Former prisoners released by Russia, US journalist Evan Gershkovich (C), former US marine Paul Whelan (C), and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva (L) smile after landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2, 2024. SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images
(SAN ANTONIO) — The former Marine who spent more than 2,000 days in Russian custody spoke out after a historic, multi-country prisoner swap allowed him and three others to return to the U.S.
Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva deplaned shortly before 4:30 a.m. eastern at Joint Base San Antonio, officially marking the beginning of their next chapter, free and back home in the United States.
The three embraced one another for a photo surrounded by their loved ones and held up the Hostages and Wrongful Detainees flag.
“This is us down here,” Whelan said pointing to three slash marks on the bottom of the flag, “Those last three, that’s us.”
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by officials who gave them instructions on immediate next steps. Col. Davis explained that they would first send them for a medical assessment while their families stayed overnight in hotels off base.
Whelan wore the American flag pin given to him by President Biden at Joint Base Andrews — “It’s a keepsake.”
Whelan criticized the “nonsense narrative [the Russian government] came up with” for his imprisonment.
“So, you know, this is how Putin runs his government. This is how Putin runs his country. Yeah, I’m glad I’m home. Yeah. I’m never going back there again,” he said, with a smile.
He also said he had received thousands of letters of support, so many that the Russian Federal Security Service “stopped giving them to him.”
“I just say thank you to everybody. You know, thank you for all your prayers, your your, you know, good wishes. Thanks for doing everything you did,” he said.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the three Americans freed from Russian custody as they arrived back on American soil and reunited with their families.
Biden hugged Paul Whelan and the vice president greeted the former Marine as he arrived on the tarmac. Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan, also on the tarmac awaiting his arrival when he landed.
When Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich arrived on the tarmac, a cheer erupted. He and Biden shook hands and spoke for some time before a long and emotional hug took place between the journalist and his mother, Ella Milman, who was picked up during their embrace at one point.
Alsu Kurmasheva was also welcomed by Biden and Harris. In an emotional moment, she was reunited with her daughters before Biden came over and talked to them as they hugged.
Biden interacted very freely with the press, taking the chance to speak to reporters multiple times on the tarmac.
When asked by a reporter whether he ever thought this moment would come, Biden’s simple reply was “yes.” And when asked what made him so confident, he said it was his relationships with the “other heads of state.”
Biden was also subsequently asked what was his message to Vladmir Putin after the former prisoners were back on American soil.
“Stop,” Biden said.
Biden also said that the scene playing out behind him was the “essence” of America.
“To me, this is about the essence of who we are as a country. It really is about personal relationships,” Biden said. “It’s about family. It’s about being able to have access to the people you love.”
One reporter asked him what the hardest part of securing the deal was.
“The toughest call was for one of the other countries because I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self-interest,” said Biden. “It was really very difficult for them do, particularly Germany. Slovenia really came at the last minute and I tell you what, [the] chancellor was incredible.”
Biden was also asked about whether he was making calls to secure this deal within the hour that he announced his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“I would get this done even if I was seeking a second term. You’re stuck with me as president for a while, kid, there’s no way out, okay,” Biden said. “You got me for at least another 100 — 90 days or so. So it had to do with that. It had to do with the opportunity trying to convince one last country to say okay, they’ll step up.”
When asked about whether this deal would be part of his legacy, Biden sidestepped, saying it’s something to talk about “another time.”
“This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy and strengthening alliances this criticism, incredible day saving families, in their eyes and in their cries,” Harris said as the Kurmasheva family could be heard crying behind her when they were reunited.
(WASHINGTON) — Two dozen prisoners from seven countries were freed in a historic swap on Thursday, including several wrongfully detained American citizens held in Russia.
President Joe Biden called the deal, the largest of its kind since the Cold War, “a feat of diplomacy and friendship.”
Among those released were two wrongfully detained American citizens held by Moscow — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan — as well as Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Muza, a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
Alongside the celebration and relief of the prisoners returning home, the exchange of innocent Americans for Russian criminals raised the debate of whether this would encourage foreign adversaries to target and wrongfully detain Americans to use as leverage.
“It’s a plausible critique,” ABC News contributor Elizabeth Neumann, a former Homeland Security official, said. “Are we actually feeding the beast by doing this prisoner swap, making it more likely that they are going to actually go and unlawfully detain more people so that they have bargaining chips so that we will in the future release whoever we might arrest that is important to Putin?”
Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the message the prisoner swap sends to others “is something that any White House official or government official would ask.”
“You do the best you can to try to limit the possibility of creating incentives to seize other Americans instead,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s modus operandi is to round up Americans on false charges to then get his “henchmen” who are imprisoned abroad back, Neumann said.
A key player for Russia in this historic swap is Vadim Krasikov, according to retired Marine Col. Stephen Ganyard, a former deputy assistant U.S. secretary of state. The convicted assassin had been serving a life sentence in Germany for a 2019 killing. In a February interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Putin signaled that Russia was willing to swap Krasikov for Gershkovich.
“The Russians held out until they could get access to this KGB assassin,” Ganyard said. “Putin will bring his KGB agents home.”
Russia can be expected to continue to detain Americans to achieve that goal, he said.
“It’s pretty standard procedure for the Russians to have a number of us folks held under charges that are clearly manufactured as a way to make sure that they always have some sort of negotiating leverage or reasoning for the U.S. to want to talk to them,” Ganyard said.
Graham said at this time it does not appear there are a lot of Russians in American prisons who the Kremlin wants back.
“I think the deal has minimal implications for anything that the Russians might do as far as seizing Americans is concerned at this point,” he said.
For Neumann, prisoner swap negotiations are steeped in this dilemma when countries are dealing with hostile nations, though are often the only way to bring unlawfully detained citizens home.
“I think that is always a struggle when you are doing these negotiations, of recognizing that you are creating an incentive structure,” she said. “I don’t know that I’ve heard a plausible argument that the alternative is, ‘No we’re not going to negotiate at all, we’re just going to let these people die in a Russian prison.'”
“That’s not how we take care of our citizens,” she continued.
Referencing former President Theodore Roosevelt’s quote on critics — that the “credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena” — she said it is easy to question prisoner swap negotiations from the sidelines.
“But until you actually get into the arena and do the fight, you don’t actually appreciate how difficult these decisions are,” she said. “It is a pretty stereotypical critique. It’s also one in which nobody has ever come up with a plausible alternative to meet our obligation to take care of our American citizens that are unlawfully detained.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan addressed that obligation during a White House briefing Thursday.
“It is difficult to send back a convicted criminal to secure the release of an innocent American,” he said, calling it one of the “hard decisions” involved in these exchanges. “And yet sometimes the choice is between doing that or consigning that person basically to live out their days in prison in a hostile foreign country or in the hands of a hostile power.”
He said the U.S. assessed and analyzed that risk in this case and found that the benefit outweighs the risk. He also noted that Americans have been unjustly detained in times when the U.S. did engage in prisoner exchanges and during times when they did not.
