Democrat ‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib is now calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘genocidal maniac,’ prompting a sharp rebuke from the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. 

‘Genocidal maniac Netanyahu is burning Palestinians alive, bombing hospitals, starving people, and killing aid workers,’ the Michigan representative wrote Monday night in a post on X. 

‘When will our country stop funding this madness? When?’ she added. 

Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon responded to her by writing ‘The only ones who burned children alive were your buddies over at Hamas.’ 

Tlaib is one of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics in Washington. 

Last week, she wrote on X ‘The war crimes being committed by the government of Israel are being funded by our own country while families at home suffer from displacement due to hurricanes and growing poverty. Our country is obsessed with war and destruction.’ 

When the Israeli prime minister delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress in July, she silently protested for much of it, holding up a double-sided sign that read ‘guilty of genocide’ on one side and ‘war criminal’ on the other. 

Fox News Digital observed a member of the House sergeant-at-arms’ staff speaking to Tlaib multiple times during the speech, after which she put the sign down. 

Prior to Netanyahu’s July 24 address, Tlaib released a statement saying ‘Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people.  

‘It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,’ she said at the time. 

Fox News’ Alexander Hall contributed to this report. 

A dramatic, months-long campaign season is drawing to a close as the clock ticks closer to Election Day, according to a new message from House Republicans to voters.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s campaign arm, released a new digital ad on Tuesday marking 21 days until the election.

It comes as Republican Party operators at the state, federal and local level work overtime to convince supporters to vote early, particularly in pivotal swing states like Georgia and North Carolina that have been ravaged by Helene this storm season.

The ad features audio clips from the entire House GOP leadership suite – Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson – as well as former President Trump.

Trump’s voice opens the video with, ‘Republicans must win, and we must use every appropriate tool available to beat the Democrats. They are destroying our country.’

‘I don’t care when you vote, but you’ve got to vote,’ Trump says in the video.

Meanwhile, clips of vulnerable Republicans, like Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., flash across the screen interspersed with the word ‘vote.’

It’s set against a portion of ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith, per an airing viewed by Fox News Digital.

‘In 21 days, Americans will cast their ballots to end Democrats’ dangerous, far-left socialist agenda for our country. Every trip to the grocery store, fentanyl death or crime committed in a family’s neighborhood should give voters another reason to record their vote in this critical election,’ NRCC rapid response director Macy Gardner told Fox News Digital.

Early in-person voting is kicking off in four states this week. Georgia can head to the polls before Election Day from Tuesday through Nov. 1, while North Carolina begins early voting on Thursday. Voters in Iowa and Kansas are also heading to the polls.

Republican Party officials have been working overtime to convince their base to vote early after Democrats walloped the GOP with non-Election Day voters in 2020.

Those efforts will be particularly critical in North Carolina and Georgia, both states hit hard by Hurricane Helene and where the election is expected to be close.

Getting likely voters to head to the polls early, Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon explained early this month, frees up resources closer to Election Day to convince ‘low propensity voters’ to turn out as well.

‘All of that requires resources. That requires money – put mail in the mailbox, ads on television, telephone calls to their home, knocking on their door. We’re trying to do all of those things,’ McKoon told Fox News Digital.

As Election Day approaches, scammers are finding new ways to deceive voters. Several media reports are highlighting a new scam where people receive a text message falsely claiming they are not yet registered to vote. Election officials are warning Americans to be cautious of these scam messages, as more are expected to circulate in the weeks leading up to the general election.

What you need to know

The local Channel 4 affiliate WDIV in Detroit warned about a new text message wave in late August that could prevent registered voters from casting their ballot. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a similar incident around the same time, warning Pennsylvanians to be wary of potential scam text messages targeting voters.

A spokesperson for the Department of State said voters should expect more of these messages to be sent in the weeks leading up to the general election.

‘Voters should be aware that opportunistic bad actors may attempt to use this campaign season to send phishing or smishing emails/texts,’ Matt Heckel, a spokesperson for the department, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Both these reports and several others refer to a text message that is linked to the site all-vote.com: ‘We have you in our records as not registered to vote. Check your registration status and register in 2 minutes.’

How do you know if the text is a scam?

