The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
“We were met with depths of evil and malice that could not be conceived," Dr. Kugel said.
IDF soldiers recover Shiri Bibas's remains on Saturday February 22, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
The forensics team that identified Shiri Bibas's body confirmed that she did not die in an Israeli airstrike as Hamas had previously claimed.
"We
were met with depths of evil and malice that could not be conceived,"
Dr. Chen Kugel, a leading forensic scientist from the National Center
for Forensic Medicine, said on Saturday. "Our examination showed no
evidence of injury from the bomb."
"This is a difficult day for us and for all citizens of Israel," he concluded.
Shiri
Bibas's body was returned to Israel from Gaza on Friday night. Hamas
transferred her remains to the Red Cross, which transferred them to the
IDF. The military brought then brought her body to the Institute of
Forensic Medicine for confirmatory testing.
The
testing team was composed of a variety of specialists, including the
DNA laboratory team and the institute's director, Dr. Kugel.
Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2025 (credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)
The institute was also responsible for identifying the remains of her children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas.
Their
bodies were identified using forensic analysis in an interdepartmental
collaboration between the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and
the Israel Police.
Initial transfer of wrong body
Initially, Hamas transferred the remains of an anonymous woman's body, the IDF announced Friday morning.
The
IDF said that forensic officials carried out several tests on the
anonymous woman's body to ensure the result's accuracy, Army Radio
reported on Friday, adding that the body was received in "a condition in
which it could be clearly verified it does not belong to Shiri Bibas."
"This
is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which
is required by the agreement to return four dead hostages. We demand
that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages," the military added.
Though the bodies of the two murdered young children were a DNA match, the body of their mother, Shiri, was not.
A tag is seen with images of Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas(photo credit: PAULINA PATIMER)
Official identification has linked the remains of two of the slain
Israeli hostages returned to Israel on Thursday from captivity as
belonging to Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the IDF confirmed early Friday
morning, alongside a report on forensic findings of the case.
Available
intelligence and forensic evidence from the identification process have
led officials to determine that the two children were brutally murdered
in captivity by Gaza terrorists in November 2023, just a month after
their abduction, and were not killed by an IAF strike, as Hamas
originally claimed.
The
two boys were aged nine months and four years old, respectively, at the
time of their abduction on October 7, 2023. The bodies were identified
using forensic analysis in an interdepartmental collaboration between
the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police.
Kfir Bibas was murdered at 10 months old. Ariel was murdered at four years old.
The children were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside their father, Yarden, and their mother, Shiri.
A mural of the Bibas family is seen in Tel Aviv, February 20, 2025 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Where is Shiri Bibas' body, and what is Hamas doing with it?
While
the boys' father, Yarden Bibas, was released as part of the hostage
return agreement on February 1, 2025, Shiri’s body was supposed to be
returned with the Bibas children on Thursday.
However,
the body that Hamas returned was found not to be a match for Shiri
Bibas, according to the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The
military identified Oded Lifshitz, who was among the four slain
returned hostages on Thursday, before confirming the identities of Ariel
and Kfir Bibas.
The
body that was posing as the remains of Shiri Bibas, in a coffin locked
and sent with keys that did not match, was an anonymous woman.
Experts attempted to perform DNA matches to the other Israeli hostages held in Gaza, also finding no match.
The return of a random body, not Shiri Bibas, violates the agreement that brought the bodies back, officials said.
They added that returning the proper bodies was obligated under the hostage-ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Reactions from key officials
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday morning, "The State of
Israel bows its head to two small children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and
to Oded Lipshitz, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. All three were
murdered with terrible cruelty in Hamas captivity in the first weeks of
the war."
"The cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows no bounds," he added.
"Not
only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri,
and their two small babies, but in an unspeakably evil manner, they did
not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they
put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin."
"We
will act resolutely to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages -
both living and dead - and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for
this cruel and wicked violation of the agreement," he continued.
Following
the confirmation of identities, Israel’s ambassador to the United
Nations wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Instead of returning Shiri, the
mother of Kfir and Ariel, Hamas returned an unidentified body, as if it
were a worthless shipment. This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with
no parallel.”
The U.S. president added that he will not force through his voluntary relocation proposal for the Palestinian population in Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions after signing executive
orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 18, 2025.
Photo by Daniel Torok/White House.
It is for Israel to decide whether to resume the war in Gaza or continue into the second round of talks with Hamas to free more hostages, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday.
Asked by Brian Kilmeade on Fox News whether he was “okay either way,” Trump answered, “I am.”
Hamas is “so violent and vicious,” the
president continued, “it’s a decision that has to be made; it’s a rough
decision. One group [of hostages] came in so bad, it looked like [they
came out of] a concentration camp in Germany,” Trump said in reference
to Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, the three Israeli men who were
freed from Gazan captivity on Feb. 8 in emaciated and frail condition.
Trump went on to say that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is “actually not torn. I mean, you know where he
stands, and he would like to go in, and he’s just so angry, and he
should be. If he’s not angry, then there’d be something wrong with him,
frankly. He is very angry; he’s a very angry man at what happened,
especially what happened yesterday with these kids …, they were babies,”
the president said, referring to the return of the bodies of children
Ariel and Kfir Bibas who were kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It looked like [the Gazans] were
celebrating as they were bringing the bodies back. You know, to see it
is not even believable. … when you see what’s happening … It’s so
barbaric. You wouldn’t think that would happen in the modern age, but it
happened,” Trump added.
