INTERNACIONAL
Gazan boy alive after ex-GHF ‘whistleblower’ falsely claimed IDF killed him
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A young Gazan boy dubbed «Amir» who traveled to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site and was reported as having been killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in May, has been found alive hiding out with his mother.
Both were safely extracted from the Gaza Strip earlier this month, though the location has not been disclosed for their security.
The boy, whose full name was later discovered to be Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, nicknamed Abboud, and who is 8 years old but will turn 9 in October, appeared with his mother, Najlaa, at GHF Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 late last month in a heavy disguise to avoid detection, a GHF representative involved in the operation confirmed to Fox News Digital.
An extensive internal operation by the GHF was launched to uncover the identity of the boy in late July after a former GHF employee, Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army and retired Green Beret Lt. Col. turned alleged «whistleblower,» gave a series of explosive interviews in which he said a 10-year-old boy he called Amir, was killed by IDF forces after leaving a GHF aid site on May 28.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO REVEALS GAZA BOY, SAID TO BE KILLED BY IDF, IS ALIVE
Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, 8 years old, has been discovered with his mother in the Gaza Strip following a GHF investigation that concluded when they appeared as Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 in the Gaza Strip on Aug. 23, 2025. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation )
In his account, Aguilar showed images taken using his cellphone of the boy approaching himself and another contractor clutching bags of food and barefoot.
The former Green Beret turned GHF contractor for UG Solutions – a subcontractor of the GHF which received $30 million in U.S. government funding to support its «critical work» – described to multiple outlets an emotional encounter he had with the Palestinian child, in which he claimed the boy kissed his hand, touched Aguilar’s face, and thanked him for the supplies of rice and lentils he had found.
But the footage taken by Aguilar and handed over to GHF officials before it was obtained by Fox News Digital, did not show this interaction ever took place.
The GHF contested Aguilar’s account on several fronts and pointed out the hand the boy kissed was that of Aguilar’s colleague standing to his left, which the footage also showed.
Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden and his mother appeared at the GHF SDS 3 ending a weeks-long search for him on Aug. 23, 2025. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation)
When asked by Fox News Digital why he said the boy engaged with him in this manner despite what the footage shows, he maintained his story and said, «Amir kissed my right hand. He kissed my forehead, too. He thanked us and told us he was very hungry and thankful.»
In multiple interviews with various outlets, Aguilar described how the boy then returned to the group where other Palestinians were gathered at the distribution site before they were then dispersed by GHF contractors through the use of pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades and bullets fired into the air, forcing them to flee the compound.
However, Fox News Digital was told that the GHF did not yet have access to non-lethal arms in the early days of the operations, according to a GHF colleague who was aware of Aguilar’s position at SDS 3 on May 28.
Additionally, Aguilar claimed that once the Palestinian civilians had been pushed out of the SDS center, IDF forces then opened fire on the crowd and killed «Amir,» along with other Palestinians. He reiterated this claim in an interview late last month in which he told Dialogue Works that the boy had received a «shot to the torso, a shot to the leg – dead.»
But the GHF challenged Aguilar’s story – including the location of where he claimed the event occurred.
In one of his first accounts of the incident on July 29 to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Aguilar claimed the killing happened first outside GHF aid site SDS 1 before telling MSNBC on Aug. 2 that the shooting happened near SDS 2, and then telling Dialogue Works last month the events occurred outside SDS 3.
On Sept. 9, Chris Hayes gave an update on the report, telling viewers that the boy who was reported dead was, in fact, found to be alive. He said NBC producers had confirmed that the boy was now out of Gaza in an unnamed country.
Multiple GHF sources confirmed that no such incident was reported at or outside SDS 1 or SDS 3, and SDS 2 was not yet even operational on May 28.
Fox News Digital confirmed in speaking with multiple sources that Aguilar was on SDS 3 on May 28.
Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, 8 years old, has been discovered with his mother in the Gaza Strip following a GHF investigation that concluded when they appeared as Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 on Aug. 23, 2025. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation )
In comments to Fox News Digital, Aguilar said, «I sincerely, and with bated breath and joy, hope that Amir is alive. I’ve always said as much. I have been in contact with his family and others, and Amir’s family is not aware that he is alive, only that he is ‘gone’.
