Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday praised President Donald Trump as the ‘greatest friend’ Israel has ever had, as Hamas released the last 20 living hostages under the new peace deal.
‘No American president has ever done more for Israel,’ Netanyahu said. ‘It ain’t even close.’
He thanked Trump for ‘standing up for Israel’ at the United Nations, recognizing Israel’s rights in the West Bank — or the Judea and Samaria — and withdrawing from the ‘disastrous’ Iran nuclear deal.
‘Thank you for supporting Operation Rising Lion and for your bold decision to launch Operation Midnight Hammer,’ Netanyahu said, referring to the June strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. ‘Boy, you got to hear this — this is the most fitting name ever given to a military operation, because a little after midnight, you really hammered them.’
Netanyahu announced that he has nominated Trump to be the first non-Israeli recipient of the Israel Prize, which he described as the nation’s ‘highest award.’
During his own speech, Trump said of Netanyahu with a smile, ‘He’s not easy — not the easiest guy to deal with — but that’s what makes him great.’
After Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages, which resulted in two years of fighting in Gaza and left tens of thousands estimated dead, Israel and Hamas agreed to a breakthrough peace deal last week after months of mediation by Trump administration officials.
The prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas began Monday, with Hamas releasing the final 20 living hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The release was part of a sweeping 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the conflict and rebuilding Gaza. So far, only four of the 28 presumed dead hostages have been returned.
Under the agreement, Israel halted military operations and withdrew to pre-defined lines while preparations began for a complete hostage exchange. Hamas members who renounce violence will be granted amnesty or safe passage, while those who continue resistance will be excluded from Gaza’s future governance.
Humanitarian aid — including critical supplies, infrastructure repair, and medical support — will flow freely into Gaza under the supervision of the United Nations, the Red Crescent, and other neutral organizations.
Gaza’s governance will transition to a technocratic Palestinian committee overseen by an international ‘Board of Peace’ chaired by Trump, alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other global leaders. This body will manage Gaza’s redevelopment until a reformed Palestinian Authority is prepared to take control.
A Trump-led economic development plan will seek to attract international investment and transform Gaza into a ‘thriving modern miracle city,’ supported by a special economic zone with preferential trade terms. The plan promises that no residents will be forced to leave Gaza, emphasizing voluntary participation in rebuilding efforts.
Security arrangements include the creation of a U.S.-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) to train Palestinian police, secure borders, and oversee disarmament. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza but will gradually withdraw as security milestones are met. Regional partners, including Egypt and Jordan, will help ensure compliance and prevent the resurgence of militant threats.
Thousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.
As packages flagged for customs issues pile up in UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it has begun “disposing of” some shipments.
Frustrated UPS customers describe waiting for weeks and trying to make sense of scores of conflicting tracking updates from the world’s largest courier.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Matthew Wasserbach, brokerage manager of Express Customs Clearance, said of the UPS backlog. “It’s totally unprecedented.”
Wasserbach’s New York City-based shipping services firm helps clients move shipments through customs. He said the company has seen a spike in inquiries for help with UPS customs clearance.
A Boeing 747 operated by UPS on the tarmac at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky during a winter storm on Feb. 3, 2022.Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
More than two dozen people who are waiting for their UPS packages explained the circumstances of their shipments to NBC News.
They described shipments of tea, telescopes, luxury glassware, musical instruments and more — some worth tens of thousands of dollars — all in limbo or perhaps gone.
Others have deep sentimental value: notebooks, diplomas and even engagement rings.
The frustration has exploded online, with customers sharing horror stories on Reddit of missing skin care products, art and collectibles.
They are confused and angry, and they want answers.
“It’s almost impossible to get through to anybody to figure out what is happening,” said Ashley Freberg, who said she is missing several boxes she shipped via UPS from England in September.
“Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?”
Freberg’s boxes of journals, records and books were shipped on Sept. 18, according to tracking documents she shared with NBC News.
Over the next two weeks, she received two separate notifications from UPS that her personal mementos had not cleared customs and as a result had been “disposed of” by UPS.
