World
Families of US citizens held by Hamas pin hopes on Netanyahu’s address to Congress
JERUSALEM – With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to address both houses of Congress on Wednesday, families of U.S. citizens held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza for some 292 days expressed hope that he will use the high-profile platform to finally announce a cease-fire deal that will release them.
Ahead of his flight to Washington, D.C., Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying that Israel would return to the negotiating table this week in the hopes of securing a deal with the U.S.-designated terror group to release hostages in exchange for a cease-fire of the nine-month-old war that has killed thousands on both sides.
Eight U.S. citizens have been held by Hamas since Oct. 7, when hundreds of its elite Nukhba terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, brutally attacking army bases, civilian communities and a massive music festival taking place near the border. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered in the attack, with an estimated 250 individuals taken captive by the Palestinian terror group.
NETANYAHU’S 4 PRINCIPLES ISRAEL AGREES TO FOR HOSTAGE DEAL AS NEGOTIATIONS PICK UP
American hostages being held in Gaza include, from left to right, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Judy Weinstein and her husband, Gad Haggai and Keith Siegel. Judy Weinstein, her husband, Gad Haggai, and 19-year-old Itay Chen – are believed to have been murdered by Hamas, who are still holding onto their bodies. (Photos: Courtesy of the families)
While a weeklong cease-fire last November secured the release of more than 100 of the hostages, around 120 people remain in captivity, including eight U.S. citizens: California-born Hersch Goldberg-Polin, 23, who moved to Israel with his family, was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival. Sagui Dekel Chen, 35, who grew up in New Jersey, and Keith Siegel, 64, from North Carolina, were both taken from their homes in kibbutz communities near the Gaza border. While Eden Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey, and Omer Neutra from Long Island, New York – both serving in the Israel Defense Forces – were taken from their military bases.
In April, Hamas released video recordings of both Goldberg-Polin, who is known to have had his arm blown off during the Oct. 7 attack, and from Keith Siegel, giving hope to their families that they are still alive despite the longevity of their captivity.
Three other U.S. citizens – Judy Weinstein and her husband, Gad Haggai, and 19-year-old Itay Chen – are believed to have been murdered in captivity by Hamas, who are still holding onto their bodies. An additional 44 hostages have also been declared dead by the Israeli military.
Last week, Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, calling on U.S. and Israeli leaders to strike a deal to release all the hostages.
“This was not merely an attack on Israel; this was and remains an attack on Americans,” Ronen Neutra said, highlighting that 45 of the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7 were Americans.
‘I WILL BE HAUNTED FOREVER’: ISRAEL’S HORRIFIC VIDEO OF HAMAS ATROCITIES LEAVES VIEWERS SHOCKED AND SICKENED
On Monday, not long after he touched down in Washington, Netanyahu agreed to meet with representatives of the eight families, according to a readout. The families told the prime minister that their loved ones cannot wait any longer and that he must close the deal now.
They also called on him to address the plight of the eight American hostages when he speaks to Congress on Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with families of Israeli hostages during his visit to Washington D.C. (Israel Government Press Office via Reuters)
“The families told Netanyahu in no uncertain terms that they expect him to announce this week that he has finalized the deal to bring their family members home,” a statement from the meeting read. “Anything less, they said, would constitute an abject failure of his trip to Washington.”
Also on Monday, the families of U.S. hostages met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, who said there is a solid deal on the table and that it would just take “political determination and cooperation from both sides” to secure it.
Netanyahu – who will also meet with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump during his trip – also expressed hope that a deal could be achieved during a meeting with 13 additional hostage relatives, who traveled with him from Israel.
A bloodied handprint stains a wall in a Nir Oz house after Hamas terrorists attacked this kibbutz days earlier near the border of Gaza. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
In that meeting, he said that he was “determined to return them all” and that “the conditions for returning them are becoming ripe, for the simple reason that we are putting very strong pressure on Hamas.”
Netanyahu also said that his visit to the U.S. and the chance to address lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and in both houses would afford him “the opportunity to bring before the representatives of the American people, and the American people themselves the importance of their support for our efforts, with them, to bring about the release of all of the hostages, the living and the deceased.”
