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Stranded American in Bahrain recounts surviving reported Iranian strike on high-rise building, pleads for help
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As the conflict between the United States and Iran enters its second week, flight cancellations and airport closures have rippled across Middle Eastern airspace, leaving many Americans abroad scrambling to find a way home.
Stranded American citizen Yahir, who was in Bahrain when the conflict erupted, told Fox News Digital he had a close call over the weekend when an alleged Iranian drone slammed into the lower floors of a high-rise building where he was staying. The building was a luxury residential tower that reportedly housed many American tourists and U.S. Navy personnel likely stationed with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquartered near the capital, Manama.
Yahir, from Los Angeles, said that despite witnessing terrifying scenes of the conflict and experiencing one firsthand, he is still waiting for help getting home, claiming local U.S. embassies and State Department officials have put him through a maze of logistical hurdles with no clear next steps.
«Two days ago, my building was hit,» Yahir said, referring to Fontana Infinity, located in Manama. «I was in the building at the time and, of course, the whole building shook. It felt like an earthquake.»
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Fire erupts from a high-rise tower in Manama, Bahrain, following a reported strike. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
«It was a shock, but it makes sense because everyone living there was American besides a few Russians here and there, but Fontana was full of American Navy,» he added.
Yahir added that he has witnessed horrific scenes of Iranian drones and missiles reportedly striking not only military targets but also civilian areas, triggering powerful explosions and sending massive plumes of smoke billowing into the air.
«We saw right in front of our faces, the drone hitting it,» Yahir said, describing the moment he witnessed a building being struck. «I remember everyone around there was crying. They were evacuating all the buildings. People were crying. It felt really devastating.»
A reported Iranian jet flies over Bahrain at night amid escalating regional tensions. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Impacts have reportedly become a daily occurrence, with some blasts feeling like earthquakes that would violently shake nearby areas.
«The interceptors were hitting the missile and the ground shaking. You’ll feel that every day at this point,» he said. «It’s been literally everyday.»
The chaos in the region has reportedly led to residents receiving numerous daily alerts of incoming missiles on their phones. Each warning forces civilians to take immediate shelter, Yahir said, recalling one instance when he had to shelter in the basement of a well-known mall, The Avenues, for more than an hour.
«At this point, I’m thinking I even get them when I’m sleeping and it wakes me up,» he said. «I feel like over ten times a day we get those alerts.»
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A massive hole is visible in the Bahrain high-rise where Yahir was staying following a strike in Manama. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
The ongoing missile strikes have profoundly affected daily life in Bahrain, turning once-bustling areas into virtual «ghost towns.»
Yahir said his friends have stopped going to work, and that shops are either fully closed or closing far earlier than usual.
He added that the heightened security presence is palpable across the country, with police stationed on nearly every corner and large military vehicles patrolling the streets daily.
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A Bahrain high-rise is seen ablaze in Manama after being struck amid regional conflict. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Yahir further expressed deep frustration with the local U.S. Embassy, saying there has been little government assistance and describing the overall experience as «terrible.»
When inquiring about evacuation flights, calls to the embassy often triggered an automated message stating that citizens should not expect help from the U.S. government and that the embassies cannot assist with anything, according to Yahir.
«I feel like they need to focus on the embassies around the world because I feel they’re useless to Americans. They don’t help us at all,» Yahir said. «I just want to go home.»
Despite submitting a crisis intake form shared by the State Department, he has received few updates on evacuation plans. The delays and lack of clear communication, he said, have left him feeling stranded and anxious, with no concrete plan for returning home.
Flames and smoke billow from a high-rise building in Manama after an apparent drone strike. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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Over 40,000 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since Feb. 28, the State Department told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. A spokesperson noted that U.S. authorities directly assisted over 27,000 of those Americans abroad by offering travel assistance and other security guidance.
«Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State has completed over two dozen charter flights and has safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East,» the department said. «The State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen, who wishes to depart the Middle East, to do so.»
