(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is open to a prisoner swap for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who’s been detained for over 300 days in the country.
In an interview published on his website on Thursday, former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson pressed Putin if he was willing to release Gershkovich as a sign of decency, to which Putin said he believed “an agreement can be reached.”
“We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” Putin said.
Carlson went on to ask Putin about his country imprisoning the reporter.
“The guy is obviously not a spy, he’s a kid … and maybe he was breaking your law in some way, but he’s not a super spy. … He’s being held hostage,” Carlson said to Putin. “Maybe it’s not fair to ask for an exchange.”
In the two-hour interview that took place at the Kremlin, the Russian president said a prisoner swap was being discussed between the United States and Russian special services.
Putin didn’t specify who Russia was seeking in the swap but referred to a person serving a sentence in an allied country of the U.S.
Russia has previously expressed interest in a deal that would secure the release of Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov, a convicted assassin who has been serving a life sentence in Germany since 2019.
“I do not rule out that the person you refer to, Mr. Gershkovich, may return to his motherland,” Putin said. “At the end of the day, it does not make sense to keep him in prison in Russia. We want the U.S. special services to think about how they can contribute to achieving the goals our special services are pursuing.”
Gershkovich has now been in Russian detention for over 10 months, held on spying charges that The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. and dozens of international media organizations have condemned as false.
Gershkovich lost his third appeal in October 2023 and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
In a statement released Thursday evening, the Wall Street Journal said, “Evan is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Any portrayal to the contrary is total fiction. Evan was unjustly arrested and has been wrongfully detained by Russia for nearly a year for doing his job, and we continue to demand his immediate release.”
“We’re encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his rapid release and return to his family and our newsroom,” the statement continued.
Gershkovich who grew up in New Jersey to Russian-speaking Jewish emigres, has been a Moscow correspondent since 2017, working first for The Moscow Times and Agence France Presse before joining the Journal in 2022.
ABC News’ Patrick Reeval and William Gretsky contributed to this report.
An aerial view shows lava after volcano eruption northeast of Sylingarfell, near Grindavik, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland early Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Iceland Civil Defense/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A volcano began erupting in southwestern Iceland early Thursday, sending lava jets as high as 80 meters, the country’s weather office said.
“At 5:30 this morning an intense seismic activity started north-east of mt. Sýlingarfell. Around 30 minutes later, a volcanic eruption started at the site,” the Icelandic Met Office said.
Images taken by an Icelandic Coast Guard’s surveillance flight appeared to show the eruption taking place at a location near the Dec. 18 eruption, official said.
Another eruption nearby on Jan. 14 sent lava flowing into Grindavik, a small town that had been evacuated prior to the eruption.
The latest eruption began at about 6 a.m. local time on Thursday, after a series of earthquakes rumbled the region for a half-hour, Met officials said.
The fissure was about 3 km long, stretching from Mount Sundhnúkur towards the eastern part of Mount Stóra-Skógfell, the office said.
“Lava flows mostly towards west at the moment and the flow seems to be slightly less than at the start of the 18th of December eruption,” the office said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the town of Grindavik, where homes had been destroyed by the most recent eruption, was at risk from Tuesday’s fissure. But it appeared it may be spared, a local politician said.
“This time a bit further North than December eruption and further away from town of Grindavik,” Gisli Olafsson, an MP, said on social media.
The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon had closed on Thursday, according to its website.
Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane experts are debating adding a Category 6 on the current scale to highlight the increasing possibility of stronger storms as ocean waters continue to warm.
Researchers are introducing an extension of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the system used by the National Hurricane Center to rank the strength of hurricanes, to include a sixth category, beyond the Category 5 classification that indicates a storm with sustained winds of 157 mph or more, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
The scale currently rates a tropical system as a Category 1 hurricane once sustained winds reach 70 mph. But the Saffir-Simpson scale is “far from perfect,” especially in terms of adequately warning residents in impacted regions of the potential dangers to come, Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and one of the authors of the paper, told ABC News.
“Some Category 3 storms are really deadly, and some Category 5 storms aren’t by the time they make landfall,” Wehner said.
The authors propose a Category 6 hurricane rating is necessary starting at 193 mph of sustained wind, though Wehner admitted the choice of where to set that limit was somewhat arbitrary.
When the scale was first introduced in the 1970s, it accounted for wind and water-driven destruction from storm surge, the paper highlighted. In 2010, the National Hurricane Center altered the scale to only account for wind.
In addition, only 8% of tropical storm deaths are directly related to wind, while 76% of the mortality is related to storm surge and flooding from heavy rain, the authors noted.
Messaging around hurricane risk is a very active topic among researchers, and adding a sixth category is a way to raise awareness about the increased risks of supersized hurricanes due to global warming, James Kossin, distinguished science adviser at environmental nonprofit First Street Foundation and the other author of the study, said in a statement.
