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‘You saved my life:’ Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call

‘You saved my life:’ Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call

In an emotional and widely shared moment, President Donald J. Trump spoke directly with Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who was recently freed from Hamas captivity, during a phone call captured on camera and released by the White House. “Mr. President,” Alexander greeted Trump at the start of the call, visibly moved. “You’re the only reason I’m here. You saved my life.” The phone conversation, which took place while Alexander was recovering at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, came just days after his dramatic release from Gaza, where he was held hostage for over 580 days following his abduction by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. HAMAS CAPTIVITY SURVIVORS APPEAL TO NETANYAHU, TRUMP AFTER EDAN ALEXANDER’S RELEASE President Trump greeted Edan with a bit of humor and humility, saying “I’m very nervous talking to you, Edan, because you’re a much bigger celebrity than I am.” Trump also expressed American solidarity and the administration’s commitment to bringing all hostages home while on the call. “You’re an American, and we love you,” Trump told Alexander. “We’re going to take good care of you. And your parents are incredible. I saw your mother. She was pushing me around a little bit—putting a lot of pressure on me.” “Like a good mom!” exclaimed Edan’s mother in the background. AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY The heartfelt exchange was posted online by the official White House account and has quickly gone viral, drawing praise from across the political spectrum for its display of humanity and international unity. Alexander’s release came amid intensified U.S. diplomatic pressure and quiet negotiations, coordinated in part by senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler.  Trump had previously signaled his determination to secure the freedom of American citizens held abroad and made Alexander’s case a top priority. The Alexander family issued a statement thanking President Trump directly, along with the negotiation team and the Israeli Defense Forces, calling the outcome “a miracle rooted in strength, diplomacy, and prayer.” Edan Alexander’s homecoming has reignited calls to bring home the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A coalition of 65 former hostages recently signed a letter urging both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “build on this breakthrough” and intensify efforts for a comprehensive agreement to ensure every hostage’s safe return. Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged the success of this combined effort, stating, “This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey ‘brought shame to the FBI again’ with ’86 47′ post

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey ‘brought shame to the FBI again’ with ’86 47′ post

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, Saturday, accusing Comey of disgracing the agency as authorities investigate Comey’s controversial “86 47” Instagram post. In a statement posted to X, Bongino said Comey’s actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency. “Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.” TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST Comey, dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say “86 47,” a phrase widely understood to mean to “get rid of” the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said Friday on Fox News. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.” Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and that it “never occurred to me.” Bongino strongly rejected that explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote: FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ POST “As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.” He stressed the FBI’s continuing commitment to supporting federal law enforcement partners investigating any threats involving public officials, past or present. “While the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law,” Bongino said.  “And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.” The U.S. Secret Service has already interviewed Comey about the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a separate statement that the bureau is “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran.” Bongino noted that this latest controversy is part of a general legacy of dysfunction inherited from Comey’s leadership, which he and Patel are working to fix from the inside out. “As I’ve stated in the past, I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,” Bongino wrote. “Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership. “And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it’s even worse.” Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on “Sunday Morning Futures,” was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public. “I’m addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey,” he explained. He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI. “God bless America, and all those who defend Her,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year.  His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct. The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.

Hamas says new Gaza truce talks under way as Israel expands ground assault

Hamas says new Gaza truce talks under way as Israel expands ground assault

Israel and Hamas confirm indirect talks being held in Qatar as Israel expands ground offensive, killing dozens. Israel and Hamas have confirmed a new round of Gaza truce talks is under way in Qatar as the Israeli military expanded its ground offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory, despite growing international calls for a ceasefire. Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the Hamas delegation in Doha returned to negotiations “on a hostage deal”. Israel had entered the talks without any conditions, according to Katz. Taher al-Nono, the media adviser for the Hamas leadership, confirmed to the Reuters news agency that a new round of indirect talks had begun without any conditions. “The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the Strip,” he added. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, as Israel launched a new offensive in Gaza. Advertisement Israel’s army said on social media that it was intensifying attacks and exerting “tremendous pressure” on Hamas across Gaza, and wouldn’t stop until the captives are returned and the armed group is dismantled. Katz said that Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with “great force.” The new offensive comes after Israel escalated its air attacks on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians in the past three days. Many of the victims were killed in northern Gaza, including in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, which have received forced displacement orders by the Israeli army in recent days. Israeli tanks and armoured military vehicles gather near the Israel-Gaza separation fence, in Israel, as they prepare to launch a massive attack to further devastate the enclave, May 16, 2025 [Ammar Awad/Reuters] As leaders of the Arab League held a Gaza-focused summit in Iraq’s Baghdad and called for international funding to rebuild Gaza on Saturday, Hamas urged the international community to impose sanctions on Israel. In a statement on its Telegram channel, the armed group described the situation in Gaza as a “full-blown genocide committed before the eyes of a world that stands helpless, while more than two and a half million people are being slaughtered in the besieged Strip”. The group also reported continued fighting with invading Israeli forces, claiming on Saturday that its fighters killed and wounded two Israeli soldiers using machineguns in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave. Advertisement United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was “alarmed” by Israel’s expanded offensive in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said a joint plan by the United States and Israel to replace international aid mechanisms in Gaza was a “waste of time” as more than 160,000 pallets of aid are “ready to move” at the border, but blocked by Israel. Germany voiced alarm over Israel’s expanded assault in Gaza, saying it was a “cause for deep concern.” “A large-scale military offensive also entails the risk that the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza and the situation of the remaining hostages will continue to deteriorate and that the prospect of an urgently needed long-term ceasefire fades,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Adblock test (Why?)

