INTERNACIONAL
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Refugees in their own country’: Samaritan’s Purse steps into Israel’s war zones with needed relief
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In a country facing war on two fronts, the Christian aid group Samaritan’s Purse is making a big impact.
From building armored ambulance stations to promising a new trauma recovery center on the spot, the U.S.-based Christian humanitarian aid group is stepping into dangerous areas to help people still living with fear every day.
Edward Graham, chief operating officer of Samaritan’s Purse and grandson of Rev. Billy Graham, spent June 2 visiting Israel’s tense northern and southern borders.
He met with survivors, soldiers, medics and local leaders still trying to recover from recent attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas.
EXCLUSIVE: FRANKLIN GRAHAM LEADS CEREMONY AS SAMARITAN’S PURSE GIVES ARMORED ‘BULLETPROOF’ AMBULANCE TO ISRAEL
Edward Graham, COO of Samaritan’s Purse, greets residents of Kibbutz Adamit near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Graham visited missile-hit communities to deliver armored ambulances and encourage rebuilding efforts. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)
«We go where other people don’t or won’t,» Graham said during a visit to Arab al-Aramshe, a northern Israeli village hit by Hezbollah missiles and drones. «Not just because we love you, but because God loves you.»
Before arriving, Graham flew low over the Jordan River Valley, just beyond the West Bank.
«These communities were hit up here, and they are also forgotten about,» he said. «But Samaritan’s Purse hasn’t forgotten them. We’ve got great relationships with local community leaders and churches in the area. These people are hurting. That’s why we’re here — to let Israel know they’re not forgotten. And God bless them.»
Arab al-Aramshe is still picking up the pieces after a deadly drone strike blew the roof off the local community center and killed a man who was trying to protect it. Shrapnel still scars the building. Samaritan’s Purse is building a new ambulance station in the nearby town of Shlomi to serve Arab al-Aramshe and surrounding communities.
ISRAEL HOSTAGE DEAL IN DOUBT AS HAMAS ADDS DEMANDS, US ENVOY CALLS TERMS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’
A string of Israeli flags hangs over the charred remains of a building in Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities during the October Hamas terror attack (Samaritan’s Purse)
«We’re delivering ambulances throughout Israel to support communities like this one,» Graham said. «We’re also building ambulance exchange points, safe places where medical teams can store ambulances and respond to emergencies. It’s about restoring confidence so people feel safe enough to move back.»
«This was a dead zone filled with alarm every day,» said Moshe Davidovitz, mayor of the Matte Asher Regional Council and head of the Northern Conflict Zone Forum. «We don’t just want to fix the place. We want to grow the place … but we need to be able to provide some safety.
«Thousands of people evacuated,» Davidovitz added. «They are refugees in their own country. While they were gone, they didn’t know what happened to their home, to their dogs, everything they left behind.»
That safety is arriving in the form of 42 armored ambulances donated by Samaritan’s Purse to Israel’s national emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA). One of them has already been assigned to Arab al-Aramshe.
Ali Wahid, a senior medic in the area, said the new ambulance makes a big difference.
«We are not afraid to respond. But now we will feel safe when we respond,» he said.
After visiting the north, Graham flew south over the Gaza Strip toward Israel’s southern border.
A poster of a murdered Israeli man hangs on the wall of a burned-out home in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, after the October Hamas terror attack. (Samaritan’s Purse)
«Hamas came out and attacked the communities down here,» he said. «Jewish and Arab communities were hit. Today I’m seeing another ambulance exchange point location. There are still a lot of displaced people. We want to bring back confidence and security, so people can come home.»
In Nir Oz, a kibbutz where one in four residents were either kidnapped or murdered during Hamas’ brutal October 2024 attack, the damage is still overwhelming. Houses are burned and shattered. Posters show the faces of loved ones, including baby Kfir Bibas and 83-year-old grandfather Oded Lifshitz, both killed by Hamas.
«This is where they burned houses, pulled children from their parents, murdered babies,» Graham said, standing in the ruins.
«You see the pictures of the people who are no longer here. Explosions have been going off the whole time I’ve been in this village. But the leaders here are rebuilding. They want to bring people back this summer. And Samaritan’s Purse just committed to help with a community clinic and resilience center.»
Mayor Michal Uziyahu of the Eshkol region walked Graham through the destruction. Her region lost 244 people Oct 7. Half of the hostages still held by Hamas come from her communities.
«Seventy percent of the massacre happened here,» she said. «Every fourth person was either murdered or kidnapped.»
Still, she insists the region will not be defined by terror.
