November 12 | Israel tightens hold on Hamas terrorists in Gaza amid cease-fire calls

Over 100,000 people took to the streets in Paris on Sunday to protest the rise in antisemitism taking place since Oct. 7, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel to execute a deadly massacre.

As of the day before the protests, French officials had counted 1,247 antisemitic acts in the country since Oct. 7, which is about triple the number of antisemitic acts during 2022, according to the Interior Ministry.

The Associated Press reported that many elected officials attended the protest, including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, and representatives of parties on the left, conservatives and centrists of President Emmanuel Macron’s party, though Macron himself did not attend.

Click here to read the full article by Greg Wehner

The U.S. military retaliated over recent attacks on American bases by bombing two facilities in eastern Syria, a senior U.S. official tells Fox News.

Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stations in the Middle East were hit on Sunday night. One was an IRGC training facility, while the other was used by IRGC proxy forces.

Sunday night’s airstrikes were the third set of retaliatory attacks against Iranian proxies on behalf of the U.S. since October 27.

American forces have been attacked in the Middle East dozens of times since mid-October, with terrorists firing drones and rockets towards bases.

Fox News Digital’s Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

A senior European Union official criticized Hamas and urged them to release hostages as soon as possible amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Josep Borrell Fontelles, who serves as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made his plea on X on Sunday.

“As EU & its 27 member states, we are gravely concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” his post read. “We call for immediate pauses in hostilities and the establishment of humanitarian corridors, so that humanitarian aid can safely reach the population of Gaza.”

“We call on Hamas to immediately & unconditional release all hostages,” he added.

Fontelles also accused Hamas terrorists of using civilians as “human shields” and making the humanitarian crisis worse.

“We condemn the use of hospitals and civilians as human shields by Hamas,” Fontelles continued. “Civilians must be allowed to leave the combat zone. Hostilities are severely impacting hospitals & taking a horrific toll on civilians.”

Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren emphatically rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war on Sunday, claiming that it would mean “death” for Israel.

Oren appeared on “Fox News Live” on Sunday to discuss the war, which has evolved into an aggressive Israeli offensive in Gaza.

“The major thing is to keep resisting pressure for a ceasefire. And that pressure is mounting,” he explained. “And Hamas knows it, it wants civilians to get killed. It wants hard pictures, pictures coming out of Gaza in the press. And those will trigger protests.”

Despite calls for a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, Oren said that Hamas would “get away with mass murder” if a truce was called now.

“A ceasefire for Israel, and I mean this, there’s no hyperbole: a ceasefire means death,” he argued. “And so we need our American allies to keep running that interference for us from the world and give us time to fight the enemy that we need to destroy.”

IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht appeared on “Fox News Live” on Sunday to discuss the latest developments with the Israel-Hamas war, which recently entered its second month.

Hecht stressed that the war is a fight between “dark against good,” and said that the chaos around the world is at a “biblical scale.”

“This is a war, and it’s not only with Hamas, although that’s our focus,” he said. “And I think our prime minister hit the nail on the head. That is something a bigger, larger scale, historic scale.”

Hecht also reported that the IDF is “closing in” on Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

“We countered it, we contained them and they were closing in on them,” he explained. “And very cynically, they’re now moving to the hospitals, which are the most sensitive locations.”

The spokesperson also said that the biggest challenge of his job is to “keep remining the world what we’re up against.”

“To see the pure horror and ruthless ruthlessness of how they slaughtered and killed babies, mothers, kidnaped grandmothers ridiculed the hostages through the streets of Gaza…This is this is something different. This is something different,” Hecht explained.

A Jewish school in the Canadian city of Montreal was the target of gunfire early Sunday for the second time in a matter of days, antisemitic acts the city’s mayor says cannot be accepted.

Bullets struck the Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal in Quebec city’s Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, a Montreal Police spokesperson told the CBC. Officers arrived and found impact marks from gunfire on the building and shell cases nearby.

