Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Ailin Vilches Arguello

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.

“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.

The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”

“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.

The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.

Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.

According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.

Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.

Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.

Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.

“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.

For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.

In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”

According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.

For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.

Montana Tucker Honors Israeli Courage, Resilience in New Dance Video Filmed on Masada

Shiryn Ghermezian

Montana Tucker at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Photo: Dan MacMedan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

Jewish-American activist, dancer, and social media influencer Montana Tucker released on Monday a dance video filmed at Masada that honors the bravery and resilience of Jewish people throughout history and Israelis amid the Israel-Iran war.

The video, produced by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), was filmed during Tucker’s solidarity trip to Israel in May, which was her sixth visit to the Jewish state since the deadly Hamas terrorist attack more than a year and a half ago on Oct. 7, 2023. Tucker shared the dance video on social media.

“From the Romans and Persians, to the Nazis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and now the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Jewish people have faced countless enemies. And yet, we endure. We rise,” she wrote in the caption. “Today, I dance at Masada — a symbol of Jewish courage and defiance. I dedicate this moment to the heroes of Israel: the pilots defending the skies, the soldiers guarding the borders, and the millions standing strong in bomb shelters. Am Yisrael Chai. We WILL rise again.”

Masada was a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert in southeastern Israel. It became a final holdout of Jewish rebels standing against the Roman Empire following the destruction of Jerusalem

Tucker and a group of dancers from the Lilach Friedman Dance Center in Israel danced on Masada to a track that included lyrics of “Rise Again” by EV!

“Break down my walls/but I will rise again. Cuz I stand tall/ in my environment,” the artist sings. “How could I ever close my eyes/ and stay silent since/they tried to take me down/with their violence.”

Tucker and CAM have collaborated on a number of projects since the Oct. 7 attacks, including the video “We Can Dance Again,” filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre in memory of the 364 music lovers murdered at the event, “I’m a Survivor,” drawing awareness to hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” about Iranian women resisting oppression, and “The Music Never Stopped,” which marked Israel’s 77th Independence Day.

During her most recent trip to Israel, Tucker met with former Hamas hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, who each spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.

Iran Strikes Haifa Mosque With Missile, Injures Muslim Clerics While ‘Firing Indiscriminately at Civilians’

Shiryn Ghermezian

A man walks near broken windows at a mosque that was damaged following Iran’s missile strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush

A mosque in the Israeli city of Haifa was hit by a ballistic missile launched by Iran on Friday morning, and Muslim clerics were among those injured in the attack.

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said Iran’s barrage of missiles targeting Haifa struck the Al-Jarina Mosque in the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood and clerics inside the mosque sustained injuries. Haifa is a port city in the north that has a mixed Arab and Israeli population.

“The Iranian regime is targeting Muslim, Christian, and Jewish civilians, as well as civilian sites. These are war crimes,” said Sa’ar in a post on X. He also shared a video of the mosque that was hit in the missile attack.

Sa’ar later arrived at the scene of the strike and gave a statement to the press.

“We see here once again the results of the Iranian strategy. The Iranian regime is deliberately targeting civilian population centers. Therefore, you can see that a pure civilian area was hit here. Specifically, in that case, a mosque,” he said.

“It’s a war crime. This is clear, because according to international law, you cannot target civilian population centers,” the top Israeli diplomat continued. “But it is also a mistake because the root of it is a lack of understanding of the Israeli society. The Israeli society is strong. It strongly supports our operation in Iran. They all want to remove the double existential threat – the nuclear threat and the missile threat. Therefore, we will continue our operation and will not stop for even one minute before we will achieve our goals.”

Photos shared on social media show the mosque’s broken windows and other damage to the religious site, all as a result of the Iranian strike.

“The Iranian regime is firing indiscriminately at civilians — with zero regard for who they hit,” read a post on Israel’s official X account about the missile attack in Haifa.

Iran launched around 20 to 25 ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday and at least 19 people were wounded from the strikes in Haifa, local authorities said.

A spokesperson for Israel’s national emergency response service, Magen David Adom (MDA), said its teams treated and evacuated injuries civilians that include a roughly 40-year-old man in serious condition, a 16-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel in his upper body, and a 54-year-old man in moderate condition with shrapnel in his lower limbs.

Friday marks one week since the start of the Israel-Iran war, which began with the Jewish state launching pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets in a campaign known as Operation Rising Lion. MDA said that since the war began on June 13, its paramedics and EMTs have treated at least 1,007 people, including 23 who have died.

Iran Strikes Haifa Mosque With Missile, Injures Muslim Clerics While ‘Firing Indiscriminately at Civilians’

Shiryn Ghermezian

A man walks near broken windows at a mosque that was damaged following Iran’s missile strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush

A mosque in the Israeli city of Haifa was hit by a ballistic missile launched by Iran on Friday morning, and Muslim clerics were among those injured in the attack.

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said Iran’s barrage of missiles targeting Haifa struck the Al-Jarina Mosque in the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood and clerics inside the mosque sustained injuries. Haifa is a port city in the north that has a mixed Arab and Israeli population.