For one, the domain all-vote.com isn’t associated with the government. Another clue is that even people who were already registered to vote in their state received this message. WDIV even interviewed a seventh-grader from Canada who said he also got the text, despite not being eligible to vote.

A quick search on Who.Is lookup shows the domain was registered on July 10, 2024, definitely a red flag. KrebsOnSecurity mentioned that some of these texts are also linking to another domain, votewin.org, which asks for your name, address, email, date of birth and phone number when you visit.

They even pre-check boxes to sign you up for more notifications. The government doesn’t need all that info from you. To register to vote or to update your voter registration, all you need to do is visit vote.gov and select your state or region.

5 ways to avoid election text scam

: If you receive a message from an unknown number or an unexpected source, especially one claiming urgency (like registering to vote), it could be a scam.

: Scammers often use fake links that appear legitimate but redirect you to phishing websites. Always hover over links or check the domain carefully. In the case of ‘all-vote.com,’ if it’s not a well-known or official site (like .gov for U.S. voting), it’s worth being suspicious.

: Many scam messages contain typos, awkward phrasing or grammatical mistakes. This can be a red flag for phishing or scam attempts.

: Legitimate organizations typically don’t ask for sensitive information like Social Security numbers, bank details or passwords via text. Scams often do.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious texts, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

Kurt’s key takeaway

As Election Day gets closer, it’s essential to stay alert to scams like these. If you receive a suspicious text about your voter registration, remember to check the details carefully. Look out for unofficial domains like all-vote.com or votewin.org, which have nothing to do with the government. Always head to trusted sites like vote.gov to confirm your status. Scammers are getting creative, but knowing the signs can help you avoid getting caught up in their traps.

Do you think the government is doing enough to protect voters from scams like these? Let us know by writing us at

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a swipe at President Biden’s administration Tuesday, stating firmly that Israel – not the U.S. – will decide how best to retaliate against Iran’s recent aggression.

Biden administration officials have urged Israel to show restraint against both Iran and Hezbollah, the terrorist proxy group operating in Lebanon. Netanyahu’s regime has mulled action against Iran since it fired roughly 200 missiles into Israeli territory on Oct. 1.

‘We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest,’ Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu issued the statement following a report from the Washington Post claiming that the Biden White House was confident that Netanyahu was in a ‘more moderate place’ now than in recent weeks.

White House officials say Israel has assured the U.S. that it will not target Iran’s oil or nuclear facilities, however. That agreement came after Biden and Netanyahu held a phone call last week and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli officials this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly told Israeli officials earlier this month that the U.S. expects ‘clarity and transparency’ about Israel’s plans, specifically regarding any retaliation against Iran for the latest missile attack.

Vice President Kamala Harris also wouldn’t say whether she thought the administration had influence over Netanyahu in an interview last week.

Nevertheless, Biden approved the Pentagon to send an advanced missile defense system to Israel this week, along with roughly 100 U.S. soldiers to operate it.

Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) has previously been deployed to Israel in 2019, but only for an exercise, Pentagon officials say. The system helps bolster Israel’s defense against more sophisticated missiles in Iran’s arsenal.

‘The THAAD Battery will augment Israel’s integrated air defense system. This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran. It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,’ the Pentagon said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel demanding it improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk losing crucial security assistance. 

The letter was supposed to be a private, diplomatic communication and was not intended for the public, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said at a press conference Tuesday. 

‘What we have seen over the past few months is that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustained,’ adding, ‘Ultimately, we did not see our concerns sufficiently addressed, which is why the two secretaries sent the letter they did,’ Miller warned.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to assuage fears and told reporters that the letter was not meant as a threat. ‘The letter was simply meant to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel and the seriousness with which we feel about the need for an increase, dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance. And that’s what you can do with your friend. That’s what you can do with your ally. And it’s not the first time we’ve communicated that to Israel. But hopefully we won’t have to communicate it again.’

Some critics took issue with the letter not being a threat. 

‘I’m not sure which is worse to consider, that threatening an ally is a necessary pre-election political theater to pacify radical pro-Hamas leftists or that it’s actually U.S. policy to cut off arms to Israel if Israel doesn’t agree to feed, fuel and fund Hamas,’ Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former NSC official in the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital.

