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Obama official warns FBI is being overrun at border

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Obama official warns FBI is being overrun at border

Former Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said that the current influx of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border is bigger than anything the country has seen, and warned that people are entering the country that U.S. officials are unable to identify.

Johnson, who served under former President Barack Obama, made his comments during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday morning. He was asked about the American interest in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Hamas has been characterized by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.

The attacks have led to fears in the U.S. that known or suspected terrorists could be attempting to enter the country by exploiting the migration crisis along the southern border. Former President Donald Trump said this week that people who align with Hamas were pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border, although there is no evidence to support the claim.

Concern has also spread online after former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal called for worldwide protests on Friday in support of the Palestinians. Mashaal’s statement also urged neighboring countries Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to join the fight against Israel, Reuters reported.

Johnson addressed the concern that a lot of Americans may be feeling in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but he advised citizens to not run and hide, and instead stay vigilant.

“There are a lot of people entering our southern border right now,” Johnson said. “Thousands and thousands. It’s a hemispheric move north bigger than anything we’ve ever seen. And the challenge for [U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP], for our DHS, the FBI, is to try to keep up.”

“Unfortunately, as you know, the system is broken, it’s horribly backlogged, and there’s a whole lot of people entering this country who we cannot identify,” Johnson added.

Newsweek reached out to the DHS via email for comment.

President Joe Biden‘s administration has repeatedly faced scrutiny from both sides of the aisle over its handling of the southern border, with Democrats most recently condemning DHS plans to move forward with additional border wall construction. According to CBP figures, as of August, more than 2.2 million migrants have had encounters with authorities along the U.S.-Mexico in the 2023 fiscal year, an increase from 2.1 million a year ago.

There has also been a rise in recent years in the number of people apprehended on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist, with border patrol agents apprehending 151 migrants along the southern border in the fiscal year 2023 who match the FBI’s screening system, according to the CBP. In fiscal year 2022, 98 people on the watchlist were apprehended after entering from Mexico.

It’s important to note, however, that the FBI screening system used to match migrants to the terrorist watchlist—the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS)—does not necessarily mean that those apprehended are terrorists. The DHS said the people who match the TSDS criteria range “from known associates of watchlisted individuals, such as family members, to individuals directly engaged in terrorist activity.”

Democrat secretly gave Egypt sensitive information, prosecutors allege

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Democrat secretly gave Egypt sensitive information, prosecutors allege

Federal prosecutors alleged in a superseding indictment filed Thursday that New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez conspired to act as a foreign agent of Egypt while serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Menendez, a Democrat, was indicted alongside his wife, Nadine Arslanian, on federal corruption charges last month. Prosecutors allege that the senator accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes—including gold, cash and a luxury vehicle—in exchange for advancing the interests of three New Jersey businessmen and the interests of Egypt.

According to Thursday’s filing, Menendez, his wife and New Jersey businessman Wael Hana “willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other” to have the senator act as an agent for the Egyptian government. Prosecutors also accused Menendez of providing “sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.”

In a statement to Newsweek Thursday, Menendez said that the latest charge against him “flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President El-Sisi on these issues.”

“I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom,” Menendez continued. “Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true. The facts haven’t changed, only a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic.”

Thursday’s indictment claims that Menendez made several promises to act on behalf of the Egyptian government, and its military and intelligence officials, and that his wife and Hana “communicated requests and directives from Egyptian officials” to the senator.

According to prosecutors, in May 2019, Menendez, Nadine Menendez and Hana met with an Egyptian intelligence official at the senator’s office in Washington, D.C. The group reportedly discussed a “human rights matter” involving a U.S. citizen who had been injured in an airstrike in Egypt in 2015. At the time, read the indictment, some members of Congress did not believe that the Egyptian government had fairly compensated for the American who was injured and objected to providing further military aid to Cairo.

