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A rift between the right-wing Italian government and Spain's leftist rulers continues to grow over immigration and border security.

It has been over a week since Italy’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, enacted stricter border controls at air and seaports for any non-EU citizen traveling from Spain. The two countries do not share a land border.

Two days later, Spain’s left-wing government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, enacted reciprocal measures on any non-EU citizens traveling from Italy. Even EU citizens need to show their ID to move on, causing travel delays during a month when most Europeans travel, including over 2 million between Italy and Spain.

At issue is border security. More specifically, the five-mile border between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. The Associated Press reported that roughly 72,000 people reportedly attempted to illegally cross the border to Ceuta during the late July surge, before Spain and Morocco could reinforce the border to prevent what the EU calls "irregular migration."

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Emma Schubart of the Henry Jackson Society told Fox News Digital that Italy’s border checks and Spain’s reciprocal measures "highlight the Meloni–Sánchez divide: enforcement-first versus a regularization program that drew 1.2 million applications."

On July 31, Meloni’s government, in what she called an "extraordinary measure," decided to "temporarily suspend the free movement regime (under the Schengen agreement) in maritime and air connections with Spain, reintroducing border controls," while also offering "to support every European initiative to assist Spanish institutions as needed to restore full control of the Union's external borders." The implementation involved random checks for non-EU travelers.

Even some countries of Europe’s left are taking notice. Meloni teamed up with Denmark’s left-leaning Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to lead a group of 22 European Union leaders, including Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, in a letter calling for an "extraordinary" meeting of EU interior ministers to define a "coordinated European response." The letter placed blame on Spain, noting that "the recent ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court has been used to trigger this attack and abuse (of) our migration and asylum system." They added that the EU "cannot allow mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible."

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Spain’s Supreme Court issued a July 8 ruling regarding the immediate return of migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to enter Ceuta or Melilla.

Spain’s Sánchez called the letter "politically motivated," saying the situation in Ceuta was "under control" and that his government had acted in "full compliance with EU law." On his account, Sánchez posted, "Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not… It is the time to continue building a strong and united EU," while noting EU Frontex data that there were 470,600 "irregular entries" via Italy since 2021, compared to Spain’s 234,760.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry said, "Entering Spain irregularly through Ceuta or Melilla does not grant the right to remain in the country, to travel to mainland Spain, or to move freely within Europe."

Meloni responded on X that Ceuta "once again demonstrated how urgent it is for Europe to respond to illegal immigration.… Defending the external borders of the (European) Union is not the interest of a single Nation. It is a shared responsibility of Europe."

As soon as the Italian border controls went into effect, Spain responded, with Sánchez's administration calling the controls "unjust" and "discriminatory towards the Spanish population." The Spanish warned of "proportionate measures" to defend their interests, reciprocating with their own border controls on Italian travel on Aug. 8.

The Palazzo Chigi, the office of the Italian prime minister, said, "Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control. Under no circumstances do we intend to review our decision… at least until 15 August… Another wave of migration is expected in Ceuta on that date, as the Spanish authorities themselves have announced."

Morocco stepped in this past Saturday, Aug. 15, ahead of that attempted rush on the border, with officials saying more than 111 were arrested trying to reach Ceuta via mountain roads in an attempt to avoid checkpoints. Morocco’s Le360 news agency said that the number was closer to 300.

After the arrests, Italian foreign ministry officials told the AGI news agency they were "closely monitoring what is happening in Morocco and reaffirm the necessity of the measures adopted," with a spokesman telling ANSA, "The checks at the border with Spain remain necessary in light of the latest developments in Morocco."

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Lorenzo Vidino, director of the program on extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that this "tit for tat" between the two countries could continue "for the foreseeable future." Vidino said EU immigration policies are "complicated" because "there is one policy, but enforcement is by the country," so politics plays a role. "Country A thinks Country B is not enforcing things correctly, so Country A closes the border to create de facto border controls." He said a contributing factor to Italy’s decision may be the large Moroccan population in Italy, especially in northern Italy, which could be a draw for illegal immigrants from Morocco.

Vidino added that these types of internal EU border controls are nothing new. "France also reintroduces these ‘routine checks’ from time to time." Austria continues sporadic checks on land crossings from Slovenia and Hungary and traffic at crossings into Germany can also be miles long due to continued controls there.

And it’s not only outside governments upset with Madrid’s response. Ceuta’s center-right mayor-president, Juan Jesús Vivas, held a press conference Friday, two weeks after the initial incursion, in the city’s Palacio de la Asamblea. He called the situation "unsustainable," saying "Ceuta cannot endure much longer like this." Despite Spanish authorities saying only 5,000 migrants remained in the city, Vivas says that number is closer to 9,000, adding, "Each passing day worsens the situation."

Vivas said he felt "misunderstood and powerless in the face of the lack of legal tools" from Madrid, adding the government is moving too slowly. "I cannot understand that if a part of our territory is invaded… there is no legal mechanism that allows for an expeditious and immediate action for the return of these people who entered this territory illegally and irregularly."

Maldita.es, an independent Spanish fact-checking platform, reports health officials have confirmed cases of scabies, impetigo and an outbreak of gastroenteritis among the migrants. Other news outlets report at least two cases of tuberculosis, but health officials say those affected were treated in Morocco before they crossed the border, and are not contagious. The National Institute of Health Management, the Spanish body responsible for managing healthcare in Ceuta, told reporters that, as of Aug. 11, there were "no confirmed cases of tuberculosis" originating in Ceuta.

Schubart said the EU should look to the U.S. "The U.S. experience is clear, over 8.7 million Southwest border encounters under weakened enforcement produced record surges and secondary pressures. Without consistent external controls, Schengen’s internal free movement erodes."

The 60-day window for the United States and Iran to reach a final agreement expired Monday with no deal announced, as President Donald Trump hardened his rhetoric toward Tehran and his administration prepared what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described as an unprecedented new phase of economic pressure.

"They should put up the white flag of surrender," Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst in a phone interview Monday. Trump said he was in no rush to reach a deal and also confirmed a direct back channel with officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The June memorandum of understanding committed Washington and Tehran to negotiate a final deal within a maximum of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent. Reuters reported Monday that the interim agreement quickly unraveled over a dispute involving control of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump declared the pact "over" on July 7 and Tehran later said it was suspended.

The deadline now puts a central question at the heart of Trump’s Iran strategy: whether the United States can turn military and maritime pressure into political concessions by squeezing Tehran financially rather than escalating again on the battlefield. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the Strait of Hormuz, making the standoff a threat not only to Tehran but to global energy supplies and U.S. fuel prices.

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"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation of a country," Bessent told Newsmax on Aug. 13.

In comments provided to Fox News Digital on background, a Treasury spokesperson said, "Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash," arguing that the campaign has constrained Tehran’s ability to generate and move revenue and pushed it further toward shadow-banking networks and cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.

Average Iranian oil loadings had fallen from 1.8 million barrels per day before the war to less than 500,000 barrels per day over the previous month, The Associated Press reported Aug. 11, citing Treasury figures. AP also cited an IMF projection that Iran’s economy would contract 5.4%.

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Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions analyst and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the pressure is real.

"The numbers are brutal," Maleki said, citing inflation, the collapsing rial and reduced oil traffic. He described the current campaign as "a maximum pressure campaign on a steroid."

Reuters reported Monday, citing Iran’s Statistical Centre, that consumer prices in July were 87.9% higher than a year earlier and food prices were up 128%. President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged last week that Iran was selling less oil and collecting less tax revenue from struggling businesses.

Maleki argued that what distinguishes the current campaign from previous rounds of sanctions is the combination of financial restrictions and a physical blockade. "What really started, I would say, as Economic Fury, has now turned into maximum pressure on steroids," he said, arguing that Tehran is being squeezed not only in its ability to export oil but also in its ability to bring critical goods into the country.

He pointed in particular to Iran’s gasoline deficit and weakening government revenues as vulnerabilities that could become increasingly difficult for the regime to manage. In November 2019, a sharp increase in government-set gasoline prices triggered nationwide demonstrations that rapidly broadened into anti-government protests. Reuters reported at the time that Iranian officials said roughly 200,000 people participated in the unrest, while thousands were arrested.

"The regime is very scared of another 2019," Maleki said, arguing that Tehran has been reluctant to significantly raise retail fuel prices because of the potential political consequences.

But history also illustrates the limitation of Washington’s strategy: economic pain can bring Iranians into the streets without necessarily forcing the regime itself to concede.

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The larger question, Maleki said, is who ultimately absorbs the pain.

Iran’s economic system, he argued, includes powerful foundations and elite networks tied to the IRGC and the supreme leader that were built long before today’s sanctions architecture.

"That elite network has spent about three decades insulating themselves from exactly this kind of pain," Maleki said. "And historically, the regime always burns the population clock before really having to absorb any of that pressure themselves."

Maleki said pressure can force "tactical concessions," but broader concessions depend on whether the financial pain reaches IRGC-linked foundations, oligarchs and regime elites rather than remaining concentrated among ordinary Iranians.

Washington is already near "the ceiling on sanctions with Iran," he argued, meaning the next phase may depend less on new legal tools than on enforcing existing restrictions against foreign enablers, including Chinese refineries, Hong Kong shell traders, exchange houses, shadow-fleet tankers and cryptocurrency channels.

So far, the pressure has not produced a final deal. Reuters reported Monday that a senior Iranian official threatened military escalation within weeks if Washington does not fully implement the interim agreement.

"The worst is still ahead for the Iranian regime," Maleki said, arguing that payment-cycle delays mean the full fiscal impact of reduced oil exports may not be felt until the fall.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

A prominent Russian state economist was fired after publicly warning that Moscow is losing an economic "war of attrition" with the West and could eventually face a social crisis, as the European Union prepares a major expansion of sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial base.