Global energy markets remain in a state of high alert after several Gulf states suspended oil and gas production following escalating tensions in the region.
Since Saturday’s attacks by the United States and Israel, Tehran has targeted various sites in Israel and across several Gulf countries.
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Initially, these Iranian attacks focused primarily on US military assets, but Gulf states have reported that Iran has since broadened its scope to target civilian infrastructure, including hotels, airports and energy facilities. Iranian officials have publicly denied targeting Gulf energy facilities, however.
The Middle East remains the world’s dominant source of hydrocarbon reserves and a major driver of crude oil and natural gas output.
How much oil and gas does the Middle East have?
Nearly half of the world’s oil reserves and exports come from the Middle East, which contains five of the seven largest oil reserves in the world.
Once refined, crude oil is used to make various products, including petrol, diesel, jet fuel and a wide range of household items such as cleaning products, plastics and even lotions.
After Venezuela, which has 303 billion barrels, Saudi Arabia holds the world’s second-largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at 267 billion barrels.
The Middle East’s largest oil reserves:
- Saudi Arabia: 267 billion barrels
- Iran: 209 billion barrels
- Iraq: 145 billion barrels
- UAE: 113 billion barrels
- Kuwait: 102 billion barrels
Saudi Arabia is also the world’s top oil exporter with an estimated $187bn of crude in 2024, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
The Middle East’s top oil exporters:
- Saudi Arabia: $187bn
- UAE: $114bn
- Iraq: $98bn
- Iran: $47bn – largely sold at a discount due to US sanctions
- Kuwait: 29bn
Other Middle Eastern countries with sizeable oil exports include: Oman ($28.9bn), Kuwait ($28.8bn) and Qatar ($21bn).
In addition to crude oil, the Middle East is a global powerhouse for natural gas, accounting for nearly 18 percent of global production and approximately 40 percent of the world’s proven reserves.
Natural gas is primarily used for electricity generation, industrial heating, and in chemicals and fertilisers.
The heart of Middle Eastern gas is a single, massive underwater reservoir called the South Pars/North Dome field. It is the largest gasfield in the world, and it is shared directly between Qatar and Iran.
Gas is transported either through pipelines or by tankers. When using pipelines, the gas is pressurised and moved through steel networks. When pipelines are not feasible, such as across oceans, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is used.
To create LNG, the gas is cooled to approximately -162C (-260F), shrinking its volume and allowing it to be safely loaded onto specialised tanker ships for global transport.
To transport oil and gas, tankers from various Gulf states must navigate the narrow waterway known as the Strait of Hormuz. Approximately one-fifth of global oil and gas passes through this strait, primarily heading to major markets in Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea and India, as well as to Europe.
Which energy facilities have been attacked?
Here are the facilities which have recorded damage as of Wednesday:
Saudi Arabia – Ras Tanura oil refinery
On Monday, one of the world’s largest oil refining complexes, the Ras Tanura oil refinery owned by Saudi Aramco, was forced to halt operations after debris from intercepted Iranian drones caused a small fire.
Saudi Aramco is one of the world’s largest companies, with a market capitalisation exceeding $1.7 trillion and revenue of $480bn. Headquartered in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia, Aramco controls 12 percent of global oil production, with a capacity of more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd).
On Wednesday, Saudi defence officials reported a second drone attempt on the facility but this was successfully intercepted with no damage or disruption to operations reported.
Qatar – Ras Laffan Industrial City LNG facilities
On Monday, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence reported that Iranian drones had targeted an energy facility in Ras Laffan belonging to QatarEnergy, the world’s largest LNG producer.
While no casualties were reported, QatarEnergy suspended the production of LNG and other products at the impacted sites.
QatarEnergy’s 81 million metric tonnes of LNG exports are mostly bound for Asian markets, including China, Japan, India, South Korea, Pakistan and other countries in the region. The halt in production hiked global gas prices to a three-year high this week.
