American hostages released by Hamas in Sunday cease-fire exchange with Israel: Report

A suspect was arrested on Sunday in connection with a shooting near the University of Vermont that resulted in the injury of three U.S. college students of Palestinian descent.

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was detained Sunday afternoon near the scene of the shooting in Burlington, Vermont, Burlington Police said in a press release. Police searched his nearby apartment and found probable cause and Eaton was arrested Sunday night. He is expected to be arraigned Monday morning.

The three college students — Hisham Awartani of Brown University, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford University and Tahseen Ahmed of Trinity University — were shot and injured at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday while attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering. The students were visiting the home of one of the victim's relatives and were walking to dinner when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said.

The shooting happened in front of Eaton's apartment building, according to police.

Police previously said that the gunman opened fire on the suspects "without speaking." Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, traditional scarves worn by some in the Middle East. The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said they were speaking Arabic when the shooting occurred.

The shooting comes amid escalating tension in the U.S. and around the world in the wake of the ongoing war in the Middle East between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. A temporary cease-fire agreement between the two sides is underway that includes Hamas releasing hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

The three victims, who are all 20-years-old, remain hospitalized as of Monday morning.

Two of the victims are U.S. citizens, while the third is a legal U.S. resident.

A New York City councilwoman unloaded on the failure of "modern progressivism" after students at a Queens high school last week reportedly rioted against a Jewish teacher for attending a pro-Israel rally.

"I was sickened by what I saw at Hillcrest HS, but sadly I was not surprised," Republican New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told Fox News Digital on Sunday. "Our education system is fundamentally broken, and antisemitic riots like this are sadly the natural result of years of woke leftist indoctrination replacing real education.

"Allowing progressives to gain total control over our institutions was always going to lead to tragic outcomes; they’ve been working to instigate a cultural revolution here for decades, and now those efforts appear to be bearing fruit."

Chaos broke out at Hillcrest High School in Queens on Monday after 11 a.m. when students planned a protest against a female teacher for attending a pro-Israel rally last month, the New York Post reported. Students reportedly checked out the teacher’s Facebook account and found her profile photo showed her attending the rally while holding a sign reading, "I stand with Israel."

Hundreds of students reportedly ran through the school’s hallways with Palestinian flags and chanted in support of Palestinians, the outlet reported. Witnesses said students started a group chat to expose the teacher and planned "a riot" ahead of Monday’s chaos, the New York Post reported.

"Everyone was yelling ‘Free Palestine!’" a senior told the news outlet.

"Everyone was screaming ‘[The teacher] needs to go!’" another student explained.

Students reportedly even attempted to get into the pro-Israel teacher’s classroom, but were blocked by other faculty members. The NYPD responded to the school, which is located in Queen’s Jamaica neighborhood, at about 11:20 a.m.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen was pressed on his initial reporting of an explosion at a hospital in Gaza on Saturday and said he didn't regret his mistakes during an interview on the network on Saturday.

Several media outlets initially reported that Israel was responsibile for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza. Bowen claimed during his initial reports that the Al-Ahli hospital was flattened.

"The missile hit the hospital not long after dark. You can hear the impact. The explosion destroyed Al-Ahli Hospital. It was already damaged from a smaller attack at the weekend. The building was flattened," Bowen said.

Bowen, during an appearance on BBC News channel’s "Behind The Stories," said he didn't regret his reporting and that he "didn't race to judgment."

"So it broke in, I suppose, mid-evening. And to answer your question, no, I don’t regret one thing in my reporting, because I think I was measured throughout. I didn’t race to judgment," he said.

The BBC was also one of several news organizations, including The New York Times, the Associated Press and CNN, which rushed to report claims made by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

The outlet offered a correction to the reporting on Oct. 19.

"We accept that even in this fast-moving situation it was wrong to speculate in this way about the possible causes and we apologize for this, although he did not at any point report that it was an Israeli strike," referring to reporting from BBC senior reporter Jon Donnision. "This doesn't represent the entirety of the BBC's output, and anyone watching, listening to or reading our coverage can see we have set out both sides' competing claims about the explosion, clearly showing who is saying them, and what we do or don't know."

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

In the three days since Israel and Hamas declared a truce, 58 hostages have been released and details are beginning to emerge about their nearly two months of captivity inside Gaza. 

While information about the conditions has been tightly controlled, family members of the victims have begun sharing details about their loved ones’ experiences. Most of the freed hostages, though understandably shaken, appear to be in stable condition. 

One woman said her cousin and aunt, Keren and Ruth Munder, were fed irregularly having eaten mainly rice and bread, and lost around 15 pounds in just 50 days. Her family members said they had slept on rows of chairs pushed together in a room that looked like a reception area and had to wait hours before going to the bathroom.

Read the full article about the Israel-Hamas war by Bradford Betz

Over 100,000 people marched through London on Sunday with a message of solidarity against antisemitism, marking one of the largest demonstrations of its type since 1936.

The protest against antisemitism comes as the numbers of antisemitic incidents continue to rise following the Oct. 7 invasion of Israel by Hamas-led terrorists.