“The Iranian regime is targeting Muslim, Christian, and Jewish civilians, as well as civilian sites. These are war crimes,” said Sa’ar in a post on X. He also shared a video of the mosque that was hit in the missile attack.

Sa’ar later arrived at the scene of the strike and gave a statement to the press.

“We see here once again the results of the Iranian strategy. The Iranian regime is deliberately targeting civilian population centers. Therefore, you can see that a pure civilian area was hit here. Specifically, in that case, a mosque,” he said.

“It’s a war crime. This is clear, because according to international law, you cannot target civilian population centers,” the top Israeli diplomat continued. “But it is also a mistake because the root of it is a lack of understanding of the Israeli society. The Israeli society is strong. It strongly supports our operation in Iran. They all want to remove the double existential threat – the nuclear threat and the missile threat. Therefore, we will continue our operation and will not stop for even one minute before we will achieve our goals.”

Photos shared on social media show the mosque’s broken windows and other damage to the religious site, all as a result of the Iranian strike.

“The Iranian regime is firing indiscriminately at civilians — with zero regard for who they hit,” read a post on Israel’s official X account about the missile attack in Haifa.

Iran launched around 20 to 25 ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday and at least 19 people were wounded from the strikes in Haifa, local authorities said.

A spokesperson for Israel’s national emergency response service, Magen David Adom (MDA), said its teams treated and evacuated injuries civilians that include a roughly 40-year-old man in serious condition, a 16-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel in his upper body, and a 54-year-old man in moderate condition with shrapnel in his lower limbs.

Friday marks one week since the start of the Israel-Iran war, which began with the Jewish state launching pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets in a campaign known as Operation Rising Lion. MDA said that since the war began on June 13, its paramedics and EMTs have treated at least 1,007 people, including 23 who have died.

Arab Town in Israel Weeps for Four Family Members Killed in Iranian Strike

Reuters and Algemeiner Staff

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of four members of a family who were killed during a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tamra, north Israel, June 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

When a phone alert sounded on Saturday night to warn of Iranian missiles flying towards his town of Tamra in northern Israel, Nidal Abu Al Heija called his sister to tell her to take shelter with her daughters, but no one answered.

After the alert, he rushed to the area where she lived. The street was full of people and littered with debris.

“I was asking people what happened, and someone, he just said to me ‘oh, Nidal.’ He didn’t know what to say. And then the other one says, ‘it’s your own sister’s house,’” Abu Al Heija said, speaking to Reuters four days after the strike.

The house had taken a direct hit. Part of the roof had collapsed, crushing the top floor. Windows and walls were blasted out and rubble tumbled down the side of the house.

“Darkness, dust, smell of bomb, something I don’t want to remember,” said Abu Al Heija.

“I was just going there shouting ‘Noura! Noura! Shada! Hala!’ And then unfortunately I saw her coming, people holding her, with no breath.”

Known to her family as Noura, Manar Abu Al Heija Katib, 45, and two of her daughters, Shada, 20, and Hala, 13, were killed, along with Manar’s sister-in-law, Manar Diab Katib, 41.

The only survivors were Manar Abu Al Heija Katib’s husband, Raja Katib, and their third daughter, Razan.

The dead were among those killed in the conflict with Iran since Israel launched air and missile attacks on Iran a week ago that have wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command, damaged nuclear capabilities, and killed hundreds of Iranians.

Iran has aimed hundreds of retaliatory missiles at Israel and killed at least two dozen people.

‘BURNING FIRE INSIDE’

In Tamra, a small Arab town about 25 km (16 miles) east of the port city of Haifa, relatives and the wider community are in shock.

“If I would have gone [died] with my wife and my two girls, it would have been easier because I have a burning fire inside,” Manar’s husband told reporters on Wednesday.

The sisters-in-law were both teachers. Their husbands, Raja Katib and his brother Ihab Katib, have described them to local media as wonderful women. Pictures of the two daughters showed them smiling warmly.

Nidal Abu Al Heija recalled telling people previously that the chances of being killed in the war with Iran were tiny. Now he said he was dealing with an unfathomable loss.

“Noura was the thing that we loved. Noura was the thing that united the family,” he said.

The four had run to a protected room on the top level of the house, he said, but it could not withstand the Iranian missile.

Tamra has been hit by rockets before, but smaller ones fired by terrorist group Hezbollah from southern Lebanon.

Since Saturday’s strike, many residents of Tamra have begun spending the night in public shelters inside schools.

On Tuesday, four simple wooden coffins with wreaths of red and white flowers were carried through the narrow streets of Tamra, with crowds of men chanting as they walked alongside and people watching from every window and doorstep.

At the town‘s cemetery, Muslim prayers rang out from a loudspeaker and a large number of men, mostly dressed in black, surrounded the gravediggers and relatives as the four were laid to rest.

Afterwards, a group of women and girls paid their respects by the graves. They wept and embraced each other as they walked away.