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‘Devastated’: Biden Mourns Death of Israeli-American Hostage
US President Joe Biden, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday confirmed the death of Israeli-American 19-year-old Sgt. Itay Chen, who was murdered on Oct. 7 and whose body was taken by Hamas into Gaza.
US President Joe Biden said that he was “devastated” to learn about Chen’s death.
Recent intelligence showed that Chen was killed during a battle with Hamas terrorists near the border with Gaza and that his body was later seized from the Nahal Oz base where he served.
Chen’s death has now been officially recognized by the Israeli army’s chief rabbi, but his family has chosen to postpone the shiva mourning period and wait for the return of his remains, which are still being held by Hamas.
Chen’s last contact with his family was at 6:30 am on Oct. 7, when he updated them that the base was under attack. He was initially categorized as missing, but within days it was confirmed that he had been taken, along with 253 others, into Gaza.
His father, New York native Rubi Chen, emerged as a leading voice among the hostages’ families around the world early on in the Israel-Hamas war and has met with Biden and senior US officials.
Biden on Tuesday recalled a visit by Chen and his brother, Alon, at the White House on Hanukkah.
“Itay’s father and brother joined me at the White House, to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one,” he said.
“No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through. At the end of our meeting, they gave me a menorah — a solemn reminder that light will always dispel the darkness, and evil will not win.”
Biden reiterated his commitment to return all the hostages still in Gaza after being kidnapped on Oct. 7.
“We are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home,” Biden promised.
The first time Biden spoke with the older Chen was five days after his son’s abduction during a video meeting together with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel at the time.
The Algemeiner spoke with Chen shortly after that meeting about an upcoming bar mitzvah for Alon, his youngest son. Chen extended an open invitation to all who wanted to attend the celebration on the upcoming Saturday.
“Our youngest son deserves to have a happy bar mitzvah. It’s pretty simple. So we put that [horror] aside for a couple of hours and we have the embrace of our community.”
Asked if he was concerned about an impending ground invasion by Israeli forces, Chen, a venture capitalist, said that it was “sadly ironic” that he held onto the hope that the hostages were being used as human shields and that the more prized the hostage — his son, being an American, falling in that category — the higher his chances of survival.
“These animals that took Holocaust survivors and children, they know they need to take care of themselves. It’s basic instinct. They need to surround themselves with people to be human shields,” he told The Algemeiner. “The top [terrorists] are in underground bunkers keeping the hostages, and especially dual citizens, close to them.”
Beyond the kidnappings, Hamas terrorists also murdered 1,200 people during their Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.
The post ‘Devastated’: Biden Mourns Death of Israeli-American Hostage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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