The president was also asked about his
resettlement plan for Palestinians in Gaza in places like Egypt and
Jordan, to which he replied that he is not going to force the issue.
“Well, we pay Jordan and Egypt billions of
dollars a year and I was a little surprised they [rejected the
proposal], but they did. And I’ll tell you, the way to do it is my plan.
I think that’s the plan that really works,” Trump said.
“But I’m not forcing it,” he added.
“I’m just gonna sit back and recommend it,
and then the U.S. would own the site and there’d be no Hamas, and
they’d be developed and then you’d start all over again with a clean
plate,” the president said.
Trump seemed to raise some doubt over his
plan, saying that it “depends on what happens over the next little
while. … The question is, can you wipe [Hamas] all out, you know, they
are so interspersed among people and it’s certainly not an easy thing to
do.
“But I liked my plan; I thought my plan
was good. You get them out, you move them, you build a beautiful
community and a permanent community, and you then take the Gaza Strip,”
Trump said. “We’ll see what happens. It’s a great location. I don’t know
why Israel ever gave that up [in the 2005 disengagement]. … It’s one of
the bad real estate deals.”
On Tuesday, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will head negotiations for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Mossad chief David Barnea led previous
rounds. The Israeli outlet reported earlier this month that Barnea would
still engage with Qatari and Egyptian mediators under Dermer’s
guidance.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters on Tuesday that Jerusalem had decided to start talks on Phase 2 of the agreement.
Terrorists in Gaza still holding 63 hostages, 36 of whom have been confirmed dead.
The freed hostages are Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham and Omer Wenkert.
Palestinian terrorists prepare to release Israeli
hostages in southern Gaza's Rafah, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo by Saeed
Mohammed/Flash90.
Israel on Saturday redeemed six living hostages
from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip: Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera
Mengistu, 39, Hisham al-Sayed, 36, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Tal Shoham, 40,
and Omer Wenkert, 23.
Cohen, Shem Tov, Shoham and Wenkert were
all abducted during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, while Mengistu
and al-Sayed suffer from mental illness and crossed into the Strip over
a decade ago.
This
six Israeli hostages set to be freed from Gaza on Feb. 22. Top, from
left: Omer Shem-Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom, from left: Avera
Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert. Credit: Courtesy.
Hamas released Mengistu and Shoham during a
propaganda ceremony in southern Gaza’s Rafah, while Cohen, Shem Tov and
Wenkert were freed in a similar exchange in Nuseirat in the Palestinian
enclave’s center. Al-Sayed was handed over in Gaza City.
Shoham’s family released a statement
hailing the “unforgettable moment,” while urging the government to do
everything in its power to bring home the remaining captives.
“We thank all the people of Israel who
stood with us through all the long days of pain and suffering. During
these days, we need privacy for Tal, Adi, and the children,” said the
statement.
“At this crucial moment in our lives, our
only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal
that will bring fathers back to their children—children need their
fathers—and return all hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and
the deceased for eternal rest.”
Tal Shoham (center) reunites with his family after 505 days in Hamas captivity, Feb. 22, 2025. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Added Mengistu’s relatives: “Our family
has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering. During
this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with
prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today. …
We ask that these moments be respected, and that we be granted the
peace and rest we so desperately need.”
Avera
Mengistu returns to Israel after being held captive by Hamas in Gaza
for over 10 years, Feb. 22, 2025. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
The hostages were all handed over to Red
Cross representatives and driven to meetings point in Gaza, where they
were transferred to Israeli special forces.
The captives were then taken back to
Israel, where they underwent a preliminary physical and psychological
examination at an army facility near Kibbutz Re’im, located close to the
border, and to meet with their families.
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel
Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make
their way home to the State of Israel,” said the military in a
statement.
Cohen’s family said in a statement on
Saturday, “We are overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for Eliya’s
return home after 505 long and torturous days in captivity. …
“We want to thank the IDF soldiers, the
fighters, the Hostages Families Forum, our family liaison officer Amit,
and especially all citizens of Israel for their embrace, support, and
unwavering faith. Many prayers were answered today, and we thank
everyone who accompanied us on this long journey,” added the statement.
Shem Tov’s family noted he survived
captivity despite suffering from celiac disease and has become “a child
of the entire State of Israel” since the Oct. 7 invasion and massacre.
“We still don’t know everything—the horror
stories will only be revealed with time. But now, we can hug him
again,” the family said in a statement.
“Thank you to the Creator, to the people
of Israel for their prayers, strength and love. Thank you to the
soldiers who sacrificed for this moment, to everyone involved in the
negotiations and diplomatic efforts. Thank you to Omer’s family and
friends, and ours, who never gave up and never lost hope,” they added.
In exchange, Israel was set to release on
Saturday 602 Palestinian terrorists, including 50 serving life
sentences, 60 serving long terms and 47 re-arrested after the 2011 swap
for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
However, Israel informed Palestinian officials in Ramallah that the release would be postponed until 8 p.m. local time.
