Union-funded anti-Spencer Pratt ad sparks backlash as critics say it could help him
A political advertisement opposing Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is drawing attention online as critics argue the messaging could ultimately benefit the former reality TV star instead of hurt his campaign. The ad, which has circulated widely on X in recent days, attacks Spencer Pratt over homelessness, policing and public employee unions while urging voters to reject the Republican candidate. “Republican Spencer Pratt is the last thing Los Angeles needs for mayor,” the speaker in the video says. “Pratt opposes using taxpayer money to build brand new houses for unhoused neighbors, saying it’s time for the homeless to get help or get out. “Pratt thinks L.A. needs thousands more police officers rather than more social workers, and Republican Spencer Pratt thinks public employee unions should have less power, not more,” the ad continued. “LA is on the right track and needs to stay the course. Vote no on Republican Spencer Pratt.” WATCH: LEFT-WING LA MAYOR FACES REALITY TV CHALLENGER’S BLUNT TAKEDOWNS IN HEATED MAYORAL DEBATE Los Angeles Ethics Commission filings show the ad was funded by an independent expenditure committee called “LA Unions Opposed to Spencer Pratt for Mayor 2026,” which is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. The group reported spending $221,000 on digital advertising opposing Spencer Pratt in a Form 496 filing. The tone and framing of the ad quickly sparked reaction online, with some users suggesting the criticisms could resonate with voters frustrated by conditions in Los Angeles rather than weaken Spencer Pratt’s campaign. SPENCER PRATT IS STANDOUT LA MAYORAL CANDIDATE IN DEBUT DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ’10/10 NO NOTES’ Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, amplified the video on X, writing, “This attack ad could well elect Pratt.” Some users on X also mocked the ad’s messaging. One user wrote, “This is supposed to be an attack ad??? Lolol.” Another wrote, “Wow even @UnrigLA is running ads supporting Spencer Pratt. This is such an incredible ad supporting Spencer Pratt!!!” Fox News Digital has reached out to Spencer Pratt’s campaign and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor for comment. ROGAN BACKS REALITY TV STAR SPENCER PRATT’S BID FOR LA MAYOR, SAYS ‘I’D VOTE FOR YOU’ The ad comes as Pratt’s mayoral bid has gained attention following his performance in a recent debate, where he drew notice for his blunt criticisms of city leadership and policy priorities, including the handling of homelessness and crime. Pratt has emphasized issues such as homelessness, public safety and government spending throughout his campaign, positioning himself as a political outsider challenging the status quo in Los Angeles and drawing support from voters dissatisfied with current leadership. Independent expenditure committees are prohibited from coordinating with candidates and are commonly used by outside groups to influence elections, according to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
Trump says US helped secure release of 5 prisoners in Belarus deal, thanks Lukashenko
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that five prisoners from Poland and Moldova were released from detention in Belarus and Russia following diplomatic efforts involving the U.S., marking a rare breakthrough in negotiations with the two countries. The release includes Polish journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut, whose case has drawn international attention and concern from European leaders, and signals a potential opening for limited cooperation between Washington and Minsk, even as tensions with Russia remain high and broader disputes persist. “We just secured the release of three Polish and two Moldovan prisoners from Belarusian and Russian detention,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Thanks to my Special Presidential Envoy, John Coale, we were able to push hard to make this release happen. “My friend, President Karol Nawrocki of Poland, met with me last September and asked me to help secure Andrzej Poczobut from Belarusian prison,” he continued. “Today, Poczobut is free due to our efforts. The United States delivers for our Allies and Friends. SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO HAILS RELEASE OF US PRISONER IN BELARUS AS CONTROVERSY HANGS OVER NATION’S ELECTION “Thank you to President Aleksandr Lukashenko for his cooperation and friendship. So nice!” Trump added. Poczobut, a correspondent for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a prominent member of Belarus’ Polish minority, had been serving an eight-year sentence in a case widely criticized as politically motivated. He was arrested in 2021 after reporting on pro-democracy protests in Belarus, drawing international condemnation. Poczobut was later awarded the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s top human rights honor. POLISH CONSERVATIVE KAROL NAWROCKI WINS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO SUCCEED DUDA Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski described Poczobut as both a symbol of the fight for freedom in Belarus and an example of Poland’s commitment to securing the return of its citizens. The exchange was part of a broader series of prisoner releases negotiated with U.S. involvement, reflecting a recent thaw in relations between Washington and Minsk under Trump. A spokesperson for Poland’s Foreign Ministry said the deal involved a multi-country arrangement, with three individuals transferred from Belarus to Poland in exchange for three sent in the opposite direction, alongside others released through separate agreements. AMERICAN AMONG 3 DETAINEES RELEASED FROM BELARUS Those freed included Grzegorz Gawel, a Roman Catholic friar from the Carmelite order in Krakow, as well as a Belarusian national who had worked with Polish intelligence services, according to Polish officials, who did not publicly identify the individual. Earlier this year, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko authorized the release of 250 political prisoners under an agreement with Washington that led to a partial easing of U.S. sanctions. Belarus, a longtime ally of Russia, has remained largely isolated from the West for years. Lukashenko, who has been in power for more than three decades, has faced repeated sanctions over human rights abuses and for allowing Russian forces to use Belarusian territory during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Biden seeks to block DOJ release of 2017 audio, court filing says
