Polls find large majorities of people in the US oppose military action against Venezuela, where Trump has ramped up military pressure.
Republicans in the United States Senate have voted down legislation that would have required US President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval for any military attacks on Venezuela.
Two Republicans had crossed the political aisle and joined Democrats to vote in favour of the legislation on Thursday, but their support was not enough to secure passage, and the bill failed to pass by 51 to 49 votes.
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“We should not be going to war without a vote of Congress,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said during a speech.
The vote comes amid a US military build-up off South America and a series of military strikes targeting vessels in international waters off Venezuela and Colombia that have killed at least 65 people.
The US has alleged, without presenting evidence, that the boats it bombed were transporting drugs, but Latin American leaders, some members of Congress, international law experts and family members of the deceased have described the US attacks as extrajudicial killings, claiming most of those killed were fishermen.
Fears are now growing that Trump will use the military deployment in the region – which includes thousands of US troops, a nuclear submarine and a group of warships accompanying the USS Gerald R Ford, the US Navy’s most sophisticated aircraft carrier – to launch an attack on Venezuela in a bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
Washington has accused Maduro of drug trafficking, and Trump has hinted at carrying out attacks on Venezuelan soil.
Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, referencing Trump’s military posturing towards Venezuela, said on Thursday: “It’s really an open secret that this is much more about potential regime change.”
“If that’s where the administration is headed, if that’s what we’re risking – involvement in a war – then Congress needs to be heard on this,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, a pair of US B-52 bombers flew over the Caribbean Sea along the coast of Venezuela, flight tracking data showed.
Data from tracking website Flightradar24 showed the two bombers flying parallel to the Venezuelan coast, then circling northeast of Caracas before heading back along the coast and turning north and flying further out to sea.
The presence of the US bombers off Venezuela was at least the fourth time that US military aircraft have flown near the country’s borders since mid-October, with B-52s having done so on one previous occasion, and B-1B bombers on two other occasions.
Little public support in US for attack on Venezuela
A recent poll found that only 18 percent of people in the US support even limited use of military force to overthrow Maduro’s government.
Research by YouGov also found that 74 percent of people in the US believe that the president should not be able to carry out military strikes abroad without congressional approval, in line with the requirements of the US Constitution.
Republican lawmakers, however, have embraced the recent strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, adopting the Trump administration’s framing of its efforts to cut off the flow of narcotics to the US.
Questions of the legality of such attacks, either under US or international law, do not appear to be of great concern to many Republicans.
“President Trump has taken decisive action to protect thousands of Americans from lethal narcotics,” Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in remarks declaring his support for the strikes.
While only two Republicans – Senators Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski – defected to join Democrats in supporting the legislation to limit Trump’s ability to wage war unilaterally on Thursday, some conservatives have expressed frustration with a possible war on Venezuela.
Trump had campaigned for president on the promise of withdrawing the US from foreign military entanglements.
In recent years, Congress has made occasional efforts to reassert itself and impose restraints on foreign military engagements through the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which reaffirmed that Congress alone has the power to declare war.
Fault Lines investigates the killings of Palestinians seeking aid at GHF sites in Gaza.
After months of blockade and starvation in Gaza, Israel allowed a new United States venture – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – to distribute food. Branded as a lifeline, its sites quickly became known by Palestinians and dozens of human rights groups as “death traps”.
Fault Lines investigates how civilians seeking aid were funnelled through militarised zones, where thousands were killed or injured under fire.
Through the testimonies of grieving families, a former contractor, and human rights experts, the film exposes how GHF’s operations replaced UNRWA’s proven aid system with a scheme critics say was designed for displacement, not relief. At the heart of this investigation is a haunting question: was GHF delivering humanitarian aid – or helping turn breadlines into killing fields?
A months-long siege on the Malian capital, Bamako, by the armed al-Qaeda affiliate group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has brought the city to breaking point, causing desperation among residents and, according to analysts, placing increasing pressure on the military government to negotiate with the group – something it has refused to do before now.
JNIM’s members have created an effective economic and fuel blockade by sealing off major highways used by tankers to transport fuel from neighbouring Senegal and the Ivory Coast to the landlocked Sahel country since September.
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While JNIM has long laid siege to towns in other parts of the country, this is the first time it has used the tactic on the capital city.
The scale of the blockade, and the immense effect it has had on the city, is a sign of JNIM’s growing hold over Mali and a step towards the group’s stated aim of government change in Mali, Beverly Ochieng, Sahel analyst with intelligence firm Control Risks, told Al Jazeera.
For weeks, most of Bamako’s residents have been unable to buy any fuel for cars or motorcycles as supplies have dried up, bringing the normally bustling capital to a standstill. Many have had to wait in long fuel queues. Last week, the United States and the United Kingdom both advised their citizens to leave Mali and evacuated non-essential diplomatic staff.
Other Western nations have also advised their citizens to leave the country. Schools across Mali have closed and will remain shut until November 9 as staff struggle to commute. Power cuts have intensified.
Here’s what we know about the armed group responsible and why it appears to have Mali in a chokehold:
People ride on top of a minibus, a form of public transport, amid ongoing fuel shortages caused by a blockade imposed by al Qaeda-linked fighters in early September, in Bamako, Mali, on October 31, 2025 [Reuters]
What is JNIM?
JNIM is the Sahel affiliate of al-Qaeda and the most active armed group in the region, according to conflict monitor ACLED. The group was formed in 2017 as a merger between groups that were formerly active against French and Malian forces that were first deployed during an armed rebellion in northern Mali in 2012. They include Algeria-based al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) and three Malian armed groups – Ansar Dine, Al-Murabitun and Katiba Macina.
JNIM’s main aim is to capture and control territory and to expel Western influences in its region of control. Some analysts suggest that JNIM may be seeking to control major capitals and, ultimately, to govern the country as a whole.
It is unclear how many fighters the group has. The Washington Post has reported estimates of about 6,000, citing regional and western officials.
However, Ulf Laessing, Sahel analyst at the German think tank, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), said JNIM most likely does not yet have the military capacity to capture large, urban territories that are well protected by soldiers. He also said the group would struggle to appeal to urban populations who may not hold the same grievances against the government as some rural communities.
While JNIM’s primary base is Mali, KAS revealed in a report that the group has Algerian roots via its members of the Algeria-based al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM).
The group is led by Iyad Ag-Ghali, a Malian and ethnic Tuareg from Mali’s northern Kidal region who founded Ansar Dine in 2012. That group’s stated aim was to impose its interpretation of Islamic law across Mali.
Ghali had previously led Tuareg uprisings against the Malian government, which is traditionally dominated by the majority Bambara ethnic group, in the early 1990s, demanding the creation of a sovereign country called Azawad.
However, he reformed his image by acting as a negotiator between the government and the rebels. In 2008, he was posted as a Malian diplomat to Saudi Arabia under the government of Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure. When another rebellion began in 2012, however, Ghali sought a leadership role with the rebels but was rebuffed, leading him to create Ansar Dine.
According to the US Department of National Intelligence (DNI), Ghali has stated that JNIM’s strategy is to expand its presence across West Africa and to put down government forces and rival armed groups, such as the Mali-based Islamic State Sahel, through guerrilla-style attacks and the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Simultaneously, it attempts to engage with local communities by providing them with material resources. Strict dress codes and bans on music are common in JNIM-controlled areas.
JNIM also destroys infrastructure, such as schools, communication towers and bridges, to weaken the government off the battlefield.
An overall death toll is unclear, but the group has killed thousands of people since 2017. Human rights groups accuse it of attacking civilians, especially people perceived to be assisting government forces. JNIM activity in Mali caused 207 deaths between January and April this year, according to ACLED data.
How has JNIM laid siege to Bamako?
JNIM began blocking oil tankers carrying fuel to Bamako in September.
That came after the military government in Bamako banned small-scale fuel sales in all rural areas – except at official service stations – from July 1. Usually, in these areas, traders can buy fuel in jerry cans, which they often resell later.
The move to ban this was aimed at crippling JNIM’s operations in its areas of control by limiting its supply lines and, thus, its ability to move around.
At the few places where fuel is still available in Bamako, prices soared last week by more than 400 percent, from $25 to $130 per litre ($6.25-$32.50 per gallon). Prices of transportation, food and other commodities have risen due to the crisis, and power cuts have been frequent.
Some car owners have simply abandoned their vehicles in front of petrol stations, with the military government threatening on Wednesday to impound them to ease traffic and reduce security risks.
A convoy of 300 fuel tankers reached Bamako on October 7, and another one with “dozens” of vehicles arrived on October 30, according to a government statement. Other attempts to truck in more fuel have met obstacles, however, as JNIM members ambush military-escorted convoys on highways and shoot at or kidnap soldiers and civilians.
Even as supplies in Bamako dry up, there are reports of JNIM setting fire to about 200 fuel tankers in southern and western Mali. Videos circulating on Malian social media channels show rows of oil tankers burning on a highway.
What is JNIM trying to achieve with this blockade?
Laessing of KAS said the group is probably hoping to leverage discontent with the government in the already troubled West African nation to put pressure on the military government to negotiate a power-sharing deal of sorts.
“They want to basically make people as angry as possible,” he said. “They could [be trying] to provoke protests which could bring down the current government and bring in a new one that’s more favourable towards them.”
Ochieng of Control Risks noted that, in its recent statements, JNIM has explicitly called for government change. While the previous civilian government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (2013-2020) had negotiated with JNIM, the present government of Colonel Assimi Goita will likely keep up its military response, Ochieng said.
Frustration at the situation is growing in Bamako, with residents calling for the government to act.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, driver Omar Sidibe said the military leaders ought to find out the reasons for the shortage and act on them. “It’s up to the government to play a full role and take action [and] uncover the real reason for this shortage.”
Which parts of Mali is the JNIM active in?
In Mali, the group operates in rural areas of northern, central and western Mali, where there is a reduced government presence and high discontent with the authorities among local communities.
