Chinese bioterror suspects' arrests signal communist country plotting 'something worse' than COVID: expert - Peter D'abrosca

 

by Peter D'abrosca

After Chinese nationals were allegedly caught smuggling crop-killing fungus, a CCP expert says America 'will get hit' if action is not taken

 

 

After the pattern of recent covert communist Chinese infiltrations of the U.S. continued with the arrest of two suspected "bioterrorists" in Michigan this week, one expert said it's time to sever relations with China completely.

"The only way to stop this is to sever relations with China," attorney and Chinese Communist Party expert Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital. "And I know people think that's drastic, but we are being overwhelmed, and we are going to get hit. And we are going to get hit really hard. Not just with COVID, not just with fentanyl, but perhaps with something worse."

Chang was responding to recent news of Chinese nationals Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, 34, who, over a two-year period, were allegedly smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. and studying it in labs. Jian was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan, whose research was funded in part by the People's Republic of China.

Baggies seized by Border Patrol containing the dangerous fungus Fusarium graminearum. (FBI)

PATEL: CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING 'KNOWN AGROTERRORISM AGENT' INTO US IS A 'DIRECT THREAT'

Fusarium graminearum is a toxic fungus that causes a crop-killing "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice that "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year," according to the Department of Justice.

It is also toxic to humans, and can cause vomiting, liver damage and "reproductive defects in humans and livestock."

"This couple should be sent to Guantánamo," Chang said. "This Chinese government has declared a ‘People’s War' on us."

A "People's War" is a military strategy developed by brutal former Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, who died in 1976, known for killing tens of millions of Chinese people via starvation and political persecution.

Such a war calls for a protracted military and political onslaught meant to exhaust the enemy.

A large statue of Mao Zedong, erected during the height of the Cultural Revolution in 1969, waves from Zhongshan Square in Shenyang, China, in front of a billboard for a bank on May 17, 2002. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Jian and Liu were arrested earlier this week and charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements and visa fraud.

"We're Americans, so we think we're entitled to ignore the propaganda of hostile regimes," Chang said. "But for a communist party, [a People's War] has great resonance, and what they're doing with their strident anti-Americanism is creating a justification to strike our country."

SUSPECTED CHINESE BIOTERRORISTS SMUGGLED KILLER AGENT INTO US IN BOOTS, OFFICIALS SAY

"This means, for example, that this couple should be sent to Guantánamo," he said. "This was an attack on the United States at a time when China thought it was at war with us."

Since the 2019 People's War decree referenced by Chang, a laundry list of Chinese and Chinese-aligned infiltrators have been caught red-handed in the U.S., especially at American universities.

Here's a look back at some of those instances:

Chinese nationals breach Key West military base

In 2020, two Chinese nationals who were graduate students at the University of Michigan pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a breach at a Naval air station in Key West, Florida, where they were caught illegally entering and photographing defense infrastructure.

Harvard professor found guilty

Charles Lieber is not a Chinese national, but was convicted in 2021 of making false statements to authorities and failing to report income from his work with China's Wuhan University of Technology. He also had a contract with China's Thousand Talents Program, which "incentivize [their] members to steal foreign technologies needed to advance China’s national, military, and economic goals," according to the FBI.

He was sentenced to time served, which was two days in prison, and two years of supervised release with six months of home confinement. He also paid various fines and restitution of more than $88,000.

The Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army performs a flag-raising ceremony at Bayi Square in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province of China, to celebrate the 97th anniversary on China's Army Day on Aug. 1, 2024. (Ma Yue/VCG via Getty Images)

Espionage attempt by former technology student

In 2022, Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national who had been a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was convicted after attempting to commit espionage and theft of trade secrets.

Chaoqun gathered information from American defense contractors and engineers as part of a plot by high-level Chinese intelligence officials to glean information about U.S. technology advancements.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Camp Grayling incident

In 2024, the FBI filed charges against five Chinese nationals, all students at the University of Michigan, after they were caught allegedly photographing a joint American-Taiwanese training exercise at Camp Grayling, a National Guard training facility in Michigan.

Their studies were part of a joint program with Shanghai-based Jiao Tong University.

University of Minnesota drone spying

Late last year, a University of Minnesota student and Chinese national named Fengyun Shi was convicted in federal court for illegally taking photos of Norfolk, Virginia, naval bases using a drone.

He was sentenced to six months in jail and then deported in May of this year.

Fengyun Shi is deported by ICE. (ICE)

CHINESE OFFICIAL CLAIMS NO KNOWLEDGE OF FUNGUS SITUATION, SAYS CHINA REQUIRES CITIZENS ‘ABIDE BY LOCAL LAWS’

"We can lose our country, even though we're the far stronger nation, because we are not defending ourselves with the vigor and determination that is necessary," Chang told Fox News Digital.

Chang also noted that in 2020, Americans in all 50 states received seeds from China unsolicited, which he said "was an attempt to plant invasive species" in the U.S. He also noted that this year, Chinese online retailer Temu did the same.

"Imagine walking into your local grocery store and seeing empty shelves where bread, cereal, and even pet food used to be," Jason Pack, a former FBI supervisory special agent, told Fox News Digital. "Prices spike. Supply chains slow down. All because a foreign actor deliberately targeted the crops that keep America fed. That may sound far-fetched, but it’s exactly the kind of scenario that becomes possible when someone brings a dangerous agricultural pathogen into the United States.

"It doesn’t take a bomb to disrupt an economy. It takes a biological agent like Fusarium graminearum introduced into the wrong place at the wrong time. Food prices rise. Livestock suffer. Exports stop. The economic ripple effects are enormous."