“Regarding the delay in the release of the
terrorists—following the conclusion of [Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s] security consultation, a decision will be made regarding
next steps, and the completion of the return of hostages’ remains at
this stage,” an unnamed Israeli source was quoted by Hebrew media as
saying.
Hamas is slated to return four additional
bodies to Israel next Thursday, in what would be the final exchange of
Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19 and is
due to end on March 1.
On Friday, Netanyahu eulogized the slain hostages returned the previous day—octogenarian Oded Lifshitz and children Kfir and Ariel Bibas—and vowed to bring home the boys’ mother, Shiri Bibas, from Gaza.
“The cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows
no bounds. Not only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young
mother, Shiri, and their two small babies. In an unspeakably cynical
manner, they did not return Shiri
to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a
Gazan woman in a coffin,” said Netanyahu in a video message to the
nation.
“We will work resolutely to bring Shiri
home together with all our abductees—both living and dead—and ensure
that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the
agreement. The sacred memory of Oded Lipshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas
will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. God will avenge
their blood,” he continued.
Overnight Friday, Hamas returned the body of Shiri Bibas, who was murdered in cold blood in captivity.
Yarden Bibas was freed on Feb. 1 after 484 days in Hamas captivity.
Terrorists in Gaza are still holding 63 hostages, 36 of whom have been confirmed dead.
Below are short bios of the hostages freed on Saturday:
• Omer Shem Tov, 22, is a resident of
Herzliya who dreams of becoming an actor. Known for his talent in
mimicry and humor, he is also passionate about music and has his own DJ
equipment. Friends and family describe him as funny, popular and always
working to make others happy. On Oct. 7, he was kidnapped from the
Supernova festival along with siblings Itay and Maya Regev, who have
since been released.
• Tal Shoham, 40, is a resident of Ma’ale
Tzviya in the Galilee who previously lived in Kibbutz Be’eri, where he
managed a team at the printing house. Known for his dedication to peace,
family and community, he volunteered with Magen David Adom, trained
dogs and developed economic forecasting software. On Oct. 7, he was
kidnapped alongside his wife, Adi, their children Nave, 8, and Yahel, 3,
his mother-in-law, Dr. Shoshan Haran, Adi’s aunt Sharon Avigdori and
her daughter Noam, 12. Three other family members were murdered. The
women and children were released during the November 2023 ceasefire
after 50 days in captivity.
• Omer Wenkert, 23, is a resident of
Gedera and manages a well-known chef’s restaurant. He is known for his
charismatic personality, love of dancing and passion for sports. Friends
describe him as joyful with a contagious energy, and he was about to
begin a restaurant management course. On Oct. 7, Omer attended the music
festival, where he was taken captive.
• Avera Mengistu, 39, from Ashkelon, was
born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel at the age of 5. He enjoys
traveling, going to the beach and sharing family meals, particularly
traditional Ethiopian cuisine. He shares an extremely close bond with
his parents. In September 2014, Avera crossed the border into Gaza
through Zikim. For nine years, his family had no indication of his
condition until Hamas released a video of him in January 2023.
• Hisham al-Sayed, 36, is a Bedouin from
Hura, near Beersheva. In 2008, he volunteered for the IDF, but he was
discharged less than three months later after being identified as
“incompatible for service.” In April 2015, he independently crossed the
border into Gaza and was kidnapped by Hamas. In June 2022, Hamas
released a video showing him lying in bed wearing an oxygen mask,
conscious and alert. He is the son of Shaaban and Manal and has one
brother.
U.S. Senate leaders condemn the participation of the Red Cross in the public displays orchestrated by the terrorist organization.
Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades parade Israeli captive Eli Sharabi in Deir
al-Balah, the Gaza Strip, before handing him over to the International
Red Cross, Feb 8, 2025. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
Although the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) previously issued a plaintive call for hostage
releases to be carried out in a “dignified manner” following criticism
from U.S. Senate leaders over its participation in Hamas’s handover
ceremonies, the ICRC still took part in Thursday’s exhibition involving
the transfer of four dead bodies.
While Israel’s Channel 12 reported
that the ICRC had refused to cooperate in the ceremony, almost leading
to a “blowup,” Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights attorney and CEO of the
Israel-based International Legal Forum, said that report wasn’t
accurate.
“Apart from some timid request by the ICRC
for a ‘private, dignified handover of hostages’, today’s release again
descended into an obscene and macabre propaganda display, in which a Red
Cross representative even joined a masked Hamas terrorist on stage,
alongside the coffins of the four murdered hostages,” he told JNS.
Ostrovsky noted: “Under the Geneva
Conventions, for which the ICRC serves as guardian, ‘humiliating and
degrading treatment,’ such as what Hamas is doing in parading the
hostages on stage, including the murdered captives, is considered a
gross violation of international law and a war crime.”
A
Red Cross official on stage during the signing “ceremony” to release
the bodies of four Israeli hostages, Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Quds News
Network.
The ICRC, in a statement on Wednesday,
urged “those with the responsibility and the authority over these
releases, and those with influence on them, to ensure that they are
conducted with privacy, respect, and care.”