«I have always said that due to GHF and IDF restrictions from UG S[olutions] personnel moving beyond the concentration camp style corals extending from the North entrance, that I was NOT, say again, NOT able to verify Amir’s death,» he said. «But I did in fact see Palestinians gunned down by IDF machine gun fire at the intersection of the SDS 3 exit and the military corridor, north of SDS 3, where an IDF Merkava tank was located.»
ISRAEL SAYS UN MISLEADS WORLD AS GAZA AID STOLEN AND DIVERTED FROM CIVILIANS
Abboud’s stepmother also later told the GHF that the boy didn’t go missing until July 28, two months after Aguilar said he had been killed.
Abboud ran away to be with his birth mother on July 28 amid a rift with his stepmother’s family, whose custody he was put in following the death of his father, per Palestinian law.
A GHF representative involved in the operation explained the search to find Abboud became not only a matter necessary to uncover what allegedly happened on May 28, but because there was increasing concern regarding threats posed by Hamas as traction picked up around the story.
The official explained that Hamas had a vested interest in making sure this child was not found, as it would discredit Aguilar’s story that a Palestinian boy had been gunned down by Israeli forces outside a GHF site.
Ultimately, the GHF were able to locate the boy and his birth mother by speaking with local Palestinians and later, a family member who agreed to speak with the team before connecting them with Najlaa.
ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS DRAG AS AID GROUP CHAIR TELLS UN TO STOP ACTING LIKE THE ‘MAFIA’
She then brought Abboud to the GHF site so that she, her son, and four other male family members whose identities Fox News Digital has agreed to conceal, could be extracted from the Gaza Strip, after at least one of the male family members received direct threats from the Hamas terrorist network.
In an interview shared with Fox News Digital, Najlaa is seen sitting with Abboud and another young male, who was also set to be extracted with them, speaking with GHF officials.
In the video, which Fox News Digital did not post to protect multiple identities, Abboud refers to Najlaa as his «mama» and, according to a translation of the comments, he says he is happy to be with her while smiling and sitting next to her.
The identities of Abboud, his mother and his relatives were verified by GHF using facial recognition software that compared the images of the boy with those captured by Aguilar.
Facial recognition software, biometric data and the death certificate of Abboud’s father, were used by GHF to verify the family members’ identities and relationships, and were also shared with Fox News Digital.
Abboud also brought the shirt he was wearing in the footage taken by Aguilar, which is what the former GHF contractor said the boy was wearing when he was allegedly gunned down.
Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, 8 years old, arrived with the T-shirt he was wearing on May 28, 2025, in the footage taken by Anthony Aguilar at GHF Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 on Aug. 23, 2025. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation )
Aguilar did not respond to Fox News Digital regarding the intact shirt, and said, «the new pictures are not Amir.»
When pressed on where specifically he thought there were discrepancies in the images of the boy, he said, «Amir in my photos had a scar on his left clavicle. The boy featured by GHF does not. The Amir in my photos from SDS 3, does not have a scar on the right side of his forehead as the GHF’s photos show.»
The GHF representative confirmed that the boy’s scars were in fact used to verify his identity.
«I believe that is a boy of similar appearance,» Aguilar said, noting he believes the outcome of the investigation «is a lie.»
The GHF spokesperson for the organization, Chapin Fay, called Aguilar’s story regarding the boy and his alleged murder by the IDF «false» during a press conference earlier this month.
Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him during a July 29 press conference were «libel and slanderous.»
Fay described him as a «disgruntled former employee» who was «terminated for cause» after he engaged in «volatile conflicts with staff and erratic behavior.»
According to text messages shared with Fox News Digital, Aguilar also did not handle being removed from his role well, and threatened in a text exchange with a GHF official that he «could be your best friend, or your worst nightmare» if they didn’t «put [him] back to work.»
Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden seen smiling at the GHF’s SDS 3 on Aug. 25, 2025 in Gaza Strip. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation )
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
David Panzer, counsel for UG Solutions, echoed this belief in a statement he gave on July 29 in which he said, «Mr. Aguilar was terminated from his contract with UG Solutions on June 13, 2025, due to poor performance, volatile conflicts with staff, and erratic behavior.
«Since termination, Mr. Aguilar has spread a false narrative to media outlets around the world, all at the same time begging UG Solutions to hire him back,» Panzer added. «Mr. Aguilar’s activities in the last several weeks make clear that he’s making good on his threats to, in his own words…be UG Solutions’s ‘worst nightmare’ if they didn’t hire him back.»