President Joe Biden’s lawyers are expected to object to the Justice Department’s release of redacted written transcripts and audio recordings of Biden’s 2017 interactions with his book ghostwriter, according to a new court filing. “President Biden, through counsel, has advised the Department that he intends to seek to intervene to prevent any such disclosures,” Assistant Attorney General Civil Division Brett Shumate wrote in a filing from a Freedom of Information Act request from the Heritage Foundation’s Mike Howell. “The Department does not oppose intervention.” There is a Tuesday deadline for Biden’s lawyers to respond to the DOJ’s release for a response to Howell’s FOIA request, which would come shortly after Tuesday if there was no objection. Shumate noted the release of 70 hours of redacted recordings would be delayed until June 15 if Biden objects before the deadline. BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU’S DEATH — AND IT WASN’T HUR “Defendant intends to disclose the written transcript and audio recordings at issue in this matter, with redactions, to Congress, pursuant to a request from the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as to Plaintiffs,” the filing in Howell’s FOIA lawsuit with the DOJ read. The interactions came between Biden and his ghostwriter for the 2017 book: “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.” The audio and transcript were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents after the Obama administration ended, which included storing them in his garage and at the Penn Biden Center. “President Biden cooperated fully with special counsel Hur, and agreed to provide audiotapes of conversations with his biographer for a book about his deceased son on the condition that they would not be made public,” Biden spokesperson TJ Ducklo told Politico in a statement Sunday. “The DOJ themselves have said these tapes serve no public interest. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF JACK SMITH REPORT’S SECOND VOLUME “What’s happening now isn’t about transparency. It’s about politics,” Ducklo continued. “If this Administration were genuinely committed to transparency, they would release Volume 2 of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s own alleged mishandling of classified documents. That report contains information Americans actually deserve to see.” Fox News reached out to Ducklo for independent confirmation on this report and has not yet heard back. The FOIA requester remains in pursuit of the documents. CONSERVATIVES REACT TO LEAKED BIDEN AUDIO ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘THIS IS PAINFUL’ “These tapes will further prove the massive lie regarding Biden’s fitness for office and the fact Biden revealed classified information,” Howell, president of Heritage’s Oversight Project, told Politico. “The shenanigans aren’t over: At the last possible second, and after every delay tactic possible, the autopen is objecting to the American People receiving transparency. “ Hur concluded his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, noting longstanding DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president and saying a jury would be sympathetic to the oldest sitting American president, 82, because he was a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “It appears that after lengthy negotiation covering several months — at no point seeking to intervene into this case on a timely basis — President Biden has changed position and now seeks to even enjoin release of the portions of transcripts that match exact phrases quoted in the Hur Report,” Shumate’s filing Friday read. GREGG JARRETT: BIDEN, THE ‘MARIONETTE PRESIDENT; AND THE CASE OF THE RUNAWAY AUTOPEN “The potential intervention by former President Biden and the new development of a discretionary release to the House Judiciary Committee in response to their March 23, 2026 letter, raises a number of issues”: “As Plaintiffs understand the matter, President Biden would need an order barring release in this case and an order enjoining the Department from producing to the House Judiciary Committee all by June 15, 2026.” The DOJ also accuses Biden’s lawyers of slow-walking responses and rejecting deadlines. BIDEN WHITE HOUSE AIDES FACE OVERSIGHT DEADLINE AMID THREAT OF SUBPOENAS “President Biden’s lead counsel was unable to provide any information about President Biden’s submissions arguing that such discussion was somehow premature (whereas, in reality it is 16 months late) and incredibly indicating that despite the June 15, 2026 production date, the motion to intervene would not be filed until mid-next week and that President Biden would seek up to three days after a ruling granting a motion to intervene to submit a proposed schedule for substantive relief,” the filing read. “That is no way to conduct litigation and smacks of kicking the can down the road to justify delaying the June 15, 2026 production by some form of administrative injunction.” The DOJ issued a new warning of Tuesday’s deadline, regardless. READ THE COURT FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: “The public deserves to hear the tapes and read the transcripts as redacted by President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Justice,” Shumate’s filing concluded. “Plaintiffs regret that they are currently unable to assist the Court in this process due to the repeated failure of counsel for President Biden to engage with Plaintiffs on this matter, putting off even initial substantive conversations until next week.”
