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.
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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)
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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.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
FORMER NFL QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III DESCRIBES HARROWING ENGINE FIRE ON UNITED FLIGHT
FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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