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State Department says US ‘unequivocally condemns’ Israeli airstrike in Syria, calls for ‘dialogue’
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State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the United States does not support recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria and called for «dialogue» between the two Middle East powers.
«The United States unequivocally condemns the violence. All parties must step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire,» Bruce announced at a State Department press briefing Thursday afternoon.
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On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus struck the country’s Defense Ministry headquarters and an area near the presidential palace, killing three and injuring dozens of others, according to reports.
The Israeli military said it was intervening to defend the minority Druze population in southern Syria, a community that shares a border with Israel, amid armed skirmishes between local Bedouin Sunni tribes and the recently installed Syrian government.
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (SANA via AP Newsroom)
«We are acting decisively to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, protect Israeli citizens and prevent harm to Druze civilians,» Eyal Zamir, chief of the Israeli Defense Forces’ general staff, said during a situational assessment at the Syrian border.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday afternoon that an agreement had been reached between Israel and Syria to end the «troubling and horrifying situation.»
«This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made, and this is what we fully expect them to do,» he added.
TRUMP’S PUSH FOR ISRAEL-SYRIA PEACE GETS MAJOR BACKING AS ACTIVIST BRINGS MESSAGE TO JERUSALEM
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, during a meeting with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince, and U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Thankful to all sides for their break from chaos and confusion as we attempt to navigate all parties to a more durable and peaceful solution in Syria,» U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack added.
When asked Thursday what prompted the Israeli strikes and whether the U.S. suspected any foreign fighters, like ISIS, of being involved in the conflict in Syria between the Bedouins and the Druze, Bruce said there will need to be continued investigation to figure out exactly why this Israeli airstrike occurred.
Rubio said Wednesday he believed Israel’s strike on the Syrian capital of Damascus was «likely» due to «a misunderstanding.»
Bruce on Thursday responded to reporters’ questions about what U.S. officials meant when they said «confusion» and «misunderstanding» from Israel were what led to their involvement.
Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, shown here May 6, 2025, said the State Department is «currently monitoring and addressing» an incident in which someone used AI to try to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Andrew Thomas/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty)
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«This is an ancient rivalry between the Druze and the Bedouins and violence ensued, the Syrians moving to that area to quell and stop that violence. And the Israelis, who see that occurring to the Druze community and their concerns, then entered what they assessed was something larger than what, or even not what it was at all,» Bruce said at Thursday’s briefing.
«The good news is, the story is, it stopped, as within the management of that larger conflict. Again, there’s still skirmishes and other issues. … The Syrian government is going to have to lead — obviously, there will be other involvement — but lead in to this de-escalation and to the stability.»
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has remained silent almost two days after an off-duty Border Patrol officer was shot in the face, allegedly by a previously deported illegal immigrant in his city.
Mamdani’s social media posts and website show no public statement on the matter, which has become national news and sparked a broader discussion of President Joe Biden’s border policies and criticism of sanctuary cities.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.
According to police, the suspect, Dominican national Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, was seen on video getting off a scooter before approaching the officer while he was sitting and speaking to someone near a body of water. The officer has not yet been identified.
MAMDANI CONFRONTED ON STREETS OF NYC ABOUT ‘COMMUNIST’ LABEL, REFUSES TO ANSWER
Zohran Mamdani has not issued a statement on the shooting of a Border Patrol officer. (Department of Homeland Security/Getty)
The officer, who was not in uniform, pulled out a gun to protect himself, and a shootout ensued.
The agent was hit in the face and forearm and transported to a hospital, where he is currently in stable condition. He is expected to survive.
Nunez was shot in the leg and groin during the shootout, police said. He was dropped off at a hospital in the Bronx, according to authorities.
«Sanctuary politicians must condemn this violence and put the safety and security of our citizens first. Make no mistake: these criminal illegal aliens pulled the trigger, but Zohran Mamdani, and other sanctuary politicians in this country have blood on their hands,» Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement.
«Secretary Noem is calling on every politician at every level of government to abandon these reckless, lawless policies and stop playing Russian roulette with American lives. DHS will continue to flood the zone in sanctuary cities and remove these criminals one by one,» she added.
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Mamdani briefly speaks with reporters as he leaves the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 16, 2025, in Washington. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
DHS also told Fox News that Nunez has an active warrant for kidnapping in the state of Massachusetts, in addition to prior felony arrests.
«We were able to bring the second individual in and have detained him as well, and he will face consequences and hopefully strong prosecution for his crimes and his involvement on Saturday night,» Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters Monday.