Panzer said Aguilar’s comments «raise[d] substantial questions of motive.»
Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him in the July 29 press conference were «libel and slanderous.»
middle east,israel,world,human rights,anti semitism
INTERNACIONAL
Imágenes satelitales muestran cómo el régimen de Irán reconstruye las plantas nucleares bombardeadas en la Guerra de los 12 días
Imágenes satelitales recientes muestran nuevos techos en dos instalaciones nucleares iraníes después de que fueran atacadas por Estados Unidos en junio del año pasado.
Las fotografías satelitales tomadas por Planet Labs PBC muestran estructuras reconstruidas sobre edificios previamente destruidos en los sitios nucleares de Natanz e Isfahan.
Estados Unidos atacó las instalaciones nucleares iraníes de Fordow, Isfahan y Natanz en junio de 2025, durante una guerra de 12 días entre Israel e Irán que paralizó las negociaciones nucleares entre Washington y Teherán.
Desde entonces, Teherán ha afirmado que su trabajo de enriquecimiento de uranio se ha detenido, pero las tensiones siguen siendo altas en medio de un despliegue militar de la Marina estadounidense cerca de Irán, tras una violenta represión contra manifestaciones antigubernamentales el mes pasado.
Las imágenes satelitales del 21 de junio de 2025 mostraban edificios destruidos en el sitio nuclear de Isfahan. Nuevas fotografías tomadas el 1 de febrero de 2026 revelan que se ha construido un nuevo techo sobre las estructuras previamente dañadas.
De manera similar, en Natanz, las imágenes del 17 de junio de 2025 mostraban instalaciones destruidas, mientras que las fotografías del 30 de enero de 2026 evidencian la construcción de nuevos techos sobre los edificios afectados.
El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, quien se abstuvo de cumplir las amenazas de intervenir durante la represión de las protestas, ha exigido desde entonces que Teherán haga concesiones nucleares y envió una flotilla a su costa.
Trump dijo la semana pasada que Irán estaba “hablando en serio”, mientras que el principal funcionario de seguridad de Teherán, Ali Larijani, afirmó que se están realizando los arreglos para negociaciones.
El presidente iraní Masud Pezeshkian ordenó este lunes la apertura de conversaciones con Estados Unidos sobre el programa nuclear de la República Islámica, después de que Trump se mostrara optimista sobre un acuerdo para evitar una intervención militar.
El ejército estadounidense ha trasladado el portaviones USS Abraham Lincoln y varios destructores con misiles guiados a Oriente Medio, intensificando la presión sobre Irán.
Estados Unidos exige que Irán renuncie por completo al enriquecimiento de uranio, algo a lo que Teherán se niega, alegando su derecho en virtud del Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear, del que es signatario.
El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores iraní, Abbas Araghchi, dijo el domingo que Irán está “totalmente de acuerdo” con el rechazo de Trump a las armas nucleares. “Por supuesto, a cambio, esperamos un levantamiento de las sanciones”, añadió.
Las conversaciones previas entre Araghchi y el enviado especial de Trump, Steve Witkoff, se estancaron en la cuestión del enriquecimiento de uranio antes de la guerra de junio.
Países occidentales sospechan que la República Islámica pretende dotarse del arma atómica, algo que Teherán desmiente categóricamente.
Mientras tanto, Turquía está intentando organizar una reunión entre Witkoff y funcionarios iraníes para iniciar conversaciones que alivien la amenaza de una acción militar estadounidense contra la República Islámica, según dos funcionarios turcos.
La presión sobre Teherán se ha intensificado desde principios de enero, tras la feroz represión de una oleada de protestas que sacudió al país. Según la ONG Human Rights Activists News Agency, con sede en Estados Unidos, la represión dejó al menos 6.842 muertos confirmados, en su mayoría manifestantes.
La Unión Europea respondió a la represión designando al Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica como organización terrorista, lo que provocó que Irán convocara a todos los embajadores de la UE para protestar.
Irán ha advertido que cualquier ataque estadounidense conduciría a una “guerra regional”, según declaró el líder supremo, el ayatolá Alí Khamenei.
International,Relations,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,Middle East
INTERNACIONAL
Education experts warn Mamdani plan could gut NYC gifted programs, hurt low-income students
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has outlined plans to scale back the city’s Gifted and Talented program, prompting some education experts to warn that doing so could deprive high-achieving students, particularly those from low-income families, of critical academic opportunities.