A week later, the Egyptian official texted Hana in Arabic about the meeting, writing that if Menendez “helped to resolve the matter, ‘he will sit very comfortably,'” read the indictment. Hana purportedly replied, “orders, consider it done.”

Prosecutors also claim that Hana texted an Egyptian official in March 2020, writing, “Anytime you need anything you have my number and we will make everything happen.” A few days later, Hana arranged a meeting between Menendez and the Egyptian official to discuss “negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, andSudan over a dam on the Nile River being built by Ethiopia…which was generally regarded as one of the most important foreign policy issues for Egypt,” prosecutors alleged.

Menendez wrote a letter to then-secretaries of the U.S. Treasury and U.S. State Department within a month of that meeting to “express” his “concern about the stalled negotiations” involving the dam.

Several other such meetings took place between Menendez and Egyptian officials, with the help of Hana and Nadine Menendez, into June 2022, read the indictment.

Menendez, alongside his co-defendants, pled not guilty last month to the charges contained in the original indictment. The senator has repeatedly dismissed the allegations against him and has ignored calls by his fellow Democrats to resign. He has yet to say if he will run for reelection in 2024.

Update 10/12/23 5:42 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from Senator Bill Menendez.

Marjorie Taylor Greene puts pressure on Republicans ahead of "Day of Jihad"

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Marjorie Taylor Greene puts pressure on Republicans ahead of "Day of Jihad"

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on GOP leaders to hold the vote for the next House Speaker before Friday in light of the former Hamas chief’s call for mass protests this week.

Khaled Mashal, who used to lead the Palestinian military group that bombarded Israel in a surprise attack Saturday, has called on Muslim communities around the world to “head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday” and protest in support of Palestinians. In his video statement, which was sent to Reuters, Mashall also spoke “to all scholars who teach jihad,” adding that “this is a moment of application.”

The call, which some have referred to as a “Day of Jihad,” has sparked concern across the U.S., with some commentators warning online that people should stay home unless in the case of an emergency Friday. In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Greene wrote that Mashal’s statement should also spark urgency in Congressional leaders to make a decision on when the House will hold a vote for the next speaker, adding that if there isn’t a vote Thursday, “why don’t we just go home and regroup next week?”

“We need to either vote now on the House floor or let us leave today,” Greene wrote in a following post directed at acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, House Republican Chair Elise Stefanik and the GOP’s current nominee for the next speaker, Congressman Steve Scalise.

“Do not make us all travel tomorrow on Hamas’s announced global day of jihad,” Greene added. “And we all know we aren’t going to be here this weekend.”

Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana and current number two of the House GOP, was named as a possible contender for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s replacement after a closed-door party meeting on Wednesday. But the House Republicans appear to remain divided on who to push forward as their next leader, with Scalise narrowly earning the nomination on a 113-99 vote.

Other members have called for Representative Jim Jordan, a MAGA Republican from Ohio, to hold the speaker’s chair next. At least 10 Republicans, including Greene, have vowed to not vote for Scalise.

Congress has roughly a month to reach an agreement on a series of government spending bills in order to avert a government shutdown. The bipartisan stopgap bill that was passed in the last hour to avoid a shutdown in September extended the deadline until November 17.

Until an agreement is reached on a House speaker, however, Congress is at a standstill. The unprecedented time could also pose a threat to the U.S.’s ability to stand beside Israel in light of Hamas’ attacks or continue to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

After a closed-door meeting on Thursday that was intended to iron out differences among the caucus, several Republican lawmakers indicated that the party was no closer to reaching a decision. When asked by Reuters if the meeting changed her mind about Scalise, Greene told the outlet, “No way.”

Newsweek reached out to the offices of McHenry and Scalise for comment Thursday afternoon.

Netanyahu issues ominous warning to Hamas

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Netanyahu issues ominous warning to Hamas

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that every member of Hamas is a “dead man,” as he announced a new national emergency government to fight against the Palestinian militant group.