Hamas prisoner ceremonies, in which
hostages are presented to braying Gazan crowds and forced to thank their
tormentors, have been denounced by Israeli and U.S. leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the crowds of Gazans who mobbed three Israelis during a Jan. 30 release.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed shock at
the emaciated condition of three others released on Feb. 8. American
lawmakers condemned the ICRC for its part in the ceremonies, saying the
agency risked jeopardizing its image as an unbiased actor. (The Red
Cross claims two of its seven principles are “impartiality” and
“neutrality.”)
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told The WashingtonFree Beacon website
on Wednesday, “Participating in Hamas’s propaganda ceremonies
definitely calls into question their supposed neutrality. Seems like the
ICRC is more concerned about their public image than actually
fulfilling their mission to protect the lives and dignity of victims of
armed conflict.”
The Free Beacon featured a
screenshot from the Feb. 8 ceremony of a Red Cross official, Nour
Khadam, shaking hands with a Hamas terrorist as another ICRC official,
Stephanie Eller, looked on. A senior Senate adviser told the Free Beacon,
“It’s shameful that the Red Cross is enabling propaganda of terrorists
after they took no action over the last year to even visit the hostages.
“Congress needs to reassess the U.S.
relationship and stop any funding for any groups that have aided and
abetted Hamas atrocities,” the adviser added.
ICRC
official Nour Khadam shakes hands with a Hamas member as ICRC official
Stephanie Eller stands in the background during a hostage transfer
ceremony in Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip, Feb. 8, 2025. Credit: Screenshot
via The Washington Free Beacon.
From the war’s start, Israelis have
condemned the ICRC for failing to visit any of the hostages to ensure
they received basic food and medicine.
Israeli anger intensified as stories
emerged of torture, sexual abuse, and lack of food and medical care.
That anger spilled over into legal action as Israelis demanded that the
international organization be held accountable.
In December 2023, the Tel Aviv-based
Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center filed a 10 million-shekel ($2.8 million)
lawsuit against the ICRC on behalf of 24 plaintiffs, including released
captives and hostages’ families.
“We alleged that the ICRC has breached its
moral and legal duty to protect the wellbeing, health and rights of the
Israelis being held by the terrorist Hamas organization,” Shurat HaDin
said at the time.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill
on March 5, 2024 during the last session of the U.S. Congress that would
allow U.S. citizens who are victims of terror to sue international
organizations that support Hamas and other such groups.
The legislation was mainly aimed at the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and the World Health
Organization, but was written broadly enough to include nonprofits like
the Red Cross, the Free Beacon reported.
“The left-wing NGO ecosystem is deeply complicit in Hamas’s terrorism and torture of hostages,” Cruz told the Free Beacon.
“Bizarrely, these organizations enjoy more immunity from lawsuits than
even sovereign countries.” Cruz intends to introduce the bill again in
the current Congress.
Ostrovsky told JNS, “Senator Cruz should
be applauded for seeking to change existing legislation, allowing
victims of terror, including families of American hostages, to sue the
Red Cross, to hold them accountable for their wholesale abrogation of
duty and collaboration with Hamas.”
ICRC
official seen on stage in Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip, during the Hamas
ceremony on Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Quds News Network.
The ICRC enjoys a protected status as an
international organization, similar to the U.N., he explained. It
insists this is critical for it to engage with proscribed terrorist
groups in combat zones “without fear of repercussion or liability.”
While it sounds laudable in principle, in
practice, the Red Cross “utterly failed” in its mission in Gaza to
provide succor for the victims, not visiting a single hostage, among
them U.S. citizens, Ostrovsky said, “instead collaborating with Hamas in
these obscene release spectacles.”
Exposing the Red Cross to liability isn’t
the only tool in the U.S.’s arsenal, he added, given the Trump
administration’s determination to cut government waste and abuse of
funds.
Noting Trump’s Executive Order on his
first day in office prohibiting foreign aid from being disbursed in a
way not aligned with U.S. foreign policy, Ostrovsky said, “Aiding and
abetting Hamas … is not only not fully aligned with the foreign policy
of the president of the United States, but runs entirely counter to it.”
Ostrovsky recommended defunding the ICRC.
He also called for sanctions against the ICRC and its senior leadership,
similar to what the U.S. has done against the International Criminal
Court and its Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.
“Enough is enough. The Red Cross, once a
storied humanitarian organization, has betrayed its mission and any
pretext of neutrality, by siding with Hamas, and must be held
accountable,” Ostrovsky said.
The revelation comes as FEMA faces heavy scrutiny over other allegedly politically biased actions, including its funding for housing illegal migrants in New York City.
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency in 2023 earmarked $2.6 million to fund a "war on disinformation,"
federal records show, despite the Department of Homeland Security's
decision to end its Disinformation Governance Board in 2022.
The money went to the Virginia consultancy firm and Bain Capital
subsidiary Guidehouse, which has worked with multiple federal agencies
in the past, per the Foundation for Freedom Online and was intended to analyze “misinformation and disinformation."
A previous post on the company’s website, which has since been
removed, said Guidehouse worked with social media platforms to report
misinformation, including by flagging posts for removal.
Only $1.2 million of the potential $2.6 million award has been spent so far, according to data from USAspending.gov. The transaction was made in Sept. 2023 but flagged by FFO this week.
The designation comes as FEMA faces heavy scrutiny over other allegedly politically biased actions, including its funding for housing illegal migrants
in New York City, and an employee's order to workers in Florida not to
help people with pro-Trump signs in their yards in the wake of Hurricane
Milton.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘"Razin" Caine has been nominated to replace him.