‘Because let’s be clear, that’s what this is really all about – whether Hamas survives by controlling humanitarian aid and its distribution,’ Goldberg said.

The letter, which was first obtained by Axios, expressed its ‘deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza’ and is particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government, including halting commercial imports and denying or impeding nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September, are ‘contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza.’

Since assurances made by Israel last spring, which the letter acknowledges produced important improvements in the humanitarian situation, the amount of aid delivered to Gaza has dropped by 50% in September, the lowest amount of aid delivered in any month since the war began.

The letter says Israel has within 30 days to ‘reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory’ and remain consistent with its obligations to the U.S. Failure to comply with these demands, the letter said, would violate existing U.S. law and have serious implications for U.S. national security policy.

Israel has defended its humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza in a statement released on Monday by COGAT, the army division that deals with aid to Gaza, stating, ‘Since the start of the war, Israel has allowed the international community to bring 54,270 aid trucks into Gaza, carrying 1,064,820 tons of humanitarian aid through various crossings, including 38,746 trucks carrying approximately 824,078 tons of food.’

The U.S. must continually assess the delivery of humanitarian aid under the Foreign Assistance Act in order to provide foreign military financing assistance to Israel. President Biden issued a memorandum in February stating countries receiving U.S. weapons must adhere to international humanitarian law and provide written assurances of their compliance under the laws of war.  

The U.S. has surged billions of dollars in security aid to Israel since the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel is also the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding and has received around $310 billion in economic and military aid. On average, the U.S. provides Israel with over $3 billion in security assistance a year. 

A major component of security aid includes $500 million a year for joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense programs, notably the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow II, which have been critical to thwarting rocket and missile attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran since Oct. 7.

Some of the military aid to Israel since Oct. 7 includes 13,981 120mm M830A1 high-explosive anti-tank multi-purpose with tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges, 500 aircraft deliveries and 107 sea shipments to Israel of over 50,000 tons of munitions and weapons systems, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The U.S. also announced that it would be sending military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Israel to bolster the country’s security.

‘The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States’ commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran,’ the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said in a statement.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, over 40,000 people have been killed since the start of hostilities following the terror group’s massacre of Israelis last October. Some 1,200 Israelis were massacred and 257 were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. All of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and 1.9 million people are internally displaced, according to the International Rescue Committee.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday took umbrage at remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he stated that Israel was created by the United Nations. 

Macron was speaking to his cabinet when he said, ‘Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the U.N.,’ referring to the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 to partition Britain’s Palestinian mandate into separate Jewish and Arab states.

‘Therefore, this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the U.N.,’ he added.

Israel accepted the partition plan while the Palestinians rejected it. Hours after declaring its independence on May 14, 1948, armies from the surrounding Arab countries attacked Israel, which won the war a year later. 

‘A reminder to the French President: It was not a UN decision that established the State of Israel but the victory that was achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of our heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, including from the Vichy regime in France,’ Netanyahu read from a statement in response to Macron’s comment. 

Macron’s remarks came as he called for an end to arms exports to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in an effort to create conditions for a cease-fire. 

The call for an arms embargo comes amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s unprovoked attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and its military operations in Lebanon, following a year of rocket fire from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. 

Earlier this month, Netanyahu criticized Macron and other Western leaders for calls to stop the flow of arms. 

‘As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side, yet President Macron and other western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them,’ Netanyahu said in a statement. 

He continued, ‘Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, on the Houthis, on Hamas and on its other proxies? Of course not. This axis of terror stands together, but countries who supposedly oppose this terror axis call for an arms embargo on Israel.’

He called their stance a ‘disgrace,’ saying that Israel would win ‘with or without their support, but their shame will continue long after the war is won.’

On Oct. 6, Macron said France would no longer supply arms to Israel, although it would continue to send missile defense equipment.

‘I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,’ Macron said in an interview, according to Euro News.  

The U.S. is now more deeply entrenched in the conflict in the Middle East after a pivotal move to send troops to Israel was announced this week. 

On Monday, the Biden administration revealed it would offer Israel one of the U.S.’s highly sophisticated THAAD missile defense systems – as Israel braces for potential Iranian retaliation to the counter-attack it is planning after Tehran rained down missiles on Tel Aviv on Oct. 1. 

