INTERNACIONAL
Edan Alexander’s release offers ‘window of opportunity’ for wider hostage deal amid Trump Middle East visit
American and Israeli officials believe the release of Edan Alexander, 21, presents a «window of opportunity» to free the remaining 58 hostages still held by Hamas after 585 days since their capture on Oct. 7, 2023.
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and hostage envoy Adam Boehler will travel from Israel to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for further negotiations for the release of not only the 24 hostages still believed to be alive, but also the bodies of at least 34 individuals who have been held by the terrorist group including four Americans: Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, and Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai.
In a nearly two-hour meeting with Witkoff, Boehler and the Hostages Families Forum, both officials emphasized that they remain committed to returning all hostages and confirmed they would not be traveling to Doha if they did not believe there was a real chance in advancing negotiations.
Edan Alexander, center, speaks with loved ones following his release. (IDF)
AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY
While Alexander’s return has been championed as a major success story, and both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were reported to have spoken with the Israeli American from a hospital in Tel Aviv, immense concern remains over the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
Though Israel ceased its military operations in the Gaza Strip to secure the safe transport of Alexander on Monday, it has not committed to any continued cessation of strikes.
In Witkoff’s comments to the families of the hostages, he said President Trump would not «tolerate anything other than everybody coming home, and he will be relentless in that pursuit.» He continued, «you saw what happened with the Houthis. You saw what happened when people don’t do well with the United States, we don’t do so well with them. So it’s a message of do what we ask you to do. And you know then things will be better.»
Israeli reports also suggested the envoy may be feeling frustrated with his Israeli counterparts.
«We want to bring the hostages home, but Israel is not willing to end the war. Israel is prolonging it despite the fact that we don’t see where else we can go and that an agreement must be reached,» Witkoff reportedly said during the meeting with the hostage families.
«There is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of,» he was reported to have added. «We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring the hostages home.»
The comments reportedly come following reports that Trump has also grown increasingly frustrated with his Israeli counterpart.
Edan Alexander thanks President Donald Trump in a handwritten message following his release from captivity in Gaza. (The White House)
TRUMP STRAINS RELATIONSHIP WITH NETANYAHU AS MIDDLE EAST POLICY INCREASINGLY ISOLATES ISRAEL
Israel said last week that Trump’s visit to the Middle East would be «the window of opportunity» to secure a ceasefire otherwise it would continue with its newly announced plans to capture all of Gaza, despite immense international pushback and concerns over human rights abuses and violations of U.N.-established borders.
The comments came after Netanyahu prompted immense outcry after he said his number one priority was destroying Hamas, not returning the hostages, despite opposition to the plan by the majority of Israelis.
On Monday, Netanyahu reiterated his intent to «destroy» Hamas while speaking with injured reservists and confirmed that even if Hamas agrees to return the hostages, Israel will continue with its military operations.
People hold posters of hostages during a rally to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, on Oct. 6, 2024 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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«In the coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,» he said.
«It’s possible that Hamas will say, ‘Time out — we want to release ten more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will not be a situation in which we stop the war. There may be a temporary ceasefire, but we’re going all the way,» he confirmed.
Witkoff’s team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
INTERNACIONAL
Rubio slams UNRWA as a ‘subsidiary of Hamas,’ vows it will not ‘play any role’ in delivering aid to Gaza
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Israel shortly after Vice President JD Vance left for Washington, railed against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) amid the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
«UNRWA’s not going to play any role in it,» Rubio said when asked about whether the controversial agency would assist in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. «The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.»
UNRWA demanded in a post on X that it be allowed to do work in Gaza.
«As the largest U.N. agency operating in the Gaza Strip, by far, UNRWA has an unparalleled logistical network, longstanding trust from the community, managing the distribution of supplies based on vulnerability and clear criteria. Our teams are ready, inside and outside Gaza. Let us work,» the agency wrote.
EXPERTS URGE TRUMP TO BAN TERROR-LINKED UN AGENCY FROM HIS GAZA PEACE PLAN
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to a question as he speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on Oct. 24, 2025. (Fadel Senna/Pool via Reuters)
On Oct. 17, days after world leaders backed a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which is where Rubio spoke on Friday.
