- Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino accused of violating court order on tear gas use
- Video shows Bovino deploying gas, potentially violating judge’s order
- Trump immigration crackdown in Chicago generates pushback
World
Pentagon chief confirms US pause on weapons shipment to Israel
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has confirmed reports that the United States paused a weapons shipment to Israel, as President Joe Biden’s administration faces growing pressure to condition aid to the top US ally amid the war in Gaza.
Testifying before a US congressional subcommittee on Wednesday, Austin said the Biden administration had paused “one shipment of high payload munitions” amid concerns about the Israeli military’s push to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
“We’ve been very clear … from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” Austin told US lawmakers.
“We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment [of weapons],” the Pentagon chief added, noting that the transfer is separate from a supplemental aid package for Israel that was passed in late April.
“My final comment is that we are absolutely committed to continuing to support Israel in its right to defend itself.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, responded to the shipment pause by saying the US decision was “very dissapointing”.
“[US President Joe Biden] can’t say he is our partner in the goal to destroy Hamas, while on the other hand delay the means meant to destroy Hamas,” Erdan said.
Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from the White House on Wednesday, said the shipment included 1,800 bombs each weighing about 900kg (2,000lbs) and another 1,700 bombs each weighing 226kg (500lbs).
“There has been, leading up to this delay, significant concerns on the part of not only student protesters across the United States but also within the president’s own party … about how these weapons are being used,” Halkett said.
US Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed the Biden administration’s pause on the weapons transfer, but said it “must be a first step”.
“The US must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation,” Sanders said in a statement. “Our leverage is clear. Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.”
The Biden administration has faced months of criticism over its “iron-clad” support for Israel amid the Gaza war, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and plunged the enclave into a dire humanitarian crisis.
But Washington has largely continued to provide military and diplomatic backing to Israel as the war grinds on.
Israel stepped up its bombardment of Rafah on Monday, killing dozens of people after ordering about 100,000 residents in the city’s eastern areas to evacuate.
Israeli troops also stormed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which serves as a major gateway for humanitarian aid.
Yet despite continuing to say it has concerns for the fate of the more than 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, the US Department of State this week sought to play down the recent moves by the Israeli army.
“This military operation that they launched last night was targeted just to [the] Rafah gate,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t an operation in the civilian areas that they had ordered to be evacuated. So we will continue to make clear that we oppose a major military operation in Rafah.”
Human rights advocates have urged the US to do more to pressure the country to end its war on Gaza, however, and President Biden faces mounting protests — including on US college campuses — over his stance.
A new poll released on Wednesday also suggested a growing disconnect between Biden and his Democratic Party base, which could pose a challenge as he campaigns for re-election in November.
The poll by Data for Progress, in collaboration with news website Zeteo, suggested that 56 percent of Democrats believed Israel was committing “genocide” in the besieged Palestinian territory.
It also found that seven in 10 American voters — and 83 percent of Democrats — also support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Hasan Pyarali, the Muslim Caucus chairman for College Democrats of America, the university arm of the Democratic Party, told Al Jazeera last week that many young people have signalled they will not vote for Biden in the upcoming election.
“It’s not just good policy to oppose the genocide; it’s good politics,” he said.
The United Nations defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, including killings and measures to prevent births.
In January, the International Court of Justice — the UN’s top court — acknowledged there was a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians.
Israel has rejected the accusation that it is committing genocide.
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World
Top US border official to face judge in Chicago over use of tear gas
CHICAGO, Oct 28 (Reuters) – A federal judge has summoned a top U.S. Border Patrol official leading President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago to appear in court on Tuesday, after a video appeared to show him deploying tear gas potentially in violation of a court order limiting its use against protesters.
Gregory Bovino, a roving Border Patrol operations commander who also played a lead role in immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles, was ordered to attend the hearing in person by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who earlier this month barred federal agents from using certain crowd-control tactics following a legal challenge by protesters.
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Trump, a Republican, has made Chicago the focus of his aggressive immigration enforcement push during the past two months. Under Bovino’s leadership, federal agents have used tear gas in residential areas and forcibly subdued protesters while attempting to arrest suspected immigration violators—sparking criticism and legal scrutiny.
Three former federal immigration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Reuters that it was unusual for a top official to be summoned to court on short notice.
Ellis ordered Bovino’s appearance after the protesters submitted a video they said showed him violating her earlier court order directing federal agents to give multiple warnings before using tear gas and other anti-riot weapons.
In the video, Bovino appeared to toss a canister of gas at protesters who had gathered as federal agents conducted arrests last Thursday in a Chicago neighborhood known for being home to many Mexican immigrants.
In a statement on Friday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were surrounded by a large group while conducting an enforcement operation. She said some people in the crowd shot fireworks and threw rocks, hitting Bovino in the head, and that agents gave warnings before deploying chemicals.
A DHS spokesperson on Monday defended Bovino and the agency’s crowd-control tactics.
“DHS can think of nobody better to correct Judge Ellis’s deep misconceptions about its mission, and we thank him for his service,” the spokesperson said.
TRUMP’S BLITZ OPERATION FACES RESISTANCE
Trump’s ongoing “Operation Midway Blitz” deportation drive in Chicago has spurred arrests across the city and sparked widespread protests. In response, Trump attempted to send hundreds of National Guard troops to Illinois to quell what his administration called unprecedented violence against federal law enforcement, but the move has been halted for now by another court.
Tuesday’s hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by protesters, journalists and clergy in Chicago against Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal officials earlier this month, alleging they were deliberately targeted and brutalized during demonstrations.
