Israeli forces strike Islamic Jihad stronghold in Gaza, kill Hamas terrorists in school

Ron DeSantis' move to shut down pro-Palestinian campus groups is receiving pushback both from civil libertarian groups and at least one 2024 presidential hopeful.

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Florida governor's administration arguing its demand for public universities to "deactivate" local Students for Justice in Palestine chapters is an attempt to "stifle" student speech protected by the First Amendment.

A spokesperson for the governor stood by DeSantis’ decision in light of the lawsuit, saying he was right "to disband a group that provides material support to a terrorist organization."

But a DeSantis’ rival for the Oval Office, Vivek Ramaswamy, slammed the order as "utter hypocrisy," while a libertarian-leaning group that fights for free speech on college campuses is also weighing in critically of the move.

"Free speech doesn’t just protect the ideas we love. It protects the ideas we hate," Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"The idiotic college ‘pro-Palestine’ student groups are dead wrong to excuse genocidal attacks against Jews and spout disgusting antisemitism, but one of the things that makes us different from Islamic terrorists is we don’t silence dissent," he said.

Fox News'  Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unleashed a fiery response to Biden administration officials who signed on to a dissent letter over President Biden’s pro-Israel stance in its fight against Hamas terrorists — with the former top diplomat saying their moral compass "is broken."

"People who serve our country in any government institution, whether in the military or the State Department, swear allegiance to the United States and should commit to the mission of the President — elected by the American people — and his Administration," Pompeo said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "If they are unable or refuse to do so, they should resign or face termination."

Hundreds of government officials from 40 departments and agencies within the administration signed an anonymous letter demanding a "cease-fire" and opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

"We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip," the letter reads, in part.

Biden and others have argued that a cease-fire would only benefit Hamas, who launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which militants murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians. The administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in fighting, which Israel has carried out.

Pompeo said the dissent was a problem that plagued him during his time in office "when hundreds of State Department employees worked to subvert the mission of the Trump administration."

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released video on Friday showing what it says is a stash of mortar bombs hidden in the vicinity of a kindergarten classroom.

The short video shows a damaged kindergarten classroom and then pans into a small storage area, revealing a pile of mortar shells.

An IDF spokesman said the mortar shells and other weapons were recovered by soldiers in schools inside the Gaza Strip.

Additionally, IDF troops also found numerous Hamas weapons hidden in the Al-Karmel elementary school, the IDF said. Those weapons are understood to consist of rocket-propelled grenades and other military equipment.

U.S. and Israeli officials have said the Hamas terrorist organization uses civilian infrastructure like schools, homes and hospitals as cover for its military activities.

The IDF also released an image of a stockpile of weaponry and ammunition it says were seized from the Al-Quds Hospital, located in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City. The IDF says terrorists are using tunnels beneath hospitals to conduct its operations.

Fox News' Michael Dorgan, Chris Pandolfo and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

City officials in the birthplace of Jesus Christ are tearing down Christmas decorations in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's continued invasion of Gaza.

Bethlehem, an ancient city located in the West Bank, declared via social media and official spokespeople that decorations installed in previous years are being removed amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"Bethlehem Municipality crews announced the dismantling of Christmas decorations installed several years ago in the city's neighborhoods and removing all festive appearances in honor of the martyrs and in solidarity with our people in Gaza," the city wrote on Facebook, according to the Jerusalem Post.

A city spokesperson also acknowledged the campaign to remove Christmas decorations in a statement to the Telegraph.

"The reason is the general situation in Palestine; people are not really into any celebration, they are sad, angry and upset; our people in Gaza are being massacred and killed in cold blood," the spokesman said, according to the outlet.

They added, "Therefore, it is not appropriate at all to have such festivities while there is a massacre happening in Gaza and attacks in the West Bank."

Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters on the campus of University of Michigan forced their way into an administrative building as footage emerged on social media depicting the chaotic scene Friday.

"Late this afternoon, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters forcefully gained access to a locked Ruthven Administration Building. An estimated 200 protesters entered the building," a spokesperson for the university confirmed to FOX News Digital on Friday. "U-M Police report building occupants have safely left the building and officers are working to restore order to the building. We will provide further updates as the situation evolves."

The spokesperson confirmed that protesters remained in the Ruthven Administration Building going into the evening as police attempted to control the scene. The building holds the office of University of Michigan's president.