The episode goes beyond an internal Kremlin personnel shake-up. For Washington and its European allies, the central question is whether years of economic pressure are beginning to constrain Moscow’s ability to sustain the war — or whether Russia can continue absorbing the costs while replenishing the resources needed to fight.

Andrei Klepach, chief economist at state development bank VEB.RF, was dismissed after remarks in which he said Russia was falling behind technologically and economically and suffering mounting costs from the war in Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Aug. 17.

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VEB confirmed to Reuters that Klepach was no longer its chief economist but did not give a reason for his departure. Klepach, who had held the position since 2014 after spending a decade at Russia’s Economy Ministry, also confirmed his dismissal.

"We are falling behind. We are losing both the technological and economic competition in the world," Klepach said in a May speech to the Nikitsky Club, a forum of economists, academics and government officials. The remarks were delivered in May but did not draw attention in Russian media until last week.

"And we are losing it not only to China and the United States, in some ways we are losing it to Ukraine too," he said, attributing Ukraine’s resilience in part to continued financial backing from the West.

"We will not win the competition in this war of attrition," Klepach said. "We have the illusion that everything there [in Ukraine] will collapse. It has not collapsed and will not collapse. Our costs are mounting."

Klepach acknowledged that Russia had proved resilient to Western sanctions but warned that Ukrainian attacks on energy and logistics infrastructure were creating additional economic pressure. Reuters noted that Russia’s central bank said in July that economic growth could fall as low as zero this year, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and other facilities have caused supply disruptions and added to inflation risks.

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"Economically we will not collapse, but our lag will continue to grow, with all the resulting consequences," Klepach said, predicting that Russia could face a social crisis "precisely when nobody is particularly expecting it."

A European intelligence source told Fox News Digital that Russia’s deeper economic problems should not be confused with immediate financial pressure on President Vladimir Putin. The source said higher oil prices had helped Moscow cover more of its budget deficit and could give the Kremlin additional time before economic constraints begin forcing difficult choices over the war. "It doesn’t solve the fundamental economic problems in Russia, but from a budgetary point of view, Putin is OK actually," the source said. "He’s not under pressure."

The source argued that this could delay expectations that deteriorating economic and budget conditions would eventually pressure Putin to end the war, potentially allowing Moscow to continue fighting "another spring" or "another season." The assessment adds a counterpoint to Klepach’s warning: Russia may be losing ground economically over the longer term while still retaining enough near-term revenue to sustain its war effort.

The warning comes as the European Union prepares to intensify its economic pressure on Moscow.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Germany’s Die Welt that she plans to propose what she called the "most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war." Kallas said existing EU sanctions had deprived Russia’s war machine of more than $1.16 trillion, a figure presented by Kallas and reported by Reuters on Aug. 17.

EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that the bloc’s diplomatic service is expected to propose sanctions against approximately 1,600 additional Russian individuals and entities, with a particular focus on the country’s military-industrial complex.

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The measures are expected to include asset freezes along with travel and transaction bans. Officials plan to present the list to EU governments in early September and aim for adoption in October.

Inside Russia, authorities also moved Monday against one of the country’s remaining prominent liberal opposition figures.

Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, was sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony, independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported. Shlosberg was accused of "discrediting Russia’s armed forces and spreading false information" about them.

Shlosberg, who described the war during his trial as a catastrophe for Russia, maintained his innocence and said the case against him was political. He also repeated his call for a ceasefire. The sentencing came a week after Russia’s Supreme Court barred Yabloko from participating in next month’s parliamentary election.

Meanwhile, attacks continued through the weekend and into Monday.

Russian strikes targeted port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Izmail district in the Odesa region overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities. A separate strike damaged a civilian Togo-flagged vessel and injured four people. Across the border, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a woman and struck an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region, the regional governor said.

Separately, ArcelorMittal said a Russian missile strike on its Kryvyi Rih steel plant over the weekend killed two employees and injured three employees and contractors, damaging major energy and blast-furnace facilities and partially halting production.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The 60-day ceasefire deadline is expiring Monday, but President Donald Trump's resolve on ending Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations is not, he told Fox News on Monday morning, where he confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"They should put up the white flag of surrender," Trump said in a phone interview, confirming reports of the IRGC backchannel talks that bypass mediators and Iranian political officials.

While the 60-day ceasefire expires Monday, Trump said there is still time for peace and Iran's relenting to Trump's primary demand: "The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon," as he wrote on Truth Social around the time of the exclusive call with Fox News' Trey Yingst.

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"I have no time schedule," Trump told Yingst. "I'm not in a hurry."

While Trump has long lamented reaching peace with a fractured Iranian regime that has had multiple levels of leadership killed in past strikes, he confirmed U.S. officials are communicating directly through a backchannel with IRGC officials.

"They’re good poker players, but they’re dying," Trump said.

While speculation swirls Iran is engaging in its decades-long strategy of running out the political clock on Trump, before the midterms, if not 2028, Trump rejected the suggestion that politics is guiding his military strategy as commander in chief.

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"Midterms have nothing to do with my thinking," he told Yingst.

Trump also issued an extraordinary warning to Oman when asked about the Gulf nation’s role in talks involving Iran.

"If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them," Trump said.

The president then turned to Israel, where he said he believes it would be most appropriate for him to remain on the sidelines of the country’s elections — while simultaneously leaving open the possibility that he could back a candidate.

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"I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody," Trump said.

Trump also said Israel should not be carrying out strikes in Gaza, as efforts continue to advance the next phase of a plan that would include the disarmament of Hamas.

"We have our own relationship with Hamas," Trump said. "They are giving up their guns."

Despite Israel's rejection of trusting the Hamas terrorist group, Trump suggested he could work peace both with a disarming Hamas and Israel.

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"They fight well with us," Trump reiterated to Yingst.

Trump also pushed back on concerns over the strain the conflict might be placing on U.S. weapons stockpiles, playing down the amount of American firepower used so far.

"What we’ve used is peanuts," Trump said. "We have a lot of mid-level weapons."

New South Wales in Australia is slated to begin a gun buyback scheme in November, the first state in the nation to kick-off the program as part of the national response to a shooting spree that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in the state capital of Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday.

Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the scheme would start on November 2. People who return eligible firearms under the first phase would receive fixed compensation ranging from $450 to $1,000 per firearm, depending on the type. A second phase will provide a valuation pathway for certain higher-value firearms, capped at $10,000 per firearm.

Albanese's center-left government adopted new gun-control laws in January in the aftermath of the December 14 attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration, including the gun buyback program and tighter firearms measures. New South Wales separately passed tighter state firearms laws in December, while the federal government also strengthened laws targeting hate speech and extremism.

The pair of alleged gunmen used firearms that were obtained legally. Australia's government said there were a record 4.1 million firearms in the country last year, including more than 1.1 million in New South Wales, its most populous state.

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"We must do everything we can to make sure the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi doesn’t happen again. That includes meaningful nationwide gun reform," Albanese said in a statement.

The initiative is set to be Australia's largest buyback since a similar effort following the 1996 massacre in Tasmania's Port Arthur, when a gunman killed 35 people.

"Australians are quite rightly proud of our gun laws, but the fact is there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of dealing with the Port Arthur gun buyback ," Albanese said.

New South Wales generally limits individual firearm ownership to four guns under restrictions sparked by the Bondi Beach attack, with exemptions allowingcertain licence holders, including some primary producers, sport shooters and others with specified genuine reasons, to possess more firearms. It estimates that up to 274,000 registered firearms — about 24% of the total number of registered firearms in New South Wales — and about 50,000 license holders are affected by the new limits on gun ownership and reclassification of some types of firearms.

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"After Bondi, we promised the people of New South Wales we would introduce the toughest gun laws in the country, and that’s exactly what we did," Minns said. "The next step is getting the guns that are no longer permitted under those laws out of circulation and permanently off our streets."

"There are potentially hundreds of thousands of firearms affected by these changes," Minns added. "We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed. This is a big undertaking, but the principle behind it is simple: fewer dangerous guns in our community means a safer New South Wales."

The attack was allegedly carried out by a father and son who police believe were inspired by the Islamic State.

The 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police at the scene, while the surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, has not yet entered pleas on a slew of charges, including 15 counts of murder. Authorities have charged him with 59 offenses in total, including committing a terrorist act and 15 counts of murder.

A man identified as Ahmed al Ahmed has been praised as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen. He suffered gunshot wounds in the incident and is still recovering.

"After the tragedy at Bondi, we committed to dealing with the motive and the method," Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said. "Since then, we have strengthened our hate crimes and hate speech laws, which are now the strongest in our country’s history."

"Today we continue the proud Australian tradition of sensible gun reform designed to protect our community from weapons which have no utility other than to cause harm." he added.

An official with the self-described Chagossian government-in-exile said Sunday that the war with Iran has underscored Diego Garcia’s strategic importance to U.S. forces and Middle East regional stability, with the Pentagon shifting logistics to the remote U.K.-U.S. base in the Indian Ocean after an Iranian strike on a major American installation in Bahrain.

The base, in the southern Chagos Archipelago, has reportedly supported carrier strike groups including the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose forces have conducted air operations and helped enforce the blockade of Iranian ports.

The U.S. military’s wartime logistics network now stretches across a roughly 2,200-mile maritime supply route to Diego Garcia, allowing forces to avoid coastal facilities vulnerable to Iranian attacks but requiring longer shuttle runs and slower replenishment, according to The New York Times.

"That is an inconvenience, but it shows the importance of the base," James Tumbridge, an international lawyer who serves as attorney general for the Chagossian government-in-exile, told Fox News Digital.

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"The base is integral to regional security for the U.K., U.S. and our allies. This latest news emphasizes it."

"Bahrain is a far easier target, so the U.S. change of supply arrangement makes sense," Tumbridge said, adding, "Hopefully the new British PM will not deny the U.S. this change of use."