Then, on Oct. 1, a UPS tracking update appeared for her packages, saying they were on the way. The tracking updates Freberg showed NBC News for that shipment revealed it was the most recent update she had received.
UPS transport jets wait to be loaded with packages at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Ky., on April 27, 2021.Timothy D. Easley / AP file
While sentimental value is impossible to measure, other customers fear they will not be able to recover financially if their goods were destroyed.
Tea importer Lauren Purvis of Portland, Oregon, said five shipments from Japan, mostly containing matcha green tea and collectively worth more than $127,000, were all sent via UPS over the last few weeks and arrived at UPS’ international package processing hub in Louisville, Kentucky. Purvis has yet to receive any of the shipments, only a flurry of conflicting tracking updates from UPS.
A series of notifications for one shipment, which she shared with NBC News, said that the shipment had not cleared customs and that UPS had disposed of it.
But a subsequent tracking update said the shipment had cleared customs and was on the way.
“We know how to properly document and pay for our packages,” Purvis said. “There should be zero reason that a properly documented and paid-for package would be set to be disposed of.”
At least a half-dozen people described an emotional seesaw they were put through by weeks of contradictory UPS tracking updates about their shipments. The updates, they said, compounded the stress of not knowing what had really happened to their possessions.
A UPS Boeing 767 aircraft taxis at San Diego International Airport, in San Diego, Calif., August 15, 2025.Kevin Carter / Getty Images file
AJ, a Boston man who asked that NBC News use only his initials to protect his privacy, said he shipped a package from Japan via UPS on Sept. 12 including Japanese language books, a pillow and a backpack.
After it sat in Louisville for nearly two weeks, AJ got a tracking update on Sept. 26, one of several that he shared with NBC News. “We’re sorry, your package did not clear customs and has been removed from the UPS network. Per customs guidelines, it has been destroyed. Please contact the sender for more information,” it read.
UPS tracking updates for a package shipped from Japan to the United States.Obtained by NBC News
Three days later, on Sept. 29, he received another, and this one read: “On the Way. Import Scan, Louisville, KY, United States.” For a moment, it appeared as though AJ’s shipment might have been found.
But less than 24 hours after his hopes were raised, another tracking update arrived: “We’re sorry,” it began. It was the same notice that his package had “been destroyed” that he had received on the 26th.
Two minutes later, he got his final update: “Unable to Deliver. Package cannot clear due to customs delay or missing info. Attempt to contact sender made. Package has been disposed of.”
International shipping was thrown into chaos after the long-standing “de minimis” tariff exemption for low-value packages ended on Aug. 29.
Packages with values of $800 or less, which were previously allowed to enter the United States duty-free, are now subject to a range of tariffs and fees.
They include hundreds of country-specific rates, or President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, as well as new levies on certain products and materials.
President Donald Trump holds a chart as he speaks about reciprocal tariffs at a ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ event at the White House on April 2.Brendan Smialowski / AFP – Getty Images file
The result is that international shipping to the United States today is far more complex and costly than it was even two months ago.
The sweeping changes have caught private individuals and veteran exporters alike in a customs conundrum.
It is difficult to know the exact number of the packages that are stuck in UPS customs purgatory. Shipping companies guard their delivery data closely.
UPS reported to investors that in 2023, its international service delivered around 3.2 million packages per day.
This week, the company told NBC News that it is clearing more than 90% of the packages it handles through customs on the first day.
The rest of the packages, or less than 10%, require more time to clear customs and need to be held until they do. That could easily mean that thousands of UPS packages every day are not clearing customs on their first try.
In a statement to NBC News, UPS said it is doing its best to get all packages to their destinations while abiding by the new customs requirements.
“Because of changes to U.S. import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance,” it said.
UPS said it makes several attempts to get any missing information and clear delayed shipments, contacting shippers three times.
“In cases where we cannot obtain the necessary information to clear the package, there are two options,” it said.