In the areas it controls, JNIM presents itself as an alternative to the government, which it calls “puppets of the West”, in order to recruit fighters from several ethnic minorities which have long held grievances over their perceived marginalisation by the government, including the Tuareg, Arab, Fulani, and Songhai groups. Researchers note the group also has some members from the majority Bambara group.
In central Mali, the group seized Lere town last November and captured the town of Farabougou in August this year. Both are small towns, but Farabougou is close to Wagadou Forest, a known hiding place of JNIM.
JNIM’s hold on major towns is weaker because of the stronger government presence in larger areas. It therefore more commonly blockades major towns or cities by destroying roads and bridges leading to them. Currently, the western cities of Nioro and gold-rich Kayes are cut off. The group is also besieging the major cities of Timbuktu and Gao, as well as Menaka and Boni towns, located in the north and northeast.
How is JNIM funded?
For revenue, the group oversees artisanal gold mines, forcefully taxes community members, smuggles weapons and kidnaps foreigners for ransom, according to the US DNI. Kayes region, whose capital, Kayes, is under siege, is a major gold hub, accounting for 80 percent of Mali’s gold production, according to conflict monitoring group Critical Threats.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (Gi-Toc) also reports cattle rustling schemes, estimating that JNIM made 91,400 euros ($104,000) in livestock sales of cattle between 2017 and 2019. Cattle looted in Mali are sold cheaply in communities on the border with Ghana and the Ivory Coast, through a complex chain of intermediaries.
Heads of state of Mali’s Assimi Goita, Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tchiani and Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traore pose for photographs during the first ordinary summit of heads of state and governments of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in Niamey, Niger, July 6, 2024 [Mahamadou Hamidou/Reuters]
In which other countries is JNIM active?
JNIM expanded into Burkina Faso in 2017 by linking up with Burkina-Faso-based armed group Ansarul-Islam, which pledged allegiance to the Malian group. Ansarul-Islam was formed in 2016 by Ibrahim Dicko, who had close ties with Amadou Koufa, JNIM’s deputy head since 2017.
In Burkina Faso, JNIM uses similar tactics of recruiting from marginalised ethnic groups. The country has rapidly become a JNIM hotspot, with the group operating – or holding territory – in 11 of 13 Burkina Faso regions outside of capital Ouagadougou. There were 512 reported casualties as a result of JNIM violence in the country between January and April this year. It is not known how many have died as a result of violence by the armed group in total.
Since 2022, JNIM has laid siege to the major northern Burkinabe city of Djibo, with authorities forced to airlift in supplies. In a notable attack in May 2025, JNIM fighters overran a military base in the town, killing approximately 200 soldiers. It killed a further 60 in Solle, about 48km (30 miles) west of Djibo.
In October 2025, the group temporarily took control of Sabce town, also located in the north of Burkina Faso, killing 11 police officers in the process, according to the International Crisis Group.
In a September report, Human Rights Watch said JNIM and a second armed group – Islamic State Sahel, which is linked to ISIL (ISIS) – massacred civilians in Burkina Faso between May and September, including a civilian convoy trying to transport humanitarian aid into the besieged northern town of Gorom Gorom.
Meanwhile, JNIM is also moving southwards, towards other West African nations with access to the sea. It launched an offensive on Kafolo town, in northern Ivory Coast, in 2020.
JNIM members embedded in national parks on the border regions with Burkina Faso have been launching sporadic attacks in northern Togo and the Benin Republic since 2022.
In October this year, it recorded its first attack on the Benin-Nigeria border, where one Nigerian policeman was killed. The area is not well-policed because the two countries have no established military cooperation, analyst Ochieng said.
“This area is also quite a commercially viable region; there are mining and other developments taking place there … it is likely to be one that [JNIM] will try to establish a foothold,” she added.
Why are countries struggling to fend off JNIM?
When Mali leader General Assimi Goita led soldiers to seize power in a 2020 coup, military leaders promised to defeat the armed group, as well as a host of others that had been on the rise in the country. Military leaders subsequently seizing power from civilian governments in Burkina Faso (2022) and in Niger (2023) have made the same promises.
However, Mali and its neighbours have struggled to hold JNIM at bay, with ACLED data noting the number of JNIM attacks increasing notably since 2020.
In 2022, Mali’s military government ended cooperation with 4,000-strong French forces deployed in 2013 to battle armed groups which had emerged at the time, as well as separatist Tuaregs in the north. The last group of French forces exited the country in August 2022.
Mali also terminated contracts with a 10,000-man UN peacekeeping force stationed in the country in 2023.
Bamako is now working with Russian fighters – initially 1,500 from the Wagner Mercenary Group, but since June, from the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps – estimated to be about 1,000 in number.
Russian officials are, to a lesser extent, also present in Burkina Faso and Niger, which have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) with Mali.
Results in Mali have been mixed. Wagner supported the Malian military in seizing swaths of land in the northern Kidal region from Tuareg rebels.
But the Russians also suffered ambushes. In July 2024, a contingent of Wagner and Malian troops was ambushed by rebels in Tinzaouaten, close to the Algerian border. Between 20 and 80 Russians and 25 to 40 Malians were killed, according to varying reports. Researchers noted it was Wagner’s worst defeat since it had deployed to West Africa.
In all, Wagner did not record much success in targeting armed groups like JNIM, analyst Laessing told Al Jazeera.
Alongside Malian forces, the Russians have also been accused by rights groups of committing gross human rights violations against rural communities in northern Mali perceived to be supportive of armed groups.
A person walks past cars parked on the roadside, amid ongoing fuel shortages caused by a blockade imposed by al-Qaeda-linked fighters in early September, in Bamako, Mali, October 31, 2025 [Reuters]
Could the Russian Africa Corps fighters end the siege on Bamako?
Laessing said the fuel crisis is pressuring Mali to divert military resources and personnel to protect fuel tankers, keeping them from consolidating territory won back from armed groups and further endangering the country.
He added that the crisis will be a test for Russian Africa Corp fighters, who have not proven as ready as Wagner fighters to take battle risks. A video circulating on Russian social media purports to show Africa Corps members providing air support to fuel tanker convoys. It has not been verified by Al Jazeera.
“If they can come in and allow the fuel to flow into Bamako, then the Russians will be seen as heroes,” Laessing said – at least by locals.
Laessing added that the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso, in the medium to long term, might eventually have to negotiate with JNIM to find a way to end the crisis.
While Goita’s government has not attempted to hold talks with the group in the past, in early October, it greenlit talks led by local leaders, according to conflict monitoring group Critical Threats – although it is unclear exactly how the government gave its approval.
Agreements between the group and local leaders have reportedly already been signed in several towns across Segou, Mopti and Timbuktu regions, in which the group agrees to end its siege in return for the communities agreeing to JNIM rules, taxes, and noncooperation with the military.
Digital technologies, particularly AI, are accelerating democratic backsliding and revitalizing authoritarian governments. AI-focused companies have been forming close partnerships with government actors, often in ways that undermine democratic norms. Around the world, private firms are supplying or co-designing technologies that enhance mass surveillance, predictive policing, propaganda campaigns, and online censorship. In places like China, Russia, and Egypt, a blurring of boundaries between the state and the technology industry has led to serious consequences. This collusion has undercut privacy rights, stifled civil society, and diminished public accountability.
This dynamic is now playing out in the United States. Companies like Palantir and Paragon Solutions are providing government entities with powerful AI tools and analytics platforms, often under opaque contracts. In September, U.S. President Donald Trump approved the sale of TikTok to U.S. private entities friendly with the administration. Unchecked public-private integration within the technology industry poses serious risks for democratic societies, namely that it offers increased power to unaccountable actors. The focus of this article is to examine case studies on how these emerging alliances are enabling authoritarian practices, as well as what they might mean for the future of democratic societies.
Russia: Manipulating Digital Tools
In Russia, democratic norms under Vladimir Putin have eroded while Russian tech companies continue to work hand in glove with state authorities. Sberbank, the country’s largest financial institution, and their development of Kandinsky 2.1, an AI-powered, text-to-image tool owned by the firm, illustrate this long-running trend.
Despite the quality of its outputs compared to rivals like DALL-E, the solution came under fire in 2023 from veteran lawmaker Sergey Mironov, who argued that it generated images that tarnished Russia’s image. He would go on to charge that Kandinsky 2.1 was designed by “unfriendly states waging an informational and mental war” against the country.
Not long after, some in the tech space noticed that Kandinsky 2.1’s outputs changed. For instance, while the tool previously churned out images of zombies when prompted with “Z Patriot,” users noted that it now repeatedly produced pictures of hyper-masculine figures. Critics claim that this alteration not only represented an overt manipulation of the technology itself but also an attempt to curry favor with those in the government.
This episode shows how AI-powered tools are being specifically tailored to serve the needs of authorities. The modifications made to the model transformed it into an invaluable resource the government could use to amplify its messaging. As a result, users are no longer likely to see Kandinsky 2.1 as a tool for creativity, particularly if its outputs remain blatantly skewed. Developers in countries like Russia may look to this case for inspiration on how to succeed in restrictive political contexts.
United States: Supercharging Mass Surveillance
AI-centric firms in the United States have also taken note. Palantir Technologies stands as the most prominent example of how private technology firms can deepen government surveillance capabilities in ways that test the limits of democratic accountability. The firm, established in the wake of 9/11, has expanded its domestic footprint through lucrative contracts with local police departments and, most notably, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Investigations reveal that Palantir’s software enables ICE agents to compile and cross-reference vast amounts of personal data, from Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) records and employment information to social media activity and utility bills. This capability gives the government a unique opportunity to build detailed profiles on individuals and their community networks. This has helped facilitate deportations and raids on immigrant communities. Critics argue that Palantir’s tools create a dragnet that vastly expands state power, all while shielding the company and its government clients from public oversight.
