RSS
Cohen Summons Irish Ambassador over Emily Hand Being Referred to as ‘Lost’
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen attends a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
i24 News – Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar posted a highly criticized statement on the release of Irish-Israeli Emily Hand, who was held hostage in Gaza for over 50 days since the October 7 massacres led by Hamas in southern Israel.
The statement led to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen summoning the Irish ambassador to Israel for an official reprimand, after describing Varadkar’s comments as “trying to legitimize and normalize terror.
“This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered,” Varadkar posted on X, and was consequently slapped with a community note on the social media platform.
Mr. Prime Minister,
It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!
Emily Hand was not “lost”, she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother.
Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas,… https://t.co/CD5wIZJN4i
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) November 26, 2023
Cohen responded harshly to the statement, before announcing the reprimand, telling the Irish prime minister “it seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!”
“Emily Hand was not ‘lost,’ she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother. Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas,” the Israeli foreign minister added, concluding that the Irish prime minister was “trying to legitimize and normalize terror.”
בעקבות דבריו המקוממים של ראש ממשלת אירלנד על שחרורה של אמלי הנד שנחטפה לעזה ע”י ארגון הטרור חמאס, הנחתי לזמן את שגרירת אירלנד בישראל לשיחת נזיפה.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) November 26, 2023
“Following the outrageous words of the Prime Minister of Ireland about the release of Emily Hand, who was kidnapped to Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas, I summoned the Irish ambassador to Israel for a reprimand,” Cohen stated a few hours later.
The prime minister of the predominantly Catholic nation may have been inspired by the lost and found tenet in Christianity, which describes sinners as lost until being found by Jesus Christ, and popularized in the 18th century hymn “Amazing Grace” by John Newton.
The post Cohen Summons Irish Ambassador over Emily Hand Being Referred to as ‘Lost’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.