Israel PM adviser says ‘we have to fear’ for safety of Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused Monday to condemn comments from a top progressive lawmaker who called for "balance" when condemning Hamas' use of sexual violence against Israeli women.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said "we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinian" when asked specifically about mass rape committed by Palestinian militants, during an interview Sunday with CNN. When asked about Jayapal's comments, Jean-Pierre reiterated that using rape as a weapon of war was "reprehensible," but stopped short of condemning the congresswoman.

"I can only speak for the president — that's who I can speak for," Jean-Pierre told Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich during the daily White House press briefing Monday. "We've been clear that what Hamas did is absolutely reprehensible, full stop. We're going to continue to be clear about that."

"We think rape and the use of rape — being used as a weapon — that is also reprehensible and that's full stop and I'll just leave it there," she continued. "That's speaking for the president of the United States and I think I've been very clear on that."

After Jean-Pierre was pressed about Jayapal's comments in particular, she again declined to address the congresswoman's remarks directly.

"I just commented on it. I just laid out what we believe is unacceptable," she added.

Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.

A brand-new menorah stands high outside the Chabad House near San Diego State University, after the previous one had been vandalized three times in the last two years.

"This happened, and it was outside our control, but what we can control is showing that love always wins against hate," Chalom Boudjnah, Rabbi and Director of Chabad House at SDSU told Fox News Digital.

The latest act of vandalism against the menorah in March left the structure broken on the ground, and it was all caught on tape.

"It was done in a vicious act. You can see where one person, who covered himself up, went straight at the menorah, pushed it down to the breaking point. Really, really vile and hateful," Boudjnah described.

But despite the attack, Boudjnah said it ignited the passion in their spirit more and that's when they decided to rebuild the menorah — even with mounting hate crimes and acts of antisemitism happening across the country.

"It's been a burden on our community, but we are reminded that we have to stand strong. We didn't let this ruin anything. Instead, we came together and decided to build something beautiful and strong," Boudjnah said.

Fox News' Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Fire and smoke billow over the Gaza Strip during an Israeli airstrike as seen from Sderot, near the southern Israeli border with Gaza, on December 4, 2023. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Investors most likely linked to Hamas received financial windfalls following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel after making bets on Israeli securities in the weeks leading up to the massacre that killed at least 1,200 people, according to researchers. 

In a report titled "Trading on Terror?," law professors Robert Jackson Jr. of New York University, and Joshua Mitts of Columbia University, detailed suspicious trading activity. 

The report details how so-called short sellers made risky bets against stocks that paid off. 

Read the full article about Hamas by Louis Casiano

Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters clashed at a demonstration in New York City on Monday.

What appeared to be thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered to block the roadway of the Williamsburg Bridge to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

One protestor wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh was seen shouting "F--k the Jews!" and waving a Palestinian flag.

A pro-Israel supporter was also heard chanting "Israel lives!" and waving a flag at a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, prompting negative reactions.

Dozens of New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were observed at the scene.

Sheryl Sandberg attends the 2022 Women's Media Awards at Mandarin Oriental Hotel on November 17, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE:  Sheryl Sandberg told Fox News Digital that "politics are blinding us to something that is completely obvious"—condemning Hamas for rape and other sexual violence committed against Jewish women on Oct. 7.

Sandberg, the founder of "Lean In" and former chief operating officer of Facebook, spoke to Fox News Digital on the sidelines of an event hosted by Israel at the United Nations headquarters on Monday.

The event, hosted by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, featured an address from Sandberg, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a video address by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and testimonials from Israeli police officers, and others about the brutality of Hamas’ attacks and to "expose the horrors and shocking acts of sexual violence committed" against women on Oct. 7.

Read the full article about Sheryl Sandberg by Brooke Singman

Source: WNYW

A large gathering of pro-Palestinian protestors flooded the Williamsburg Bridge's roadways on Monday afternoon, as the Israel-Hamas war continues in the Middle East.