While it was unclear whether anyone was inside the building at the time, no injuries were reported. Police said no arrests have been made.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante wrote on X that such acts of violence will not be accepted in the city.

“The @SPVM is fully mobilized to shed light on this event and find the culprits,” the mayor wrote. “We absolutely must combat anti-Semitism. All Montrealers have the right to feel safe.”

Yeshiva Gedola and the Talmud Torah Elementary School were both the targets of gunfire on Wednesday night, police previously said.

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed his opposition to an “immediate” cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas on Sunday.

Scholz made the comments
during a televised debate organized by German newspaper Heilbronner Stimme. The comments signify that Germany remains stanchly in the Israel-U.S. camp after French President Emmanuel Macron bent to pressure and called for a cease-fire this weekend.

“I don’t think the calls for an immediate ceasefire or long pause — which would amount to the same thing — are right,” Scholz said during the debate. “That would mean ultimately that Israel leaves Hamas the possibility of recovering and obtaining new missiles.”

Scholz joined the U.S. in calling for humanitarian pauses instead, something that Israel has begun implementing.

Five U.S. service members were confirmed to have died when their military aircraft crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Saturday morning during a routine training mission, military officials said Sunday.

U.S. European Command (EUCOM) said the aircraft “suffered a mishap” and crashed into the sea during a routine air refueling mission. Search and rescue efforts began immediately, including nearby U.S. military aircraft and ships. All five service members on board the aircraft were determined to have died.

An investigation into the crash is underway, though military officials have said that there are no indications of any hostile activity involved.

President Biden said in a statement that he was mourning the loss of the five service members.

“Our service members put their lives on the line for our country every day,” the statement said. “They willingly take risks to keep the American people safe and secure. And their daily bravery and selflessness is an enduring testament to what is best in our nation.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report

Israel attempted to deliver 300 liters of fuel to the Shifa hospital in Gaza on Sunday, but Hamas authorities blocked the fuel from reaching the facility, Israeli Defense Forces say.

Pro-Palestinian groups have sounded alarms for weeks at the conditions inside Gaza’s hospitals. Doctors and administrators have warned of dwindling supplies, with fuel being a key resource to keep the facility’s systems running. The IDF says it attempted to deliver a fuel shipment to the hospital early Sunday morning, but Hamas officials “forbade” it.

The IDF released audio of a phone call that they say indicates that Hamas Health Ministry director Yosef Abu Rish blocked the delivery.

Last week, Rish had lamented at the hospital’s lack of fuel supply.

“We are just trying to keep the hospital working… Even the admin part now, as you see, it’s in complete darkness,” he said in a recording obtained by CNN. “All the other services directly related to the electricity will stop. For example, the oxygen generator, as there is no fuel, it stopped.”

Retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran Lt. Col. Jon Myers discussed how Israel plans to evacuate babies from a Gaza hospital above Hamas terror tunnels on ‘FOX & Friends Weekend.’

Myers noted that Hamas has a long history of hiding its weapons caches, headquarters and other key infrastructure near or underneath civilian thoroughfares like hospitals, schools and playgrounds.

President Biden’s administration has said the the reality of Hamas cruelty makes Israel’s job harder, but does not lessen Israel’s responsibility to minimize civilian casualties in the conflict.

British transportation police released images on Sunday while seeking to
identify those involved in a “racially aggravated altercation” captured on camera at a London metro station while the city was swarmed by hundreds of thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza on Saturday.

The London Metropolitan Police had earlier said it was “aware of the videos filmed in Waterloo and Victoria stations yesterday which show unacceptable abuse including anti-Semitic language, as well as threatening behavior,” adding that British Transport Police (BTP), which polices the transportation system including stations, was leading the investigations.

In releasing four images on Sunday, British Transport Police (BTP) said officers were looking to speak with the men depicted “following a racially aggravated altercation at Waterloo Station yesterday, 11 November.” The message on X said police believe the individuals in the images “may have information that could help their investigation.”