In the face of that risk, the U.S. government has attempted to warn American citizens.
After the release of basketball star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap in 2022, Biden “strongly” urged all Americans to take precautions when traveling abroad and to review the State Department’s travel advisories, including warnings about the risk of being wrongfully detained by a foreign government. Russia currently has a Level 4 Do Not Travel warning from the State Department, the highest level possible.
“He was very clear about that warning, because what’s going to happen next is over time, we’ll see the Russians take in people on trumped-up charges so that they have negotiation leverage, or at least discussion leverage with the U.S. at some point in the future,” Ganyard said.
When asked Thursday during remarks on the prisoner swap how to prevent such incentives in the future, Biden responded, “I’m advising people not to go certain places, tell them what’s at risk, what’s at stake.”
Graham said he does not think Russia picks up just anybody because they need someone to trade.
“It’s people who have violated their laws,” he said, pointing to Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges, as an example. “Americans need to recognize, particularly if traveling in Russia, that the laws there are different from those in the United States and are much more severe in prosecuting certain things.”
(WASHINGTON) — Republican senators ABC News spoke with Thursday squirmed when asked about former President Donald Trump falsely questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity during his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention a day earlier — as the former president doubled down on the false attack.
In a social media post Thursday morning, former President Donald Trump shared a family portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris and wrote, “Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated.”
His social media post reiterated his false claim that Harris only emphasized her Asian-American heritage — something he mentioned during his interview at the NABJ convention on Wednesday.
During the interview, he falsely questioned Harris’ race. Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother.
“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now, she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said during the NABJ interview.
He went on to say that “she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went — she became a Black person.”
Trump allies in the Senate tried to focus less on the former president’s comments at NABJ — when he called Harris’ race into question — and instead pivoted to what they believe are his policy accomplishments in his first term.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of the former president’s, said Trump would be better served focusing on policy.
Asked if it was appropriate for Trump to question Harris’ race, Graham replied: “No, I don’t think so.”
“I’ve known the vice president for a while, she has always embraced her heritage proudly as she should,” Graham said. “My problem with Vice President Harris is the policy choices she’s made. I think she’s live a consequential life, but on policy the country is on fire — the world is on fire and the country is in decline. And I think we need new leadership so so that will be my approach.”
When pushed on whether Trump’s comments were productive in pushing voters toward focusing on policy, Graham dodged, saying “I think the way back into power is to compare [Trump’s] presidency with what’s going on today, offer solutions to problems — that’s the way back into power.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pushed repeatedly on whether Trump’s comments were appropriate, conceded that they were likely a distraction.
“I think it shifts away from the discussion I want to focus on, but it may very well be that we have a difference of opinions about what is going to move the voters,” Tillis said. “I for one think its the failure on the economy the failure on the border and the failure on national security.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is running to lead the Senate Republican Conference when McConnell steps down this fall, sidestepped questions repeatedly.
“I really don’t have anything to say about that. I did think it was relevant that he showed up and she did not and I appreciate the fact he is willing to even appear in front of hostile environments like that one,” Cornyn said.
Asked about Trump’s apparent confusion about Harris being biracial, Cornyn suggested that “I think we are all a combination of something right?”
House Republican leaders have privately told their conference to focus their attacks against Harris on her record, sources familiar with the conversation told ABC News.
The guidance came after a number of House Republicans made references to Harris’ race and gender when asked by reporters about her bid for the White House with some — such as Rep. Tim Burchett and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — calling her a “DEI Vice President” or “DEI hire.”
Separately, sources also told ABC News, Speaker Mike Johnson also privately told members to focus on drawing a contrast with Harris’ record against the “strength” of Trump. Johnson has privately and publicly insisted this has nothing to do with race.
Sources told ABC News that one member said, “pointing out she’s not a white man, is not a winning campaign message.”
Several Democratic senators condemned Trump’s comments about Harris’ race.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump’s comments were “disgusting.”
She said she admires the way Harris responded to the comments, which Harris on Wednesday night called “the same old show” with “divisiveness and disrespect.”
“I really admire what VP Harris said when she said she is ready to turn the page on that and start again with [a] new leader who is completely focused on how we make this government work better for hard-working families,” Warren said.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called Trump’s comments a “distraction.”
“This is a distraction. And that’s what the former president majors in – the politics of distraction and division. But I don’t think it will stand. Because Kamala Harris is focused on the people that she wants to represent in this country,” Warnock said.
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim, Kelsey Walsh, Rachel Scott and Jay O’Brien contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday celebrated an extraordinary prisoner exchange that freed several Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, calling it a “feat of diplomacy and friendship” in remarks from the White House.
Biden was surrounded by family members of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza as he spoke about the efforts involved in the swap, which is the largest since the Cold War involving 24 people and several countries.
“This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here,” Biden said. “It’s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country, who’ve been praying for this day for a long time.”
Biden took a moment to describe the three American citizens and one legal permanent U.S. resident being brought back to the U.S. He said each was arrested, convicted and sentenced by Russian authorities “with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever.”
“And now their brutal ordeal is over and they’re free,” Biden said.
Biden, who officials said was directly involved in helping negotiate the deal, had gathered the families at the White House earlier Thursday to inform them that the release was underway. Biden said he and the families were able to contact the freed Americans over the phone.
When asked what he said to them, Biden replied: “I said, ‘Welcome almost home.'”
The multipart prisoner swap is the product of months of detailed, painstaking negotiations, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The nations involved also included Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey.
A senior administration official said even the day Biden announced he was no longer seeking a second term, he was on the phone working to secure this deal.
Sullivan, who addressed reporters at the White House daily briefing, choked back tears as he emotionally talked about the extensive effort to secure the deal and said it “was vintage Joe Biden rallying American rallying American allies to save American citizens.”
Biden, in his remarks, touted his administration’s work and the power of global alliances while also seemingly criticizing his Oval Office predecessor Donald Trump.
“For anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter,” he said.
“Our work did not start just on Day 1. It started before Day 1,” Biden said. “During the transition, I instructed our national security team to dig into all the cases of hostages being wrongfully detained, which were inherently — well, we inherited them from the private — the prior administration.”
“I wanted to make sure we hit the ground running, and we did,” Biden continued. “As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. Many since before I took office.”
Later, when asked by a reporter about Trump’s repeated claims he could’ve gotten the hostages out of Russia without concessions, Biden took a more direct jab at his former political opponent.
“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden responded.
Speaking further on Thursday’s release, Biden noted several of the 16 individuals freed on Thursday were Russian political prisoners who “stood up for democracy and human rights” and were subsequently jailed by their own leaders. He took a moment to contrast that with the work of the U.S. and its partners.
“The United States helped secure their release as well. That’s who we are in the United States,” he said. “We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice, not only for our own people, but for others as well. And that’s why all Americans can take pride in what we’ve achieved today.”
As he closed his remarks, Biden turned back to the families gathered in the State Dining Room, saying he couldn’t imagine what they’ve endured these last few years.
