INTERNACIONAL
As Hezbollah rejects truce, families on Israel’s northern border describe life under fire
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Two days after another ceasefire was announced between Israel and U.S. terrorist designated group Hezbollah, Yulia Bar-Dan was standing outside her temporary home in Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel when the familiar sound of an interceptor echoed overhead.
«There will probably be another siren soon,» she told Fox News Digital.
Minutes later, an alert appeared on her phone warning residents in northern Israel to take shelter.
For Bar-Dan, the scene captured the reality of life on Israel’s northern border nearly two years after Hezbollah joined the war against Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
After Hezbollah entered the recent war in support of Iran, Washington launched a diplomatic effort aimed at turning the ceasefire into a broader arrangement for Lebanon.
ISRAEL OPENS FIRE IN LEBANON AT ‘SUSPECTS’ ALLEGEDLY VIOLATING TRUCE, WHICH HAS ENTERED ITS SECOND DAY
Multiple rounds of talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials have taken place in Washington, and President Donald Trump repeatedly has announced ceasefire understandings aimed at restoring calm along the border. Residents of communities like Manara, Israel, say the rockets, drones and uncertainty never really stopped.
An Israeli soldier stands near military vehicles on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah near the Israel-Lebanon border on Nov. 28. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)
«A ceasefire is supposed to be on both sides,» she said. «Not that Hezbollah keeps shooting at us and we just keep absorbing it.»
When Fox News Digital first spoke to Bar-Dan in December 2024 during the war, she and her husband had fled Manara, Israel, with their three children and were living out of a single hotel room, unsure whether they would ever return home.
Today, roughly 200 of the kibbutz’s 280 residents have returned, Bar-Dan said. But many, including Bar-Dan’s family, still cannot live in their original homes because of war damage.
Yulia Bar-Dan and her husband are pictured during quieter times at Kibbutz Manara, Israel. (Yulia Bar-Dan)
Despite repeated ceasefire announcements, residents say normal life remains elusive.
«There hasn’t really been a routine or a quiet day since February,» she said.
Schools officially reopened in early June, but Bar-Dan decided not to send her children.
«They take the bus to school,» she said. «What if there’s a siren on the way? I can’t take that chance.»
ISRAEL DESTROYS HEZBOLLAH’S ‘LARGEST PRECISION-GUIDED MISSILES MANUFACTURING SITE’ AS GROUP VOWS TO ‘FIGHT’
Hezbollah terrorists holding rifles are shown in this image. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Her frustration is not directed at Hezbollah alone.
Like many residents interviewed by Fox News Digital, Bar-Dan says there is a growing disconnect between the reality experienced on the border and the reality described by politicians.
«It doesn’t really matter where the decisions are being made,» she said. «The decisions just need to match reality. Right now there is a decision, but the reality is completely different.»
A year and a half after most of Manara’s residents were evacuated amid fears of a Hezbollah invasion, community leader Yochai Wolfin says residents have developed their own name for the current situation.
«We call it ‘the ceasefire war,’» he said.
The phrase has become common in the community.
First came a year and a half of evacuation. Then came the return home. Then came what Wolfin describes as three months of «fire within a ceasefire.»
The uncertainty has become part of daily life.
Children study inside shelters. Parts of the kibbutz still lack protected rooms. Construction projects remain unfinished because contractors are reluctant to work so close to the border.
He said many residents increasingly feel that the decisions determining their future are being made far from the communities that bear the consequences.
ISRAEL WARNS IT WILL GO AFTER LEBANON DIRECTLY IF CEASE-FIRE WITH HEZBOLLAH COLLAPSES
A Lebanese man holds a Hezbollah flag near the border with Israel in the southern Lebanese village of Hula on Dec. 20, 2020. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)
«Who knows what tomorrow will bring?» Wolfin said. «We know who is calling the shots. We saw it a few days ago when Trump announced another ceasefire. But for us, the reality on the ground hasn’t changed.»
The comments come as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned Thursday that northern Israel would remain unsafe as long as Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon, according to Reuters.
In a written statement broadcast on June 4, 2026, Qassem condemned the Washington-mediated framework as «absurd, humiliating, and insulting,» calling it a roadmap for surrender.