FA Cup Final 2025: Crystal Palace defeat Man City in major upset

FA Cup Final 2025: Crystal Palace defeat Man City in major upset

Crystal Palace win their first major trophy by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley stadium. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze sparked a massive south London party by scoring the only goal to win the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester City and claim the club’s first major trophy in their history. Local man Eze volleyed in after 16 minutes, former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson performed heroics in the Palace goal, and City contrived to waste a sack-load of chances, including a penalty, in an enthralling final on Saturday. After England forward Eze, whose goals in the last eight and semis fired his team into the final for the third time, scored completely against the run of play, Palace had to survive a City siege to spark wild celebrations. Omar Marmoush had a first-half penalty saved by Henderson as City lost in the Cup final for a second successive season, summing up a harrowing campaign in which they have been dethroned as the powerhouse of English football and will go without a domestic trophy for the first time since 2016-17. Crystal Palace’s English midfielder Eberechi Eze, right, watches his shot into the net as he scores the opening goal [Adrian Dennis/AFP] For Palace’s massed ranks decked in purple and blue, it was a day of unbridled joy as Oliver Glasner’s team rode their luck to make it third time lucky after suffering defeats in their previous two FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016. Advertisement Glasner, who took charge of the club 15 months ago, becomes the first Austrian coach to win the FA Cup. City have been a pale imitation of the side that has dominated the English game for most of the past decade. But the way they began at Wembley suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side were determined to prove that talk of their demise had been greatly exaggerated. Having picked an ultra-attacking lineup shorn of defensive midfielders, City hemmed Palace deep inside their own half for the opening 15 minutes with Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings on what was his last Wembley appearance in City’s colours. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saves Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush’s penalty kick [Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images] His lofted ball picked out Erling Haaland, whose stretching effort at the far post was brilliantly saved by Henderson, who also shortly afterwards beat out Josko Gvardiol’s header. Palace finally broke the siege, and in their first foray beyond the centre circle, they ripped through City’s lines. Jean-Philippe Mateta played in Daniel Munoz, and his cross was met by Eze, who flashed a first-time volley past Stefan Ortega to provoke an eruption of noise from the Palace fans. Ismaila Sarr nearly made it 2-0, but Ortega saved, and Palace’s hearts were in their mouths when Henderson appeared to have handled the ball outside his area under pressure from Haaland, but a subsequent VAR check spared him a possible red card. Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Joel Ward lift the trophy as they celebrate with teammates after winning the FA Cup [Andrew Boyers/Reuters] There was no escape for Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell when he tripped Bernardo Silva, and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. Surprisingly, Haaland did not take it and instead Omar Marmoush stepped forward for his first penalty since joining City in January, but his effort lacked conviction and Henderson dived to his right to save. Advertisement Henderson made a flying save to keep out Jeremy Doku’s curling effort as Palace reached half-time ahead despite having only 19 percent of possession. Munoz thought he had made it 2-0 just past the hour mark, but a lengthy VAR check ruled his effort out for offside. Seven-time winners City went close numerous times after the break, with Henderson and his defenders performing heroics to preserve Palace’s lead. A huge groan went up from the Palace fans as 10 minutes of stoppage time, but after more close shaves and nail-biting, the final whistle sounded and the club’s anthem Glad All Over bellowed around the stadium. Adblock test (Why?)

At least three killed as Syrian forces raid ISIL hideouts in Aleppo

At least three killed as Syrian forces raid ISIL hideouts in Aleppo

Syrian authorities say three ISIL fighters killed and several others detained in Aleppo raids. Syrian security forces have killed three ISIL (ISIS) fighters and arrested four others in Aleppo, authorities said, the first time the interim government has announced such an operation against the group in Syria’s second city. The raids, launched by the General Security Department in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, targeted multiple ISIL sleeper cells operating across Aleppo, Syria’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Saturday. One security officer was killed in the operation, it said. Forces stormed the site and seized “explosive devices, an explosive vest and a number of General Security force uniforms”, the statement added. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the operation took place in Aleppo’s Haidariya district and that clashes also broke out in another neighbourhood. Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed power in Damascus in December, has long opposed ISIL. His forces battled the group’s self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war. Advertisement US President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa this week in Saudi Arabia and described him as an “attractive guy with a very strong past”. Following the meeting, Washington announced that it would lift sanctions on Syria – a major policy shift and boost for al-Sharaa’s transitional government. Al-Sharaa seized power in Damascus in December after his forces toppled Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Al-Sharaa cut ties with al-Qaeda in 2016. The recent operation comes just months after Syrian authorities said they had foiled an ISIL bombing plot near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, a key pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims south of Damascus. Adblock test (Why?)