The Jewish Chronicle reported on Sunday that 1,124 antisemitic incidents were reported to the Community Security Trust (CST) from Oct. 7 to Nov. 7, which is the largest number of incidents to occur within a month since the organization began keeping records in 1984.

Read the full article about the London march by Greg Wehner

A U.S. Navy vessel responded to a distress call Sunday from an Israeli-linked tanker off the coast of Yemen on Sunday. 

U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Mason, a Mayport-based Arleigh Burke class destroyer assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean, responded to the distress call from the Liberian-flagged Central Park, carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden. 

The vessel is managed by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based international ship management company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group.

Read the full article about the tanker incident by Bradford Betz

Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders is facing condemnation from multiple Arab states after suggesting that the war between Hamas and Israel could be remedied if Palestinians are relocated to Jordan.

"Jordan is Palestine!" Wilders tweeted Saturday, linking to a Politico story that detailed how Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and the Arab League issued statements to condemn the suggestion that Palestinians should be relocated to Jordan.

The Palestinian Authority said Wilders' proposal is "a call to escalate the aggression against our people and a blatant interference in their affairs and future." While the UAE embassy in the Netherlands called Wilders' suggestion "irresponsible," leaders in Jordan labeled the suggestion a "racist position," Arab News reported.

Read the full article about Geert Wilders by Emma Colton

Israeli officials have released a photo of Maayan Zin embracing her 15-year-old daughter Dafna and 8-year-old daughter Ela after the two children were held captive by Hamas.

The girls were released by Hamas on Sunday. Their mother released a statement thanking the family's supporters and expressing happiness that she reunited with her daughters.

"After a long period in which I lived in terrible uncertainty, my daughters are finally with me," Zin's statement read. "These were 51 days in which I lived between despair and hope, between pain and optimism, and I am happy that now I am here with them. The girls are returning to a new and complex situation, and now we have a period of recovery that will take time."

Zin also said that she felt "a joy mixed with sadness."

"Joy for my daughters who are here and sadness for those who have not yet returned," the mother added. "My heart will not be whole again until everyone returns home safely.”

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

The Prime Minister of Israel's office has released footage of a kidnapped family arriving back in Israel after being in Hamas captivity for over six weeks.

Shoshan Haran, 67, Adi Shoham, 38, 8-year-old Nave Shoham and 3-year-old Yahel Shoham were all taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

The four family members were part of the hostage group that were released on Saturday night. They were four of 13 Israelis who were freed at that time.

The video shows Nave and Yahel smiling and playing with toys in the Israeli facility. The beaming family members were also seen holding hands as they were escorted by military personnel.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog plans to meet with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday, the fourth day of Israel's cease-fire with Hamas.

Herzog's office said that he and Musk will discuss the Israel-Hamas war, including the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. Musk is currently visiting Israel.

"President Herzog will be joined in the meeting by representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas, who will speak about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive," the statement explained.

Herzog's office also highlighted the need to address rampant antisemitism that has been festering on the Internet during the war.

"In their meeting, the President will emphasize the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online," the press release added.

The White House announced that President Biden held a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, where they discussed the release of American-Israeli orphan and hostage Abigail Edan.

"The President welcomed the release of hostages by Hamas over the past three days, including a young American girl," the statement explained. "The two leaders also discussed the pause in the fighting and surge in much needed additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

"The two leaders agreed that the work is not yet done and that they will continue working to secure the release of all hostages," the White House's statement added. "The two leaders agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days."

In a press statement, Netanyahu's office said that the prime minister spoke to Biden "with great excitement."

"What a joy to see [Abigail] with us," the press release read. "But on the other hand, what a pain that she returns to the reality of no parents. She has no parents - but she has a whole nation that embraces her and we will take care of all her needs."

Former Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett appeared on "Fox News Live" Sunday to give the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war on the third day of the planned four-day cease-fire.

Bennett was asked for his reaction to President Biden saying that he would like to extend the four-day period to free more hostages.

"We have two goals: the first goal is to eradicate and eliminate Hamas," the former prime minister explained. "We have to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth after what they did and what they say they're going to do again and again, which is try and massacre, rape, murder Israeli children, parents, moms, dads."

"We cannot continue with this entity existing," Bennett continued. "And the second objective is to release the hostages to some extent. There's tension between these two objectives."

Bennett added that the four-day cease-fire came with a "price."

"There is a price for the day of pause because it prolonged the existence of Hamas," he said. "Once this interim deal is over, the IDF will go full force to eradicate Hamas."

The 84-year-old hostage who was released by Hamas on Sunday and taken to a hospital is in "serious clinical condition," according to Israeli officials.

Spokespersons for Soroka University Medical Center, where the Elma Avraham is being treated, and Israel's Ministry of Health released a statement about the woman's health on Sunday night.

"An 84-year-old woman was rushed by helicopter this evening after returning to Israel from Gaza to Soroka University Medical Center, in poor physical condition and in a serious clinical condition," the press release explained. "Her life is in danger."