 

Peter D'abrosca joined Fox News Digital in 2025 after four years as a politics reporter at The Tennessee Star. He grew up in Rhode Island and is a graduate of Elon University. Follow Peter on X at @pmd_reports. Send story tips to peter.dabrosca@fox.com.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/chinese-bioterror-suspects-arrests-signal-communist-country-plotting-something-worse-than-covid-expert

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Ambassador Leiter: Hamas hijacked 70-90% of the aid which enters Gaza - Elad Benari

 

by Elad Benari

Israel’s Ambassador to the US reveals the extent of Hamas’s theft of Gaza aid, underscores the importance ot the new US-backed aid initiative which bypasses terrorists, ensuring direct delivery.

 

Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Israel's Ambassador to the United States, stated on Friday that Hamas has systematically stolen humanitarian aid which enters Gaza, underscoring the critical need for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new aid initiative backed by the Trump administration and established together with Israel.

Ambassador Leiter highlighted the infuriating reality of Hamas's systematic theft in a video posted to his X account.

"Much has been discussed about the urgent need among Gazan civilians for humanitarian aid," Ambassador Leiter noted. "While Israelis have sent their sons and daughters to fight the Hamas terrorists who started the war on October 7th, Israel has simultaneously been providing humanitarian aid - 70-90% of which has been hijacked by Hamas to be sold on the black market."

This statistic paints a clear picture of how Hamas has exploited humanitarian efforts, diverting massive quantities of aid intended for suffering civilians to enrich itself and further its terrorist agenda. This pervasive theft has not only exacerbated the humanitarian crisis but has also been a major impediment to genuine relief efforts.

"Luckily, our friends in the Trump administration have joined forces with us to facilitate an aid mechanism that bypasses Hamas and ensures that only Gazan civilians receive it," Ambassador Leiter added. "This direct delivery system is designed to prevent Hamas from seizing crucial supplies, ensuring they reach their intended beneficiaries without diversion."

The impact of the GHF's aid centers is already significant, having processed an impressive 8.5 million meals to date. Leiter noted that the foundation is poised to significantly expand its operations, aiming to reach even more people in desperate need, demonstrating a robust commitment to alleviating suffering without the interference of Hamas.

The Ambassador reiterated Israel's overarching goal in the conflict, stating, "If you take away the political and military power away from the murderous idea of Hamas, they will ultimately crumble, collapse and be destroyed."

The UN and non-governmental groups have criticized the GHF initiative, with the UN announcing it would refuse to participate in the operation, citing fundamental concerns regarding impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce last week fired back at the criticism of the new effort, telling reporters, “It is unfortunate, because the issue here is giving aid to Gaza, and then suddenly it moves into complaints about style or the nature of who’s doing it.”

Related articles:

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She described the criticism as “the height of hypocrisy.”

“The real story here is that aid, and food, is moving into Gaza at a massive scale,” stated Bruce, adding, “When you’re looking at 8,000 food boxes, was this going to be like going to the mall or through a drive-through? No, it wasn’t. This is a complicated environment, and the story is the fact that it’s working.”

 

Elad Benari

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409576

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Iran orders thousands of tons of ballistic missile ingredients from China - WSJ - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Sources estimated that if delivered, the materials could produce around 800 missiles.

 

An Iranian missile is displayed during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 18, 2025.

(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA/REUTERS)

Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic missile ingredients from China as part of an effort to rebuild its military capabilities while navigating ongoing nuclear talks with the United States, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the transactions.

The shipments, which are expected to reach Iran in the coming months, include ammonium perchlorate, a key component in the solid propellant used for ballistic missiles. Sources indicated that these materials could potentially fuel hundreds of missiles.

Some of the ammonium perchlorate is expected to be sent to militias aligned with Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen, one of the sources revealed. This move aligns with Iran’s broader strategy to strengthen its regional influence and rebuild its missile arsenal while continuing to negotiate with the Trump administration over the future of its nuclear program.

Iran has been expanding its stockpiles of uranium enriched to just below weapons-grade levels, despite calls from the US to curb its nuclear activities. At the same time, Iran has made it clear that it has no intention of negotiating limits on its missile program, a point that has remained a major sticking point in international discussions.

According to sources, the order for the missile ingredients was placed in recent months by an Iranian entity, Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co.. The material was sourced from Hong Kong-based Lion Commodities Holdings Ltd., a company that did not respond to requests for comment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations also declined to comment on the matter.

(Illustrative) Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump. (credit: Caitlin Ochs, Canva, Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS, REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION)

In a statement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied knowledge of the deal, asserting that China has “always exercised strict control over dual-use items in accordance with China’s export control laws and regulations and its international obligations.”

Part of rebuilding Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance'

The shipment of ammonium perchlorate is part of Iran’s broader efforts to rebuild its so-called "Axis of Resistance" network, which includes a number of terror proxies across the region.

These groups have faced significant setbacks over recent years, as well as the ongoing war. These setbacks include  Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon and the assassination of key leaders such as Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, former Hezbollah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and multiple Hamas leaders.

While US and Israeli strikes have damaged the Houthis' capabilities in Yemen, they continue to periodically launch missiles at Israel.

Beyond supporting regional militias, Iran has also reportedly transferred ballistic missiles to Shia militia groups in Iraq, which have previously targeted both US and Israeli forces in the region. 

Earlier shipments of missile ingredients

Earlier this year, Iranian ships docked in China to load over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a precursor for ammonium perchlorate. The material was delivered to Iranian ports in mid-February and late March, according to shipping trackers. This quantity of sodium perchlorate is said to be enough to fuel around 260 short-range missiles.