The premier said that the people and leadership of Israel were “united” in fighting Hamas, whose attacks in the south of the country on Saturday have been followed by Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

“We saw the beasts. We saw the barbarians we are facing,” Netanyahu said in a televised address, according to The Times of Israel. “We saw a cruel enemy” which was “worse than ISIS.”

“How staggering the atrocity. How great the pain,” Netanyahu said. “We are fighting with full force, on every front, we have gone onto the attack. Every member of Hamas is a dead man.”

The emergency Israeli government includes Benny Gantz’s National Unity party. The main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has not joined, although a seat would be reserved for him in the war cabinet.

As 360,000 Israeli reservists gather near the Gaza border for a potential land invasion, the Israeli prime minister continues to face condemnation from media outlets such as Haaretz for the failures that led up to the Hamas attack.

Questions remain as to how Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, and all the assets of the Israel Defense Forces, failed to predict the attack. Netanyahu has denied that Israel ignored repeated warnings from Egypt about an imminent attack.

“The failure is his and the responsibility for the catastrophe is his, but on the other hand we are at war and people don’t want him to resign in the middle of the war,” Emmanuel Navon, CEO of the NGO ELNET-Israel, told Newsweek. “Therefore he should stay as the head of the government and have a fully unity government as far as the war is being fought but he should not stay a single minute in power the day the war is over.”

When asked by Britain’s Channel 4 News about criticism that Netanyahu “took his eye off the ball,” before the Hamas attacks, the Netanyahu adviser Mark Regev said: “Obviously mistakes were made.”

Israelis “have always prided ourselves on having an excellent intelligence service and here we were taken by surprise,” Regev said. “There are allegations that the army wasn’t quick enough in its initial response. That has to be looked into, that will be investigated, we have to see what lessons need to be learned.

“Israelis are free to criticize” Netanyahu, but polling shows: “there is strong support for a national unity government” and that “this is the time for Israelis to unify and meet the common threats,” he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he had told Netanyahu that Israel must “operate by the rules of war.” The death toll in Israel has reached 1,200, and over 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli air strikes, according to Reuters.

Iran’s "Axis of Resistance" outlines red lines for joining war in Israel

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Iran’s "Axis of Resistance" outlines red lines for joining war in Israel

Members of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” have described their thresholds for intervening in the war between Israel and Hamas, amid concerns that the conflict could spread.

The red lines stated by the informal anti-Israel, anti-Western and anti-Saudi alliance between Iran and regional militant groups come as Israeli strikes on Gaza continue.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest-ever Palestinian militant attack on Israel, which subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Thursday, more than 1,200 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli military. At least 1,200 people had been killed in Gaza, according to authorities there, the AP said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists.

The leadership of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Ashab al-Kahf, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, and the Badr Organization said they would strike U.S. targets if there were any intervention by Washington in the war, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.

The threshold for Lebanese Hezbollah, a key backer of Hamas, would be if Israel conducts a ground operation into Gaza, on whose border Israeli reservists are gathered ahead of an expected incursion into the enclave.

U.S. involvement in the war would also be a red line for Yemen’s Houthi movement, while Iran will intervene if Israel attacks the Islamic State, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank said.

An Iranian foreign affairs ministry official said on October 9 that Tehran would deliver a “devastating response” if Israel hit Iranian territory.

When contacted for comment, the U.S. State Department told Newsweek in a statement, “We are aware of these comments and will take all measures necessary to protect our citizens and our interests.”

It said that the U.S. has pushed a “strong message of deterrence to any country or any party that might seek to take advantage of the situation to widen this war” and was “pursuing intensive diplomacy” in the region “to prevent the conflict from spreading.”

President Joe Biden has pledged to provide military support for Israel to fight Hamas. The U.S. has also moved aircraft carrier the USS Gerald R. Ford to the eastern Mediterranean although the White House said there is no plan to send troops.

