(LONDON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recommending the country’s security cabinet agree to a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that was brokered by the U.S., he said in a taped video message Tuesday evening local time.
Netanyahu said he was submitting the plan to the cabinet for approval Tuesday night.
“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory.”
The prime minister hailed “great achievements” on all fronts of the war, including killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and destroying their weapons across the country.
“With full understanding with the United States, we maintain complete military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said in the address, translated from Hebrew. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself — we will attack. If it tries to renew terrorist infrastructure near the border — we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck with missiles — we will attack.”
Netanyahu attended a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding a ceasefire with Israel’s Hezbollah adversaries in Lebanon, an Israeli official told ABC News.
This was part of ongoing talks, including Netanyahu’s meeting last week in Israel with U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut to discuss a potential way forward.
Netanyahu then held a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.
In October, Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.
Tensions heightened last weekend as the countries’ leaders worked to negotiate a ceasefire deal. On Sunday, Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel in one of the group’s heaviest retaliations in months.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Tuesday and hold a vote on a cease-fire deal that could end more than a year of fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border, an Israeli official told ABC News. The cabinet is expected to approve the U.S.-brokered deal.
Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah launches continued regardless. Airstrikes again rocked the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya on Tuesday, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting “large scale” attacks on the area shortly after issuing multiple evacuation orders. Another IDF strike hit a building in the central Basta neighborhood, which was also subject to an massive airstrike on Saturday.
The IDF reported at least 250 projectiles fired into Israel on Monday, with Hezbollah claiming multiple cross-border attacks on Israeli targets on Tuesday morning.
An Israeli source with knowledge of the deal’s details told ABC News that the 60-day cease-fire would see all Israeli forces withdraw from Lebanon in phases, with Hezbollah retreating beyond the Litani River around 18 miles north of the Israeli border.
Lebanese Armed Forces troops — with assistance from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — will deploy to the south of the country to ensure that Hezbollah does not re-enter the area between the Israeli border and the Litani, the source said.
The U.S. will provide oversight on Hezbollah’s withdrawal and will also head a committee — joined by French and Arab partners — to monitor and verify the implementation of the cease-fire, the Israeli source added.
The cease-fire would be expected to come into force shortly after the agreement is announced — as early as Wednesday morning. The two Israeli sources involved in the talks who spoke with ABC News said the proposal has near-unanimous agreement from the security cabinet, though far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to vote against it. His opposition will not torpedo the deal.
A parallel U.S.-Israeli agreement, though, suggests that any deal will not necessarily mean an end to all fighting.
The Israeli source with knowledge of the deal said the U.S. has pledged support for Israel’s right to strike anywhere in Lebanon against “critical” or “immediate” threats from Hezbollah or other militant groups.
Still, the possible cease-fire deal would be a major diplomatic achievement after nearly 14 months of war and almost 4,000 total deaths — the vast majority Lebanese — on both sides of the shared border.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled their homes in the north of the country, while a quarter of Lebanon’s population — around 1.2 million people — have been put under IDF evacuation orders.
U.S. officials have hinted at progress but refused to confirm details of any deal.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Monday briefing that the outcome of the talks is “up to the parties, not to us.”
“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet,” Miller said. “We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there.”
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby was similarly cautious. “We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction,” he told reporters Monday.
“But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard.”
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Joe Simonetti, Ghazi Balkiz, Joe Simonetti, Chris Boccia and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(CAIRO) — Three additional people — two Belgian nationals and an Egyptian — were rescued after a tourist boat sank Monday off the Egyptian coast, bringing the total number of survivors to 31, Amr Hanafy, the regional governor, said on Tuesday.
Four bodies, whose identities were not publicly released, were also recovered from the sea, he added.
The Sea Story sank off the southeastern Egyptian town of Marsa Alam, near the Shaab Satayah area, which is popular for its coral reefs, the Red Sea Governorate said. Forty-four people were onboard when it sank, officials said.
Rescue teams were still searching for nine missing people, Hanafy said Tuesday. Those missing include two British nationals, a diplomatic source who requested anonymity told ABC News on Tuesday.