“First, the package can be returned to the original shipper at their expense. Second, if the customer does not respond and the package cannot be cleared for delivery, disposing of the shipment is in compliance with U.S. customs regulations. We continue to work to bridge the gap of understanding tied to the new requirements and, as always, remain committed to serving our customers.”
A conveyor belt carries envelopes and small packages past UPS workers to their destinations at Worldport on Nov. 20, 2015.Patrick Semansky / AP, file
NBC News asked UPS precisely what it does with packages when it tells customers their shipments have been unable to clear customs and have been “disposed of.” It would not say.
On Sept. 27, a shipper in Stockholm received a formal notification from UPS that two packages her glassware company sent to the United States — which failed to clear customs — would be destroyed.
“We are sorry, but due to these circumstances and the perishable nature of the contents, we are now required to proceed with destruction of the shipment in accordance with regulatory guidelines,” UPS told Anni Cernea in an email she shared with NBC News.
The email continued, “There is no need to contact our call center for further information or to attempt to clear this shipment.”
Cernea said, “It’s just outrageous that they can dispose of products like this without approval from either the sender or recipient.”
From now on, Cernea said, she plans to ship her products via UPS rival FedEx.
Cernea’s decision to switch carriers hints at the worst-case scenario for UPS, which is that people could abandon the company. It is a potential crisis for the roughly $70 billion company.
The company’s stock price is already down more than 30% this year, which analysts attribute to a mix of tariffs, competition and shifting shopping habits.
As she awaits her missing journals and diplomas from England, Freberg is looking ahead to the biggest shipping months of the year.
“I can’t even imagine how bad the holidays are going to be, because that’s a time where loads of people are shipping stuff overseas,” she said.
“If it doesn’t get solved soon, I can only see it becoming an even bigger issue.”
Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation are pressing their two Democratic senators to end the ongoing government shutdown, casting their opposition to the GOP’s funding bill as ‘radical and harmful’ to residents of the Empire State.
The government shutdown has entered its eleventh day with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward. Thousands of government workers, including members of the military and federal law enforcement, are set to miss their first paychecks next week barring a breakthrough.
‘You have abdicated your responsibility to New Yorkers. By consistently voting against the clean Continuing Resolution (CR), you have shut down the government with no willingness to reopen operations,’ seven House Republicans wrote to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
‘Throughout both of your decades in federal office, you have consistently supported clean CRs as a way to keep the government funded and open until Congress can pass bipartisan spending bills.’
The Republicans accused their senators of changing course now ‘to spite President Trump and congressional Republicans,’ and called it ‘a disservice to our nation and our institutions.’
‘In fact, both of you have been vocal about your past opposition to shutdowns and the dangers they wreak on the American people,’ they wrote.
The letter is being led by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and is signed by the six other House Republicans representing parts of New York: Reps. Nick Langworthy, Nicole Malliotakis, Claudia Tenney, Nick LaLota, Elise Stefanik, and Andrew Garbarino.
The House passed a measure to keep the government funded at levels roughly even to fiscal year (FY) 2025 through Nov. 21 — called a continuing resolution (CR) — on Sept. 19, mostly along party lines.
But Democrats in the House and Senate were largely infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks and are now demanding any spending deal also include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.
Democrats have argued that a failure to act on those subsidies now will lead to higher health care premiums for millions of Americans by the end of the year.
Republican leaders who control the House and Senate have said they are willing to hold negotiations on those subsidies, but have insisted the CR must be ‘clean’ without any policy riders. CRs are aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term funding deal for FY2026, which began on Oct. 1.
Schumer had been under particular pressure from his left flank to resist the GOP’s plan after his vote was key to helping advance the same bill in March, which extended FY2024 federal funding levels through Sept. 30.
‘Just last year in 2024, you said that no reasonable member on either side of the aisle wants a government shutdown. I agree, Senator, your position now is unreasonable,’ the House GOP’s Saturday letter read.
The CR has now failed in the Senate seven times. Under the most recent tallies, five more Democrats would be needed to cross the aisle and meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to break the filibuster and advance the bill to a final vote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer and Gillibrand’s offices for a response but did not hear back by press time.