"It shows the importance of the base and asking a third country for permission is not what the U.S. will want, and so I hope this means Trump will still oppose the handover," Tumbridge went on to say, referring to a proposed agreement that would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

In 2025, the U.K. and Mauritius signed a treaty that would recognize Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago while allowing the U.K. to retain control of Diego Garcia for an initial 99-year period.

The British government later put implementation of the agreement on hold amid renewed U.S. concerns over the sovereignty transfer.

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Reports emerged in June that U.S. officials had drafted a proposal to bypass Britain and strike a deal to take control of Diego Garcia, one of several alternatives to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plan to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius.

The first minister of the self-described Chagossian government-in-exile responded that month and said the Chagos Islands were not for sale or "for stealing either," but argued that he "can’t blame" Trump for "looking to secure the military base."

"Trump cannot buy the islands. That suggestion made by some is unhelpful to us all. Only the U.K. can sell the islands, as only the U.K. owns them," Tumbridge also said on Sunday.

"The arguments over sovereignty do not get fixed via a sale, and Mauritius cannot sell them unless the U.K. first gives them away," he added.

"It is not in the U.K.’s interest to sell them. Whether we keep them and continue our support for the U.S. base or we cede them to Mauritius is the choice — my desire is the former."

Mauritius has long claimed sovereignty over the archipelago, a position backed by a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice and subsequent U.N. action.

The U.K. government, however, permitted the U.S. to use Diego Garcia for limited defensive operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities in March after initially withholding approval for offensive strikes.

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"The U.S. wanted to use Chagos Diego Garcia for air strikes at the very beginning. The U.K. consulted Mauritius and refused — hence Trump finally appreciating why sovereignty transfer was a problem," Tumbridge said.

"After the attacks on Cyprus, the U.K. allowed certain so-called defense uses, and Iran did fire at Diego Garcia, but they missed."

On March 20, Reuters reported that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles toward Diego Garcia.

One missile failed in flight, while a U.S. warship fired an interceptor at the other, though it was initially unclear whether the interception succeeded. British officials later said one missile fell short and the other was intercepted.

"No serious concerns have been shared — the earlier attempt showed a lack of range and targeting ability," Tumbridge said.

"The British Government and the Commissioner for the Territory have already tried to say the last attack makes the islands unsafe. No one seriously believes that Iran would try to target the outer islands that presently only have a population of six people."

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The reported U.S. logistical strains and renewed focus on Diego Garcia came as the USS Abraham Lincoln approached nine months of continuous deployment in the region.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews on Aug. 14, Trump said a new aircraft carrier was heading to the Middle East to replace it.

"That ship is moving," Trump said when reporters asked about the carrier.

Meanwhile, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, also met with service members aboard the carrier, which is expected to be relieved amid concerns raised by families over the extended deployment.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

The Iran-backed Houthis’ escalating attacks on shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are raising a growing strategic question: Could the waterway become the next Strait of Hormuz?

The answer is complicated by the geography — and by Yemen itself. Unlike Hormuz, where Iran can directly threaten shipping from its own coastline, Tehran’s leverage over Bab el-Mandeb depends largely on its Houthi allies. And the country overlooking the strait is fractured among competing armed and political forces, leaving the U.S. and its regional allies confronting a threat that may be difficult to solve with naval power alone.

The danger was underscored Tuesday when the Houthis attacked the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah in Bab el-Mandeb. Four crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indonesian — were killed, according to Yemeni and Pakistani officials, while two Yemeni rescuers were killed when the Houthis struck again after rescue crews arrived, Yemen’s Coast Guard said. Reuters reported that the fatalities, if confirmed, would be the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28.

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The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is located between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, connects the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the Red Sea and, farther north, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. It is a crucial route for energy and commercial shipping. The Suez Canal and Egypt’s SUMED pipeline effectively form the northern end of the same Red Sea corridor.

But the southern side of that corridor borders a country that has been at war for more than a decade.

The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, while the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government and an array of allied or competing groups control areas elsewhere. The Southern Transitional Council, a separatist movement that has been backed by the United Arab Emirates, has been a major force in the south.

That fragmentation is becoming increasingly relevant to the security of the waterway.

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Amr Al Bidh, the STC’s foreign affairs chief, told Fox News Digital that naval forces can defend individual vessels but cannot by themselves remove the threat posed by Houthi-controlled territory overlooking the maritime route.

"Naval presence protects individual ships. It does not take away Houthi launch sites, it does not interdict the smuggling routes that resupply them and it does not hold terrain," Al Bidh said.

He said that "you have to be on the ground" to ultimately secure Bab el-Mandeb.

The deterioration comes amid a broader escalation in Yemen. U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council Thursday that the country faces its most serious threat of a return to large-scale war since the U.N.-brokered 2022 truce, warning that renewed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels risk drawing Yemen deeper into the wider regional confrontation.

That truce sharply reduced major fighting after years of war following the Houthis’ seizure of Sanaa in 2014 and the Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Though the formal truce expired in October 2022, large-scale hostilities remained comparatively limited for years.

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On July 20, the Houthis declared what they called a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, threatening vessels doing business with Saudi ports. Riyadh denies the Houthi accusation that Saudi Arabia has imposed a siege on Yemen.

A White House official, speaking on background, said the United States expects the Houthis to continue to uphold the terms of the ceasefire. The official said the Houthis "saw during Operation Rough Rider that the United States and President Trump will take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and U.S. commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks."

The official added that the United States is focused on protecting core national security interests — including freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while "empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges." The official said Washington is in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen government regarding regional stability.

United Against Nuclear Iran, citing Joint Maritime Information Center data, has put the decline in tanker transits since the July 20 blockade declaration at roughly 40%. UANI also said tankers have been observed broadcasting messages including "CHINESE OWNER" and "ARMED GUARD ON BOARD" through their tracking systems, apparently in an effort to reduce the chance of being targeted.

TRADE VESSEL STRUCK BY PROJECTILE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID US-IRAN TALKS

China, meanwhile, has been in contact with the Houthis over safe passage for Chinese vessels, according to a July 28 Reuters report citing Chinese and regional sources. Four China-bound tankers had crossed Bab el-Mandeb following the blockade announcement as Beijing sought assurances for its shipping.

The economic stakes are rising because of what is happening hundreds of miles to the east.

Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on its Red Sea export infrastructure as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by the U.S.-Iran conflict.

That makes the Red Sea both an alternative to Hormuz — and a potential second pressure point.

Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman warned at the United Nations Thursday that Yemen’s internal collapse is increasingly threatening interests far beyond its borders.

"This is no longer a Yemeni crisis alone," Karman said. "The continued collapse of the state in Yemen threatens international navigation and trade, energy security, and global supply chains and undermines regional and international peace and security."

Karman had been invited by Denmark, which holds the Security Council presidency, to brief council members, but Denmark’s deputy U.N. ambassador said "strong opposition" prevented the briefing from taking place. Karman instead addressed reporters outside the chamber.

In a separate interview with Fox News Digital, Karman argued that restoring a functioning Yemeni state is ultimately essential to defeating armed groups and securing the country.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN FIGHTING ISN'T OVER AS HE VOWS US WILL 'WIN' AS TALKS FADE

"Yemeni people can do that," Karman said of defeating the Houthis and other militias. "We can be partners on saving the global and regional security."

"Without restoring Yemen, that means there is not any sustainable peace," she added.

But U.S. experts caution against treating Bab el-Mandeb as simply a second Hormuz.

"Iran doesn’t have the same direct influence on flows through the Bab al-Mandeb as it does for the Strait of Hormuz," Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former National Security Council official, told Fox News Digital.

"The strategy would depend much more on proxies — Iraqi groups focusing fire on infrastructure and the Houthis focusing on the Red Sea," Goldberg said.

But he said there are limits to that strategy. "The Houthis act much more independently than they used to, and have not yet shown an interest to going to war against the world — just against Riyadh," Goldberg said.

He also pointed to one critical difference between the two waterways: ships that cannot safely cross Bab el-Mandeb can bypass the Red Sea entirely by sailing around Africa.

"Unlike Hormuz, shippers can go around the Red Sea if they really need to," Goldberg said. "It adds cost and time but it’s not a single point of failure like Hormuz."

The question facing U.S., Saudi Arabia and its partners is therefore how to prevent the Houthi threat from becoming more serious.

Riyadh is now trying to assemble two overlapping layers of regional security cooperation.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7, a mutual-defense pact that calls for high-level political and military coordination, joint exercises and deeper defense-industry cooperation. Turkey has stressed that the agreement is defensive and does not identify Iran or any other country as an enemy.

Dr. Aziz Alghashian, a Saudi foreign-policy researcher and senior non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that one immediate implication could be greater coordination against Iran-backed groups, particularly the Houthis.

Alghashian said the pact could produce a greater trilateral presence near the Saudi-Yemeni border, "especially in the maritime dimension," while allowing Riyadh to take a firmer collective approach toward Iran-backed militias even as it maintains a more diplomatic approach toward Tehran itself.

Separately, Saudi Arabia is leading an effort specifically focused on the waterways.

The Saudi Defense Ministry announced July 30 plans for a multinational maritime-defense coalition intended to protect freedom of navigation and commercial and energy routes through Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Fourteen countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, initially backed the initiative.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday that Ankara is participating in meetings in Jeddah aimed at establishing the coalition.

A State Department spokesperson separately told Fox News Digital that protecting commercial shipping through both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz remains a "top priority" for the Trump administration, pointing to freedom of navigation as one of Washington’s core national security interests in the Middle East. "We will continue to work with international partners to deter Iranian and Iranian-proxy attacks on merchant vessels, ensure the free flow of commerce and hold accountable those who threaten the safety of international shipping lanes," a State Department spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the administration is also seeking to disrupt the flow of Iranian money and weapons to the Houthis, noting that the U.S. has sanctioned more than 200 entities associated with the group.