Politico reported that the Pentagon is concerned about the potential for attacks on American troops already stationed in the Middle East from Iran and its proxy forces.

U.S. forces in the Middle East are “aware of malign actors who may seek to capitalize on conflicts and instability in the region,” said Maj. Geoffrey Carmichael, the spokesperson for the American military operation to counter ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

A report by security intelligence firm Global Guardian this week said that for Hamas the war was a “last-ditch effort to unify the Palestinian people and galvanize Pan-Arabist sentiment that died when Egypt and Israel signed a peace accord in 1979.”

It said that the “stakes are high, and the incentives are in place for Israel, Hamas, and Iran—and its various regional auxiliaries—to permanently alter the current strategic balance.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday and will meet Israeli officials and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank and is a political rival to Hamas.

Update 10/12/23 4:38 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from U.S. State Department.

Russia’s DIY vehicles torn to pieces after failed advance

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Russia’s DIY vehicles torn to pieces after failed advance

A Russian unit that conducted an aborted advance on Ukrainian forces left behind vintage military vehicles that had been patched up in a do-it-yourself style, it has been reported.

Russia’s 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade staged an attack toward Novomykhailivka, in the south of the Donetsk oblast, on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.

After the Russian assault collapsed, the troops abandoned what looked like two improvised personnel carriers based on MT-LB armored vehicles, according to the X (formerly Twitter) account Ukraine Weapons Tracker, which said they had been “damaged after running over anti-tank landmines.” The body of a dead Russian soldier was also said to have been left at the site.

The ML-TB is a Soviet-era amphibious, tracked armored fighting vehicle that has been in use since the 1970s. Since the start of the war, Russia has lost 486 of the vehicles, according to the Oryx website, which uses open sources to track equipment losses on both sides.

Ukraine Weapons Tracker’s post showed images of the vehicles, which Forbes noted had an add-on 23-millimeter cannon and a new open compartment with a removable roof for the crew, who were left vulnerable to direct strikes by mortars, artillery and explosive-laden drones.

A Russian Telegram user said in a post made in April that the adaptations allowed a soldier to stand up and scan his surroundings while traveling.

“The infantry rides behind the armor, watching the situation,” and the modifications made for “easier evacuation of people and loading of ammunition.”

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry by email for comment.

It comes as Ukrainian armed forces continue their counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory across much of southern Ukraine. Russian regiments and brigades are also attacking around Avdiivka, north of Donetsk.

Up to three Russian battalions from the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, intensified their offensive operations near Avdiivka, the Ukrainian General Staff reported.

Geolocated footage from Tuesday and Wednesday confirmed Russian troop advancements in the Donetsk region, southwest and northwest of Avdiivka near Sieverne and Stepove, respectively.

Russian bloggers celebrated the advances, while the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday that Moscow’s troops “are applying lessons learned from operations in southern Ukraine” to other sectors of the front.

However, the think tank said that these successes “are unlikely to translate into wider operational and strategic gains for Russian forces.”

It also noted that Avdiivka was a well-fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold, “which will likely complicate” Russia’s ability “to closely approach or fully capture.”

Israel war could hinder Kyiv aid in one scenario: Ukraine’s intel chief

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Israel war could hinder Kyiv aid in one scenario: Ukraine’s intel chief

Ukraine’s intelligence chief said a protracted war between Israel and Hamas may affect Western supplies of military aid to Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday and pledged Washington’s support for the country following the weekend attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel.

Blinken promised Israel more ammunition to re-stock its air defenses and said there was bipartisan support in Congress for more military assistance. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden pledged U.S. support for Israel.

However, there are concerns that U.S. and Western military support for Ukraine is starting to wane because of domestic political concerns and budgetary constraints.

In an interview with the media outlet Ukrainian Pravda, the head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that if the conflict in Israel is over within a few weeks, “there is nothing to worry about” regarding the military aid the West is giving Ukraine.

