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Christian-Jewish organization delivers emergency aid to persecuted Syrian minorities under threat

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The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews swiftly mobilized its resources in July to aid persecuted Syrian Druze and Christians facing what some have called a genocide carried out by jihadists in southern Syria.

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Syrian-backed forces, including jihadist fighters, launched attacks against Syrian Druze in the southern part of the country, resulting in the murders of at least 1,400 people, including a 35-year-old Syrian American from Oklahoma, Hosam Saraya, who was visiting family in Syria. 

«Once we saw what was happening in Sweida, we could not turn a blind eye to it.» International Fellowship of Christians and Jews President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein told Fox News Digital.

WHO ARE THE DRUZE? RELIGIOUS GROUP AIDS SYRIAN MEMBERS UNDER ISLAMIST ATTACK, ISRAELI MEMBERS OFFER SUPPORT

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Syrian security forces walk together along a street after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida July 16, 2025.  (Reuters/Karam al-Masri)

Her organization, she noted, had never operated in Syria prior to this year but said her organization «got an urgent call from a hospital from Sweida, and they needed basic medicines, surgical care, ICU medicine and equipment, first responder equipment and masks for morgue workers.»

The Fellowship coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to deliver medicine and equipment to Sweida. Eckstein said her group supplied «retired Israeli ambulances to Syria so the locals can operate them.»

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The majority Druze city of Sweida was a focal point of the siege executed by Syrian Islamists loyal to new President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a former member of U.S.-designated terrorist movements, al Qaeda and the Islamic State. 

According to Christian Broadcasting Network, Christians were also targeted. Islamists reportedly murdered Khaled Mazhar, pastor of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church in Sweida, along with 11 family members. An additional person survived the massacre of Christians because the Islamists thought she was dead.

WHO ARE THE DRUZE? RELIGIOUS GROUP AIDS SYRIAN MEMBERS UNDER ISLAMIST ATTACK, ISRAELI MEMBERS OFFER SUPPORT

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delivery of aid

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Israel’s largest philanthropic group, sent aid to Syria’s Druze community amid persecution and attacks by Islamic militants. (The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)

In July, Israel launched military strikes against the largely Bedouin forces on their way to the southern city of Sweida to stop the massacre. Israel also attacked the Syrian Defense headquarters in Damascus to halt the bloodshed in Sweida. Eckstein added that at least «26 Druze villages were fully burned.»

Since Fox News Digital’s interview with Eckstein, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at «least 30 villages were damaged by arson and destruction.»

Eckstein said the Fellowship first provided aid in Syria in April when Druze in Syria were targeted and killed. 

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«When we provided 1.500 food boxes to the Druze within 13 kilometers of Israel’s borders after the massacre in April, two days later Islamists burned boxes of the Fellowship,» Eckstein sid. 

Israel and Syria do not have diplomatic relations. Syria is considered an enemy state because it has launched multiple wars against Israel since the rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948. 

Eckstein said the Fellowship is «operating in enemy territory, and Jews and Christians are providing life-saving aid. Islamists don’t like it. We would like to see that it is in the Syrian government’s interests to receive aid and hope that more goodness will be brought to Syria.

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«Now, Jewish people are standing with Christians who are being persecuted in Syria. It is really important to highlight that this is a case of good versus evil and is not just limited to Syria. It is important for Jews and Christians to stand together regarding Judeo-Christian values that sanctify life.» 

aid deliveries

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews delivered aid to Druze, Christian and other minorities affected by recent attacks. Trucks entered through Israel’s border with Syria. (The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER LIFTING SANCTIONS ON SYRIA

Safwan Marich of the Israeli Druze community runs the Fellowship’s Emergency Response Center and told Fox News Digital that, in the Sweida region, «tyhere is a genocide going on. This needs no further explanation, especially for the Jewish people.

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«Once the residents of the deserted village come back, they will understand the magnitude of disaster. Women were kidnapped by jihads, and children were kidnapped and missing.»

Marich has been in contact with his fellow Druze in Syria.

«This war is religious in essence,» he said. «There is a video of Daesh [Islamic State] going to one of the villages asking, ‘Are you a Druze or Sunni?’ And he answered that he is Syrian. He asked him again, so he answered Druze, and he was shot in the middle of the street. It is obvious there is a religious motivation behind this event.

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«It is important for me to help the Druze because, first and foremost, I am a Druze. The Druze people are not aggressive and hostile, but they will not sit idly by when they are attacked. We have in the Druze tradition a commandment to help our brothers. To come to aid of Druze community wherever it might be in the world.