American citizens stranded in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are urged to complete the Crisis Intake Form on the State Department website or call +1-202-501-4444.
middle east,iran,conflicts,us
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Jayapal floats reparations for illegal immigrants impacted by Trump crackdown, demands prosecutions
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Amid President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, one congressional Democrat is calling for reparations for foreign nationals who are affected.
«We are going to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this,» Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Friday during a congressional hearing, referring to illegal immigrants. «You talked about how there’s no support for people even once they’re released. We need to make sure that we are funding that kind of work to continue to provide relief.»
Jayapal, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), made the comments during the seventh installment of a hearing series titled «Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children.»
The left-wing lawmaker said reparations for illegal immigrants affected by Trump’s crackdown efforts would be just one item in a series of reforms she would push Democrats to pursue if they retake House control in November.
Residents confront federal agents and Border Patrol agents over their presence in their neighborhood on Atlantic Blvd. in the Los Angeles suburb of Bell. California last year passed a law banning authorities from wearing masks. (Getty Images)
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Jayapal, who was born in India and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, also said she wants «offensive action» regarding those who are carrying out Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
«We need real accountability, because at the end of the day, the people that have been inflicting this harm need to be prosecuted,» Jayapal said. «They need to be brought before us, and they need to be held to account for the trauma that they have created.»
A spokesperson for Jayapal did not respond to a Fox Digital inquiry about who specifically she wants to see prosecuted or who would be eligible for reparations.
Reparations refer to financial compensation for a specific group intended to address reputed economic harms. Many progressive Democrats have long advocated for reparations for the descendants of American slaves.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal is floating reparations for illegal immigrants if Democrats retake control of Congress during November’s midterm elections. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Throughout the hearing, congressional Democrats repeatedly called attention to the children of deported illegal immigrants, while saying little about the victims of illegal immigrant crime.
The group of Democratic lawmakers did not discuss 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Venezuelan national illegally living in the United States in Chicago earlier this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 26. (L) Sheridan Gorman was killed after being shot in the head by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant while taking a walk with friends at Tobey Prinz Beach, located less than a mile from the Illinois’ campus, around 1 a.m. on Thursday. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
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Jayapal’s comments came during the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has continued to drag on with no end in sight.
She and nearly all House Democrats have refused to fund the department until the Trump administration agrees to various proposals that could rein in immigration enforcement.
«I have been clear since the start of the appropriations process: I will not vote to give Trump’s ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms,» Jayapal said Friday following her vote against a two-month DHS funding extension.
Though Democrats have been willing to fund the non-immigration parts of DHS, most Republicans have rejected that idea because it would effectively defund law enforcement.
Zeroing out appropriations for ICE and the Border Patrol would continue to force support staff employed by those agencies — have not received a full paycheck during the seven-week funding lapse — to keep working without pay.
homeland security, deportation, democrats, pramila jayapal, illegal immigrants
INTERNACIONAL
Israel aprobó la pena de muerte para terroristas y las organizaciones de Derechos Humanos expresaron su preocupación
El Parlamento israelí aprobó este lunes una reforma legal que establece la pena de muerte por ahorcamiento para los culpables de asesinato terrorista.
Pero organizaciones de derechos humanos advirtieron que la pena capital se aplicará en la práctica a los palestinos y no a los ciudadanos judío-israelíes.
El texto, aprobado con 62 votos a favor y 48 en contra, obliga a los tribunales militares -salvo excepciones sin definir- a imponer la pena capital a palestinos residentes en Cisjordania ocupada. En tanto, los tribunales ordinarios que juzgan a ciudadanos israelíes podrán aplicar en su lugar la cadena perpetua.
Además, estipula más condiciones para imponer esta pena.
La medida se aprobó con los votos del oficialismo
El primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, asistió a la votación en el plenario de la Knéset y votó a favor de la reforma, promovida por el partido del ministro israelí de Seguridad Nacional, el ultranacionalista y supremacista judío Itamar Ben Gvir.