‘Free beer’ for Trump death Dem activist running for Wisconsin gov: ‘I will win’ if they silence me
Kirk Bangstad, the controversial Wisconsin brewery owner who seemed to offer free beer on Facebook for the assassination of President Donald Trump, is currently seeking the requisite 2,000 signatures for his burgeoning campaign for governor, warning his party he will win the primary if they try to silence him. “I will win the primary if they don’t let me speak: I guarantee you that,” Bangstad told WISN 12 News this week when asked about speaking at the state Democratic convention. Bangstad, the owner of Minocqua Brewing Company (MBC), launched his campaign for Wisconsin governor after drawing national scrutiny for a social media post that appeared on the brewery’s Facebook page after an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. “Well, we almost got #freebeerday,” the April 12 post read just minutes after the WHCA Dinner security event. “Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle. We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.” WISCONSIN DEM’S BAR LAMENTS ‘WE ALMOST GOT FREE BEER DAY’ FOR TRUMP ASSASSINATION The news spread so far on social media and in the news that it drew a visit from the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI days later, but Bangstad contends it was merely satirical commentary and not a dog whistle for political violence from leftist radicals like the past three Trump assassination attempts. “It was satire,” he told WISN 12. “I meant it as satire. I’ve said that all along and it was taken out of context in order to create a feeding frenzy by the media, which it did, and allow Republicans to paint Democrats as politically violent.” There has been caution from Democrats about Bangstad’s rhetoric for weeks, but it has not stopped him, and he acknowledged it led to his jumping into the gubernatorial race after the federal law enforcement visit, and even has proven lucrative for fundraising, if not his brewery business. “Remember there was another half of that post that said, ‘or Donald Trump is trying to fake an assassination attempt to get a better news cycle,” Bangstad told WISN 12. “The first part was satire that was trying to set off the second part.” WISCONSIN MOM ‘SEETHING’ AFTER DEMOCRATS GIVE HER 8-YEAR-OLD SON A CHILLING BRACELET CALLING FOR TRUMP’S DEATH Bangstad said he resurfaced his “free beer day” MBC business campaign because “the assassination attempt seemed staged,” acknowledging it has allowed him to gain “name recognition.” Bangstad pointed to his “250,000 followers on Facebook” and “170,000 subscribers to our Substack page.” “Most of those people are progressives and a lot of those are progressives who live in Wisconsin, so I would think I have the best name recognition in the state of Wisconsin right now,” Bangstad continued. “The Democratic Party who has a terrible approval rating across the country and in Wisconsin can say all they want to about me. I’m a true Democrat, a true progressive Democrat, and I have more name recognition than everybody in this race save for probably Mandela Barnes.” DEM LAWMAKER SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE FOR BLAMING TRUMP’S LOW APPROVAL FOR WHCA DINNER SHOOTING If he was blocked from speaking at the June 13-14 Wisconsin Democratic convention at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Bangstad vowed, “I’d speak anyway; I’d speak outside the front door.” “And if they try to not let me speak, they’re going to put me in office,” Bangstad said. “Let’s be honest. “If they restrict my speech as a fellow Democrat, they are going to do so much harm to their appearance, and they’re going to do so much harm to other candidates, I will win the primary if they don’t let me speak. I guarantee you that.” Bangstad said he has not “gotten that far” on whether he will attend the Democratic convention in June. MANDELA BARNES JUMPS INTO WISCONSIN GOVERNOR RACE — BUT BAGGAGE FROM HIS 2022 SENATE BID FOLLOWS “I’ve got to get my 2,000 signatures by June 1 – obviously, I’m in the race really late; we’ve got a month to get 2,000 signatures,” he said. “I will of course attend the Democratic convention, I’m a Democrat. I want to drag the Democratic Party kicking and screaming to a realistic place that’s not owned by big money, and that’s what I plan to do. “And I think I can get there in Wisconsin.” FORMER NAVY SEAL AND ‘POLITICAL OUTSIDER’ ANNOUNCES GOP CAMPAIGN FOR WISCONSIN GOVERNOR The Wisconsin primary is Aug. 11, but getting the signatures and his name out there is a first priority, according to Bangstad, admitting the campaign as “raised a ton of money so far” while demurring on exactly how much. “I’ve got oodles of money in Facebook followers, in Substack followers, the equivalent of that in my being able to reach people and give them my message,” he said. Bangstad’s small brewery has long leaned into liberal politics, selling progressive-themed merchandise and promoting itself through anti-Trump messaging and shirts reading, “I