Ahmad al-Sharaa

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not seen) and Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa hold a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 4, 2025. (Mehmet Ali Ozcan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Marich also noted he is Israeli, and the other day a Druze officer was killed in Gaza. Twelve officers from the Druze community have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

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«They died defending Israel and the Jewish people. We have an expectation that Israeli society will come through and stand by Druze community, and so we can defend our brothers in Syria. The state of Israel cannot afford to have Daesh on its borders and in the Golan Heights.» 

He pointed to the example of Hamas on the border and its growth as a military danger over the years as a warning about radical Islamists gaining a foothold on the Syrian-Israeli border.

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Japón: Hiroshima llama al mundo a abandonar las armas nucleares 80 años después de la bomba atómica que devastó la ciudad

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Japón conmemora este miércoles el 80º aniversario del lanzamiento de la bomba atómica sobre Hiroshima, con una ceremonia que espera un récord de países participantes, en un contexto marcado por llamamientos a abandonar las armas nucleares y las guerras en Ucrania y Oriente Medio.

A las 08.15 del 6 de agosto de 1945, Estados Unidos arrojó su bomba atómica sobre esa ciudad nipona, lo que mató a unas 140.000 personas. Tres días después, un proyectil idéntico cayó sobre Nagasaki y dejó otros 74.000 fallecidos, aproximadamente.

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Estos dos ataques, que precipitaron el fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, son los únicos casos en la historia en los que se han utilizado armas nucleares en tiempo de guerra.

Representantes de 120 países y regiones asistirán a la ceremonia organizada el miércoles en Hiroshima, según responsables de la ciudad.

Sin embargo, no estarán presentes grandes potencias nucleares como Rusia, China y Pakistán. Irán, acusado de intentar dotarse de una bomba atómica, sí estará representado.

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Contrariamente a su costumbre, Japón ha indicado que no ha «seleccionado a sus invitados» para estas conmemoraciones, sino que ha «notificado» a todos los países y regiones la celebración del evento.

Así, Palestina y Taiwán, que Tokio no reconoce oficialmente como países, han anunciado su presencia en este evento por primera vez.

La Cúpula de la Bomba Atómica se refleja en el río Motoyasu durante un evento de fuego de agua en el Parque Conmemorativo de la Paz en Hiroshima, oeste de Japón. Foto EFE

«La existencia de líderes (políticos) que quieren reforzar su poder militar para resolver los conflictos, incluso mediante la posesión de armas atómicas, dificulta el establecimiento de la paz mundial», declaró la semana pasada el alcalde de Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, en referencia a las guerras en Ucrania y Oriente Medio.

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Matsui también instó el mes pasado a Donald Trump a visitar Hiroshima, después de que el presidente estadounidense comparara los recientes ataques aéreos contra Irán con los bombardeos atómicos de 1945.

«Me parece que no comprende plenamente la realidad de los bombardeos atómicos, que, si se utilizan, cuestan la vida a muchos ciudadanos inocentes, ya sean amigos o enemigos, y amenazan la supervivencia de la humanidad», subrayó entonces el alcalde.

Hoy en día, Hiroshima es una próspera metrópoli de 1,2 millones de habitantes, pero las ruinas de un edificio coronado por el esqueleto metálico de una cúpula se alzan en el centro de la ciudad, recordando el horror del ataque.

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«Es importante que muchas personas se reúnan en esta ciudad afectada por la bomba atómica, porque las guerras continúan» en todo el mundo, insistió Toshiyuki Mimaki, copresidente de Nihon Hidankyo, un grupo de supervivientes de la bomba ganador del Premio Nobel de la Paz 2024.

En 1945, Estados Unidos lanzó dos bombas nucleares sobre las ciudades de Hiroshima y Nagasaki el 6 y el 9 de agosto, respectivamente, causando la muerte de más de 200.000 personas. Foto EFEEn 1945, Estados Unidos lanzó dos bombas nucleares sobre las ciudades de Hiroshima y Nagasaki el 6 y el 9 de agosto, respectivamente, causando la muerte de más de 200.000 personas. Foto EFE

Nihon Hidankyo insta a los países a actuar para eliminar las armas nucleares, al basarse en los testimonios de los supervivientes de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, conocidos como «hibakusha».

«Deseo que los representantes extranjeros visiten el Museo Memorial de la Paz y comprendan lo que ocurrió», explicó Mimaki.

Transmitir la memoria de los «hibakusha» y las lecciones aprendidas de la catástrofe es un reto cada vez mayor para esta organización, ya que la edad media de los supervivientes es ahora de 86 años.