Así lo hicieron la mayoría de parlamentarios del partido de Netanyahu, el Likud, y todos los partidos de su coalición menos el ultraortodoxo Yahadut HaTora (Judaísmo de la Torá). El ultraderechista Israel Beitenu (Nuestro Hogar Israel), en la oposición, votó en cambio a favor. El primer ministro israelí Benjamin Netanyahu en conferencia de prensa con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump en Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, el 29 de diciembre del 2025. (AP foto/Alex Brandon)
En general, los partidos de la oposición, incluyendo Yesh Atid (Hay Futuro), Kachol Lavan (Azul y Blanco) y los árabes Hadash y Taal (Movimiento Árabe para la Renovación), votaron en contra.
Tras aprobarse la reforma, cuyo escrito no ha sufrido cambios tras pasar por comisión parlamentaria la semana pasada, Ben Gvir intentó descorchar una botella de champán, pero un empleado legislativo se lo impidió. Pocos minutos después, se detectó un lanzamiento de misiles de Irán hacia la región de Tel Aviv.
“La ley es populista, inmoral, no igualitaria”, condenó durante el debate de este lunes el diputado Matti Sarfatti, de Yesh Atid. Además, la calificó de “claramente inconstitucional”.
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La ejecución de la pena, según la normativa, deberá realizarse en un plazo máximo de 90 días por el Servicio Penitenciario tras la sentencia, mediante ahorcamiento, con regulaciones específicas sobre la detención separada del recluso, el acceso restringido a autoridades y familiares y la supervisión de la ejecución.
El debate en la Knéset se prolongó durante más de 10 horas y estuvo marcado por intervenciones emotivas y críticas.
Fuera de los turnos de palabra, los diputados siguieron la sesión de manera telemática, conforme al estado de emergencia declarado por la guerra, que limita el número de personas reunidas en interiores.
¿“Se aplicará a los colonos asesinos”?
Durante la sesión, la diputada Aida Touma-Suleiman, del partido árabe Hadash, señaló que “en otros países, la pena de muerte es una pena universal aplicable para todos”.
“En este caso, las identidades de la víctima y el asesino son las que determinan la sentencia (…): asesinato o defensa propia. Y es que, ¿acaso se aplicará a los colonos asesinos?”, se preguntó.
Por su parte, Limor Son Har-Melej, diputada del partido ultranacionalista Otzma Yehudit y una de las promotoras de la ley, aseguró que la decisión representa “un momento de justicia histórica” para las familias que perdieron seres queridos en atentados terroristas. Su marido, recordó durante su intervención, falleció en un atentado en 2003.
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“No más cárceles para asesinos, que se convierten en hoteles, como ocurría antes de la llegada al cargo del ministro de Seguridad Nacional, Itamar Ben Gvir”, afirmó la diputada ultraderechista. “Desde hoy, sentencia de muerte. Es una herramienta esencial para erradicar al enemigo y lograr una disuasión real”, añadió.
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Los ministros de Exteriores de Francia, Alemania, Reino Unido e Italia rechazaron la medida, criticada también por la ONU y el Consejo de Europa. Su debate se produjo tras la aprobación ‘in extremis’ esta madrugada de los presupuestos generales para 2026, con concesiones a partidos ultraortodoxos que forman parte del gobierno de Netanyahu.
Según recogen medios israelíes, funcionarios militares advirtieron repetidamente a los legisladores sobre los problemas que plantea la legislación incluso después de que se suavizara su redacción. Incluso, señalaron que la medida podría violar el derecho internacional y generar órdenes de arresto contra comandantes israelíes en el extranjero.
Además, numerosos rabinos, expertos legales, representantes del sindicato de médicos, abogados y activistas por los derechos humanos israelíes expresaron su rechazo a la propuesta durante los debates en la comisión parlamentaria, llevados a cabo hasta cuatro veces por semana desde que fuera aprobada en primera lectura el pasado septiembre.
Hasta ahora, Israel solo permitía la pena de muerte en casos extraordinarios, principalmente por crímenes de guerra o genocidio. Solo la ha aplicado una vez con la ejecución en 1962 de Adolf Eichmann, uno de los principales arquitectos del Holocausto.
(Con información de EFE)
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