Egyptian authorities were working with embassies and consulates to provide necessary assistance and documentation, according to a statement from the governorate. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo told ABC News it was not aware of any U.S. citizen fatalities in the incident.
Hanafi said strong waves caused the boat to capsize and sink within minutes. He said the 34-meter boat, privately owned by an Egyptian national, had no technical issues and had passed its last safety inspection in March.
The Sea Story set sail from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday for a diving trip and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on Friday. A crew member sent a distress signal at 5.30 a.m. on Monday before the ship dropped off the radar, officials said.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts are popular with tourists for their beaches and diving spots.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
The strikes continue despite a cease-fire push fronted by President Joe Biden’s White House as it prepares to hand power to President-elect Donald Trump.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s military operations in the country had risen to 3,768 people as of Sunday.
Another 15,699 people have been wounded since renewed fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023, the ministry said.
Israel continued airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday morning even amid reports of an imminent cease-fire deal. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported six people killed in multiple attacks in the southern Nabatieh Governorate.
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee also issued fresh evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern Dahiya area on Tuesday morning ahead of planned airstrikes there.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge
A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah would begin soon after its announcement, with the aim of achieving a permanent cease-fire after 60 days, according to an Israeli source with knowledge of the potential deal.
The U.S. will head a committee, joined by French and Arab partners, to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire, the source said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting Tuesday to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.
There is almost unanimous support in the cabinet for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, and it is expected to be approved. Far-right leader Ben Gvir is expected to vote against it.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
‘We don’t believe we have an agreement yet’: State Department
The U.S. is hopeful that Israel and Hezbollah are close to a cease-fire deal, but striking a pact “is up to the parties, not to us,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing Monday.
“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there,” Miller said.
Echoing comments earlier Monday by White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, Miller emphasized that “nothing’s final until everything’s final.”
“Oftentimes the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult, because the hardest issues are left to the end,” Miller said.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Israeli strikes kill 31, injure at least 62 people in Lebanon
Israeli forces conducted strikes Monday in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut and in southern Lebanon as talks of a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel continued on both sides.
At least 31 people were killed and 62 others injured in the strikes on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
No indication Netanyahu will call in cabinet and vote to approve Lebanon cease-fire
There are no indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to call in his cabinet and vote to approve the Lebanon cease-fire Monday night, Israeli officials told ABC News.
Netanyahu is planning a series of meetings Tuesday to discuss the Lebanon cease-fire deal, including talks with his minister of strategic affairs, former American ambassador Ron Dermer, along with his most senior defense officials.
Later in the afternoon, Netanyahu will hold a larger cabinet meeting that includes the far-right. That meeting may lead to a final vote to approve a deal, though that remains unclear. A deal can pass even if one of the two far-right leaders opposes it.
The cease-fire would last for 60 days, but would not require the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw right away.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller
White House says deal is close but nothing is final
A cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was close, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby reiterated in a briefing Tuesday, but he would not give details about the deal or specific timing, saying he had to be careful not to get in the way of the tenuous diplomacy.
“We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard,” Kirby said.
Kirby declined to say if any announcement from President Joe Biden and French President Emanuel Macron should be expected over the next few days.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Far-right Israeli minister says Lebanon cease-fire would be a ‘big mistake’
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that a potential cease-fire agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon would be “a big mistake.”
Ending the war would be a “missed opportunity” to “eradicate Hezbollah,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
Ben-Gvir has previously pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject any cease-fire deal in Gaza, where fighting continues with Hamas and other militant groups.
“We must continue until the absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir said of both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Khamenei calls for ‘death sentence’ for Netanyahu, Israeli leaders
In an address to thousands of Basij militia members on Monday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued last week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were insufficient.
“What [they have] done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime,” Khamenei said.
“Now they have issued arrest warrants for them; this is not enough,” he added of the ICC decision. “A death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime.”
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.
Netanyahu’s office expressed its “disgust” at the decision and dismissed the ICC warrant as “absurd.”