«We are determined to make sure that the tragedy won’t define us,» Uziyahu said. «This place will be filled with life again. The thing terrorists fear most isn’t tanks or fighter jets. It’s the sound of children laughing in our streets.»
Graham, moved by what he saw, offered a simple message.
«There’s been so much pain, murder and brokenness here,» he said. «But I’ve talked to the survivors and asked if they carry hate. And they don’t. They still love their neighbors. They want peace. I don’t even understand that myself. But I ask everyone, please keep praying for Israel. They need your prayers and our support.»
Samaritan’s Purse is building a resilience center in the Eshkol region and another in the nearby Merhavim area, home to about 4,000 children, many of whom have experienced devastating trauma.
«We never define ourselves through the tragedy,» Uziyahu said. «We define ourselves with life and hope.»
Along with the trauma centers, Samaritan’s Purse is building two EMS stations, one near the Gaza border, where residents bled to death during the October attacks because medics couldn’t reach them in time.
The group is also installing 25 bomb shelters across Israel, 11 in the north and 14 in the south.
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In the north, Graham met a mother, Sara Kleiman, and her 5-year-old son. They returned home months after fleeing Hezbollah rocket attacks.
«We try not to think about what could happen,» she said. «But we wanted to come home. This is our home.»
INTERNACIONAL
Nuevo golpe de Ucrania a Rusia: una fábrica química clave para municiones se incendió tras el impacto de un dron
Una planta química clave para la fabricación de explosivos en la región rusa de Tula se incendió en las primeras horas del domingo tras ser impactada por un dron ucraniano, marcando el segundo ataque contra esta instalación estratégica en apenas dos semanas, según informaron autoridades rusas.
El gobernador regional Dmitri Miliáyev confirmó que el incendio en la planta química Azot se desató después de que los restos de un dron ucraniano derribado cayeran sobre la fábrica de nitrógeno y amoníaco, ubicada aproximadamente 200 kilómetros al sur de Moscú. “El fuego fue sofocado”, declaró Miliáyev en un mensaje de Telegram, añadiendo que dos personas resultaron heridas durante el incidente, aunque sus vidas no corren peligro.
La instalación, situada en Novomoskovsk, Tula, representa uno de los mayores fabricantes químicos de Rusia y el segundo mayor productor de amoníaco y fertilizantes nitrogenados del país. Su producción incluye nitrato de amonio, un ingrediente clave en la fabricación de explosivos; metanol, que puede servir como base para combustible de cohetes; y argón, utilizado en la metalurgia de defensa.
Según testigos presenciales citados por canales de Telegram rusos, se escucharon entre cinco y ocho explosiones fuertes durante el ataque nocturno.
El canal de Telegram ucraniano Exilenova+ suguirió que el impacto alcanzó el área de acceso a la tubería principal de la planta, no las unidades de procesamiento directamente. Un trabajador de la planta, en un video supuestamente filmado en el sitio, declaró: “Básicamente, golpeó una tubería — una de gas, una línea de propano.”
El ataque del domingo representa la segunda vez en dos semanas que drones ucranianos impactan la instalación Azot. El ataque previo ocurrió el 24 de mayo, cuando drones alcanzaron una tubería de gas de baja presión en el taller número 4, dañando dos tanques de ácido nítrico de 750 toneladas. Uno de los tanques derramó su contenido al suelo, lo que provocó el cierre completo de la instalación.
La planta Azot representa un objetivo estratégico crucial para las fuerzas ucranianas debido a su papel en la producción de defensa rusa. Según Reuters, Azot suministra materias primas a la planta Sverdlov en la región de Nizhny Novgorod para su uso en la fabricación de compuestos explosivos como HMX y RDX para municiones de artillería.
La compañía también produce cloro, plásticos, resinas, soda cáustica, cloruro de calcio y ácido nítrico, todos componentes esenciales para la industria de defensa rusa.
Las autoridades de Tula confirmaron que el Servicio ruso de protección al consumidor (Rospotrebnadzor) y entidades ecologistas locales están monitoreando la posible contaminación ambiental tras el incendio en la planta química, sin detectar hasta el momento niveles de contaminación superiores a la norma.
El ataque a la planta Azot formó parte de una ofensiva nocturna más amplia de Ucrania contra territorio ruso. El Ministerio de Defensa ruso informó haber derribado un total de 65 drones ucranianos sobre siete regiones rusas y la península anexionada de Crimea durante las operaciones que se extendieron desde las 23:00 hora de Moscú del sábado hasta las 09:00 del domingo.
Los ataques obligaron a tres aeropuertos de Moscú — Domodédovo, Zhukovski y Vnúkovo — a suspender temporalmente sus operaciones, según informó el alcalde de Moscú, Serguéi Sobianin. Los servicios de monitoreo de drones reportaron que Moscú fue atacada desde tres direcciones por el sur y el oeste.