"We condemn Iran’s flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and international law in threatening freedom of navigation and supporting their Houthi proxies," the spokesperson said. The State Department also emphasized Washington’s support for Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government as the threat around Bab el-Mandeb grows.

"The United States stands firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognized government of Yemen against Houthi terrorism," the spokesperson said. "We are in close consultation with our Saudi and Yemeni partners and remain committed to their security."

JERUSALEM: Fox News Digital gained rare access to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Tzrifin Base in Central Israel, where a vast number of confiscated rockets, grenades, drones, sniper rifles, automated weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars and other military firepower used by Hezbollah and Hamas are stored.

The seized arsenal of weapons — ranging in manufacturers from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia, China to homegrown producers in Lebanon and Gaza and even a Nazi-era gun —were part of the war machinery used by Hamas and Hezbollah against Israeli civilians and the IDF since Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The IDF said Hezbollah also used weapons against Lebanese civilians. Hezbollah and Hamas — members of Iran’s so-called "axis of resistance." The terror groups have killed over 300 American citizens according to reports. 

'WE WANT LAND INVASION': IRAN MOUTHPIECE TOUTS NEW MISSILE, BOASTS DECADES OF WAR PREP

The Jewish state fought a multi-front war against Iran and its proxies at the height of the conflict. The remains of Iranian rockets litter the ground outside the weapons storage facility at Tzrifin for journalists to inspect.

Tehran fired rockets into civilian areas during the war, including large cities such as Tel Aviv and Be’ersheva. Just days after the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, the Islamic Republic fired a ballistic missile into Beersheba, causing injuries to 19 people.

To the ordinary eye, it is a Herculean challenge to decipher the small Nazi swastika emblem on the German World War 2-era MG-34 machine gun seized at a Hezbollah terrorist compound in Lebanon. But, for the Israeli military commander of the Captured Equipment Evacuation Unit, Lt. Col. (res.) Idan Sharon-Kettler, it is a run-of-the-mill exercise in weapons identification.

The German MG-34 has the "markings of an eagle carrying a swastika stamped on it," said Sharon-Ketler.

IRAN REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR HAMAS AS TRUMP PUSHES TO DISARM TERROR GROUP

Sharon-Kettler told Fox News Digital that the Nazi machine gun was used as "propaganda or for morale" of the Iranian regime-backed terrorists in Lebanon. A second Nazi-era assault rifle was confiscated from Hezbollah—the MP 44 (also termed StG 44).

Hamas and Hezbollah, both of whom are designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations, employed sophisticated methods to transform vehicles into high-intensity offensive weapons. So-called dual-use technology (equipment that can be used for civilian and military purposes) is the bread and butter of Hamas and Hezbollah.

"Motorcycles like these took Israelis hostages," said Sharon-Kettler, as he showed an Egyptian Halawa Motors motorcycle that was captured in Israel on 10/7. The Iranian regime-backed Hamas terrorist movement killed over 1,200 people on 10/7, including more than 40 American citizens. Hamas took over 250 people hostage on the same day.

The IDF also captured rockets from Palestinian Islamic Jihad that were used as "propaganda dummies" during parades against Israel in Gaza.

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL

The IDF seized all-terrain vehicles (ATV) used by Hezbollah in Lebanon to hold rockets and terrorists. One captured ATV was designed to hold six rockets with launchers."You can sit on top of a hill and control a road that goes underneath. And with six anti-tank rockets you will stop almost any vehicle that passes," said Sharon-Kettler.

He said the ATVs provide great utility for Hezbollah in the rugged, hilly landscape of southern Lebanon.

Iranian-produced mortars were also on display at the IDF base. "We found hundreds" of mortars in Lebanon, said Sharon-Kettler. The IDF captured drones, including decay drones. Sharon-Kettler said some of the Hezbollah drones are used "to make noise" in order to "divert [IDF]resources."

According to Sharon-Kettler, the IDF captured "dozens" of Iranian regime-produced canons in south Lebanese villages, where Hezbollah’s core base exists. "In many houses the canons were pointing out of windows," said Sharon-Kettler. One cannon seized in Lebanon was of Russian origin.

NETANYAHU REJECTS BOARD OF PEACE'S GAZA PLAN: NO 'WITHDRAWAL UNTIL HAMAS IS GENUINELY DISARMED'

Hezbollah, like its counterpart Hamas in Gaza, embeds its terrorists in residential areas and civilian structures, including hospitals, schools and mosques. The IDF storage facility was packed with Russian-produced AK-47 automatic rifles and various versions of it.

The IDF captured more recent Russian AK-103 and AK-104 automatic rifles in southern Lebanon. "Light sniper rifles, some made in Iran, some Russian, are very common with Hezbollah and Hamas," said Sharon-Kettler.

Israel’s army also seized a highly decorated Turkish hunting rifle that was used by Hezbollah. The IDF found many highly sophisticated Austrian Steyr sniper rifles, including the Austrian Steyr HS .50 caliber sniper rifle, in possession of Hezbollah. Sharon-Kettler showed an Iranian replicated version of the Steyr sniper rifle.

The IDF collected submachine guns in Lebanon that were manufactured by China and Russia, as well as anti-tank launchers produced by Russia and Iran, said the IDF weapons expert.

Additional merchandise seized by the IDF includes all the trappings of a professional army and guerrilla terrorist forces. Well-crafted uniforms made in Syria, China and Lebanon along with helmets, anti-shrapnel vests, and medical kits are part of the IDF's confiscated war equipment.

Sharon-Kettler explained the reasons for Israel being in Lebanon. "Even after the agreement we had with the Lebanese army and government, once we entered Lebanon again, we kept finding everything that is here. For me, it means, if we are not doing the work to clean Lebanon from military entities targeting are civilians, nobody else is doing that."

The IDF commander referred to the November 2024 ceasefire agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel to cease the war between Jerusalem and the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Hezbollah joined Hamas in its war on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023

A State Department official recently told Fox News on background that the U.S.-led effort for Lebanon’s government to disarm Hezbollah and for a staged withdrawal of IDF troops from southern Lebanon will continue.

The next round of talks is scheduled for early September in Rome. The State Department official said, "We feel good about the trajectory" of the talks and added, "We are not naive about the difficulties. Hezbollah is trying to sabotage the process, and both Israel and Lebanon are democracies under domestic political stress. But the fact that the teams sat together, communicated directly, and generated options is itself a structural change."

Spain and Morocco have beefed up security on both sides of the border in Spain's African enclave Ceuta as renewed calls circulate social media for Moroccan migrants to rush the border a second time after an initial mass migration event in July overwhelmed the city.

Soldiers patrolled the city's commercial and government buildings Friday while an enhanced police presence could be seen on Ceuta's main avenues, Reuters reported.

On the Moroccan side, security personnel dressed in all-black patrolled the beaches of Fnideq, one of the most prominent launching points from which migrants illegally entered Ceuta on July 30 as part of a mass migration event that saw over 70,000 people rush into Ceuta from Morocco.

The strengthened security followed calls on social media for Moroccans to again rush into Ceuta, and into Spain's other African enclave, Melilia, on Saturday.

FIREBRAND REP UNLOADS ON SOCIALIST PRIME MINISTER AS 'HORDES OF MILITARY AGED MEN' SWARM EUROPEAN COUNTRY

"The Ministry of the Interior has detected, during the last few days, the circulation of anonymous publications and messages on certain social networks inciting the organization of attempts at collective and illegal crossing to the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, practices which carry serious risks to the safety of people and aim to instrumentalize migration issues in acts of incitement, which are criminalized by law," Morocco's Ministry of the Interior said in a statement posted to the country's state-affiliated news website MAP.

Morocco arrested multiple people who circulated the inciting statements, Interior Ministry spokesperson Rachid El Khalfi said.

The Interior Ministry also called on Spain to continue working to return the remaining Moroccan migrants in Ceuta back to the North African country.

TRUMP PUTS ASYLUM LAWYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ WITH NEW FRONT IN WAR ON FRAUD

Of the more than 72,000 migrants who rushed the border, the vast majority have returned to Morocco, according to statements from Spain and Ceuta's government. About 5,000 remain, Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters Friday.

Spanish officials have been screening the remaining migrants and have processed roughly 500 asylum seekers' cases, rejecting the vast majority of them, Reuters reported.

Spain has also installed floating barriers in the waters where migrants had previously swam across.

At least 96 people died during the mass migration event.

Fox News Digital contacted the governments of Spain, Morocco and Ceuta for further comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: An Iranian psychologist who publicly appealed to President Donald Trump to stand by Iranians protesting the Islamic Republic has been sentenced to seven months in prison, while his relatives say authorities tried to pressure him into recording a video insulting Trump and Americans. 

Seyed Ahmad Seyedabdollahi, a 32-year-old psychologist and counselor from Borujen who had been living in Tehran, posted an English-language video on Jan. 4 directly addressing Trump. In the video, reviewed by Fox News Digital, he urged the president to act quickly on his pledge to support Iranian protesters, saying young Iranians had trusted his words and that those who helped the Iranian people would be remembered.

""...To prove your good intentions to the Iranian people, either do something without saying anything or act very quickly on your words, because many young people trust what you say. And, as you probably know, many things are useless to people who are dead.I assure you that the Iranian nation remembers good deeds well, and they will try to repay their friends in the future."

TRUMP ADMIN BYPASSES TEHRAN'S ISOLATION CAMPAIGN TO REACH IRANIANS DIRECTLY

Ten days later, on Jan. 14, Seyedabdollahi was arrested at his father's home in Borujen, according to Iran International, Iran Wire, Harana human rights activist news agency, and the Hana Human Rights Organization. Hana reported that plainclothes agents confiscated phones and electronic equipment and that Seyedabdollahi was subsequently held in solitary confinement and at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence detention facility in Isfahan.