Images shared on social media by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager show campus staff and a campus police officer blocking the doors into the building until a protester opened the door from the inside, allowing others to flood in.

The officer is seen struggling to block entry into the building as the protesters force their way past him. The protesters can be heard chanting, "No justice, no peace!"

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

A large number of pro-Palestinian protesters could be seen outside New York City's Penn Station on Friday night.

At one point, two people could be seen getting on an elevated part of the Penn Station building, waving a Palestinian flag.

According to the New York Post, the Long Island Rail Road warned commuters that the protests could cause delays.

"Israel is a terror state," the crowd could be heard chanting.

Actress Susan Sarandon spoke at a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on Friday evening.

Sarandon has been outspoken about the Israel-Hamas war, and has attended several protests.

"You don’t have to be Palestinian to care about what’s happening in Gaza. I stand with Palestine. No one is free until everyone is free," Sarandon wrote in a social media post on Nov. 4.

A New York City Jewish bakery was vandalized on Friday afternoon, after someone spray-painted "Free Gaza" on the window, before smashing a window at a nearby bank.

The graffiti on the front window of Breads Bakery near Sixth Avenue and 49th Street appeared in bright-orange lettering.

Additional photos show a man sweeping up broken glass in front of the Simon & Schuster building, where another window, this time belonging to the First Republic Bank, appeared to have been smashed.

The vandals struck before several pro-Palestinian protests were expected to take place in the Big Apple.

The graffiti also reminded those passing by of the rising antisemitism in New York City, as well as around the world.

On Thursday, pro-Palestinian protesters blocked traffic on bridges in Boston and San Francisco during rush hour, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as Israel continues to target Hamas leadership more than a month after the militant group invaded Israel and slaughtered civilians.

The protest slowed traffic to a trickle on a bridge connecting Boston to Cambridge, and people in the group were seen holding signs that read, "Let Gaza Live," before unfurling a banner across the roadway that read, "Jews say: Ceasefire now."

The night before, a violent protest of pro-Palestinian supporters erupted outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., with demonstrators growing violent as they called for an immediate cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the main entrance to Union Station in Washington, D.C. on Friday night.

Hundreds of people were seen at the protest, chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and "Ceasefire now."

The group of protesters also chanted "we want '48"--referring to the Middle East's map before the United Nations formed Israel. A protester using the phrase during a previous demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia, told the Atlanta Jewish Times that the chant expresses opposition to a two state agreement.

D.C.'s metro system temporarily bypassed Union Station because of the protest, and Amtrak told customers to allow extra time to inside.

The protest comes at the same time as a massive demonstration is also happening at Penn Station in New York City.

Protesters were seen climbing onto the building and waving the Palestinian flag.

Fox News Digital's Brooke Curto contributed to this update.

Arizona State University canceled an event originally scheduled for Friday afternoon where Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was set to speak.

The event, "Palestine is an American issue," was scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. and organized by the Arizona Palestine Network, which isn't a university-affiliated organization.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an ASU spokesperson said the event didn't follow its policies and procedures.

"Organizers of events using ASU facilities must be properly registered with ASU and must meet all university requirements for crowd management, parking, security, and insurance. In addition, the events must be produced in a way which minimizes disruption to academic and other activities on campus. The event featuring Congresswoman Tlaib was planned and produced by groups not affiliated with ASU and was organized outside of ASU policies and procedures. Accordingly, that event will not take place today on the ASU Tempe campus," the spokesperson said.

In response, the Arizona Palestine Network wrote on Facebook urging its supporters to call and email the school's president to express how the cancellation is "completely unacceptable."

"Rashida Tlaib must be heard on campus as the only Palestinian member of Congress who plans to speak on an American issue at this event. ASU cannot claim to hold free speech as a principle while denying Palestinians their voices on campus. Cancelling this event puts the university in direct contradiction with its charter as a university 'measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed,'" the group wrote.

Actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen blasted social media platform TikTok for “creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis,” according to The New York Times.

More than a dozen Jewish celebrities and content creators, including Cohen, Debra Messing and Amy Schumer, participated in a 90 minute with TikTok’s head of operations, Adam Presser, and global head of user operations, Seth Melnick.

“What is happening at TikTok is it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis,” Cohen told the platform’s representatives during the meeting, of which the Times obtained a recording.