Paralelamente, el sábado drones ucranianos también atacaron una planta de producción de betún cerca de la refinería de Lukoil en Kstovo, en la región de Nizhny Novgorod, aproximadamente 800 kilómetros de Ucrania. El Ministerio de Situaciones de Emergencia ruso confirmó un incendio mayor, señalando que “unidades de producción de betún con un volumen total de 200 metros cúbicos están ardiendo.”
Los ataques marcan la reanudación de la campaña ucraniana contra instalaciones de almacenamiento y procesamiento de combustible rusas, después de una pausa de varios meses y de la exitosa “Operación Telaraña” que golpeó varias bases aéreas rusas.
El viernes 6 de junio, Ucrania atacó el depósito de combustible Kristall de Rosrezerv en Engels, región de Saratov, donde se almacena combustible de aviación para bombarderos estratégicos rusos.
El ataque previo de este tipo había ocurrido el 18 de marzo, cuando drones ucranianos atacaron la terminal de transbordo de petróleo Kavkaz en la región de Krasnodar.
Los ataques se producen en un momento de intensificación del conflicto, con Rusia reportando el domingo que sus fuerzas habían avanzado por primera vez hacia la región industrial oriental de Dnipropetrovsk de Ucrania, marcando una escalada territorial significativa.
El Ministerio de Defensa ruso declaró que fuerzas de una unidad de tanques habían “alcanzado la frontera occidental de la República Popular de Donetsk y continúan desarrollando una ofensiva en la región de Dnipropetrovsk.”
Europe,Military Conflicts,KUPIANSK
INTERNACIONAL
Bold move to keep Americans safe from ‘terrorists’ is basis for US travel ban for some African nations
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President Donald Trump’s restrictions on travel from 10 African countries are being praised by analysts for improving U.S. security internationally and domestically.
The president said on X the travel ban was being introduced after a terror attack against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend, allegedly by an Egyptian man who had overstayed his visa.
In a White House fact sheet, Trump said, «We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country.»
SUSPECT IN BOULDER TERROR ATTACK DETERMINED TO BE EGYPTIAN MAN IN US ILLEGALLY: FBI
President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Feb. 22, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
This point was backed by the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott. In a briefing Thursday, Pigott said, «This is a national security imperative».
But observers believe there is an external, international reason.
«Most, if not all, of the African countries were added to this list either because of extreme instability and thus terrorist havens or because relations between them and the U.S. is either extremely poor or non-existent,» Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of FDD’s Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.
«For instance, the U.S. has been historically hard on Eritrea for its human rights abuses and also alleged support for terrorism. While in Chad, its military regime kicked the U.S. military out of its territory last year, further hurting the U.S. military posture in Africa.»
TRUMP BANS TRAVEL TO US FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES TO BLOCK ‘DANGEROUS FOREIGN ACTORS’
Some of the restricted African countries listed below pose significant potential security concerns for the U.S.
In this Feb. 17, 2011, file photo, hundreds of newly trained al-Shabaab fighters perform military exercises in an area south of Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
SOMALIA
The world’s two principal Islamist terror groups, ISIS and al Qaeda, represented here by Al-Shabaab, both operate openly in Somalia. The White House described it this week as «a terrorist safe haven.»
A briefing note accompanying the travel ban declared, «A persistent terrorist threat emanates from Somalia’s territory. Somalia also remains a destination for individuals attempting to join terrorist groups that threaten the national security of the United States.»
The U.S. Africa Command mounted five air attacks against operators from both groups in just the 12 days up to June 2.
LIBYA
Fighting and subsequent piles of bodies in the streets have been reported in the past month in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The U.N.’s Support Mission in Libya recently posted on X that the situation could «spiral out of control.»
«The historical terrorist presence within Libya’s territory amplifies the risks posed by the entry into the United States of its nationals,» the White House note states, adding U.S. border officials can’t properly vet Libyans because «there is no competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents in Libya.»
SUDAN
Fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a Sudanese rebel group active in Sudan’s Darfur State that supports army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, attend a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state March 28, 2024. (Getty Images)
The U.S. has already imposed sanctions against the leaders of both parties involved in a two-year civil war that has reportedly killed 150,000 and displaced 12 million. The U.S. claims up to 28% of Sudanese overstay their visas.
ERITREA
The criminal records of Eritreans are not available for inspection by U.S. officials. With an overstay rate of up to 55%, the White House also reported that «Eritrea has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.»