He then led the singing of “Happy Birthday” to Miriam, the daughter of Kurmasheva, an American-Russian journalist who was freed on Thursday. Biden said Mariam will turn 13 on Friday and will now be able to celebrate with her mother.
“That’s what this is all about. Families able to be together again, like they should have been all along,” Biden said. “So, I want to thank you again to everyone who did their part. In just a few hours, we’ll welcome home our fellow Americans.”
The two top Republicans in Congress issued a joint statement calling the Gershkovich and Whelan release “encouraging news” but then went on to cite the “costs of hostage diplomacy.”
“Without serious action to deter further hostage-taking by Russia, Iran, and other states hostile to the United States, the costs of hostage diplomacy will continue to rise. As we renew our call for the return of all persons wrongfully detained by the Kremlin, we recognize that trading hardened Russian criminals for innocent Americans does little to discourage Putin’s reprehensible behavior,” House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(PARIS) — WNBA star Brittney Griner, who spent 10 months detained in Russia, said she is “head over heels” after the release of Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who were freed from Russia in a prisoner swap.
“Great day,” Griner said from Paris, where she is competing in women’s basketball for Team USA at the Olympics. “I’m head-over-heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win.”
Griner, who spoke to reporters after the U.S. women beat Belgium 87-74 to advance to the quarterfinals, said finding out about their release was “definitely emotional.”
“I’m sure it will be even more emotional a little later on. Yeah, I’m just happy. This was a big win. Huge win,” Griner said.
“I know they have an amazing group of people that are going to help them out — them and their families,” she said, adding that she was “glad” to receive that help herself to “get reacclimated into everyday life.”
In February 2022, while returning to Russia to play basketball during the WNBA’s offseason, Griner was detained at Russia’s Sheremetyevo International Airport after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in the country. The State Department said she was wrongfully detained.
In July 2022, Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges, saying that the vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were in her luggage unintentionally. She testified that she had “no intention” of breaking Russian law and packed the cartridges by accident.
The WNBA star was released in December 2022 after U.S. officials agreed to swap her for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts earlier this year she expected to also see Whelan there when she was boarding the plane to leave Russia.
“When I walked on and I didn’t see him, I was like, ‘OK, maybe I’m early. Maybe he’s next. Maybe they are going to bring him next,'” she said of Whelan. “And when they closed the door, I was like … are you seriously not gonna let this man come home right now?”
“If it was left up to me in that trade, I would have went and got Paul and brought him home,” Griner said.
After her release, Griner became an advocate for Americans wrongfully detained abroad.
Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in 2018 and accused of espionage. Both the Biden and Trump administrations denied the allegation against Whelan. He was convicted on the charges in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2023 for espionage, a charge he and U.S. officials flatly deny, with President Joe Biden saying he was targeted for being a journalist and an American. After an unusually hasty trial that played out behind closed doors, Gershkovich was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.
Two others unjustly imprisoned in Russia, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, were also released in Thursday’s swap, Biden said.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Al Jazeera ‘strongly refutes’ Israeli accusations against assassinated correspondent
Al Jazeera released a statement saying it “strongly refutes” allegations made by Israel against a correspondent the IDF admitted to targeting and killing. The news outlet calling for an independent review and warned it reserves the right to pursue legal action against Israel.
The IDF has accused journalist Ismail Al Ghoul of taking part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly refutes the baseless allegations made by the Israeli occupation forces in an attempt to justify its deliberate killing of our colleague, journalist Ismail Al Ghoul, and his companion, cameraman Rami Al Rifi. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces had previously abducted Ismail on March 18, 2024, during their raid on Al-Shifa Hospital, detaining him for a period of time before his release, which debunks and refutes their false claim of his affiliation with any organisation,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.
Al Jazeera also called for an international investigation into “crimes committed” by the IDF “against its journalists and staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza.”
“The Network condemns the accusations against its correspondent, Ismail Al Ghoul, without providing any proof, documentation or video, and highlights Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes, while also denying journalists from around the world access to the Gaza Strip to report on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza,” Al Jazeera added.
Hamas leader assassinated by explosive device stashed in room
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated using an explosive device stashed in his room, according to three Middle Eastern sources who spoke with ABC News on the condition of anonymity. The details of the assassination were first reported in The New York Times.
One source told ABC the explosive device was smuggled into the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guest house in Tehran about two months ago. It is unclear when the device was moved into the room itself.
The bomb was detonated remotely sometime before 2 a.m. local time after receiving confirmation of Haniyeh’s presence in the room.
Israel briefed U.S. officials and other Western officials on the details of the assassination afterward, according to one source. Israel had been plotting to assassinate Haniyeh for some time since Oct. 7 but was reluctant to do while he was in Qatar where he lived, according to the source.
IDF confirms they targeted Al Jazeera journalist killed in Gaza
Israel has confirmed it targeted an Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul who was killed in a direct strike near Gaza City. Al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al-Refee were killed on Wednesday.
“The IDF and ISA are operating in order to eliminate terrorists who participated in the October 7th Massacre and will continue to do so,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces accused al-Ghoul of participating in the Oct. 7 attack due to his recording and publication of attacks against the IDF.
The Society to Protect Journalists has condemned the attack and said journalists are civilians who should never be attacked.
“Ismail was known for his professionalism and dedication, highlighting the suffering and atrocities in Gaza, particularly at Al-Shifa Hospital and in the northern region. He was detained and tortured by Israel while covering the Al Shifa Hospital siege, yet he continued reporting after his release,” Al Jazeera said in a statement Tuesday.
“Without Ismail, the harrowing images of these massacres would remain unseen. He was a resolute journalist who overcame hunger, illness, and the death of his brother. He tirelessly reported on Gaza’s events through Al Jazeera, fulfilling his mission for his people and homeland. May they rest in peace,” Al Jazeera said.
Hamas calls for prayers, day of rage to protest Haniyeh’s death
Hamas is calling for a day of marches of rage around the world on Friday in condemnation of the Israeli assassination of political leader Ismail Haniyeh and the ongoing killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas also called for absentee funeral prayers for Haniyeh.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take part in the day of rage.
Thousands gather for Shukr funeral as Hezbollah promises retaliation
Thousands of people gathered for Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr’s funeral, including the top leader of Hamas in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, appearing via video, told the crowd that a response to Shukr’s killing is coming. He said there is no discussion about the retaliation — adding that it will be big.
The main streets of Dahiya are lined with photos of Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut Tuesday evening.
In the hours leading up to Thursday’s ceremony, the growing crowd often chanted “Death to Israel,” “America is the great Satan” and “Death to America!”
“It’s not the death of the citizens. It’s not the death of the innocents. It’s the death of the hypocrisy. Of the arrogance. And of the oppression,” an unidentified man in the audience shouted at reporters.
After Nasrallah’s speech, Shukr’s yellow flag-draped casket was carried through the streets of Dahiya and to a burial site. Many people lined either side to pay their respects.
