INTERNACIONAL
Freed hostage Rom Braslavski details abuse, starvation during 738 days in Gaza captivity
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EXCLUSIVE: Former hostage Rom Braslavski said he endured physical and emotional abuse while held above ground by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, at times surviving on just half a pita bread and a morsel of cheese, and that he was injected with an unknown substance after collapsing from exhaustion during a transfer in the Strip, he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
Braslavski, 19, was abducted from the Supernova festival during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, where he had been working as a security guard while completing his mandatory military service — a fact he concealed for months. During the first four months of his captivity, he posed as a 16-year-old who sold shawarma at the festival.
A terrorist he described as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cyber expert later arrived with a laptop and headphones and began questioning him. Fearing his cover had been blown, Braslavski then revealed his identity.
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This screengrab from a video released July 31 by Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad, shows Rom Braslavski released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum ( Hostages and Missing Families Forum/AFP via Getty Images)
«They immediately reduced my food by three-quarters. I was on half a pita, a bit of cheese, a rotten tomato and a small bottle of water, when before I received two or three pitas and a liter of water,» he told Fox News Digital.
For the next three months, Braslavski said he was held in isolation without daylight, describing the experience as so dark and lonely that he began hitting his head against the wall.
At that point, he was forced to walk to a sprawling complex of about 20,000 tents near Nasser Hospital. Along the way, he collapsed from hunger and exhaustion, was injected with an unknown substance and forced to continue moving.
«I was encircled by members of Islamic Jihad. Nobody told me where we were going. I cried, thinking they were either going to kill me or take me to a tunnel to torture me more aggressively,» Braslavski told Fox News Digital.
Rom Braslavski and Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Lion at the Jerusalem Winner Marathon. (Jerusalem Marathon/Arnon Bossani)
«I walked without energy, breathing air as if those were my last breaths, thinking it would be the last time I would see the light of day. I kept going,» he added.
At the complex, Braslavski said tents were tightly packed with no privacy, while vehicles destroyed by missiles had been converted into makeshift shelters. The camp included donkeys and camels, and people relieved themselves in the open. He described extreme heat that made it difficult to breathe.
Braslavski remained in one such tent for four months. While the terrorist in charge instructed others not to abuse him, one of the four guards — a young man whose name he could not share — ignored those orders.
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«He did everything he could to break me. Once, he brought me food, spat in it, and forced me to eat it. He humiliated me constantly. I had a small opening in the tent to breathe air, and he would come by and close it. When I told him I couldn’t breathe, he would slap me and laugh with the others. He showed me videos of violence against our soldiers. He would bind my hands and feet for no reason,» Braslavski said.
Although he was not supposed to be physically harmed without cause, Braslavski said the guard routinely insulted him, threatened his family, and forced him into degrading acts until it became unbearable.
Rom Braslavski was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival Oct. 7, 2023. (The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Braslavski told Fox News Digital that the abuse left him overwhelmed by hatred, prompting him to attack the guard with all his strength and use whatever he could find around him to inflict harm, ultimately succeeding.
«He started to run to get his Kalashnikov, and I realized I could either continue or take a bullet to the head. I kept hitting him with all my strength. He became weak. I was also weak, but my body and mind disconnected from everything, and I continued,» Braslavski recounted.
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Reef Peretz, chairman of the Nova Foundation, looks at the names and faces of people killed during the Nova festival at «The Nova Music Festival Exhibition Oct. 7th 06:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still» April 18, 2024, in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images for The Nova Music Festival Exhibition)
After three to four minutes, another terrorist intervened and the guard Braslavski had attacked was taken to hospital.
«The day that followed was the second darkest of my life after Oct. 7. It is marked in my memory, my soul and my body. The chief terrorist decided to respond severely to what I did, and from there I entered a loop of constant abuse,» he said.
Braslavski said he was thereafter allowed to sleep no more than an hour and a half per day, in short intervals.
«They would hit me with whatever they had on hand. I underwent severe torture, bondage and sexual abuse. Everything they could do to me, they did. My body is still covered in scars. After four months of torture, I was clinically dead—rolling my eyes and passing out. They decided to stop the violence and brought doctors to treat me with injections and gave me food again,» he added.
Rom Braslavski and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni (Office of the Prime Minister of Italy )
During Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which began in May 2025 with the stated goal of defeating Hamas and securing the return of hostages through military pressure, Braslavski said the terrorist overseeing his guards was injured and lost a family member, triggering another cycle of torture and starvation.