The demonstrators shouted phrases such as, "New York did nada, long live the intifada," and, "Five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terror state," according to FOX 5 New York.

The group of protestors, which appeared to contain hundreds of people, began at 2:30 p.m., FOX 5 reported.

Protestors were also seen carrying a banner with the Arabic word intifada written, which means "uprising."

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., responded to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and other hard-left figures on Monday after she seemed unable to explain why there was a hesitation among some progressives to condemn Hamas' sexual violence against Israeli women. 

CNN's Dana Bash asked Torres why it was so difficult for progressives to "unequivocally call out the barbaric sexual violence against Israeli women.""Look, there’s often been a double standard against Israel when it comes to condemning the sheer butchery and barbarism of Hamas," Torres said.

"Public officials have a moral obligation to speak with clarity rather than caveats. And I found it deeply troubling, for example, that the UN Women, the so-called women’s rights arm of the United Nations, went 50 days without commenting on or condemning the sexual atrocities that Hamas perpetrated against Israeli women. For me, this is not about politics. This is about decency. It is indecent to deny or downplay or ‘both sides’ the rape and sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7."

Read the full article on Richie Torres by Hanna Panreck

A doctor treating freed Hamas hostages in Israel says survivors are suffering from an unprecedented level of "extremely severe psychological abuse" endured during captivity. 

"I can tell you that on behalf of all the medical and psychological teams treating those who return, the mental states we encountered have no precedent in medical literature. We feel that we have to rewrite the textbooks of post-trauma," Dr. Renana Eitan told "Sunday Night in America."

Eitan revealed the Tel Aviv Medical Center is actively treating more than 15 former hostages and described their "severe physical and mental abuse."

Read the full article about Hamas hostages by Christopher Lopez

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin visits a polling station on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not mince words at the news of an Old Dominion town's art and music festival canceling a Hanukkah menorah lighting.

On Sunday, LoveLight Placemaking, the nonprofit that runs Williamsburg, Virginia's 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival, canceled a scheduled menorah lighting featuring a local rabbi, citing Israel's war against the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas."

Singling out the Jewish community by canceling this Hanukkah celebration is absurd and antisemitic," Youngkin tweeted on Monday.

Read the full article about Glenn Youngkin by Houston Keene

A piece of material slated to be used for a planned teach-in by some teachers in Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Education Association)

A school district superintendent in Northern California issued a warning to teachers planning to hold a pro-Palestinian "teach-in" this week, saying the lesson plan is not aligned with the district's teaching protocols.

Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell issued a statement on the matter without specifically calling out the organizers of the planned Wednesday event, FOX San Francisco reported. 

"I want to again make clear that our expectation is that all educators, in every classroom across the District, take seriously their responsibility to adhere to principles of education, and to keep their personal beliefs out of the classroom," Johnson-Trammell said.

Read the full article about Oakland Unified School District by Louis Casiano

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller speaks to reporters during the daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington, United States, July 11, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that the U.S. believes Israel killed 'too many Palestinians' at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

"I don't think it is a secret that we think that too many Palestinians were killed in the opening weeks of this conflict," Miller said at a briefing. "We want to see Israel take additional steps to minimize civilian harm. We talked about them when we were in Israel last week."

He added that the U.S. has been "very transparent" with Israel about its opinions on the fatalities, but that he does not believe Israel is purposefully targeting civilians.

"I have I have not seen evidence that they [Israel] are intentionally killing civilians," Miller explained. We believe that far too many civilians have been killed."

"But again, this goes back to the underlying problem of this entire situation, which is that Hamas has embedded itself inside civilians, inside civilian homes, inside mosques, in schools, in churches," he continued. "It is Hamas that is putting these civilians in harm's way."

Israeli artillery unit fires toward the Gaza Strip on December 4, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

The U.S. State Department confirmed on Monday that 220 American citizens are still trapped in Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas escalates.

Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that over 1,000 American citizens, legal permanent residents and family members of Americans have left Gaza since the war began.

