Happy New Year 2025

Category: World News

US releasing Russian prisoner as part of Marc Fogel deal, Kremlin says

The United States is releasing Russian prisoner Alexander Vinnik as part of the deal to secure Marc Fogel’s freedom, a Trump administration official told Fox News on Wednesday.

Fogel, an American teacher who had been detained in Russia since 2021, was freed on Tuesday. A plane carrying him landed in the U.S. late last night.

Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges. He was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said the Russian prisoner’s name would be revealed when he returns home.

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

Alexander Vinnik, left, and Marc Fogel following his release Tuesday. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Recently, work has been intensified through the relevant agencies, there have been contacts,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters, according to the Associated Press. “And these contacts have led to the release of Fogel, as well as one of the citizens of the Russian Federation, who is currently being held in custody in the United States. This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days.”

The State Department did not immediately respond Wednesday morning to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, was serving a 14-year prison sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for being in possession of drugs, which his family and supporters said were medically prescribed marijuana.

Anne Fogel, his sister, told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that she is “so happy to have this massive boulder” lifted off her shoulders with her brother’s release.

“I am so incredibly grateful to the president,” she added. “Just amazing.”

Fogel said her brother’s situation has “taken a toll” on her family but they “can’t even believe that he is safe and at home and can get medical attention.”

AMERICAN MARC FOGEL RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN CUSTODY

Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to U.S. soil on Tuesday night. (The White House via X)

After his arrival in the U.S., Fogel met with President Donald Trump at the White House and called him a hero for securing his release.

“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said after meeting Trump.

“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel continued. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor – they got me home – they are heroes.”

Fogel reacts during an event held by President Donald Trump to welcome him back. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the U.S. had given up anything in return for Fogel, Trump replied “not much” without offering additional details.

Fox News’ Pat Ward, Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
Israeli hostage’s mom tells Trump, Netanyahu her son could die if war resumes

Idit Ohel, the mother of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, urgently pleaded for President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of the remaining Oct. 7 captives held by Hamas amid fears the current ceasefire deal is disintegrating.

“They have no more time. And please don’t go back to war. Please. Because if that happens, if we go back to war, the hostages could die. The hostages that are alive could die,” she told Fox News Digital. “That’s what happened last time. Last time we saw that after the hostages came out and war started, so many hostages died and were murdered by Hamas. So we cannot let this happen. Please do everything in your power and do something for my son. He’s in the tunnels. He’s crying for help.”

Idit Ohel said she received confirmation that her son is still alive from released hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, two of the three gaunt, frail-looking Israelis forced to speak Saturday during a Hamas hand-over ceremony in Gaza.

The mother said the released hostages, who were held with her son for part of their nearly 500 days in captivity, told her that Alon Ohel is unable to see out of an eye after being struck by shrapnel when Hamas was closing in on Oct. 7, 2023. Alon Ohel, a civilian, was attending the Nova music festival when terrorists attacked, and he took cover in a bomb shelter. Hamas pounded the shelter with grenades and gunfire, and he “was taken, wounded, with blood all over him,” Idit Ohel said.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

A placard of Alon Ohel seen during a rally marking his 24th birthday in Tel Aviv. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Alon Ohel’s ancestors survived the Holocaust, including his great-grandfather who weighed just 30 kilos [about 66 pounds] when he was released from the Auschwitz concentration camp, Idit Ohel said. “So if he was alive today, he would probably die instantly just knowing that his great-grandson in the year of 2025 is starving,” she said. “Alon has these genes. So he’s fighting. He’s fighting for his life every day.”

Under the deal, another three hostages were due to be released by next Saturday, but Hamas said Monday that the group would not let them go, accusing Israel of violating terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Concerns that fighting will resume are rising. Trump has since said that Hamas must release all remaining 76 hostages by noon Saturday, or he would demand the ceasefire deal be canceled and “let all hell break out.” Netanyahu backed the demand.

Israeli media is reporting that Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is being dispatched to Israel and Qatar this week to prevent the ceasefire deal from unraveling. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected in Israel on Saturday.

To Trump and Netayanhu directly, Idit Ohel said, “Do something and bring them home. Please. Please.”