«I weighed 49 kilos, and the senior terrorist, who weighed 90 kilos, would jump on my neck and try to break it. I was on the verge of death again. That is when the propaganda video showing me was released, and it is possible to see marks on my body from the abuse. My bones were protruding. I could no longer go to the bathroom normally. Everything in my body stopped functioning. I was close to death, and that is when President Donald Trump came into the picture,» he told Fox News Digital.
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With each step forward in negotiations toward a deal, Braslavski said his condition gradually improved, until he was released in October 2025 after 738 days in captivity.
What keeps him going as a free man, he said, is his faith.
«I have a dark past, but I must have a bright future. I want to forget what happened, although I can’t. God gave me back my life as a gift—not once, but twice. I need to do at least the minimum, which is to live, rehabilitate myself and put this all behind me,» he said.
anti semitism, hamas, terrorism, israel, conflicts, family personal freedoms
INTERNACIONAL
Vance takes lead selling Trump’s Iran gamble as Rubio, Hegseth and Ratcliffe cede spotlight on fragile deal
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Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland this week as the Trump administration’s most visible defender of a fragile Iran memorandum of understanding, even as officials moved to tamp down reports of internal concern over whether Tehran can be trusted to follow through on nuclear concessions.
«If it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance. If it does happen, I’m taking full credit,» joked President Donald Trump this month of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran.
The MOU, signed last week, has not resolved the core dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, but instead opened a 60-day negotiating window aimed at turning broad commitments into enforceable terms — leaving Vance to defend a framework that supporters call a diplomatic opening for sustained stability in the region and skeptics fear could give Tehran room to stall.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe have been central to previous high-profile foreign policy missions, Vance spent last week as one of the administration’s chief public advocates for the Iran deal, repeatedly fielding questions about the negotiations during a media blitz for his new book.
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Trump addresses the media alongside United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, US Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick , US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent during a closing press conference at the G7 summit. (Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
A senior U.S. official told Fox News Digital earlier this month that there was a «split» inside the administration on support of the Iran MOU but wouldn’t say which officials did not support the decision. The talks have been fragile for weeks, with the MOU serving less as a breakthrough than a temporary framework while U.S. officials continue to wrestle with whether Iran can be trusted to follow through on nuclear commitments.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly emerged as a key intelligence leader who expressed doubt about the intelligence behind the Iran deal to Trump and other senior officials, Axios reported. Rubio and Hegseth also reportedly held reservations, while Vance and other officials advocated for the MOU, according to the outlet.
The CIA did not comment when asked by Fox News Digital if Ratcliffe was skeptical about the deal.
A second senior U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Trump officials were all aligned in supporting the deal and viewed it as the appropriate path forward.
While a White House official added that Vance emerged as a lead negotiator because Trump tasked him with the role from the outset, arguing his position as vice president gives him the stature to bring key players from countries such as Qatar and Pakistan to the negotiating table.
When asked about the reports of an alleged «split,» the White House fired back that the MOU meets all the previous requirements expressed by the administration and the president would only sign a «good deal.»
«President Trump listens to all opinions on any given issue — but everyone understands he is the final decisionmaker,» a White House official told Fox News Digital.
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Vice President JD Vance took questions from reporters during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
While Ratcliffe has historically kept a more reserved role as CIA chief, Rubio and Hegseth have embraced the spotlight repeatedly during high-level missions, hosting press briefings and posting on social media – even sharing memes surrounding major policy wins.
Rubio has publicly backed the MOU, but his support has been noticeably more restrained than his advocacy for past foreign policy efforts. The secretary has reposted clips of the deal signing and Vance’s media appearance discussing Iran, but has not directly made a statement. His latest post on X was congratulating Colombian President-Elect Abelardo De La Espriella on his victory.
Rubio was also part of the president’s delegation in France at the G7, seen standing behind him during Trump’s sideline presser on the deal. Rubio did not make any comments during the press conference.
Hegseth also has remained active on social media during the NATO summit, posting updates on alliance-related meetings and highlighting various War Department initiatives, while notably refraining from commenting directly on the Iran agreement.
His last public remarks directly addressing U.S.-Iran relations came more than a month ago on May 5 during a Pentagon briefing alongside Caine. Hegseth discussed Project Freedom, which was a strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure – separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury.
Since then, Hegseth’s public appearances have focused largely on NATO and defense diplomacy, including bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts and engagements with leaders from Italy, Singapore, South Korea and Ecuador.
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe meets with officials in Havana, Cuba, on May 14, 2026, to discuss intelligence matters. (CIA)
The framework has come under fire from conservatives and liberals alike who have drawn comparisons to former President Barack Obama’s JCPOA, a politically toxic benchmark for many Republicans that the president and Vance have rejected in public remarks.