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti
Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs
The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes “conducted intelligence-based strikes on several Hezbollah command centers” in southern Beirut on Monday.
The strikes again focused on the Dahiya area in the south of the Lebanese capital, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Monday’s bombings followed an intense day of strikes on Sunday, as diplomats continued to push for a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
1 hour ago
UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing
The United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry said Monday it arrested three Uzbek nationals suspected of the kidnapping and killing of Moldovan-Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan.
Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Nov. 21. He managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai.
The ministry identified the three detained men as Olimpi Tohirovic, 28, Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim, 28, and Azizi Kamilovic, 33. It did not say whether charges had been filed and did not suggest a motive.
Israeli leaders have framed the killing as an antisemitic terror operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation would “act by all means” to “bring justice to the murderers and their senders.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Monday morning that Israeli warplanes would soon begin new airstrikes in Beirut, following 24 hours of intense bombing of the city’s southern suburbs.
Adraee ordered residents of the Haret Hreik area of the southern Dahiya suburbs — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — to flee their homes and stay at least 500 meters from target buildings identified on an IDF map.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs
There were more strikes Sunday night in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been pounded by dozens of Israeli strikes in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday night’s strikes in Dahieh were on “12 Hezbollah command centers.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike
The death toll from an Israeli strike Saturday in central Beirut has risen to 29, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The update on casualties came as emergency workers continued to search collapsed buildings for survivors of the strike, an official said.
At least 67 people were also injured in the Israeli strike, according to the Ministry of Health.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding ongoing Lebanon cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News.
The development comes after Netanyahu met last week in Israel with U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and discussed a possible cease-fire in Lebanon. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss a cease-deal between Hezbollah and Israel.
Yauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON and BELGRADE) — A team of Lithuanian investigators were beginning their probe into Monday’s deadly cargo plane crash near the country’s capital, with aid expected from transportation investigators from the United States.
The jet crashed on Monday morning less than a mile from the runway at Vilnius International Airport, officials said. One of the four people onboard was killed in the crash, local officials said.
Lithuanian police and prosecutors have opened a “pre-trial” investigation into the crash, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, whose office held a meeting late Monday on the government response.
The government has ordered an investigation under the country’s criminal code, which calls for probes into “‘Improper maintenance or repair of vehicles or roads, or of equipment thereon,’ which provides for liability in the event of loss of life, serious injury to persons or very serious damage to property,” the prime minister’s office said.
“I urge everyone to have confidence in the investigating authorities’ ability to conduct a thorough and professional investigation within an optimal timeframe,” Šimonytė said in a statement. “Only these investigations will uncover the true causes of the incident—speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”
The investigation will be led by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division, with aid from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the board said on Monday.
The results of that investigation are expected to be made public, the NTSB said.
The DHL cargo plane — a Boeing 737-476 operated by Swiftair — had flown into Lithuania from Germany. it crashed in a residential area in Liepkalnis, on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius, the Lithuanian airport authority said in a statement posted on social media on Monday.
One of the pilots was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was transferred to a local hospital in critical condition, Bozena Jerenkovic, a medical doctor who was part of the emergency team on site, told ABC News on Monday. It appeared that the cockpit had been separated from the plane’s fuselage, she added.
The Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center confirmed to ABC News that the pilot is in critical condition. The other two people who were injured in the crash are doing OK, the center said.
ABC News has reached out to Bonn, Germany-based DHL for comment.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Melissa Gaffney contributed to this report.
Yauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON and BELGRADE) — A team of Lithuanian investigators recovered the black boxes from Monday’s deadly cargo plane crash, as they began their probe into what caused the aircraft to go down and worked to clear the crash site.
Investigators from the U.S. were dispatched to aid in the investigation, officials said. German aviation experts had arrived to help, while Spanish investigators were expected to arrive later Tuesday.
The jet crashed on Monday morning less than a mile from the runway at Vilnius International Airport, officials said. One of the four people onboard was killed in the crash, local officials said.