The four men were depicted in a video circulated online calling out “terrorists f—ers, mate,” and “f—, you, you terrorist c—” and other remarks toward a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside the Waterloo station. Appearing to have come in contact with someone off camera, one of the men yelled, “who are you f—ing hitting?” and appeared to go after the other group before a friend intervened and pulled him away. Someone calls out to them, “You’re disrespectful to all the dead.”

“F—, off, we were born in this country! We were f—ing born in this country” one of the men whose photo was released calls out. The person recording on a cell phone says from behind the camera, “I was born here too,” before a female voice comes over the loudspeaker asking if police are in the station.

The demonstrations and counter-protests came the same weekend Britain honors its war dead with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day. 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog discussed the pause in fighting, responded to international criticism and calls for a cease-fire, and sent a message to U.S. lawmakers regarding aid packages during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will take over the security of Gaza following the war against Hamas. Herzog acknowledged that the Palestinian people “don’t like us, but they don’t like Hamas either.”

Israeli officials have said they do not plan on a longterm occupation of Gaza, however.

The U.S. and Israel are unsure of how many hostages that Hamas terrorists took on Oct. 7 are “still alive,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.

Sullivan made the comments during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” He said the U.S. remains focused on securing the release of the nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. green card-holder believed to be in Hamas custody. He said that while Israel is classifying all 239 missing individuals as hostages of Hamas, there is no way to be sure how many of them are “still alive.”

“We do not know the precise number of hostages. We know the number of missing, and that’s the number the Israelis have given, but we don’t know how many of those are still alive,” Sullivan told ABC. “As far as Americans are concerned, there are nine missing American citizens as well as a missing legal permanent resident–a greencard holder.”

Sullivan said he will be meeting with family members of the missing Americans later this week.

Sullivan was later asked about claims from Hamas that Israeli airstrikes have killed a number of hostages taken on Oct. 7. He responded that no claims by Hamas should be taken at face value, but also said the U.S. has no way to disprove or confirm the claim.

An Israeli tank commander from the country’s minority Druze community, who was killed in combat in Gaza, should serve as a symbol for all Israelis that in order to defeat darkness the country must unite, the father of the soldier, the highest-ranking military officer to be killed so far, told Fox News Digital.

Lt. Col. Salman Habaka was hailed as a hero
following Hamas’ surprise mass terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7 after commandeering two tanks and heading to battle thousands of Palestinian terrorists even before his own commanders realized what was happening. Less than four weeks later, on Nov. 2, Habaka, 33, was killed in action by a Hamas sniper as Israeli forces deepened their ground incursion into Gaza.

Stories of heroic acts committed by Israelis in stopping Hamas terror atrocities have shone a spotlight on some of the country’s minority communities who also played their part in preventing more terror. Israel’s non-Jewish population is around 20%, including Muslim, Christian and Druze, an esoteric, monotheistic religion that incorporates elements of all Abrahamic religions and other philosophies.

“On the morning of Oct. 7, we had a family event planned,” Habaka’s father, Emad Habaka, told Fox News Digital from his home in the Druze village of Yanuh Jat, in northern Israel. “I called him to check if it was still going ahead but he told me that he had to go back to his base immediately. When I asked him why, he just told me to turn on the TV.” 

While the elder Habaka, like most other Israelis, was still trying to figure out what was happening in southern Israel, along the border with the Gaza Strip, his son – already a decorated IDF commander – was speeding to his base in the Negev desert to retrieve his tank.  

“He somehow understood what was going on and even though he received no orders from his commanders, he decided to get his tank and head into battle,” said the father, 60, describing Salman, a father of one, as a modest and respectful person who always did whatever he could to help other people.  

Fox News’ Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this report

FOX News contributor and reporter Sara Carter asked pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City this question in a “Hannity” exclusive.

“Is Hamas a terrorist organization? No one would answer that question,” she said.

The terrorist organization Hamas has run Gaza’s government since canceling elections in 2006. They attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostages, according to the Israeli military. 