President Donald Trump secured a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas this week that will end the war in Gaza and return the hostages, two years after the terrorist network attacked Israel Oct. 7, 2023 — all while the U.S. government remains in a shutdown due to a stalemate in the Senate.
The president made the announcement on his Truth Social platform Wednesday.
‘I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,’ the president posted. ‘This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!’
The president said the day of the agreement was ‘a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen.’
‘BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ he posted.
According to Israeli officials, the living hostages are expected to be released in a single phase within 72 hours. The return of the bodies of deceased hostages will take longer, but Israel insists on their inclusion in the deal.
Trump warned that if Hamas did not agree to the deal, Israel would have the full backing of the U.S. to carry out its operational plans in Gaza.
Moments before the president’s announcement, photos emerged from the negotiation room in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, showing senior officials embracing and shaking hands as reports indicated significant progress toward a hostage release deal. Retired Israeli Defense Forces Major General Nitzan Alon was seen shaking hands with Qatar’s prime minister, with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in the background.
On the other side, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and other senior officials appeared smiling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, ‘With God’s help, we will bring them all home.’
Netanyahu added in a statement in Hebrew, translated: ‘A great day for Israel. Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home. I thank the heroic soldiers of the IDF and all the security forces — thanks to their courage and sacrifice we have reached this day. I thank from the bottom of my heart President Trump and his team for mobilizing for this sacred mission of freeing our hostages. With God’s help, together we will continue to achieve all our objectives and expand peace with our neighbors.’
The terrorist organization Hamas announced in an official statement, ‘After responsible and serious negotiations conducted by the movement and the Palestinian resistance factions regarding President Trump’s proposal in Sharm el-Sheikh, with the aim of ending the war of extermination against our Palestinian people and the withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, Hamas announces the reaching of an agreement that ends the war on Gaza, provides for the withdrawal of the occupation, allows the entry of aid and implements a prisoner exchange.’
‘We greatly appreciate the efforts of the mediators in Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and thank U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to bring about a final end to the war and the full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip. We call on President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic and international parties to oblige the government of the occupation to fulfill all the agreement’s commitments, and not to allow it to evade or delay implementation of the accords.’
Trump is now expected to travel to the Middle East Sunday amid continued peace negotiations.
‘I may go there, sometime toward the end of the week. Maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see,’ Trump said Wednesday from the White House as he kicked off a roundtable discussion event focused on the left-wing radical group Antifa.
‘We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also,’ Trump added. ‘But it’s something I think that will happen. Got a good chance of happening.’
Meanwhile, the government shutdown continued this week, as Senate lawmakers again failed to reach a budget agreement.
Now, senators have left Washington, D.C., and plan to return to Capitol Hill early next week, as Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber remain in a stalemate.
Lawmakers voted deep into the night Thursday on the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which advanced on a largely bipartisan vote. But the $925 billion package, which authorizes funding for the Pentagon, effectively was the last hurrah for the week in the upper chamber.
While there was discussion of putting the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), along with congressional Democrats’ counter-proposal, on the floor for one last vote, the plan never came to fruition. Both likely would have failed for an eighth consecutive time.
The president has slammed Democratic leaders for shutting down the government amid one of ‘the most successful economies.’
Trump said he is ‘happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and most Democrats say they won’t support funding the government unless Congress agrees to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.
Meanwhile, the president also saw two of his political foes face federal indictment this week.
Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty to two counts of making a false statement in the jurisdiction of the legislative branch and one count of obstructing a congressional investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe.
Comey’s trial is set to begin Jan. 5, 2026.
And Thursday evening, New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted for mortgage fraud.
A federal grand jury in Virginia charged James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment centers on James’ purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors allege she falsely claimed it as a second residence to secure better loan terms before leasing it to tenants.
James has denied wrongdoing, describing the charges as ‘political retribution.’
‘These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,’ James said in a statement.
Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said James faces up to 30 years in prison per count, up to a $1 million fine on each count and forfeiture if she’s convicted.
‘No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,’ Halligan said. ‘The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.’