Lithuanian police and prosecutors have opened a “pre-trial” investigation into the crash, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, whose office held a meeting late Monday on the government response.
The government has ordered an investigation under the country’s criminal code, which calls for probes into “‘Improper maintenance or repair of vehicles or roads, or of equipment thereon,’ which provides for liability in the event of loss of life, serious injury to persons or very serious damage to property,” the prime minister’s office said.
“I urge everyone to have confidence in the investigating authorities’ ability to conduct a thorough and professional investigation within an optimal timeframe,” Šimonytė said in a statement. “Only these investigations will uncover the true causes of the incident—speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”
The investigation will be led by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division, with aid from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the board said on Monday.
The results of that investigation are expected to be made public, the NTSB said.
Lithuanian officials said on Tuesday that they expected the inspection of the crashed plane to be mostly completed within three days, at which point the destroyed plane will be removed from the site. Officials told reporters that they were searching for a hanger where they can begin to place aircraft parts.
The DHL cargo plane — a Boeing 737-476 operated by Swiftair — had flown into Lithuania from Germany. It crashed in a residential area in Liepkalnis, on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius, the Lithuanian airport authority said in a statement posted on social media on Monday.
One of the pilots, who was from Spain, was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was transferred to a local hospital in critical condition, Bozena Jerenkovic, a medical doctor who was part of the emergency team on site, told ABC News on Monday. It appeared that the cockpit had been separated from the plane’s fuselage, she added.
The Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center confirmed to ABC News that the pilot is in critical condition. The other two people who were injured in the crash are doing OK, the center said.
ABC News has reached out to Bonn, Germany-based DHL for comment.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Melissa Gaffney contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Russia launched a record-high 188 strike drones into Ukraine on Monday night and Tuesday morning, expanding its long-range campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure to coincide with the onset of winter.
Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that it downed 76 drones. Another 95 were lost in flight — possibly due to jamming efforts — and five flew into Belarus.
Russia also fired four Iskander-M ballistic missiles as part of the assault, the air force said. None were shot down.
“Unfortunately, critical infrastructure objects have been hit, and private and multi-apartment buildings have been damaged in several regions due to a mass attack by UAVs,” the air force wrote.
Recent weeks have seen a clear intensification of Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, with the scale and regularity of such attacks on the rise. The previous largest attack of 145 drones occurred on Nov. 10.
As in previous winters, Russia is attacking critical energy infrastructure in a bid to deny Ukrainians power and warmth through the coming freezing months. Temperatures in Ukraine have already fallen below freezing and will remain low until early spring.
Monday night’s drone attack damaged energy infrastructure in the western city of Ternopil, Serhii Nadal — the head of the local regional defense body — said on Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, reported the downing of at least 39 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions on Monday night. The ministry reported no damage or casualties.
(CAIRO) — More than a dozen tourists were feared missing after a diving boat sank off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, authorities said on Monday.
The boat, The Sea Story, sank off the southeastern Egyptian town of Marsa Alam, near the Shaab Satayah area, which is popular for its coral reefs, the Red Sea Governorate said in a statement.
Sixteen of the 44 people on board were still missing Monday afternoon, officials said. The other 28 had been rescued, officials said.
The boat had 31 tourists of various nationalities and at least a dozen crew members on board when it sank, officials said. Two Americans were on board, a local council source told ABC News on Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo told ABC News it was not aware of any U.S. citizen fatalities in the incident.
“We are aware of the incident that occurred and are in touch with the authorities to provide assistance as necessary. At this time, we are not aware of any U.S. citizen fatalities or unaccounted for U.S. citizens,” spokesperson Gina Cabrera told ABC News.
Some passengers were trapped inside cabins on the tourist boat and were unable to escape, the Red Sea Governate said.
The search-and-rescue operations have stopped for the day, the governate added.
Gov. Amr Hanafy had said earlier that some tourists were rescued, without revealing how many remained missing. A search-and-rescue helicopter airlifted some survivors from the Wadi el Gemal reserve area to receive treatment, and a frigate was dispatched to assist with the ongoing rescue efforts.