Israel subsequently declared war on Hamas, killing more than 11,000 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, with 40% of them being children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. 

Protests have erupted over the conflict in New York City, throughout the U.S., and around the world. 

Carter interviewed counter-protesters in NYC holding photos of the Israeli hostages. One told her, “It’s not about Palestine or Palestinians per se. It’s about Hamas. And unfortunately, I would say most of these people cannot differentiate between the two.” 

A pro-Palestinian protester told Carter, “We want the hostages to be safe, and we want Gaza to stop being bombed.” 

Another responded to Carter’s question by saying, “you don’t get it.”

A Jewish counter-protester told Carter, “I’m not scared. This is my city. This is my country. And they are not going to take it away from me,” with Carter noting her position as being “very brave.”

Fox News’ Amanda Cappelli contributed to this report

London police blamed “right wing” groups for violence at a massive pro-Palestinian march in London on Sunday.

Protesters in the march, said to involve some 300,000 people, shouted anti-Israel slogans
and waved Palestinian flags. Police say a small number of “right wing” counterprotesters incited violence at the event, however.

Clashes between the counter-protesters and police resulted in nine injured officers. Police also reported 126 arrests.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a slogan calling for the destruction of Israel. While the protest was onstensibly in favor of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, protesters could also be heard chanting “long live the intifada,” which calls for continued war against Israel.

Israeli Defense Forces say multiple Israeli citizens were injured after terrorist forces in Lebanon launched several anti-tank missiles into Israel on Sunday.

The IDF did not specify the number of Israeli casualties, but reports have stated that one person received critical injuries and several others were seriously injured. The attack targeted the community of Dovev in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, according to the Times of Israel.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, claimed responsibility for the attack soon afterward.

Two teaches at a Los Angeles-area charter school have been suspended after teaching 1st graders that Israel was commiting a “genocide” agaisnt Palestinians while teaching the course inside a synagogue, according to a Saturday report.

The Citizens of the World charter school rents space from the Adat Ari El Synagogue. Issues first arose when teachers at the school complained of Israeli flags being flown on the Synagogue grounds following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel., according to the New York Post.

After receving complaints from teachers, the school’s principal, Hye-Won Gehring, emailed Senior Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei.

“I know that this is a time to hold your community close, and perhaps the flags are intended for that–but do you know how long they will be up?” Gehring wrote.

Schuldenfrei took offense at the email, and later discovered that two teachers had shared a lesson on “human rights” with first grade students that claimed Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, the Post reported.

The teachers reportedly shared details of the lesson on social media.

“After the lesson, one fo the teachers proudly shared on Instagram, and I quote, ‘LOL but I did a lesson on the genocide in Palestine today w my first graders,” Schuldenfrie said, according to the Post. “The teacher went on to boast: ‘My fav was a kid who was like ‘What if they just gave the land back to Palestine and find somewhere else to live.”

Both teachers involved in the incident have since been suspended, but not fired. Gehring on Friday announced a two-week absence to undergo sensitivity training.

Amid the Israel-Hamas war, a group of American cowboys traveled to Israel in an act of goodwill to help farmers harvest their crops.

Montana cowboy John Plocher joined “Varney & Co.” live from Israel to discuss his trip, detailing the extensive efforts his group has made to help the community regain a sense of normalcy. 

Plocher traveled to Israel with three Montanans and one cowboy from Arkansas through an evangelical Christian volunteer-based operation called HaYovel.

“Well, what we’re doing is we’re out here in Judea and Samaria,” Plocher explained. “What they’re doing is they’re supporting the farmers and the Jewish communities out here in Judea and Samaria. They’re bringing things, essential supplies needed for the communities around here so that what happened on the attack here recently doesn’t happen out here.”

“They’re bringing in bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, security drones, stuff to keep these communities safe. So what we’re doing is, we’re distributing supplies. We’re working on a warehouse here on base. We’ve been out in the communities helping with just regular tasks, just stuff where they’re – all the men have been called up for the draft. So, we’ve been working on some of the farms around here and stuff like that.”