Israel has crossed a red line, must expect rage and revenge, Nasrallah says
Speaking at the funeral of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel has crossed a line, warning there will be rage and revenge.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Beirut to mourn Shukr.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah entered the battle believing its morality, legitimacy and importance, adding they are now in an open battle on all fronts that has entered a new phase.
Nasrallah denied responsibility for the Majdal Shams attack, which Israel and the U.S. have said came from Hezbollah. He also commented on the Israeli assassination of Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran, hours after Shukr was targeted in a strike on Beirut warning Iran will likely respond.
Crowds mourn slain Hamas leader in Tehran funeral procession
Throngs of people flooded the streets of Tehran on Thursday for the funeral procession of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader who was assassinated early Wednesday.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led funeral prayers over the bodies of Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, who was also killed.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, the Iranian capital. His remains are expected to be transferred to Qatar, where he had lived in exile since 2019, for burial on Thursday.
No country or organization has yet taken credit for the assassination, but Khamenei appeared on Tuesday to place the blame on Israel. He said it was Iran’s “duty to take revenge.”
Israel says it killed Hamas military leader last month
Israeli officials said Thursday they had killed Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing.
Deif was killed in “precise, targeted strike” in Khan Yunis on July 13, according to a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced the death in a post on social media, calling Deif the “Osama bin Laden of Gaza.”
Gallant said his killing was “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war.”
Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted the airstrike on a compound in the southern Gazan city, the joint statement said. The strike also killed Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, the military said.
“Over the years, Deif directed, planned, and carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the State of Israel,” the joint statement said.
The statement continued, “Deif operated side-by-side with Yahya Sinwar, and during the war, he commanded Hamas’ terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas’ Military Wing.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said last month that at least 90 people, half of whom were children and women, were killed and 300 others were injured in the attack.
Hamas officials have not confirmed Deif’s death.
Delta suspends flights to Tel Aviv
Delta Air lines has suspended all flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv through Friday, Aug. 2, due to ongoing conflict in the region.
“Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports and will communicate any updates as needed,” Delta said in a statement.
CPJ ‘dismayed’ by deaths of Al Jazeera journalists in ‘direct strike’ on vehicle near Gaza city
Al Jazeera Arabic journalists Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al-Refee have been killed in whilst reporting in Gaza, the network has announced.
The journalists were reporting on the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. Al-Ghoul’s last post on social media was of him at the ruins of the Hamas leader’s home in Gaza.
A vehicle carrying the two journalists was targeted by what the CPJ says appears to be a “direct strike” in Al Shafi camp, west of Gaza city.
“Ismail was known for his professionalism and dedication, highlighting the suffering and atrocities in Gaza, particularly at Al-Shifa Hospital and in the northern region. He was detained and tortured by Israel while covering the Al Shifa Hospital siege, yet he continued reporting after his release,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.
Without Ismail, the harrowing images of these massacres would remain unseen. He was a resolute journalist who overcame hunger, illness, and the death of his brother. He tirelessly reported on Gaza’s events through Al Jazeera, fulfilling his mission for his people and homeland. May they rest in peace,” Al Jazeera said.
United cancels Tel Aviv flights
As tensions continue to rise after Israel assassinated top Hamas and Hezbollah officials, United Airlines has canceled its daily flights to Tel Aviv.
“Beginning with this evening’s flight from Newark Liberty to Tel Aviv, we are suspending for security reasons our daily Tel Aviv service as we evaluate our next steps. We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews,” United said in a statement to ABC News.
-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney
US raises Lebanon travel advisory to highest warning level
In the wake of recent escalations in the Middle East, the U.S. State Department has raised its advisory for Lebanon to level four: “Do Not Travel,” up from a level three: “reconsider travel.”
“Do Not Travel to Lebanon due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate. The U.S. Embassy strongly encourages U.S. citizens who are already in Southern Lebanon, near the borders with Syria, and/or in refugee settlements to depart,” the updated advisory reads.
“U.S. citizens in Lebanon should be aware that consular officers from the U.S. Embassy are not always able to travel to assist them. The Department of State considers the threat to U.S. government personnel in Beirut serious enough to require them to live and work under strict security. The internal security policies of the U.S. Embassy may be adjusted at any time and without advance notice,” it said.
Even before Tuesday’s strike in Beirut, State Department officials have been advising Americans in Lebanon to put together a “crisis plan of action” and “leave before a crisis begins.” Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Reena Bitter said in a video message earlier this week that those remaining in Lebanon should be prepared to shelter in place “for a long period of time.”
While some commercial flights from Lebanon have been disrupted, an official said earlier Wednesday that the State Department assesses that the transportation situation for U.S. citizens is still tenable enough that the department is not considering launching any evacuation efforts at this time, but that those plans are constantly being augmented in case they become necessary.
Level four is the State Department’s most severe classification. Other countries at that rank include North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Syria and South Sudan.
US officials warn Israeli assassinations are not good for cease-fire negotiations
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials have held back from publicly speculating whether the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh will derail cease-fire negotiations, but several U.S. officials familiar with the talks say it certainly isn’t good for the prospects of a deal.
The two assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in the last 24 hours could have a chilling effect on the mediators, and what appears to be a recommitment to wartime mentality from both Israel and Hamas.
Blinken and others have recently said that an agreement is close, but always with the important caveat that the final gaps are the hardest to bridge.
Israel has also hardened some of its positions in recent weeks and the U.S. has never had full confidence in Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s desire to achieve a cease-fire or its insight into his thinking, officials say.
At the State Department briefing Wednesday, its deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, declined to speculate whether the assassinations would impact the talks and asserted that the department did not anticipate even a temporary pause in negotiations at this point.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hezbollah confirms Fouad Shukr was killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
Hezbollah has confirmed that military commander Fouad Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsen, was killed in an Israeli strike on a building in Beirut, calling it a “heinous attack and the major crime.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah will speak about the attack at a funeral procession on Thursday, according to Hezbollah.
Netanyahu issues warning after Israel kills top Hamas, Hezbollah officials
In his first public statements since Israel killed top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned it would retaliate strongly “against any aggression.”
“Challenging days are ahead of us. Since the attack in the Beirut, threats have been heard from all sides. We are ready for any scenario and will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will charge a price, a very heavy price, for any aggression against us from any arena,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
Hamas says talks with Israel ‘meaningless’ and a ‘deal was close’
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said Tuesday that the talks with Israel are “meaningless” and that they were “close” to a deal but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want one.
“The negotiation is meaningless despite the bloodshed. We had a paper [agreement] and the deal was close. They do not want to stop being usurper. Netanyahu does not want a deal. Hence, we had dedicated all we could. Our path is not the path of surrendering,” al-Hayya said during a press conference Wednesday.
Egypt also warned that the Israeli assassinations undermine truce talks and warned against dangerous security consequences.
