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Mahmoud Khalil Refuses to Condemn Hamas, Visits High-Profile Democrats in DC
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, US, June 1, 2024. Photo: Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect
Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel activist and former Columbia University graduate student, refused to condemn the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday.
In the contentious interview, Khalil sidestepped repeated questions about Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered about 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 hostages while perpetrating mass sexual violence.
When pressed by CNN host Pamela Brown whether he would repudiate the group’s mass murder, Khalil said, “I condemn the killing of all civilians — full stop.”
When asked again whether he would condemn Hamas, Khalil deflected, saying that he is “very clear with condemning killing of all civilians.” He then said that it is “disingenuous to ask about condemning Hamas while Palestinians are being starved by Israel.” Khalil urged the anchors to address the “root causes” of the Oct. 7 massacre.
Khalil also toured Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Tuesday to meet with Democratic members of Congress and share his testimony. Khalil, who gained prominence for spearheading raucous anti-Israel campus protests, held a series of closed-door meetings with several prominent liberal politicians. Many of the lawmakers who met with Khalil are among the most critical voices against Israel on Capitol Hill.
Though the details of the meetings have not been disclosed, several members of Congress who met with Khalil defended student free speech rights and urged an immediate end to the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Students continue to be wrongfully disciplined for exercising their First Amendment rights and protesting a taxpayer-funded genocide in Gaza. Our institutions shouldn’t fuel an authoritative regime by suppressing dissent, and we must continue fighting back,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) posted on X.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) described Khalil as a “kind, gentle soul who cares deeply about others’ humanity.”
“I look forward to remaining in contact with Mahmoud as we continue work to center the humanity of families in Gaza, address the unjust and unlawful targeting of students exercising their right to free speech, and protect the fundamental, constitutional rights of everyone who calls this country home,” Pressley posted on social media.
Khalil, a Syrian native and Algerian national who came to the US in 2022, was one of the leaders of the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University last year, when activists illegally seized parts of the campus and refused to leave unless the school boycotted the world’s lone Jewish state. He was detained by the Trump administration in March after federal agents arrested him at his Manhattan apartment for what the Homeland Security Department described as “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” The State Department also alleged that Khalil was supporting Hamas.
The activist was held without charge for more than 100 days at an ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facility in Louisiana, where he was reportedly denied access to legal counsel and separated from his newborn son. A federal judge ordered his release in June, ruling that the government failed to prove he posed a threat and suggesting the detention may have violated his First Amendment rights.
Khalil also met with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of the most strident critics of Israel in Congress.
“I met with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, who was imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal & horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous,” Sanders wrote, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent.”
The post Mahmoud Khalil Refuses to Condemn Hamas, Visits High-Profile Democrats in DC 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.