The new order for ammonium perchlorate, which was placed months before President Trump’s proposed nuclear talks with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in early March, could supply Iran with enough material to produce approximately 800 missiles, one official estimated.

In response to Iran’s missile activities, the US Treasury Department sanctioned six individuals and six entities from both Iran and China on April 29 for their involvement in procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients.

Two weeks later, the Treasury expanded these sanctions to include additional Chinese and Hong Kong entities. The US Department of the Treasury also added sodium perchlorate to the list of materials it believes are being used in Iran’s military, nuclear, or ballistic missile programs.

Iran’s reliance on foreign material for missile production is due, in part, to domestic production bottlenecks. Fabian Hinz, a military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that Iran’s defense industry struggles to meet its needs without the continued importation of missile propellant materials.

The storage and handling of these materials, however, come with significant risks. A deadly explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in April, which killed dozens, was reportedly caused by the mishandling of explosive materials by a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some of the sodium perchlorate imported earlier this year was lost in that explosion, an official confirmed.

“These substances are a major fire and explosive hazard,” said Hinz. “Iran’s defense industrial complex does not have a strong track record in ensuring safety standards.”

 

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-856777

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Strategic U.S. Real Estate Acquired by Aggressor Nations Needs Urgent Review - Lawrence Kadish

 

by Lawrence Kadish

When Chinese entities began to buy up farmland near remote but strategic American military installations here in the United States, there were some of us who raised the question, Why?

 

The success of the stunning Ukrainian attack on Russia's airbases needs to be a wake-up call regarding the threats America faces from enemies of freedom who have equal access to weapons that allow them to be cunning, calculating and deadly effective. Pictured: Ukrainian drones attack Tu-22 supersonic bombers at Belaya Airbase in Russian, on June 1, 2025. (Image source: Security Service of Ukraine via Wikipedia)

When Chinese entities began to buy up farmland near remote but strategic American military installations here in the United States, there were some of us who raised the question, Why?

Those who did so were criticized, described as paranoid, Sinophobic, and hostile to Chinese investment in America.

We might want to revisit that criticism.

Pentagon experts are looking with deep concern at the extraordinary damage done to Russia's strategic bomber force in the wake of Ukraine's recent surprise drone attack. Engaging in what is called asymmetric warfare, Ukraine used flatbed trucks, carrying shipping containers filled with cheap attack drones, driving thousands of miles to get close enough to distant Russian airbases before launching the drones and destroying as much as a third of Russia's strategic bombers.

Think David versus Goliath. But in this instance, David just had to sit outside of Goliath's yard to get the kill.

Now let us go back to those Chinese-owned farms near our American military bases.

Who actually own those properties? Are they working farms? Are they speculative investments in valuable American soil? What is in those barns? Is there a repeated pattern of foreign ownership adjacent to our military installations here in the United States? What about our overseas bases in the Pacific and Europe? Who owns what in the vicinity of our military bases, power stations, and port facilities?

Nearly 25 years ago, I authored an opinion essay regarding America's vulnerability to a radical Islamic terrorist attack that could catch us unprepared. It now seems a far-sighted observation: a short time later, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on 9/11/2001.

The Pentagon is aware of the problem. U.S. Army General Bryan Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, told Congress this spring. "Our adversaries use $10,000 one-way drones that we shoot down with $2 million missiles. That cost-benefit curve is upside down."

Yet the Department of Defense is not responsible for the security of military bases beyond their fence lines. As a result, who, what, and where potential threats lurk is largely based on conjecture and nightmare scenarios.

We know this much: Events such as Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, and 9/11 have repeatedly reminded Americans that we need to expect the unexpected – or even the unimaginable – from our enemies. The problem is that we Americans have terribly short attention spans and, regretfully, little regard for remembering our own history.

The success of the stunning Ukrainian attack on Russia's airbases needs to be a wake-up call regarding the threats America faces from enemies of freedom who have equal access to weapons that allow them to be cunning, calculating and deadly effective.

Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21671/us-military-bases-farms-china

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Is Trump 'Going Wobbly' on Iran? - Majid Rafizadeh

 

byMajid Rafizadeh

Even one uranium-enrichment centrifuge in Iran's possession is a nuclear weapon waiting to happen.

 

• Uh oh. US President Donald J, Trump has reportedly fired a "slew of pro-Israel officials in America First 'course correction,'" and that "Trump is looking for an Iran dove to take over as Middle East chief at National Security Council, while pushing for nuclear deal," according to Middle East Eye.

• Iran uses its centrifuges to enrich uranium to high levels. Highly enriched uranium is needed only for nuclear weapons. No highly enriched uranium, no nuclear bombs. Even one uranium-enrichment centrifuge in Iran's possession is a nuclear weapon waiting to happen.

• If the US Congress could please pass a bill as soon as possible preventing the US from allowing centrifuges in Iran, it would be an enormous benefit to US and global security.

• Meanwhile, America's enemies -- Russia, China, North Korea and Venezuela -- are waiting to see if the US actually has any real backbone before deciding if it is safe for them to go on offense again.

• This is not warmongering — it is the last resort when diplomacy fails and survival is on the line. Israel and the US have every right to defend themselves – and the region – against a regime that openly seeks their extermination.

• Unfortunately, Trump has repeatedly given Iran reason to bet on that. First, Trump told Hamas in January that they had to deliver all the hostages or "all hell will break out." When Hamas did nothing of the kind, Trump's dramatic response was -- nothing. Even better, Trump seemed to "throw Israel under the bus." How perfect!

