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Israel, Hamas talks drag as aid group chair tells UN to stop acting like the ‘mafia’
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Negotiations to secure a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seem to have hit an impasse amid hopes from top mediators, including President Donald Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, that a deal can be reached soon.
There are several issues that remain major hurdles in securing lasting peace in the Gaza Strip and the return of all the hostages, according to multiple sources that Fox News Digital has spoken with.
But one of the top sticking points has reportedly been the question of aid to the Palestinians and who exactly should be distributing the direly needed support.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
TRUMP SAYS ‘VERY CLOSE’ TO SECURING ISRAEL, HAMAS CEASEFIRE, RETURNING HOSTAGES
«This is a complex political environment right in the middle of a ceasefire negotiation,» Chairman for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) Rev. Johnnie Moore told Fox News Digital. «I understand on the first night of the ceasefire negotiation, one of the primary issues that Hamas and their negotiators brought up was they wanted to see the elimination of the GHF.
«Which ought to tell you something,» he continued. «Hamas didn’t want 70 million meals of food in the Gaza Strip for the people they allege they care about – this is absurd.»
Following Israel’s near-three-month blockade on aid to the Gaza Strip, the GHF – a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid mechanism – was, in late May, permitted to initiate food delivery with the assistance of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) as a means to ensure food trucks were not overrun and ransacked by the Hamas terrorist group.
The GHF, which has faced stiff backlash for its divergence from traditional humanitarian assistance methods, has argued that its convoys have been far better secured from Hamas attacks than United Nations’ delivery trucks, and therefore ensured the aid has actually ended up in the hands of Palestinian civilians.
Hamas has long used humanitarian assistance as a means of control over Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and as a tool for recruitment, going so far as to threaten starving civilians from accepting GHF food aid for their families in late May, telling them they «will pay the price, and we will take the necessary measures.»
The GHF has delivered some 70 million meals to between 800,000 and 1 million Palestinians, Moore confirmed.
But reports have repeatedly surfaced claiming that Palestinians flocking to the four distribution sites have faced insurmountable dangers and on Friday the U.N. Human Rights Office said it believed nearly 800 people had been killed near aid sites.
Palestinians in Gaza get aid from the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation)
US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES BOLD NEW SYSTEM TO DELIVER FOOD DIRECTLY TO FAMILIES
The office based in Geneva said it had recorded some 615 people were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites and 183 near other aid convoys, and according to spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani, the majority of these deaths were caused by «gunshot injuries.»
The U.N. did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about whether it was the IDF or Hamas that was on the firing end of the gun, and whether these deaths occurred as a direct result of civilians seeking aid, chaotic eruptions that ensued outside of distribution centers, or if these were deaths occurred amid the continued war as civilians were in the process of heading to distributions centers.
The IDF earlier this month said that following an investigation into civilian casualties reported at aid distribution sites, it had issued new orders to its South Command based on «lessons learned.»
The GHF this week announced a second phase in its aid delivery system that could lower the threats civilians face when seeking aid, by distributing supplies directly through community leaders across Gaza – meaning there could be less travel involved for civilians in need.
But the GHF also fervently rejects the U.N. death toll figures and Moore maintains that no deaths have occurred on or near their distribution sites.
«The U.N. is lying. They’re just lying. They’re taking statistics that originate from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, and they’re sharing those statistics without any scrutiny at all,» Moore told Fox News Digital.
IDF soldiers fighting in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
ISRAEL RELEASES CONVERSATIONS WITH GAZA RESIDENTS AMID CRITICISMS OF AID DELIVERY SYSTEM
«We know Hamas has routinely lied about civilian death numbers from the beginning of this conflict. We know that Hamas doesn’t distinguish between the death of Hamas militants and between civilians, and…we know that from the very beginning of the operation of GHF, Hamas made an intentional decision that the best way to see the end of GHF was to say that our sites were these death traps,» he added.
The U.N., on the other hand, maintains that it vets its own informants and obtains evidence through «various reliable sources, including medical, human rights and humanitarian organizations.»
But critics of the U.N. continue to question its trustworthiness following the apparent discovery of at least nine employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), who were reportedly involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which saw the death of some 1,200 Israelis and the abductions of another 250 – 50 of whom remain hostage.
Though Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, terminated those employees in October 2024, there remains open hostility between the U.N. agency and Israel, and now the GHF.
Lazzarini, along with more than 200 other humanitarian organizations, has also personally called for the removal of the GHF from the Gaza Strip.