Idit Ohel speaks to the crowd during a Tel Aviv rally marking the 24th Birthday of her son Alon Ohel who is held hostage by Hamas. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Give him a chance. It’s unbearable. Something has to change. You have to do everything in your power to bring him home to me, to his family,” she said. “There’s still hostages alive. There’s still hostages alive. Please. Please, do something.”

Idit Ohel said she learned her son is being held in tunnels without medical attention and little food and has been “tortured, chained and starved.”

“It’s not humane. There’s so much food getting into Gaza, and he’s not getting any of it,” she said.

HAMAS SAYS IT’S DELAYING NEXT HOSTAGE RELEASE, CLAIMING CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

“Alon, right now as we speak, is still being not fed, sleeping on the floor, being chained, constrained. So he cannot move for 494 days,” Idit Ohel said. “My son is important. My son is only an innocent civilian. He went to the Nova festival to have fun. He’s a pianist. He loves music. He did nothing wrong to nobody. We need to get him out now. He cannot continue. This is humanitarian.”

Days before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. Former President Joe Biden said at the time that the first phase involved a “surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza” – something Idit Ohel stressed her son is not getting.

She said the International Committee of the Red Cross “have never seen Alon and have never seen any of the hostages – [he] didn’t get any treatment.”

Israelis stand under placards with photos of hostages during a rally in Tel Aviv marking the 24th Birthday of Alon Ohel, who is held by Hamas in Gaza. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Where is he? Why is he not coming?” Idit Ohel added. “I do not understand it. I will never understand it. This is wrong. This is not moral.”

Ohel rallied thousands in Tel Aviv over the weekend on her son’s 24th birthday – the second birthday he has spent in captivity since the Oct. 7 attacks.

“I wanted to say happy birthday to my son. I couldn’t even talk [to him] and see and hear his voice,” she said. “When I heard about his condition, I fainted … I haven’t been sleeping for days … I cannot control what Hamas is doing to my son.”

“Every mother in this world. Think just for a second. If there’s one night that your son or daughter doesn’t eat, you can’t even live with yourself,” Ohel added. “My son has not been getting food for 494 days.”

The mother also delivered a message directly to her son.

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“If you’re listening to me, you know I love you and your father loves you. And we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that you’re home alive. You’re coming home. And there’s so many people all over the world and in Israel that are with you and are praying for you,” Ohel said, asking fellow musicians to play songs in her son’s honor in the coming days. “And you are not alone, Alon. You are not alone.”

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 13, 2025
Egypt reportedly will release details on plan to rebuild Gaza with no mention of US cooperation

Egypt has apparently released the initial details of a proposal Cairo has put together to rebuild the Gaza Strip within three to five years, though there’s no mention of a plan to work with the Trump administration or Israel.

According to a reporter for i24 News, Egyptian sources told Qatari Al Araby TV the plan is a move to counter the proposal first put forward by President Donald Trump last week suggesting the U.S. would “take over” Gaza and forcibly displace all Palestinians living there.

The Egyptian proposal for reconstruction will reportedly be carried out in cooperation among Arab countries, the European Union and the United Nations.

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the White House, U.N., Qatari or Egyptian officials to confirm details of the plan.

MY SON IS IN HAMAS TUNNELS – PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO GET HIM OUT

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives at the BRICS summit in Kazan Oct. 23, 2024. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources within the European Union confirmed that while they were aware a plan would be released later this month at a summit with fellow Arab nations, they were not aware of the EU’s or the U.N.’s involvement in the reconstruction plans.

More details of the proposal will reportedly lay out a two-phase project that will first focus on rubble removal and residential building construction.

Details of the plan were reported less than 24 hours after the Egyptian foreign ministry released a statement saying it has “aspirations” to “cooperate” with President Donald Trump and the U.S., but that it also condemned Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

In addition, the ministry said the only way to achieve regional peace was to address the “root cause of conflict” by ending “Israel’s occupation” and implementing a two-state solution, a proposal that would look vastly different from what Trump has said he plans to do.

TRUMP MEETS WITH JORDAN’S KING AMID TENSE TALKS ABOUT RESETTLING PALESTINIANS

King Abdullah II of Jordan, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While speaking alongside Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump reaffirmed his plans to take over the Gaza Strip, telling reporters, “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.”