• Then, on March 7, Trump sent Khamenei a letter saying that Iran had two months to dismantle its nuclear program... Hmm. It is now June and Iran has been enriching more uranium than ever. No wonder Iran's regime assumes it is holding a royal straight flush.

• Iran's regime saw what happened to Libya's Muammar Qaddafi when he gave up his nuclear arsenal. Iran's regime saw what happened when Ukraine, thanks to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 – signed by Ukraine, Russia and the US – gave up its nuclear arsenal. The lesson they surely learned was: No nukes, no power. Iran will not voluntarily give up what it must see as its insurance policy for ruling Iran forever.

Iran uses it centrifuges to enrich uranium to high levels. Highly enriched uranium is needed only for nuclear weapons. No highly enriched uranium, no nuclear bombs. Even one uranium-enrichment centrifuge in Iran's possession is a nuclear weapon waiting to happen. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Uh oh. US President Donald J, Trump has reportedly fired a "slew of pro-Israel officials in America First 'course correction,'" and that "Trump is looking for an Iran dove to take over as Middle East chief at National Security Council, while pushing for nuclear deal," according to Middle East Eye.

The threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions, however, is no longer a distant concern — it is a rapidly escalating crisis with the most severe and immediate implications for Israel, the oil-rich Sunni Arab Gulf States, and North and South America. Trump appears to be scurrying to back down from "or there will be "all hell to pay," and is possibly on the verge of letting Iran keep its uranium-enrichment centrifuges. Not an option.

Iran uses it centrifuges to enrich uranium to high levels. Highly enriched uranium is needed only for nuclear weapons. No highly enriched uranium, no nuclear bombs. Even one uranium-enrichment centrifuge in Iran's possession is a nuclear weapon waiting to happen.

If the US Congress could please pass a bill as soon as possible preventing the US from allowing centrifuges in Iran, it would be an enormous benefit to US and global security.

Meanwhile, America's enemies -- Russia, China, North Korea and Venezuela -- are waiting to see if the US actually has any real backbone before deciding if it is safe for them to go on offense again.

While Western nations thousands of miles away continue to treat Iran's nuclear program as a remote diplomatic puzzle, Israel, a sovereign nation and the only democracy in the Middle East (just as Ukraine is a democracy, and what Russia really cannot tolerate) is forced to live every hour aware of Iran's open, repeated and proud intentions to "wipe" it off the map. Iran has repeatedly called for "Death to Israel."

Iran's regime, through its proxies -- Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as direct Iranian ballistic missile attacks last year -- has acted of that intent.

Iran's regime has also made no secret of its calls for "Death to America."

Iranian official Ayatollah Ahmad Khatemi announced in March 2025:

"America and the European troika of Germany, France, and England... We are telling you very clearly, the [Iranian] people are telling you that if you do not stop your threats, the great Iranian people – through its resistance – will wipe you off the face of history and politics.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has straightforwardly stated in 2023, "When you chant 'Death to America!' it is not just a slogan – it is a policy," apparently with plans to assassinate presidential candidate Trump in 2024, as well as several senior US officials and a journalist.

In addition to repeated vows of "Death to America," the Islamic Republic of Iran has made its genocidal ambitions toward Israel a cornerstone of its ideological identity. Khamenei has been refreshingly clear: "Israel will not see the next 25 years."

In 2012, then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad labeled Israel a "cancerous tumor," and famously called for it to be "wiped" off the earth.

These statements have been echoed by generals in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who vowed to "annihilate" Israel. IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami vowed, "planning to break America, Israel, and their partners and allies. Our ground forces should cleanse the planet from the filth of their existence."

This is not exactly the language of diplomacy — it is the language of genocide and war.

That Israel was previously excluded from crucial negotiations over Iran's nuclear program for the Obama administration's 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) "nuclear deal" was not only an insult but a catastrophic blunder. The most endangered nation was not at the table. The result? A disastrous deal that gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief, while leaving its nuclear infrastructure largely intact. That gift to Iran was accompanied by then President Barack Obama's promises of nuclear weapons for Iran, conveniently "not on my watch" but after it – in fact, this coming October.

The West negotiated from a position of delusion, treating Iran as if it were a misunderstood power rather than a regime with rapacious, blood-curdling goals. Meanwhile, a dismissed Israel had to watch the entire process from the sidelines — its warnings ignored by foreign bureaucrats with no skin in the game.

The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made it clear that Iran is not just enriching uranium to weapons-grade — it is rapidly moving toward a nuclear bomb, if it has not already succeeded in acquiring one. This week, the IAEA announced that Iran had enough highly enriched uranium for 10 nuclear weapons, and is doubtless stalling for time to rebuild its air defenses, which Israel struck last October.

Negotiations with Tehran nevertheless continue, led by Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who was rescued from a bad $523 million business deal by Qatar, which, purely by coincidence, happens to an ally of Hamas and Iran.

The horrific October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas — backed, funded, and trained by Iran — was not a stand-alone slaughter. It was part of a broader Iranian strategy to destabilize, terrorize, and ultimately destroy both Israel and America.

If the world is serious about preventing World War III— and a nuclear-armed Iran could trigger exactly that, complete with international nuclear arms races — there are only two acceptable paths forward. The first is what is often referred to as the "Libyan model" — a complete dismantlement of Iran's entire nuclear program, including all centrifuges, enrichment capabilities, infrastructure and weaponization research, with full "anytime, anywhere" inspections – to which Iran has never agreed and which it does not appear particularly eager to agree to now.