A relative of Seyedabdollahi told Fox News Digital that the video triggered sustained pressure from Iranian security authorities.

"Since that day, he has faced serious pressure from Iranian security authorities. He was arrested twice and subjected to repeated interrogations," the relative said. "During his detention, he spent extended periods in solitary confinement. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to seven months in prison, and in July 2026 he was transferred to prison to begin serving his sentence."

Branch One of the Borujen Revolutionary Court convicted Seyedabdollahi of "engaging in media activities against national security," sentenced him to seven months in prison and barred him from government and public services for five years, Iran International reported Aug. 6. He was detained again July 7 to begin serving the sentence and remains in Borujen Prison.

IRAN INMATES SEW LIPS SHUT IN MASS HUNGER STRIKE AT NOTORIOUS US-SANCTIONED JAIL: REPORT

Hana Human Rights Organization said he was denied contact with his family for 17 days following his first arrest and that his family initially did not know where he was being held. Iran International reported that he was denied access to a lawyer of his choosing during his detention and at times was prevented from communicating with his family.

Iranian authorities have also opened a second case against Seyedabdollahi on a charge translated as "propaganda against the establishment" or "propaganda against the system of the Islamic Republic." The case, opened in June, remains at the preliminary investigative stage, according to Hana.

Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital appear to detail the authorities' investigation of Seyedabdollahi and contain references to alleged foreign contacts and financial transactions involving the United States and Israel. His relative said interrogators accused him of being connected to the CIA and Mossad and of receiving money in exchange for making the video.

"They told him you are a member of the CIA and Mossad and you took money from them for this job," the relative said.

AIR FORCE INTEL VET ALLEGEDLY SPIRALED INTO IRAN’S TERROR UNDERWORLD: TIMELINE OF DECEIT, HUNT FOR SPY SUSPECT

The relative also alleged that Iranian authorities pressured Seyedabdollahi to record another video repudiating his original message and attacking Trump and Americans.

"He did not give in to numerous pressures to publish a clip that contradicted the first video," the relative said. "He was asked to sexually insult Trump and make the American people look stupid and ignorant so that we could broadcast your clip on the national media."

The relative further alleged that Seyedabdollahi endured solitary confinement and mistreatment during interrogations, and said he continues to face pressure in prison after refusing authorities' demands. Those allegations also could not be independently verified.

"His situation in Borujen Prison is not good because he has been out of solitary confinement for a few days, but sometimes they take him to solitary confinement under various pretexts," the relative said, adding that monitored telephone calls make it difficult for him to speak openly about his treatment.

FREED AMERICAN REVEALS BRUTAL IRAN PRISON ORDEAL, WARNS HOSTAGES FACE GREATER DANGER

The relative said the five-year prohibition on public and government employment has compounded the punishment by threatening Seyedabdollahi's ability to work after his release.

"You understand the economic conditions of Iran. Now imagine that in this situation someone has been deprived of their social rights, i.e. job and income, and he is imprisoned," the relative said.

The relative described Seyedabdollahi as a psychologist and popular speaker with a following among young Iranians, and said he remained focused on those who suffered more severely during the government's crackdown.

In the brief period when he was free, the relative recalled him saying, "Don't feel weak. Our problems are insignificant compared to the thousands of people who have lost their lives."

Seyedabdollahi was one of several Iranians who directly appealed to Trump during January's nationwide protests. Iran International reported that he posted his video Jan. 4, two days after Trump warned Iranian authorities against firing on peaceful demonstrators. Trump again warned Tehran on Jan. 9 and on Jan. 13 urged Iranians to continue protesting, writing that "help is on its way."

Iran International reported that the crackdown resulted in mass arrests and cited the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency as saying more than 50,000 people were arrested during a period of just over six weeks. The outlet also reported that U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said at least 56 people had been executed on national-security-related charges since March 19, including 27 in cases linked to the January protests.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. declined to comment.

Construction workers in Belgium this week uncovered $10.4 million in gold while building a new sewer below a former brewery, according to local police.

Police in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, a Flemish community outside Brussels, said the workers contacted them immediately about the find, which officers cataloged, then placed in a "high-security federal government vault."

An 18-year-old worker on the site named Kobe told VRT news he at first thought the gold pieces were 1 Euro coins.

"Our first reaction was actually disbelief, surprise. Of course, we didn't expect to find gold," Kobe said, adding that the workers had to remove a piece of foundation to lay down pipe for the sewerage.

TREASURE HUNTERS STRIKE GOLD AFTER YEARS OF DISAPPOINTMENT WITH FIND WORTH A FORTUNE

"When we did that, we suddenly saw something lying around," he said.

Project leader Mario said it was a "crazy feeling."

"They shouted, 'We found gold,'" he told the outlet of his workers. "I went to look and took the gold in my hands. We also continued to dig up new coins and bars. Only then did what we had found really dawn." 

He called his boss and then the police.

The construction workers don’t actually get to keep the gold. Under Belgian law, the rightful owner has the right to claim the gold within five years.

When asked if it had crossed his mind to keep it, Mario told VRT, "It's about so many coins and bars, that almost wouldn't be possible. Besides, it would also be theft."

METAL DETECTORIST'S 'FEELING' LEADS TO MASSIVE ROMAN SETTLEMENT DISCOVERY IN POPULAR TOURIST HOTSPOT

Kobe said he still hoped for a finder’s fee. "That would be nice."

The building is owned by an organization that provides welfare support to the Flemish community.

The director of the organization said he hoped the gold could be used to help with the "enormous need we experience daily," according to the BBC.

The local police warned treasure hunters against visiting the site, saying it’s a fenced-off construction site with "several dangerous pits" and that the gold has all been removed.

Police added, "We hope this treasure ends up in the right hands and that this unexpected discovery positively changes many lives!"

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gambled his seat on the voters of Clacton siding with him over Britain's political establishment — and won.

Farage regained his seat in Parliament Friday after triggering a highly unusual by-election that he said would allow voters to judge him amid allegations surrounding his finances. His closest challenger was not Labour or the Conservatives, but Count Binface, a satirical candidate played by comedian Jon Harvey who campaigns dressed as a trash can.

Farage captured 22,239 votes, while Count Binface won 9,455, according to the official result published by Tendring District Council. Turnout was 44.37%. Britain's major political parties declined to field candidates in the contest, which they dismissed as a self-serving stunt.

MEET 'COUNT BINFACE,' THE TRASH CAN-CLAD COMEDIAN CHALLENGING NIGEL FARAGE

"I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton and the voters of this constituency to be my judge. Not the mainstream media in Britain…and the political establishment who paint us out to be criminals and bad people every day," Farage told supporters before the final result was announced. "So I asked the voters of Clacton to be my jury."

Farage resigned from Parliament last month, forcing the vote as he sought a renewed mandate amid a parliamentary investigation into whether he should have declared a £5 million, or roughly $6.75 million, gift from a billionaire cryptocurrency investor. Farage has acknowledged receiving the money and not declaring it, but maintains he did nothing wrong. The gamble succeeded in returning Farage to Westminster — but it did not make the investigation disappear.

He had previously called the reporting around his finances an "establishment hit job" and said he had followed the rules.

Shortly after the election result was declared, the parliamentary standards investigation, which had been suspended when Farage resigned his seat, was once again listed as active, Reuters reported. Parliament's current investigations page lists the Farage case as having opened May 13 under Rule 5, "Failure to register an interest." Parliament notes that the opening of an investigation does not itself mean the rules have been breached.

FARAGE SAYS MASS MIGRATION HAS CHANGED THE UK ‘LITERALLY BEYOND RECOGNITION,’ BELIEVES PARTY CAN WIN ELECTION

If the investigation ultimately leads to a qualifying suspension from Parliament, it could trigger a recall petition. Under British parliamentary rules, a suspension of at least 10 sitting days, or 14 calendar days, can trigger that process. A by-election would follow only if the recall petition reached the required threshold of support from eligible voters in the constituency.

Reuters reported that Farage had cast the election as a battle between ordinary voters and an establishment determined to discredit him. But with Labour, the Conservatives and other major parties refusing to participate, his principal opponent became Count Binface — whose policies included capping the price of ice cream cones and conscripting anyone using a speakerphone on public transportation.

Farage nevertheless framed the result as a sweeping rejection of his political opponents.

"Today, the voters in Clacton have stuck two fingers up to the entire political establishment," he told supporters.

Alan Mendoza, founder and executive director of the London-based Henry Jackson Society, and an advisor to Farage, offered a similar interpretation of the result.

"A tremendous result for Nigel Farage in Clacton," Mendoza wrote on X Friday. He argued that Farage's increased raw vote total despite the boycott by major parties showed voters had resisted efforts to turn them against the Reform leader, calling the result a "spectacular two fingered salute" to his critics.

Farage did not appear at the official vote declaration, saying police had advised him there was a campaign to disrupt the result. GB News later reported that Essex Police said it had not told any candidate not to attend the declaration.

"I'm damned if I'm going to stand on the stage having won a resounding victory ... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," Farage said before the count was completed.

The election comes at a more complicated moment nationally for Reform UK.

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER FACES POTENTIAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE FROM NEWLY-ELECTED ANDY BURNHAM

After holding a lengthy lead in national opinion polling, Reform has seen its support decline, Reuters reported, citing both the controversy surrounding Farage's finances and a rise in support for Labour since Andy Burnham became prime minister last month. Reuters said Labour was leading Reform 28% to 25%, while Reform also faces competition on the right from the Conservative Party and Restore Britain.

Still, Farage increased his raw vote total from the 2024 general election. He received 22,239 votes Friday, compared with 21,225 in 2024, an increase of 1,014 votes despite lower turnout, according to GB News.

For now, Farage has the seat back and the renewed mandate from Clacton voters that he sought.But the parliamentary investigation he was fighting is back as well.

