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Lawmakers hold moment of silence for slain Omer Neutra as thousands mourn in hometown synagogue

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Lawmakers hold moment of silence for slain Omer Neutra as thousands mourn in hometown synagogue

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night held a moment of silence for American-Israeli Omer Neutra who was determined this week to have been killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, after it was believed that he had been alive for more than a year.

Neutra, 21 years old, was a tank platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and was among the first to respond to the Hamas attack that ultimately killed some 1,200 people and initially saw the abduction of more than 250 men, women and children. 

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His parents, Orna and Ronen, who spoke with Fox News Digital just days prior to the tragic development, believed their son was still alive after the IDF had long assessed that he, along with Nimrod Cohen, another soldier from his tank, were taken hostage into Gaza and remained alive.

An image of Omer Neutra is displayed at his memorial service Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, N.Y. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo) (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)

7 US HOSTAGES STILL HELD BY HAMAS TERRORISTS AS FAMILIES PLEAD FOR THEIR RELEASE: ‘THIS IS URGENT’

“For 420 days Omer’s parents and his brother Daniel have done everything they can with the love and support of hundreds of thousands of others to free their son from captivity,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who represents the Neutra family’s district, said from the House floor. “Every day they soldiered on through alternating deep sorrow and brief bursts of hopefulness. They went from crushing anxiety to steely determination. 

“Just a few days ago we learned that this courageous young man, this bright light, this courageous idealist, made the ultimate sacrifice,” Suozzi continued. “Omer had not been alive for the last 422 days, he was murdered on Oct. 7.”

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Footage from the attack on Omer’s tank showed the commander, as well as three others, Shaked Dahan, Oz Daniel and Nimrod Cohen being pulled from the military vehicle by Hamas terrorists and being taken captive. 

Daniel and Dahan had previously been assessed to have been killed following the attack, and according to the IDF, intelligence now suggests Omer, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, was also killed on Oct. 7. 2023.

Omer Neutra family

Syosset, N.Y.: Daniel Neutral, brother of Omar Neutra, surrounded by father Ronen Neutra and mother Orna Neutra at the Midway Jewish Center on Dec. 3, 2024 in Syosset, New York speak during a memorial service for Omer Neutra, an Isaeli-American who was killed by Hamas militants.  (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

AMERICAN FATHER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN PUSHES US, ISRAEL ON ‘PLAN B’ AS NEGOTIATIONS FALTER

The Israeli military has not said how they came by this new information and the fate of Cohen remains unknown.

In a memorial service held for Omer on Tuesday in the Long Island synagogue where he reportedly celebrated his bar mitzvah years earlier, Omer’s father Ronen, said the news had left them “breathless and empty.”

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“For over a year now, we’ve been breathing life into your being, my beautiful boy,” Orna said through tears, according to reports. “With the hope and love of so many, we kept going and going and going, keeping you alive, speaking your name from every outlet, pushing any hint of despair, not stopping to breathe or to take in the deep pain of your absence.” 

“Now things are clear,” she said to the reported 1,500 attendees at the service. “But not as we’d hoped.”

Onra and Ronen have described their son as loving, a good friend and an athlete, but they also highlighted his ability to lead and how his actions on Oct. 7, 2023 saved lives. 

Omer’s body is believed to still be held by Hamas along with the six other American hostages, only three of whom are still assessed by the IDF to be alive at this time, including Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s body was recovered after he, along with five others, were discovered to have been murdered by Hamas in the tunnels in Gaza in August.

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American Hostages

These are the American hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023 and held in Gaza, only Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Left) has been returned to Israel after the IDF found him and other hostages killed by terrorists. Pictured next to Hersh is Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Fox News Photo)

There are still 100 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza following the recovery of Itai Svirski’s body on Wednesday, an Israeli hostage taken during the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023.

The IDF confirmed he “was murdered in captivity by his captors, and his body was held hostage in the Gaza Strip.”

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Trump Says He Will Not Try to Replace Fed's Powell

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Trump Says He Will Not Try to Replace Fed's Powell
(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday he will not try to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell upon taking office in January. “No, I don’t think so,” Trump said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.” He told Welker when …
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New reports claim UNRWA works with terrorists, teaches hate as agency hits back at critics

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New reports claim UNRWA works with terrorists, teaches hate as agency hits back at critics

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Following numerous allegations and charges against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) over its ties to terrorists with involvement in the Hamas terrorist massacre in Israel, the scandal-hit agency is facing new allegations of wrongdoing.