The second path is, well, to dismantle Iran's nuclear program for them, by force.

This is not warmongering — it is the last resort when diplomacy fails and survival is on the line. Israel and the US have every right to defend themselves – and the region – against a regime that openly seeks their extermination.

Anything less would be another Obama type of fraud. At the moment, Iran has, as usual, been deploying its delay tactics most expertly, presumably in the hope of outlasting or outfoxing the US. Trump appears trying to be contorting himself into anything to avoid confronting Iran militarily. Trump's backing down is precisely what Iran must be counting on.

Unfortunately, Trump has repeatedly given Iran reason to bet on that. First, Trump told Hamas in January that they had to deliver all the hostages or "all hell will break out." When Hamas did nothing of the kind, Trump's dramatic response was -- nothing. Even better, Trump seemed to "throw Israel under the bus." How perfect!

Then, on March 7, Trump sent Khamenei a letter saying that Iran had two months to dismantle its nuclear program... Hmm. It is now June and Iran has been enriching more uranium than ever. No wonder Iran's regime assumes it is holding a royal straight flush.

There is no middle ground that works. Any deal that allows Iran to maintain its centrifuges is an enrichment program about to break out. It is also a reward for deception. Iran has lied repeatedly to international inspectors, violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and built covert nuclear sites for decades. Giving Iran billions in sanctions relief while letting them keep their bomb-making war machine is not diplomacy — it is a betrayal of the West.

Iran's rulers believe that, with nuclear weapons, they would be untouchable — able to carry out attacks or threaten to, fund terror, and blackmail the world with impunity. At the top of Iran's hit list are Israel and the US. Iran's regime saw what happened to Libya's Muammar Qaddafi when he gave up his nuclear arsenal. Iran's regime saw what happened when Ukraine, thanks to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 – signed by Ukraine, Russia and the US – gave up its nuclear arsenal. The lesson they surely learned was: No nukes, no power. Iran will not voluntarily give up what it must see as its insurance policy for ruling Iran forever.

When it comes to the Iranian nuclear threat, Israel does not just understand the stakes — it lives them. Any deal made without Israel's acquiescence is not only illegitimate — it is worthless. Its voice is not optional, it is indispensable. Trump would do the world a favor to end Iran's nuclear weapons program for once and for all — and let Israel in.

• Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21672/trump-going-wobbly-on-iran

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Weaponized sugar pill? Homeland ends controversial and costly Quiet Skies domestic spying program - Amanda Head

 

by Amanda Head

After 15 years, Noem’s action puts an end to a program that cost an estimated $3 billion to taxpayers while potentially violating their privacy.

 

On Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced via social media that the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is ending the pricey and oft-politicized Quiet Skies program.

"Today, I’m announcing TSA is ending the Quiet Skies Program, which since its existence has failed to stop a SINGLE terrorist attack while costing US taxpayers roughly $200 million a year," she wrote in a press release.  

The Quiet Skies program, an initiative that began in 2010 and was officially launched in 2012 by the TSA, has sparked debate over its secretive monitoring of domestic air travelers deemed to be potential security risks. 

Originally intended to identify and track individuals who may pose threats to aviation, the program relied on behavioral analysis and data collection, often without passengers’ knowledge. Critics have long argued it raised privacy concerns and lacked transparency, while supporters have claimed it was a vital tool for ensuring safety in an era of evolving security challenges.

Agency used program as political tool

Noem went on to say, "DHS and TSA have uncovered documents, correspondence, and timelines that clearly highlight the inconsistent application of Quiet Skies. The program, under the guise of “national security,” was used to target political opponents and benefit political allies of the Biden Administration." 

Noem also said that she is calling for a full Congressional investigation to examine corruption within the program.

Perhaps the most well-known case is that of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard, a decorated Army Reserve veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait, and was later elected to the House of Representatives from Hawaii, was placed on the program's watchlist in July 2024, prompting widespread controversy over allegations of political retaliation. 

Gabbard said on X that "I was put on a secret terror watch list after I publicly criticized [Kamala Harris]. No one will be safe from political retaliation under a Harris administration. I put my life on the line for this country. Now the government calls me a terror threat."

Both she and her husband, Abraham Williams, faced extensive screenings, with boarding passes marked “SSSS” for Secondary Security Screening Selection, which lasted up to 45 minutes per flight. Gabbard publicly condemned the surveillance, stating it caused her to “always be looking over my shoulder,” and described it as a betrayal of her 21-year military service. The TSA told Newsweek that the Quiet Skies program "is not a terrorist watchlist, [it] uses a risk-based approach to identify passengers and apply enhanced security measures on some domestic and outbound international flights."

Gabbard had been a frequent and vocal critic of the Biden administration and former Vice President Kamala Harris, and claimed her inclusion was a direct response to a July 22, 2024, Fox News interview during which she warned against Harris’ leadership, labeling it an act of “political retaliation.”

Whistleblowers from the Federal Air Marshal Service confirmed her placement on the list, sparking outrage among Republican lawmakers and raising concerns about the program’s misuse to target individuals based on political views rather than legitimate security threats.

Following Noem's announcement, DNI Gabbard added in another 'X' post: "The Quiet Skies program has been used for nearly two decades to target and surveil everyday Americans, violating our constitutional rights and civil liberties, targeting political opponents, and costing taxpayers approximately $200 million per year, all while failing to stop a single terrorist."