The Sea Story set sail from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday for a diving trip and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on Friday.
A crew member sent a distress signal at 5.30 a.m. on Monday before the ship dropped off the radar, officials said.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts are popular with tourists for their beaches and diving spots.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Hillary Levey Friedman, author of “Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America,” says that a “reckoning” is happening in pageantry; ABC News
(LONDON) — The magic and drama of beauty pageants have long captivated global audiences. However, one of the most prominent pageants in the world, Miss Universe, historically a springboard to opportunities for women, is now in turmoil amid the organization’s legal troubles and brand backlash.
Victoria Kjær Theilvig, a 21-year-old animal rights activist and aspiring lawyer who competed as Miss Denmark, earned the crown at the 73rd Miss Universe pageant on Nov. 16.
“She has been on everybody’s favorite list. She’s unique,” pageant coach and blogger Rafa Delfin, who attended the event in Mexico City, told “Impact x Nightline.” “Miss Universe has not had a blond queen since 2004.”
For the first time in more than a decade, Miss USA did not place among the semi-finalists at the pageant. Representing the country was West Point graduate and current Stanford graduate student Alma Cooper, the first active-duty soldier to ever win Miss USA.
In the latest episode of ABC News’ “Impact x Nightline” — titled “Cracks in the Crown: Miss Universe in Crisis?” — which premiered on Thursday, Nov. 21, pageant insiders pull back the curtain on allegations of disarray within the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).
These range from restrictive contracts that contestants have to sign to compete, to the co-owners’ legal troubles and the declining quality of the pageant production itself.
“There’s a reckoning happening in pageantry,” Hilary Levey Friedman, the author of “Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America,” told “Impact x Nightline.” “It really truly may be the end of Miss USA or Miss Universe.”
Rafa Delfin, a dedicated fan who covers various pageants for his blog “Critical Beauty,” complained in a video posted on social media that the pageant’s preliminaries, which took place on Nov. 14, were “a total disaster.”
He noted the brief on-screen time that the record number of candidates — 41 more than the 84 seen in 2023 — were given in this year’s evening gown round.
“This is a business, OK? The more countries you invite, obviously, the more money you make,” Delfin said, noting the result was quantity over quality.
Questions also surfaced about the ethics of the current leadership. Just weeks before the competition, the Miss Universe co-owner, Thai media mogul Anne Jakrajutatip, and former Miss Venezuela Organization President Osmel Sousa went live on a since-deleted TikTok revealing their personal favorites.
The duo also mocked Miss Lebanon, Nada Koussa, in a separate video that surfaced on Instagram. In response, Koussa withdrew from the pageant.
The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism demanded an apology from MUO. Once that was issued, Koussa returned to the pageant and the video was taken down.
“It’s a fragile ecosystem and it’s a very trust-based ecosystem,” said Annemarie Pisano, former Miss Universe Organization press manager. “If you do lose that trust, that’s definitely going to be a problem for a lot of women.”
Under the leadership of Jakrajutatip and Mexican businessman Raul Rocha Cantu, who acquired 50% stake in Miss Universe Organization in January, the pageant company made changes like removing age limits and allowing mothers and women who are married, divorced or pregnant to compete.
However, Jakrajutatip, the first transgender woman to own the organization and a self-proclaimed trans rights activist, seemed to contradict the brand’s public statement in an October 2023 business meeting involving the organization’s leaders that surfaced online a few months ago.
“The trans women, the women with husbands, divorced women …” she said during the meeting. “They can compete but they cannot win. But we just put the policy out there, so you have that social inclusion.”
Jakrajutatip responded to the video in a social media post.
“The malicious edited video was out of context and used to manipulate other people which led to the public confusion, misunderstanding, misinterpretation and wrong conclusion,” she wrote.
Omar Castorino Montanaro, a Paraguayan business tycoon and TV host who was involved in the organization, highlighted the competition’s fading relevance.
“Women, young women, are losing interest in the brand and being or trying to be part of that dream of becoming a Miss Universe,” he told “Impact x Nightline.”