A prominent Hamas leader lost his temper and stormed off from a live interview after being pressed on the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks — and the devastating impact of the subsequent war in Gaza.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas’ longtime foreign-relations chief and a co-founder of the terror group, tried to justify his organization’s crimes by saying that Hamas ‘fulfilled its national duty’ and acted as ‘resistance to occupation’ in an interview on Arabic television.
The host shot back and questioned whether the Hamas attacks had helped the Palestinian cause and if they had achieved anything meaningful for the Palestinians, according to The Jerusalem Post.
‘Was what you did on October 7 to lead the Palestinians to liberation?’ the host asked in the Friday night interview.
Marzouk, who is based in Qatar and is one of Hamas’s founding members, bristled and insisted the question was disrespectful and that a small group of fighters could never ‘liberate’ Palestine on its own.
‘No sane person would claim that on October 7, with just a thousand or so fighters, it was possible to liberate Palestine,’ he said.
The journalist then continued, saying: ‘I am asking you the questions that are being asked on the streets of Palestine, by the residents of Gaza.’
As the exchange grew tense, Marzouk snapped.
‘These are your questions! Show some respect for yourself. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. Cut it out. Cut it out. Go to hell!’ he said.
Marzouk’s comments, which aired on the Egyptian-based Pan-Arab Al-Ghad’s ‘With Wael,’ quickly spread across social media and came amid growing infighting and turmoil within Hamas as the war comes to an end.
Once seen as a polished Hamas spokesperson, Arab commentators saw his on-air outburst as a signal of a widening rift among the organization’s leadership as Gaza lies in ruins.
Jamal Nazzal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian political and nationalist movement Fatah, slammed Marzouk’s remarks.
Nazzal said his comments were ‘a disgrace that exposes the moral and political bankruptcy of a crumbling group that can no longer look people in the eye,’ according to The Jerusalem Post.
Earlier this year, Marzouk expressed regret over the Oct. 7 attacks, telling The New York Times he would not have supported the attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza.
‘If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been Oct. 7,’ he said.
Marzouk has been described in multiple reports as a billionaire, though his exact fortune remains unclear.
In a statement posted after The New York Times’ story, Hamas said that the comments were ‘incorrect’ and taken out of context.
The Israeli government approved and signed the first phase of the President Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza overnight Thursday. The agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Former President Joe Biden is entering a new phase of treatment for the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with in May.
Biden is now undergoing radiation therapy, a spokesperson for the former president told Fox News on Saturday. Previously, he had been receiving routine scans, the spokesperson added.
‘As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,’ the spokesperson said.
Biden was diagnosed four months ago with an ‘aggressive form’ of metastatic prostate cancer after health officials detected a prostate nodule following increasing urinary symptoms. His office said the disease, though aggressive, is hormone-sensitive, meaning it may be effectively managed.
Biden, who turns 83 years old next month, also underwent surgery on Sept. 4 to remove cancerous skin cells through a procedure known as Mohs surgery, according to his spokesperson.
During his presidency, Biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest, the White House previously said. Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor noted in February 2023 that a biopsy of skin tissue taken during a health assessment revealed cancerous cells, all of which were successfully removed.
Biden, who became the oldest U.S. president to serve in office, had placed a major focus on cancer treatment.
While in office, he and former first lady Jill Biden revamped the ‘Cancer Moonshot’ initiative to accelerate progress in cancer research. The project aimed to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years.
In 1988, Biden had two life-threatening brain aneurysms at 45 years old. Doctors said he had a 50% chance of surviving while serving as a U.S. senator for Delaware.
Biden’s surgeries were successful, and there have been no reports of an aneurysm since.
The news of Biden’s radiation treatment comes as President Donald Trump was reported to be in ‘excellent overall health,’ according to a memo released by the White House on Friday.
Trump underwent a routine semiannual physical last week at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
In the evaluation summary, the president’s physician, Navy Capt. Sean P. Barbabella, stated that Trump, ‘remains in exceptional health, exhibiting strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, and physical performance.’
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.