“But if the situation drags on, it is quite clear that there will be certain problems with the fact that it will be necessary to supply weapons and ammunition not only to Ukraine,” he said.

He also said that Hamas’ use of drones on armored vehicles in the attack on Saturday bore the hallmarks of Russian involvement.

“No one other than those who were in our theater of war could do such a thing. Since we were not there, it means that it was the Russians,” he said, according to a translation.

He also believes it was notable that Russian state-run news agency Sputnik began Arabic language broadcasts in Lebanon “with a clear Russian narrative.” Also significant was a visit by a Russian military official last month to Iran, which has supported Hamas.

Budanov did not offer evidence for his claims of Moscow’s involvement in the Hamas attack. The Kremlin said it was concerned about the Hamas attack and called for a peaceful resolution, although Russian President Vladimir Putin said the conflict in Israel was a “clear example of the failure of U.S. policy in the Middle East.”

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin by email for comment.

Meanwhile, amid concerns that the war could spill over into the wider region, Budanov expressed concern about what might happen in the longer term.

“Based on the totality of geography, we see several conflicts that at first glance seem to be regional, except for Ukraine, but they are all connected by the same countries,” he said. “I believe we are approaching global war pretty quickly.”

U.S. troops are on alert for Iran allies joining Israel-Hamas war

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U.S. troops are on alert for Iran allies joining Israel-Hamas war

U.S. troops stationed across the Middle East are on the lookout for Iran’s regional network of allied militias potentially opening new fronts in the most serious flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades.

“We are monitoring across the region for any indicators or warnings that these groups would consider piling on or entering this conflict in a way that escalates it,” a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) told Newsweek.

This is why, according to the spokesperson, “we adjusted our posture.”

One day after the surprise land, air and sea attack led by the Palestinian Hamas movement against Israel on Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced new military moves designed “to bolster regional deterrence efforts.” This included the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean and boosting supplies of equipment and resources to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The CENTCOM spokesperson declined to divulge “specific force protection measures or future operations,” but affirmed that “we remain concerned about Iranian supported militia groups and that we continue to take appropriate measures to ensure the security of U.S. military personnel.”

As of January 2022, one year into President Joe Biden‘s tenure in office, the U.S. had more than 30,000 troops in the Middle East, including roughly 2,500 in Iraq and 900 in Syria. The latest data provided by the Pentagon‘s budget request submitted in March for fiscal year 2024 show the number of troops supporting operations in these two countries rose from 3,400 in fiscal year 2022 to 3,949 in fiscal year 2023 with a request to draw down to 3,558 in the coming fiscal year.

Iraq and Syria have hosted Iran-backed militias that have occasionally targeted U.S. troops, drawing U.S. airstrikes on the groups’ positions on several occasions under Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

While no attacks have compared to the comprehensive operation launched by Hamas on Israel over the weekend, militias with suspected links to Iran in Iraq and Syria have at times conducted multifaceted attacks of their own involving rockets, drones and small arms fire.

A number of these mostly Shiite Muslim militias, such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, all based in Iraq but known to be active in Syria as well, have expressed ardent support for Hamas and have even weighed joining in the fight, potentially by taking aim at U.S. personnel over their military presence in the two countries as well as for their support for Israel.

Iraqi militias have a long history of targeting U.S. troops, dating back to the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of the country two decades ago, when rival Sunni and Shiite Muslim militias mobilized against one another and U.S. personnel. When the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) emerged from the instability, Iran intensified its backing of friendly forces to take on the jihadis and aid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war against them and an array of other largely Sunni Muslim insurgent groups.

This intervention initially alienated Sunni Muslim Hamas, but the Palestinian movement has since bolstered ties with Iran and its allies under the common aim of opposing Israel.

