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IDF Soldier Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Confirmed Dead
A woman reacts, as people gather in front of the UN Headquarters in Jerusalem demanding for action to be taken to return the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks, in Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Cpl. Noa Marciano, from the city of Modi’in in central Israel, has died as a hostage of the Hamas terror group in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday.
Marciano was a member of the army’s combat intelligence arm and was kidnapped from her base in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel, during Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border assault across southern Israeli communities in which terrorists murdered over 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 others.
Hamas on Monday released a propaganda video of Marciano, 19, identifying herself and reciting the names of her parents and her hometown. The video then cut to images of her lying dead with a bloody head wound.
The Palestinian terror group said Marciano’s death was due to IDF military strikes in Hamas-ruled Gaza following the Oct. 7 atrocities. However, experts have said it appears more like she was bludgeoned to death, presumably by her captors.
“Our hearts go out to the Marciano family, whose daughter, Noa, was brutally kidnapped by the Hamas terror organization,” the IDF said in a statement. “Hamas continues to use psychological terror and behaves inhumanely, through videos and photos of hostages, as it has done in the past.”
The military added that it is “using all means, both intelligence and operational, to bring the hostages home.”
The IDF confirmed Marciano’s death based on intelligence, not the Hamas video, according Israel’s Channel 12 news.
Hamas has released other videos of hostages in recent weeks, showing them under duress attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and saying they have been treated well.
Netanyahu has pledged to bring all hostages home, saying that it is the top priority of the country and that no ceasefire in Gaza will happen until they are released.
Families of hostages have been protesting in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem demanding that their loved ones be returned. Marciano’s mother, Adi Marciano, had traveled around the world to lobby for her release along with family members of the other captives held in Gaza, who include children and the elderly.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and families of hostages met with the head of the International Red Cross, which has been advocating for the well-being and release of the captives, in order to plead for their help. Hamas has forbidden the Red Cross from entering where the hostages are being kept and ensuring their safety.
Hamas has said it would release the hostages in exchange for Israel handing over all Palestinian prisoners sitting in Israeli jails. So far, Hamas has released only four hostages in two separate occasions.
Israel also announced last month that an IDF private, Pvt. Ori Megidish, held hostage by Hamas was liberated during ground operations in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group based in Gaza, released a hostage video last week of two Israelis being held in Gaza. The group said in a statement that it is willing to release the pair, Hanna Katzir, 77, and Yagil Yaakov, 12, both of Kibbutz Nir Oz, for “humanitarian reasons.”
The vast majority of the roughly 240 hostages in Gaza are believed to be in the hands of Hamas, but Islamic Jihad, a smaller and allied terrorist group in the Palestinian enclave, has said previously it held at least 30 captives.
The post IDF Soldier Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Confirmed Dead first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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FBI Investigating ‘Targeted Terror Attack’ in Boulder, Colorado, Director Says
FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump’s proposed budget request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday the agency was aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.
While he did not provide further details, Patel said in a social media post: “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
The Boulder Police Department said it was responding to a report of an attack in the city involving several victims. It has not released further details but a press conference was expected at 4 p.m. Mountain Time (2200 GMT).
The attack comes just weeks after a Chicago-born man was arrested in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
The shooting fueled polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The post FBI Investigating ‘Targeted Terror Attack’ in Boulder, Colorado, Director Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Terrorist Responsible for Death of 21 Soldiers Eliminated
An Israeli F-35I “Adir” fighter jet. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Khalil Abd al-Nasser Mohammed Khatib, the terrorist who commanded the terrorist cell that killed 21 soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024, was killed by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF said on Sunday.
In a joint operation between the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the terrorist was spotted in a reconnaissance mission. The troops called up an aircraft to target him, and he was eliminated.
Khatib planned and took part in many other terrorist plots against Israeli soldiers.
i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel interviewed Dor Almog, the sole survivor of the mass casualty disaster, who was informed on live TV about the death of the commander responsible for the killing his brothers-in-arms.
“I was sure this day would come – I was a soldier and I know what happens at the end,” said Almog. “The IDF will do everything to bring back the abductees and to topple Hamas, to the last one man.”
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Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81
FILE PHOTO: Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System Stanley Fischer arrives to hear Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Stanley Fischer, who helped shape modern economic theory during a career that included heading the Bank of Israel and serving as vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 81.
The Bank of Israel said he died on Saturday night but did not give a cause of death. Fischer was born in Zambia and had dual US-Israeli citizenship.
As an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fischer trained many of the people who went on to be top central bankers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank president.
Fischer served as chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis and was then vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.
During an eight-year stint as Israel’s central bank chief from 2005-2013, Fischer helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with minimal economic damage, elevating Israel’s economy on the global stage, while creating a monetary policy committee to decide on interest rates like in other advanced economies.
He was vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 and served as a director at Bank Hapoalim in 2020 and 2021.
Current Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron praised Fischer’s contribution to the Bank of Israel and to advancing Israel’s economy as “truly significant.”
The soft-spoken Fischer – who played a role in Israel’s economic stabilization plan in 1985 during a period of hyperinflation – was chosen by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as central bank chief.
Netanyahu, now prime minister, called Fischer a “great Zionist” for leaving the United States and moving to Israel to take on the top job at Israel’s central bank.
“He was an outstanding economist. In the framework of his role as governor, he greatly contributed to the Israeli economy, especially to the return of stability during the global economic crisis,” Netanyahu said, adding that Stanley – as he was known in Israel – proudly represented Israel and its economy worldwide.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also paid tribute.
“He played a huge role in strengthening Israel’s economy, its remarkable resilience, and its strong reputation around the world,” Herzog said. “He was a world-class professional, a man of integrity, with a heart of gold. A true lover of peace.”
The post Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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