Program used for political favors as well

While many are aware of the program being used as a weapon, a June 4 press release from the DHS discloses how the program was abused in the other direction, namely, as a political favor: "Discovered documents, correspondence, and timelines clearly highlight the Biden’s inconsistent application of Silent Partners Quiet Skies and watchlisting programs, circumventing security policies to benefit politically aligned friends and family at the expense of the American people."

According to the timeline laid out by the DHS, in 2023, William “Billy” Shaheen, the husband of Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., was flagged twice as a "Co-Traveler with a Known or Suspected Terrorist" (KST) on flights between Boston and D.C.

According to the DHS, after Shaheen was flagged the second time, his wife, Senator Shaheen, met with then-Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) top officer David Pekoske about her husband being on a watchlist. 

Within several days of the meeting, Shaheen was then approved by TSA to be added to the Secure Flight Exclusion List. The DHS explained that "This means that Shaheen was excluded from any future TSA Random Selectee designation, and Rules-based Selectee designation, such as Quiet Skies, Association Based Rule Selectee designation, or Silent Partner Selectee designation."

Criticism of the Quiet Skies program also came from the Air Marshalls themselves, who were integral to the program's operations. In messages communicated to the Boston Globe in 2018, they expressed misgivings, arguing that the program wasted resources and distracted from legitimate airborne threats. 

The lack of oversight and reliance on subjective criteria, like behavioral checklists, further undermined its credibility. Air Marshals reportedly told The Globe that the program has them tasked with shadowing travelers who appear to pose no real threat — a businesswoman who happened to have traveled through a Mideast hot spot; a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, and ironically, a fellow federal law enforcement officer.

 

Amanda Head

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/dhs-secretary-noem-ends-controversial-and-costly-quiet-skies-program

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Biden's EPA hid comments from Dept. of Energy that undermined key part of EPA power plant rule - Kevin Killough

 

by Kevin Killough

The Clean Power Plan 2.0 was supported by a finding that carbon capture technology had been "adequately demonstrated." The EPA sought and got comments from the DOE, which disputed that "demonstration." Somehow those comments never made it into the administrative record.

 

Former President Joe Biden, as well as his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, pledged to “follow the science” when it came to climate policies. Since President Donald Trump assumed office — a man accused of waging a “war on science” — revelations have shown that, when it came to previous administrations, sometimes science was either shaped to serve preferred policies or dismissed when it didn’t support them. 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed in March that the Biden-Harris administration had completed a study on liquefied natural gas exports prior to enacting a pause on export permits, the stated intention of which was to complete such a study. Wright stated that the Biden-Harris administration didn’t like what the study said, so they set out to produce one that would support the climate policies they wanted.

Emails exchanged at the Obama-era EPA in 2009 showed that the so-called endangerment finding, which has been the basis for much of the EPA's regulation of carbon dioxide emissions ever since, was a foregone conclusion even before the agency announced the finding. 

It appears that the Biden-Harris administration hid comments that would have undermined its Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule (CPP2), which the Trump administration is currently reviewing. The EPA had sought comments from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) on the efficacy of carbon capture technology prior to proposing the rule. These comments, which were somehow scrubbed from the administrative record, disputed a key claim the rule is based on. Those missing comments, a legal expert says, could provide a basis for the rule’s repeal.

Casting significant doubt

The CCP2 requires all coal plants to install carbon capture technology by 2039, which captures and stores emissions in underground geological formations. It also requires new natural gas-fired power plants to install the technology, with requirements starting in 2032. Experts warned the rules would drive up electricity costs and destabilize the grid by disincentivizing reliable power from coal and natural gas in favor of intermittent wind and solar power. 

The Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to develop new emissions standards, but those standards must be achievable at a reasonable cost. The technology required for compliance must also be adequately demonstrated. Documents obtained by Just the News show that the EPA formally sought comments from NETL in March 2023 on its soon-to-be proposed rule, which was put out for public comment the following May. 

In December, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote to then-EPA Administrator Micheal Regan to ask for the names of people in the Biden administration who had provided comments to the EPA on an internal draft of the CPP2. These comments, Comer’s letter explains, “cast significant doubt” over whether the proposed CCP2 is viable.  

Letter-to-EPA-Unmasking-Comments.pdf

The proposed rule allowed for two technologies — hydrogen and carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS) — to meet the emissions standards on fossil fuel-burning power plants. Comer’s letter quotes two unnamed authors expressing that neither technology was viable.

Hydrogen was removed from the rule when it was finalized in April 2024. Carbon capture technology, however, was part of the final rule, even though the comments from one unnamed NETL author stated that “CCUS remains prohibitively expensive even after use of funds or tax credits made available through the Inflation Reduction Act.” 

Underperforming failure

The comments disputing the adequacy of CCUS went further than those in Comer’s letter. Government Oversight and Accountability (GOA), a watchdog group, filed a FOIA request in April seeking comments that NETL engineers had submitted via the NETL network in response to the March 2023 request by the EPA for the administrative record of what would later become the CCP2 proposed rule. 

The EPA based its determination that CCUS was “adequately demonstrated” on the performance of the Boundary Dam Unit #3 (BD3), which is a Canadian coal-fired power plant fitted with carbon capture technology. An April 2024 report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis called the project an “under-performing failure.” Despite $1 billion CAD spent on the project, it was, as of April 2024, capturing far less than the 90% originally promised. Its capture rate through the end of 2023 was just 57%, which was 63% of the 90% promised, the report found. 

Comments from NETL engineers, according to the GOA’s records request, state that “the ongoing operating performance of the same BD3 demonstration project is being, once again, misconstrued as having provided sufficient justification for claiming satisfactory performance to allow the technology to be considered ‘adequately demonstrated.’” 