For residents of Israel’s northern border communities, the statements reinforced what many say they have been experiencing for months: a ceasefire that exists on paper but not in daily life.
Naor Shamia, who heads Manara’s emergency response team, says residents increasingly worry that temporary emergency measures are becoming permanent.
«The fear isn’t today,» he said. «The fear is that this becomes years. We are in a deadlock.»
Across the border region, similar concerns are heard.
Fire burns at Kibbutz Manara following another attack. (Kibbutz Manara)
In the community of Adamit, resident Yael Cohen-Arazi described the contrast between the beauty surrounding her and the reality of living under constant threat.
«Every morning I wake up and think I’m living in paradise,» she said in footage provided to Fox News Digital by the Israeli news agency TPS-IL. «Then there are the explosions that shake my soul.»
Her children, she said, have spent so much of their lives under fire that they no longer know what normal looks like.
«I tell them there are children who don’t live like this,» she said.
Back in Manara, Israel, another alert interrupted the afternoon.
Bar-Dan says she is not angry anymore. Mostly, she is tired and sad.
«I feel bad for the soldiers,» she said. «Every day there is another casualty, and there is still no solution.»
Yet she insists she is staying.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Members of the Kibbutz Manara rapid response unit respond to Hezbollah rocket attacks on Kibbutz Manara. (Kibbutz Manara)
«This is our home,» she said. «Someone has to live on the borders of this country.»
Then another explosion sounded in the distance.
israel, bombings, war with iran, conflicts, lebanon
INTERNACIONAL
Democrats split over Tlaib’s Lebanon measure as Republicans seize on Hezbollah omission
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democrats splintered over a resolution seeking to block the U.S. from assisting Israel’s war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, on Thursday.
The measure, offered by progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., would require President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. For months, Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group and Iranian proxy, have been at war in southern Lebanon, but the United States has not joined the conflict.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected the measure. Critics argued the resolution could aid Hezbollah and potentially hamstring U.S. military operations in the country.
Tlaib’s resolution failed 92-324, with more than half of House Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to vote it down.
The Lebanon war powers resolution divided Democrats, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joining Republicans in rejecting the measure. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
REP RASHIDA TLAIB MOVES TO BLOCK US OPERATIONS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., an Israel critic, was the lone Republican to support Tlaib’s measure. Meanwhile, Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., voted present.
House Democratic leaders said shortly before the vote they would oppose Tlaib’s resolution and work with the progressive lawmaker on a narrower measure exempting some U.S. military operations in the country. Their statement also denounced Hezbollah as a «violent terrorist organization» and a «sworn enemy of the United States.»
Tlaib, who has accused Israel of committing «ethnic cleansing» in Lebanon, did not mention Hezbollah in her resolution. She and other proponents of the measure also avoided discussing the Iranian proxy force during heated floor debate over the measure.
Republicans highlighted the omission and accused the legislation’s supporters of serving as «proxies for Hezbollah.»
«Apparently they don’t want to see Israel killing Hezbollah, even though it’s Hezbollah that is killing Israeli children, Israeli adults, Israeli elders,» House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Wednesday, referring to his Democratic colleagues.
Tlaib asserted that her resolution would only affect U.S. forces actively engaged in hostilities. Republicans, however, disputed that claim and suggested it would hurt U.S. efforts to counter Hezbollah.
«It doesn’t say anything about [whether] you can keep the Marines that are in the embassy,» Mast said, referring to the U.S. embassy in Beirut. «That’s a pretty big oversight. It doesn’t say anything about whether we can keep United States armed forces that are training missions with the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. Again, pretty big oversight.»
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, attempted to bar U.S. forces from joining Israel’s war in Lebanon. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)
RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH
The debate turned personal when Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, linked Tlaib to Hezbollah.
«Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,» the Ohio lawmaker said, referring to Tlaib.
A shouting match between the two then broke out, with Tlaib demanding that Miller’s remarks be stricken from the record.
The presiding chair ultimately complied with her request, but Miller doubled down on his remarks.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it,» Mast said on behalf of Miller on the floor.
Tlaib’s failed war powers resolution comes as Iran has sought to tie Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to its ceasefire negotiations with the United States.
