Hamas Evicted From Luxury Homes in Qatar

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/426265

Where are Hamas' leaders? Homeless and evicted from Qatar

Hamas is looking for a new home, both metaphorically and literally. Erdogan may be waiting in the wings, but the facts are that Hamas leaders have been forced to leave their Qatari luxury accommodations. And no one cares. 

 

     Doha, Qatar

Under the fog of the Iran war, Hamas has been evicted from its luxury and protected home in Qatar without anyone noticing.

Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ chief negotiator, left his five-star exile in Doha for what was intended to be a quick diplomatic trip to Cairo.

After he rejected the U.S.-backed disarmament proposal that offered a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, he received a text message notifying him that he had been evicted from his luxury lodgings and was officially barred from re-entering Qatar.

It appears that Hamas’ latest bout of intractability has finally broken its patron’s back - for now. After 20 years, Qatar is pulling its investment in the terror group. According to publicist Amit Segal, Doha will no longer play the role of host and negotiator, and most of Hamas’ leadership has already departed the country.

Why now?

The decisive turning point wasn’t Cairo, nor was it October 7 which, truth be told, represented a major appreciation of Doha’s investment. In fact, Qatar, which had sent suitcases filled with cash to Hamas (ostensibly to Gazans) via Israel before October 7, was to become the negotiation venue for negotiations on freeing the hostages, playing both sides.

But -

The breaking point was Operation Roaring Lion. After 16 agonizing days of silence, torn between their two patrons, Hamas ultimately issued a statement defending Iran’s “right of self-defence," but asked Tehran to refrain from targeting “neighbouring countries." For Qatar, a nation whose sovereign territory was actively being struck by Iranian missiles, this relatively weak, delayed condemnation from the group they had been funnelling cash and support to for decades did not go down well.

In exchange for their luxury accommodations, Hamas had provided Qatar with a highly marketable service: terrorist mediation. But it made Qatar, intentionally driving a wedge between the US and Israel, look bad.

Alongside their shared ideological alignment, this mediation is precisely why Qatar reached out to Hamas after the group’s 2006 electoral victory when the rest of the world cut contact. Doha cornered this unserved market. But the value of that service is in steep decline-not only because a new status quo is settling over Gaza, but because the primary consumer of Qatar’s service, the United States, has developed a distaste for such intimate terrorist ties.

So now Hamas is looking for a new home, both metaphorically and literally.

Since the regional war began, a civil war has been raging inside Hamas. The more pragmatic camp led by Khaled Mashal wants to diversify their patronage through Sunni Arab states, while the hardline faction led by al-Hayya wants to maintain their membership in Iran’s Axis of Resistance.

At one point, they successfully kept a foot in both camps, with a house in Tehran and a house in Doha. Now, they are locked out of one, and the other is a smoking ruin. Still, a smoking ruin is better than no house at all. Qatar cutting Hamas off will likely encourage the Iran-aligned faction, despite the negligible amount of support a battered Tehran can currently offer, not to mention the bad publicity.

There remains one wild card - Erdogan. A place for them may be opening up in Ankara, with Turkey offering sanctuary in exchange for more regional influence, all this under the umbrella of Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace.

For now, the arrangement remains tentative. The amount of tangible support flowing to Hamas is unclear.

Despite the infamous fog, this war has an intensely clarifying effect. It answers the fundamental questions: what you stand for, who your enemies are, and who your friends are.

Even when the guns stop firing and life returns to normal, those understandings remain. Watch this situation closely.

With thanks and acknowledgement to Amit Segal.

Barry Shaw blogs on The View from Israel and is a fellow at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/426265

     Hamas Elite formerly lived in Luxury in Qatar

     Enjoying a game of Ping-Pong

USA to deny Green Cards for anti-Israel views

https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-894121

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-reportedly-denying-green-cards-over-anti-israel-social-media-posts/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/us/politics/trump-green-cards-scrutiny.html

US to deny green card applicants over anti-Israel political opinions

DHS officers are now being referred to as "homeland defenders" in job postings, calling candidates to "Protect your homeland and defend your culture."