wish it was free beer day.” PATTERN OF LEFTIST VIOLENCE GROWS AS TRUMP NEARS 10 MONTHS IN OFFICE The controversy escalated after the April 25 security scare at the WHCA Dinner in Washington, D.C., where authorities say Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, attempted to storm a Secret Service checkpoint with a loaded shotgun and other weapons. Allen was ordered held without bail, facing life in prison for attempted assassination of the president and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. After the brewery’s post, the FBI and Secret Service confirmed they followed up on the matter and conducted a voluntary interview with Bangstad. “The U.S. Secret Service follows up on perceived threats against the President of the United States or any one of our protectees,” the agencies said in a joint statement to Fox News. “The FBI and Secret Service together followed up on information received
Virginia Democrats’ $70M redistricting gamble backfires after court defeat, ignites blame game
Virginia Democrats’ redistricting push was meant to lock in an advantage. Instead, it’s unraveling after a costly court defeat—triggering a growing blame game inside the party. The high-stakes effort to redraw congressional maps, backed by tens of millions of dollars and significant political capital, briefly delivered a narrow on-paper win. But in a 4–3 ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the maps, citing legal deficiencies, and forced a redraw—wiping out those gains. Democrats are left arguing over whether party leaders ignored legal warnings and pushed a strategy that was always at risk of collapsing. DAVID MARCUS: VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS STEP ON A $70M RAKE AND NOW THEY’RE CRYING In hindsight, critics say the outcome was avoidable. Republicans had urged an earlier court review before votes were cast and money spent, a step they argued could have clarified the maps’ legality. Democrats pressed ahead anyway, betting the strategy would hold. “Violating the Virginia Constitution and bypassing the rule of law to further one’s own political power is wrong,” Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., said in a statement to The Hill. “Had [Democratic Gov.] Abigail Spanberger and the rest of Virginia’s Democrats succeeded, they would have caused irreparable harm to our democracy and disenfranchised millions of Virginians.” Allies of Spanberger say legal concerns were raised early and not fully heeded, pointing to state lawmakers for pushing forward. Lawmakers and other Democrats counter that litigation was inevitable and the maps were defensible. DEMS WHO RAN ON AFFORDABILITY NOW FACE BACKLASH AS COSTS CLIMB IN NY, VIRGINIA The dispute reflects a broader divide within the party over how aggressively to pursue redistricting. Some Democrats argue such efforts are necessary to counter Republican-led maps nationwide. “I feel like the system is fundamentally broken, but let’s be clear. Republicans began the redistricting arms race,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital in an earlier interview. “And so Democrats are left with no choice but to level the playing field for the sake of democracy.” “Look, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have political gerrymandering,” Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, added. “But because we don’t live in that world, we’ve got to fight fire with fire.” Others, however, are more blunt in assigning blame. “I put this all on Democrats,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said, arguing the party failed to respond forcefully to earlier GOP redistricting efforts and is now facing the consequences. The fallout is landing at a difficult moment. A federal raid on May 6 on the office of a powerful state senator has added to a sense of instability, while former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has suggested the turmoil could give Spanberger an opening to reset and impose discipline on a still-fractured political operation. The episode underscores the growing role of courts in redistricting fights—and the risks of pushing legal boundaries in a high-stakes environment, with potential implications for control of Virginia’s congressional delegation. In retrospect, even with the narrow 4–3 decision, it’s a steep price: roughly $70 million and much of Spanberger’s political capital spent on a campaign that won the battle but lost the war. Democrats are left to sort out not just what went wrong—but who’s responsible. Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
Trump-backed Board of Peace, Israel ‘will take action’ if Hamas remains out of compliance: Netanyahu advisor