JERUSALEM: In a rare statement of anger and criticism directed at a small group of extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned their attacks against a home being built by a Palestinian American from Ohio.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) managed to evict the lawbreakers who seized the house and arrested one person. But the group, mostly young, disaffected youths, who have set up unauthorized outposts and engaged in violence targeting Palestinians and their homes in the West Bank are becoming a growing problem for Israeli authorities who are being criticized for not doing enough to stop their violent actions.

Ambassador Huckabee posted on X in response to criticism that his team had not done enough, "The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has been VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this. The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal. The WH hasn’t "intervened" because we have kept DC apprised of the situation already. Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior."

HOUSE DEMOCRAT RO KHANNA SAYS HE WAS DETAINED BY ARMED ISRAELI SETTLERS IN WEST BANK

According to The Associated Press, Israeli settlers have besieged three homes in the occupied West Bank for several days, including one owned by Palestinian American Loui Ridi. The seizure of Ridi’s home took place in Qusra, in the northern West Bank.

A senior Israeli official from the prime minister's office said, "Israel doesn’t accept vigilantes or any form of violence by juvenile delinquents. We are investing a lot of efforts to curb such sporadic violence. The IDF sent an additional battalion to Judea and Samaria to address the issue. We don’t take violence lightly. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, there were over 350 investigations opened, leading to 35 arrests. Putting things in perspective, Jews are attacked almost daily by Palestinian terrorists. There were over 300 Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews in May of 2026 alone. The attempt to draw a false symmetry between sporadic violence and Palestinian terror is hypocritical."

The official added, "We do not accept vigilantes. Judea and Samaria is our ancestral homeland. It's where Jews came from and have a right to live. The Jewish community in Judea & Samaria is a law-abiding community. We are addressing the juvenile delinquents."

HOLY LAND BATTLE: SOLOMON'S POOLS BECOME FLASHPOINT IN FIGHT OVER ISRAEL'S BIBLICAL HERITAGE

Nadav Eyal, a prominent Israeli columnist for the large Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth, told Fox News Digital, "There is an extending consensus in the Israeli political sphere, stretching from the left to the right, that some of the actions we are seeing in the West Bank, in Judea and Samaria, are, in actuality, Jewish terrorism. It is more widespread than it was ever before. It is considered by Israeli defense apparatus to be a serious problem."

In another post on X, Huckabee stated, "Settlers" are not the problem in Judea/Samaria. "Unsettlers" are. Very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families & to Israel."

With over 500,000 Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, more commonly known as the West Bank, leaders of the settlement movements slammed the violence. The Jerusalem Post reported that the head of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Ganz, said, "There is no place for privately deciding to establish a hilltop outpost in the yard of a house, even when it is an illegal house or there is an attempt to take control of the area," he said. "There is absolutely no justification for violence against uninvolved people or against the security forces."

The newspaper also quoted Beit El Council head Shai Alon, who said they were causing "irreversible damage" to Israel and to the settlement movement, and described those responsible for attacks on innocent Palestinians as criminals.

Wafa, the Palestinian News & Info Agency, reported on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates "condemned the escalation of Israeli colonist terrorism and attacks against the town of Qusra." According to the Ministry’s statement, the "crimes were part of systematic policies aimed at displacing Palestinians and uprooting them from their land while imposing a reality that serves plans to annex the West Bank."

Israel's Channel 12 News analyst, Amit Segal wrote on X that "Settler violence is a sensitive issue in Israel. Only a vanishingly small share of the settler population supports or takes part in such acts, but because the problem is exaggerated and used to obscure Palestinian violence against them, they bristle at hearing about it — even from Israel’s greatest friends."

Segal said that "The most damning verdict of the event comes from Israel’s most faithful friend, Mike Huckabee. The most pro-settlement ambassador in the history of the post, a man who will not so much as use the word 'settler'— called the men at Qusra ‘Israeli terrorists.’"

He added that "For four days, the most capable military in the Middle East could not clear a path for a family to reach its own front door. The family lives on the outskirts of Qusra, south of Nablus. On Sunday, settlers from the encampments seeded by the Tel Talpiot outpost sealed the entrance to their home and would not let them in or out."

Fox News Digital sent a press query to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Iran's possible election to a major United Nations (U.N.) committee with influence on the shaping of policy concerning human rights, women's rights, and counterterrorism is "Orwellian," the head of a U.N. watchdog group says.

In November, the U.N. General Assembly is slated to vote on whether to admit Iran to the Committee for Programme and Coordination, a 34-member body whose member states serve three-year terms. The upcoming vote is widely expected to pass as a formality.

The committee doesn't draft human rights treaties or issue condemnations of human rights abuses, but plays an influential administrative role in how human rights initiatives are executed across the U.N. system.

The U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) nominated Iran in April despite Tehran’s documented history of systematic human rights abuses, strict crackdowns on women’s rights, mass surveillance and lethal force against political dissenters.

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Global bodies also consider Tehran a leading state sponsor of terrorism that funds proxy militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. In addition, Tehran has attacked neighboring Gulf states in recent months amid a war with the United States.

"It's the last government in the world that should have any influence," Hillel Neuer, executive director of Geneva-based UN Watch, told Fox News Digital.

"Sadly, at the United Nations today — an organization founded after World War II out of great idealism to bring international peace — it is a case of the lunatics running the asylum," Neuer added. "You have the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that beats, blinds, tortures, rapes, and imprisons women for standing up for their rights or showing a few strands of hair."

ISRAEL ACCUSES UN OF PLACING IT ON SAME SEXUAL VIOLENCE BLACKLIST AS HAMAS TERRORISTS, SEVERS TIES

Fox News Digital reached out to the Iranian Permanent Mission to the U.N. for comment.

Iran’s appointment would not be unprecedented. The U.N. Human Rights Council's 47 member states currently include nations with severely criticized human rights records, including China, Cuba, Pakistan and Eritrea.

IRAN HANGS 2 PROTESTERS IN PUBLIC, CROWD CRIES 'DISHONORABLE' AS SECURITY FIRES TEAR GAS

"The United Nations speaks out in the name of values and principles such as human rights, democracy, freedom, equality and women's rights," Neuer said. "The reality is that, sadly, at least half the U.N. is made up of dictatorships."

Tehran continues to brutally suppress basic freedoms. In July, two men were publicly hanged for participating in nationwide anti-government demonstrations, while hundreds more remain jailed or killed for demanding regime change.

In addition, the U.N. has been accused of bias for heavily criticizing Israel's military actions in Gaza, while often failing to pass formal resolutions or issue direct condemnations against Hamas.

According to Neuer, the most disappointing aspect of Iran’s potential committee appointment is the willingness of Western democracies to acquiesce.

"The short answer is interests, cynicism, politics, dealmaking, and a culture of 'go along to get along,'" Neuer said. "If you are the French, Canadian, or German ambassador, you don't want to pick a fight with dozens of countries or trigger friction with Iran. They would rather simply avoid it."

Iran could launch military strikes as early as this fall, targeting a list of high-value assets to shatter increasing U.S. economic sanctions, national security analysts warned Thursday.

The warning came as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, reported that two vessels were struck transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency.

ADNOC said there were no injuries, and the situation was under control, according to Reuters, as the UAE foreign ministry condemned the Iranian attacks.

IRAN-BACKED HOUTHI THREAT IN RED SEA COULD LEAD TO MAJOR US POLICY SHIFT, ANALYSTS SAY

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington was preparing to take unprecedented economic action against Iran.

"Watch this ⁠space for more announcements ​coming next week because we ​are going to apply measures like we have never been seen in ​the history of economic ​isolation on a country," Bessent said in ‌an ⁠interview on Newsmax.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital Tehran is likely to step up military pressure as Washington intensifies sanctions.

"Come early fall, what we can expect is for them to kinetically push back against Trump's economic policy," Taleblu said. "If the president is re-embracing economic pressure as a management approach, just like we saw in 2019, then the regime will use kinetic pressure to try to find a way to break out of that economic containment."

TRUMP BETS ECONOMIC PRESSURE CAN SQUEEZE IRAN AS REGIME’S OWN FAILURES DEEPEN THE PAIN

Ben Taleblu said shrinking oil revenues and the U.S. naval blockade could also drive Tehran to expand its target list across the region.

"This means they would embrace the kinetic tool, and that's how they would get out of the economic containment regime that the U.S. seems to be defaulting to want to put on them," Taleblu added. 

"I would say more attacks on ships, potentially more attacks on U.S. bases, potentially more attacks on Arab infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. And certainly the regime would create a tiered list of targets of what is of immediate value versus what has greater economic value versus what might lead to the U.S. directly or indirectly responding."

The warnings come amid a deadlock in talks between Washington and Tehran.

So far, there have been no discussions about extending the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement, a senior Iranian source told Reuters Aug. 12.

Tehran has insisted Washington return to the pact and set a definitive timeline to meet its obligations.

The interim memorandum of understanding, signed in June, called for the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts."

The agreement later unraveled, with Trump declaring July 7 the pact was "over."

Under the framework, both sides had an extendable 60-day window to negotiate a final agreement addressing key security concerns, including Iran’s nuclear program.

That deadline is Aug. 17, with control of the Strait of Hormuz remaining a major sticking point.

Hossein Taeb, the newly appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary force, said Thursday the Strait of Hormuz remains "under Iran's control and management."

His comments conflicted with Trump's assertion a day earlier that the U.S. held "total control" over the vital waterway.

"The regime is relying on tried and true tactics here, which is, you know, a knife in the back and a handshake in the front to many of America's traditional Gulf partners," Taleblu said. 

"It looks like Iranian escalation, Iranian diplomatic pressure, Iranian diplomatic finesse is trying to back the Trump administration into the MOU again.