Egypt condemned the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military leader Fouad Shukr in Beirut as a “dangerous escalation” by Israel that could fuel conflict in the region, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said the assassinations “undermine the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip” and “indicate the absence of Israeli political will to calm the situation.”
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi and Ayat Al-Tawy
Hamas claims Haniyeh was assassinated by rocket that entered his room
Hamas claimed that its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a rocket that entered the room where he was staying, Khalil al-Hayya, a high ranking Hamas official said in a press conference Wednesday. He warned that Israel will pay the price for Haniyeh’s death
Al-Hayya also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for hampering cease-fire talks.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi
Blinken calls Jordanian counterpart, discusses hostage deal and preventing escalation
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his Jordanian counterpart Wednesday to discuss “the urgency of efforts to reach a ceasefire to the conflict in Gaza” and “the importance of preventing further escalation of the conflict,” according to a statement from the State Department.
The statement doesn’t specifically mention the Israeli strike in Lebanon or the killing of Hamas’ political leader, but Jordan is viewed as a key strategic partner for maintaining stability in the Middle East by U.S. officials.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
‘Time for a deal,’ families of hostages say
A group representing the families of hostages held in the war-torn Gaza Strip, who were abducted from southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks, released a statement on Wednesday urging “the Israeli government and global leaders to decisively advance negotiations.”
“This is the time for a deal,” the statement said.
The statement comes amid rising tensions in the region after Hamas’ political leader was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital Tehran — and only hours after Israel targeted a top commander for Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Iran has ‘duty to take revenge,’ supreme leader says
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said his country had a “duty to take revenge” after Hamas’ political leader was killed in Tehran.
“However, following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, we believe it is our duty to take revenge,” Khamenei said Wednesday.
No country or organization has yet taken credit for the assassination, but Khamenei appeared in his statement to blame Israel, saying the “criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory.”
Global reactions rolling in following Haniyeh killing
As news of the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, begins to spread on Wednesday morning, global leaders have started to react, condemning his death and calling it a “heinous assassination.”
In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned in the strongest terms Israel’s assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, may God have mercy on him, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and an escalatory crime that will push towards more tension and chaos in the region.”
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned Haniyeh’s death, calling it a “heinous assassination” and reiterated the need to stop Israel from escalating regional tensions.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told state-owned RIA news agency that the killing of Haniyeh “is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions.”
The Israeli Government Press Office posted a photo of Ismail Haniyeh with the word “eliminated” over the Hamas political leader’s head. The post, which had been live for more than an hour, was then removed Wednesday morning.
“Eliminated: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas highest- ranking leader, was killed in a precise strike in Tehran, Iran,” the office said in a post on its official Facebook page.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the assassination.
Killing will strengthen Iranian-Palestinian bond, minister says
The death of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader, in Iran “will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the beloved Palestine and the resistance,” an Iranian state spokesperson said.
“The pure blood of Martyr Haniyeh will never be wasted,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, according to Iranian state media.
Iranian authorities were investigating the assassination, he said.
Kanaani praised Haniyeh for spending his life in the “honorable struggle against the usurping Zionist regime” and for seeking the “the liberation of the oppressed Palestinian nation.”
Hamas, allies react to Haniyeh killing, calling it a ‘cowardly act’
Reaction from Hamas and its allies was swift, with Musa Abu Marzouq, a member of the Hamas political office, saying in a statement, “The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, is a cowardly act and will certainly not go unanswered.”
Islamic Jihad also issued a statement, saying the death of Haniyeh will not deter them.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the state of Palestine, said he strongly condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, calling the attack “a cowardly act.”
Political leader of Hamas has been killed in Tehran, Iran says
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been killed in Tehran along with his bodyguard, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said in a statement.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack at this stage.
Haniyeh was killed in his home in Tehran after participating in the inauguration of the new Iranian president, according to Hamas.
IDF says it targeted senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, Lebanon. The IDF said the commander is responsible for Saturday’s strike that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that Hezbollah “crossed the red line.”
The Lebanese Red Cross said the strike hit a residential building, killing at least two and injuring 20.
The target of Israel’s strike was Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, according to three security sources familiar with the operation.
The United States was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said. It’s not clear whether the strike successfully eliminated its target.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that “Israel has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is.”
“But all of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks and we will continue to do that work,” she added.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters he didn’t have “any updates on any specific activity,” but added, “We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the incident over the weekend, and the United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line.”
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran-backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Patel said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Shannon Kingston
85 sick and injured evacuated from Gaza in largest medical evacuation in 9 months
Eighty-five sick and severely injured people, including 35 children, have been evacuated from Gaza to get care in Abu Dhabi, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization.
This was Gaza’s largest medical evacuation since October 2023, according to the WHO.
The evacuees’ illnesses include cancer, neurological conditions, cardiac disease and liver disease, Tedros said.
Sixty-three family members and caregivers accompanied the patients, the WHO said.
“We hope this paves the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes. Thousands of sick people are suffering needlessly,” Tedros said. “Above all, and as always, we call for a cease-fire.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
IDF says it targeted senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, Lebanon. The IDF said the commander is responsible for Saturday’s strike that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that Hezbollah “crossed the red line.”
The target of Israel’s strike was Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, according to three security sources familiar with the operation.
The United States was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters he didn’t have “any updates on any specific activity,” but added, “We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the incident over the weekend, and the United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line.”
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran-backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Patel said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Shannon Kingston
IDF withdraws from Khan Younis after weeklong raid killing 226
The Israel Defense Forces announced that it has “completed operational activity in the area of Khan Younis” in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, more than a week after it began bombarding the eastern part of the city — a designated humanitarian zone.
At least 226 people have been killed by Israeli forces in and around Khan Younis since the IDF raid began early on July 22, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller and Samy Zyara
One dead in Israel, one dead in Lebanon amid rising tensions
At least one person is dead in northern Israel following a rocket salvo from Lebanon this afternoon, according to Israel’s national emergency service. One person was also killed in southern Lebanon following a drone strike targeting a house in the town of Beit Lif early Tuesday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets conducted strikes in southern Lebanon earlier Tuesday.
Approximately 10 projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with the majority of the projectiles being intercepted, according to the IDF. A direct hit was identified in the area of HaGoshrim in northern Israel.
12:34 PM EDT US meetings with Netanyahu were ‘very constructive,’ Kirby says
U.S. officials’ meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., last week were “very constructive and certainly nothing that discouraged us in terms of trying to close the remaining gaps” while trying to secure the hostage deal, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.
“We still believe those gaps can be narrowed … and we can move forward. But obviously, as I said earlier, it’s going to take compromise, it’s going to take leadership,” he said.
“There’s no indication that we see, at this point in time, the weekend strike by Hezbollah into the Golan [Heights] area is going to negatively affect those discussions,” Kirby added.
Kirby also pushed back on the suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris had a different message for Netanyahu from President Joe Biden, saying there was “no daylight” between their messages, and that reporting suggesting otherwise was “unfortunate and inaccurate.”