“Our results are not meant to propose changes to this scale, but rather to raise awareness that the wind-hazard risk from storms presently designated as Category 5 has increased and will continue to increase under climate change,” Kossin said.
When examining extremes in hurricane wind speeds to determine whether the open-ended Category 5 is sufficient to communicate risk in a warming climate, the researchers found “a new breed of storms” in the last decade, Wehner said.
Within that time frame, there have been multiple storms that may “have exceeded this hypothetical Category 6,” Wehner said.
The study looked at all 197 tropical cyclones around the world that were classified as Category 5 from 1980 to 2021, which comprises the period of highest quality and most consistent data, the authors said. Half of the Category 5 storms occurred in the last 17 years of that period, according to the study.
Five of the storms examined exceeded the authors’ proposed Category 6, and all of them occurred in the last nine years of the record. Of the five storms achieving the proposed Category 6 status, one of them was Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which had weakened to a Category 4 as it made landfall in western Mexico. The other four storms were typhoons in the Western Pacific.
“If you looked at the beginning of the satellite record around 1980, there was essentially no risk of the Category 6 storm in 1980,” Wehner said. “The trend in the speed limit is actually pretty pretty strong.”
However, no hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico has reached the study’s proposed Category 6 level. Typhoons in the Western Pacific do not use the Saffir-Simpson scale for intensity ratings.
Statistical analysis showed the rapidly increasing risk is due to human changes in the atmosphere and not natural variability, Wehner said.
Human-induced climate change and warming waters are fueling tropical cyclones with much windier conditions than the initial Category 5 threshold entailed, at 157 mph, the authors said.
“We expected that the strongest storms will become stronger,” Wehner said of how climate change will affect future tropical systems.
It will be necessary to change the “speed limit” of future hurricanes because as global temperatures rise, conditions like warmer ocean temperatures will increase the risk of seeing these so-called “Category 6” storms, Wehner said.
Warmer waters are also fueling rapid intensification as storms approach the coasts, “which is very dangerous because it doesn’t give people a lot of time to prepare,” Jennifer Collins, a hurricane researcher at the University of South Florida who was not involved in the study, told ABC News.
Other experts have raised concerns that adding a Category 6 to the scale increases the chance of people underestimating the risks from storms that are lower than the highest category. For example, if they chose not to evacuate for a Category 4 or 5 storm because the higher category makes lower-rated hurricanes appear less dangerous.
National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a statement that they’re focused on communicating the hazards and they don’t want to overemphasize the wind hazard by placing too much emphasis on the category system.
“At NHC, we’ve tried to steer the focus toward the individual hazards, which include storm surge, wind, rainfall, tornadoes and rip currents, instead of the particular category of the storm, which only provides information about the hazard from wind,” he said in a statement.
In addition, Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale already captures “catastrophic damage” from wind, so it’s not clear that there would be a need for another category even if storms were to get stronger, Brennan said.
In response, Wehner described the hurricane center’s comments assessment as “completely appropriate.”
“We don’t expect that the hurricane center or [World Meteorological Organization] will add this Category 6. It’s certainly not for us to tell them what to do,” Wehner said. “That’s not what we intended.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. carried out an airstrike in Baghdad on Wednesday targeting a senior leader of an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq responsible for attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
A U.S. official told ABC News that the airstrike was part of the retaliatory actions President Joe Biden authorized last week following the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers.
“At 9:30 p.m. February 7, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region,” said the statement.
“There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time,” the statement said. “The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces’ safety.”
Earlier, two U.S. officials had confirmed to ABC News that the U.S. had carried out an airstrike in Baghdad targeting a high-value target.
A third U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that Wednesday’s strike in Baghdad was part of the retaliatory actions President Biden authorized last week in response to the strike that killed three American soldiers at a U.S. base in Jordan.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that there would be more U.S. response to the attack on the Tower 22 base in Jordan in which three American service members were killed
Some would be seen and others unseen, he said.
Kataib Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed Shiite militia in Iraq that the U.S. has blamed for most of the 168 attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
It was one of several Shiite militia groups that joined Iraqi government forces in battling the Islamic State and became incorporated into Iraq’s military structure as Popular Mobilization Forces.
On Wednesday that organization confirmed that Abu Baqir Al-Saadi, asenior Kataib Hezbollah leader, had been killed in Baghdad along with two other people who were escorting him.
Iraq’s military said it had sent a team to respond to an incident targeting a civilian vehicle in the Al-Mashal area east of Baghdad at 9:35pm on February 7.
The military said that the explosion had killed all of the persons inside of the vehicle and that an investigation was underway to determine the method and source of the targeting.
Iraqi Security sources told ABC News that in preparation for possible retaliation against U.S. facilities in Iraq that all entrances to the secure area known as the Green Zone were being closed. Located in the center of Baghdad the Green Zone is the are where the U.S. embassy and other important Iraqi government buildings are located.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — More than 100 days since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.