Beyond immigration enforcement, Palantir’s Gotham platform has been adopted by police departments for predictive policing initiatives, which attempt to forecast locations and suspects for crimes. Civil liberties groups have warned that such uses reinforce systemic biases by encoding discriminatory policing practices into algorithmic decision-making. Predictive policing algorithms inherit bias because they rely on historical data shaped by discriminatory over-policing of Black communities, among others. Scholars of “surveillance capitalism” also note that these partnerships normalize the commodification of personal data for state security purposes.
The deeper concern lies in how this private-public nexus erodes societal trust and transparency. Unlike government agencies bound by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements, companies like Palantir operate under corporate secrecy, limiting democratic oversight of technologies that profoundly affect civil rights. In this sense, the Palantir case illustrates how authoritarian-style practices, combined with technological breakthroughs, can be incubated within democratic societies and later contribute to their overall decline.
Challenging Anti-Democratic Alliances
The deepening collaboration between AI firms and authorities in developing repressive technologies is alarming. Across the globe, these partnerships have flourished, often to the detriment of average citizens. The examples of Russia and the United States underline how AI firms have been willing and able to work with governments engaging in repression when convenient, leaving the public in the lurch.
Advocates for democracy must educate themselves on how to combat the misuse of AI. Leaders in civil society, for example, could build up their technical knowledge as a starting point. Capacity-building may also have the bonus of enabling pro-democracy groups to create their own AI solutions that support civic accountability actions. Activities like these may provide a counterbalance to corporate-state collusion that places citizens at a disadvantage. It may also help ensure that AI tools are designed in ways that strengthen democracies, not undermine them.
*Aaron Spitler is a researcher whose interests lie at the intersection of human rights, democratic governance, and digital technologies. He has worked with numerous organizations in this space, from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to the International Republican Institute (IRI). He is passionate about ensuring technology can be a force for good. You can reach him on LinkedIn
Cecile Kohler, 41, and her partner, Jacques Paris, 72, had been jailed on charges of spying for France and Israel.
Iran has released two French nationals imprisoned for more than three years on spying charges their families rejected, French President Emmanuel Macron has said, though it remains uncertain when they would be allowed to return home.
Expressing “immense relief”, Macron said on X on Wednesday that Cecile Kohler, 41, and her partner Jacques Paris, 72 – the last French citizens officially known to be held in Iran – had been released from Evin prison in northern Tehran and were on their way to the French embassy.
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He welcomed this “first step” and said talks were under way to ensure their return to France as “quickly as possible”.
The pair were arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran. France had denounced their detention as “unjustified and unfounded”, while their families say the trip had been purely touristic in nature.
Both teachers, although Paris is retired, were among a number of Europeans caught up in what activists and some Western governments, including France, describe as a deliberate strategy of “hostage-taking” by Iran to extract concessions from the West.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said they had been granted “conditional release” on bail by the judge in charge of the case and “will be placed under surveillance until the next stage of the judicial proceedings”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 TV they were in “good health” at the French ambassador’s residence but declined to give details on when they would be allowed to leave Iran.
Their Paris-based legal team told the AFP news agency in a statement that the release had “ended their arbitrary detention which lasted 1,277 days”.
The release comes at a time of acute sensitivity in dealings between Tehran and the West in the wake of the US-Israel 12-day war in June against Iran and the reimposition of United Nations sanctions in the standoff over the Iranian nuclear programme, which the country insists is purely for civilian purposes.
Some Iranians are concerned that Israel will use the sanctions, which are already causing further economic duress in the country, as an excuse to attack again, as it used the resolution issued by the global nuclear watchdog in June as a pretext for a war that was cheered by Israeli officials and the public alike.
The French pair’s sentences on charges of spying for France and Israel, issued last month after a closed-door trial, amounted to 17 years in prison for Paris and 20 years for Kohler.
Concern grew over their health after they were moved from Evin following an Israeli attack on the prison during the June war.
Kohler was shown in October 2022 on Iranian television in what activists described as a “forced confession”, a practice relatively common for detainees in Iran, which rights groups say is equivalent to torture.
Her parents, Pascal and Mireille, told AFP in a statement that they felt “immense relief” that the pair were now in a “little corner of France”, even if “all we know for now is that they are out of prison”.
France had filed a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over their detention, saying they were held under a policy that “targets French nationals travelling in or visiting Iran”.
But in September, the ICJ suddenly dropped the case at France’s request, prompting speculation that closed-door talks were under way between the two countries for their release.
Iran has said the duo could be freed as part of a swap deal with France, which would also see the release of Iranian Mahdieh Esfandiari.
Esfandiari was arrested in France in February on charges of promoting “terrorism” on social media, according to French authorities.
Scheduled to go on trial in Paris from January 13, she was released on bail last month in a move welcomed by Tehran.
Barrot declined to comment when asked by France 2 if there had been a deal with Tehran.
Among the Europeans still jailed by Iran is Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who was sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges his family vehemently rejects.
The Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are collecting bodies after the deadly takeover of North Darfur capital, US researcher says.
A researcher at Yale University in the United States says the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are digging mass graves in el-Fasher, the city in Sudan’s western Darfur region that has seen mass killings and displacement since the RSF took over last month.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale’s School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the RSF “have begun to dig mass graves and to collect bodies throughout the city”.
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“They are cleaning up the massacre,” Raymond said.
The RSF seized control of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on October 26, after the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which has been fighting the paramilitary group for control of Sudan since April 2023.
More than 70,000 people have fled the city and surrounding areas since the RSF’s takeover, according to the United Nations, while witnesses and human rights groups have reported cases of “summary executions”, sexual violence and massacres of civilians.
A report from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab on October 28 also found evidence of “mass killings” since the RSF took control of el-Fasher, including apparent pools of blood that were visible in satellite imagery.
UN officials also warned this week that thousands of people are believed to be trapped in el-Fasher.
“The current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance to those trapped in the city without food, water and medical care,” Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, a senior UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official in Sudan, said.
Sudanese journalist Abdallah Hussain explained that, before the RSF’s full takeover, el-Fasher was already reeling from an 18-month siege imposed by the paramilitary group.
“No aid was allowed to access the city, and no healthcare facilities [were] operating,” Hussain told Al Jazeera from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday. “Now it’s getting even worse for the citizens who remain trapped.”
Amid global condemnation, the RSF and its supporters have tried to downplay the atrocities committed in el-Fasher, accusing allied armed groups of being responsible.
The RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, has also promised an investigation.
But Raymond at the Humanitarian Research Lab said: “if they want to actually have an investigation, then they need to withdraw from the city [and] let UN personnel and the Red Cross and humanitarians enter … and go house-to-house looking to see who’s still alive”.
“At this point, we can’t let the RSF investigate themselves,” he said.
Raymond added that, based on UN figures and what can be seen on the ground in el-Fasher, “more people could have died [in 10 days]… than have died in the past two years of the war in Gaza”.
“That’s what we’re talking about. That’s not hyperbole,” he told Al Jazeera, stressing that thousands of people need emergency assistance.
More than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Aid agencies are in “a race against time” to get food and other humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip, a United Nations official has warned, as Israeli restrictions continue to impede deliveries across the bombarded enclave.
Speaking during a news briefing on Tuesday, a senior spokesperson for the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) noted that aid deliveries have increased since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last month.
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But only two crossings into Gaza are open, which “severely limits the quantity of aid” that the WFP and other agencies can bring in, said Abeer Etefa.
“We need full access. We need everything to be moving fast. We are in a race against time. The winter months are coming. People are still suffering from hunger, and the needs are overwhelming,” she said.
WFP, which currently operates 44 food distribution points across Gaza, said it has provided food parcels to more than one million Palestinians in the territory since the ceasefire began on October 10.
But Etefa told reporters that the amount of food getting into Gaza remains insufficient, and reaching northern Gaza, where the world’s top hunger monitor confirmed famine conditions in August, remains a challenge.
“A major obstacle is the continued closure of the northern crossings into the Gaza Strip. Aid convoys are obliged to follow a slow, difficult route from the south,” she said.
“To deliver at scale, WFP needs all crossings to be open, especially those in the north. Full access to key roads across Gaza is also critical to allow food to be transported quickly and efficiently to where it is needed.”
Thousands of Palestinians have returned to their homes in Gaza’s north in recent weeks as the Israeli army withdrew to the so-called “yellow line” as part of the ceasefire agreement.
But most found their homes and neighbourhoods completely destroyed as a result of Israel’s two-year bombardment. Many families remain displaced and have been forced to live in tents and other makeshift shelters.
Khalid al-Dahdouh, a Palestinian father of five, returned to Gaza City to find his house in ruins. He has since built his family a small shelter, using bricks salvaged from the rubble and held together with mud.
“We tried to rebuild because winter is coming,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We don’t have tents or anything else, so we built a primitive structure out of mud since there is no cement … It protects us from the cold, insects and rain – unlike the tents.”
The UN and other aid agencies have been urging Israel to allow more supplies into the Strip, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement, particularly as Palestinians are set to face harsh conditions during the colder winter months.
On Saturday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that 3,203 commercial and aid trucks brought supplies into Gaza between October 10 and 31, an average of 145 aid trucks per day, or just 24 percent of the 600 trucks that are meant to be entering daily as part of the deal.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has continued to carry out attacks on Gaza, as well as demolishing homes and other structures.
One person was killed and another wounded on Tuesday after an Israeli quadcopter opened fire in the Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City. A source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital also told Al Jazeera that a person was killed by Israeli army fire in northern Gaza’s Jabalia.
At least 240 Palestinians have been killed and 607 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire came into effect, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Israeli leaders have rejected criticism of those attacks and of continued restrictions on humanitarian aid, accusing Hamas of breaching the deal by not releasing all the bodies of deceased Israeli captives from the territory.