U.N. Watch a Geneva-based NGO, has released parts of a 150-page dossier that Executive Director Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital shows “high-level UNRWA staff who are complicit with terrorists, who meet with them regularly.” 

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Before presenting his documentation to the world, Neuer attempted to address it directly with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. In a letter to Lazzarini, Neuer explained that Lazzarini’s staff have previously complained that U.N. Watch did not submit its reports to UNRWA for comment prior to publishing. Neuer then recounted several attempts to meet personally with Lazzarini to discuss U.N. Watch’s findings and explained that when it released its dossier, Lazzarini would be unable to “claim… that we do not show you the evidence in advance.”

UN, ISRAEL AT ODDS OVER CAUSE OF DECLINE IN AID DELIVERIES: ‘FALSE NARRATIVES BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’

U.N. vehicle enters the UNRWA offices in Jerusalem. Apr 2, 2024. (Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS)

Neuer’s group then released photographs of senior UNRWA staff, including Lazzarini and former UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, meeting with alleged terror leaders. “You wouldn’t find these photos on [UNRWA officials’] own social media,” he said. “We found them our own ways, but they don’t post them.” 

Neuer pointed Fox News Digital to two undated photos showing Lazzarini meeting with groups that included members of terror organizations, including the Jihadi Islamic Movement, the Islamic Ansar League, and Hamas.

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In another photo dating back to late 2014, multiple UNRWA regional directors met with senior Hamas member Ali Baraka. Neuer said, and reporting from Al Watan Voice confirms, that the UNRWA staff wanted to “to congratulate [Baraka] on Hamas’ anniversary.”

A Palestinian fighter from the armed wing of Hamas takes part in a military parade

A terrorist from Hamas takes part in a military parade. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)

In another instance, Neuer said he was able to find a photo and transcript from a February 2017 meeting between former UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl, Baraka, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and others. According to U.N. Watch, Krahenbuhl reportedly told the assembly that “we are united, and no one can separate us.”

In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced “terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges” against Baraka and five other Hamas leaders for their roles in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, which killed 40 Americans and over 1,000 others.

UN ACCUSED OF DOWNPLAYING HAMAS TERRORISTS’ USE OF GAZA HOSPITALS AS NEW REPORT IGNORES IMPORTANT DETAILS

Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWA commissioner-general,

Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWA commissioner-general, speaks at a press conference in Amman, Jordan, on Aug. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh, File)

Krahenbuhl and his staff were investigated in 2019 for reports of “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority.” Krahenbuhl resigned from his position, but in April 2024 was named the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Leading congressional voices requested that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power “persuade the ICRC to reconsider this appointment” given Krahenbuhl’s “disastrous tenure” as UNRWA commissioner-general.

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Fox News Digital asked the ICRC about the photos of Krahenbuhl posing with terror leaders, and of congressional concern about his fitness for the position in the Red Cross. An spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the ICRC “was not present in the meeting, so it cannot speak to the full context of the discussion.” 

They also stated that Krahenbuhl “has demonstrated through his work at ICRC and his decades of humanitarian experience that he has one objective: to secure aid to civilians in conflict zones. Meeting with any group that controls access to civilians, is an essential part of the ICRC work and other humanitarian organizations in conflict zones.”

Allegations of hate in UNRWA Education 

U.N. Watch’s latest dossier also includes interviews of UNRWA students taken by local Palestinian film crews over a period of three weeks during the summer of 2024. In one interview, a 14-year-old former student of UNRWA’s Ein Arik co-ed school said that his school taught him “’to fight back and resist’ so that ‘Palestine will be liberated and our lands will return to us by the good grace of Allah.’” The child later explains that the solution for Jerusalem is to “kill the Jews. We get rid of the Jews.”

A second NGO, IMPACT-se has reported extensively on educational materials used in UNRWA schools for over two decades. In a Nov. 13 report, IMPACT-se names 12 high-ranking UNRWA principals, deputies, directors or deputy directors of training centers who held membership in either Hamas or PIJ. The report notes that nine of the 12 participated in the terror attack of Oct. 7, with “some even serving as Nukhba operatives,” members of the special forces units of Hamas. Two of the dual UNRWA- and Hamas-member principals headed schools “under which Hamas tunnels were built.” 