Another comment states that BD3 only approached the 90% promised target for two months over a period of 8 years and three months. Another comment states that after 8 years and three months “of demonstration, such failure to meet negligible standards for emissions limitations, over a full-year period ending less than one year ago, argues strongly for not considering BD3 as a credible basis for Best System of Emissions Reduction and ‘adequate demonstration’ of the related technology.” 

“These comments were sanitized at some point in this process and were not included in NETL’s and/or DoE’s comments to EPA, which made their way into the administrative record,” according to the GOA’s record request.

4.10.25 GAO NETL request for March 2023 CPP comments.pdf

Other indications of doubt

Chris Horner, an environment and energy policy attorney, told Just the News that Comer’s letter, which was directed at the EPA, suggests where the comments might have been scrubbed. 

"From information revealed by the House Oversight Committee, there's pretty good reason to conclude that the comments did make it to and were buried by EPA, versus by DOE,” Horner said. 

Whatever happened to the comments, other evidence also suggests the EPA never put much stock in the capabilities of CCUS technology. In May 2024, two dozen states filed a lawsuit over related EPA rules with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The following October, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) asked the court to allow them to file a brief in support of the lawsuit. The LPSC said in their petition that the EPA’s own modeling showed far less confidence in carbon capture than it had publicly stated. 

The agency’s Integrated Planning Model projects no combined-cycle natural gas units will have carbon capture technologies added through 2055, which is the end of the project period. The EPA also projects that no coal units will be constructed with carbon capture through 2055. The modeling document shows that only one gigawatt of existing coal capacity will be operating through 2055.

An EPA spokesperson told Just the News that the EPA, as part of its reconsideration of the CCP2, is developing a proposed rule, which will be published once it has completed an inter-agency review and been signed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. 

"Many have voiced concerns that the last administration’s replacement for that rule is similarly overreaching and an attempt to shut down affordable and reliable electricity generation in the United States, raising prices for American families, and increasing the country’s reliance on foreign forms of energy," the spokesperson said.

Kill shot

Horner said these comments missing from the administrative record provide a means by which the EPA could effectively nullify the rule. In 2021, the Supreme Court killed Obama’s "Clean Power Plan" with its ruling in West Virginia v. EPA. The challenged rule set emission reduction targets that could be met by either eliminating coal-fired power plants and replacing them with natural gas turbines, improving energy efficiency, or increasing the use of wind and solar power. 

The court ruled that the EPA had exceeded its authority by trying to control the nation’s power system generation, because Congress did not grant an administrative agency such control without a clear statute granting that broad authority. The court, however, affirmed the agency’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions at new and existing power plants. By using carbon capture without any required generation shifting, the Biden administration likely expected to avoid any conflicts with the ruling. 

Horner said that, if the parties agree the record is incomplete, the Trump administration’s EPA can avoid arguing for months whether CCS has been adequately demonstrated. By simply documenting that the record shows the agency knowingly and falsely claimed CCS was adequately demonstrated, that’s the end of it. Horner said he doesn’t think the D.C. Circuit court would ignore that fact and deny the agency the opportunity to clean its own house. 

“There seems to me no chance the parties would be denied an agency confession of error. That's what's really grabbing me about this. These guys have a kill shot, and I don’t know if they know it,” Horner said. 

 

Kevin Killough

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/biden-admin-epa-may-have-buried-comments-undermining-key-part-its-power

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Israeli forces recover body of murdered Thai hostage Pinta Nattapong in special Gaza operation - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

"We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home - both the living and the dead," the PMO said in a statement.

 

Image of murdered Nattapong Pinta and family.

(photo credit: Courtesy Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

 

The body of the last Thai hostage, Pinta Nattapong, was recovered from the Gaza Strip on Friday during a special operation conducted by the IDF and Shin Bet, they both said in a joint statement on Saturday. 

Hamas is believed to have the body of a second foreign national.

"The operation was made possible by precise intelligence obtained from a Shin Bet interrogation of a terrorist, along with intelligence received from the Hostage Task Force and the IDF Intelligence Directorate," the statement said.

Identification of Nattapong's body was carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Israel Police, the Hostage Task Force of the IDF's Manpower Directorate.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar updated his counterpart Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangyampongsa on the details of the operation to recover Nattapong's body, according to Israeli local media. Israel intends to hold a ceremony for Nattapong at Ben Gurion Airport before his coffin is flown to Thailand, Sa'ar said. Sangyampongsa thanked the minister for his efforts.

Hostages square Tel Aviv (credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

55 hostages remain in Gaza under Hamas captivity.

"Hamas has 20 living hostages, two we cannot determine, and another 33 dead," an Israeli security source said on Saturday.

Nattapong was the last Thai hostage held by Hamas

Nattapong was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Released Thai hostages who were captured during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, pose as they hold up Thai national flags in Israel, January 30, 2025 (credit: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT/ROYAL THAI EMBASSY in Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS)

In January 2025, five Thai nationals who were kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza were released from captivity. At that time, Nattapong was believed to be alive.

The freed Thai captives were also working in agriculture in the areas surrounding the Gaza Strip at the time of their capture.

Israeli officials, Hostages Forum, Nir Oz offer condolences

The Thai Embassy informed Nattapong's family on the situation in coordination with the Defense Intelligence Agency.

"The news of [Nattapong's] murder is shocking, but nevertheless the certainty in this complex situation provides us with some comfort," the spokesperson for Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement on Saturday.