President Donald Trump on Friday
announced that he has fired Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles
Q. Brown Jr., and nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine as his
replacement.
The termination comes after weeks of change at the Pentagon as the
new Trump administration takes over. Brown, who was also an Air Force
general, was nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed to
the position in 2023.
Trump, who nominated Brown to be the Air Force’s chief of staff in
2020, praised the outgoing chairman as an "outstanding leader," and
thanked him for his devotion to the country.
"I want to thank General Charles 'CQ' Brown for his over 40 years of
service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff," the president said in a post on Truth Social. "He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family."
Trump described the new nominee, who the New York Times reported
came on the president's radar six years ago in Iraq, as someone who was
"instrumental" in his defeat of ISIS during the first term.
“Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force
Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump wrote. “General Caine is an accomplished
pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a
‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations
experience.
"During my first term, Razin was instrumental in the complete
annihilation of the ISIS caliphate. It was done in record setting time, a
matter of weeks," he continued. "Many so-called military 'geniuses'
said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other
hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered."
The newest shakeup in military leadership comes after the White House
claimed the administration wanted to appoint their own leaders,
criticizing the Pentagon under Biden as being too focused on
implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies within the
military, instead of military readiness.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also reportedly looking to oust the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, per ABC News.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer outlines his committee's plans in the coming months now that Republicans are firmly in control of Washington’s levers of power.
House Oversight Committee Chairman
James Comer on Thursday outlined his panels sweeping accountability
plans in the coming months, targeting fraudulent government payments,
foreign funding to universities, and the government’s lack of
transparency about the Havana Syndrome injuries to diplomats.
The Chairman’s comments detailing the committee’s plans came in a wide-ranging interview with the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show and focus on improving government transparency now that House Republicans have a cooperative executive branch.
Comer said the new “disruptors” in government, like FBI Director Kash
Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Elon Musk at the Department
for Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be vital to going after the “deep
state,” which he says has wasted American taxpayer dollars and
weaponized the bureaucracy.
Foreign contribution reporting
“They have covered up Democrat criminality and they have weaponized
their agencies to go after conservatives, whether it's in the IRS or
whether it's in the Department of Justice or whether it's in the FBI,
these people need to be held accountable. We finally have disruptors in
the government like cash Patel and Pete Hedgepeth and John Radcliffe,
who are willing to go after the deep state,” Comer said. “And look, I'm
pretty, pretty excited.”
Last week, the Oversight Committee announced several new probes that
had been stymied or ignored during the Biden administration’s control of
the executive branch, including an investigation into foreign
contribution reporting requirements for U.S. universities.
“[When] you look at Joe Biden, Anthony Blinken, the number one and
three guys in our government for the past four years, during the four
years of the Trump administration, when they weren't in power, they were
working for the University of Pennsylvania, we found that that, you
know, a huge percentage of their budget was coming from China, not just
China, not a business person from China, not a company from China,
anonymous sources from China,” Chairman Comer said.
“And what I learned in the Biden administration, anonymous sources
usually means the government China, and this is the Pennsylvania is one
of dozens. Dozens of schools that receive a substantial percentage of
their budget from China. Why is China donating money to American
universities?” Comer asked.
In an announcement launching the investigation, the committee noted that many universities, since 2020, failed to file disclosures of foreign donations with the Department of Education that are required by law.
“I believe there's an indoctrination factor there, and I believe that
one reason our university has gotten so pitiful is because of the
influx of Chinese money. So we're going to try to identify how much
we're talking about here, which universities are the worst offenders,
and see if the universities will answer the question, who in China is
donating this money,” Comer said.
Havana Syndrome
Comer’s committee also announced this week that it would seek more
transparency about the Havana Syndrome incidents that were reported
several overseas diplomatic posts, most notably in Havana Cuba beginning
a decade ago.
The mysterious affliction that often came with
cognitive issues, dizziness, insomnia and headaches was originally
suspected to be some kind of attack against U.S. diplomatic personnel,
but researchers have been unable to identify the cause of the
afflictions. Some studies have suggested it is possible
“some form of radio frequency energy or focused ultrasound” could be
the cause, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Comer believes that foreign government hostile to the United States are involved.
“[This] is a real thing that I believe the government's not been
truthful, not just with the American people, but with the people
affected by Havana Syndrome—this is something that that Cuba was doing
in retaliation to a change in policy with respect to us Cuban
relations,” Comer said.
“And you know, it's something that a lot of people have suffered by.
The government's known a lot more about this and what they've been
transparent with the American people. And you know, what we're trying to
do is be transparent with the American people and trying to provide
justice for the people that have been adversely affected, the patriots
and the soldiers that went over there, the diplomats to try to do good
thing,” he explained.
In a letter to the new Secretary of Defense,
Pete Hegseth, Comer said he was launching an investigation into the
Biden administration’s handling of the incidents and a failure to
properly care for those afflicted by the condition. A Senate Intelligence Committee report
in December, for example, found that the Central Intelligence Agency
did not properly secure medical care for those experiencing the
symptoms.
"People are going to be disgusted"
Comer also highlighted his committee’s plans to assist Elon Musk in
exposing improper payments across the government as part of the DOGE
initiative.