The CMCC is located in southern Israel and will serve as the main hub for Gaza stabilization efforts. It will also oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement and has an operations floor designed to track real-time developments in Gaza.
During the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) last month, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres spoke at a meeting in support of UNRWA, saying that the agency has «made invaluable contributions to development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security, including for Israel.»
«UNRWA is vital to any prospects for peace and stability in the region,» Guterres added.
UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, Gaza, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
US MILITARY TO OVERSEE NEXT PHASE OF PEACE DEAL FROM COORDINATION BASE IN ISRAEL
However, the U.S. and Israel have taken hard stances against the agency, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
President Donald Trump in February reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to not fund UNRWA.
In the executive order, Trump said that «UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.»
A Palestinian boy walks near an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Gaza City on July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS
In April 2025, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanded Israel work with UNRWA, Washington backed Jerusalem, saying it was under no obligation to work with the agency and had «ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality.»
UNRWA announced in August 2024 the end of an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into whether its staff participated in the attacks, as Israel claimed. Following the probe, which looked into 19 UNRWA staff members, nine staff members were fired over evidence that «could indicate» they were involved in the attacks.
The investigation found one case in which there was no evidence to confirm the staffer’s involvement and nine other cases in which «the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient» to prove their participation, according to UNRWA.
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Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA and Israel’s mission to the U.N. for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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INTERNACIONAL
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Honores militares
El Mayor Ben Tracey, capitán de la Guardia de Honor, junto al rey y el presidente ucraniano. Foto: Reuters
El Rey apoya abiertamente a Ucrania frente a la invasión rusa. Foto: APUn defensor de Ucrania
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Sen. Lankford proposes bill to avoid government shutdowns
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., join ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the failed vote to pay federal workers amid the government shutdown as they enter their first week without pay.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has canceled votes in the House of Representatives for a fourth straight week as the government shutdown shows no signs of ending.
Johnson’s move is a part of his continued pressure strategy on Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have sunk the GOP’s federal funding plan 12 times since Sept. 19, when the House passed the measure.
Sept. 19 was also the last day the House was in session, meaning lawmakers have been largely in their home districts for over a month.
Republicans are pushing a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending levels through Nov. 21 — called a continuing resolution (CR) — aimed at giving congressional negotiators time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, is canceling House votes to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, for refusing to agree to a GOP-led plan to avert a government shutdown. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Democrats, furious at being sidelined in federal funding discussions, have been withholding their support for any spending bill that does not also extend COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are due to expire at the end of this year.
Johnson’s decision was made public on Friday afternoon during a brief pro forma session in the House. Under rules dictated by the Constitution, the chamber must meet for brief periods every few days called «pro forma» sessions to ensure continuity, even if there are no formal legislative matters at hand.
Pro forma sessions can also be opportunities for lawmakers to give brief speeches or introduce legislation that they otherwise would not have.
Democrats have criticized Johnson’s decision, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., telling reporters that House Republicans have been «on vacation for the last four weeks.»
The government is in a shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)
Republicans, however, have largely stayed united behind Johnson as the shutdown continues.
«I mean, if all of a sudden the Senate wants to pass a clean CR, I would imagine there are some options on the table that we can pursue to get things back on track,» said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who presided over the House chamber on Friday.
«I would defer, ultimately, to [leadership’s] decisions for the schedule. But right now, I don’t see any sign that we need to change what has been on the counter.»
But there have been several notable defections. Both Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have made their criticism of Johnson’s strategy known publicly for weeks.
«I believe very strongly that it’s the wrong decision,» Kiley told MSNBC earlier this week, adding House lawmakers were not «doing all the things we’re supposed to be doing» aside from figuring out how to end the shutdown.
BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN
Rep. Kevin Kiley, seen in August 2023, has been critical of Johnson’s shutdown strategy. (Scott Strazzante-Pool/Getty Images)
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Multiple House lawmakers have also raised concerns about being out of session on private weekly calls that Johnson holds with members of the GOP conference.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, was the most recent House Republican to suggest the GOP could be in a stronger position if they were back in Washington, Fox News Digital was told.
«I think the longer that we are out, the messaging is starting to get old,» Van Duyne told fellow House Republicans on their Tuesday call.
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