Only U.S. troops can operate the system, and 100 of them will deploy to Israel. The Pentagon only has seven operable Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries in its possession, and the one offered to Israel would presumably be among the seven. 

Though Washington has armed Israel throughout its existence, putting boots on the ground for Israel’s defense is a rare departure from U.S. policy and the first U.S. deployment there since the outbreak of war after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. 

‘It’s a bit unprecedented,’ said EJ Kimpton, policy director at the U.S. Israel Education Association. 

‘Israel’s mantra has been, you know, with ‘Never Again,’ meaning we will defend ourselves by ourselves, obviously working with allies, but that we should be able to defend our country and not be dependent upon others,’ Kimpton went on. ‘It changes the dynamic between the U.S. and Israel in Israel’s war fighting over the years.’

‘This would be the first time that U.S. personnel would be actively engaged in essentially fighting a war with Israel if Iran were to carry out additional strikes.’  

From pushing Israel to a cease-fire, the U.S. has pivoted to containing the war in the Middle East, to seemingly accepting the fate of U.S. involvement in the conflict. 

The U.S. has some 43,000 troops deployed elsewhere in the Middle East and recently sent a ‘few thousand’ to the region within the last few weeks to be ready to defend Israel if necessary.  

‘It’s inescapable to see it as anything else [than escalation], the United States is now actually sending troops. We did not do that in Ukraine,’ Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told Fox News Digital. 

Sending U.S. troops to Ukraine is a non-starter in American discourse – a popular refrain among supporters is that such aid will prevent U.S. troops from ever having to put themselves in Russia’s line of fire. 

‘We may end up having American casualties, and to put soldiers in that type of vulnerable situation for something that is not the defense of the United States itself, I think, is a very serious step taken by the administration,’ said Parsi.

In the past, Iranians have targeted military installations, including Israeli air defense systems. The THAAD system is expected to be able to intercept ballistic missiles launched from Iran and Yemen and shoot down any short-range missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon. 

Others question why the administration is supplying the system with no real off-ramp to the conflict or U.S. involvement in it. Israel’s mission to eradicate Hezbollah and Hamas has now drawn it into direct conflict with Iran, and hope for peace anytime soon appears to have faded.

‘Why are we keeping U.S. troops in harm’s way in Iraq and Syria with no clear mission or defensive strategy, while deploying critical defense systems like THAAD to Israel?’ Jason Beardsley, senior coalitions adviser to Concerned Veterans for America, questioned. 

‘The reality is, we’re funding both sides of this conflict – directly aiding Iraq, whose Iranian-backed militias target our forces, and indirectly supporting Israel’s defense without addressing the real vulnerability: U.S. personnel scattered across the Middle East, with Iran’s proxies actively targeting our troops.’

The U.S. has some 2,500 troops in Iraq leading a coalition that provides extensive support to the Iraqi Security Forces to fight ISIS. But Iran has already tightened its grip on Baghdad and the mission its forces carry out. 

The THAAD will assist Israel’s other missile defenses in what could be the Biden administration bracing for escalation: an aggressive counter-attack from Iran to an aggressive counter-attack from Israel. 

For two weeks, the world has waited to see how Israel responds to the 200 missiles Iran fired at the heart of Tel Aviv. 

A violent showing from Israel might deter Iran from wanting to pick a larger battle. But in the Biden administration’s view, a disproportionate response risks a tit-for-tat that could lead to all-out war. 

President Biden may have offered the system as a way to coax Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow his recommendation: to make sure Israel’s counterstrike to Iran’s missile attacks is ‘proportional’ – by going after military installations – not nuclear or oil facilities. 

‘I think the administration may be thinking that by offering this, they can convince the Israelis not to go that far,’ said Parsi. 

‘If you truly want to put an end to this, then sending the same system that actually makes it easier for Israel to escalate is not the answer…  Sometimes, it’s really difficult to discern who is actually making the policy and what is the policy.’

Netanyahu told Biden he was willing to strike military facilities when they spoke on the phone last week, according to a Washington Post report. But after that report, Netanyahu said in a statement he would not be making any decisions based on Biden’s insistence on proportionality. ‘We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest.’