“I don't think we even scraped the surface yet the biggest problem,
and this is where Elon Musk comes in, and this is why he's the perfect
person to do this, despite what the Democrats are saying, is the
improper payments every government agency, whether it's the unemployment
office, whether it's social security, whether it's a small business
administration, whether it's grants through the Department of Energy or
EPA, they've been susceptible to fraud, Comer said.
“I think people are going to be disgusted when they find out how much
of our tax dollars have been wasted to fraud by overseas entities. And
it is, again, for two reasons. We have old, obsolete software, and we
have bureaucrats who are not doing their job in detecting waste, fraud,
abuse,” he continued.
Recently, Comer tapped Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to lead a
special DOGE subcommittee of the Oversight Committee. Earlier this
month, the subcommittee held its inaugural hearing focused on improper Medicaid and Medicare payments.
Some news outlets have reported that DOGE team's "wall of receipts" shows errors in tallying billions in savings. Axios
published a story casting doubt on the actual savings made by DOGE,
saying "DOGE claims that its "total estimated savings" to date are
roughly $55 billion. But there are questions about whether that sum is
inflated. Bloomberg says the website lists $16.6 billion in savings."
Nikola follows Canoo and Fisker into bankruptcy. Rivian continues to hold on, despite massive losses and taxpayer support, but it's losses mount every quarter.
Electric vehicle startup Nikola Corp. has announced
it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nikola now joins a line of EV
startups that fell into bankruptcy over the past year. While the
Biden-Harris administration went full-speed ahead with a vision of EVs
replacing gas-powered vehicles, electric-vehicle production has become a
bad bet for the companies that jumped into the vision head-first.
Consumers just never got on board with the plan.
With Trump planning to end federal EV mandates and legislation seeking to stop tax credits for the purchase of new EVs, the list of failed EV startups might continue to grow.
Nikola
As with all EV startups, Nikola, which filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, once enjoyed lots of fawning press in its early days.
“Get ready for all-electric long-haul trucking,” Autoevolutionreported in 2019. Around the same time, the North Bay Business Journal reported on how Anheuser-Busch was demonstrating Nikola’s hydrogen cell trucks.
The company went public in 2020, according to Bloomberg,
through a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company. Nikola’s
stock went up after the transaction was closed, but shortly after, Bloomberg revealed its founder, Trevor Milton, had overstated the capability of the company’s debut truck. He was later convicted on fraud charges.
“Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we
have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted
our ability to operate,” Nikola president and CEO Steve Girsky said in a
recent statement on the company’s bankruptcy filing.
The inability to sell electric trucks was likely one of
those factors the company cited. A CBS News affiliate in Plainville,
Massachusetts, reported this week on a heavy-duty truck dealer
who can’t order new diesel pickups due to the state’s ban on the sale
of new diesel trucks. The dealer said that he won’t be filling his lots
with electric trucks because the demand isn’t there. He has customers
asking to order new diesel trucks, but it’s prohibited. He’s told the
station he’s not sure what he’ll do after the diesel trucks on his lot
are sold.
Canoo
Canoo was another EV startup to get lots of positive press.
The company planned to offer its vehicles on a subscription basis, as
opposed to selling them outright.
“Electric vehicles, which don't have an engine,
transmission or other space-eating components, allow automotive
designers the freedom to rethink what a car should be,” Axios reported in 2019.
The company, which has a facility in Oklahoma City, began furloughing employees in November. The company’s Security and Exchange Commission filings and reports to security holders posted on its website
indicated that since October the company was facing financial
difficulties and might have to “terminate or significantly curtail” its
operations. According to a report to security holders, the company
performed an analysis that raised “substantial doubt” about its ability
to continue operating.
The company ceased operations on Jan. 16 and announced the following day that it was entering Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Oklahoma-based News 9 reported
Wednesday that former Canoo employees filed a class-action lawsuit
against the company, arguing it violated federal labor laws by failing
to provide adequate notice before it laid off its employees.
Canoo did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Fisker
In 2019, Autoweek reported
on Fisker’s debut electric SUV called Ocean. The vehicle would include a
“California mode,” which was a feature that automatically rolled down
all seven windows in the vehicle. It was the only one of the company’s
prototypes to make it to full-scale production.
In 2008, the company launched Karma, a plug-in hybrid sedan, which was to be a competitor to Tesla’s Roadster. According to the Center for Public Integrity,
the Energy Department earmarked a $529 million loan guarantee for the
vehicle, of which $192 million was dispersed. The department managed to
recover $53 million of that.
The company was financed under an Advanced Technology
Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Program, which was part of former
President Barack Obama’s goal of putting one million EVs on the road by
2015.
In a statement, the company spokesperson said
“macroeconomic headwinds” prevented the company from operating
efficiently, and selling its assets under Chapter 11 was the most viable
option for the company to move forward.
“Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding,
bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto
industry and making good on our promise to deliver the most sustainable
vehicle in the world,” a spokesperson with the California-based company
said in a statement.
Rivian
Rivian hasn’t gone bankrupt, but the EV startup is struggling despite massive taxpayer support.
Energy expert Robert Bryce
reported on his Substack that in the third quarter of 2024, the company
delivered 10,018 vehicles and reported an operating loss of $757
million, meaning it lost $75,563 on every EV it sold.