Hezbollah, which has long helped Iran project power in the region, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s government Thursday.
politics, lebanon, democrats, republicans, israel, rashida tlaib
INTERNACIONAL
En medio de la guerra, el presidente de la federación de fútbol iraní pelea para que su selección vaya al Mundial
Los preparativos de Irán para la próxima Copa Mundial en Norteamérica se han desarrollado con el telón de fondo de la guerra, palabras beligerantes y continuas dudas de que la selección nacional reciba los visados a tiempo.
El malestar ya ha dado lugar a cumbres entre funcionarios iraníes y los máximos dirigentes del organismo rector del fútbol. En el centro de todo esto ha estado Mehdi Taj, quien durante muchos años ha sido presidente de la federación de fútbol de Irán.
En una inusual entrevista, Taj, antiguo comandante del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica, dejó pocas dudas sobre a quién culpa de las complicaciones.
Mientras la selección nacional de Irán se preparaba para viajar a México en lugar de a Estados Unidos, un cambio de última hora que se produjo en medio de las continuas tensiones, Taj dijo que la decisión se había tomado con la FIFA para reducir al mínimo el tiempo del equipo en Estados Unidos, a quien culpa de toda la incertidumbre sobre la participación de Irán en la Copa Mundial.
Hablando por videollamada, Taj señaló que Irán había sido el tercer equipo en clasificarse para la que será la mayor Copa Mundial de la historia –que ocurrirá a lo largo de Estados Unidos, Canadá y México y en la que competirán 48 selecciones–, pero la primera en la que un anfitrión está en guerra con una de las naciones competidoras.
Esos preparativos, dijo, se han visto afectados de forma que han perjudicado a su equipo. Recientemente, la selección de fútbol de Irán cambió bruscamente su base para la Copa Mundial de Estados Unidos a Tijuana, tras las conversaciones mantenidas con la FIFA en Turquía, donde el equipo ha estado entrenando durante gran parte del mes pasado.
En declaraciones desde Teherán el martes, Taj expresó su profunda decepción por el hecho de que aún no se hubieran aprobado las solicitudes de visado para la selección, que está previsto que juegue tres partidos en la costa oeste estadounidense.
El equipo se ha estado preparando en un campamento en el suroeste de Turquía. La Copa Mundial comienza el 11 de junio, y el primer partido de Irán está previsto cuatro días después contra Nueva Zelanda en Los Ángeles. Irán tenía previsto concentrarse en Tucson, Arizona, antes de que la FIFA, el organismo que rige el fútbol mundial, anunciara que el equipo se instalaría en Tijuana, México, cerca de la frontera con Estados Unidos.
La presencia de Irán en el torneo en medio de su actual conflicto con Estados Unidos es una de las mayores crisis en los casi 100 años de historia de la Copa Mundial.
Leé también: La FIFA dio a conocer las listas de jugadores de las 48 selecciones del Mundial: los datos más curiosos
Una nación anfitriona, afirmó Taj, no debería tener autoridad para interrumpir los preparativos de los equipos clasificados. Desde que comenzó la guerra a finales de febrero, tanto funcionarios iraníes como estadounidenses, incluido el presidente Donald Trump e incluso Taj, han sembrado la incertidumbre con afirmaciones cambiantes.
Taj dijo que el asesinato del líder supremo de Irán al comienzo de la guerra y el bombardeo de una escuela en el que murieron más de cien niños habían creado una “nube de ambigüedad” sobre la participación de Irán. Pero dijo que, desde entonces, las autoridades iraníes habían mantenido conversaciones fructíferas con los dirigentes de la FIFA, incluido su presidente, Gianni Infantino, para sentar las bases de la participación del equipo.
Infantino, quien mantiene una relación cercana con Trump, viajó a Turquía en marzo para mostrar su apoyo al equipo iraní, y el mes pasado, el principal administrador de la FIFA, Mattias Grafström, también se reunió con funcionarios iraníes.
“Solo estamos en contacto con la FIFA, no con Estados Unidos, y no sabemos qué piensan”, dijo Taj.