The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 07, 5:00 PM
Blinken: Hamas counteroffer has ‘clear nonstarters,’ but there’s ‘space for agreement’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes a hostage deal is still within reach, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier comments rejecting Hamas’ counteroffer.
“We had an opportunity to discuss with the Israeli government the response that Hamas sent last night to the proposal that the United States, Qatar and Egypt have put together to bring the remaining hostages and extend the humanitarian pause,” Blinken said at a news conference in Israel Wednesday. “What I can tell you about these discussions is that while there are some clear nonstarters in Hamas’ response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there.”
Blinken later added, “These things are always negotiations. It’s not flipping a light switch.”
Blinken said he plans to meet with the families of hostages on Thursday.
As for Israel’s growing offensive in Gaza, Blinken stressed that “any military operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost in mind.”
Blinken said he had outlined specific measures the U.S. expected to see during his “extensive” talks with Netanyahu and Israeli national security leaders.
He said Israel should open a border crossing between Israel and northern Gaza to help improve the flow of humanitarian aid.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 07, 3:23 PM
Freed hostages react to Netanyahu rejecting deal
Freed Israeli hostages and families of those still being held hostage by Hamas are speaking out, pleading for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage deal, after the prime minister on Wednesday rejected the current proposed deal.
Netanyahu called the deal “delusional,” and described it as a “surrender” that would lead to another massacre.
Adina Moshe, who was released after being held hostage for 49 days, said Wednesday, “We love our country. … But I want my country back and its morality that is gone.”
“I fear for the lives and fates of the hostages,” Moshe said. “I’m afraid we’ll have nothing to pass on to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Please, prime minister: If you continue on this path, there will be no more hostages to release. Restore our trust — release them now.”
Sahar Calderon, a 16-year-old who was released after being held hostage for 54 days, said, “Every hour there was hell. . … A terrorist glared at me for 24 hours with murder in his eyes, and every minute I feared being raped.”
Calderon’s father is still being held hostage.
“I am grateful to the government for bringing me back, but what about my father, who is abandoned anew every day, uncertain if he will live or die?” she said. “Bring him back — do not make me lose faith in our country a second time.”
Feb 07, 1:45 PM
Israeli prime minister rejects hostage deal proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the current proposed hostage and cease-fire deal, calling it “delusional,” and describing it as a “surrender” that would lead to another massacre. But Netanyahu did not say negotiations were closed.
To the families of the hostages, Netanyahu said in Hebrew, “Your loved ones are always standing before my eyes. … We do not stop working for the release of our abductees — even now.”
“The continuation of military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the abductees,” he said. “Surrendering to the delusional demands of Hamas … not only will not lead to the release of the abductees, it will only invite another massacre.”
Netanyahu also said it would be “a matter of months” to reach Israel’s objectives and achieve “total victory” of completely dismantling Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said he told Secretary of State Antony Blinken in their meeting Wednesday, “We are within touching distance of a complete victory, which will also be the victory of the entire free world — not only of Israel.”
Netanyahu also said the Israeli military operation will expand to the city of Rafah, where thousands of Gaza residents have fled and are living in makeshift shelters.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Jordana Miller
Feb 07, 12:20 PM
New round of hostage negotiations to take place in Cairo: Egyptian state TV
Egypt and Qatar will co-host a new round of negotiations on the proposed hostage and cease-fire deal on Thursday in Cairo, Egyptian state TV reported.
Feb 07, 10:41 AM
Blinken meets with Netanyahu on latest trip to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
First, Netanyahu and Blinken “held a long and in-depth meeting in private” before having “an extended meeting” with other Israeli and U.S. officials, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
During the meeting, Blinken reaffirmed Israel’s right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas and the need to protect civilians in Gaza, according to the State Department. Blinken also stressed the importance of a two-state solution — a prospect Netanyahu has vocally opposed.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 when war erupted between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip. The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Shannon Crawford and Morgan Winsor
Feb 07, 7:22 AM
Blinken meets with Netanyahu on latest trip to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
First, Netanyahu and Blinken “held a long and in-depth meeting in private” before having “an extended meeting” with other Israeli and U.S. officials, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 when war erupted between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip. The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
Feb 06, 7:33 PM
US House fails to pass Israel aid bill
The U.S. House failed to pass a $17.6 billion standalone bill to provide aid to Israel.
The bill failed 250-180 during a vote Tuesday evening.
The GOP measure was being considered under suspension, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who unveiled the standalone bill over the weekend, blamed President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for its failure.
“The decision by President Biden and Leader Schumer to torpedo this bill to aid the Israeli people in their fight against Hamas is a disappointing rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East at their time of great need,” Johnson said in a statement following the vote.