On Oct. 6, Albanian Appeals Court Judge Astrit Kalaja was shot inside the Tirana courtroom where he oversaw a property dispute case, according to the International Commission of Jurists. Kalaja died of his wounds, and two others were injured in the shooting. The 30-year-old suspect has been arrested.
Kalaja’s killing quickly became a lightning rod for nationwide dissatisfaction with the Albanian judiciary.
Former Albanian Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Agim Nesho told Fox News Digital that reforms implemented almost a decade ago by the European Union and the U.S. were ‘intended to strengthen the rule of law,’ but have been ‘transformed into a political instrument, undermining democratic institutions and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.’
‘As a result,’ Nesho said, ‘the public’s confidence in the justice system has severely eroded, with institutional dysfunction reaching a level where some segments of society feel driven to take justice into their own hands — a dangerous sign of democratic backsliding.’
Opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha told Fox News Digital that Kalaja’s killing was ‘an abominable act and an alarm bell that should not be ignored.’
Berisha said that the ‘evident support that the act has garnered,’ including the creation of a now inactive GoFundMe to support the killer’s legal rights, demonstrates ‘protest against a dysfunctional judiciary, against a corrupt and politicized judicial system.’
Berisha said judicial reforms ‘left the country without a Constitutional Court and without a High Court for more than five years,’ creating a ‘staggering backlog’ of around 200,000 cases. He said that the process of vetting judicial personnel turned into ‘a witch-hunt against magistrates that were perceived [to be] independent or potentially right-leaning.’ According to Berisha, this led to the ‘weaponization of the judiciary against the opposition.’
A 2020 report on U.S. assistance to Albania describes American and EU efforts to ‘restore the integrity of the Albanian justice system.’ The report states that USAID assisted the High Court with creating a procedure to manage 72% of its 35,000 backlogged cases. It also stated that 125 of 286 judges and prosecutors put through vetting procedures had ‘been dismissed for unexplained wealth, ties to organized crime, or incompetence,’ while 50 judges chose to resign rather than go through vetting.
Berisha claimed that in the aftermath of reforms, it now takes about 15–20 years for the resolution of legal disputes. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ Berisha said.
Lawyer Besnik Muçi, formerly a prosecutor and a judge in the Constitutional Court of Albania, told Fox News Digital that judicial reforms aimed ‘to establish a credible, fair, independent, professional, service-oriented justice system that is open, accountable and efficient.’ He said that the Albanian justice system ‘has failed in almost all’ parameters.
Muçi said the courts’ backlog consists of about 150,000 cases. He also noted that the closure of five appeal courts and some district courts has ‘almost blocked the citizens’ access to justice.’ He also explained that most court buildings do not ‘meet…the security conditions and standards necessary.’
‘Citizens do not believe in the justice system,’ Muçi said.
After Kalaja’s murder, the Korça Bar Association and National Bar Association of Albania boycotted court proceedings on Oct. 9 and 10. Korça Bar Association Director Nevzat Tarelli told Albanian news station CNA that Kalaja’s killing highlighted the need for increased security for and trust in judicial personnel. He also said that ‘people who expect justice in a timely manner, if they do not receive it, no longer have faith in justice.’
Engjëll Agaçi, general secretary of Albania’s Council of Ministers, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about nationwide discontent with the judiciary or the size of Albania’s court case backlog.
A State Department spokesperson declined to respond to questions about the success of U.S.-backed judicial reform efforts in Albania or address the issues that Kalaja’s killing has highlighted.
‘We offer our deepest sympathies to the victims of this attack and their families and strongly condemn the use of violence against judges and prosecutors,’ the spokesperson said.
A prominent Hamas leader lost his temper and stormed off from a live interview after being pressed on the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the devastating subsequent war in Gaza.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas’ longtime foreign relations chief and a co-founder of the terror group, tried to justify his organization’s crimes by saying Hamas ‘fulfilled its national duty’ and acted as ‘resistance to occupation’ in an interview on Arabic television.
The host shot back and questioned whether the Hamas attacks had helped the Palestinian cause and if they had achieved anything meaningful for the Palestinians, according to The Jerusalem Post.