Recent media reports indicate that Mamdani, who took office in January, intends to end the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarten students and delay entry until third grade, a move critics argue would amount to a major weakening of accelerated learning options in the nation’s largest school district.
The plan is drawing sharp criticism from Defending Education, a national education watchdog group that previously fought, and won, a years-long legal battle to preserve New York’s gifted programs after it was argued that the admissions system had discriminatory effects and reinforced racial inequities in education.
«The Court of Appeals rightly concluded that the role of the judiciary is not to make education policy,» Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital, adding that the program complied with state education law and equal protection requirements.
GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to end the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarten students and delay entry until third grade. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Perry warned that Mamdani’s policy agenda could undo what the courts upheld.
«As we suspected he might, newly minted democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani — himself, a product of expensive private schools — has pledged to shut down the gifted and talented program, despite the fact that it has helped countless students from humble backgrounds achieve their full academic potential,» Perry told Fox News Digital.
«Depriving kids of much-needed advanced learning opportunities is not only foolhardy, but it’s also the height of hypocrisy coming from someone who was born into affluence and attended costly private schools. Apparently, Mamdani believes only the privileged should have access to various educational opportunities.»
‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES
Mamdani has argued that early gifted testing contributes to inequities in the school system, though critics counter that dismantling selective programs does little to improve outcomes for struggling students while actively harming high performers.
Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives for K-12 programs at Defending Education, echoed Perry’s concerns, emphasizing the impact such changes could have on working-class families.
«On behalf of parents who simply want the best possible education for their children, Defending Education spent years in court fighting to preserve New York City’s gifted and talented programs against efforts to use the courts to inject race into every aspect of the school system,» Runko said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was elected in November 2025 and sworn in as the city’s first socialist mayor on Jan. 1, 2026. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
«Those efforts may succeed if Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves forward with eliminating these accelerated learning opportunities,» he warned. «Students, particularly those from lower-income families who benefit from NYC’s gifted and talented programs, deserve opportunities for academic excellence, not a one-size-fits-all approach that could weaken learning for all students.»
Mamdani’s office pushed back on Defending Education’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that the administration opposes testing five-year-olds for gifted and talented programs but is not eliminating advanced learning opportunities across all grade levels.
Mamdani’s office said the focus is instead on reshaping the public school system to provide «rigorous» instruction for all students, rather than separating children at an early age.
Mamdani faced heated criticism from his opponents in the mayoral race regarding his plans to change the program, as well as from the Washington Post editorial board in October.
«Who could have guessed that Zohran Mamdani (D), the leading candidate to become the next New York mayor, would provoke a firestorm by announcing this week that he intends to phase out the city’s early elementary school programs for gifted students in the name of equity? Parents of bright children want access to schooling that meets their needs?» The Post wrote. «Shocking.»
zohran mamdani,politics,education,campus radicals
INTERNACIONAL
Iran ramps up regional threats as Trump considers talks, and eyewitness accounts of regime violence emerge
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran gain momentum, Iran has intensified its rhetoric toward the region while continuing a violent crackdown at home, according to analysts and eyewitness accounts obtained by Fox News Digital.
On Sunday and Monday morning, Iran issued fresh warnings that any military strike on its territory would ignite a regional conflict, even as senior Iranian officials signaled a willingness to negotiate. Reuters reported Monday that Tehran is examining the possibility of renewed nuclear talks with the United States, with Turkey emerging as a potential venue and regional mediators, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, playing an active role, after President Donald Trump said he was hopeful a deal could be reached to avert military action against Iran.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to Axios. The publication also reported that Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday.
IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests in Tehran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
The talks are expected to focus on Iran, following Zamir’s weekend visit to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with U.S. defense officials on the Islamic Republic.
Benny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital this pattern is consistent with Tehran’s long-standing strategy.
«This is very typical behavior for the Iranian regime,» Sabti said. He said Iran deliberately escalated threats days ago, warning that if it were attacked, no country in the Middle East would be safe. «They treat the region as if it is being held hostage,» he said, adding that the tactic appears to have worked.
Sabti pointed to the list of mediators now involved. «Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, all of them went to the United States pushing for talks,» he said. «They are trying to avoid being dragged into the Iranian threat.»