The Biden administration had issued a veto threat to the bill on Monday, saying it “strongly opposes” the measure after a bipartisan group of senators came to an agreement on a national security supplemental that includes Israel aid.
Schumer said he was against the bill and wanted Israel aid coupled with aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and the border.
Feb 06, 4:50 PM
Qatari prime minister: Hamas has responded to hostage deal framework
Hamas has formally responded to the proposed framework for a deal exchanging hostages remaining in Gaza for an extended cease-fire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said Tuesday during a press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive,” he said via a translator. “However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances we will not tackle details. We are optimistic and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party.”
Hamas in a statement did not say they had agreed to the deal but said they “dealt with” the proposed hostage deal “with a positive spirit.”
However, after receiving the response from Hamas, Israeli officials indicated a deal is still “far off,” according to Israeli political sources.
While Blinken didn’t express the same level of optimism as the Qatari prime minister, he maintained that a hostage deal was within reach, saying now that they had a response from Hamas, negotiators would be “intensely focused on that.”
“We’re reviewing that response now, and I’ll be discussing it with the government of Israel tomorrow,” Blinken said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed, essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it.”
When asked about the amount of time it took for Hamas to deliver an answer, the Qatari prime minister said “communication was presenting some challenges” and that “it took some time to get them to a place where we get that response,” adding, “we are hoping to see it yielding very soon.”
Feb 06, 4:02 PM
31 hostages are dead and remain in captivity in Gaza, Israeli sources say
The bodies of 31 hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli sources. The 31 hostages either died while being held captive by Hamas or were killed on Oct. 7, the sources said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Feb 06, 1:31 PM
Qatari prime minister: Hamas has responded to hostage deal framework
Hamas has formally responded to the proposed framework for a deal exchanging hostages remaining in Gaza for an extended cease-fire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said Tuesday during a press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive,” he said via a translator. “However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances we will not tackle details. We are optimistic and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party.”
Hamas in a statement did not say they had agreed to the deal but said they “dealt with” the proposed hostage deal “with a positive spirit.”
While Blinken didn’t express the same level of optimism as the Qatari prime minister, he maintained that a hostage deal was within reach, saying now that they had a response from Hamas, negotiators would be “intensely focused on that.”
“We’re reviewing that response now, and I’ll be discussing it with the government of Israel tomorrow,” Blinken said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed, essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it.”
When asked about the amount of time it took for Hamas to deliver an answer, the Qatari prime minister said “communication was presenting some challenges” and that “it took some time to get them to a place where we get that response,” adding, “we are hoping to see it yielding very soon.”
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 06, 9:48 AM
Blinken meets with Egypt’s president amid push for new truce
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s ongoing war in the neighboring Gaza Strip.
Their “meeting focused on developments in unyielding efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, exchanging detainees and providing access of needed relief aid to end the severe humanitarian catastrophe in the sector,” according to a readout from Egypt’s presidency.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since war erupted between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
Feb 05, 11:54 AM
UN secretary-general opens independent review into UNRWA
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced Monday that he has appointed an independent review group to determine whether the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is “doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”
The probe comes amid Israel’s allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack.
“These accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest U.N. organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” Guterres said in a statement.
The independent review group will begin its work on Feb. 14 and will provide an interim report by late March. A final report is due April 2024, according to Guterres.
The probe is separate from an investigation the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight is conducting into the allegations.
UNRWA has said it is investigating the allegations and took swift action against those accused of participating in the attack. However, the United States and other top donors have suspended their funding to the agency, which is the biggest humanitarian aid provider in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Morgan Winsor
Feb 05, 8:43 AM
Food convoy hit by Israeli naval gunfire in Gaza, UNRWA says
A food aid convoy waiting to move into the north of the Gaza Strip was struck by Israeli naval gunfire on Monday morning, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“Thankfully no one was injured,” Tom White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Feb 03, 4:52 PM
House plans vote on standalone Israel aid bill next week
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Saturday the House will vote on a standalone $17.6 billion Israel aid package next week.
“Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package. During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets. The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally,” Johnson said in a letter to colleagues obtained by ABC News.
This news is a major reversal after House Republicans previously approved a $14.3 billion Israel funding package that included cuts to IRS funding. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not bring this legislation to the floor for vote because of Democrats’ opposition to IRS funding cuts.
Johnson again emphasized the Senate negotiated supplemental will face an uphill battle in the House and attacked Senators for excluding him and the House from the bipartisan talks.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Feb 03, 3:21 PM
IDF deploys 3 divisions to northern border amid Hezbollah attacks
The Israeli military has deployed three divisions to the northern border amid Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a press conference Saturday.
He said the IDF is working to “reshape the security reality” on the northern border, so that some 80,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks can return to their homes.