“There was no daylight between anything, the president, the vice president told the prime minister. Same points, same emphasis — the commitment and reaffirmation to help Israel continue to defend itself against these threats. Same reaffirmation by both the president and the vice president, that we want to see the cease-fire deal get enacted because of what it can do to improve the humanitarian situation. And of course, getting those hostages home with their families,” Kirby said.
Pressed on why Harris had her own meeting if their message was the same, Kirby defended Harris.
“The vice president couldn’t be in town for the meeting in the Oval [Office], and as she has been a full partner in all our foreign policy, but certainly in particular, the policy that this administration has pursued with respect to the Middle East, she felt it was important to also sit down with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
12:21 PM EDT White House condemns ‘horrific’ attack on Golan Heights
The United States “absolutely condemn this weekend’s horrific attack” that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.
At least 12 people were killed, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as responsible for the strike.
Kirby also assigned blame to Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying “it was their rocket launched from an area that they control.”
“The United States will continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along that blue line that will, No. 1, end these terrible attacks once and for all, and No. 2, allow Israeli and Lebanese citizens on both sides of the border to safely return to their homes,” Kirby said.
Kirby stressed that U.S. support for Israeli security remains “ironclad” against all Iran-backed threats, adding, “We believe that there is still time and space for a diplomatic solution.”
Asked if the administration was urging Israel to show restraint in any response, Kirby said that Hezbollah made the first strike on Israel back in October and that “Israel has every right to respond,” but he said he was confident that a broader conflict could be avoided.
“Nobody wants a broader war and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome. I’ll let the Israelis really speak to whatever their response is going to be,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
4:43 PM EDT Netanyahu and Gallant to decide how to retaliate for Golan Heights attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were granted the authority Sunday to decide the manner and timing of a response to the alleged attack by Hezbollah on the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, according to the prime minister’s office.
During a meeting in Tel Aviv, members of Israel’s political-security cabinet gave Netanyahu and Gallant the authority to devise a plan to retaliate for the strike that killed 12 people, including children playing soccer, according to the statement from the prime minister’s office.
“The members of the cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense to decide on the manner of response against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and when,” according to the statement.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack. The Israel Defense Forces and the White House both blamed Hezbollah for the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
1:41 PM EDT White House blames Hezbollah for deadly rocket attack on Golan Heights
The White House on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike Saturday on Golan Heights that it said killed children playing soccer.
At least 12 people were killed in the weekend attack in Majdal Shams, a town in the Golan Heights, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the horrific attack yesterday in northern Israel that killed a number of children playing soccer,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack in Majdal Shams. But the IDF said a Hezbollah rocket was used in the attack, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier Sunday that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as responsible for the strike.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
July 28, 2024, 12:35 PM EDT Middle East Airlines delays flights following Israeli strike on Lebanon
Lebanon’s flagship air carrier, Middle East Airlines, delayed departures of several inbound flights to Beirut on Sunday, the airline announced.
The decision by Middle East Airlines came after the Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday that the military struck targets “deep inside” Lebonnon overnight. The IDF attack in Lebanon unfolded a day after a rocket strike killed 12 people in Majdal Shams, a town in Golan Heights.
Hezbollah denied involvement in the rocket attack in Majdal Shams, but IDF officials claim it was a Hezbollah rocket that hit a sports field, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as being responsible for the strike.
Middle East Airlines said it delayed the departures of six inbound flights to Beruit that would normally land at night. The flights are now scheduled to land during the day on Monday, the airline said.
Meanwhile, Royal Jordanian Airlines also told ABC News it is considering rescheduling a flight from Amman to Beirut to early Monday morning.
(WASHINGTON) — Former president Donald Trump is facing criticism for recent comments made about the Jewish community in which he claimed a Jewish American who votes for a Democrat is “an absolute fool.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a global Jewish advocacy group, condemned Trump’s comments.
“At a time when antisemitism is at record levels, the statement by the former president is divisive and potentially dangerous,” the AJC told ABC News in a statement.
“Jews as a group should not be targeted for their beliefs or how they choose to vote. Even more problematic is when individuals are singled out or targeted,” the latter referring to recent comments made specifically about Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish.
In a July 30 interview with New York radio host Sid Rosenberg on the radio station 77WABC, owned by Red Apple Media, Trump said that “any Jewish person that voted for her or him or whoever it’s going to be … should have their head examined,” referring to likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Trump continued: “If you love Israel, or if you’re Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel, and they happen to be in New York, you know that. But if you are Jewish, regardless of Israel, if you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool.”
Rosenberg then made derogatory comments about second gentleman Doug Emhoff, calling him “a crappy Jew” as Trump appeared to agree.
“Doug Emhoff, Mr. President, is Jewish,” Rosenberg said during the interview. “He’s Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish. Are you kidding me?”
“Yeah,” Trump responded.
“He’s a crappy Jew,” Rosenberg continued.
“Yeah,” Trump again said.
“He’s a horrible Jew,” said Rosenberg.
In a March interview, Trump claimed that “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.”
Emhoff responded at the time on X, writing: “Donald Trump uses stereotypes to demean Jewish Americans. He called Neo-Nazis at Charlottesville ‘very fine people.’ And his former Chief of Staff said he even praised Adolf Hitler. This hateful and antisemitic rhetoric is toxic. Donald Trump is the one who should be ashamed.”
Trump’s most recent comments follow his claim at a July 26 speaking event that Harris doesn’t like Jewish people, despite her being married to a Jewish man.
“She doesn’t like Jewish people. She doesn’t like Israel. That’s the way it is, and that’s the way it’s always going to be. She’s not going to change,” he said at a conservative Christian event in Florida.
The former president’s comments come amid rising incidents of antisemitism across the U.S., with federal and local law enforcement agencies warning about the heightened tensions stoked by the Israel-Hamas war overseas.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign responded on July 26 to Trump’s comments claiming she doesn’t like Jewish people, calling his vision for the country “bitter, bizarre, and backward looking” and arguing he “insulted the faith” of Jewish voters.
The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for further comment.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., slammed Trump for repeating what Schumer called an “old antisemitic trope” about the loyalties of Jewish voters.
“It’s been used for a very long time to drive Jews out of their homes, to paint them as untrustworthy to deny the basic dignity,” Schumer said in a July 31 speech.
Schumer continued: “Donald Trump then repeated the sick idea that if you’re a Jew, and if you happen to support Democrats, you should ‘have your head examined’ and that you’re a bunch of ‘fools.’ Sadly, we’ve been here before, but it must be said again: Donald Trump’s comments were reprehensible, dangerous, and prove that he is disturbingly at ease with antisemitic rhetoric.”
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Isabella Murray, Will McDuffie, and Gabriela Abdul-Hakim contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Secret Service faced an array of challenges — and made some potentially dangerous mistakes — while trying to protect the president, vice president and vice president-elect on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob supporting then-President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, offers an official and detailed account of how Kamala Harris, then the incoming vice president, ended up within feet of a “viable” pipe bomb planted in the bushes right outside the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters that day.
