legacy and the future of audiovisual creation. The presence of Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Michel Drucker, Ester Expósito and the team behind ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ perfectly reflects the diversity, international reach and creative excellence that define the festival.”
Progress with Iran can only be achieved ‘by force,’ expert warns
President Trump hints at an imminent peace deal with Iran, suggesting the Supreme Leader has approved it and the US will lift blockades. Rebecca Heinrichs, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, expresses skepticism, citing Iran’s continued harassment in the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program. She also addresses reports of the US cutting fighter jets in Europe, questioning the timing given escalating tensions with Russia.
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The U.S. has hit back against threats to now block another Middle East waterway by Iranian terror proxy, the Houthis.
Earlier this week, the group declared a complete ban on Israeli-owned ships using the Red Sea, declaring them to be “legitimate targets.”
The Red Sea and the waterway through its narrow Bab-el Mandeb Strait has become the main route for oil to ship out of the Middle East to Asia since the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stopped functioning as the main route of navigation for shipping.
IRAN’S AFRICA ACTIVITIES POSE ‘SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO US NATIONAL SECURITY’
Houthi terrorists walk over British and U.S. flags at a rally supporting Palestinians amid Houthi strikes on shipping near Sana’a, Yemen, on Feb. 4, 2024. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on Monday, “We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and we consider all enemy movements to be legitimate targets.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson struck back: “The escalatory actions of Iran and their Houthi proxies are unacceptable. These dangerous actions only serve to further enflame tensions and further disrupt global supply chains. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.”
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital, “The Houthis have indeed risen to the challenge, at least verbally. In common with much ‘Axis of Resistance’ rhetoric at present, the intention appears to be to leverage U.S. political nervousness and market volatility, and to drive a wedge between the Americans and the Israelis.”
An aerial view of The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is a sea route connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2021)
Fitton-Brown, a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen, added, “Provided the allies keep talking to each other, the Israelis respond proportionately, as they have done, and the Iranians continue to provoke President Trump with actions like the downing of the helicopter, these tactics are unlikely to achieve significant success.”
“It will be interesting if the Houthis do go all in, and resume their campaign against Red Sea shipping with full intensity,” Fitton-Brown said, adding, “This will draw international anger and likely result in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Sana’a and Hodeida. There is potential for a general escalation if this happens, albeit one in which the allies have a clear military advantage.”
US STRIKES ON YEMEN CONTINUE AFTER HOUTHI MISSILE HITS BY ISRAELI AIRPORT; TERROR GROUP VOWS ‘AERIAL BLOCKADE’
A huge column of fire erupts in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida following reported strikes on July 20, 2024. The strikes targeted a fuel depot in the port, according to Houthi-run media and an AFP correspondent.
Landlocked Ethiopia acts as regional anti-terrorism buffer
Such actions come as reports emerge that Ethiopia, the Red Sea region’s most populous country, is stepping up as a major U.S. ally against Islamic terrorism.
While landlocked, Ethiopia has a population of some 130 million, making it the largest nation in the Horn of Africa. Located near parts of the Red Sea corridor, the country is roughly 60% Christian, according to a recent report by the Association of Religion Data Archives.
World Data Locator Map, Ethiopia. (Encyclopedia Britannica/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
And despite it being landlocked, Ethiopian researcher Blen M. Diriba told Fox News Digital that the country acts as a strategic roadblock or “a keystone state” on the Islamist expansionist “highway” that has formed all the way from Iran to Sudan.
Diriba, executive director of the Horn Review — an Addis Ababa-based research and publication think tank — told Fox News Digital that “Ethiopia, long a frontline U.S. security partner, now sits at the center of an expanding pressure zone where maritime disruption, insurgent violence, terrorist threats, and proxy competition converge.”
Diriba added. “Iran’s Bab el-Mandeb threat transforms the Horn of Africa into a militarized frontline, placing Ethiopia at the center of a choke point crisis. With Iranian influence radiating through conflict ecosystems in Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia, the region is beginning to resemble a continuous arc of instability stretching from the Arabian Peninsula into East Africa.”
“Ethiopia sits at the center of one of the world’s most combustible security corridors,” Diriba continued. “And in strategic terms, its relevance to the United States is amplified, not diminished, by that reality: From the Red Sea disruptions driven by the Houthis to the persistent insurgency threat of al-Shabab in Somalia, Ethiopia functions as a massive inland security buffer whose stability directly shapes whether these threats expand or are contained.”
IRAN’S KILLER DRONES INCREASE SLAUGHTER IN SUDAN AMID WORLD’S FORGOTTEN WAR
Members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force parade during the 116th celebration of Ethiopian Defense Force day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Oct. 26, 2023. (Amanuel Sileshi/AFP via Getty Images)
But in addition to being pro-U.S., Ethiopia also has relations with Iran.
Fitton-Brown believes to some extent Ethiopia can be accused of playing both sides, as he said Tehran “has helped Ethiopia with its internal conflicts, giving drone support and military aid to the Ethiopian government during the recent Tigray War.”
He added, “There is a new memorandum of understanding built upon that basis, with Iran gaining influence in Ethiopia, while Ethiopia receives military, police and intelligence support to counter its domestic ethnic insurgencies.”
However, Diriba said, “Ethiopia’s engagement with Iran is neither affinity nor alignment, it’s strategic awareness: keeping channels open to engage where necessary, cooperate selectively, and strategically manage its relations with a complex regional actor, while firmly anchoring its core partnerships with its emerging and long-standing partners — the United States being on the top of that list.”
A drone view shows vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 25, 2026. (Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY via Reuters)
“Ethiopia has pursued a flexible multi-alignment strategy, Diriba said, “prioritizing its entrenched security partnership with Washington while keeping open channels with Tehran to preserve diplomatic room to maneuver in an increasingly fragmented Horn of Africa–Red Sea order.”
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Fitton-Brown said relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia “are good, especially in the field of counterterrorism. Both countries use Somaliland to their advantage without having gone so far as to recognize it as an independent state.”
Fox News Digital reached out to both the Department of War and the Ethiopian government for comment, but received no response by the time of publication.
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