“We do not choose war as our first option but are certainly ready, and preparing for it all the time, if need be,” Hagari said.
The IDF has struck more than 150 cells, killing some 200 terror operatives, mostly members of Hezbollah, and targeted more than 3,400 Hezbollah sites since the beginning of the war in Gaza, according to Hagari.
(MOSCOW) — Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor and right-wing media personality, has recorded an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin and Carlson.
The interview, which has yet to air, would be the first interview Putin has granted to a Western journalist since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Carlson’s presentation of the interview has drawn intense criticism from independent Russian journalists who have called it a propaganda victory for the Kremlin and accused Carlson of whitewashing Putin’s crackdown on media and freedom of speech in Russia since the invasion.
In a video teasing the interview posted on X Tuesday night, Carlson said he was interviewing Putin to hear his perspective on the war, claiming that the Russian leader has been ignored by major Western media organizations. Carlson falsely claimed Western media organizations had “not bothered” to interview Putin since the start of the invasion.
“Since the day the war in Ukraine began, American media outlets have spoken to scores of people from Ukraine and they have done scores of interviews with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. But not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict, Vladimir Putin,” Carlson said.
In reality, many major international outlets regularly make requests to interview Putin, but the Kremlin has declined to accept them since the invasion. Putin for many years has also refused to give interviews to independent Russian journalists apart from those working for state and pro-Kremlin media.
The Kremlin itself on Wednesday contradicted Carlson, saying Putin receives many interview requests from Western media but has no desire to speak with them.
“Mr. Carlson is not correct. In fact, there’s no way he could know this. We receive numerous requests for interviews with the president,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. But, he said, “there’s no desire to communicate with this kind of media” because of what he said was its failure to be “impartial.”
Peskov said the Kremlin had chosen to speak with Carlson because his position “stands in sharp contrast” to the rest of Western media.
Carlson has long expressed positions that often align with the Kremlin’s, saying before the invasion that he was “rooting for Moscow.”
“By any actual reality-based measure, Vladimir Putin is not losing the war in Ukraine. He is winning the war in Ukraine and Joe Biden looks at that and says we won’t stop until you proffer an unconditional surrender,” Carlson claimed in August 2022, shortly before a Ukrainian counteroffensive liberated much of the north east Kharkiv region.
Carlson has also been a critic of the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine, arguing that Putin is not a threat to the United States and suggesting the U.S. has stoked the conflict. Carlson has disparaged Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he has called a “dictator,” “rat-like” and “sweaty.”
On Tuesday, Carlson said his team had also requested an interview with Zelenskyy.
Carlson’s positions have long attracted positive attention in Russia, with his clips aired on state media, which portrays him as a truth-teller. After he was abruptly fired from Fox last year, the state channel Russia 24 even aired a trailer for an imagined Russian show anchored by Carlson.
His arrival in Moscow has been met with breathless coverage in pro-Kremlin and state media, which has closely tracked his visit. A photo captured of Carlson at the Bolshoi ballet theater has circulated widely on Russian social media, and some news agencies even carried photos and reports of him visiting a supermarket.
One talk show compared Carlson’s visit to Jane Fonda’s anti-war trip to Vietnam in 1972. On Tuesday, the Evening Moscow newspaper carried a photo of Carlson on its front page with the headline: “Carlson, who lives in America, but speaks the truth.”
In his teaser video, Carson said his interview was a defiant demonstration of “freedom of speech,” alleging there was an effort to silence him and accusing Western media outlets of being “corrupt” and creating propaganda to promote Zelenskyy.
“Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now. They’ve never heard his voice. That’s wrong,” Carlson said.
Many prominent independent Russian journalists, however, accused Carlson of acting as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Kremlin and expressed outrage at his free speech claims, given the intense crackdown by Putin’s government on independent media and dissent during the war.
“Unbelievable! I am like hundreds of Russian journalists who have had to go into exile to keep reporting about the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The alternative was to go to jail,” Yevgenia Albats, a well-known liberal journalist and editor of The New Times, wrote on X responding to Carlson’s video. “And now [Carlson] is teaching us about good journalism,” she wrote, using an expletive about the former Fox anchor.
Since early 2022, the Kremlin has introduced draconian laws criminalizing criticism of the war. Virtually all independent media organizations have been closed or driven abroad, along with hundreds of journalists. Reporters, activists and ordinary citizens who have spoken against the war have been arrested and some given lengthy prison sentences.
Two American reporters — Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal and Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Liberty — are currently detained by Russia on charges widely condemned as politically motivated.
Albats and others said Putin’s willingness to speak with Carlson — but not other international news organizations or independent Russian journalists — showed the Kremlin saw it as an opportunity to use him as a sympathetic mouthpiece to broadcast its message to millions of Americans.
The Russian media’s excitement around Carlson’s visit has also irritated some pro-war Russian nationalists, who see it as an embarrassing veneration of Americans.