‘Was what you did on Oct. 7 to lead the Palestinians to liberation?’ the host asked in the interview Friday night.
Marzouk, who is based in Qatar and is one of Hamas’s founding members, bristled and insisted the question was disrespectful and that a small group of fighters could never ‘liberate’ Palestine on its own.
‘No sane person would claim that on Oct. 7, with just a thousand or so fighters, it was possible to liberate Palestine,’ he said.
The journalist then continued, saying, ‘I am asking you the questions that are being asked on the streets of Palestine by the residents of Gaza.’
As the exchange grew tense, Marzouk snapped.
‘These are your questions. Show some respect for yourself. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. Cut it out. Cut it out. Go to hell,’ he said.
Marzouk’s comments, which aired on the Egyptian-based Pan-Arab Al-Ghad’s ‘With Wael,’ quickly spread across social media and came amid growing infighting and turmoil within Hamas as the war comes to an end.
Once seen as a polished Hamas spokesperson, Arab commentators saw his on-air outburst as a signal of a widening rift among the organization’s leadership as Gaza lies in ruins.
Jamal Nazzal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian political and nationalist movement Fatah, slammed Marzouk’s remarks.
Nazzal said his comments were ‘a disgrace that exposes the moral and political bankruptcy of a crumbling group that can no longer look people in the eye,’ according to The Jerusalem Post.
Earlier this year, Marzouk expressed regret over the Oct. 7 attacks, telling The New York Times he would not have supported the attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza.
‘If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been Oct. 7,’ he said.
Marzouk has been described in multiple reports as a billionaire, though his exact fortune remains unclear.
In a statement posted after The New York Times’ story, Hamas said that the comments were ‘incorrect’ and taken out of context.
The Israeli government approved and signed the first phase of the President Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza overnight Thursday. The agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
President Donald Trump railed against Democrats over the ongoing government shutdown Saturday, and said he is directing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to make sure military service members get paid next week.
‘Chuck Schumer recently said, ‘Every day gets better’ during their Radical Left Shutdown,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘I DISAGREE! If nothing is done, because of ‘Leader’ Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.’
He said he had directed Hegseth ‘to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.’
‘I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown,’ he added. ‘The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
The government shut down on Oct. 1, after Democrats and Republicans failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government, with Democrats concerned that expiring Affordable Care Act tax cuts could raise premiums and that Medicaid cuts could leave people without coverage.
Trump on Monday blamed Democratic lawmakers for the shutdown, saying he’d be ‘happy to work with the Democrats on their failed healthcare policies’ once the government reopens.
‘Democrats have SHUT DOWN the United States government right in the midst of one of the most successful economies, including a record stock market, that our country has ever had,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘This has sadly affected so many programs, services, and other elements of society that Americans rely on — and it should not have happened.’
‘I am happy to work with the Democrats on their failed healthcare policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our government to re-open,’ he added.
Schumer recently told Punchbowl News: ‘Every day gets better for us,’ regarding the Democrats’ shutdown strategy.
He added, ‘It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30 and we prepared for it … Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.’
Republicans have blamed Schumer for the shutdown, saying it was meant to appease the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, particularly in his home state as Zohran Mamdani maintains the lead in New York City’s mayoral race and buzz swirls regarding Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is potentially challenging Schumer in the next primary. She has not formally declared a Senate bid.
‘Chuck Schumer just said the quiet part out loud: Democrats are gleefully inflicting pain on the American people over their push to give illegal aliens free health care,’ White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital.
Schumer recently shared with Fox News Digital remarks he made on the Senate floor.
‘Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown, the worse it gets for Americans — and the clearer it becomes who’s fighting for them. Each day our case to fix healthcare and end this shutdown gets better and better, stronger and stronger because families are opening their letters showing how high their premiums will climb if Republicans get their way. They’re seeing why this fight matters — it’s about protecting their healthcare, their bank accounts and their futures.’
Two years ago, I was kidnapped by Boko Haram. They held me captive, and every day I prayed that I would see my family again. By a miracle of God, I was able to escape.