On Tuesday, Israel said it received the remains of an Israeli captive after Hamas handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Tens of thousands of people in Sudan have fled el-Fasher and the advance of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the Darfur region. Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reports from a camp for displaced civilians in the neighbouring Northern State where people are in desperate need of assistance.
Gaza Government Media Office says just 24 percent of agreed aid allowed into Gaza since ceasefire deal came into force.
Authorities in Gaza say that Israel has only allowed a fraction of the humanitarian aid deliveries agreed on as part of the United States-brokered ceasefire into the enclave since the agreement came into effect last month.
In a statement on Saturday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that 3,203 commercial and aid trucks brought supplies into Gaza between October 10 and 31.
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This is an average of 145 aid trucks per day, or just 24 percent of the 600 trucks that are meant to be entering Gaza daily as part of the deal, it added.
“We strongly condemn the Israeli occupation’s obstruction of aid and commercial trucks and hold it fully responsible for the worsening and deteriorating humanitarian situation faced by more than 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip,” the office said in a statement.
It also called on US President Donald Trump and other ceasefire deal mediators to put pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza “without restrictions and conditions”.
While aid deliveries have increased since the truce came into force, Palestinians across Gaza continue to face shortages of food, water, medicine and other critical supplies as a result of Israeli restrictions.
Many families also lack adequate shelter as their homes and neighbourhoods have been completely destroyed in Israel’s two-year military bombardment.
A spokesperson for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the UN’s humanitarian office reported that aid collection has been “limited” due to the “rerouting ordered by the Israeli authorities”.
“You will recall that convoys are now forced to go through the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt, and then up the narrow coastal road. This road is narrow, damaged and heavily congested,” Farhan Haq told reporters.
“Additional crossings and internal routes are needed to expand collections and response.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has continued to carry out attacks across Gaza in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
On Saturday, Israeli fighter jets, artillery and tanks shelled areas around Khan Younis, in the south of the territory. The army also demolished residential buildings east of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported that witnesses in Khan Younis described “constant heavy shelling and drone fire hitting what’s left of residential homes and farmland” beyond the so-called yellow line, where Israeli forces are deployed.
“We have also been told by Gaza’s Civil Defence agency that it’s struggling to reach some sites close to the yellow line because of the continuation of air strikes and Israeli drones hovering overhead,” Abu Azzoum said.
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 222 Palestinians and wounded 594 others since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
Israeli leaders have defended the continued military strikes and accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by not returning all the bodies of deceased Israeli captives from the enclave.
But the Palestinian group says that retrieval efforts have been complicated by widespread destruction in Gaza, as well as by Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and bulldozers to help with the search.
Late on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had transferred the bodies of three people to Israel after they were handed over by Hamas.
But Israel assessed that the remains did not belong to any of the remaining 11 deceased Israeli captives, according to Israeli media reports.
UNRWA says October ‘on track to be the most violent month’ since it began tracking settler violence in 2013.
Published On 1 Nov 20251 Nov 2025
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Israeli settlers have carried out more attacks against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, as the United Nations warned that this year’s olive harvest is on track to be the most violent in more than a decade.
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported several incidents of settler violence on Saturday, including in fields close to the towns of Beita and Huwara, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and in Sinjil, a town near Ramallah.
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Three Palestinian farmers also were wounded in al-Maniya, southeast of Bethlehem, after Israeli settlers opened fire on them as they were harvesting their olives.
Palestinians in the West Bank have experienced a surge in settler and military attacks since Israel launched its Gaza war in 2023. But this year’s olive harvest season, which began last month, has brought an even greater increase in violent incidents.
The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Saturday that October “is on track to be the most violent month since UNRWA began tracking settler violence in 2013”.
“The annual olive harvest is the primary livelihood for tens of thousands of Palestinians, with olive trees deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage and identity,” Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank, said in a statement shared on social media.
“Attacks on the olive harvest threaten the very way of life for many Palestinians and further deepen the coercive environment in the occupied West Bank,” Friedrich said. “Families should be allowed unhindered access to their lands to harvest their olives in safe conditions.”
According to the latest UN figures, released on Thursday, at least 126 Israeli settler attacks have been recorded in 70 Palestinian towns and villages so far this olive harvest season.
More than 4,000 olive trees and saplings also have been vandalised, the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) found.
Meanwhile, OCHA said that the expansion of illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the West Bank has “further undermined Palestinian farmers’ ability to reach their lands” to harvest their olive trees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been rapidly expanding settlement activity in the shadow of the Gaza war, drawing condemnation and warnings from the UN and international human rights groups.
Far-right Israeli politicians, including members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, have also been pushing for Israel to formally annex the West Bank.
In July, the UN human rights office warned that escalating settler violence in the West Bank is being carried out “with the acquiescence, support, and in some cases participation, of Israeli security forces”.
Settler and military attacks “are part of a broader and coordinated strategy of the State of Israel to expand and consolidate annexation of the occupied West Bank, while reinforcing its system of discrimination, oppression and control over Palestinians there”, it said.
A Tunisian court has sentenced Ahmed Souab, a lawyer and fierce critic of President Kais Saied, to five years in prison, his lawyer said, in a case that rights groups say marks a deepening crackdown on dissent in the North African country.
Defence lawyer Yosr Hamid said on Friday that her client had received an additional three-year sentence of “administrative supervision” after he was arrested in April following criticism of the legal process in a trial of prominent figures, including opposition leaders.
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Souab’s trial on “anti-terror” charges lasted just seven minutes, according to Hamid, who voiced fears it sets a troubling legal precedent.
Hundreds of opposition figures, lawyers, journalists, trade unionists and humanitarian workers in Tunisia are being prosecuted for “conspiracy” or in connection with a “fake news” decree by authorities.
That legislation, Decree Law 54, has been criticised by rights activists, who are concerned over its broad interpretation by some courts.
Souab, 68, was not allowed to appear in court on Friday, declining to testify via videolink, according to Hamid. His legal team refused to enter a plea under the conditions.
Souab faces around a dozen charges related to the presidential decree on false information.
“The hearing lasted only seven minutes” before the judge retired to deliberate, Hamid told the AFP news agency on Friday.
He said there was a “lack of fundamental grounds for a fair trial” and that the decision to sentence after a one-day trial set “a precedent”.
Mongi Souab, the defendant’s brother, said authorities “prevented family members from entering” the court, criticising the brevity of the trial.
‘A dangerous escalation’
Souab was arrested in April after criticising the trial process for about 40 prominent figures, including opposition leaders, in a case related to “conspiracy against state security”.
Among those targeted in that case are figures from what was once the biggest party, Ennahdha, such as the leader and former Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi, former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, former Minister of Justice Noureddine Bhiri, and Said Ferjani, a member of the party’s political executive.
Souab was one of the principal defence lawyers.
After a trial involving just three hearings, without closing arguments or defence pleas, Souab accused authorities of putting “a knife to the throat of the judge who was to deliver the verdict”.
An anti-terrorism court interpreted the comment as a threat to the judges, and he was detained over it, but Souab’s lawyers said it was a reference to the huge political pressure on judges.
Heavy prison sentences of up to 74 years were handed down to those accused in the “conspiracy” mega-trial. The appeal related to that trial is scheduled to take place on November 17.
Silencing dissenting voices
Several dozen people demonstrated outside the court on Friday, brandishing photos of Souab and chanting that the country was “under repression and tyranny”.
Several Tunisian and foreign NGOs have decried a rollback of rights and freedoms since Saied seized full powers in 2021 in what critics have called a coup.
Separately on Friday, Tunisian authorities ordered the suspension of the Nawaat journalists’ group, which runs one of the country’s leading independent investigative media outlets, as part of a widening crackdown.
The one-month suspension follows similar actions against prominent civil society groups such as the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights and the Association of Democratic Women, both known for defending civil liberties.
Authorities cited financial audits linked to foreign funding as justification, but rights advocates said the real aim was to silence dissenting voices.
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists condemned the suspension as “a dangerous escalation in efforts to muzzle independent journalism under an administrative guise”.
Founded in 2004, Nawaat carried out investigations on corruption and human rights abuses before and after the revolution. In a statement, it said it would not be “intimidated by the current political climate or campaigns of defamation”.
Ben Rhodes, a former United States deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, famously called Washington’s foreign policy establishment “the Blob” to describe its entrenched ecosystem of think tanks, former officials, journalists and funders that perpetuate a narrow vision of power, global order and legitimate actors. This apparatus not only sustains conservative inertia but also defines the limits of what is considered possible in policy. In Sudan’s two-and-a-half-year conflict, these self-imposed boundaries are proving fatal.
A particularly insidious practice within the Blob is the invocation of moral and rhetorical equivalence, portraying the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) as comparable adversaries. This ostensibly balanced US stance, evident in establishment analyses and diplomatic statements, represents not an impartial default but a deliberate political construct. By equating a criminalised, externally backed militia with a national army tasked with state duties, it sanitises RSF atrocities, recasting them as mere wartime exigencies rather than orchestrated campaigns of ethnic cleansing, urban sieges and terror.
Reports from Human Rights Watch on ethnic cleansing in West Darfur, civilian killings, rape and unlawful detentions in Gezira and Khartoum and United Nations fact-finding missions confirm the RSF’s deliberate targeting of civilians. Furthermore, a report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) monitor from late 2024 attributed roughly 77 percent of violent incidents against civilians to the RSF, underscoring this asymmetry, yet the Blob’s discourse frequently obscures it.
This notion has dominated US and international discourse on Sudan’s war since its outbreak when the then-US ambassador to Khartoum, John Godfrey, tweeted in the first month of the war a condemnation of RSF sexual violence but vaguely attributed it to unspecified “armed actors”. By refraining from explicitly identifying the perpetrators despite extensive documentation of the RSF’s responsibility for systematic rapes, gang rapes and sexual slavery, his wording essentially dispersed accountability across the warring parties and contributed to a climate of institutional impunity. RSF militiamen carry out their atrocities with confidence, knowing that responsibility will be blurred and its burden scattered across the parties.