“I am watching an amazing thing with interest: How people who ridicule Ukrainians for their subservient prostration before European politicians and public figures are meticulously recording Tucker Carlson’s every move and sneeze in Moscow,” Andrei Medvedev, a Moscow City Duma deputy and former state TV presenter, wrote on his Telegram account.
“He flew in, he ate, he drank tea. How wonderful, an American has come to visit us! How happy we are. Comrades, do you feel bipolar?” Medvedev added.
(NEW YORK) — More than 100 days since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.
The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 07, 1:24 PM
Israeli prime minister rejects hostage deal proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the current proposed hostage and cease-fire deal, calling it “delusional,” and describing it as a “surrender” that would lead to another massacre. But Netanyahu did not say negotiations were closed.
Netanyahu also said it would be “a matter of months” to reach Israel’s objectives and achieve “total victory” of completely dismantling Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu also said the Israeli military operation will expand to the city of Rafah, where thousands of Gaza residents have fled and are living in makeshift shelters.
ABC News’ Anna Burd and Jordana Miller
Feb 07, 12:20 PM
New round of hostage negotiations to take place in Cairo: Egyptian state TV
Egypt and Qatar will co-host a new round of negotiations on the proposed hostage and cease-fire deal on Thursday in Cairo, Egyptian state TV reported.
Feb 07, 10:41 AM
Blinken meets with Netanyahu on latest trip to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
First, Netanyahu and Blinken “held a long and in-depth meeting in private” before having “an extended meeting” with other Israeli and U.S. officials, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
During the meeting, Blinken reaffirmed Israel’s right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas and the need to protect civilians in Gaza, according to the State Department. Blinken also stressed the importance of a two-state solution — a prospect Netanyahu has vocally opposed.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 when war erupted between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip. The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Shannon Crawford and Morgan Winsor
Feb 07, 7:22 AM
Blinken meets with Netanyahu on latest trip to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
First, Netanyahu and Blinken “held a long and in-depth meeting in private” before having “an extended meeting” with other Israeli and U.S. officials, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 when war erupted between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip. The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
Feb 06, 7:33 PM
US House fails to pass Israel aid bill
The U.S. House failed to pass a $17.6 billion standalone bill to provide aid to Israel.
The bill failed 250-180 during a vote Tuesday evening.
The GOP measure was being considered under suspension, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who unveiled the standalone bill over the weekend, blamed President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for its failure.
“The decision by President Biden and Leader Schumer to torpedo this bill to aid the Israeli people in their fight against Hamas is a disappointing rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East at their time of great need,” Johnson said in a statement following the vote.
The Biden administration had issued a veto threat to the bill on Monday, saying it “strongly opposes” the measure after a bipartisan group of senators came to an agreement on a national security supplemental that includes Israel aid.
Schumer said he was against the bill and wanted Israel aid coupled with aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and the border.
Feb 06, 4:50 PM
Qatari prime minister: Hamas has responded to hostage deal framework
Hamas has formally responded to the proposed framework for a deal exchanging hostages remaining in Gaza for an extended cease-fire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said Tuesday during a press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive,” he said via a translator. “However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances we will not tackle details. We are optimistic and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party.”
Hamas in a statement did not say they had agreed to the deal but said they “dealt with” the proposed hostage deal “with a positive spirit.”
However, after receiving the response from Hamas, Israeli officials indicated a deal is still “far off,” according to Israeli political sources.
While Blinken didn’t express the same level of optimism as the Qatari prime minister, he maintained that a hostage deal was within reach, saying now that they had a response from Hamas, negotiators would be “intensely focused on that.”
“We’re reviewing that response now, and I’ll be discussing it with the government of Israel tomorrow,” Blinken said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed, essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it.”
When asked about the amount of time it took for Hamas to deliver an answer, the Qatari prime minister said “communication was presenting some challenges” and that “it took some time to get them to a place where we get that response,” adding, “we are hoping to see it yielding very soon.”
Feb 06, 4:02 PM
31 hostages are dead and remain in captivity in Gaza, Israeli sources say
The bodies of 31 hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli sources. The 31 hostages either died while being held captive by Hamas or were killed on Oct. 7, the sources said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Feb 06, 1:31 PM
Qatari prime minister: Hamas has responded to hostage deal framework
Hamas has formally responded to the proposed framework for a deal exchanging hostages remaining in Gaza for an extended cease-fire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said Tuesday during a press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive,” he said via a translator. “However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances we will not tackle details. We are optimistic and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party.”
Hamas in a statement did not say they had agreed to the deal but said they “dealt with” the proposed hostage deal “with a positive spirit.”
While Blinken didn’t express the same level of optimism as the Qatari prime minister, he maintained that a hostage deal was within reach, saying now that they had a response from Hamas, negotiators would be “intensely focused on that.”