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran on Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
According to Sabti, Tehran is also projecting mixed messages by design. «There are two voices coming out of Iran,» he said. «On one side, the generals, the IRGC, the military, escalating threats. On the other side, the foreign minister and the president are talking about negotiations.»
On Monday morning, Al Arabiya reported that Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars deleted a report that referenced approval for negotiations with the United States.
Sabti said that even Iran’s National Security Council reflects this dual messaging. He noted that a deputy official recently signaled Iran would not yet further advance its enriched uranium, while military officials simultaneously escalated rhetoric. «It is meant to confuse the enemy and to keep the entire Middle East under pressure,» he said.
While Iran’s external posture oscillates between threats and diplomacy, reports from inside the country point to an intensifying crackdown on protesters.
Independent casualty estimates vary widely. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that, based on its latest aggregated data, 6,842 people had been confirmed killed by the end of the 36th day of protests. According to HRANA, 6,425 of those killed were recorded as protesters, while 146 were children under the age of 18. An additional 11,280 cases remain under review. HRANA and other opposition-linked groups have warned that the final toll could be significantly higher, with some estimates reaching as high as 30,000 deaths.
Fox News Digital received eyewitness accounts from individuals identified as part of the MEK’s Resistance Units network inside Iran.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS
Opposition-linked groups warn that the final death toll could be as high as 30,000. (MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images))
One eyewitness from Eslamshahr, a southern district of Tehran, said a group of 27 protesters was fired upon, killing 10. The source said a cousin was killed, another cousin, Melika, 20, was mutilated, and the bodies were buried in a nearby park.
In Lahijan, in northern Gilan Province, an eyewitness said 30 protesters were shot outside the governor’s office on Jan. 8, with seven later dying in the hospital. In Shiraz, a 16-year-old said he was shot with pellet guns in the lips, eye and throat and is now experiencing vision problems.
Another eyewitness from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran said that since Jan. 18, martial law has been imposed, with residents barred from the streets after 4 p.m. local time. The source claimed security forces entered hospitals to remove or kill wounded protesters and that families were allegedly told to pay 10 billion rials, roughly $8,000, to recover the bodies of their children.
Sabti said the renewed diplomacy has also deepened public disillusionment inside Iran.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Iranian security forces allegedly killed detainees and burned bodies during protests, with clashes continuing in Kermanshah, Rasht and Mashhad despite government claims. (NCRI)
«Many protesters are very disappointed,» he said. «When Trump said on Jan. 13 that ‘help is on its way,’ they believed it. They were very emotional about it. After 47 years, an American president was speaking in support of the Iranian people. But now they interpret his words as helping the regime, not the protesters. The disappointment is very deep.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
iran,world protests,saudi arabia,turkey,israel,donald trump
Congreso: con la reforma laboral en el centro del debate, comienzan las sesiones extraordinarias
Imágenes satelitales muestran cómo el régimen de Irán reconstruye las plantas nucleares bombardeadas en la Guerra de los 12 días
Cómo es el nuevo Índice de Precios que estaba por publicar el director saliente del Indec
Así fue el encuentro entre Nicki Nicole y Billie Eilish en los Grammy: el momento más comentado de la ceremonia
La FIFA pretende levantar el veto a Rusia: ‘Solo ha creado más frustración y odio’
El Gobierno salió a defender la reforma laboral en el inicio de las sesiones extraordinarias: “No se pierden derechos y se regularizan los litigios”
La escandalosa prohibición de María Susini: por qué no quiere que Facundo Arana se acerque a sus hijos
A qué hora puede llover hoy en CABA, según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional
Julieta Díaz contó por qué no funcionó su noviazgo con Luciano Castro en medio de la separación con Griselda Siciliani
Estados Unidos advirtió al régimen de Irán que “no tolerará” ejercicios militares “inseguros” cerca de sus fuerzas en Medio Oriente
CHIMENTOS3 días agoJulieta Díaz contó por qué no funcionó su noviazgo con Luciano Castro en medio de la separación con Griselda Siciliani
- INTERNACIONAL2 días ago
Estados Unidos advirtió al régimen de Irán que “no tolerará” ejercicios militares “inseguros” cerca de sus fuerzas en Medio Oriente
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
Las tensiones geopolíticas alteran los mercados pero benefician a la Argentina por un inesperado motivo