Taj ha tenido dificultades para viajar en los últimos meses. Fue uno de los funcionarios a los que se negaron credenciales para el sorteo del torneo celebrado en Washington en diciembre. El mes pasado, las autoridades canadienses revocaron sus documentos cuando se dirigía a Vancouver vía Toronto para asistir a la reunión anual de la FIFA. Taj dijo que, tras varias horas de conversaciones con funcionarios canadienses, regresó a su país en señal de protesta con el resto de la delegación iraní.
Taj fue formalmente comandante del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica, grupo que Estados Unidos y Canadá han designado entidad terrorista.
Dijo que él ya no tenía ninguna relación con el grupo, pero sostuvo que este contaba con un amplio apoyo en Irán para defender el país. En Canadá, dijo, él y otros miembros de la delegación iraní “pasaron el tiempo defendiendo el país” bajo el interrogatorio de funcionarios de fronteras en Toronto.
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, junto al presidente de la FIFA, Gianni Infantino, en la Oficina Oval de la Casa Blanca este 7 de marzo de 2025. (Foto: Jim Watson/AP, archivo)
El secretario de Estado Marco Rubio dijo en una reciente comparecencia en la Casa Blanca junto a Trump que no se permitiría la entrada en Estados Unidos de entrenadores y otros funcionarios vinculados a la Guardia Revolucionaria.
Varios jugadores de la lista de Irán, incluido su capitán, han cumplido el servicio militar obligatorio con el grupo, dijo Taj.
Los problemas con los visados antes del Mundial llevaron a los iraníes, dijo Taj, a “sospechar que era posible que Estados Unidos nos creara algunos problemas graves”.
El lunes, el equipo publicó su lista oficial en un video en las redes sociales, y tiene un partido más de preparación, contra Mali, antes de su partida prevista al campamento base de México. Sardar Azmoun, un jugador estrella que suscitó críticas por una publicación en las redes sociales después de la guerra y que algunos funcionarios tacharon de desleal, se quedó fuera de la lista.
Taj habló positivamente del cambio de última hora, afirmando que Tijuana ofrecía mejores condiciones que Tucson porque estaba más cerca de Los Ángeles, donde se jugarán dos de los partidos de Irán, y tiene mejor clima y conexiones de transporte más fáciles.
Fue menos comunicativo sobre cómo se produjo el cambio. La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, dijo que la FIFA le había pedido ayuda a su país porque “Estados Unidos no quiere que la selección iraní se quede a pernoctar en Estados Unidos”.
Taj dijo que desconocía que Estados Unidos hubiera hecho tal petición. “Llegamos a la conclusión mutua con la FIFA de que queremos que nuestra presencia en Estados Unidos sea la mínima posible”, dijo.
Para la FIFA, la crisis requiere de cuidadosas maniobras: satisfacer a un país anfitrión expectante, tranquilizar a un equipo cualificado y mantener la neutralidad política. Esa neutralidad ya ha sido cuestionada debido a la cálida relación de Infantino con Trump.
Taj dijo que, según los principios de “Fair Play” (juego limpio) de la FIFA, todas las naciones clasificadas deben recibir el mismo trato y que proteger a ese principio de las interferencias políticas era responsabilidad de la FIFA, no de Irán.
La FIFA no respondió a la solicitud de comentarios.
Cuando se le preguntó si confiaba en que se celebraría el partido inaugural, Taj no ofreció garantías.
“Tendrías que preguntarle a la FIFA”, dijo.
*Por Tariq Panja
The New York Times, Irán, Mundial 2026
INTERNACIONAL
Bessent spars with Dem in fiery Trump tax showdown until claim crosses the line: ‘Slanderous’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., traded barbs during a Thursday congressional hearing after she pressed him over a DOJ settlement requiring the IRS to end any existing tax audits of President Donald Trump, with Sánchez ultimately accusing him of overseeing the «most corrupt Treasury Department» in U.S. history.
«I hope that you’re proud of your performance today, Mr. Secretary,» Sánchez told Bessent as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.
«I hope you get some social media clips,» he shot back.
The tense exchange came as Sánchez cited a settlement reached between the Department of Justice and the Trump family in May that forced the IRS, which is overseen by the Treasury Department, to end any existing tax audits of Trump, his family and their business interests. By the end of the back and forth, both parties had become incensed, with the congresswoman accusing Bessent of running the «most corrupt Treasury Department.»