CRITICS HAVE MELTDOWN AND ACCUSE TRUMP OF IMPOSING RENEWED ‘MUSLIM BAN’ THROUGH ‘DISGUSTING’ TRAVEL ORDER
CHAD
The West African country is causing concern in Washington as it deepens relations with Russia. Chad President Idriss Deby went to Moscow last year for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was then warmly welcomed in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, for a reciprocal visit. Russia’s shadowy Wagner private mercenary group’s importance in the country is being questioned after three of its members were arrested in September and sent back to Moscow.
In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state-owned agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chad’s Transitional President Mahamat Idriss Deby at the Kremlin in Moscow Jan. 24, 2024. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Banning nationals this week, the U.S. said Chad has had a visa overstay rate of up to 55%. In Chad, President Deby responded by saying, «I have instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens.»
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
People from this West African country have reportedly overstayed their F, M and J visas by up to 70%.
REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Depending on the visa category, up to 35% of citizens in the U.S. are reported to have overstayed their visas.
Overstaying is the main issue for the other African countries whose nationals are partially restricted and now have only limited entry into the U.S.
SIERRA LEONE
Has an overstay rate of up to 35%, and, the White House says, «has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals.»
Libyan protesters gather in Tripoli’s Martyrs Square to call for the resignation of the national unity government May 14, 2025. (Getty Images)
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TOGO
Togo suffers from poor governance, nepotism and widespread corruption, which reportedly goes all the way to the president’s office. Over 50% of the population lives below what’s regarded as the international poverty line. Togo’s nationals have an overstay rate of up to 35% in the U.S.
BURUNDI
Burundi vies with South Sudan for the dubious title of poorest country in the world. Yet soaring inflation has caused a devastating rise in food prices. A former rebel group has led the country for two decades in an climate of political unrest and alleged repression. Burundi’s citizens have an overstay rate of up to 17% in the U.S.
INTERNACIONAL
‘Right down the line’: Medicaid reform in ‘big, beautiful bill’ divides lawmakers by party
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Medicaid reform in President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» has drawn a partisan line through Congress.
Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected, while Republicans have celebrated Medicaid reform through the reconciliation process as an efficient way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare program.
Fox News Digital asked lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum to react to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Medicaid reform. The results were as expectedly divided.
«This is all B.S., what the Democrats are doing,» Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital. «They’re pushing the agenda that we’re cutting 10 million people off Medicaid. It’s people that actually shouldn’t be on it, illegals that shouldn’t be on it. We’re reforming it.»
GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘BLATANTLY FALSE’ DEM CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Democrats have rejected Medicaid reform in President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.» (Getty/AP)
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency that has been ridiculed by Republicans, estimated this week that Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» would leave 10.9 million people without health insurance, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs.
But Republicans are holding firm in their defense of Medicaid reform, which Republicans say only cuts benefits to illegal immigrants, those ineligible to receive benefits who are currently receiving benefits, duplicate enrollees in one or more states and those who are able but choosing not to work.
«The people who would not continue to get Medicaid benefits under this bill were not qualified to get them in the first place,» Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES RESISTANCE FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS OVER DEBT FEARS
President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talk with reporters after a House Republican Conference meeting on the budget reconciliation bill at the U.S. Capitol May 20, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Democrats continue to sound off on the healthcare threat of eliminating 10 million people from Medicaid. Not a single House Democrat voted to pass Trump’s championed legislation, which includes fulfilling key campaign promises like cutting taxes, immigration reform and American energy production.
«These burdensome regulatory requirements for proving that somebody has obtained or sought work are going to mean millions of people will go without healthcare, and the restrictions on food assistance are equally an obstacle to people meeting their everyday needs,» Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.
Blumenthal added he is «very, very concerned about these seemingly cruel and unproductive ways of raising money simply to finance tax cuts» for «wealthy billionaires.»
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said he is happy to have an «honest conversation» about government efficiency and saving taxpayer dollars, but that’s not the reality of this bill.
Congressional Democrats held a rally and news conference to announce their opposition to a Republican plan to cut Medicaid in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
«People are struggling, and I feel like, in the richest, most powerful country in the world, we should be able to make sure that people can have the basic needs they need to be able to survive,» Kim said of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told Fox News Digital there is «nothing beautiful» about Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.»
«This is horrific, and it adds massive amounts to our debt, compromising our ability to [fund] the fundamentals in the future, foundations for families to thrive — health care, housing, education, good-paying jobs. That’s what we should be doing here, not doing massive tax cuts for billionaires and paying for them by tearing down programs for ordinary families,» Merkley said.
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The national debt stands at more than $36.2 trillion as of June 5, according to the Fox Business, based on data from the Treasury Department.
The CBO’s report this week also estimated Trump’s bill will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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