"The regime definitely does not want to grant the Trump administration the optics of victory, and to that end, they're quite keen to hold on to the Strait of Hormuz."

Taleblu said Trump has described the sanctions-driven strategy as a "low-key" approach.

"These are high-impact tools," he concluded. "I think part of the escalation that we saw in the summer of 2019 — part of that past could be a prologue."

Ukraine’s expanding deep-strike campaign impacted Russia’s largest online retailer again Thursday, when a drone struck an oil and petrochemical complex in Bashkortostan, sparking a fire at a Wildberries facility, according to reports.

Wildberries, often described as "Russia’s Amazon," said the facility was evacuated and that no goods were being stored there at the time, Reuters reported.

The strike marked the latest in a series of Ukrainian attacks affecting the e-commerce firm's sites across Russia that began July 18, when drones hit centers in Kotovsk and Elektrostal, killing seven and wounding more than 60, according to reports.

BRINGING THE WAR TO PUTIN’S FRONT DOOR: IS UKRAINE’S ENERGY STRIKE STRATEGY WORKING?

Four days later, drones struck facilities in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, sparking fires and injuring 15 people.

"We can call it ‘kinetic sanctions enforcement,’ or Ukraine’s adaptation of economic coercion into physical strikes," Kateryna Bondar, senior fellow at the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.

"Kyiv’s goal is to steadily raise the cost and risk of sustaining Russia’s war economy," the former Ukrainian government advisor said, adding that the economic impact could be significant.

The total losses incurred by Wildberries and its sellers as a result of the attacks have been estimated at 600 billion to 800 billion rubles ($6 billion to $8.5 billion), Ukrainian media outlet Pravda reported.

"With only 5% to 7% of sellers insured, the damage is cascading onto tens of thousands of small businesses and forcing Russia’s logistics sector to reprice wartime risk," Bondar said.

"Roughly 27% of Wildberries warehouse capacity is reportedly out of operation," she added.

'PURE HELL' IN MOSCOW AS UKRAINIAN DRONES STRIKE MAJOR REFINERY SUPPLYING CAPITAL'S FUEL MARKET

Beyond the financial toll, Bondar said the strikes carry a significant psychological impact.

"I’ve listened to videos recorded by witnesses, and reactions range from fear, shock and anger to disappointment in the capabilities of Russian air defenses," she said. "So, that effect is clearly being achieved."

Wildberries founder and CEO Tatyana Kim has since accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting a civilian company. In a July 31 video address, she described the strikes as a "terrorist attack."

"For nearly two weeks now, our company's warehouses have been under terrorist attack. Why our warehouses, of all places? Attacks against us are attacks against hundreds of millions of people in 10 countries at once," Kim said.

Kim claimed Wildberries entrepreneurs in Russia and partner countries, including China and Kazakhstan, had "suffered losses amounting to billions," arguing that the company itself not be held responsible for covering all the losses.

MOSCOW, KYIV ASSASSINS HUNT WEAPONS BOSSES AS UKRAINE WAR SPILLS BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD

"Merchants will start pricing Russian logistics risk into their business decisions," Bondar warned.

Kim said sellers from ten countries, including China, have suffered billions in losses, while Wildberries maintains it is not liable, which creates incentives to diversify away from the platform, shorten inventory cycles, demand prepayment and increase insurance costs.

Bondar said Kyiv views the retail giant’s sprawling supply chain through a military and economic lens.

"Kyiv assesses Wildberries warehouses as distribution nodes for dual-use goods, including body armor, helmets, fiber optic cable for FPV drones, and navigation components, as well as channels for sanctions circumvention," Bondar said.

"The strikes also retaliate for Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s civilian logistics infrastructure, including the Nova Poshta and Ukrposhta networks."

RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY

Kim is Russia’s richest woman, with Forbes estimating her fortune at roughly $7 billion in July.

"Kim matters to the Kremlin less as an individual than as an asset already absorbed into its clan system," Bondar said. "The current strikes expose the limits of her political protection. The Kremlin has remained largely silent, while Kim is negotiating tax deferrals rather than receiving compensation or air-defense protection from them.

"It sends the message to Russia’s business elite that proximity to power does not guarantee protection, and private businesses are expected to absorb the costs of war."

The attacks have also drawn scrutiny regarding Wildberries’ warehouse security procedures and a controversial new policy restricting workers’ cellphone use.

REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSES

"The smartphone ban is officially justified as an air-defense security measure, but the real concern appears to be information control," Bondar said.

"Employees were filming strikes and sharing footage in real time, making the damage and the war’s impact on ordinary Russians impossible to hide," she added. "The policy also exposes a serious vulnerability. Workers reportedly had their phones locked away during attacks, limiting their ability to call for help.

"Wildberries cannot harden its sprawling warehouses or provide air defense, so it is controlling the one thing it can — what gets recorded and seen."

A luxury $9.1 million yacht sank into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea Tuesday, just days after it had been delivered to its new owner.

The Angiola II was off the coast of Porto Cervo on the popular Italian island of Sardinia with 14 guests on board when it experienced engine failure that sparked a fire, the New York Post reported.

The blaze damaged seals on the vessel, which began to take on water, causing it to tip onto its side.

DRUNK REPEAT OFFENDER CALLED A 'TICKING TIME BOMB' BEFORE 80-MPH BOATING COLLISION KILLED WOMAN: PROSECUTORS

The guests managed to escape to safety and were rescued by nearby vessels, The Telegraph reported.

Video footage showed the boat on its side.

COAST GUARD OPENS FIRE ON BOAT SMUGGLING 25 CHINESE NATIONALS NEAR FLORIDA AFTER IT REFUSED TO STOP

The unidentified owner — an Italian businessman — was the last one off the ship, the newspaper reported.

The yacht reportedly sank at a depth of around 23 feet between an island called L’Isola dei Cappuccini and Capo Ferro on Sardinia’s exclusive Costa Smeralda, or Emerald Coast, the news report states.

The boat will be kept under surveillance until a recovery company recovers it from the sea floor.

The yacht can reportedly accommodate 10 guests and is fitted with five cabins and five crew members. 

It has four engines and can reach speeds of 28 knots.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed Thursday that his country arrested a Russian man hired by Moscow to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen who was "inconvenient to the Putin regime."

Tusk said the suspect was taken into custody Friday, with the alleged target being a man in Poland’s capital of Warsaw, according to a report from Reuters.

"Thanks to the truly brilliant action of our services ... we detained a Russian citizen recruited by Russian intelligence services," Tusk was quoted saying, adding that the target held both Ukrainian ‌and ⁠U.S. passports. "At the last minute, thanks to the action of the Internal Security Agency and the police, we managed to ⁠prevent this execution, this attack."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.

MOSCOW, KYIV ASSASSINS HUNT WEAPONS BOSSES AS UKRAINE WAR SPILLS BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD

Tusk also said Thursday that it was the first time that "someone on the order of Russia" sought to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country, The Associated Press reported.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with U.S. services, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, told the AP.

The news agency reported that it has mapped about 200 acts of sabotage, arson and other disruption across Europe since the start of the Ukraine war that officials have linked to Russia. President Vladimir Putin claimed to the AP in May that Russia is not waging a sabotage campaign against Europe.

RUSSIA LINKED TO ARSON ATTACKS ON PROPERTIES CONNECTED TO UK PM KEIR STARMER, POLICE SAY

In June, a Russian artist who was critical of Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in eastern Poland. Tusk said at the time that the killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination. He suggested it was possible Russia was behind it, but Polish officials have not yet attributed it to Moscow.

Last year, French officials disrupted a plot which they believe was aimed at killing Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian exile who lives under police protection and works to help military defectors flee Putin’s war.

Lithuanian officials also disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist.

Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. officials have for years warned that Hamas has exploited ostensibly civilian and humanitarian funding streams to support its terrorist infrastructure, fueling concerns over whether money entering Gaza can be kept out of the terror group's hands as a new U.S.-backed governing structure prepares to take control.

The Treasury Department has repeatedly targeted what it describes as Hamas financing networks, including a secret investment portfolio, sham charities and organizations that raised money under the guise of humanitarian work while supporting Hamas' military wing.

Those concerns resurfaced this week after Israel's Kan News reported that a provision in the Board of Peace's Gaza roadmap could allow up to $400 million to address unpaid obligations accumulated during Hamas' rule, including money owed to public-sector workers, suppliers and contractors.

The dispute is over whether a successor government can settle legitimate obligations inherited from nearly two decades of Hamas rule without indirectly benefiting the terrorist group. Critics warn that doing so could relieve financial burdens associated with Hamas' rule or create opportunities for the group to siphon off resources while it retains influence on the ground. Board officials argue the mechanism is instead designed to allow a successor government to preserve essential services and relationships with legitimate workers and suppliers — with each claim individually vetted and any payment that could benefit Hamas rejected.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBES UNRWA OVER ALLEGED EMPLOYMENT OF 1,500 TERRORISTS

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, sharply rejected the characterization that the provision amounted to a financial agreement with Hamas.

"The claims that there is a financial agreement between the Board of Peace and Hamas are false," Mladenov wrote in Hebrew on X Wednesday, adding that no such proposal had been "discussed, negotiated, or considered." He said the Board's objective remained the complete disarmament of Hamas and the establishment of civilian governance backed by an international security presence.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that he remained alarmed by the provision.

"I'm deeply concerned about these reports. Terrorists use money as fungible and they build credibility by having international donors finance their debts, which is why Congress long ago banned money from going to Palestinian governments in the West Bank," Cruz said.

"We also know that international donors paid for Hamas to build terrorist infrastructure across the Gaza Strip in the first place, and shouldn't be trusted to direct reimbursement money," Cruz continued. "Hamas should be utterly eradicated before new resources flow into Gaza."