ISRAELI PARLIAMENT BANS UNRWA OVER TERRORISM TIES, FACES INTERNATIONAL BACKLASH

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United Nations terrorism

UNRWA in Gaza on June 20, 2023. (Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The latest IMPACT-se review complements findings from March 2023 that two UNRWA schools headed by Hamas members had “promote[d] violence and terrorism in self-created study material.” Now, IMPACT-se has named three additional schools where Hamas operatives served as UNRWA staff. The NGO found that these schools promoted “libels against and non-recognition of Israel” and “gratuitously insert[ed] content promoting hatred and violence against Israel into grammar exercises.”

IMPACT-se found that UNRWA schools are “shamelessly flout[ing]” UNESCO standards, which include “peace-building, respect for non-Palestinian groups, and avoiding incitement to violence.” 

The group’s report cites intelligence claiming that “over 10% of the 510 [senior] employees in UNRWA’s education system in the Gaza Strip,” are members of PIJ or Hamas. UNRWA members are not allowed to be participants in terror groups designated by the U.N. Security Council. But as Neuer explained, “The U.N. terror list is one of the thinnest lists in the world,” because “Russia and China can block any designation they don’t like.” Neuer said this means “there’s virtually no Palestinian groups” on the list.

Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA media officials on numerous occasions for its response to the contents of IMPACT-se’s and U.N. Watch’s dossiers, about allegations that UNRWA schools were not adhering to UNESCO standards, and about Lazzarini’s refusal to meet with Neuer. 

Philippe Lazzarini

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini addresses the assembly on the opening day of the Global Refugee Forum, in Geneva. (Jean-Guy Python/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Bill Deere, director of the UNRWA representative office in Washington, told Fox News Digital, “UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has cautioned the spread of disinformation against UNRWA,” which he says “is meant to create chaos and divert attention from the political aims to dismantle the Agency.” Reiterating the content of a statement Lazzarini shared on X in the aftermath of Neuer’s dossier being released, Deere said, “UNRWA recommends before giving oxygen to accusations like these, double-check the source and question the intent to avoid becoming an echo chamber for disinformation and de facto the fueling of hate and putting other people’s lives in danger.”

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Addressing U.N. Watch’s interviews with UNRWA students, he said, “What they don’t tell you is these children were filmed without the knowledge or permission of their parents,” Deere said. “The kids were isolated and asked a series of leading questions designed to elicit a response. This is beyond misleading, it’s twisted and desperate.” 

The U.S. was among numerous countries to pause support to UNRWA in January after the initial proofs emerged of members’ participation in the terror attack of Oct. 7. Congress has halted funding to UNRWA through March 2025.
 

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Taking Syria: The opposition’s battles shown in 11 maps for 11 days

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Taking Syria: The opposition’s battles shown in 11 maps for 11 days

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Syrian opposition fighters announced that they had captured the capital, Damascus, and that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.

The announcements came hours after the fighters took a fourth strategic city in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.

In just 11 days, the 24-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad came to an end.

The maps below provide a day-by-day overview of territorial control.

Build-up to November 27

Before November 27, Syrian opposition forces were mostly confined to their stronghold in the northwestern governorate of Idlib, following a ceasefire brokered in March 2020 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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The map below shows Syria’s territorial control before November 27.

(Al Jazeera)

On the ground, four main groups were competing for control, including:

  1. Syrian government forces: The army fought alongside the National Defence Forces, a pro-government paramilitary group, and was supported by Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.
  2. Syrian Democratic Forces: This Kurdish-dominated, United States-backed group controls parts of eastern Syria.
  3. HTS and other allied rebel groups: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the largest fighting force, was in control of Idlib for years before this offensive.
  4. Turkish and Turkish-aligned Syrian rebel forces: The Syrian National Army is a Turkish-backed rebel force in northern Syria.

Day 1 – November 27

On Wednesday, November 27, just one day after a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect, Syrian opposition forces, led by HTS, launched an offensive from their base in the Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria.

The rebel group said their attacks were in retaliation for recent Syrian government assaults on cities in Idlib, including Ariha and Sarmada, which had resulted in several civilian casualties in recent weeks.

INTERACTIVE - November 27- who controls what in Syria-1733655300
(Al Jazeera)

By the evening, the group had seized at least 19 towns and villages from pro-government forces, including military sites, as they pushed into western Aleppo governorate.

The Syrian regime responded by shelling rebel-held areas while the Russian air force carried out air strikes.

Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Fighters from HTS in military vehicles in the eastern outskirts of Atarib, Aleppo, on November 27, 2024 [Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP]

Day 2 – November 28

By Thursday, the rebels had captured more territory and expelled government forces from villages in eastern Idlib, then began pushing towards the M5 highway, a strategic road that leads south to the capital, Damascus, about 300km (186 miles) away.

INTERACTIVE - November 28- who controls what in Syria-1733655306
(Al Jazeera)
A destroyed Syrian army tank sits in the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo
A destroyed Syrian army tank sits in the village of Anjara, on the western outskirts of Aleppo on November 28, 2024 [Omar Albam/AP Photo]

Day 3 – November 29

By Friday, rebel forces had entered parts of Aleppo city after detonating two car bombs and engaging government forces on the city’s western edge, according to a Syrian war monitor and fighters. Syrian state television said Russia was providing Syria’s military with air support.

INTERACTIVE - November 29- who controls what in Syria-1733655311
(Al Jazeera)

Day 4 – November 30

By Saturday, images and videos began circulating online showing rebel fighters taking photos next to the ancient Citadel of Aleppo as they advanced through the city.

Syrian opposition fighters sweep into Aleppo
Opposition fighters take pictures next to the ancient Citadel of Aleppo on November 30, 2024 [Omar Albam/AP Photo]

After capturing Aleppo, the rebels advanced south, towards Hama.

INTERACTIVE - November 30- who controls what in Syria-1733655317
(Al Jazeera)

Day 5 – December 1

By Sunday, Syrian and Russian jets intensified their air attacks in Idlib city and positions in Aleppo as government forces tried to slow the advance of opposition fighters.

In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, President al-Assad said his forces would continue to defend the government’s “stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters”.

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INTERACTIVE - December 1- who controls what in Syria-1733655101
(Al Jazeera)

Day 6 – December 2

Fierce battles continued in the outskirts of Hama as Syrian opposition fighters advanced to the strategic central city – Syria’s fourth largest.

As the site of the most brutal politically motivated massacre in Syria’s recent history, the city also held symbolic importance.

INTERACTIVE - December 2- who controls what in Syria-1733655106
(Al Jazeera)

Day 7 – December 3

The Syrian government said its counteroffensive had pushed back opposition fighters attempting to advance into Hama. In contrast, opposition forces said they captured more Syrian troops and Iran-backed fighters in fierce battles.

INTERACTIVE - December 3- who controls what in Syria-1733655111
(Al Jazeera)
Syrian opposition fighters take pictures in the outskirts of of Hama, Syria
Syrian opposition fighters take photos outside Hama on December 3, 2024 [Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo]

Day 8 – December 4

Opposition fighters continued to push further south as they captured more towns in the Hama governorate.

A regime air strike killed Syrian photographer Anas Alkharboutli, who was working for German news agency dpa, near the city of Hama. Alkharboutli, 32, had long documented Syria’s 13-year war.

INTERACTIVE - December 4- who controls what in Syria-1733655116
(Al Jazeera)

Day 9 -December 5

By Thursday, the rebels announced they had full control of Hama. Seizing the city brought them one step closer to severing the coastal cities of Tartous and Latakia from the rest of the country.

Latakia is a key political stronghold for al-Assad and Syria’s Alawite community, as well as a strategic Russian naval base.

INTERACTIVE - December 5- who controls what in Syria-1733655121
(Al Jazeera)

Day 10 -December 6

The capture of Hama paved the way to Homs, Syria’s third-largest city.

Homs, a key crossroads city linking Damascus to Syria’s coastal areas, lies approximately 46km (29 miles) south of Hama.

Al Jazeera’s Omar al-Hajj said Syrian government forces had conducted several air strikes on the main road in an effort to stop the opposition’s advance.

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INTERACTIVE - December 6- who controls what in Syria-1733655127
(Al Jazeera)

Day 11 – December 7

On Saturday, southern forces started moving and Deraa-based opposition fighters said they seized control of the city, the fourth strategic loss for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in a week. Deraa, which lies only a few kilometres from the border with neighbouring Jordan, is known as the cradle of the 2011 revolution.

INTERACTIVE - December 7- who controls what in Syria-1733655133
(Al Jazeera)

The same day, rebel fighters came within kilometres of the capital, Damascus. By the evening, they had reached its suburbs, and in the early hours of the morning on December 8, fighters captured the capital.

INTERACTIVE - December 8- who controls what in Syria-1733655290
(Al Jazeera)
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