The Miss USA Organization, a franchise under parent company MUO, has faced its own struggles since Laylah Rose took over Miss USA management in 2023. After Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava gave up their crowns in May 2024, state directors representing nine states and Washington, D.C., have since stepped away from the organization.
In interviews, some directors cited “abusive management” and the “unprofessionalism” of the new leadership as reasons for leaving.
ABC News has exclusively learned that the current Miss USA, Alma Cooper, has retained an attorney in connection with her role as Miss USA. The organization declined to comment. ABC News reached out to Rose for an interview and comment, but did not receive a response.
“The people that have the ability to produce these pageants and direct these girls, we need to hold them more accountable,” Claudia Englehardt, the former Social Media Director of Miss USA Organization, told “Impact x Nightline.” “It’s never the girl that is the problem. More often than not, it’s the people that are managing these young women in these positions.”
The Miss Universe Organization’s leadership has faced allegations as well. Rodrigo Goytortua, former CEO of Miss Universe Mexico, filed a lawsuit against MUO co-owner Raul Rocha Cantu, alleging that Rocha Cantu did not pay him for seven months of his work. ABC News reached out to Rocha Cantu for an interview and comment, but did not receive a response.
Paula Shugart, former president of the Miss Universe Organization who resigned in 2023, has also given power of attorney for a lawyer in Thailand to file a criminal claim on her behalf against Jakrajutatip for defamation. Jakrajutatip denied any wrongdoing.
Omar Castorino Montanaro, who said that MUO promised him a hosting role for Miss Universe 2025 in Paraguay, alleged that the organization stopped responding to him after he made a $500,000 deposit and spent months in preparation. The host country of the next Miss Universe pageant has yet to be announced.
ABC News also reached out to The Miss Universe Organization and Jakrajutatip for an interview and comment, but did not receive a response.
After ABC News’ “Impact x Nightline” episode “Cracks in the Crown: Miss Universe in Crisis?” premiered, the Miss Universe Organization issued a press release statement on its website.
“We ardently refute these allegations that underscore our dedication to maintaining a supportive, ethical environment for all participants. Our authenticity and dedication to promoting cultural interactions, social activism, and personal development go beyond conjecture, grounded in decades of positive impact around the globe, ” it said in part.
“Miss Universe remains unwavering in its mission to foster unity, celebrate diversity, and champion women’s empowerment.”
Now, some wonder what the future holds for MUO.
“Women today are not as willing to sit back and say, ‘I’m going to let someone in a position of power abuse their position,'” author Hillary Levey Friedman told “Impact x Nightline.”
(LONDON and BELGRADE) — A DHL cargo plane crashed near the Lithuanian capital early on Monday, killing one of four people onboard, local officials said.
The plane, which had been traveling from Leipzig, Germany, crashed in Liepkalnis, on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius, the Lithuanian airport authority said in a statement posted on social media. The flight had been expected to land at Vilnius Airport, officials said.
“City services are currently on-site, along with a fire truck and a command team from Vilnius Airport,” the short statement said. “Airport operations are not disrupted at this time.”
The jet was a Boeing 737-476 operated by Swiftair, according to Flightradar24, an aircraft tracker.
Emergency responders were notified at 5:28 a.m. that the plane had crashed near to a building, the Vilnius Fire and Rescue Department said. Photos and videos taken near the crash site appeared to show a residential area.
First responders reached the crash location, which is a little more than half a mile from the airport, within about 6 minutes, according to Bozena Jerenkovic, a medical doctor who was part of the emergency team on site.
One of the pilots was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was transferred to a local hospital in critical condition, Jerenkovic told ABC News. It appeared that the cockpit had been separated from the plane’s fuselage, she added.
Thirteen people were evacuated from a nearby building without injuries, she said.
As emergency crews worked in the area near Žirnių Street, which the airport identified as the crash site, departures were delayed at Vilnius Airport, according to a statement.
One incoming flight was diverted to Riga, Latvia, officials said. Air traffic resumed by about 7:20 a.m., the statement said.
ABC News has contacted DHL, which is based in Bonn, Germany, for comment.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