Moore accused the U.N. of employing «mafia»-like tactics by ganging up on the aid program despite the success it has seen by supplying millions of meals.
Palestinians carry aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. (REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)
COULD PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTORS BE THE ‘DAY AFTER’ SOLUTION IN GAZA?
«We want to work with these organizations, but instead of engaging with us, what they’ve been doing is they’ve been working behind the scenes to sabotage us,» Moore said. «There’s no other way to describe it. The U.N. is behaving like a mafia.»
While the U.N. has not officially called for the removal of the GHF, it has criticized the organization’s «militarized» approach to delivering aid, which is not viewed as acceptable by the Sphere Association, which sets the international standards for humanitarian aid.
Both the GHF and the U.N. have said more aid is not only needed, but it would help eliminate the intense security risks affiliated with obtaining humanitarian supplies.
«I have been very clear that the U.N. cannot do humanitarian work alone in Gaza, we need partners,» U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Fox News Digital. «All that we ask is that these partners operate under the globally accepted humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.»
Though both sides ultimately have the same goal, there appears to be an increasing impasse over how to provide stable aid for Palestinians who continue to live in extremely dire situations.
«My mission, and the mission of GHF is really, really simple. It’s just to feed people. And it should not be as controversial as it has been,» Moore said. «My interest has always been in the in the ‘day after’. We have to do both.»
Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive a free meal from a charity food distribution center in Gaza City, northern Gaza, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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«We have to plan for the ‘day after’, and we have to address the emergency, and it’s time for the United Nations to stop playing political games,» he continued. «We can solve the problems together.
«But we have to make the decision to work together. GHF has already made that decision, and we’ve reiterated again and again and again that we want to work with the international community to reach these people. The decision is now theirs, and we’ll be here waiting, our hand extended,» Moore said.
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunció que Israel y el grupo terrorista Hamas llegaron a un acuerdo para un intercambio de rehenes por prisioneros, en el marco de la primera fase de un plan global para la finalización de la guerra en Gaza.
El plan, estructurado en 20 puntos, establece los pasos a seguir en la zona de Medio Oriente. El primer punto del esquema establece que Gaza debe convertirse en “una zona desradicalizada y libre de terrorismo para que no represente una amenaza para sus vecinos”. La segunda cláusula agrega que el enclave “será reconstruido para beneficio de su población, que ha sufrido más que suficiente”.
El tercer apartado fija la condición de que, si ambas partes aceptan, “la guerra terminará inmediatamente”. Israel deberá retirarse a la línea acordada para preparar la liberación de los cautivos, mientras se congelan las operaciones militares. El cuarto punto impone un plazo estricto: “Dentro de las 72 horas de que Israel acepte públicamente este acuerdo, todos los rehenes, vivos y muertos, serán devueltos”.
El quinto punto establece el componente recíproco: tras la liberación de los rehenes, Israel pondrá en libertad a “250 prisioneros condenados a cadena perpetua, además de 1.700 gazatíes detenidos después del 7 de octubre de 2023, incluidas todas las mujeres y niños”.
También se estipula que, por cada rehén fallecido que se devuelva, Israel entregará “los restos de 15 gazatíes”.
El sexto punto aborda el tratamiento de los combatientes de Hamas. Quienes se comprometan a la “coexistencia pacífica y a entregar sus armas” recibirán amnistía, y quienes deseen salir de Gaza contarán con un pasaje seguro hacia otros países.
El séptimo compromiso abre la puerta a la asistencia humanitaria: “Al aceptarse este acuerdo, la ayuda ingresará inmediatamente en Gaza”, con volúmenes mínimos iguales a los pactados en el acuerdo del 19 de enero de 2025, incluyendo reparación de infraestructuras esenciales.
Según el octavo apartado, la distribución de esa ayuda quedará en manos de la ONU, la Cruz Roja y otras instituciones neutrales. El cruce de Rafah se abrirá en ambas direcciones bajo el mismo mecanismo del acuerdo de enero.
El noveno punto crea un gobierno provisional: Gaza quedará bajo la administración de un “comité tecnocrático palestino, apolítico, con supervisión internacional de una ´Junta de Paz´, encabezado por Donald Trump y figuras como Tony Blair”, encargado de la financiación de la reconstrucción hasta que la Autoridad Palestina pueda asumir el control.
El décimo punto introduce un “plan económico de Trump para reconstruir y revitalizar Gaza”, a cargo de expertos en desarrollo urbano del Medio Oriente. El undécimo crea una “zona económica especial con tarifas preferenciales y acceso negociado con países participantes”. El duodécimo apartado garantiza que “nadie será forzado a salir de Gaza”, aunque quienes deseen emigrar pueden hacerlo con derecho de retorno.