Though both Jordan and Egypt have pushed back on Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza, Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former National Security Council official during the first Trump administration, pointed out that the president’s comments got them moving to take action.

Abdullah on Tuesday announced he will accept up to 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or require other medical treatment. Neither Jordan nor Egypt had previously agreed to accept Gazans after the war that ensured Gaza in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

“These governments are most certainly scrambling to respond to a president who outlined a pretty clear vision and a determination to make it happen,” Goldberg told Fox News Digital. “I’d expect their first round of responses to be wholly unserious, hoping they can put lipstick on a pig and make Trump go away.

“But this president doesn’t fall for those old tricks.”

Trump has claimed there is potential to turn the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East” and on Tuesday said it could be a “diamond.”

Palestinians continue to return to their homes after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, amid destruction in Gaza City, Gaza, Feb. 2, 2025. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

But King Abdullah would not directly answer reporters’ questions on his position regarding the U.S. takeover.

“I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody?” Abdullah wondered. “Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan.

“We will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we can work with the president and with the United States. So, I think let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves.”

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Later Tuesday, Abdullah confirmed Jordan’s position on X. And while he thanked the president for a “warm welcome” and “constructive meeting,” he said, “I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position.

“Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he added, echoing a statement released by Egypt’s foreign ministry. “Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability.”

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

February 13, 2025
Australian health care workers threaten Israeli man, claim to have killed Jews in their care

Two Australian healthcare workers are being investigated after threatening to kill an Israeli man on camera, claiming they had previously killed Jews in their care.

The man and woman, who said they were doctors, spoke with the man via Chatrouletka, a website where strangers are matched internationally to have conversations.

After the Israeli man revealed his nationality, the female worker said “it’s Palentine’s country, not your country you piece of s—,” according to the video.

Skyline of Sydney, Australia, which is the capital of New South Wales (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) (Getty )

JEWISH CHILDREN, TEENS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED IN LONDON: ‘STREETS ARE NO LONGER SAFE’

As the Israeli man asked for peace, the conversation escalated, and the woman said “when the time comes, I want you to remember my face, so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death.”

The pair went on to say they wouldn’t treat the man, and would kill him if he came to their hospital.

The man in scrubs said “you have no idea how many Israelis came to this hospital and…,” while sliding his arm across his neck in a throat slashing motion.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre) gives an address to the Leaders’ Plenary during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia, March 6, 2024. (Joel Carrett/Pool via Reuters/ File Photo)

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns confirmed the two individuals are workers at Bankstown Hospital.

Minns and Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the pair were identified quickly and were “stood down” by NSW authorities.

“They have rightly been referred to the NSW Police for criminal investigation,” Albanese wrote in a statement Tuesday on X. “Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 06: Members of the Synagogue recover items from the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Albanese described the comments as “vile,” and condemned the healthcare workers’ actions.

“The antisemitic video circulating today is disgusting,” he wrote. “The footage is sickening and shameful. These antisemitic comments, driven by hate, have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.”

A synagogue was fire-bombed in Melbourne on Dec. 6, which authorities are now investigating as a likely terrorist attack. Other reports indicate cars have been set aflame and buildings have been vandalized in Sydney Jewish communities.

A member of the Jewish community recovers an item from the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images) (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images))

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) reported more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in Australia since Palestinian militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Data was collected between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Alexander Ryvchin, ECAJ co-chief executive officer, said members of the community have felt unsafe at Australian hospitals.

COLUMBIA GROUP’S ANTISEMITIC NEWSPAPER DRAWS OUTRAGE FROM NY LAWMAKER, AS UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATES

“Hospitals are a place where people should never feel unsafe,” Ryvchin said. “It’s the exact contrary. People should feel entirely comfortable that they’ll be treated based on their condition and humanity, not in the way that we saw in that video.”

He added the incident was the “tip of the iceberg,” and he believes there are many Australians with the same ideology.

Members of the local Jewish community look at the damage of the arson attack at the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

“Antisemitism has sadly taken root in Australia, and we need to expunge it root and branch,” Ryvchin said. “There need to be consequences.”