“If you think back to Oct. 7, the reason why Hamas were able to behead young people and rape women was they were fed images from when they were small kids that led them to hate,” Cohen said, accusing TikTok of allowing young people access to similarly explosive content.

“Shame on you,” he said, arguing that TikTok could “flip a switch” to fix the issue. Cohen claimed that social media could do more to combat the rising and rampant antisemitism, and the representatives, who are themselves Jewish, agreed.

“Obviously, a lot of what Sascha says, there’s truth to that,” Presser said, noting, however, that there is no “magic button” to deal with all of the concerns raised.

The platform has come under increased scrutiny after several users started urging their peers to read Usama Bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” which he used to justify his attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

TikTok said it has “proactively and aggressively” worked to remove any content promoting the letter and “investigating how it got onto our platform.”

Anti-Israel protesters defaced the office Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, overnight Thursday, spray-painting “Free Palestine,” “Let Gaza Live” and “Blood on ur hands” on the office and the sidewalk in front of it.

“This is what Rep. Dan Goldman & staff confronted when they showed up to work today,” Brooklyn Democratic District Leader Douglas m. Schneider posted on social media platform X. “It is a direct result of his speaking out against antisemitism & supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.”

“Defacing his office is not a form of protest, it is a deplorable crime,” Schneider added.

Simone Kanter, Goldman’s comms director, told Fox News Digital that the office is accessible 24/7 “by appointment, phone, social media, email or mail” as the constituent services team “works around the clock to respond to outreach.”

“Harassing, intimidating, and outright attacking the staff of a Jewish elected official at a time of rising violence and rampant antisemitism is dangerous and unacceptable,” Kanter stressed.

Watch above: What is the ICC and how does it function?

The International Criminal Court is collecting evidence on alleged crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war.

Prosecutor Karim Khan says that his office has received "a significant volume of information and evidence" about alleged crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war, the Associated Press reported.

He made the comment in a written statement Friday confirming that South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti had made official state referrals to the court about the “Situation in the State of Palestine,” which his office has been investigating since March 2021. South Africa announced the referral on Thursday.

The ICC has been investigating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the last major flare up of violence in 2014.

Khan says his prosecution office “will continue its engagement with all relevant actors, whether national authorities, civil society, survivor groups or international partners, to advance this investigation.”

He adds he will "continue my efforts to visit the State of Palestine and Israel in order to meet with survivors, hear from civil society organisations and engage with relevant national counterparts.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel's national security adviser explained the decision to permit fuel deliveries in Gaza at a press conference on Friday.

Tzachi Hanegbi said a "very minimal" amount of fuel would be allowed into Gaza to power the territory's communications system and water and sewage services. He said the decision was made to prevent the spread of disease and would be accomplished without an interruption to the military's offensive.

"We don’t want diseases that could harm the civilians who are there and our forces. If there are diseases, the fighting would be halted. We cannot continue fighting in the event of a humanitarian crisis or an international outcry,” Hanegbi said.

Hanegbi said the fuel amounted to roughly 2% to 4% of the normal quantities of fuel that entered Gaza before the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7.

The office of Israeli lawmaker and former defense minister Benny Gantz, a member of the three-person War Cabinet, said the agreement would allow 60,000 liters (15,850 gallons) of fuel to enter Gaza over the next 48 hours.

Hanegbi revealed the United States made a special request to Israel to permit two fuel tankers into Gaza per day.

The Israeli war cabinet agreed to the request on the recommendations of the military and Shin Bet internal security agency. 

Fox News' Dvora Olinsky and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan launched into a heated argument with Israeli official Mark Regev, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, live on his show Thursday.

Hasan accused the Israeli government of killing children and of spreading propaganda and false information in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas war. 

"They’re dead, Mark," Hasan said, arguing that he has seen Palestinian children "with my own lying eyes being pulled from the rubble" from bombings. "But they’re also people your government has killed. You accept that, right? You’ve killed children? Or do you deny that?"

"No, I do not," Regev responded. "I do not. I do not. First of all, you don’t know how those people died, those children."

"Oh wow," Hasan said in return.

Hasan also claimed that the Israeli government was peddling "disinformation" in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli, American and other citizens. 

"I agree with you. We shouldn't blindly believe anything Hamas says," he said. "But why should we believe what your government says either? Your military spokesman on Monday pointed to an Arabic document in the basement of a Gaza hospital and claimed it was a guardian list on which every terrorist writes his name. But that was false."  

Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this update.