“The pipe bomb had been placed near the building the night before, but … [a]dvance security sweeps by the Secret Service at the DNC building did not include the outside area where a pipe bomb had been placed,” says the report from inspector general Joseph Cuffari, which was shared with members of Congress on Thursday.
The report describes how two Secret Service canine teams assigned to sweep the building were “surprised” to learn the morning of Jan. 6 that more assets weren’t being provided to help with the sweep — but the report also notes that Secret Service policies and procedures at the time required fewer assets for protectees who had been elected to an office but not yet sworn in.
“[Harris], traveling in an armored vehicle with her motorcade, entered the DNC building via a ramp within 20 feet of the pipe bomb,” the report said.
According to the report, the pipe bomb was found an hour and 40 minutes after Harris arrived at the DNC building. The report suggests it took the Secret Service ten minutes to evacuate her, saying that she spent a total of about one hour and 50 minutes inside the building.
The Secret Service has since updated its policies to include more assets for “‘elect’ protectees,” according to the report, which is heavily redacted.
Federal authorities are still trying to determine who planted that pipe bomb and a similar device at the Republican National Committee’s headquarters nearby. The FBI is offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Security camera video released by the FBI showed the suspect walking on a street in the area.
“Although these bombs did not detonate, it is important to remember the suspect walked along residential and commercial areas in Capitol Hill just blocks from the U.S. Capitol with viable pipe bombs that could have seriously injured or killed innocent bystanders,” the FBI said in a statement seeking the public’s help earlier this year. “Moreover, the suspect may still pose a danger to the public or themselves.”
The report’s long-awaited release comes as the Secret Service is still reeling from its failure to prevent a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man from nearly assassinating Trump less than three weeks ago.
Testifying to Congress earlier this week, the acting director of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, called that “a failure on multiple levels,” saying communication issues and other challenges helped prevent authorities from realizing how much of a threat the man posed, and then hampered their response.
Cuffari’s report describes how in 2021, communication challenges and missed signs of potential violence impacted the Secret Service’s planning and response to the events of Jan. 6.
As described in the report, the Secret Service was focused on three main locations that day: the Ellipse in Washington, where they were protecting Trump at his “Save America” rally; the U.S. Capitol, where then-vice president Mike Pence was presiding over the certification of the 2020 election results; and the DNC building, where Harris was visiting.
Like many other law enforcement agencies, the Secret Service “anticipated that the planned Ellipse rally would be like previous pro-Trump rallies” in Washington, which saw “some violence” limited to clashes between opposing protesters, the report said.
But once the rally got underway, according to the report, “the Secret Service encountered indicators of potential for violence within the crowd,” including people trying to enter the secure area with ballistic vests and gas masks.
By the conclusion of the rally, the Secret Service alone had confiscated 269 blades, 242 bottles of pepper spray and 94 other prohibited items, the report says.
At 2:13 p.m., a little more than an hour after Trump finished his speech at the rally, rioters breached the Capitol building.
“Due to communication challenges and limited contingency planning, [Pence and his] Secret Service protective detail only narrowly avoided rioters,” the report says of the rioters, some of whom directed threats at the then-vice president.
The section of the report discussing that episode includes substantial redactions, though it does say that agents reported “not receiving communications from various entities,” and also mentions “manpower challenges that day.”
“The events of January 6 were unprecedented, and the issues we identified during our review present an opportunity for the Secret Service to be better prepared in the future,” says the report, which makes several recommendations to improve Secret Service agility.
The Secret Service says it is already implementing many of the recommendations.
The report also offers a little more information about two controversial issues stemming from Jan. 6, including Trump’s alleged demands to go to the Capitol after his speech as the situation at the Capitol was escalating.
In June 2022, during dramatic public testimony before the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified she had been told by then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato that Trump was so adamant about going to the Capitol that he grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential limousine and lunged toward the Secret Service detail when his demands were denied.
According to the inspector general’s report, Ornato told Cuffari’s investigators in writing — after refusing an in-person interview — that he does “not recall being made aware of any [such] details,” nor does he “recall speaking with anyone about it.”
Trump’s detail lead, who was seated in front of the then-president, said he could not recall how the president responded when he was told he couldn’t go to the Capitol — but the limousine driver told investigators that Trump was angry about it, according to the report.
In the report, Cuffari also discusses efforts by his office — and “multiple committees of Congress” — to obtain phone communications, emails, and text messages from the Secret Service — but that their efforts were allegedly hampered because the Secret Service had “wiped all phones when it updated software in [the weeks after Jan. 6, and] did not have backup files.”
In total, Cuffari’s investigators ended up receiving one short text message sent by a single Secret Service official that day, according to the report.
The Secret Service disputed Cuffari’s implication that the phones were “wiped” with nefarious intent, saying the software update that left so many communications unattainable had been planned long before Jan. 6.
“It is reassuring that the [inspector general] report does not state anywhere that any Secret Service text messages were inappropriately deleted,” the Secret Service told Cuffari’s office in a letter responding to the report’s conclusions.
After Jan. 6, members of Congress pressed the Department of Homeland Security for a broad range of records, including communications from within the Secret Service. The Secret Service text messages were never provided, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., recently said, “We could have had a better and more thorough report had we had access to all those records.”
(WASHINGTON) — Republicans and Democrats agree: Ohio Sen. JD Vance has had a rocky rollout as former President Donald Trump’s running mate. What’s less clear is how much it matters to voters.
Since Vance was picked to join Trump on Republicans’ ticket, he’s been hit with a cascade of stories about past comments regarding childless women, stringent abortion stances, dislike of police and more. The drip, drip, drip has given Democrats an opening to peg Vance and Republicans at large as “weird,” phrasing that has become a cornerstone of Vice President Kamala Harris’ messaging.
Yet while the remarks are driving a prolonged news cycle, Vance is running in a cycle when his running mate is a former president famous for sucking up political oxygen and his Democratic counterpart will be picked by a likely nominee who herself was chosen as her party’s candidate in an unprecedented series of events.
“It’s hard to say,” one source close to Trump’s campaign said when asked how much voters will care about Vance’s introduction. “I don’t know if a vice presidential candidate ever is the driver of why someone votes for the principal. And so, that is to be determined.”
The conventional wisdom is that running mates historically don’t move the needle with voters in presidential races despite the intense calculus equation done by each presidential candidate to pick the right person. The most recent time a pick threatened a ticket was in 2008, when then-Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin found herself in hot water as John McCain’s running mate, though the two also ran at a time of terrible poll numbers for outgoing President George W. Bush.
Vance was picked after a weekslong search among several contenders, keeping both the media and much of the GOP in suspense as to who will join Trump on Republicans’ ticket.
The Ohio senator was rolled out as the nominee the first day of the GOP convention to much fanfare, and after the confab ended, was immediately hit with headlines over his past comments, many of which focused on his remarks on women without kids, including saying in 2021 that the country was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.”