On Wednesday, Australia enacted a hate crimes bill imposing minimum mandatory penalties for certain hate-related crimes, including six years for terrorist offenses, three years for financing terrorism and one year for displaying hate symbols.

“There have been similar instances of such behavior in Sydney and Perth where perpetrators have been convicted and given only a token fine,” the ECAJ wrote in a statement posted on its website. “That is also unacceptable because perpetrators come to regard such fines as merely the cost of “doing business” and not as a real deterrent.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on X after the video went viral online. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Though it has faced more intolerance, the Jewish population of Australia is substantially smaller than the Muslim population, which accounts for 3.2%, according to previous reporting. Jews account for just 0.4% of the population.

The Australian Federal Police was previously tasked with conducting an operation that would “focus on threats, violence, and hatred” targeting the Jewish community, Fox News Digital reported.

In addition, the Prime Minister allocated $25 million, about $15 million in the U.S., beginning in 2022 to increase security for Jewish organizations, according to a Reuters report. He also took a stand against hate speech and banned the Nazi salute.

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Fox News’ Beth Bailey contributed to this story.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

February 12, 2025
Canada appoints Kevin Brosseau to serve as fentanyl czar

Canada appointed a fentanyl czar on Tuesday in accordance with a deal made with U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid additional tariffs on Canadian imports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose Kevin Brosseau, who spent decades with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, for the position aimed at working with the U.S. to “detect, disrupt and dismantle” the fentanyl trade. His appointment is effective immediately.

Brosseau has extensive law enforcement experience, having served as deputy commissioner and the commanding officer in Manitoba during his career as a Mountie. He most recently worked with Trudeau as his deputy national security and intelligence advisor.

“Mr. Brosseau navigated Canada’s most sensitive security challenges. His demonstrated expertise tackling drug trafficking, organized crime networks, and other national security threats will bring tremendous value to this position,” Trudeau said in his announcement.

TRUMP AGREES TO PAUSE TARIFFS ON CANADA IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE BORDER ENFORCEMENT

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau to serve as the country’s fentanyl czar. (Kevin Brosseau / X)

Brosseau’s appointment comes days after Trump threatened to impose an additional 25% tariff on Canadian imports, citing the flow of illegal aliens and drugs, such as fentanyl, across the northern border.

Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on the tariffs in order to assess Canada’s response to his demands, which revolved around creating a stronger border.

In addition to appointing a fentanyl czar, Trudeau said the country will implement a $1.3 billion border plan that utilizes Black Hawk helicopters, drones, mobile surveillance towers and nearly 10,000 frontline personnel to protect the U.S.-Canada border.

Canada is implementing a border plan worth $1.3 billion to bolster law enforcement’s presence and crackdown on the fentanyl discovered at entry points. (Cole Burston/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He also said organized crime cartels will be listed as terrorist entities in order to enforce criminal investigations in Canada.

TRUDEAU SAYS TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT CANADA BECOMING 51ST STATE: REPORTS

Focusing on fentanyl production and trafficking, Canada will be adding new and expanded detection capacity at border entry points and building a Canadian Drug Analysis Center where authorities will study illegal drug samples to identify where and how they are manufactured.

“While less than 1% of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, any amount of fentanyl is too much,” Trudeau said, adding that “fentanyl must be wiped from the face of the Earth, its production must be shut down, and its profiteers must be punished.”

President Donald Trump threatened an additional 25% on Canadian imports if the country didn’t increase security at the northern border. (Nicholas Kamm)

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While the fentanyl that comes through the northern border is significantly less than what comes from Mexico, U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year.

Agents at the U.S.-Mexico border seized 21,100 pounds of fentanyl during the same time period.

February 12, 2025
Rubio says American Marc Fogel freed from Russia due to ‘strength’ of Trump

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Marc Fogel, an American who had been detained in Russia since 2021, was released because the U.S. has a “strong president” in President Donald Trump.

Rubio made the comments during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

“We have a great team here … but none of this is possible without President Trump,” Rubio said. “This is the 10th American that has come home after being detained somewhere overseas in just three weeks. And for the White House, it’s an extraordinary achievement. This is what happens when you have a strong president.”

“Look, anytime an American comes home, we should be excited about it. This is a case that languished under the Biden administration, they really didn’t give it priority. And so tonight is really a happy occasion. It should be for all Americans, but certainly for Mr. Fogel and his family,” he continued.