The United States has altered its restrictions toward potential immigrants, allowing their green card applications to be denied for expressing anti-Israel political opinions, The New York Times reported, after reviewing new training materials given to Department of Homeland Security immigration officers.

The Times noted that these officers are now being referred to as "homeland defenders" in job postings, with one calling candidates to "Protect your homeland and defend your culture."

The training materials describe candidates "endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views" or "antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups," and tell officers to view such factors as "overwhelmingly negative."

Demonstrators sit in an encampment as they protest in solidarity with Pro-Palestinian organizers on the Columbia University campus, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in New York City, US. April 19, 2024. (credit: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS)

Anti-Israel posts used as examples of antisemitism

Among the examples of antisemitism provided in the training materials are anti-Israel social media posts, such as one reading "Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine" with the Israeli flag crossed out, one with the map of Israel with the country's name replaced with the word "Palestine," and a post suggesting that Israelis should “taste what people in Gaza are tasting.”

Immigration officers were also told to “focus particularly on aliens who engaged in on-campus anti-American and antisemitic activities.”

Additionally, all cases that do involve "potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology" must be elevated to their managers and the agency’s general counsel’s office.

Other behaviors the materials describe as negative, the Times reported, were showing support for "subversive" ideologies, such as by “holding a sign advocating overthrow of the US government,” or burning a US flag.

https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-894121

Immigration agents told to look out for support for ‘antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups,’ or participation in anti-Israel campus protests.

New training materials tell immigration officers to vet applicants for “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.” Desecrating the American flag is another example of such activity.

Officers are instructed to view such activity as “overwhelmingly negative,” and to refer cases involving “potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology” to their superiors.

DHS also told immigration officers to pay particular attention to anyone who took part in the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campus protests in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, the report said. The agents were told to examine whether applicants promoted antisemitism “through rhetorical or physical actions.”

“If you hate America, you have no business demanding to live in America,” said Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles green card applications.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said they aimed to protect “American institutions, the safety of citizens, national security and the freedoms of the United States.”

Students and faculty rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus to protest the Trump administration’s crackdown on universities over antisemitism, on March 19, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The reported policy is part of a raft of recent White House actions to combat antisemitism and criticism of Israel, including via immigration policy. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration has sought to revoke anti-Israel campus protesters’ student visas and has weighed reviewing tourists’ social media histories.

A directive last year from USCIS tells agents to examine whether aspiring immigrants “support or promote anti-American ideologies or activities, antisemitic terrorism and antisemitic terrorist organizations, or… promote antisemitic ideologies.”

Although ideology has always played a part when vetting green card applicants, it had previously only impacted people belonging to communist or other totalitarian parties, or who had supported violent or unconstitutional calls to overthrow the US government.

The reported new policy comes amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, which has targeted undocumented immigrants for deportation along with reducing legal immigration. Green card approvals have fallen by half in recent months.

The administration has also said it is combating antisemitism by suing or withholding funding from universities over their response to campus anti-Israel activism. 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-reportedly-denying-green-cards-over-anti-israel-social-media-posts/

In guidance to immigration officers, the administration describes participating in pro-Palestinian protests and criticizing Israel as “overwhelmingly negative” factors.

Supporters of Palestine demonstrating in New York last year. Under new guidance issued by the Trump administration, immigrants could be denied a green card for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

“There is no room in America for aliens who espouse anti-American ideologies or support terrorist organizations,” Joseph Edlow, the agency’s director, told Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of pro-Palestinian student activists, including one who wrote a column criticizing her university’s response to pro-Palestinian demands.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/us/politics/trump-green-cards-scrutiny.html

The North Sea was once a Vast Woodland

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-894168

Secrets of a drowned realm: DNA traces show the North Sea once held sprawling woodlands

Genetic material from oak, elm, hazel, and lime shows that woodlands established themselves thousands of years earlier than previous estimates.