"There are around 750 who are left," he explained. "That includes 220 American citizens. The rest are family members or legal permanent residents."

Miller also said that he could not confirm a report of an American dying in Gaza.

"Unfortunately, if the report is true, it's in northern Gaza where we have just [have] very limited information and very limited communications abilities and very limited ability to investigate or even reach people," he continued. "So it's something that we're still trying to confirm at this point."

An Israeli government spokesman, who went viral for his reaction to a question he was asked about the value of Palestinian versus Israeli lives in the hostage swap with Hamas, spoke with Fox News Digital about the uphill battle Israel has faced from much of the media following the October 7 terrorist attack. 

During an interview on Sky News, interviewer Kay Burley suggested to Eylon Levy that because Israel would get back 50 hostages taken by Hamas last month in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners in the agreed-upon temporary cease-fire deal, it placed less value on Palestinian lives. 

"I was speaking to a hostage negotiator this morning," Burley said. "He made the comparison between the 50 hostages that Hamas promised to release, as opposed to the 150 prisoners that are Palestinians that Israel has said that it will release."

Read the full article about Kay Burley by Kendall Tietz

Gal Gadot attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Actress Gal Gadot called out the silence on Hamas' use of sexual violence on Sunday in a post on social media, arguing that "the world has failed the women of October 7th." 

"We claim we stand against rape, violence against women. We will not let women be victimized and then silenced. We say we believe women, stand with women, speak out for women."

She said the world has failed to call the situation what it is, "an urgent emergency that demands a decisive response." 

Read the full article about Gal Gadot by Hanna Panreck

New York Times headquarters is seen in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

FIRST ON FOX: More than a dozen state attorneys general signed a letter to media outlets such as the New York Times and Reuters, putting them "on notice" that providing material support to terrorist organizations such as Hamas is illegal, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. 

"We will continue to follow your reporting to ensure that your organizations do not violate any federal or State laws by giving material support to terrorists abroad. Now your organizations are on notice. Follow the law," 14 state attorneys general stated in a letter to the chiefs of CNN, The New York Times, Reuters and The Associated Press on Monday afternoon. 

Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird spearheaded the letter, which detailed concerns that journalists embedded with Hamas may actually have deep connections with the terrorist organization "and may have participated in the October 7 attack." 

Read the full article about Hamas coverage in the media by Emma Colton

This photograph taken on December 3, 2023 shows flowers where a tourist was stabbed to death on the eve, near the Eiffel Tower (background), in Paris. (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reportedly told TF1 television on Sunday that the country was "durably under threat from Islamist terrorism" after a prosecutor identified the French 26-year-old born to Iranian parents accused of fatally stabbing a German tourist and injuring two others steps away from the Eiffel Tower in Paris over the weekend. 

At a news conference on Sunday, France's top anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said suspect Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, a French national, recorded a video speaking in Arabic before the attack in which he swore allegiance to the Islamic State group, used a name to introduce himself that referred to the Islamic State in Afghanistan and expressed support for Islamic extremists and jihadists operating in various areas around the world, including in Africa, Iraq, Syria, Egypt's Sinai, Yemen, Iran and Pakistan. 

Ricard said Rajabpour-Miyandoab and three others, including family members and associates, were taken into police custody for questions after the attack. 

Read the full article about Islamic terrorism by Danielle Wallace

Members of Columbia University's faculty hold a protest in support of Palestine and for free speech on the Columbia University campus on November 15, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Columbia University's administration has shut down a pro-Palestinian student group's planned discussion that aimed to justify Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians, Fox News Digital learned Monday. 

A group that calls themselves the "Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine" was advertising an event to discuss the "Significance of the October 7th Palestinian Counteroffensive." 

What would have been the group’s second so-called "teach-in and discussion" had been advertised to be taking place in a room of the Columbia School of Social Work on Wednesday, according to a flier that circulated on social media. 