HAMAS AGREES TO COMPLETE DISARMAMENT UNDER 'HISTORIC' GAZA AGREEMENT: TRUMP

A senior Board of Peace official, speaking to Fox News Digital on background Thursday, pushed back on the premise that the roadmap commits $400 million to paying Hamas' debts.

"There's really just a commitment to analyze when we get the data. There's no commitment to fund anything. We don't have an obligation to even do $400 million," the official said.

The official described the provision as a three-year review process, capped at $400 million, under which the successor Gaza administration could determine whether particular unpaid obligations need to be resolved in order to maintain essential services and relationships with legitimate suppliers.

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"This notion that there's, like, a $400 million payoff vehicle, Hamas kind of has a commitment for it — none of that is true," the official said. "If anybody's gonna start running with a narrative that a $400 million committed tab is beginning now ... that would just be incorrect reporting. That's not the deal."

"No one's picking up a tab right now," the official added, saying any review would take place only after the new Gaza administration gains access to financial records allowing it to determine who the creditors are, what services they provided and whether those relationships are needed going forward.

"Even the first dollar of the $400 million, we're going to evaluate that first dollar," the official said. "It's not going to be a blank check handed to Hamas. It's going to be evaluated, rigorously analyzed."

The official compared the process to a corporate restructuring, arguing that while Hamas is being permanently removed from government, the successor administration cannot necessarily walk away from every legitimate obligation accumulated during the previous government's rule.

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL

He offered the example of a European pharmaceutical company that supplied medicine to Gaza hospitals but was never paid. If the new administration needs that company to continue supplying medicine, he said, resolving some of its unpaid invoices could be necessary to maintain the relationship.

"The theme here, really, is continuity of services," the official said.

The official did not say that Hamas would have to be fully disarmed across the entire Gaza Strip before the first claim could potentially be paid.

"The reality is that this is going to be community by community," the official said, explaining that the successor administration is expected to move into individual areas as Hamas disarms there.

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Asked whether Hamas would have to be completely removed from Gaza before the new administration could resolve an outstanding liability — for example, involving a hospital in Rafah — the official said a payment could occur even if Hamas had not yet been fully removed elsewhere in the Strip.

"The idea is that where those decisions are made, Hamas is not gonna be there," he said.

When Fox News Digital asked specifically whether it was accurate to say money would not be transferred into areas where Hamas remained in control, the official said: "It's accurate to say."

The official acknowledged that more complicated cases could arise if the same supplier operates in both Hamas-free and Hamas-controlled portions of Gaza. Officials might then have to determine whether to reimburse only the portion associated with the area controlled by the successor government or negotiate some other arrangement necessary to maintain the service.

US URGES DONORS TO ABANDON UNRWA FUNDING AS UN DEFENDS AGENCY'S MISSION

Cruz's central criticism is that money is fungible: if international donors satisfy obligations accumulated under Hamas rule, resources that might otherwise have been needed to cover those liabilities could theoretically be used elsewhere.

The Board official rejected that argument, saying Hamas is insolvent and was never going to pay many of the outstanding creditors in the first place.

"It's not as though we're alleviating them from, like, their budget that they actually were gonna actually go pay that $100 and now they get to save it," the official said.

"They were never paying it in the first place," he continued. "We're making a decision separate and apart from Hamas, whether this fits into our budget and our relationships."

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The official described Hamas as "dead insolvent right now" and "financially, completely, completely in shambles."

Fox News Digital also pressed the official on a separate concern: even if money is never transferred directly to Hamas, could the group extract taxes, payments or other benefits from suppliers or employees receiving funds while it remains armed elsewhere?

"If there's a risk that some of the money is going to still end up in the hands of Hamas, then we're gonna shut it down," the official said.

He said officials would examine each recipient, the services provided and where the money ultimately would go.

"If Hamas is not fully disarmed ... can it end up in their hands? If the answer to that question is yes, then they're not gonna get money," he said. "Like, that is crystal clear."

The official also disclosed that the Board intends to try to recover assets it believes Hamas stole and use those assets, where possible, to satisfy legitimate obligations.

"We are going to make a real effort to go and try to recover those assets and use some of those assets, where we have found theft ... to satisfy some of these obligations," he said.

If recovered assets are insufficient, the official said outside funding would come from countries in the region rather than Washington.

"This is coming from regional partners. This is not coming from the United States," he said.

The Trump State Department has reacted to a new report by UNICEF on malnutrition in Gaza by saying it "completely shatters" the allegations that Israel deliberately starved civilians in the Hamas-run enclave.

The outcry of criticism comes as a report used by the United Nations and quoted by much of the world's media projected starvation in Gaza well into June.

Following Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that led to the deaths of some 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 Israeli and foreign nationals, the Jewish state invaded Gaza, which led to accusations of genocide and deliberate starvation tactics used against Gazans.

The UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster report from last month was able to reach 1,335 children under age 5 throughout 83% of the Gaza Strip to assess its risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition rates were determined by weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). Using WHZ figures, rates ranged from 0.2% in Khan Younis and Rafah to 0.8% in Gaza City. MUAC measurements found malnutrition rates ranging from 1.5% in Gaza City to 1.9% in Deir Al-Balah.

About 17% of the population could not be surveyed due to security and operational constraints.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBES UNRWA OVER ALLEGED EMPLOYMENT OF 1,500 TERRORISTS

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "UNICEF’s latest findings demonstrate another example that completely shatters the countless false allegations against Israel of deliberate starvation of civilians in Gaza. There are U.N. entities, media outlets and NGOs that should retract and correct their politicized and baseless attacks on Israel – which has provided an unprecedented over 2 million tons of food into Gaza since the ceasefire."

The rates of malnutrition UNICEF documented are on par with, or substantially lower than, those in some neighboring countries. According to a post on X from the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), acute malnutrition figures in the region range from 1.3% in Gaza, Lebanon, and Turkey to 2.3% in Jordan, 3.3% in Egypt, 12.2% in Syria and 17.7% in Sudan.

UNICEF’s report has raised ire from onlookers who took issue with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) statement that famine was "confirmed" in Gaza in August 2025.

The catalyst for the uproar was the IPC's warning from August 2025 that famine had reached Gaza Governorate. At that time, the IPC estimated that "through June 2026, at least 132,000 children under 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition," including 41,000 severe cases where children would be "at heightened risk of death."

The IPC is expected to release a full report on conditions in Gaza "in the coming days." Prior to releasing the report, they have assessed that the Gaza Strip would be in Phase 2, the "alert" phase for malnutrition, between July and December 2026. They state that "74,200 children aged 6–59 months will likely require treatment for acute malnutrition through April 2027, with more than 11,400 severe cases expected." 

UNICEF’s July report found that "very few confirmed nutrition-related deaths have been reported during treatment" in Gaza. The IPC did not respond to questions about UNICEF’s findings or whether they stood by their prior claims that famine had been reached in Gaza.

HAMAS AGREES TO COMPLETE DISARMAMENT UNDER 'HISTORIC' GAZA AGREEMENT: TRUMP

The State Department spokesperson added that "the United States, in coordination with Israel, have facilitated humanitarian assistance while taking important steps to prevent Hamas from diverting or looting the aid, providing more support to Gazans. The president has a bold and ambitious plan to rebuild Gaza, which is well underway through the efforts of the Board of Peace to facilitate disarming Hamas and ensure it is no longer a threat to Israel."

Andrew Fox, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society who has closely studied the Gaza conflict, told Fox News Digital that "the new data shows that the allegations of famine in Gaza were pure hysteria." He said that while "certain small pockets of hunger occurred in Gaza, we now know this can only have been an issue of distribution. Once again, international organizations removed Hamas and their share of the blame for Gaza’s suffering from the conversation, stoking the anti-Israel narrative."

Prof. Aron Troen, director of the Nutrition and Brain Health Laboratory who teaches in the School of Nutrition Science and the School of Public Health at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital that the UNICEF findings are "very, very good news." He said it was "remarkable that in an area which was very recently claimed to be experiencing not only famine, but a deliberate and imposed political famine, that the situation has gone to the point that the current measures, and at least some of them, right now are better than…other places in the Arab world."

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"It’s important to state that if one wishes to take seriously the efforts to identify humanitarian need and provide an adequate response, then you have to be just as open to the good news as to the bad news," Troen said. He further decried "narratives" surrounding the report "that serve political agendas." He said that if there were the possibility of "a gradual transfer of pragmatic agency to a Palestinian governance in the interests of two states, respect for borders, coexistence," that it "requires people to stop throwing around genocide, famine, and impugning one side or the other in order to gain political leverage."

Kurtis Cooper, Chief of Global Media at UNICEF, told Fox News Digital that "the recent nutrition survey measures conditions in mid-2026, more than nine months after the IPC confirmed famine in August 2025 and after a ceasefire and substantial scale-up in humanitarian assistance. It does not tell us what conditions were in August 2025, and it was never designed to."

Cooper said that "in terms of why the situation has improved, during the period covered by the August 2025 IPC analysis, programmes to detect and treat malnutrition were largely operating, but blanket supplementary feeding had largely ceased across Gaza because of severe access constraints and supply disruptions. Programme data show a similar trend: admissions for treatment of acute malnutrition peaked at nearly 17,000 children in August 2025 before falling to around 3,100 by May 2026."

Cooper did not answer questions about how WHZ rates measured in Gaza compare to those in other countries experiencing widespread human suffering.

In May, UNICEF reported that in Sudan, "almost 100,000 children were admitted for treatment for severe acute malnutrition" between January and March. UNICEF estimated that 825,000 children under 5 would experience severe acute malnutrition in Sudan in 2026.

Andrew Fox called on "leading organizations" to "offer a public and full retraction of their error-strewn papers." He explained that "their mistakes have paved the way for an explosion in global antisemitism, and these organizations must own their roles in that and make amends as loudly as possible."

According to the J7 Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism, 2025 was the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks around the world since 1994.