The company expects to achieve a gross profit in 2024, according to Electrek, but it’s unlikely to recover from the operating losses of the first three quarters.
The big automakers are also experiencing huge losses
on their EV lines, but their gas-powered vehicles generate enough
revenues to cover those losses. The startups have had to bear the full
weight of the failure of the Biden-Harris administration’s bet on EVs.
There are still more than a dozen of these startups hoping to find a place in the market. Time will tell if they end up another Fisker or another Tesla.
On CBS television recently -- in a scene straight out of the Stasi, East Germany's secret police for political repression -- three German prosecutors being interviewed explain that their job is to suppress "unacceptable opinions."
The question, however, clearly is not actually about repressing all
false information – just that, it seems, which displeases the so-called
"left" as well as many of Europe's newcomers. As one of the three
German prosecutors put it, "Freedom of expression is fine, but there are
limits." There are, and they are carefully laid out in the 1969 US
Supreme Court decision Brandenburg v. Ohio...
The so-called "left", nevertheless, appears to have reinvented itself in a form that rejects everything that is not itself.
The good news is that the funding of this industry of lies by the
US government is over. You can be skeptical of certain practices in
Islam without being "phobic" and refuse to allow biological men (xy) to
take part in women's (xx) competitions without being "hateful". Let us
hope this trend will jump the pond.
On CBS television recently, three German prosecutors being
interviewed explain that their job is to suppress "unacceptable
opinions." When the journalist asks them for an example of such an
unacceptable opinion, one of the prosecutors replies "reposting false
information." (Images source: iStock)
A cultural war appears to be brewing between Europe and the United States.
At the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025, U.S. Vice
President J.D. Vance surprised attendees by downplaying external threats
to Europe, instead emphasizing what he called "the threat from within"
Europe. Vance argued that the greatest danger to European democracy
stems from its own leaders' retreat from fundamental values, such as
freedom of speech and democratic principles. He lambasted European
governments for suppressing free speech, citing examples like Sweden's
conviction of a Christian activist for burning a Quran, Germany's
crackdowns on anti-feminist online comments, and the UK's restrictions
on religious expression near abortion clinics. Vance compared these
actions to "Soviet-style" censorship, suggesting Europe is abandoning
the liberties it once championed during the Cold War.
On CBS television recently -- in a scene straight out of the Stasi,
East Germany's secret police for political repression -- three German
prosecutors being interviewed
explain that their job is to suppress "unacceptable opinions." When the
journalist asks them for an example of such an unacceptable opinion,
one of the prosecutors replies "reposting false information."
If disseminating false information becomes a criminal offense, every
political party will immediately have to close up shop. All political
parties, as well as many of us imperfect creatures, are constantly
disseminating questionable information, false at the margins or at the
core.
In Europe, for instance, when Belgian and German environmentalists for years passionately maintained,
with the support of most of the media and a host of "experts," that the
destruction of civilian nuclear power would be beneficial to the
"climate" but have no impact whatever on electricity bills, it was a lie
wrapped in a massive untruth sprinkled with falsehoods. If
disseminating such an exquisitely pure lie should lead to imprisonment,
just about everyone could provide the judicial authorities with a list
of at least 100 green politicians, along with a host of other offenders,
who straightaway belong in prison.
The question, however, clearly is not actually about repressing all
false information – just that, it seems, which displeases the so-called
"left" as well as many of Europe's newcomers. As one of the three
German prosecutors put it, "Freedom of expression is fine, but there are
limits." There are, and they are carefully laid out in the 1969 US
Supreme Court decision Brandenburg v. Ohio, which found:
"A state may not forbid speech advocating the use of
force or unlawful conduct unless this advocacy is directed to inciting
or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce
such action."
The so-called "left", nevertheless, appears to have reinvented itself
in a form that rejects everything that is not itself. Many of that bent
sometimes seem to be on a permanent hunt to kill, destroy and debone
anything it regards as "different". From the UK to Germany,
if you express an opinion contrary to the mood of the doctrine of the
hour, it presumably becomes legitimate for the courts and the media to
tear you apart. The police knock on your door in the middle of the night
to arrest you in front of your children because of something you said
that your neighbor might not have liked.
In July 2024, a woman, 20-year-old Maja R, in Hamburg, Germany, was convicted
of a hate crime and sentenced to prison for calling a man involved in
the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl a "disgraceful rapist pig" on social
media. The man had received a suspended sentence, prompting her
outrage. The "disgraceful rapist pig" is free; Maja is in jail.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested and fined in Birmingham, England, on December 6, 2022 for prayingsilently
outside an abortion clinic within a "Public Space Protection Order
buffer zone." Under the "Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022,"
protests in such zones are restricted, including prayer that deemed
"intimidating." In fact, in the UK, praying inside your own home is
illegal when your home is close to an abortion center.
The truth is that in the Europe of 2025, the police can knock on your
door in the middle of the night for a post on Facebook or X, or even a
silent prayer. In Europe, freedom of speech is dying.
The effect of these German prosecutors on the American conscience is
immeasurable. Americans are horrified to discover that the continent
that saw the birth of European civilization is ferociously repressing
opinions on the grounds that they displease the ruling class.