Read the full article about Columbia University by Danielle Wallace

US President Joe Biden speaks during the Kennedy Center Honors Event at the White House in Washington D.C., United States on December 3, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

As Israeli Defense Forces resumed military operations to eradicate the Hamas terrorist threat last Friday, the Biden administration is inserting itself into Israel’s war planning process, teaching the Israelis – who’ve been fighting for their survival for decades – how to properly prosecute the conflict. 

Washington warfare "experts" – who arguably haven’t secured a single clear military victory since 1945 – insist that Israeli military strategists alter their war plans to make their combat operations more targeted and their strikes more accurate, in order to minimize casualties, especially among civilians. 

The Biden administration’s demands, while noble-sounding, are misguided and unreasonable. Implementing these requirements, at the expense of achieving the main mission of eliminating Hamas and its entire supporting infrastructure, will likely prolong the conflict, ultimately resulting in many more Israeli and Palestinian deaths. Here’s why.

Read the full article about President Biden by Rebekah Koffler

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that the Biden administration condemns reported sexual violence carried out by Hamas militants against Israeli women and girls and would support a United Nations investigation on the matter.

"We have been briefed extensively on a number of their findings. We don't, of course, have our own independent assessments to make right now," Miller said while describing the U.S. interactions with their Israeli counterparts.

"But we have seen Hamas commit atrocities both on October 7th and since October 7th. And we obviously condemn those atrocities and support Israel's actions to hold Hamas accountable for them," he continued.

The United Nations said last week that it would investigate sexual violence Israel claims Hamas terrorists committed against Israelis during their invasion on Oct. 7.

Miller said the U.S. would "certainly support" a U.N. investigation and "The Israeli government is conducting one and they have our full backing in doing that."

An Israeli soldier operates in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Dec. 4. (IDF/Reuters)

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday during a briefing that if the Hamas terrorist group "cared at all about civilian life" in the Gaza Strip, they would lay down their weapons and move their operations out of civilian areas.

Miller made the remark during a heated exchange with a reporter over the civilian death toll that is mounting inside Gaza as Israel wages its military campaign to eliminate Hamas.

"Don't tell me that Hamas can't lay down their arms and take additional steps to protect civilians, let alone moving out of all the areas that are putting Palestinian civilians in harm's way," Miller said. "They absolutely can. They could do it today if they cared at all about civilian life."

Miller earlier said that the U.S. expects to see civilians casualties as a result of Israel's military campaign.

"That is sadly true in all wars. It is especially going to be true in a war in a crowded urban environment where the opponent, Hamas, is using civilians as human shields, in hiding themselves, hiding their fighters, hiding their infrastructure behind civilians," he said during the State Department press briefing.

"So what we have made clear to Israel is that we expect them to comply with international humanitarian law and do them do everything they can to minimize civilian harm. So we don't see a repeat in the south of what we saw in the north. And with respect to that. We're at the very early stage of the operation, and I think it's too soon to draw a definitive conclusion," Miller added.

The Israeli military said it launched its 10,000th airstrike against Hamas in the Gaza Strip late Sunday, as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ramps up its offensive in the south.

Israel has vowed to do everything it can to protect civilians as it targets Hamas and its network of tunnels. Many of the 10,000 airstrikes have been aimed at destroying Hamas' underground labyrinth.

Israel ordered evacuations from large sections of Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza, on Monday. Critics say there are few places to evacuate to, as Southern Gaza is already crowded with Palestinians displaced during Israel's campaign against Hamas in the northern part of the strip.

The IDF says it has struck over 400 separate Hamas targets since the cease-fire agreement collapsed on Friday. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday that Hamas was to blame for the end of the cease-fire, because they did not release "additional women and children that we know that they are holding, and they're refusing to let go."

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Monday, Dec. 4. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The Israeli Air Force wrote in a post on X Monday that it and the Israel Defense Forces "continue to fight shoulder to shoulder throughout the Gaza Strip.

"In recent hours, the Air Force has eliminated terrorists of the terrorist organization Hamas, and rocket launchers, terrorist infrastructures, and weapons warehouses have also been attacked," it said.