“We’re reviewing that response now, and I’ll be discussing it with the government of Israel tomorrow,” Blinken said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed, essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it.”
When asked about the amount of time it took for Hamas to deliver an answer, the Qatari prime minister said “communication was presenting some challenges” and that “it took some time to get them to a place where we get that response,” adding, “we are hoping to see it yielding very soon.”
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 06, 9:48 AM
Blinken meets with Egypt’s president amid push for new truce
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s ongoing war in the neighboring Gaza Strip.
Their “meeting focused on developments in unyielding efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, exchanging detainees and providing access of needed relief aid to end the severe humanitarian catastrophe in the sector,” according to a readout from Egypt’s presidency.
It’s Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East since war erupted between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been involved in negotiations between the warring sides.
Feb 05, 11:54 AM
UN secretary-general opens independent review into UNRWA
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced Monday that he has appointed an independent review group to determine whether the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is “doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”
The probe comes amid Israel’s allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack.
“These accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest U.N. organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” Guterres said in a statement.
The independent review group will begin its work on Feb. 14 and will provide an interim report by late March. A final report is due April 2024, according to Guterres.
The probe is separate from an investigation the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight is conducting into the allegations.
UNRWA has said it is investigating the allegations and took swift action against those accused of participating in the attack. However, the United States and other top donors have suspended their funding to the agency, which is the biggest humanitarian aid provider in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Morgan Winsor
Feb 05, 8:43 AM
Food convoy hit by Israeli naval gunfire in Gaza, UNRWA says
A food aid convoy waiting to move into the north of the Gaza Strip was struck by Israeli naval gunfire on Monday morning, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“Thankfully no one was injured,” Tom White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Feb 03, 4:52 PM
House plans vote on standalone Israel aid bill next week
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Saturday the House will vote on a standalone $17.6 billion Israel aid package next week.
“Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package. During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets. The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally,” Johnson said in a letter to colleagues obtained by ABC News.
This news is a major reversal after House Republicans previously approved a $14.3 billion Israel funding package that included cuts to IRS funding. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not bring this legislation to the floor for vote because of Democrats’ opposition to IRS funding cuts.
Johnson again emphasized the Senate negotiated supplemental will face an uphill battle in the House and attacked Senators for excluding him and the House from the bipartisan talks.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Feb 03, 3:21 PM
IDF deploys 3 divisions to northern border amid Hezbollah attacks
The Israeli military has deployed three divisions to the northern border amid Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a press conference Saturday.
He said the IDF is working to “reshape the security reality” on the northern border, so that some 80,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks can return to their homes.
“We do not choose war as our first option but are certainly ready, and preparing for it all the time, if need be,” Hagari said.
The IDF has struck more than 150 cells, killing some 200 terror operatives, mostly members of Hezbollah, and targeted more than 3,400 Hezbollah sites since the beginning of the war in Gaza, according to Hagari.
(NEW YORK) — A pod of orcas that appeared to be trapped by drift sea ice off Japan’s main northern island of Hokkaido has seemingly escaped the icy enclosure, according to a local official.
Officials from the town of Rausu conducted a land-based search for the whales for about two hours on Wednesday, but the 10-plus orcas were nowhere to be found, Ryoji Onuma told ABC News.
“It seems they’ve escaped, but we can’t be certain,” said Onuma, who’s leading the response for Rausu. Their team got within a kilometer of the last known spot of the orcas, Onuma said, while press helicopters buzzed above and locals piloted drones, capturing the scene.
Onuma confirmed to ABC News that with the ice melting away and the situation looking up, there’s no need for further rescue efforts. “It’s a wrap for us,” Onuma said.
“Although we can’t confirm for sure, I’m confident these whales have found their way out, made their way free from the ice. We certainly hope they have,” Onuma added.
Wildlife organizations from as far as the United States and Russia had stepped forward to help, but Onuma said direct human intervention into the area would have put both man and beast in danger.
Tuesday night was a tough situation, Onuma said.
“We were down there before nightfall. They just didn’t have enough space. They couldn’t get out,” Onuma said of the whales.
Onuma described the animals’ coordinated struggle as the sun set, telling ABC News: “It seemed like they were taking turns breathing, like they had an order in which they were going in.”
The Japan Coast Guard was also on board to help, Onuma said.
“We discussed having ice breakers coming in to free the creatures. There was a possibility the ice breakers could’ve pushed the ice in, crowding them even more,” Onuma said. This approach could’ve inadvertently harmed the orcas, potentially covering their breathing hole, Onuma said.
“We really appreciate all of the ideas and support that came in,” Onuma added, acknowledging the widespread concern.
Onuma, while clarifying his nonexpert status, told ABC News: “These animals each have distinct characteristics and natural, identifiable marks. They have a long range. It is possible that someone somewhere down the road in a sightseeing boat […] will spot and recognize one of these animals from the images circulated, proof that they escaped with their lives.”