Tehran, too, has praised Hamas’ recent surprise attack and the Iranian Mission to the United Nations told Newsweek on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic had provided Palestinian fighters with the “skills” that helped them to conduct such a devastating operation. And while Hamas’ representative in Lebanon told Newsweek later that same day that the group was in active coordination with Iran and other “Axis of Resistance” forces “before, during and after this battle,” the Iranian Mission denied that Iran had any direct role in it.

U.S. and Israeli officials have said they saw no clear evidence of Iran’s involvement in the Hamas attack.

The Iranian Mission previously denied to Newsweek that it was behind militia attacks against the U.S. in Iraq and Syria, though Iranian officials have called troops to be expelled from the two countries. The Syrian government, still firmly under Assad’s control, has also repeatedly demanded that the U.S. withdraw.

The Syrian leader spoke with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi during a call Thursday in which they affirmed their joint support for Palestinians now facing a largest-ever Israeli bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip and called for Arab and Muslim unity against Israel.

As the regional fallout of Hamas’ attack and Israel’s still-unfolding campaign against Gaza continues, the CENTCOM spokesperson noted that the U.S. was taking a multi-pronged approach to shoring up deterrence.

“What we’re doing across the U.S. government is, one, flooding the zone with high-level phone calls and engagement to make clear our desire to contain this conflict, support the defense of Israel,” the spokesperson told Newsweek. “So, we are postured in monitoring, for any adversary, that would consider entering this conflict and escalating it.”

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

I was at the festival in Israel. Terrorists surrounded us

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I was at the festival in Israel. Terrorists surrounded us

It all began at 6:30 a.m. We were on the dance floor when missile interceptions started above our heads. The music was shut off and they told us to evacuate the place.

We ran to our cars with what little equipment we managed to grab from the complex and started driving. The roads were jammed and packed, everyone stressed to leave.

First, we drove to the right, and cars started making U-turns saying they were being shot at. So then we drove to the left—and the same thing happened.

That’s when we realized we were stuck.

Luckily, there was a brigadier general standing on the road. I stayed with him until he finished a phone call and he told me to run into the fields as fast and as far as I could.

And that’s what happened; hundreds of people on average 20 years old—essentially just children!—found themselves running like partisans into the woods, but with no ability to fight.

After a while, we realized we were surrounded by the terrorists in every direction of potential escape. All that was left was for us to hide.

As we ran, we could hear the whistling of bullets passing by us. We could only pray to not get hit.

Above us, the sky was grey, filled with never-ending missile interceptions. And yelling; some in Arabic, some in Hebrew.

Those who didn’t run or who stayed on the dance floor? Their end was different to ours.

We sent our location and just waited for rescue. We hid under a tree, barely covered, hoping not to be exposed.

Thoughts came to me about what scenario is better: Death or abduction?

I was thinking about my will, and what will I say? And of all the things I have yet to get done; all that I couldn’t accomplish yet. I thought about my family, and about Israel, and the army. Oh my, I love the IDF so much.

I thought about my trip, my friends. I wanted to write to everyone that I love them, no matter what happens to me, but I felt that was determining destiny for me.

I talked to God; I haven’t spoken to him in a while. I promised I’ll start keeping Shabbat, and that I’ll be more religious.

I made peace with dying. I’m sorry for the harsh words, but that’s what went down.

After six or seven hours under the tree, with only 2 percent battery left on my friend Michal’s phone, a guy named Rami started honking for us. We crawled towards the dirt pathway. A truck came and we bawled our eyes out as we got on.

So many things went through my mind.

Two civilians, Rami and a guy named Leon, who took their own trucks and came to rescue partygoers from the fields, saved our lives and many other people like us.

I was reminded of my immense love to the nation of Israel. In one moment, all of us were united again.

We arrived in Patish. Everyone was terrified. The sights we’d witnessed, the sounds we were forced to hear. All that’s left is to try and cope with them.

Hug your loved ones. I have never appreciated my life more. In my worst nightmare I couldn’t imagine this would happen. I am so thankful for those who were with me and could return home safely. I hurt so deeply for those who didn’t.