El punto trece excluye al grupo terrorista Hamas del futuro político del enclave: “Hamas y otras facciones acuerdan no tener ningún papel en el gobierno de Gaza, directa o indirectamente”. Todo el arsenal militar será destruido bajo supervisión internacional, con un programa de recompra de armas y reintegración financiado por donantes externos. El decimocuarto punto asegura la participación de actores regionales en la vigilancia del cumplimiento de las obligaciones para garantizar que “la nueva Gaza no represente una amenaza”.
El decimoquinto establece una Fuerza Internacional de Estabilización, que “se desplegará de inmediato en Gaza” para entrenar a la policía local y cooperar con Egipto e Israel en el control fronterizo. El decimosexto compromete a Israel a no ocupar ni anexar el territorio, con una retirada progresiva en función de la desmilitarización, conservando solo un perímetro de seguridad transitorio.
El decimoséptimo apartado prevé medidas de ayuda y reconstrucción en zonas “libres de terrorismo” bajo control internacional en caso de que Hamas dilate o rechace el plan.
El decimoctavo punto impulsa “un proceso de diálogo interreligioso basado en la tolerancia y la coexistencia”. El decimonoveno sugiere que “al avanzar la reconstrucción y cumplirse el programa de reforma de la Autoridad Palestina”, podrían darse condiciones para avanzar hacia “la autodeterminación y el Estado palestino”.
El vigésimo y último punto establece que Estados Unidos “abrirá un diálogo entre Israel y los palestinos para acordar un horizonte político de coexistencia pacífica y próspera”.
(Con información de AFP y EFE)
Domestic,Politics,North America,Government / Politics
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It must be something about October and two-year intervals in Congress.
Congress was paralyzed for more than three weeks without a leader two years ago this October as the House unceremoniously ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
And Congress is paralyzed again this October – unable to find the votes to re-open the government.
«There’s nothing for us to negotiate,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. «We did the job to keep the government open. And now it’s on the Senate Democrats.»
OMINOUS RED AND ORANGE SKIES HAD CAPITOL HILL TAKE NOTICE AS SHUTDOWN LOOMED
But Democrats say that’s the problem. There haven’t been negotiations. Save for a brief White House meeting last week between President Trump and the top four bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leaders a day before the shutdown.
«The Majority Leader in the Senate, John Thune, R-S.D., talks about, ‘we’ll have conversations.’ We need more than conversations. We need a real negotiation,» said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., on Fox.
So there are no talks. And the sides are seemingly talking past each other.
It seems as though Congress is positively heading nowhere as shutdown negotiations drag on. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
So, they’ve turned to handicapping.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., gamed out that the shutdown would run another week.
«It won’t end until everybody in the Senate takes their ego out back and shoots it. And then it’ll end,» predicted Kennedy.
It always is, and always will be about the math.
Senate Republicans can conjure up the votes of 55 senators to break a filibuster on the House-passed bill to fund the government. But they need 60 yeas. And Republicans are determined to stick to their playbook.
«I can tell you there’s more than five Democrats in the Senate who know that (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. has led them into a box canyon with this Schumer shutdown,» said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Fox. «But the consequences will start to pile up.»
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: SENATE REVOTES TODAY ON ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wouldn’t directly answer a question about what would trigger federal firings. But Leavitt made clear that jobs hung in the balance.
«We don’t want to see people laid off. But unfortunately, if this shutdown continues, layoffs are going to be an unfortunate consequence of that,» said Leavitt.
Democrats excoriated the Trump Administration for hinting it would cut programs and jobs in agencies important to Democrats.
«Americans really hate bullies. And this kind of bullying from the White House is going to backlash because they understand that an authoritarian president uses grants to New York for infrastructure, laying off workers, deliberately inflicting pain,» predicted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. «Don’t inflict unnecessary pain and then boast about it.»
Some Republicans practically reveled in the White House approach.
«All’s fair in love and war. I think that there’s a price to pay for the Democrats shutting this down,» said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. «These will be part of the consequences.»
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., argued that the shutdown is «collective punishment» and undercuts Republicans equally harshly. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
But one Democrat argued that the Trump administration’s gambit would also undercut Republicans and voters who supported the president. Even in blue states.
«There’s a lot of folks in Vermont, there’s lot of folk in Illinois who voted for President Trump. So this sort of collective punishment,» said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., on Fox. «I think it’s a really bad idea.»