The irony is, of course, that this repression of opinions is
primarily an American concoction. Herbert Marcuse, Judith Butler, and
others who provided
the conceptual tools for this totalitarian repression, are Americans.
It was the humanities departments of major American universities that
forged those weapons, pliers, and conceptual machetes of this new
totalitarianism, before Europe greedily gobbled them up. Marcuse
promoted the concept of "liberating tolerance," which he described
in Orwellian terms as "intolerance toward movements from the Right, and
tolerance for movements from the Left." Europe practices Marcuse's
concept exactly: freedom to express left-wing and Islamist opinions,
fierce repression of all supposedly "right-wing" speech and ideas. The
American USAID development programs massively financed
the media throughout Europe, to try to justify the legitimacy of
repressing, punishing and monitoring so-called "hatred" and all the
political "phobias" (trans, Islam, etc.)
Freedom of speech, like it or not, is a cornerstone of free societies, there to protect the minority from John Stuart Mill's "tyranny of the majority"
Without it, there would have been no abolition of slavery, no women's
vote, no racially integrated education, admittedly badly in need of
repair -- and no civil rights movement. As the freed slave Frederick
Douglass said:
"Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's
thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the
dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.
They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers,
founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed
to reason.... Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free
speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well
as those of the speaker. It is just as criminal to rob a man of his
right to speak and hear as it would be to rob him of his money....
[T]here must be no concessions to the enemy. When a man is allowed to
speak because he is rich and powerful, it aggravates the crime of
denying the right to the poor and humble.... A man's right to speak does
not depend upon where he was born or upon his color. The simple quality
of manhood is the solid basis of the right – and there let it rest
forever."
Truth requires debate: no one has a monopoly on truth. Freedom of
speech lets ideas slug it out in the open — "bad" ones get dismantled,
"good" ones appear sharper. Without it, we are stuck swallowing whatever
the powers-that-be decide is "correct." History shows us that
suppressed speech protects dogma, not facts—think Giordano Bruno,
Galileo, Darwin or the Soviet Union's Lysenkoism.
The good news is that the funding of this industry of lies by the US government is over.
You can be skeptical of certain practices in Islam without being
"phobic" and refuse to allow biological men (xy) to take part in women's
(xx) competitions without being "hateful". Let us hope this trend will
jump the pond.
Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis,
University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University
of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an
entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of
PAN Medias Group. He is the author of The Green Reich (2020).
Hamas says the bodies released belong to Shiri Bibas and her two toddlers, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz
Hamas has turned over the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages more than 500 days after the terrorist group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
Hamas
said the bodies would include Shiri Bibas and her two toddlers, Ariel
and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist.
Their identities will be confirmed in Israel, which could take up to 48
hours.
At the time of their kidnapping, Shiri was 32 years old,
Ariel was 4 years old and Kfir was 9 months old. Their father, Yarden,
was also kidnapped by Hamas, but survived and was released on Feb. 1.
Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist, was 83 years old when he and his then 85-year-old wife, Yocheved, were kidnapped from their home. She was released on Oct. 23, 2023.
L-R: Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz.(Hostages Family Forum via AP)
The
transfer took place in front of a large crowd near Khan Younis at
around 9 a.m. local time on Thursday. The crowd was reportedly cheering
when Hamas arrived carrying four black coffins in four separate cars.
"As the bodies of four Israeli hostages
are transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, hundreds of ‘innocent
Gazans’ dance to music, and happily film this tragic event," Israel's
Government Press Office wrote on X. "Speechless doesn’t begin to
describe how this makes us feel."
Palestinians
and Hamas members gather to watch the transfer of the bodies of four
Israeli hostages in southern Gaza on Feb. 20, 2025.(EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
The
coffins were later transferred to a Red Cross car, which took them to
Israeli forces inside the Gaza Strip. Once the hostages were back in
Israeli hands, the Israel Defense Forces made sure their coffins did not
contain explosives or other dangerous substances before conducting a
short ceremony honoring their lives.
The Israel Security Agency and the IDF released the following joint statement shortly after the ceremony was over:
"A
short while ago, IDF and ISA forces brought the coffins of the four
deceased hostages over the border into Israel, and they are being taken
to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine to undergo an
identification procedure. IDF representatives are accompanying their
families at this difficult time."
After the ceremony, a convoy
taking the bodies to the forensic institute in Tel Aviv was met with
thousands of Israelis standing silently along the road in the rain, many
of whom holding Israel's flag.
Many
Israelis lined the road that the convoy was traveling on to show
respect for the slain hostages as their bodies were taken to the
forensic institute in Tel Aviv.(Israeli Police)
Israeli President Issac Herzog said in a statement "there are no words" to describe the transfer that took place.
"Agony.
Pain. There are no words. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation —
lie in tatters," he wrote on X. "On behalf of the State of Israel, I
bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you
on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely. May
their memory be a blessing."
Hamas members carry a coffin to the stage in southern Gaza before transferring the body over to Israel.(EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
This release is the first one involving the transfer of slain hostages since the ceasefire deal went into effect last month.
The next transfer is scheduled to take place on Saturday where Hamas will release six living hostages.
About
70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. Nearly all the remaining hostages,
including Israeli soldiers, are men and about half are believed to be
dead.