Qatar – Mesaieed Industrial City
Qatar’s Defence Ministry said the country was attacked by a second drone launched from Iran on Monday, targeting a water tank belonging to a power plant in Mesaieed, without reporting any casualties.
On Tuesday, QatarEnergy also stopped production of some downstream products like urea, polymers, methanol, aluminium and others.
UAE – Fujairah and Mussafah oil terminals
On Monday, a fire broke out at Mussafah Fuel Terminal in southwest Abu Dhabi after it was struck by a drone.
On Tuesday, falling debris from a drone interception caused a fire at the Fujairah Oil Terminal along the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates. No injuries were reported.
Oman – ports of Duqm and Salalah
On Tuesday, multiple Iranian drones struck fuel tanks and a tanker at the port of Duqm, with at least one direct hit on a fuel storage tank, causing an explosion.
On the same day, a drone strike was recorded at the Port of Salalah, which handles fuel and industrial minerals.
Athe Nova – oil tanker
On Monday, the Athe Nova, a Honduran-flagged tanker positioned off the coast of Khor Fakkan, UAE, was struck by Iranian drones as it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. Despite the fire, the vessel managed to exit the chokepoint into the Gulf of Oman, and no casualties were reported.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the strike, identifying the Athe Nova as an “ally of the United States”.
On the same day as the attack, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, warning that any ship attempting to pass would be “set ablaze”.
Since then, several other tankers have been hit.
Other regional energy disruptions
Although not directly targeted, the following energy sites suspended operations in response to Iranian retaliatory attacks:
Israeli offshore gasfields – Major gas production fields such as Leviathan and Tamar were shut down as a precaution following regional drone and missile launches linked to Iran.
Oil fields in semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdistan – Producers including DNO, Gulf Keystone and Dana Gas halted output as a safety measure amid the escalation.
Rumaila oilfield – Operations at Iraq’s largest oilfield – operated by BP – in southern Iraq were halted on Tuesday as a security precaution due to its proximity to the escalation zone.
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Senior Iranian clerics would have been left “exposed” after an Israeli airstrike hit a meeting place where they were supposed to be convening Tuesday — days after a strike leveled the Tehran compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a defense analyst has claimed.
The clerics, members of the Assembly of Experts, had reportedly planned to meet at the location in Qom to deliberate succession plans for Khamenei, who was killed in the strikes, according to The Times of Israel.
“This second strike would be another embarrassment to what has been left of the regime,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“It indicates intelligence dominance and superiority because any movement is detected, meaning they would feel exposed,” Michael added.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike Saturday. (Getty Images)
“As of now, the leadership would feel insecure and hunted, with all of their plans collapsing one after another.”
“They would feel totally isolated and understand that the biggest risk might come from home — from a potential uprising next,” he added.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin confirmed that the Israeli Air Force struck the building where senior clerics had planned to assemble, The Times of Israel reported.
KHAMENEI’S DEATH OPENS UNCERTAIN CHAPTER FOR IRAN’S ENTRENCHED THEOCRACY
A general view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city, Monday, in Iran. (Contributor/Getty Images)
It remains unclear how many of the 88 members were present at the time of the strike, according to an Israeli defense source cited by the outlet. The second strike on Iran’s leadership comes amid a broader military campaign.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran in the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury, according to a U.S. Central Command fact sheet.
The campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s security apparatus and neutralizing what officials describe as imminent threats.
According to U.S. Central Command, targets have included command-and-control centers, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Joint Headquarters, the IRGC Aerospace Forces headquarters, integrated air defense systems and ballistic missile sites.
FIREBRAND ANTI-AMERICAN CLERIC ALIREZA ARAFI SEEN AS CONTENDER TO REPLACE IRAN’S KHAMENEI
The USS Thomas Hudner fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of Operation Epic Fury, Sunday, while at sea. (U.S. Navy/via Getty Images)
“We need strategic patience and determination, and in several weeks most of the job will be accomplished,” Michael added. “Even if the regime does not collapse, Iran will not be like we used to know.
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“I assume that the U.S. and Israel will establish a very robust monitoring mechanism that will enable them to react whenever the regime tries to reconstitute its military capacities again.”
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