On Tuesday, Wildlife Pro LLC shared drone footage, filmed by Seiichiro Tsuchiya, of the then-trapped orcas on Facebook, where viewers could see the orcas bobbing their heads in and out of the icy water. Tsuchiya said the orcas appeared to be struggling to breathe and were unable to swim free.
“I saw about 13 killer whales with their heads sticking out of a hole in the ice,” Tsuchiya told Japanese public broadcaster NHK. “They seemed to be struggling to breathe, and it looked like they included three or four calves.”
A similar incident happened in Rausu in 2005, according to NHK, where nine orcas reportedly died after being trapped in drift ice.
ABC News’ Anthony Trotter contributed to this report.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walks in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2023 in Austin, Texas. CREDIT: Clive Mason – Formula /Getty Images
(LONDON) — Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is on his way home after a quick visit to the United Kingdom to see his father, King Charles III, who is battling cancer.
Harry, 39, was spotted Wednesday at London’s Heathrow Airport, where he is expected to catch a flight home to California.
Harry’s flight home caps a whirlwind overnight trip to London, where he reportedly met with Charles for less than an hour and stayed in a hotel rather than in one of the king’s royal residences.
“If they can’t even just say, ‘Stay over in the house, in Clarence House, or one of the rooms in Buckingham Palace,’ there are plenty of them, it seems to suggest he’s still very much an outsider,” ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson said of Harry’s status with his family, from whom he has been distant for several years.
Harry, who stepped down from his senior royal role in 2020, was spotted Tuesday arriving at Clarence House, the London residence of Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla.
Shortly after his meeting with Harry, which took place privately, Charles was photographed in a car alongside Camilla as the two traveled to a helicopter to fly to Sandringham, the king’s estate in Norfolk, England.
Buckingham Palace announced Monday that Charles, 75, has been diagnosed with cancer. The palace did not state what type of cancer Charles is battling but noted that he has started “a schedule of regular treatments.”
Harry’s visit with Charles marked the first time he has seen his father since May, when he traveled to the U.K. to attend Charles’ coronation.
At the coronation, Harry sat in the congregation with other members of the royal family and did not play a role in the service at Westminster Abbey. He and his older brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, did not appear to interact at all during the service.
Harry and William did not have plans to see each other while Harry was in the U.K., a source told ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dismissed reports saying people were dying of hunger in his country, but allowed that people “may have died” due to malnutrition-associated illnesses.
“There are no people dying due to hunger in Ethiopia,” Ahmed told lawmakers in Parliament on Tuesday.
Authorities in Tigray are warning that the northern Ethiopian region is on the brink of a famine as nearly 400 people have died of hunger in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray and Amhara regions in recent months.
About 91% of Tigray’s population has been “exposed to the risk of starvation and death,” Getachew K. Reda, of the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, announced in a recent statement.
“Tigray is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe the likes of which have not been seen since the infamous 1984-85 famine that claimed the lives of millions of people across Ethiopia,” the administration said. “Indeed, at the moment, millions of Tigrayans are simply awaiting their gut-wrenching fate: death.”
A combination of drought — triggered by a shortage of seasonal rainfall — a desert locust infestation, and the temporary suspension of humanitarian aid have caused a “nightmarish humanitarian tragedy,” the administration said.
In a rare admission by the federal body, the national ombudsman last month announced nearly 400 people have died of starvation in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Amhara regions in recent months. There have been at least 351 recorded hunger-related deaths in Tigray, with an additional 44 deaths recorded in Amhara.
The region is still reeling from a devastating two-year civil war which saw the Ethiopian federal government and allied forces engaged in a deadly conflict with Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, forces in Northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Speaking to ABC News in January 2023, Professor Jan Nyssen, senior professor at the Department of Geography at Ghent University, said at least 383,000 to 6,000 civilian deaths have occurred in Tigray between November 2020 and August 2022. The conflict left over 20 million people in Ethiopia in need of aid, over 2.8 million displaced.
In a statement sent to ABC News, the World Food Programme has said it is “extremely concerned” about the deteriorating situation in Northern Ethiopia, working to deliver food assistance to up to three million people in the coming weeks.
“Many are already facing severe hunger,” said Chris Nikoi, WFP’s Ethiopia country director.
In March 2023 the United Nations and the U.S. suspended food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray region following a scandal involving the theft of humanitarian grain. The organizations later resumed deliveries on a smaller scale.
World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said the WHO is “gravely concerned” about the situation in Amhara: “The internet is still cut off in the region, severely impeding communication with health partners and authorities. Restrictions on movement are impeding the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
“The most pressing need is for access to the affected areas, so we can assess the need and respond accordingly,” Ghebreyesus said.