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Marc Fogel back to the United States after being released from Russian custody, at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Fogel, a history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to the U.S. after his release from Russia following talks with the Trump administration.

He was serving a 14-year sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, which his family said was medically prescribed marijuana.

After his arrival in the U.S., Fogel, from Pennsylvania, met with Trump at the White House and called him a “hero” for securing his release. His family, in a statement, also thanked Trump for his “unwavering leadership” that helped free Fogel.

When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the U.S. had given up anything in return for Fogel, Trump replied “not much” without offering additional details.

MOTHER OF FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL THANKS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: ‘HE KEPT HIS PROMISE’

Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane flying him back to the United States after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured his release on February 11, 2025. (Adam Boehler/Handout via REUTERS )

Rubio stressed the importance of having a strong leader as president when handling sensitive matters with other leaders around the world.

“We have a strong president, I think people forget how important that is,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity. “At the end of the day, we are dealing all over the world with strong leaders. We may not like them or what they do, but these are strong leaders that respect strength. And that’s what we have with Donald Trump in the White House. And, he also made this a campaign priority. So, I think you’re beginning to see the fruits of what happened. We were led by a strong president who does what he says he’s going to do and doesn’t just give it lip service.”

He also suggested that with Trump in office, the U.S. government could achieve other foreign policy goals, including ending the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, which is now under a ceasefire.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been held in Russia since 2021, at the White House in Washington, D.C., February 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

“I think that the reason why this might be linked to so many other things over time is because of that strength,” the secretary said. “When you have a president that’s strong, like Donald Trump, you’re going to have a chance to achieve things, whether it’s in Ukraine and ending that war, whether it’s some of the conflicts that we’re now seeing in the Middle East or anywhere in the world, because they know he’s not playing around.”

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“He says he’s going to do it, and then he does it,” Rubio added. “And this is not some president that wastes a lot of time talking about things that he’s never going to do or doesn’t mean to do. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it. And these leaders know it. And so, and hopefully, they’ll bear fruit in a bunch of places beyond just what we’re seeing tonight.”

February 12, 2025
Freed American hostage Marc Fogel lands in US after prisoner swap with Russia

Marc Fogel, an American who had been detained in Russia since 2021, landed back in the U.S. on Tuesday.

Fogel, a history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to the U.S. after his release from Russia following talks with the Trump administration.

He was serving a 14-year sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, which his family said was medically prescribed marijuana.

Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to U.S. soil Tuesday night, after Russia, where he had been detained since 2021, released him following talks with Trump administration officials. (The White House via X)

Fogel was seen in a picture posted by the White House on social media smiling and raising his fist while wrapped in an American flag as he walked off the plane on U.S. soil.

“MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!” the White House wrote on X.

February 12, 2025
American teacher Marc Fogel released by Russia, Trump admin says

An American teacher detained by Russia is heading back to American soil, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.

Lisa Hyland, left, and other family members of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, rally outside the White House for his release, July 15, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (AP)

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

February 11, 2025
Israeli cabinet backs Trump’s demand for Hamas to release all hostages

Israel’s security cabinet fully supports President Donald Trump’s demand that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday or that “all hell is going to break out,” an Israeli official told Fox News.

The declaration comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Tuesday after Hamas announced it is delaying the next release of Israeli hostages.

“The decision I passed in the Cabinet unanimously is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement following the meeting.

“In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, I instructed the IDF last night to amass forces inside and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is currently underway and will be completed as soon as possible,” Netanyahu added.

TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE SHOULD BE CANCELED IF HOSTAGES AREN’T RELEASED BY SATURDAY

Israeli captives, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters on a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“We also welcomed the President’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

Trump said Monday if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and “let all hell break out.”

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.”

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them — not in drips and drabs.”

“Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out,” Trump said.

Trump reiterated his demand on Tuesday and told reporters that he believes Hamas will listen to him.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

Israeli soldiers gather by the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Tuesday, Feb.11. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

“Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations,” Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said.