But the president is coy about when the shutdown could trigger federal layoffs.
«It could,» said the president. «At some point it will.»
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that his department saw «a slight uptick» in aviation safety employees who were calling out sick during the shutdown – since they weren’t being paid.
«They’re thinking about how am I going to get a paycheck? How do I make a car payment,» said Duffy.
WHITE HOUSE ESCALATES SHUTDOWN CONSEQUENCES AS DEMOCRATS SHOW NO SIGNS OF BUDGING: ‘KAMIKAZE ATTACK’
But if you squint, you can see a few signs of bipartisanship.
Johnson is discussing Obamacare subsidies with one prominent Democrat.
«I had I think a fruitful discussion, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., about two days ago, a day or so ago,» said Johnson on efforts to address looming Obamacare premium spikes. «Whatever the conference committee comes up with, I will put on the floor. I’m ready to go.»
But Schumer is skeptical about the Speaker’s promises.
«Delay has always been Speaker Johnson’s MO. Speaker Johnson has survived by kicking the can down the road,» said Schumer. «When Johnson says later, they know he means never.»
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., insists Democrats are «playing a losing game.» (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Tension is building as the shutdown barrels into its second week as lawmakers spin in circles.
«I realize that my Democrat colleagues are facing pressure from members of their far left base. But they’re playing a losing game here,» said Thune.
But each side is now engaged in a game of parliamentary chicken. Republicans won’t budge from their demand that Senate Democrats approve their funding plan. And Democrats won’t relent from their insistence that the sides shore up Obamacare subsidies.
«I’m not going to vote to reopen the government until I see a way that we can do that,» said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Even some Republicans worry about Obamacare price spikes.
«There are some folks in what is the new part of the Republican Party, which is blue-collar workers,» said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., on Fox Business. «We have to be careful how we do this. We just shouldn’t cut it. We should make sure we use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer.»
SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
But even if bipartisan senators were to forge a deal, the plan may slam into a brick wall in the House.
«Republicans have spent most of their careers being against Obamacare. Why would they expand it and add a subsidy on top of a subsidy?» asked House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla.
A debate is now raging over which side will cave. Or which party faces political consequences.
Naturally, Republicans believe Democrats will pay a price.
«Their radical base just wants to see them up here fighting Donald Trump, not over any particular issues,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
But Democrats don’t see a political downside.
«Are you concerned in any way about the political ramifications that voters might blame your side down the road?» yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
«The American people are crystal clear on who shut down the government. Crystal clear,» replied Jeffries.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., suggested Americans are «crystal clear» on who shoulders the blame for the shutdown. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
However, some lawmakers doubt that voters care about who «shut down the government.»
«My constituents don’t care about the finger pointing. They just want us to govern,» said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.
As the impasse deepens, the Senate shifted from parliamentary posturing to ecumenical intercession.
«On this third day of the government shutdown, inspire them to work for your glory in all they think, say, and sow,» prayed Senate Chaplain Barry Black during his invocation of the Senate last week.
HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN
And then there are the sideshows. The White House sent out a meme portraying Budget Director Russ Vought as the Grim Reaper. And the president trolled Jeffries with an AI-generated social media video, casting Jeffries in a sombrero and a mustache with mariachi music playing in the background.
At the same time, Republicans warned about grave shutdown consequences.
«Real pain is being endured by real people,» said Johnson.
But in the next breath, the Speaker defended the president making light of circumstances, describing the trolling as «entertainment.»
«That’s what President Trump does. And people are having fun with this,» said Johnson.
I didn’t let that go.
«On one hand, you say this is very serious. That people have jobs on the line. On the other hand, you say, ‘oh, this is just fun and games and they’re trolling.’ Which is it?» I inquired.
«What they’re trying to have fun with, trying to make light of, is to point out the absurdity of the Democrats’ position,» answered Johnson.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended President Trump’s making light of current circumstances as «entertainment.» (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
So we don’t know if or when Vought will drop the anvil on federal workers. But one senator who caucuses with the Democrats and voted for the GOP plan, signaled his support could wane if Republicans overplay their hand.
«If they start firing thousands of people or clawing back other kinds of programs, I think, it could hurt their chances of getting this resolved,» said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.’
The Senate has now blocked the House-approved spending package on six separate occasions. The sides are having casual conversations. But nothing has happened.
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It’s as though Congress is on a merry-go-round to nowhere, just going around and around. Everyone’s getting dizzy. And just wants to dismount.
congress,government shutdown,house of representatives politics,senate,white house
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