The message came hours after the Air Force said its fighter jets and drones "recently attacked an operational headquarters, terrorist infrastructures and military buildings of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanese territory."

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Fox News on Monday that he thinks Hamas might start releasing hostages again “when they start to feel the pain.” 

“And by applying military pressure and beefing up the strikes of the Israeli Defense Forces against Hamas' military machine, eliminating their commanders, when they start to feel the pain, maybe then we will have another opportunity to get our people out,” Regev added.

The top progressive lawmaker in the House is being criticized by fellow Democrats for downplaying Hamas terrorists’ reported sexual violence against Israeli women. 

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was accused of trying to find a moral equivalence between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) during a Sunday television interview.

"Hamas terrorists raped Israeli women and girls. The only ‘balanced’ approach is to condemn sexual violence loudly, forcefully and without exceptions. Outrageous for anyone to ‘both sides’ sexual violence," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., wrote on X Sunday evening.

Credible accounts of rape and brutal sexual assault are beginning to surface in the wake of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which saw roughly 1,200 men, women and children killed in their homes and elsewhere. There are also concerns over whether sexual violence is still being carried out on the dozens of Israelis still held hostage by Hamas.

"I said it's horrific, and I think that rape is horrific. Sexual assault is horrific. I think that it happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas, obviously are using these as tools," Jayapal said on CNN. "However, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians – 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, three-quarters of whom are women and children."

An Israeli military helicopter releases flares over the Israel-Gaza border on Monday, Dec. 4. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An official from the Israeli army said Monday that at least 15,000 Palestinians have died in the war against Hamas, the Associated Press is reporting. 

The Israeli army said it considers more than 5,000 of the Gaza deaths to be Hamas militants. 

The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday during a news conference in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, that 15,899 people had been killed in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Fox News on Monday that he thinks Hamas might start releasing hostages again “when they start to feel the pain.” 

"We believe very strongly that Hamas aren't suddenly going to change their behavior and become humanitarians. They will only release more hostages if they feel compelled to do so,” he said. 

“And by applying military pressure and beefing up the strikes of the Israeli Defense Forces against Hamas' military machine, eliminating their commanders, when they start to feel the pain, maybe then we will have another opportunity to get our people out,” Regev added. 

The adviser said there is “no alternative” to the Israeli military launching a ground invasion in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas has key infrastructure and commanders there. 

“We will get rid of them, they will no longer run the Gaza Strip when this is over,” Regev said, adding that “Hamas has been ruling there for 16 years and what have they brought the people of Gaza? Pain, suffering, bloodshed and poverty. It’s not a particularly impressive success level.” 

A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Fox News on Monday that “we have to fear” for the safety of Americans still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, adding that "I can't be confident that anyone is alive, unfortunately.” 

Mark Regev made the remark after White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on ‘Fox News Sunday’ that the U.S. believes around 9 Americans are still being held in the Gaza Strip. 

When asked on ‘America’s Newsroom’ where they might be, Regev told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer that they are “in some dungeon that Hamas is controlling.” 

Regev said the recent cease-fire and hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas – which expired last Friday – freed more than 100 hostages. 

"We have still got about 130 being held, including the Americans. And we have to fear for them because we have been interviewing the people who have come out and they went through a living hell,” he said. 

When asked if he still believes the Americans in Gaza are alive, Regev said "I can't be confident that anyone is alive, unfortunately. We are dealing with a brutal terrorist group that has no qualms whatsoever about butchering people, we saw that on October 7th, when they entered Israel and they massacred our people." 

Pro-Palestinian protesters have been captured on video targeting a restaurant co-owned by an Israeli chef in Philadelphia, drawing a rebuke from the state’s governor. 

The clip, shared on X, shows a crowd chanting ““Goldie, Goldie you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!" outside of a Goldie location in the city over the weekend. 