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Un visitante observa una enorme fotografía de Hiroshima devastada por el primer bombardeo atómico del mundo en el Museo Memorial de la Paz de Hiroshima, Japón. Foto EFEUn visitante observa una enorme fotografía de Hiroshima devastada por el primer bombardeo atómico del mundo en el Museo Memorial de la Paz de Hiroshima, Japón. Foto EFE

«Creo que la tendencia mundial hacia un mundo sin armas nucleares continuará. La generación joven está trabajando duro para lograrlo», aseguró a la AFP Kunihiko Sakuma, de 80 años, que tenía nueve meses cuando se produjo el bombardeo y se encontraba a 3 km del punto de impacto.

Sakuma, que se reunirá con el primer ministro Shigeru Ishiba tras la ceremonia, tiene la intención de pedirle que Tokio se adhiera al tratado de la ONU para la prohibición de las armas nucleares firmado en 2017.

Tokio se ha negado a suscribirlo, al alegar que su objetivo no es viable sin la ayuda de los estados que poseen armas atómicas.

El sábado, Nagasaki también espera un número récord de países en sus propias conmemoraciones, entre ellos Rusia, que asistirá por primera vez desde su invasión a Ucrania en 2022.

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Este año «queremos que los participantes vengan y vean con sus propios ojos la realidad de la catástrofe que puede provocar un arma nuclear», declaró a la AFP un responsable de esa ciudad.

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6 criminal aliens nabbed in Houston ICE raids boast startling number of convictions

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A group of six criminal illegal aliens have been arrested by ICE in Houston after having collectively illegally entered the country a staggering 42 times. 

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The six criminal aliens were finally arrested by ICE in the final days of July after two decades’ worth of illegal reentries and after racking up an equally astounding 48 criminal convictions, according to a statement released on Tuesday. 

Criminal convictions among the group include cocaine trafficking, grand theft auto, assault, domestic violence and multiple DWIs. One of the illegals is a documented member of a cartel-connected gang. 

According to ICE, one illegal, Oscar Moran Valle, a 43-year-old Mexican national and documented Paisas gang member, illegally entered the U.S. 12 times. He has been convicted of 11 criminal offenses, including three convictions for illegal entry, two for DWI, and one each for drug possession, larceny, giving a false ID to law enforcement, illegal reentry and driving without a license. He was arrested by ICE on July 29.

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ICE LODGES DETAINER AGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING, SEXUALLY ASSAULTING NEIGHBOR IN TEXAS

Left to right (top): Alex Salomon Reyes-Chavez, Thanh Van Nguyen, Oscar Moran Valle. Left to right (bottom): Marvin Javier Marquez Celaya, Jose Angel Munoz Saucedo and Angel Bonilla Barahona. (ICE; iStock)

Another, Alex Salomon Reyes-Chavez, a 46-year-old from Honduras, illegally entered the U.S. five times. Reyes-Chavez has been convicted of seven criminal offenses, including two convictions for burglary and heroin possession, as well as convictions for grand theft auto and cocaine trafficking. He was arrested by ICE on July 30.

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Another Honduran national, Angel Bonilla Barahona, 38, was arrested by ICE after illegally entering the U.S. seven times and being convicted of seven criminal offenses, including three convictions for assault as well as convictions for resisting arrest, criminal mischief and flight to avoid arrest.

Marvin Javier Marquez Celaya, a 38-year-old criminal alien from Honduras, arrested by ICE July 30. He illegally entered the U.S. five times and has been convicted of eight criminal offenses, including three convictions for burglary, two for cocaine possession, and one each for larceny, domestic violence and illegal reentry.

Thanh Van Nguyen, a 53-year-old from Vietnam, illegally entered the U.S. and has criminal convictions for burglary, larceny, assault and obstructing police and damaging private property. 

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DHS SCOOPS UP TRANS ILLEGAL ALIEN CHARGED WITH HEINOUS CRIME ON CHILD IN SANCTUARY CITY: ‘WORST OF THE WORST’

ICE officers with suspects being arrested

ICE made 422 arrests earlier this year in an operation in Houston spanning just one week. (Fox News)

The last of the six, Jose Angel Munoz Saucedo, a 40-year-old from Mexico, illegally entered the U.S. 12 times and has been convicted of eight criminal offenses, including four convictions for DWI, two for illegal entry, and one for fleeing from a police officer.

ICE said the six were arrested by multiagency targeting teams established under the Trump administration to target the «worst of the worst» criminal illegal aliens for removal. 