"We would like to thank the security forces who were involved in the complex rescue operation. Alongside this, we reiterate what must be said: Nattapong was kidnapped alive, and he is the 14th hostage from Nir Oz to be murdered in captivity, the statement concluded.

"Together with all the citizens of Israel, we extend our condolences to Nattapong's family and the Thai people," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.  "We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home - both the living and the dead.

"The IDF and ISA will continue to make all efforts possible to bring home all the hostages," the organizations said in their statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, "We stand with Nattapong's family today and share in their grief. While the pain is immense, his family will finally have certainty after 20 terrible and agonizing months of devastating uncertainty. Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey.

"We emphasize once again that decision-makers must do everything necessary to reach an agreement that will bring back all 55 remaining hostages—the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial. Israel's longest war in its history cannot end in victory without all 55 hostages who remain in captivity."

Democratic Party Chairman Yair Golan also responded to the news, calling it "a sad closing of a circle for the Pinta family."

"There is no more time, we must immediately return the 55 hostages who remain in captivity," he said.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid offered his condolences in a post on Twitter/X in addition to congratulating the IDF and Shin Bet for their successful operation.

אני מבקש למסור את תנחומיי למשפחתו של נטפונג פינטה ולכל העם התאילנדי. מברך את כוחות הביטחון על מבצע מוצלח להחזיר את גופתו הביתה למשפחתו.

אין ניצחון בלי שנחזיר את כולם הביתה - את החיים ואת החללים.

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 7, 2025

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-856845

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Who is leading the criminal mobs in Gaza that are armed by Israel? - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Yasser Abu Shabab's Popular Force militia might get Israeli support as the fight for Gaza intensifies

 

PALESTINIANS WAIT to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, near tents where they have taken shelter after being displaced, in Gaza City last week. Hamas steals and hoards goods entering Gaza, often reselling them at inflated prices, states the writer.

(photo credit: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

Yasser Abu Shabab has been named as the leader of a Palestinian militia in Gaza that Israeli officials have reportedly armed to attempt to undermine Hamas, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Abu Shabab, a Bedouin man in his 30s, leads the Popular Forces, a crime group in Gaza that is significantly smaller than Hamas.

On Thursday, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman claimed on Kan Reshet Bet that Israel is arming crime families and militias in Gaza to fight Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not deny Liberman’s claim, and defended his decision.

“What’s bad about it?” he said, as reported by the New York Times. “It’s only good and it only saves the lives of Israel Defense Force soldiers.”

Displaced Palestinian children take shelter in tents, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

Why is Israel arming Gaza gangs?

A Thursday press release from the Prime Minister’s Office stated: “Israel is working to defeat Hamas through various means, as recommended by all heads of the security establishment.”

A video posted on Wednesday showed Abu Shabab telling the people of Rafah to return home, and said that food, medicine, and shelter would be provided. He then said he and his forces were working under “Palestinian legitimacy,” a phrase that the report noted the Palestinian Authority often uses.

However, analysts interviewed by the New York Times claim that the government is arming groups like the Popular Forces in order to avoid a long-term occupation of Gaza or a Palestinian  Authority-led government ruling the enclave.

“If you think about who really can be an alternative to Hamas in Gaza, you have two options: either an Israeli military administration or the Palestinian Authority,” said retired Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom, a former top Israeli military strategist.

Brom told the New York Times that given the choices, the Israeli government was looking for “other solutions.”

Abu Shabab has been accused several times of looting aid trucks in the Gaza Strip by aid truck drivers and international humanitarian officials.

Senior UN official Georgios Petropoulos once called him “the self-styled power broker of east Rafah,” according to the report.

In an interview quoted in the report, Abu Shabab said that he did not raid the trucks, and instead asserted that he was feeding his community. 

“We are taking trucks so we can eat, not so we can sell,” he said, accusing Hamas of stealing aid.

The Popular Forces also said that it had safeguarded aid trucks entering the enclave.

“We confirm that 92 trucks were secured and entered areas under the protection of our popular forces, and exited safely under our supervision,” a post from the criminal grou reads.

Liberman originally claimed that the Palestinian groups were affiliated with ISIS. The New York Times report did not mention these claims.

The Yisrael Beytenu leader also said that the matter did not pass cabinet approval, and said that he did not know if the IDF was aware of the operation.

“In my opinion, this did not pass cabinet approval,” he said. “This was with the knowledge of the head of the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency], but I don’t know how much the [IDF] chief of staff was privy to the matter.

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.  

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-856841

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Hamas threats force halt in Gaza food aid distribution, GHF says - Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters

The organization claimed "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited—diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda."

 

A woman crouches next to boxes of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025.

(photo credit: STRINGER/ REUTERS)

 

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced on Saturday that the reason for temporarily pausing operations was due to threats against the organization and its staff by Hamas.

"Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today. The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk," the statement read. "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited—diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people’s basic needs. However, GHF will not be deterred.

"We remain committed to safe, secure, and independent aid delivery. We are actively adapting our operations to overcome these threats and fully intend to resume distributions without delay."

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 3, 2025 (credit: REUTERS TV)

Pauses in humanitarian aid in Gaza

Aid distribution in Gaza was halted on Friday after the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations, in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort.

In a day of confusing messaging, the GHF first announced its distribution sites in southern Gaza were closed, then it revealed that it had actually handed out food, before saying that it had had to close its gates as a precautionary measure.

"The distribution was conducted peacefully and without incident; however, it was paused due to excessive crowding that made it unsafe to proceed," it said in a statement.

Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-856869

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