What drives this equivalence? The Blob’s institutions often prioritise access over veracity. Framing the conflict symmetrically safeguards diplomatic ties with regional allies, particularly the RSF’s patrons in the United Arab Emirates while projecting an aura of neutrality. However, neutrality amid asymmetric criminality is not objectivity; it is tacit complicity. Elevating an internationally enabled militia to parity with a sovereign military confers undue legitimacy on the RSF, whose methods – including the besieging and starving of cities such as el-Fasher, the systematic use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, the deployment of drones against mosques and markets, and acts of genocide – are demonstrably systematic, as corroborated by investigative journalism and human rights documentation. To subsume these under “actions by both parties” distorts empirical reality and erodes mechanisms for accountability.
Compounding this is the Blob’s uncritical assimilation of RSF propaganda into its interpretive frameworks. The RSF has strategically positioned itself as a vanguard against “Islamists”, a veneer that conceals its historical criminal nature, patronage networks, illicit resource extraction and foreign sponsorship.
In a similar vein, the RSF has publicly expressed sympathy and strong support for Israel, even offering to resettle displaced Palestinians from Gaza in a bid to align with US interests. This discourse serves as an overture to the Blob, leveraging shared geopolitical priorities to portray the RSF as a pragmatic partner in regional stability.
Certain establishment pundits and diplomats have echoed this narrative, casting the RSF as a viable bulwark against an “Islamist resurgence”, thereby endowing a force implicated in war crimes with strategic and ethical credibility. When the Blob internalises this “anti-Islamist” trope as analytical shorthand, it legitimises an insurgent militia’s rationalisations as geopolitical truths, marginalising the reality of the war and the Sudanese who repudiate militarised binaries and sectarian lenses.
Contrast this with the recurrent accusations of external backing for the SAF from an ideologically disparate coalition, including Egypt, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Iran. These claims, often amplified in mainstream media narratives and aligning with RSF discourse, expose profound inconsistencies: Egypt’s secular anti-Islamist state, Turkiye’s Islamist-leaning government, Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Wahhabi monarchy and Iran’s Shia theocracy embody clashing regional rivalries, evident in proxy wars from Yemen to Libya, rendering their purported unified support for the SAF implausible unless opportunistic pragmatism overrides ideology.
Moreover, the evidentiary threshold falls short of the robust, independent documentation implicating the UAE in RSF operations, relying instead on partisan assertions and circumstantial reports that appear designed to muddy asymmetries. Critically, any verified SAF assistance typically involves conventional arms transactions with Sudan’s internationally recognised government in Port Sudan, a sovereign authority, as opposed to the unchecked provisioning extended to the RSF, a nonstate actor formally designated by the US as genocidal. This fundamental distinction highlights the Blob’s contrived equivalence, conflating legitimate state-to-state engagements with the illicit empowerment of atrocity perpetrators.
Even more corrosive is the Blob’s propensity to credential “pseudo-civilian” entities aligned with the RSF and its external sponsors, particularly those bolstered by UAE influence, such as Somoud, led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who also chairs the Emirati business-promotion organisation, the Centre for Africa’s Development and Investment (CADI). These networks are often presented in Blob forums as “civilian stakeholders” or “pragmatic moderates”, sidelining authentic grassroots entities inside Sudan.
This curation of externally amenable proxies transforms mediation into theatre, channelling international validation towards RSF-aligned gains and ignoring Sudanese agency rather than supporting any real civic architects of Sudan’s democratic aspirations. Documented UAE-RSF logistical and political linkages alongside Gulf-orchestrated narrative amplification should serve as a warning against endorsing such fabricated authority.
These lapses are not merely intellectual; they yield tangible harms. Legitimising the RSF through equivalence or narrative cooption dilutes legal and political tools for redress, confining policy options to performative ceasefires and superficial stability blueprints that preserve war economies and armament flows. It defers genuine deterrence, such as targeted interdictions, robust arms embargoes and the exposure of enablers until atrocities become irreversible.
The repercussions do not end there. They deepen, fuelling the militia’s authoritarian ambitions in alliance with its civilian partners. Drawing on this contrived equivalence, they have recently declared Ta’asis, parallel governing structures in western Sudan, claiming a layer of legitimacy while, at least rhetorically, brandishing the threat of partition despite the clear international consensus against recognising such authority.
To counter the Blob’s pathologies, a paradigm shift is imperative. Analysts and policymakers must abjure false symmetry, distinguishing symmetric warfare from asymmetric atrocity campaigns. Where evidence is found of systematic rights abuses, international rhetoric and actions should reflect this imbalance through targeted sanctions and disruptions while avoiding generic “both-sides” statements.
They must also repudiate RSF narratives. The “anti-Islamist” rhetoric is partisan sloganeering, not objective analysis. US engagement should centre on civilian protection, privileging authentic civil society testimonies over manufactured proxies. The question of who governs Sudan is, first and foremost, the prerogative of the Sudanese people themselves, who in April 2019 demonstrated their sovereign agency by toppling Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist regime without soliciting or relying on external assistance.
Equally important is to withhold recognition from contrived civilians. Mediation roles should hinge on verifiable grassroots mandates. Entities tethered to foreign patrons or militias merit no elevation as Sudan’s representatives.
Finally, policymakers must dismantle enablers. Rhetorical and legal measures must be matched by enforcement through transparent embargo oversight, flight interdictions and sanctions on supply chains. Justice without implementation offers only solace to victims.
Should the Blob prove intransigent, alternative forces must intervene. Sudanese civic coalitions, diaspora advocates, independent media and ethical policy networks can amass evidence and exert pressure to compel a recalibration of global approaches. A diplomacy that cloaks complicity in neutrality perpetuates atrocity machinery. Only one anchored in Sudanese agency, empirical truth and unyielding accountability can forge a viable peace.
Sudanese seek no sympathy, only a recalibration among the influential: Cease equating aggressors with guardians, amplifying perpetrator propaganda and supplanting vibrant civic realities with orchestrated facades. Until Washington’s elite perceives Sudanese not as geopolitical subjects but as rights-bearing citizens demanding justice, its epistemic maze will continue to license carnage over conciliation.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
Candidate Kat Abughazaleh decried the charges as ‘political prosecution’ amid a Trump standoff with Democratic cities.
A Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives has been indicted by the Department of Justice in connection with a protest in front of a federal immigration facility in Illinois.
On Wednesday, in a post on social media, Kat Abughazaleh, 26, announced that she had been charged alongside five other protesters.
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“This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights,” Abughazaleh, a progressive influencer and journalist, said in the post. “I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.”
Currently, Abughazelah is running for an open seat representing Illinois’s ninth congressional district, to the north of Chicago. She is slated to appear on the Democratic primary ballot in March.
Federal prosecutors, however, have accused her and her co-defendants of having “physically hindered and impeded” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at a detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
The indictment said they surrounded a government vehicle, “banged aggressively”, stopped the agent from driving forward, and etched “PIG” on the body of the vehicle. It further alleged that the group broke the vehicle’s side mirrors and a windshield wiper.
Abughazaleh was charged with “conspiracy to impede or injure an officer” and “assaulting, resisting or impeding” a federal agent for the September 23 incident.
I have been charged in a federal indictment sought by the Department of Justice.This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.
Those charged alongside Abughazelah include Michael Rabbitt, a Democratic politician in Chicago’s 45th Ward, and Catherine Sharp, a Democrat running for a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
The charges come as the administration of President Donald Trump surges federal agents to Democrat-run cities as part of a large-scale deportation drive.
Several Democratic lawmakers have been charged after participating in counterprotests, including Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and US Representative LaMonica McIver. Baraka has since seen the charges against him dropped.
Trump has also sought to deploy the National Guard to several cities, including Chicago, but has been repeatedly blocked by the courts. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the Chicago case, which could have wide-ranging implications for the future of such deployments.
A federal appeals court was also set to hear a Trump administration challenge on Wednesday to a lower court’s ruling barring the National Guard deployment to Portland, Oregon.
As part of those cases, the Trump administration has faced scrutiny over its treatment of immigrants and protesters alike.
The administration has also been criticised for comparing protesters to “terrorists” and pursuing disproportionate charges in court.
Even Abughazelah’s opponent in the 2026 Democratic primary, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, was among those condemning Wednesday’s indictment.
“The only people engaged in violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview have been ICE,” Biss said in a statement carried by the local news site Evanston Now.
Biss noted he had also protested the “kidnapping of our neighbours” at the facility multiple times.
“Now, the Trump Administration is targeting protestors, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission,” Biss said. “It won’t work.”
Palestinians in Gaza have experienced the deadliest 24 hours since the start of the United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect almost three weeks ago.
Israel killed more than 100 people, including 46 children, in attacks late on Tuesday and on Wednesday. Medical sources told Al Jazeera the strikes hit all over Gaza.
The Israeli military said by noon on Wednesday that it was returning to the ceasefire in line with instructions from the political leadership but remained ready to attack again if necessary.
It said it hit more than 30 targets in the besieged enclave, claiming that the targets were “terrorists in command positions within terror organisations”.
But as more residential buildings were flattened by the Israeli bombs, at least 18 members of the same family in central Gaza, including children, parents and grandparents, were among the victims.
Civil Defence teams and Palestinians search for people in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood after Israeli strikes on October 29, 2025 [Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Civil Defence teams once again had to use small tools and their hands to dig in the rubble of bombed areas to search for survivors and the dead. Several tents belonging to displaced Palestinian families were also targeted.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 68,643 people have been killed and 170,655 wounded since the start of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023.
What was Israel’s justification?
On Tuesday, Israel announced that the body of a captive transferred from Gaza by Hamas through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not match one of the 13 to be handed over as part of the ceasefire.
Israeli forensic analysts determined that the remains belonged to Ofir Tzarfati, who was taken to Gaza during the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and whose partial remains were recovered in November of the same year.