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Commenting on the arrests, Gabriel Martinez, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting field office director, thanked the administration for making immigration enforcement a priority so that such criminal illegals «will no longer be able to prey on innocent Americans.»

VENEZUELAN SUSPECT ‘SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN IN THE UNITED STATES,’ POLICE CHIEF SAYS AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING

Trump, left; ICE jacket, right

Commenting on the arrests, Gabriel Martinez, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting field office director, thanked the Trump administration for making immigration enforcement a priority so that such criminal illegals «will no longer be able to prey on innocent Americans.» (Trump-Vance Transition Team; ICE)

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«For the past 20 years, these six violent criminal aliens have brazenly violated our nation’s immigration and criminal laws, wreaking havoc in our local communities and leaving countless victims in their wake,» said Martinez. «Thanks to the current administration’s focus on securing the border and making immigration enforcement a priority, they have been removed from the local community.»

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Brother of Israeli hostage urges UN to act after video shows Hamas starving and torturing captives

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Ilay David, the brother of 22-year-old hostage Evyatar David, delivered an emotional plea to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, calling for urgent international action after a horrific new video showed his emaciated brother being forced to dig his own grave inside a Hamas tunnel.

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The Security Council session was requested by Israel and comes as the country stands on the verge of a full annexation of Gaza — a move prompted by the collapse of ceasefire talks and the release of disturbing images of starving hostages.

Evyatar David was abducted from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2024. In the newly received footage, he appears frail — reduced to just 90 pounds — and is seen struggling to speak.

NETANYAHU RESPONDS AFTER ISRAELI HOSTAGE SEEN EMACIATED, DIGGING GRAVE: ‘CRUELTY OF HAMAS HAS NO BOUNDARIES’

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Members of the United Nations Security Council listen as Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, and holds up a photo of his brother in captivity as he speaks during a meeting called by Israel.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Holding up a still from the video, Ilay David described a haunting visual: «As my younger brother, a living skeleton, was forced to speak and dig his grave, the chubby and well-fed hand of a Hamas terrorist entered the frame. Suddenly, Hamas confirmed what we have known for months — the terrorists have plenty of food. The only ones starving in Hamas’ tunnels are the hostages: my brother, Guy, and the [49] others.»

«My mother and I could not bring ourselves to watch it,» he said, speaking remotely via Zoom, «But my father and sister did. And now the images haunt them.»

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Citing testimony from former hostages — including Tal Shoham, whose account was first published by Fox News Digital — David said the terrorists remain in nearby rooms while deliberately starving captives as part of a «sick and twisted propaganda campaign.»

«This is a humanitarian crisis — the crisis of the hostages — that is not being discussed here,» he said. «Not in the Security Council, and not in other U.N. forums. The very soul of humanity is being scarred by Hamas’s barbaric actions.»

Protesters rallied near the United Nations, demanding immediate medical care and the release of hostages held by Hamas. 

Protesters rallied near the United Nations, demanding immediate medical care and the release of hostages held by Hamas.  (Yoav Ginsburg/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

TRUMP: HAMAS SURRENDER, HOSTAGE RELEASE IS ‘FASTEST WAY’ TO END GAZA WAR

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The meeting of the U.N. Security Council was convened following the release of the latest hostage video. Israel believes that as few as 20 hostages remain alive in Hamas captivity — many in critical condition, with only days left to live.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who attended the session in New York, emphasized ahead of the meeting that while Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza, Hamas is deliberately starving the hostages. 

«Evyatar was forced to dig his own grave. This is satanic,» he said. «These are evil crimes — like those committed by the Nazis and ISIS.»

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (R) and Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon (L) speak to journalists ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters on August 5, 2025 in New York

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (R) and Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon (L) speak to journalists ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters on August 5, 2025 in New York (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Sa’ar also warned that recent moves by several nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state have emboldened Hamas and undermined negotiations. 

«They gave Hamas free gifts and an incentive to continue this war,» he said. «They directly assassinated the hostage deal and ceasefire. These countries prolonged the war.»

Ilay David ended his address with a desperate appeal: «We, the family of Evyatar, refuse to give up hope. We are weeping, we are suffering, but we are also fighting with every fiber of our being. We will not give up until we see him back home — until my mother and father can hug him again.»

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«To the leaders of the world, to every member of this Council, and to the global community: Your silence in the face of this monstrous cruelty is complicity. I urge you — do not let them die. Act now, before it’s too late. Save Evyatar David. Bring my little brother home.»

When asked by reporters at the White House on Tuesday if he had seen the Hamas video of Evyatar David, President Donald Trump said he had, calling it «horrible.»

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