FOX Business’ Stuart Varney joked that the cowboys would “stick out like a sore thumb” in Israel, a sentiment that rang true according to Plocher, who said they had been stopped and asked to take pictures with locals multiple times. 

Fox News’ Kayla Bailey contributed to this report

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says the Israeli military found an Arabic copy of Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ in a children’s room used as a base by Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza this weekend.

Herzog made the comments in an interview with the BBC on Sunday, holding up the book for inspection. The president said the book showed signs of personal use.

“This is Adolf Hitler’s book, ‘Mein Kampf,’ translated into Arabic,” Herzog told the outelt. “This is the book that led to the Holocaust and the book that led to World War II.”

“The terrorist wrote notes, marked the sections, and studied again and again, Adolf Hitler’s ideology to hate the Jews, to kill the Jews, to burn and slaughter Jews wherever they are. This is the real war we are facing,” he added.

“After the massacre and atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 — the day on which the largest number of Jews were murdered since the Holocaust — this is another revelation that testifies to the sources of inspiration of the terrorist organization Hamas, and proves once again that all its actions have the same goal as the Nazis — the destruction of Jews,” Herzog’s office wrote in a statement.

More than 300 faculty members at the University of California, Los Angeles, signed a letter demanding the institution denounce campus protests endorsing Hamas terrorists’ attack against Israel if speakers at the demonstrations incite violence.

The faculty explained
that people may take different sides on the complex situation between Israel and the Palestinians, but that Hamas’ massacre “should be condemned irrespective of political views.” The letter said UCLA leadership must “make the strongest possible statements” condemning the attacks and that there is no room for moral equivalence, “both-sideism” or ambiguity.

“[W]hile we all cherish the First Amendment and its guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly, UCLA must ensure that any hate speeches and celebrations of the Hamas massacre by students and faculty on our campus are prevented from crossing the line from protected speech to unlawful incitement,” the letter reads. “We were horrified to see Pro-Palestinian rallies on campus in which the massacres by Hamas were celebrated, including explicit calls for violence (including chanting ‘Intifada’ or event advertisements featuring images of weapons/violence).”

More than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel in decades on Oct. 7, prompting a military response from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his counterparts in Israel and Ukraine on Saturday as the U.S. government continues to support the two countries in their respective wars.

In speaking to Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Austin reiterated
U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself while also pointing out the need to protect civilians and deliver humanitarian relief to people impacted by the war against Hamas terrorists.

Austin “reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and reiterated the importance of both protecting civilians and delivering humanitarian relief,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a readout of the call. “He emphasized the need to contain the conflict to Gaza and avoid regional escalation.”

The secretary also separately spoke over the phone with Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov about Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, which has been ongoing since February 2022.

In the call with Umerov, Austin discussed the latest battlefield developments, security assistance priorities and plans for the next Ukraine Defense Contact Group scheduled for later in November, according to Ryder.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that it was preparing to assist the evacuation of babies from a Gaza hospital where two newborns reportedly passed away.

Palestinian officials say that fuel shortages at Al-Shifa Hospital caused at least two babies to die, with dozens more at risk. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry estimates that over 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.

“There has been a lot of misinformation from Gaza today, so I want to clarify the facts,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “There is no siege, I repeat, there is no siege on the Shifa Hospital. The east side of the hospital is open on Al-Wehda street, for the safe passage of Gazans who wish to leave the hospital.”

“We’re speaking directly and regularly with the hospital staff,” he added. “The staff of the Shifa Hospital has requested that tomorrow we will help the babies in the pediatric department get to a safer hospital. We will provide the assistance needed.”

Plastic surgeon Ahmed al-Mokhallalati told Reuters that the hospital had been bombarded for over a day, and around 500 patients were stuck there.

“It’s totally a war zone,” he said. “It’s a totally scary atmosphere here in the hospital.”

Reuters and Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.