Israeli officials reacted furiously, especially far-right ministers in the coalition government who are against stopping the war on Gaza and want Hamas “destroyed”. An organisation run by the families of the captives also expressed outrage and demanded action.
A short time later, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said it would hand over the remains of an Israeli captive at 8pm (18:00 GMT), but it held off after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful strikes” on Gaza.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were also heard in the southern city of Rafah. Israel alleged this was an attack by Hamas fighters, something Hamas rejected.
Israel also accused the Palestinian group of “staging” the recovery of a captive’s remains after showing footage purportedly of Hamas fighters burying a body before calling in the ICRC.
The ICRC said its personnel “were not aware that a deceased person had been placed there prior to their arrival”.
Palestinian fighters with Hamas search a site for the remains of an Israeli captive in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 28, 2025 [Haseeb Alwazeer/Reuters]
What’s in the ceasefire?
As part of the agreement, which entered into force on October 10, Hamas handed over all remaining 20 living captives held in Gaza within several days.
The group has also handed over the remains of 15 deceased Israeli captives as part of the deal with 13 others remaining unrecovered or undelivered.
Israel has allowed some humanitarian aid into Gaza, but supplies have been well below the 600 trucks a day specified in the ceasefire, a level that is required to help the famine-stricken population.
Israel has also prevented tents and mobile homes from entering the enclave but has let some heavy machinery enter to search for the remains of its captives.
After all the remains are handed over, a second phase of the ceasefire could potentially enter into force, allowing the deployment of an international stabilisation force and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Israeli officials have repeatedly stressed that they will not allow the formation of a sovereign Palestinian state and have been advancing with a plan to illegally annex the occupied West Bank despite international criticism.
What is Hamas saying?
Hamas has accused Israel of fabricating “false pretexts” to renew aggression in Gaza.
Before the attacks over the past day, Hamas said Israel had carried out at least 125 violations.
Since October 10, the Health Ministry in Gaza said, at least 211 Palestinians have been killed and 597 wounded in Israeli attacks while 482 bodies have been recovered.
(Al Jazeera)
Hamas has also accused Israel of obstructing efforts to recover the bodies of the captives while using the same bodies as an excuse to claim noncompliance.
It pointed out that Israel has prevented enough heavy machinery from entering Gaza to recover the remains and has prevented search teams from accessing key areas.
The Qassam Brigades said its fighters have recovered the bodies of two more deceased captives, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, during search operations conducted on Tuesday.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have said they are prepared to hand over administration of Gaza to a technocratic Palestinian body while maintaining that armed resistance is a result of decades-long occupation and apartheid by Israel.
What does this mean for Gaza’s civilians?
Since the start of the war, civilians have been the main casualties of Israel’s war on Gaza.
They have been disproportionately targeted, as they were in the latest overnight attacks, and have also seen Gaza’s infrastructure and means of living destroyed by bombs and invading Israeli forces.
Because nowhere in Gaza is fully safe, Palestinians underwent another day of panic that the Israeli attacks could be extended.
Israeli warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft continued to hover over the enclave.
What happens now?
The US has repeatedly expressed support for Israel despite its ceasefire violations, emphasising Israel’s right to defend itself.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire “is not in jeopardy” despite the strikes.
Mediator Qatar has previously condemned violations of the agreement and accused Israel of undermining its implementation. But along with Egypt, it has worked to ensure the deal stays alive.
Voters in Tanzania are heading to polling booths on Wednesday to vote for a new president, as well as members of parliament and councillors, in elections which are expected to continue the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) – or Party of Revolution’s – 64-year-long grip on power.
Despite a bevy of candidates in the lineup, incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan, analysts say, is virtually unchallenged and will almost certainly win, following what rights groups say has been a heavy crackdown on popular opposition members, activists and journalists.
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Key challengers Tundu Lissu of the largest opposition party, Chadema, and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, have been barred from standing, thus eliminating any real threat to Hassan. Other presidential candidates on the ballot lack political backing and are unlikely to make much impact on voters, analysts say.
The East African nation is replete with rolling savannas and wildlife, making it a hotspot for safari tourism. It is also home to Africa’s tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as a host of important landmarks, like the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Precious minerals, such as the unique tanzanite – a blue gemstone – and gold, as well as agricultural exports, contribute significantly to foreign earnings.
Central Dodoma is the country’s capital, while the economic hub is coastal Dar-es-Salaam. Swahili is the lingua franca, while different local groups speak several other languages.
Here’s what to expect at the polls:
Supporters of Othman Masoud, Tanzanian opposition party ACT Wazalendo’s presidential candidate, attend his final campaign rally ahead of the upcoming general election, at the Kibanda Maiti ground in autonomous Zanzibar, Unguja, Tanzania, on October 26, 2025 [Reuters]
What are people voting for and how will the elections be decided?
Voters are choosing a president, parliament members and local councillors for the 29 regions in mainland Tanzania. A president and parliament members will also be elected in the autonomous island of Zanzibar.
Winners are elected by plurality or simple majority vote – the candidate with the most votes wins.
Authorities declared that Wednesday would be a public holiday to allow people to vote, while early voting began in Zanzibar on Tuesday.
How many people are voting?
More than 37 million of the 60 million population are registered to vote. To vote, you must be a citizen aged 18 or over.
Voter turnout in the last general elections in 2020 was just 50.72 percent, however, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party (CCM) addresses supporters during her campaign rally ahead of the forthcoming general elections at the Kawe grounds in Kinondoni District of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on August 28, 2025 [Emmanuel Herman/Reuters]
Who is President Samia Suluhu Hassan and why is she regarded as a shoe-in?
Formerly the country’s vice president, Hassan, 65, automatically ascended to the position of president following the death of former President John Magufuli in March 2021, to serve out the remainder of his term.
Hassan is presently one of only two African female leaders, the other being Namibia’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. She is the sixth president and the first female leader of her country. She was previously minister of trade for Zanzibar, where she is from.
This will be Hassan’s first attempt at the ballot, and the election was supposed to be a test of how Tanzanians view her leadership so far. However, analysts say the fact that her two strongest challengers have been barred from the polls means the president is running with virtually no competition.
After taking office in 2021, Hassan immediately began reversing controversial policies implemented by Magafuli, an isolationist leader who denied that COVID-19 existed and refused to issue policies regarding quarantines or vaccines.
Under Hassan, Tanzania joined the international COVAX facility, directed by institutions like the World Health Organization, to help distribute vaccines to developing countries, especially in Africa.
Hassan also struck a reconciliatory tone with opposition leaders by lifting a six-year ban on political rallies imposed by Magufuli.
She focused on completing large-scale Magafuli-era development projects and launched new ones, especially around railway infrastructure and rural electrification. The president’s supporters, therefore, praise her record in infrastructure development, improving access to education and improving overall stability of governance in the country.
However, while many hoped Tanzania would become more democratic under her leadership, Hassan’s style of governance has become increasingly authoritarian, analysts say, and now more closely resembles that of her predecessor.
In a report ahead of the elections, Amnesty International found that Hassan’s government has intensified “repressive practices” and has targeted opposition leaders, civil society activists and groups, journalists and other dissenting voices with forced disappearances, arrests, harassment and even torture.
Tanzania’s government has consistently denied all accusations of human rights violations.
Hassan’s campaign rallies have been highly visible across the country – but hers has been nearly the only major national campaign, with smaller parties sticking to their particular regions.
Some opposition parties are now calling for a boycott of the elections altogether. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Chadema party member John Kitoka, who is currently in hiding to avoid arrest, said the elections are “completely a sham”.
How are opposition parties being dealt with?
Last week, Hassan urged Tanzanians to ignore calls to boycott the vote and warned against protests.
“The only demonstrations that will exist are those of people going to the polling stations to vote. There will be no other demonstrations. There will be no security threat,” she said.
Tanzania’s police have also warned against creating or distributing “inciting” content on social media, threatening that those caught will face prosecution. The country routinely restricts access to social media on specific occasions, such as during protests. Only select traditional media have been approved to provide coverage of the elections.
In the autonomous Zanzibar, which will also elect a president and parliament members, there is more of an atmosphere of competitive elections, observers say. Incumbent leader Hussein Mwinyi of the ruling CCM is facing off against the ACT-Wazalendo candidate Othman Masoud, who has been serving as his vice president in a coalition government.
FTanzanian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party stands in the dock as he appears at the High Court in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on September 8, 2025 [Emmanuel Herman/Reuters]
Why have key opposition candidates been barred from standing?
Tundu Lissu, 57, is the charismatic and widely popular opposition Chadema candidate who lived in exile in Belgium for several years during the Magufuli era. His party, which calls for free elections, reduction of presidential powers, and promotion of human rights, has been barred from the vote for failing to meet a submission deadline, and Lissu is currently in custody for alleged “treasonous” remarks he made ahead of the elections.
The move followed Lissu’s comments during a Chadema rally in the southern town of Mbinga on April 3, during which he urged his supporters to boycott the elections if Hassan’s government did not institute electoral reforms before the vote. Lissu was calling on the government to change the makeup of the Independent National Election Commission, arguing that the agency should not include people appointed directly by Hassan.
Government officials claimed his statements were “inciting” and arrested Lissu on April 9.
Three days later, the electoral commission disqualified Chadema from this election – and all others until 2030 – on the grounds that the party had failed to sign a mandatory Electoral Code of Conduct due on April 12.
Local media reported that two Chadema party members attending a rally in support of Lissu on April 24 were also arrested by the Tanzanian police.
Last week, Chadema deputy chairperson John Heche, deputy chairperson of Chadema, was detained while attempting to attend Lissu’s trial at the Dar-es-Salaam High Court. He has not been seen since.
Lissu has been detained often. He survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after he was shot 16 times.
