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Major League Soccer Player, Lead Scorer Remains Stuck in Israel With Family Amid Iran War

In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 28, 2025, Philadelphia Union attacker Tai Baribo #9 is challenged by Alonso Coello #14 of Toronto FC during the MLS game between Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union at BMO Field. Photo: Indrawan Kumala via Reuters Connect

Major League Soccer (MLS) player Tai Baribo is stuck in his native country of Israel and has been unable to leave since war broke out between the Jewish state and Iran almost a week ago.

The Philadelphia Union forward, who is the league’s leading goal scorer, and his family have been unable to return to the United States because airspace in Israel has been closed as the country faces Iranian missile attacks, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Union said in a statement to the publication on Tuesday it has been in “constant communication” with Baribo, 27, and “are actively working to bring him back to Philadelphia safely.”

“With the airspace currently closed, the situation remains fluid, and we are exploring all alternative options,” the Union further told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Our priority is Tai’s safety and well-being. We will share more updates if and when it is appropriate.”

The Union is on a two-week break while the FIFA Club World Cup and the Concacaf Gold Cup currently take place across the US. Several Union players are competing in the Gold Cup, which began its second round of group stage matches this week and concludes with a final on July 6. The final for the FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place on July 13.

Baribo has scored 13 goals in 16 MLS matches and is a frontrunner in the race for this year’s Golden Boot, which is given to the league’s top goal scorer. After the Union’s game on May 31 against FC Dallas, he traveled to compete with Israel’s national team in international matches, including a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Estonia on June 6 and a friendly match against Slovakia on June 10 in Hungary. He had a calf injury that ultimately kept him out of the two international games. He returned to Israel following those matches and has been unable to leave the country since.

Baribo was born in Eilat, Israel. It remains unclear where in Israel he is staying during the c urrent war, but his wife reportedly shared a video on her Instagram story that showed the aftermath of a missile attack near their location. Another video that she posted showed Baribo and others in what appeared to be a storage room used as a bomb shelter.

On Wednesday, Israel’s national carrier El Al launched an airlift operation to bring tens of thousands of stranded Israeli citizens back to Israel. Israel’s Transportation Ministry estimated that more than 50,000 Israelis worldwide have been unable to get back home after airlines stopped flights to the country when the war broke out on June 13.

The post Major League Soccer Player, Lead Scorer Remains Stuck in Israel With Family Amid Iran War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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