Michael Eisenberg, a top advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says Israel and the newly-created Board of Peace will “take action” against Hamas if it does not comply with the peace terms it agreed to. Eisenberg made the comments during an interview with Fox News on Sunday. He said Hamas is currently out of compliance with a wider peace agreement and is refusing to give up its weapons to “demilitarize” Gaza. “I think all the options are on the table since Hamas is noncompliant with the 20-point plan, and they haven’t delivered their weapons like they were supposed to. And so we’ll have to wait and see. But like I said, this is incredibly well thought out. Give President Trump a tremendous amount of credit and his team of people credit. They’ve literally thought through every stage of this from beginning to end,” Eisenberg said. “And by the way, and as President Trump said, there’s an easy way and a hard way. Everyone prefers the easy way, which is Hamas. With the help of the mediators delivers the weapons, but if they don’t, there’s a hard way too.,” he added. TRUMP CONVENES FIRST ‘BOARD OF PEACE’ MEETING AS GAZA REBUILD HINGES ON HAMAS DISARMAMENT Eisenberg went on to say that Iran must also eventually give up control over Gaza under the 20-pont plan agreed to between the U.S., Israel and Hamas. “Hamas is still there. But the 20-point plan says they cannot be there. They cannot be a part of government. They cannot bear arms. They have to become Swedish, basically, in order for them to stay in any role in Gaza. And so I suggest they do that sooner rather than later. And I think progress is slow. You can’t microwave a 30-year problem. It doesn’t work. Sociologists,” he said. Eisenberg’s comments come amid multiple peace negotiations across the Middle East. Israel is hashing out an agreement to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the U.S. is in talks with Iran. WHAT ISRAEL WANTS FROM AN IRAN PEACE DEAL: NO ENRICHMENT, MISSILE LIMITS AND STRICT ENFORCEMENT Netanyahu said last week that Israel and the United States remain in “full coordination” as negotiations continue. “We share common objectives, and the most important objective is the removal of the enriched material from Iran, all the enriched material, and the dismantling of Iran’s enrichment capabilities,” Netanyahu said at the opening of a security cabinet meeting. On the nuclear issue, former Israeli National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror said Israel’s position remains uncompromising. “Weaponized uranium must leave Iran,” Amidror said. “The Iranians must not be allowed to enrich uranium.” Alongside the nuclear issue, Israeli analysts say Iran’s ballistic missile program has become equally central to Israel’s security concerns.
Stories of those killed in a single day of Israeli strikes on Lebanon
NewsFeed Israeli strikes have killed at least 39 people, wiping out entire families, in a single day of attacks across Lebanon during a so-called ‘ceasefire.’ Here are some of their stories. Published On 10 May 202610 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Football on ruins: Gaza’s orphans find refuge on the pitch
Sixteen-year-old Mohammed Eyad Azzam says he was a “pampered” child before an Israeli air attack in Gaza killed his immediate family, leaving him as the sole provider for his elderly grandmother. Mohammed was at home on the morning of October 11, 2024, with his parents and siblings in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, when without warning an Israeli warplane struck, bringing his family’s multistorey building down on top of them. “I was sitting safely with my parents and my two older brothers … I was buried under the rubble for about 10 minutes,” Mohammed told Al Jazeera. “It was pure suffering.” Mohammed’s grandmother managed to dig him out of the wreckage of the home, and the next thing he remembers is waking up in his neighbour’s house on a ventilator. “I survived by a miracle,” he said. Relentless Israeli bombing meant Mohammed was unable to give his parents and two brothers a proper funeral at a cemetery, so instead he buried his parents and siblings in a small, makeshift plot of land. Overnight, the teenager was thrust into adulthood, and he now lives amid the thousands of displaced in northern Gaza’s Shati refugee camp, spending his days lighting fires and carrying heavy water containers for his grandmother. “My life flipped from happiness to grief. I used to be pampered, but now I am responsible for everything,” he said. Amid all the challenges, Mohammed has found one escape from his daily turmoil: football. A psychological lifeline Before the war, Mohammed was a promising player for the Khadamat Jabalia football club. However, following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the club no longer functioned, pitches were destroyed, and many of his former teammates were killed. Mohammed Eyad Azzam dribbles a football through a displacement camp. The sport has become his only escape after losing his family [Screengrab/Al Jazeera] Yet, against all odds, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) recently organised a tournament for players born in 2009 at one of the last remaining patches of land in Gaza suitable for hosting a football match. Advertisement For Mohammed, lacing up his boots is one of the few ways he can fend off the