In August, the elections commission also barred opposition candidate Luhaga Mpina, 50, of the ACT-Wazalendo, the second-largest opposition party. Mpina, a parliament member who broke away from the ruling CCM in August to join ACT-Wazalendo – also known as the Alliance for Change and Transparency – was barred for allegedly failing to follow the rules for nominations during the presidential primaries.
Hassan will compete with 16 other candidates – none of whom are from major national parties or have an established political presence.
Tanzanian police officers detain a supporter of the opposition leader and former presidential candidate of the Chadema party, Tundu Lissu, outside the High Court in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on September 15, 2025 [Emmanuel Herman/Reuters]
What are the key issues for this election?
Shrinking democratic freedoms
Observers say Tanzania’s democracy, already fragile during the presidency of Magafuli, is at risk as a result of the Hassan government’s tightening of political freedoms and crackdowns on the media.
Amnesty International notes that electoral rights violations were apparent in 2020 under Magufuli, but have worsened ahead of this week’s polls.
Human Rights Watch and the United Nations human rights agency (UNHCR) have similarly documented reports of rights violations under Hassan’s government, noting in particular the disappearance of two regional activists, Boniface Mwangi from Kenya and Agather Atuhaire from Uganda, who travelled to witness Lissu’s trial but were detained in Dar-es-Salaam on May 19, 2025.
Mwangi was reportedly tortured and dumped in a coastal Kenyan town, while Atuhaire reported being sexually assaulted before also being abandoned at the border with Uganda.
“More than 200 cases of enforced disappearance have been recorded in Tanzania since 2019,” the UNHCR noted.
Business and economy
Tanzania’s economic growth has been stable with inflation staying below the Central Bank’s 5 percent target in recent years, according to the World Bank.
Unlike its neighbour, Kenya, the lower-middle-income country has avoided debt distress, with GDP boosted by high demand for its gold, tourism and agricultural commodities like cashew nuts, coffee and cotton. However, the World Bank noted that 49 percent of the population lives below the international poverty line.
While growth has attracted foreign investment, government policies have negatively impacted the business landscape: In July, Hassan’s government introduced new restrictions banning foreigners from owning and operating businesses in 15 sectors, including mobile money transfers, tour guiding, small-scale mining and on-farm crop buying.
Officials argued that too many foreigners were engaging in informal businesses that ought to benefit Tanzanians. The move played to recent protests against the rising influx of Chinese products and businesses in Tanzanian markets, analysts say. Foreigners are also banned from owning beauty salons, souvenir shops and radio and TV stations.
The move proved controversial in the regional East African Community bloc, particularly in neighbouring Kenya, whose citizens make up a significant population of business owners in the country, having taken advantage of the free-movement policy within the bloc.
Conservation challenges
While abundant wildlife and natural resources have boosted the economy via tourism, Tanzania faces major challenges in managing human-wildlife conflict.
Clashes between humans, particularly in rural areas, and wild animals are becoming more common due to population growth and climate change, which is pushing animals closer to human settlements in search of food and water.
Human-elephant flare-ups are most common. Between 2012 and 2019, more than 1,000 human-wildlife mortality cases were reported nationwide, according to data from Queen’s University, Canada.
While the government provides financial and material compensation to the families of those affected by human-wildlife conflict incidents, families often complain of receiving funds late.
Meanwhile, there is tension between the government and indigenous groups such as the Maasai, who are resisting being evicted to make more room for conservation space to be used for tourism.
Last year, crackdowns on Maasai protesters and resulting outrage from groups led to the World Bank suspending a $150m conservation grant, and the European Union cancelling Tanzania’s eligibility for a separate $20m grant.
The United States has revoked the visa of Nigerian author and playwright Wole Soyinka, who became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.
Speaking at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka read aloud from a notice sent on October 23 from the local US consulate, asking him to arrive with his passport so that his visa could be nullified.
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The author called it, with characteristic humour, a “rather curious love letter” to receive.
“We request you bring your visa to the US Consulate General Lagos for physical cancellation. To schedule an appointment, please email — et cetera, et cetera — in advance of the appointment,” Soyinka recited, skimming the letter.
Closing his laptop, the author joked with the audience that he did not have time to fulfil its request.
“I like people who have a sense of humour, and this is one of the most humorous sentences or requests I’ve had in all my life,” Soyinka said.
“Would any of you like to volunteer in my place? Take the passport for me? I’m a little bit busy and rushed.”
Soyinka’s visa was issued last year, under US President Joe Biden. But in the intervening time, a new president has taken office: Donald Trump.
Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has overseen a crackdown on immigration, and his administration has removed visas and green cards from individuals whom it sees as out of step with the Republican president’s policies.
At Tuesday’s event, Soyinka struck a bemused tone, though he indicated the visa revocation would prevent him from visiting the US for literary and cultural events.
“I want to assure the consulate, the Americans here, that I am very content with the revocation of my visa,” Soyinka said.
He also quipped about his past experiences writing about the Ugandan military leader Idi Amin. “Maybe it’s about time also to write a play about Donald Trump,” he said.
Playwright, political activist and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka attends the PEN America Literary Gala on October 5, 2021, in New York [Evan Agostini/Invision/AP]
Nobel Prize winners in the crosshairs
Soyinka is a towering figure in African literature, with a career that spans genres, from journalism to poetry to translation.
He is the author of several novels, including Season of Anomy and Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth, as well as numerous short stories.
The 91-year-old author has also championed the fight against censorship. “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth,” he wrote.
He has lectured on the subject in New York City for PEN America, a free speech nonprofit. As recently as 2021, he returned to the US to present scholar and former colleague Henry Louis Gates Jr with the nonprofit’s Literary Service Award.
But Soyinka is not the first Nobel winner to see his US visa stripped away in the wake of Trump’s return to office, despite the US president’s own ambitions of earning the international prize.
Oscar Arias, a former president of Costa Rica and the winner of the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize, also found his visa cancelled in April.
Arias was previously honoured by the Nobel Committee for his efforts to end armed conflicts in Central American countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.
While the letter Arias received from the US government gave no reason for his visa’s cancellation, the former president told NPR’s Morning Edition radio show that officials indicated it was because of his ties to China.
“During my second administration from 2006 to 2010, I established diplomatic relations with China, and that’s because it has the second-largest economy in the world,” Arias explained.
But, Arias added, he could not rule out the possibility that there were other reasons for his visa’s removal.
“I have to imagine that my criticism of President Trump might have played a role,” Arias told NPR. “The president has a personality that is not open to criticism or disagreements.”
Soyinka likewise has a reputation for being outspoken, both about domestic politics in his native Nigeria and international affairs.
He has, for example, denounced Trump on multiple occasions, including for the “brutal, cruel and often unbelievable treatment being meted out to strangers, immigrants”.
In 2017, he confirmed to the magazine The Atlantic that he had destroyed his US green card — his permanent residency permit — to protest Trump’s first election in 2016.
“As long as Trump is in charge, if I absolutely have to visit the United States, I prefer to go in the queue for a regular visa with others,” he told the magazine.
The point was, he explained, to show that he was “no longer part of the society, not even as a resident”.
In Tuesday’s remarks, Soyinka reaffirmed that he no longer had his green card. “Unfortunately, when I was looking at my green card, it fell between the fingers of a pair of scissors, and it got cut into a couple of pieces,” he said, flashing his tongue-in-cheek humour.
He also emphasised he continues to have close friends in the US, and that the local consulate staff has consistently treated him courteously.
His work had long caused him to face persecution in Nigeria — though, famously, during a stint in solitary confinement, he continued to write using toilet paper — and eventually, in the 1990s, he sought refuge in the US.
During his time in North America, he took up teaching posts at prestigious universities like Harvard, Yale and Emory.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and two-time Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has also had his US visa cancelled [Manu Fernandez/AP Photo]
Targeting ‘hostile attitudes’
The Trump administration, however, has pledged to revoke visas from individuals it deems to be a threat to its national security and foreign policy interests.
In June, Trump issued a proclamation calling on his government tighten immigration procedures, in an effort to ensure that visa-holders “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”.
What qualifies as a “hostile attitude” towards US culture is unclear. Human rights advocates have noted that such broad language could be used as a smokescreen to crack down on dissent.
Free speech, after all, is protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution and is considered a foundational principle in the country, protecting individual expression from government shackles.
After Arias was stripped of his visa, the Economists for Peace and Security, a United Nations-accredited nonprofit, was among those to express outrage.
“This action, taken without explanation, raises serious concerns about the treatment of a globally respected elder statesman who has dedicated his life to peace, democracy, and diplomacy,” the nonprofit wrote in its statement.
“Disagreements on foreign policy or political perspective should not lead to punitive measures against individuals who have made significant contributions to international peace and stability.”
International students, commenters on social media, and acting government officials have also faced backlash for expressing their opinions and having unfavourable foreign ties.
Earlier this month, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino voiced concern that members of his government had seen their visas cancelled over their diplomatic ties to China.
And in September, while visiting New York City, Colombian President Gustavo Petro saw his visa yanked within hours of giving a critical speech to the United Nations and participating in a protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The US Department of State subsequently called Petro’s actions “reckless and incendiary”.
Separately, the State Department announced on October 14 that six foreign nationals would see their visas annulled for criticising the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close associate of Trump.
Soyinka questioned Trump’s stated motives for cancelling so many visas at Tuesday’s literary event in Lagos, asking if they really made a difference for US national security.
“Governments have a way of papering things for their own survival,” he said.
“I want people to understand that the revocation of one visa, 10 visas, a thousand visas will not affect the national interests of any astute leader.”
British political commentator and journalist Sami Hamdi has been detained by federal authorities in the United States in what a US Muslim civil rights group has called an “abduction”.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned Hamdi’s detention at San Francisco airport on Sunday as “a blatant affront to free speech”, attributing his arrest to his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza.
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Hamdi, a frequent critic of US and Israeli policy, had addressed a CAIR gala in Sacramento on Saturday evening and was due to speak at another CAIR event in Florida the next day before his detention by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
CAIR said he was stopped at the airport following a coordinated “far-right, Israel First campaign”.
“Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots,” it said in a statement. “This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end.”
In a statement seen by Al Jazeera, friends of Hamdi called his arrest “a deeply troubling precedent for freedom of expression and the safety of British citizens abroad”.
The statement called for the United Kingdom Foreign Office to “demand urgent clarification from the US authorities regarding the grounds for Mr Hamdi’s detention”.
Al Jazeera was told that he remains in US custody and has not been deported.
“The detention of a British citizen for expressing political opinions sets a dangerous precedent that no democracy should tolerate,” the statement added.
Hamdi’s father, Mohamed El-Hachmi Hamdi, said in a post on X that his son “has no affiliation” with any political or religious group.
“His stance on Palestine is not aligned with any faction there, but rather with the people’s right to security, peace, freedom and dignity. He is, quite simply, one of the young dreamers of this generation, yearning for a world with more compassion, justice, and solidarity,” he added.
Earlier this morning, ICE agents abducted British Muslim journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco Airport, apparently in response to his vocal criticism of the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Hamdi’s detention on Sunday, claiming without evidence that he posed a national security threat. “This individual’s visa was revoked, and he is in ICE custody pending removal,” she wrote on X.
Hamdi has been outspoken in accusing US politicians of actively enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and has been widely quoted, challenging Western governments directly over arms transfers and diplomatic cover for Israeli war crimes.
His detention comes amid a wider pattern of US authorities blocking entry to Palestinian and pro-Palestine voices.
In June, two Palestinian men, Awdah Hathaleen and his cousin, Eid Hathaleen, were denied entry at the same airport and deported to Qatar. Weeks later, Awdah was reportedly killed by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank.
Far-right activist and ally of US President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, who has publicly described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “white advocate”, immediately celebrated online for playing a part in Hamdi’s detention.
“You’re lucky his only fate is being arrested and deported,” she wrote, falsely branding him “a supporter of HAMAS and the Muslim Brotherhood”.
Loomer has previously pushed conspiracy theories, including the claim that the September 11 attacks in the US were an inside job.
Loomer and others credited the escalation against Hamdi to the RAIR Foundation, a pro-Israel pressure network whose stated mission is to oppose “Islamic supremacy”. RAIR recently accused Hamdi of trying to “expand a foreign political network hostile to American interests” and urged authorities to expel him from the country.
On Sunday, Shaun Maguire, a partner at the tech investment firm Sequoia and a vocal defender of Israel, alleged without evidence that Hamdi had tried to get him fired through an AI-generated email campaign, claiming: “There are jihadists in America whose full time job is to silence us.”
Hamdi’s supporters and civil rights advocates say the opposite is true, and that this detention is yet another case of political retaliation against critics of Israel, enforced at the border level before a single public word is uttered.
CAIR says it intends to fight the deportation order, warning that the US is sending a chilling message to Muslim and Palestinian speakers across the country.
The tribunal’s message came as it released its genocide verdict following four days of public hearings in Istanbul, Turkiye.
The Gaza Tribunal has issued its final findings, saying that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and that “Israeli perpetrators and their Western enablers” should not be allowed to escape justice for their crimes.
The unofficial tribunal, which was established in London last November, gave its “moral judgement” on Sunday, following four days of public hearings in Istanbul, Turkiye.
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Presided over by Richard Falk, a former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, the initiative comes in the tradition of the Russell Tribunal, which heard evidence in 1967 of United States war crimes in Vietnam.
The year-long Gaza process involved collecting information, hearing witnesses and survivors, and archiving the evidence.
In its ruling, the tribunal’s jury condemned the genocide in Gaza and crimes including the mass destruction of residential properties, the deliberate denial of food to the civilian population, torture, and the targeting of journalists.
Criticism of post-war plans
After saying that Israel’s war on Gaza shows global governance is failing to uphold its duties, the tribunal recommended that all “perpetrators, supporters and enablers” be held accountable and that Israel be suspended from international organisations like the UN.
The jury also found Western governments, “particularly the United States”, complicit with Israel through the provision of “diplomatic cover, weapons, weapon parts, intelligence, military assistance and training, and continuing economic relations”.
As well as calling for justice, the tribunal criticised two post-war plans put forward by US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, suggesting they “ignore the rights of the Palestinian people under international law” while “doing nothing to rein in the perpetrators of genocide”.
“Palestinians must lead the restoration of Gaza, and Israel and its enablers must be held responsible for all reparations,” members of the tribunal said in a statement.
Given that it is not a court of law, the tribunal “does not purport to determine guilt or liability of any person, organisation or state”, but should rather be seen as a civil society response to the war on Gaza, the jury said.
“We believe that genocide must be named and documented and that impunity feeds continuing violence throughout the globe,” the jurors explained. “Genocide in Gaza is the concern of all humanity. When states are silent civil society can and must speak out.”
Israel is facing genocide accusations – brought by South Africa – at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Although it is likely to be years before the ICJ gives its judgement, it found in an interim ruling in January 2024 that it is “plausible” that Israel is violating the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Israel has repeatedly denied accusations that it has committed genocide in Gaza.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery are crippling Gaza City’s efforts to clear debris and rebuild critical infrastructure, the city’s mayor says, as tens of thousands of tonnes of unexploded Israeli bombs threaten lives across the Gaza Strip.
In a Sunday news conference, Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj said Gaza City requires at least 250 heavy vehicles and 1,000 tonnes of cement to maintain water networks and construct wells.
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Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from az-Zawayda in Gaza, said only six trucks had entered the territory.
At least 9,000 Palestinians remain buried under the rubble. But the new equipment is being prioritised for recovering the remains of Israeli captives, rather than assisting Palestinians in locating their loved ones still trapped beneath rubble.
“Palestinians say they know there won’t be any developments in the ceasefire until the bodies of all the Israeli captives are returned,” Khoudary said.
Footage circulating on social media showed Red Cross vehicles arriving after meetings with Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, to guide them to the location of an Israeli captive in southern Rafah.
An Israeli government spokesperson said that to search for captives’ remains, the Red Cross and Egyptian teams have been permitted beyond the ceasefire’s “yellow line”, which allows Israel to retain control over 58 percent of the besieged enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, said Israel spent two weeks insisting that Hamas knew the locations of all the captives’ bodies.
“Two weeks into that, Israel has now allowed Egyptian teams and heavy machinery to enter the Gaza Strip to assist in the mammoth task of removing debris, of trying to get to the tunnels or underneath the homes or structures that the captives were held in and killed in,” she said.
Odeh added that Hamas had been unable to access a tunnel for two weeks due to the damage caused by Israeli bombing. “That change of policy is coming without explanation from Israel,” she said, noting that the Red Cross and Hamas have also been allowed to help locate potential burial sites under the rubble.
Netanyahu: ‘We control Gaza’
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassert political authority at home, saying that Israel controls which foreign forces may operate in Gaza.
“We control our own security, and we have made clear to international forces that Israel will decide which forces are unacceptable to us – and that is how we act and will continue to act,” he said. “This is, of course, accepted by the United States, as its most senior representatives expressed in recent days.”
Odeh explained that Netanyahu’s statements are intended to reassure the far-right base in Israel, which thinks he’s no longer calling the shots.
Those currently overseeing the ceasefire do not appear to be Israeli soldiers or army leadership, she explained, with Washington “requesting that Israel notify it ahead of time of any attack that Israel might be planning to conduct inside Gaza”.
Odeh noted that Israel’s insistence on controlling which foreign actors operate in Gaza – combined with the limited access for reconstruction – underscores a broader strategy to maintain political support at home.
Unexploded bombs a threat
Reconstruction in Gaza faces further obstacles from unexploded ordnance. Nicholas Torbet, Middle East director at HALO Trust in the United Kingdom, said Gaza is “essentially one giant city” where every part has been struck by explosives.
“Some munitions are designed to linger, but what we’re concerned about in Gaza is ordnance that is expected to explode upon impact but hasn’t,” he told Al Jazeera.
Torbet said clearing explosives is slowing the reconstruction process. His teams plan to work directly within communities to safely remove bombs rather than marking off large areas indefinitely. “The best way to dispose of a bomb is to use a small amount of explosives to blow it up,” he explained.
Torbet added that the necessary equipment is relatively simple and can be transported in small vehicles or by hand, and progress is beginning to take place.
The scale of explosives dropped by Israel has left Gaza littered with deadly remnants.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, told Al Jazeera that Israel dropped at least 200,000 tonnes of explosives on the territory, with roughly 70,000 tonnes failing to detonate.
Yahya Shorbasi, who was injured by an unexploded ordnance along with his six-year-old twin sister Nabila, lies on a bed at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, October 25, 2025 [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
Children have been particularly affected, often mistaking bombs for toys. Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili reported the case of seven-year-old Yahya Shorbasi and his sister Nabila, who were playing outside when they found what appeared to be a toy.
“They found a regular children’s toy – just an ordinary one. The girl was holding it. Then the boy took it and started tapping it with a coin. Suddenly, we heard the sound of an explosion. It went off in their hands,” their mother Latifa Shorbasi told Al Jazeera.
Yahya’s right arm had to be amputated, while Nabila remains in intensive care.
Dr Harriet, an emergency doctor at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, described the situation as “a public health catastrophe waiting to unfold”. She said children are being injured by items that look harmless – toys, cans, or debris – but are actually live explosives.
United Nations Mine Action Service head Luke David Irving said 328 people have already been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance since October 2023.
Tens of thousands of tonnes of bombs, including landmines, mortar rounds, and large bombs capable of flattening concrete buildings, remain buried across Gaza. Basal said clearing the explosives could take years and require millions of dollars.
For Palestinians, the situation is a race against time. Al Jazeera’s Khoudary said civilians are pressing for faster progress: “They want reconstruction, they want freedom of movement, and they want to see and feel that the ceasefire is going to make it.”