Things will need to be processed a lot more. Please forgive me for sparing you the harsh details of that day. Please don’t be ashamed to call for help from professionals. We cannot get through this alone.

I hug the defense forces, all of those who wrote to me, who worried for me, and prayed for us. And every single person who was there with me, who I couldn’t get through this without.

Naama Eitan is a survivor of the Supernova festival massacre in Israel.

All opinions in this essay are the author’s own.

Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com.

Hamas abducted my wife and babies. They’re running out of time

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Hamas abducted my wife and babies. They’re running out of time

It was Saturday morning. I was at home in central Israel. My wife, Doron, wasn’t with me. She was with our two baby daughters, five-year-old Raz and three-year-old Aviv, at her mother’s house down in the south.

She called and told me people were entering the house and she could hear gunshots. So they all locked down in the safe room.

We disconnected the call so as not to risk her safety. She was whispering and it was terrifying. After that, I didn’t speak to her. We lost contact. It was a few nerve-racking hours before I eventually saw a nine-second video in the media of my wife and two daughters.

They were on some kind of vehicle as one of the captors put a cover on my wife’s head. I immediately recognized my older daughter Raz with her little purple dress. All around them, the attackers were shouting “Allahu akbar”. At that moment, I knew they’d been abducted.

I can’t find the right words to describe a father’s feeling in a moment like that. I felt all of the energy leaving my body. My eyes refused to see what they were watching. If you are a parent, no words can sufficiently describe what it feels like. I was helpless, frustrated. It feels like you want to drop dead.

The only thing I can do now is talk to anyone that I can. Just talk and talk. Show people photos of my beautiful babies and let them know my daughters need to go to kindergarten; they need to be in their home and to play and to eat. I don’t know what their condition is.

So that’s all I can do: Talk. Show anyone who will listen.

I don’t have any training in diplomacy or security so I don’t have any answers in that area. I just want someone to hear, someone to listen, someone to see. Look at the photos. Look at their eyes. Those are babies. Those are my babies.

We are in contact with the Israeli authorities and know that they are making efforts. We try to get concrete information. It’s not a simple thing and it won’t be resolved quickly. It’s hard to get things moving.

I haven’t slept or eaten for days. There are people here with me to help. But what can I do?

What have these babies had to do with the war? I want the international community to realize there is no connection between those babies and the war. They should put pressure on Hamas or whoever has them to just release them.

They can’t be in captivity for a long time. They won’t survive. They are babies and they have needs.

I am begging people. I will do anything they want. I will offer myself instead. They can take me and do whatever they want, right now. But that’s the only thing I can do.

I want the Israeli authorities to act in order to protect my family and the other hostages, and to bring them back. I’m sure that they are.

It’s vital to understand that my wife has German citizenship. I approached the German authorities and I expect them to put some pressure on Hamas, and to understand that there is a terrified woman with her two babies and she wants to come home. Germany has a duty to help her.

She doesn’t know what will happen to her. I want the German authorities to know that. Perhaps I am naïve, but I hope that when they see my babies’ picture and when they know that their mother has German citizenship they will apply pressure on their captors to release them. They must.

I have a lot of support around me right now. But the only support I need is of my wife and two daughters. They are my whole world. I don’t have any other children. It’s my family.

All the world is with me. All the people of Israel are with me. Sending texts, messaging. Jewish, Arab, Druze—everyone is texting me trying to help. I’m grateful, but all I can think about is that my whole world is not with me right now.

The only thing I want is for people to see photos of my baby girls and their mother. The captors need to release them as soon as they can. It’s a critical window of time. There’s not much time for little babies in captivity. Adults can hold on a few days. But not them.

Yoni Asher is a married father of two from Israel. His wife and two daughters are missing and believed to be held captive in Gaza.

All opinions expressed are the author’s own.

As told to senior editor Shane Croucher.

Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com.

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