despair of life without his parents and siblings, but the pitch still brings back haunting memories of what he lost before Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. “It removes the boredom and releases our negative energy,” he explained. “Most of my teammates have their brothers and fathers there to motivate and encourage them. I have no one to cheer for me now, I miss them so much – as much as the sea and its fish.” Decimation of Palestinian sports Mohammed’s heartbreak is emblematic of Israel’s systematic destruction of sports infrastructure in Gaza, according to Mustafa Siyam, head of the media department at the Palestinian Football Association in the southern provinces (Gaza Strip). “Mohammed is one of tens of thousands of talented children who have lost their families, their clubs, their academies, and their education,” Siyam told Al Jazeera. The Israeli offensive has destroyed or damaged 265 sports facilities across the Gaza Strip [Screengrab/Al Jazeera] The statistics are staggering. According to the PFA, the Israeli offensive has killed 1,113 people affiliated with the sports sector, including more than 560 football players, coaches and administrators. Additionally, 265 sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged over the past two-and-a-half years, while all 56 football clubs in Gaza – from Beit Hanoon in the north to Rafah in the south – have been severely affected. Mohammed’s club, Khadamat Jabalia, was also destroyed, and the space was temporarily turned into a detention and interrogation centre by Israeli forces during the invasion of Gaza. Deadly commutes to the pitch With main stadiums either bombed into ruins or converted into shelters for displaced families, the PFA is now organising youth tournaments on just three small pitches that remain – Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, Khadamat Nuseirat and Ittihad Shabab Deir al-Balah – but getting to these games is still a life-threatening ordeal for young footballers. Mohammed ties his shoelaces before a match. Players now have to walk several kilometres through rubble to reach the few remaining pitches [Screengrab/Al Jazeera] “We walk 3-4km through tents and rubble to reach the pitch,” Mohammed said. “It drains you psychologically before you even step onto the field.” Siyam acknowledges the grave risks youngsters face when heading to their local pitch, but says their fortitude and love for the sport mean football will endure in Gaza. Advertisement “The security situation remains extremely dangerous. A player walking from his tent to the pitch is exposed to the risk of sudden air strikes, but the determination of the players and the association pushes us to resume activities,” he said. “It sends a message to the world that Palestinian youth are capable of rising from the rubble.” ‘Double standards’ While the football community in Gaza is struggling to survive, Palestinian sports officials have expressed deep frustration with the international community, particularly the governing body of the sport, FIFA, over a lack of support or solidarity. Siyam highlighted glaring double standards when FIFA moved swiftly to suspend Russia and ban its clubs following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but took no action against Israel. “When it comes to Palestine, unfortunately, there are no decisions; FIFA’s position is very weak,” he said. Despite the targeted killing of prominent athletes, such as national team player Suleiman Obaid, and Israeli settlement clubs competing on occupied Palestinian land, FIFA has failed to impose any sanctions on the Israeli Football Association. With a lack of action from FIFA, the PFA is now seeking justice via international sports tribunals. Honouring a dream While the PFA waits for a permanent ceasefire to rebuild Gaza’s battered sporting infrastructure and for Israel to open the enclave’s borders to allow local talent to join Palestine’s national teams, young players such as Mohammed are clinging to the game to keep their loved ones’ memories alive. Despite the destruction and trauma, Mohammed remains determined to
Iran sends response to US ceasefire proposal via Pakistan
Al Jazeera’s Almigdad Elruhaid reports from Tehran that Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to end the war via mediator Pakistan, according to state news agency IRNA. Tehran has been saying negotiations should focus on ending hostilities, securing guarantees against future attacks and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Published On 10 May 202610 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Thalapathy Vijay’s First big moves as Tamil Nadu CM: 200 units free electricity, anti-drug force announced
Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay on Sunday assumed office as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Shortly after taking oath, Vijay announced several welfare and governance measures, including 200 units of free electricity for households, the creation of a special anti-drug task force.