World
American veterans facing Hamas threats while delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza
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American veterans working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) want to set the record straight on what’s happening on the ground nearly two years into the war.
Jason Murray, Scott Weimer and Brandon Zielinski — all U.S. military veterans — are working to ensure Palestinians in Gaza get the food they need.
All three men spoke with Fox News Digital and said that they are proud of the work they’re doing on the ground with GHF.
“We kind of built a plane in flight … not even knowing where we were going to land,” Murray said of the situation.
GHF began its operations in May 2025, more than a year and a half after the war began. While facing challenges distributing aid in Gaza, Murray said he has seen parallels to his military service, which has helped him as a GHF volunteer.
US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES RESERVATION SYSTEM AFTER TRUMP CALLS FOR INNOVATION IN WARZONE DELIVERIES
American veterans are volunteering with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to get aid to Palestinians in need. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF))
Weimer told Fox News Digital that when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a “natural fit” and that he felt he could fill a need in a way that others couldn’t. He also said that his service experience, along with Murray’s, worked in this type of environment where they were able to find people with the right skills and put them where they’d be most useful.
When he was in the military, Zielinski said he experienced a lot of bilateral training in which he did not always speak the same language as his counterparts. He said his experience working through language barriers has helped in his interactions with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which coordinates with GHF.
All three men spoke of the desperation they saw from hungry Palestinians trying to get food. They also described bad actors taking advantage of the situation – including Hamas operatives and gang members trying to harm people working with GHF, especially Palestinian locals.
Murray gave Fox News Digital some insight as to how the IDF and GHF coordinate when it comes to keeping bad actors out and letting civilians in need get to the aid.
“From a security standpoint, our goal is to provide aid in a safe and secure manner. Hamas does operate in this area. Again, we know that. We have been told through various means that, ‘Hey, Hamas was here today,’” Murray told Fox News Digital.
He also said that the threat of Hamas is not one that GHF personnel take lightly.
A Palestinian woman carries a box as people seek aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 4, 2025. (Stringer/Reuters)
HAMAS LOSING IRON GRIP ON GAZA AS US-BACKED GROUP GETS AID TO PALESTINIANS IN NEED
Weimer echoed Murray’s sentiment, saying that the GHF personnel “absolutely see Hamas in the background,” but their focus in the foreground is working to get aid to those in need. He also gave Zielinski’s team credit for warding off the bad actors who try to interfere with GHF’s mission.
“They are amazing because the amount of people that are seeking food and seeking aid can be overwhelming at times. I have never once seen any of us overreact to what would be, I think, to anybody, a very scary situation,” Weimer said of Zielinski and his team.
Before Zielinski’s team gets to work, they’re usually given an IDF briefing on the security situation regarding the 48 hours or so prior to their shift. Zielinski told Fox News Digital that he has seen changes to the secure distribution sites (SDS) over time due to the threats that exist in the area.
“We’ve had pistols seen before, there’s been AKs seen before. There’s grenades that went off,” Zielinski told Fox News Digital.
He also said that his team looks for patterns, records them and then turns into intelligence officials information or materials that can be used to catch bad actors.
“We’ll see down the line that, okay, ‘Hey, we’ve seen this person before, he looked very suspicious,’ and next thing you know, this is a guy that has a pistol on him,” Zielinski said.
Security contractors of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) stand guard as Palestinians receive aid supplies from GHF, in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 1, 2025. (Stringer/Reuters)
US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES BOLD NEW SYSTEM TO DELIVER FOOD DIRECTLY TO FAMILIES
When asked what the American people should know about the reality on the ground in Gaza, the volunteers all said that it’s important to do some research.
Weimer told Fox News Digital that the media depictions of GHF upset him because they’re “so far askew.” He said he has called home to tell his family that they should not “believe the hype.”
“I guess that’s what I would tell the American people is, you know, these people that are here, these military veterans that lived a long honorable life, we would never be a part of something [like] what I’ve seen in the media,” Weimer said. “It really actually sickens me, it’s just so far askew.”
Gazans walk with boxes of humanitarian aid they received at a distribution center run by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Zielinski emphasized the passion that GHF volunteers have for the work that they do. He said that the people he works with in the war-torn enclave strive to do whatever possible to help civilians in need.
Since it began operating in May, GHF says it has delivered more than 160 million meals to Palestinians in need. The organization has not operated in the smoothest environment. Despite facing terror threats and international criticism, GHF maintains its call to the international community to join its mission – to deliver food to those who need it.
“Everybody wants to help, and everybody sees the reward for doing so… We all just enjoy doing it,” Zielinski said.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
World
Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM
Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.
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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.
EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.
Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.
“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”
On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.
“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.
“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”
Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”
“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.
When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”
On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.
Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.
“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.
Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET
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