In a press briefing, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Avraham was immediately evacuated by military personnel. Hagar also added that Israel killed five senior Hamas officials in Gaza on Sunday.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

The family of Abigail Mor Edan, a 4-year-old American-Israeli girl who was released by Hamas terrorists on Sunday, released a statement expressing their "gratitude" towards the world leaders who made the young girl's release possible.

Liz Hirsh Naftali and Noa Naftali - Abigail's great aunt and cousin, respectively - issued the statement on Sunday. Edan's mother and father were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

"We hoped and prayed today would come," the statement began. "There are no words to express our relief and gratitude that Abigail is safe and coming home."

The relieved family members issued special thanks to President Biden and Qatari negotiators for securing Abigail's return.

"Thank you to President Biden and his dedicated team; thank you to the Qatari government and other informal actors who are involved in securing Abigail’s release and reuniting other hostages with their loved ones," the statement continued. "Today’s release proves that it’s possible. We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing."

"We will continue to stand with the families of all the hostages still held captive, and we remain committed as ever to securing their safe and swift return," the Naftalis added.

The Israeli government revealed the identities of more than a dozen hostages realesed by Hamas on Sunday.

Sunday's release included 9 children: Abigail Edan, 4; Ella Elyakim, 8; Dafna Elyakim, 14; Ofry Brodutch, 10; Yuval Brodutch, 8; Oria Brodutch, 4; Agam Almog Goldstein 17; Gal Almog Goldstein 11; and Tal Almog Goldstein, 9.

Other hostages released included: Hagar Brodutch, 40; Chen Almog Goldstein, 49; Elma Avraham, 84; Adrienne (Aviva) Siegel, 62; and 25-year-old Roni Krivoi, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen.

It was the third group of hostages that Hamas released as part of a fragile cease-fire with Israel after Hamas militants seized around 240 people in their Oct. 7 rampage across southern Israel that ignited the war.

Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the Biden administration needs to be tougher on Iran, and that a "massive retaliation" is needed to end attacks on U.S. assets. 

"Since Joe Biden took office, Iran has attacked American positions in the Middle East I think now over 150 times," Cotton told "Fox News Sunday."

The Republican senator added that the United States has only hit back a few times, and not at targets he would order were he commander in chief. The Senate Armed Services and Senate Intelligence Committee member said he would suggest targeting Iranians operating in Iraq and in Syria. 

"I would also send a clear message to Iran if these attacks don't stop immediately, then we will begin to threaten their assets," Cotton said, referencing when President Ronald Reagan sank half of Iran's navy for attacking a U.S. Navy ship.  

The senator believes President Biden wants to go "out of his way to avoid Iranian casualties" and does not have "escalation dominance over a terrorist-supporting regime like Iran."

Fox News' Pilar Elias contributed to this report

Many of the newly released convicted Palestinian terrorists who are part of a swap that secured the freedom of some Israeli and foreign hostages held by the terrorist movement Hamas could receive U.S. funds via the Palestinian Authority, an expert on the matter claimed. 

Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an Israeli-based organization researching Palestinian society, told Fox News Digital, "The American and European funding boosts the Palestinian Authority budget by $600 million. The Palestinian Authority pays the salaries of imprisoned terrorists and the family members of the martyrs and the amount comes to $300 million a year."

Marcus continued, "There is no doubt that the Palestinian Authority could not pay this funding without the boost of funding from the Americans and Europeans. The Americans and Europeans are absolutely facilitating the payment. It is willful blindness."

He noted, "Every single terrorist gets a salary from the Palestinian Authority once they are imprisoned." According to Palestinian law, Marcus said, a prisoner who serves more than five years in prison receives a monthly salary for life.

The release of the Palestinian terrorists comes after Fox News Digital reported on a  lawsuit in January by victims of terrorism and Rep. Ronny Jackson., R-Texas, alleging the Biden administration pumped more than a half billion U.S. taxpayer dollars into the Palestinian Authority without verifying that the organization isn’t funding terrorism, according to a federal lawsuit. 

Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report

President Biden says he hopes that Israel and Hamas will hold to the current ceasefire so long as Hamas continues to release hostages.

Biden made the remarks on Sunday following the release of 4-year-old Abigail Edan. Israel and Hamas had agreed to a four-day cease-fire and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian criminals held in Israeli prisons.

Biden said the deal allowed for a cease-fire extension of one day for every 10 hostages released by Hamas.

"I would like to see the pause go on as long as prisoners keep coming out," Biden told reporters after his remarks.

Israel believes there were nearly 240 hostages in Gaza prior to the exchange deal, which is expected to result in the release of 50 women and children. The U.S. believes 10 of its citizens were in Hamas custody, though one was confirmed to be released on Sunday.

President Biden confirmed the release of the first American hostage from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday.

Biden celebrated the release of four-year-old Abigail Edan, but said much work remains to be done to secure the safety of the rest of the Americans being held hostage.

During his remarks, Biden told of how Hamas terrorists had murdered Edan's mother in front of her during the Oct. 7 massacre. The young girl then fled to her father, who himself was gunned down as he tried to shield Edan with his body. She then fled to a neighbor's house, where she and the family there were taken hostage.

"Thank God she's home," Biden said. "I wish I was there to hold her."

Fox News Digital's Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.