Goldie, which describes itself as an "Israeli-style falafel shop,” is co-owned by Israeli chef Michael Solomonov. 

"Tonight in Philly, we saw a blatant act of antisemitism -- not a peaceful protest," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote on X in response to the video. 

"A restaurant was targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli. This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history," Shapiro added. 

Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn pictured at a hearing on Capitol Hill. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., demanded an investigation into allegations that a controversial United Nations agency's employee detained one of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

"The United States will not be complicit in propping up Hamas' terrorism, and this report further proves why deep change is necessary within UNRWA before we even consider providing another dollar to the agency," Blackburn wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital and addressed to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. 

"It is deeply concerning that, despite the prevalence of these reports, the United Nations has seemingly done nothing to investigate or prevent the siphoning of UNRWA funding by terrorists, and UNRWA continues to double down on its claims that each subsequent, documented report is ‘unsubstantiated.’"

Blackburn has requested a response by Dec. 18 that addresses a report from Israeli reporter Almog Boker about a UNRWA employee who allegedly detained a hostage in their house for 50 days and details of any investigation into the report, as well as an explanation of UNRWA's "process for ensuring its facilities are not used to support terrorist activities," among other points. 

Boker, a journalist with Israeli Channel 13, last week claimed on social media platform X that he had interviewed a recently released hostage who told him a UNRWA teacher held them hostage. He additionally claimed a Gazan doctor – allegedly a pediatrician – helped hold another hostage captive for Hamas. 

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported Monday that Israel and Hamas are not close to reaching another cease-fire deal. 

Yingst, citing regional sources that are directly familiar with the negotiations, said on “Fox & Friends” that a team from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was in Doha, Qatar on Saturday as the Qataris were trying to get another agreement together between the two sides. 

But that team was recalled back to Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the director of Mossad after talks collapsed, Yingst said. 

He noted that one source stressed that just because Israeli are not in Doha doesn’t mean talks can’t continue, but Hamas over the weekend said it is unwilling to exchange further hostages until the war inside Gaza ends – something Israel’s military has been vowing to continue until Hamas is eliminated. 

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP/Peter Dejong)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be tried as a "war criminal" after Israel's war against Hamas has concluded.

Erdogan does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and has been deeply critical of Israel's campaign in Gaza. He compared Netanyahu to genocidal dictators of the past during a speech during a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

"Beyond being a war criminal, Netanyahu, who is the butcher of Gaza right now, will be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was tried," Erdogan said, referencing a former Yugoslav president. "Those who try to skip over the deaths of all those innocent people by using the excuse of Hamas have nothing left to say to humanity."

Erdogan went on to criticize the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. He has long argued that the security council needs reforms.

Erdogan's comments come as Israel turns its focus toward southern Gaza following the collapse of a cease-fire with Hamas on Friday.

Israel's National Security Council has issued a new travel advisory Monday to citizens traveling and living abroad as it has "identified increased efforts by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and Global Jihad factions, to harm Israeli and Jewish targets around the world."

The NSC said in a statement that "Since the beginning of Operation Swords of Iron, the National Security Council has been conducting ongoing situation assessments together with the Israeli security organizations."

"The threat level for many countries in Western Europe (including the UK, France and Germany), South America (including Brazil and Argentina), as well as Australia and Russia, has been raised to level 2, with the recommendation to exercise increased precaution," it noted.

"The threat level for countries in Africa (including South Africa and Eritrea) and Central Asia (including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) has been raised to level 3, with the recommendation to reconsider non-essential travel to these countries," the statement added.

The NSC also said "Since the beginning of the war, we have identified increased efforts by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and Global Jihad factions, to harm Israeli and Jewish targets around the world" and "At the same time, there is a constant and significant rise in incitement, attempted attacks and manifestations of antisemitism in many countries."

Fox News' Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

This picture taken from southern Lebanon shows smoke rising after an Israeli strike between the villages of Qaouzah and Ramia near the border with Israel on Dec. 3. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israeli military said Monday that three soldiers have been injured along the Israel-Lebanon border following the targeting of an IDF post.