Sadly, most Christians who are captured by this terrible organization never live to tell their stories. And unless the West intervenes, kidnappings like mine — as well as killings — will only increase in my country, spread across the African continent and threaten the rest of the world.
Today, as I travel throughout Nigeria providing relief as part of my work with iReach Global, I see that the violence has only grown—spreading like wildfire across the middle of my country, leaving behind a trail of ashes, mass graves and shattered lives.
This year has brought wave after wave of coordinated attacks in Central Nigeria. More than 7,000 Christians have been killed. Entire villages — most of them Christian farming communities — were razed. Families now live in makeshift camps, traumatized and uncertain if they’ll ever return home.
In early April, multiple coordinated assaults in the Bokkos area claimed hundreds of lives within a week. One community alone reported 52 deaths in a single attack, with thousands forced to flee.
Later that month, in an area called Bassa, at least 51 people were slaughtered in a pre-dawn raid. The attackers came silently, setting homes ablaze and killing entire families as they slept. In Riyom, ambushes and targeted killings continued for months afterward. In one case, a bus full of passengers was stopped and attacked — 12 people killed on the spot.
These are not random acts of violence. They are systematic, coordinated attempts to erase Christian communities from the region.
As someone who has walked through burned villages and prayed with survivors, I can tell you the reality is even worse than the statistics suggest. I’ve seen mothers weeping beside mass graves. The smell of smoke from the smoldering remains of churches and schools still clings to my clothes. I’ve also spoken with children who no longer sleep through the night because they fear the next attack will come for them.
This is not simply a matter of ‘clashes’ between farmers and herders, as government officials sometimes claim. It is a campaign of terror. It’s ethnic and religious cleansing disguised as conflict over land.
And yet, the Nigerian government continues to downplay the crisis — failing to provide protection, food or medical care to the displaced. Some local leaders even warn communities not to speak to the media. But silence will not save us.
I’ve seen mothers weeping beside mass graves. The smell of smoke from the smoldering remains of churches and schools still clings to my clothes.
The Nigerian government bears the primary responsibility to protect its people. That must begin with immediate and adequately resourced security deployments to protect vulnerable communities — especially during planting and harvest seasons when farmers are most exposed. Humanitarian corridors must be opened to deliver food and aid to thousands now living in desperate conditions.
Independent investigations are also essential. Impunity is the oxygen that fuels these killings. Perpetrators must be identified and prosecuted—no matter their political connections or tribal affiliations.
At the same time, Nigeria’s political class must stop turning our suffering into campaign slogans. I’ve heard politicians invoke the blood of victims as talking points during election campaigns while refusing to act. This must end. The lives of our people are not bargaining chips.
The United States and other Western nations cannot look away. They have both the moral obligation and the diplomatic tools to press Nigeria toward real accountability. I believe the U.S. State Department must reinstate Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern for egregious violations of religious freedom. This would send a clear signal to my government that the world is watching, and the killing of Christians in Nigeria will not be ignored.
In addition, international partners should expand support for independent investigations and humanitarian assistance. I have visited many of these camps; the needs are immense. In some camps, families survive on one meal a day, drinking from muddy puddles, with no one to treat their wounds. Children go months without schooling. The international community can help fund the rebuilding of homes and provide psychosocial support for those who have endured unspeakable loss.
The victims of these attacks are not soldiers or combatants. They are farmers, families, children and elders. They want nothing more than to live in peace, tend their fields and worship freely. Yet they have become targets of a campaign of hate.
If urgent action is not taken, we risk watching entire Christian communities vanish from Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Not only that, but the reign of terror will continue to grow across the Sahel region of Africa and could ultimately threaten global security.
And the silence of the world will be remembered as complicity.
As someone who has survived the terror of Boko Haram and now witnesses this unfolding genocide, I plead with the global community: Do not look away. The suffering here is real, and it is growing.
Nigeria is bleeding. But it does not have to be this way. With courage and help from the international community, we can still stop the slaughter and begin the long work of rebuilding.