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President Donald Trump weighed in on the shooting Sunday afternoon, writing that «an incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden.»
Mamdani has been widely criticized for his previous calls to defund the police and his stated opposition to working with Trump to deport illegal immigrants if he is elected mayor in November.
Mamdani said in June after winning the primary race that he would halt «masked» U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from «deporting our neighbors.»
Mamdani speaks during a press conference while campaigning outside a subway station in New York City on April 1, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
The mayoral hopeful announced on Sunday that he was headed to Uganda «in a personal capacity» to celebrate his marriage to his wife, Rama, with their family and friends.
«I do want to apologize to the haters, because I will be coming back,» he said, adding he would return to New York City «by the end of the month.»
Federal immigration authorities have faced an increase in public scrutiny from Democrats and left-wing activist groups, even to the point of violence. Border Patrol was targeted in an ambush earlier this month at an annex facility in McAllen, Texas, in which a local police officer was hit in the leg, and two Border Patrol personnel were injured. The gunman was killed.
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In addition, 12 individuals are facing charges, including 10 for attempted murder of federal officers, in an Independence Day attack outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, intended to target ICE agents. A police officer was shot in the neck but is expected to recover, and cars were vandalized.
Overall, ICE agents have faced an 830% increase in assaults since this time last year as the Trump administration continues to ramp up deportation and immigration enforcement efforts, according to DHS.
«Rocks, Molotov cocktails, and even gunfire. Our brave ICE agents are facing attacks at a level never seen before in America – an 830% increase. Stand for the homeland. Stand for law and order. Stand with ICE,» Homeland Security posted to X last week.
Fox News Digital reached out to ICE and CBP for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News Digital’s Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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UK backs Trump’s Putin ultimatum with urgent ’50-day drive’ to strengthen Ukraine’s position
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In a direct response to President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline that he issued to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his latest peace deal push, the U.K. on Monday announced a «50-day drive» to better arm Ukraine.
The call to action was issued by U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey during a virtual meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) on Monday, the British Ministry of Defense announced.
The Defense Ministry did not immediately answer Fox News’ Digital’s questions about what type of commitments Healey wants to see from allied nations in support of Kyiv.
Prior to the meeting of NATO member states’ defense ministers, a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels on June 4, 2025. (BOB REIJNDERS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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At the top of the meeting, the British defense secretary said «[Trump] started the clock on a 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to peace or to face crippling economic sanctions.
«And as members of this UDCG, we need to step up in turn with a 50-day drive to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and to help push Putin to the negotiating table,» he added.
Healey urged nations to utilize the NATO sales agreement announced by Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week to more quickly and efficiently arm Ukraine on the battlefield.
President Donald Trump, right, and Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 14, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
RUSSIA THREATENS WEST WITH ‘PREEMPTIVE STRIKES’ AS NATO LOOKS TO DELIVER PATRIOTS ‘AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE’
While the U.S.-NATO sales agreement is not an unusual deal as Washington, D.C., for decades has sold its arms to NATO allies, the announcement was significant because it signaled a turning point in the U.S.’s continued support for Ukraine, which has remained a question since Trump was re-elected in November.
«We sell arms to allies all the time and if they want to give them to Ukraine then we authorize an export license, and they then transfer the arms to Ukraine,» Mike Ryan, who formally served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, told Fox News Digital. «So, the significance is that one, the Europeans are stepping up their support for Ukraine. Two, the American taxpayer is getting a break. Three, Europe is buying more American arms [which is] good for the trade deficit, and four, Ukraine is getting the help it needs.»
Ukrainian and German soldiers are seen training on the Patriot air defense missile system at a military training area in Germany in June 2024. (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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The Monday meeting will be the fourth time Healey has chaired the defensive group in support of Kyiv, and the third such event that he has done so alongside German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
A major point of discussion is expected to be the quick transfer of Patriot Battery Missiles for Ukraine – five of which Berlin is set to confirm shipment of on Monday following his meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week.
«Boris and I have agreed to partner in providing critical air defense missiles to Ukraine,» Healey said before announcing a near $54 million defensive pledge to Ukraine, and by extension, Europe’s security.
The announcement is on top of the more than $6 billion in military aid the U.K. has sent Ukraine this year alone.
«This is a critical moment we meet at a critical time, a time for all allies and partners to share the burden, to support Ukraine, both in the fight now and to secure the peace future,» Healey added.
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