"During the night, a number of mortar bombs were detected from Lebanese territory towards an IDF post in the Shtula area," Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari wrote on X. "As a result, three IDF soldiers were slightly injured and evacuated for medical treatment, their families were informed."

Hagari added that "several mortar launches were detected a short time ago from Lebanese territory towards an IDF post in the Yiftach area" and "IDF forces attacked the sources of the shooting."

He also said Monday that "Fighter jets and remotely manned aircraft of the Air Force recently attacked an operational headquarters, terrorist infrastructures and military buildings of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanese territory."

Israel’s military says it has killed Haitham Khojari, the commander of Hamas’ Shati Battalion who was involved in the execution of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel that launched the war. 

“The IDF, guided by the intelligence of the Shin Bet and the IDF, eliminated Haitham Khojari, the commander of the Shati Battalion of the terrorist organization Hamas, using an Air Force fighter jet,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a post on X on Sunday. “Under his command, they launched a raid into Israeli territory on October 7.” 

Hagari posted a video appearing to show the airstrike being carried out against Khojari. 

The IDF's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said Khojari also “led efforts to secure Hamas activities inside Al-Shifa Hospital and led the fight against IDF forces in the Al-Shati camp area” of the Gaza Strip. 

“Within the framework of his duties, he was responsible for numerous terrorist operations against Israeli citizens,” Adraee added. 

This image from undated bodycam video footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by the Israel Defense Forces shows a Hamas terrorist walking around a residential neighborhood at an undisclosed location in southern Israel. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

The leader of Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, has been heard on audio saying his organization is prepared to destroy Hamas “in every place."

Ronen Bar's comments were aired late last night by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11, according to the Associated Press.

“In every place, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere,” Bar said in a recording. “It’ll take a few years but we will be there to do it.”

Bar compared the mission to Israel’s operation to assassinate militants behind the 1972 killings of members of its Olympic team in Munich, Germany.

It's not immediately clear when Bar's comments were recorded.

Most of Hamas’ top leadership lives in exile, primarily in the Gulf state of Qatar, a key player in bringing about the recently expired truce between Israel and Hamas, and the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A prominent Republican lawmaker is calling on a left-wing fundraising juggernaut to stop processing contributions for Hamas-sympathizing groups.

ActBlue, the leading fundraising platform for Democrat campaigns and groups nationwide, processes donations for a handful of organizations that have partaken in or amplified rallies celebrating Hamas' bloody Oct. 7 attack on innocent Israeli civilians that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage.

"It's shocking that Democrats' primary fundraising vehicle is helping bankroll antisemitic protests across the country where Hamas terrorists are honored as martyrs," Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital.

"ActBlue should cut off access to these pro-Hamas groups or Democrats should leave the platform," Daines said.

ActBlue, which has helped raise more than $12 billion for Democrat politicians and causes, helps round up donations for several groups that have backed rallies in support of Hamas' bloody incursion or issued statements supporting it.

One such group for which ActBlue helped process donations is the U.S.-Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Daily Caller reported. The USPCN has hosted multiple protests to celebrate Hamas' deadly aggression on Israeli civilians.

In October, the USPCN organized an "All Out for Palestine" protest in Houston, where protesters praised Hamas as "martyrs." They also organized identical rallies in other areas, such as Detroit, where protesters chanted, "When people are occupied, violence is justified."

Fox News' Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Monday morning that it has hit roughly 200 Hamas terrorist targets during operations in Gaza.

"Troops struck terrorist infrastructure located inside a school and found 2 tunnel shafts, including a booby-trapped one, explosives and additional weapons," the IDF wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"An [Israeli Air Force] aircraft struck vehicles containing missiles, mortar shells and weapons—thwarting an imminent attack against IDF soldiers," the post continued.

The IDF added, "The Israeli Navy struck the Hamas naval observation posts and terrorist infrastructure at the Gaza harbor."