TRUMP FILES $10B LAWSUIT AGAINST IRS OVER ALLEGED TAX RETURN LEAKS TO MAJOR NEWS OUTLETS
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 5, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)
«Why are you allowing President Trump and his family to have complete immunity from being audited?» Sánchez asked Bessent as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee.
«Again, since you are a lawyer, you will understand that the U.S. Treasury and the IRS are represented by the Justice Department and the acting attorney general,» Bessent responded.
The clash highlighted a broader fight over how far executive power should extend when it intersects with federal agencies, personal finances and politically charged investigations. It also provided a familiar dynamic: Democrats warning of special treatment for Trump, and the administration framing the issue as another example of combating institutional overreach against him.
It is unclear whether Trump is currently facing any audits, a detail pressed by Bessent, eliciting indignation from Sánchez.
«Do you have specific knowledge of an audit of President Trump?» he asked Sánchez.
DEMOCRAT CONGRESSWOMAN DRAWS BOOS OVER ‘SHAMEFUL’ SEXISM REMARK IN COMMITTEE HEARING WITH TREASURY SECRETARY
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing titled «The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council» in the Rayburn Building on Feb. 4, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
«Excuse me? It’s my time. You’re not here to ask me questions. I’m here to ask you questions. And hopefully you’re here to try to answer some of them,» she responded. «I’m curious to know who counts as Trump’s family for the purposes of this immunity. Is it his children, his in-laws, his grandchildren, his second or third cousin? His great-great-grandchildren? Do you know the answer to that question, Mr. Secretary?»
«Again, I imagine you have the Justice Department phone number. I suggest you call them,» the secretary responded.
The exchange only heightened from that point.
«Safe to say that this is probably the most corrupt Treasury Department in our nation’s history,» Sánchez said as her time speaking expired.
«And I am going to have to take exception with that,» Bessent hit back, waving away her claim as «slanderous.»
«The congresswoman is slanderous,» Bessent continued. «She has nothing but … the unsubstantiated opinions. And I will not stand for that. There is nothing corrupt. We move at the highest levels.»
ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent adjusts his glasses during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Oct. 14, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Critics have questioned whether the DOJ has authority to bind the IRS and accused Trump, who was in 2024 reportedly facing a tax investigation that could have cost him up to $100 million, of pressuring the government for personal gain. Supporters, meanwhile, argue that the immunity is an appropriate response to alleged government weaponization.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The state of the Trump family’s immunity is currently uncertain, especially after a federal judge blocked the president’s proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund. Bessent has declined to comment on whether the immunity deal is still in place, citing pending litigation.
congress, donald trump, taxes, scott bessent, justice department
Democrats split over Tlaib’s Lebanon measure as Republicans seize on Hezbollah omission
Mercados: volvieron a subir las acciones y los bonos argentinos y retrocedió el riesgo país
Ojo Dibu: La Selección Argentina es el país que más tanda de penales ganó en mundiales
La trama detrás de la caída de un proyecto clave para Milei que generó más cortocircuitos en el Gobierno
Uno por uno, cómo votaron los senadores el pliego de Verónica Michelli, la jueza que rechaza Javier Milei
Bullrich se abstuvo de votar en contra del pliego de Michelli, la jueza resistida por Milei
Caputo: “Puede haber un shock externo o una invasión extraterrestre, pero Kicillof no va a ser presidente nunca en su vida”
Javier y Karina Milei evitarán escalar la interna con Patricia Bullrich tras los cruces por el pliego de una jueza
Jornada financiera: las acciones argentinas subieron hasta 10% en Wall Street y bajó el riesgo país
La trama detrás de “la banda de los mendocinos” que colonizó Arsat con vínculos con el poder
ECONOMIA2 días agoCaputo: “Puede haber un shock externo o una invasión extraterrestre, pero Kicillof no va a ser presidente nunca en su vida”
- POLITICA1 día ago
Javier y Karina Milei evitarán escalar la interna con Patricia Bullrich tras los cruces por el pliego de una jueza
- ECONOMIA3 días ago
Jornada financiera: las acciones argentinas subieron hasta 10% en Wall Street y bajó el riesgo país