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings in vehicles, wait at a security checkpoint in the Netzarim corridor while traveling from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel, Brooke Singman, Danielle Wallace, Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

February 11, 2025
Israel slams Palestinian ‘deception scheme’ over claim it halted terror rewards program

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JERUSALEM—The president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) apparently capitulated to the Trump administration by claiming to scrap its long-standing program known as “pay for slay,” which provides payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families.

There are, however, conflicting reports about whether the PA ended the program or is trying to hoodwink the Trump administration.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein released a statement on X saying, “This is a new deception scheme by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue paying terrorists and their families through alternative payment channels.”

JUDGE LETS LAWSUIT CLAIMING BIDEN ADMIN KNEW US FUNDS WERE AIDING PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS MOVE FORWARD

On Monday, the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported that Mahmoud Abbas “issued a decree law revoking the articles contained in the laws and regulations related to the system of paying financial allowances to the families of prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded, in the Prisoners’ Law and the regulations issued by the Council of Ministers and the Palestine Liberation Organizations.”

WAFA noted that, regarding Abbas’ decree, “powers of all protection and social welfare programs in Palestine have been transferred to the Palestinian Economic Empowerment Foundation.” The Times of Israel reported that it had independently confirmed through sources that the revocation happened.

The pay for slay policy gained public attention when Taylor Force, a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan and Iraq was savagely knifed to death by a Palestinian terrorist on March 8, 2016, while on a tour of Israel. President Donald Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in October 2018, after a vigorous campaign by Force’s parents, Robbi and Stuart Force.

“Abbas’ announcement seems to be a ruse aimed at pulling the wool over President Trump’s eyes,” Asher Fredman, a former Israeli government official who now is the executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security, told Fox News Digital.

Flags are placed above the poster of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

‘PAY FOR SLAY’: PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MAY HAVE TO COMPENSATE FAMILIES OF HAMAS TERRORISTS, REPORT SAYS

“It appears that the terrorists and families of terrorists who received payments under the PA’s ‘pay for slay’ program will continue to receive the same payments, simply via a ‘foundation’ under the control of Abbas, rather than via a ministry under the control of Abbas.”

Fredman added, “It remains to be seen whether Abbas truly ends the pay for slay payments, as well as the virulent terror incitement and antisemitism in PA media, schools and summer camps.”

He said the PA announced that the payments to convicted terrorists are moving from the Ministry of Social Development to an independent Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Foundation. The head of the foundation’s board is the minister of social development. The foundation’s general director is also apparently an employee of the Ministry of Social Development, according to her LinkedIn profile. The linkage suggests that the foundation is closely tied to the PA.

Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released from an Israeli prison as part of a ceasefire agreement are greeted in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital, “We will rejoice when the PA stops financially rewarding Palestinian terrorists for murdering and injuring Israelis. Abbas’ statement makes no such commitment. Mr. Abbas, you either support and abet terrorism or oppose and help end it.”

The Times of Israel reported that PA officials informed the incoming Trump administration about its plan to pull the plug on the “pay to slay” program.

The thinking behind the PA’s decision is to curry favor with the Trump administration and avoid the strained relations that existed during the first Trump presidency. After Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city in 2017, Abbas boycotted the Trump administration.

The Times of Israel wrote that Monday’s “decree is Ramallah’s latest effort to improve ties with Washington and amounts to a major victory for Trump, who managed to secure a concession from the PA that repeated U.S. administrations had worked to bring about.”

A security prisoner with his hands tied at a prison in Giv’at Ze’ev, Aug 28, 2024. (Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL)

The PA is based in Ramallah in the West Bank (known in Israel as the biblical region of Judea and Samaria).

Fox News Digital reported after a late 2023 deal involving the exchange of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel for the release of Israeli civilians held by Hamas in Gaza that the freed terrorists would receive monthly payments ranging from approximately $535 to $668 for Jerusalem residents.

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Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), summed up a recent trend of foreign leaders caving to the Trump administration. “I think it speaks to the Trump effect. Foreign leaders fear crossing the president because he knows how to engage in coercive diplomacy, and it produces outcomes which advance U.S. interests like this. Iran and other countries are watching very carefully how the president pressures other governments, and this will shape their decision-making. Thus far, Tehran has been more risk-averse since President Trump has been in office,” he told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital questions to the Palestinian Authority were not answered.

February 11, 2025