During an appearance on Fox News’ «The Five» last week, Vance argued the JCPOA comparison stems from a misconception because the proverbial carrot-and-stick positions from the Obama-era deal have been reversed.
The Pentagon doubled down on their backing of the Iranian deal when asked by Fox News Digital if there were any doubts.
«Of course, Secretary Hegseth supports the Peace Deal with Iran and all of President Trump’s objectives,» Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital when asked if there was any friction about the Iran agreement.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott offered Fox News Digital administration a similar statement backing the Iran deal.
«Secretary Rubio and the entire administration is 100% in lockstep behind President Trump. The President has taken unprecedented action to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, making the U.S. and the entire world safer,» Pigott said.
Rubio is heading to Geneva Monday after Vance has already been engaged in discussions with Iranians alongside Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff since Sunday.
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Rubio, Hegseth and Ratcliffe have previously been at the center of some of the Trump administration’s most significant foreign policy engagements and achievements, from high-stakes talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska to G7 summits and NATO conferences.
Vance’s absence from Trump’s January Mar-a-Lago announcement following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro drew notice at the time, particularly as Rubio, Hegseth, Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and senior adviser Stephen Miller appeared alongside the president for the administration’s victory-lap moment.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of the Vice President for comment.
Vance stayed late into the night Sunday evening to push the deal to the finish line in an attempt to get nuclear inspections to start as soon as possible.
«It’s funny, we were trying to call some of the inspectors last night around two in the morning. As you can expect, not many people are answering their phone at two in the morning,» said Vance Monday.
«I expect that will happen at the minimum this week, but we think even some of those conversations with the inspectors and with the IAEA could happen as soon as today,» Vance added.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Crietz contributed to this report.
pete hegseth, cia, iran, jd vance, marco rubio
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has opened an investigation into a New York City coffee shop after it blasted Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in a social media post, saying it should not have served him, and he should never come back due to his support of Israel.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the DOJ has opened an investigation into the Poetica Coffee Shop in Brooklyn.
Dhillon says the department is aware of the «denial of service taunts» directed at Goldman and says federal law prohibits public accommodations, including coffee shops, from discriminating against patrons based on race, religion, or national origin. Dhillon says the alleged denial of service could violate federal anti-discrimination law and says enforcement action is possible.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Poetica Coffee said it issued a refund to Goldman after learning that he had stopped by the location with his young daughter. The shop added that it would have simply turned Goldman away if staff had recognized him at the time.
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Rep. Dan Goldman, D, N.Y., was criticized by Poetica, a left-leaning coffee shop in Brooklyn, which called scolded him over his support for Israel. (Dan Goldman)
«Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?» the post stated, referring to Goldman’s support for Israel and accusations that the Jewish state has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
«See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,» the post continued. «Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.»
A Brooklyn, N.Y., coffee shop refunded a purchase made by Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., over the weekend over his support for Israel, saying the company doesn’t serve «genocide enablers.» (Getty Images; Google Maps)
In a statement on social media, Goldman said he was disappointed by the shop’s remarks.
«I’m sorry to see this post,» he said. «The barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me—allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything. I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved.»
In response, the shop said it was the barista’s idea to refund Goldman’s purchase. The poster added that they will be voting against Goldman, who faces a Democratic primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Goldman and the coffee shop, as well as the offices of New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
«No comment. We stand against genocide,» a staffer told the New York Post.
The shop’s social media post was quickly criticized online.
Mark Treyger, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said the incident warrants a review under city and state human rights laws.
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Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn, N.Y., criticized Rep. Dan Goldman, N.Y., over his support for Israel. (Dan Goldman)
«Turning a cup of coffee into a Jewish identity litmus test is an affront to the law, our values, and every New Yorker who rejects discrimination,» he wrote on X. «If an identifiable Jewish customer walks into a coffee shop wearing a kippah or Magen David, are they expected to first disclose their views on Middle East policy before being served?»
The incident appears to contradict the opening statement on Poetica Coffee’s website by its owner, Parviz Mukhamadkulov, an Uzbek immigrant who opened his first location in 2020.
«In practice, it looks like a café where the door doesn’t close on anyone, where tea gets poured before anyone asks who you are,» the website states. «The guest is sacred because the act of welcoming is how a community keeps itself intact.»
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., stands outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital.)
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The shop also claims on its site that «whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.»
«Not as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,» the site reads.
new york, coffee, anti semitism, zohran mamdani, judaism
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