The judge has repeatedly expressed concerns that federal agents are violating her October 9 ruling requiring them to wear visible identification and limiting their use of anti-riot weapons such as pepper balls and tear gas. She later updated her order to require federal officers with body cameras to turn them on while conducting immigration enforcement activity and during interactions with the public.
Reporting by Diana Novak Jones in Chicago and Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa Shumaker
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
World
Hamas hands over remains of hostage whose body was recovered nearly 2 years ago
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Israel announced Tuesday that it had received from Hamas via the Red Cross the remains of a deceased hostage as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline looms.
The remains, however, did not match any of the 13 deceased hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza. Fox News has learned that the coffin handed over to Israel was assessed to contain the remains of a hostage whose body was already brought back to Israel for burial.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office urged the public to respect the privacy of the hostages’ families. Netanyahu’s office later identified the remains as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was first recovered in 2023.
The Hostages and Missing Families forum released a statement following the return of more of Tzarfati’s remains.
“Ofir attended the Nova Festival to celebrate his birthday with his partner Shoval and close friends. The birthday celebration was brutally cut short when Ofir was abducted into captivity, where he was murdered. Ofir’s body was recovered at the end of November 2023 and brought to burial in Israel,” the forum wrote.
IDF SAYS BODY TURNED OVER BY HAMAS DOESN’T MATCH ANY HOSTAGES
A protester holds a poster of hostage Ofir Tzarfati, 27 during a rally in Tel Aviv. (Ashley Chan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The forum also noted that some of Tzarfati’s remains were returned in March 2024 and that in August 2024, Hamas published a photo of his body.
“We went to sleep last night with anticipation and hope that another family would close an agonizing two-year circle and bring their loved one home for burial. But once again, deception has been inflicted upon our family as we try to heal. This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross — an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home,” the Tzarfati family wrote in a statement.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son. The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”
The Tzarfati family urged the public to support the families who were still waiting for their loved ones to be brought home for a dignified burial.

The kidnapped poster of Ofir Tzarfati, who was recently declared killed and kidnapped, is seen at a memorial display of photos of people killed during Hamas’s attack on the Super Nova festival at the site on Nov. 30, 2023 in Re’im, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
HAMAS SAYS IT WILL HAND OVER ANOTHER HOSTAGE BODY, AS TRUMP’S 48-HOUR WARNING LOOMS
On Saturday, Trump touted the “very strong peace in the Middle East,” but then he slammed Hamas and demanded they “start returning the bodies of deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly.” He said that if the terror group failed to hold up its end of the deal, other countries would “take action.”
“We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being EVERLASTING. Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president added that while he said that “both dies would be treated fairly,” his promise would only apply if “they comply with their obligations.”

A drone view shows participants holding a large banner during a rally held by hostage families and supporters at “Hostages Square” to demand the immediate release of the bodies of the deceased hostages who were kidnapped in the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2025. (Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters)
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Trump acknowledged that “some of the bodies are hard to reach,” but said others could start being returned now, adding that “for some reason, they are not.” He then said that it would remain to be seen what actions Hamas would take in the coming 48 hours, adding, “I am watching this very closely.”
Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire began, all living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been released, while the country awaits the return of deceased hostages’ remains.
So far, Israel has received 15 of the 28 deceased hostages’ remains, including Aryeh Zalmanovich, Master Sergeant (Res.) Tamir Adar, Staff Sgt. Tal Haimi, Suntaya Akrasi, Ronen Tommy Engel, Eliyahu Margalit, Uriel Baruch, Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levi, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illuz, Bipin Joshi, Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh. The remains of U.S.-Israeli citizens Cpt. Omer Neutra and Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, have not been returned to Israel.
The Israeli government and military have repeatedly called on Hamas to hold up its end of the deal and give families the closure they have been denied for over two years.
World
Suspect pleads guilty to murdering former Japanese PM Abe
As trial opens, Tetsuya Yamagami admits murdering Japan’s longest serving leader three years ago.
Published On 28 Oct 2025
The man accused of killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Forty-five-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami admitted all charges read out by prosecutors as his trial opened on Tuesday, according to the Japanese broadcaster NHK.
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Yamagami was charged with murder and violations of arms control laws for allegedly using a handmade weapon to shoot Japan’s longest serving leader.
“Everything is true,” the suspect told the court, according to the AFP news agency.
Abe was shot as he gave a speech during an election campaign in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022. Yamagami was arrested at the scene.
The assassination was reportedly triggered by the suspect’s anger over links between Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to the Unification Church.
Yamagami held a grudge against the South Korean religious group due to his mother’s donation of 100 million yen ($663,218). The gift ruined his family’s financial health, Japanese media reported.
Long the subject of controversy and criticism, the Unification Church, whose followers are referred to disparagingly as “Moonies”, has since faced increased pressure from authorities over accusations of bribery.
The church’s Japanese followers are viewed as a key source of income.
The shooting was followed by revelations that more than 100 LDP lawmakers had ties to the Unification Church, driving down public support for the ruling party.
After Tuesday’s initial court session, 17 more hearings are scheduled this year before a verdict is scheduled for January 21.
The trial opened the same day as two of Abe’s former allies, LDP leader and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and visiting United States President Donald Trump, held a summit in Tokyo.
Abe, who served as Japan’s prime minister for almost nine years, is regularly mentioned by both during public events.
On Tuesday, Takaichi gave Trump a golf putter owned by Abe and other golf memorabilia during their meeting at the Akasaka Palace.
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