The controversy has pushed Vance to play defense, arguing that “the media wants to attack me” and that reporters are too focused on “sarcasm.”
But at the end of the day, it’s still the Trump show, Republicans argued, and support for the GOP ticket likely hinges on his appeal.
“Generally speaking, the vice presidential candidates don’t typically matter too much, especially when you have a candidate on the Republican side like Trump, who is the lightning rod, is the icon. A lot of voters are going to be voting for Trump. I just don’t buy much stock into somebody would have been a Trump voter and is now going to pull off of Trump because of the JD Vance pick,” said GOP pollster Robert Blizzard.
Republicans likened the headlines over Trump’s past comments as inside baseball rather than a campaign earthquake.
“They call him weird and all that stuff, this is rollout stuff. It’s just inside pollster, baseball stuff. When they find out that’s not working, the campaign will have moved on,” said a second source close to Trump’s campaign, arguing that Vance will maintain his appeal to voters in the Rust Belt given his roots in the region.
Trump himself said on Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists conference that “you have two or three days where there’s a lot of commotion … and then that dies down.”
The former president’s comments seemed particularly prescient Thursday, when the news cycle was dominated by his questioning during the NABJ interview of Harris’ race — rather than Vance’s comments about childless women.
Beyond that, headlines about Vance are competing with news stories about the Democratic ticket.
Democrats are locked in a whirlwind of their own, with Harris jolting to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden ended his own campaign. She will soon pick her own running mate, which will likely set off a whole new news cycle.
And that’s on top of other national discussions, including over the recent assassination attempt on Trump.
“It’s just been such a chaotic, turbulent time period that I’m not sure many voters have really homed in and focused on it,” Blizzard said.
In addition to the cavalcade of stories, Vance has still been able to raise money and sell out events on the campaign trail, and print copies of his novel “Hillbilly Elegy” and a movie based off of it have spiked in popularity, suggesting some voters are also digesting a more positive depiction of him.
And through it all, Vance is expected to have the full support of the Trump campaign.
“President Trump is thrilled with the choice he made with Senator Vance to be his running mate, and they are the perfect team to take back the White House,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Vance’s introduction on the national ticket has been smooth.
Even those close to the Trump campaign admitted Vance’s rollout hasn’t been ideal, and a 538 average of polls gauging Vance’s popularity found the Ohio Republican’s disapproval rating at almost 38%, while his approval rating sat 6 points under that, at 32%.
“This has been, statistically speaking, the single worst rollout of the last 100 years,” the first source close to the Trump campaign said. “It makes Sarah Palin look like a f—— Mensa candidate.”
That has Democrats sensing an opening.
The universe of undecided voters is small but critical, and it’s unclear what factors could persuade someone still on the fence — particularly if the two people at the top of each ticket remain unpopular.
“Political people who work in politics, I think, are much too dismissive of the impact of a vice presidential pick. Swing voters are extremely low-information, they have often very contradictory views. The notion that they would not decide on who they’re going to vote for based on the second-most important person in the world is, frankly, absurd,” said one source familiar with the Harris campaign’s strategy.
“Political professionals and pundits who dismiss the impact of a vice presidential pick as not possibly factoring into a swing voter’s calculations for who they’re gonna vote for need to watch some focus groups of swing voters.”
Harris’ campaign and its allies are already seizing on the “weird” attack lines. The language is dominating surrogate interviews on cable news, and Vance’s comments are the frequent focus of press releases.
Democrats also said the line of attack layers onto existing messaging over “freedom,” including on abortion and families’ rights to make decisions for themselves.
And if upcoming polling showing the attack sticking, the rhetoric is expected to become a mainstay of the race.
“The Democrats just need to continue bottling up and holding up a mirror to them,” one Democratic pollster said. “Harris and her running mate are going to be speaking about what the polling says is critical to get them to 270” Electoral College votes.
“Keep paying the opposition researchers, is what I would suggest,” the person added. “Because it’s not like he’s only said three controversial things in the last 10 years.”
(WASHINGTON) — A bill aimed at expanding the child tax credit for millions of families and implementing business tax breaks failed to progress through the Senate during a key test vote Thursday afternoon.
The legislation failed to go forward by a vote of 48-44. It would have needed 60 to advance.
For the most part, Democrats voted in favor of the legislation and most Republicans voted against it. But it wasn’t a clean party line vote.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders, both independents who caucus with Democrats, voted against the legislation. Republican Sens. Rick Scott, Josh Hawley and Markwayne Mullin voted for it.
Majority Leader Chuck Schume changed his vote from a yes to a no so that he could call the vote up at a later time.
In remarks before the vote, Schumer, who led the charge in forcing a vote on the doomed-to-fail legislation Thursday, dared Republicans to challenge the popular provisions geared at putting more money in the pockets of low- and middle-income families.
“The Senate has a chance to move forward on the tax relief for American Families and Workers Act. Democrats are ready to vote yes, to advance bipartisan legislation today. The question is will Senate Republicans join us to give Americans a tax break? Or will they stand in the way the tax bill that passed the House with an overwhelming vote…?” Schumer said.
Senate Republicans opposed its funding mechanism and alleged that Democrats brought up the bill for consideration for purely political purposes.
The bill had bipartisan support and passed the House overwhelmingly 357-70.
“Today as the Senate prepares to leave town for the August state work period, the Democratic leader has decided to squeeze out one more vote that isn’t ready for primetime,” Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor before the vote. “Today’s vote doesn’t seem to be intended to produce a legislative outcome.”
Schumer largely conceded that the vote was about putting Republicans on the record. It’s a move Democrats have utilized a number of times in the last few months, forcing Republicans to take votes on a number of provisions on things such as immigration and abortion leading up to the November election.
“This should be bipartisan. It passed in a bipartisan vote in the House, and I hope Republicans here in the Senate will join us,” Schumer said. “But I have also always been clear that Democrats will not shy away from moving forward on important issues when necessary to give the American people a chance to see where their elected representatives stand.”
Thursday’s vote came as vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance has been facing intense scrutiny for comments he has made about people without children in America, and after Vance suggested during a Sunday interview with Fox News that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the child tax credit.
“I think a lot of parents and a lot of non-parents look at our public policy over the last four years and ask, ‘How did we get to this place? How did we get to a place where Kamala Harris is calling for an end to the child tax credit?” Vance said on Fox.
Schumer called the assertion that Democrats oppose the credit “plain old nonsense” when announcing that the Senate would vote on the House-backed bill this week.
Vance, Trump’s running mate, did not vote on the bill. He has not been on Capitol Hill since Trump picked him as his running mate. Vance visited the southern border in Arizona on Thursday morning.
Republicans said they had a number of reasons for rejecting this proposal.
Many say they opposed the way the bill is funded. But rejecting this bill also allows debate about tax policy to continue into 2025, when Republicans hope they may have regained control of the Senate or the White House.
“It needs to go back in the oven and come out with our tax reform next year,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