     Helgoland

Sedimentary DNA recovered from the floor of the North Sea is revealing that Doggerland—once a vast landmass that connected Britain to continental Europe—supported a prehistoric forest ecosystem much earlier than scientists had believed. Genetic material from oak, elm, hazel, and lime shows that woodlands established themselves thousands of years ahead of previous estimates. The detection of Pterocarya, a member of the walnut family thought to have vanished from the region more than 400,000 years ago, indicates the tree survived in small “micro-refuges” far longer than expected. Together, the findings point to a milder microclimate and a more complex ecosystem than prior models had predicted, according to WIRED.

The new genetic data sharpen the picture of a landscape that emerged as a broad plain after the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago, when sea levels fell dramatically. As the climate warmed and oceans rose, the plain began to erode around 10,000 years ago. Final submergence occurred roughly 8,000 years ago; some portions remained above water until about 7,000 years ago before being entombed beneath silt, according to Nature World News. Within that shrinking environment, the forests appear to have provided a critical source of food and shelter for early human communities.

Evidence from the seabed

Evidence from the seabed includes tools and harpoons fashioned from bone and horn—artifacts of Mesolithic activity that align with the newly reconstructed picture of a resource-rich woodland supporting people well before the timeframe researchers once assumed. Researchers analyzing these ancient sediments say the sweeping environmental reconstruction is possible because DNA preserved in silts and sands documents the plants that anchored Doggerland’s ecosystems as sea levels rose. That same record includes traces of tree species previously believed to have disappeared locally some 400,000 years ago, consistent with the survival of Pterocarya in small pockets. Experts characterize Doggerland as a place where life could persist amid Europe’s Ice Age conditions, providing a favorable refuge for both flora and human groups earlier than previously thought.

The recovered artifacts help trace a human presence dating back thousands of years, including a 9,000-year-old human jawbone discovered in 2015. Fishermen have periodically netted objects from the lost landscape, hinting at a broader archaeological archive scattered beneath the sandbanks and channels.

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-894168

3000 Rampaging Wild Boars Plague The Polish Capitol Warsaw

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15766273/Up-3-000-rampaging-wild-boars-plaguing-Polands-capital-kill-sight-orders-issued-hunters.html

Authorities in Warsaw are facing mounting criticism after deploying hunters to kill thousands of rampaging wild boars plaguing the city. 

The operation, launched earlier this month, targets around 3,000 animals across the capital, including in districts such as Bemowo and Mokotów, which have seen a rise in sightings.

Specialist teams equipped with dart guns respond to reports logged on a mobile phone app, tranquilising the animals before killing them with lethal injections.

However, the methods have sparked anger after boars were killed in residential areas, including playgrounds, and their carcasses were seen being placed in wheelie bins.

The backlash prompted protests outside city hall, with hundreds of residents and animal rights activists demonstrating against the cull.

Dorota Sumińska, 69, a vet and newspaper columnist, told The Telegraph: 'What is happening in Warsaw recently is pathology and barbarism. 

'It frightens me that something like this was allowed to happen.'

City officials say the scale of the problem is unprecedented, with at least 3,000 wild boar recorded in Warsaw as of March 2026.

Authorities in Warsaw are facing mounting criticism after deploying hunters to kill thousands of rampaging wild boars plaguing the city

Edward Warchocki, a humanoid robot dubbed an 'influencer', spotted chasing off a herd of wild boars in the Polish capital

Wildlife experts attribute the surge to several factors, including the animals' growing resistance to African swine fever since 2017, as well as reduced human activity during COVID lockdowns and EU restrictions on relocating boars to forests.

The animals have also become more accustomed to urban environments and are increasingly entering the city in search of food, sometimes being fed by residents.

Some locals have criticised the decision to use lethal methods.

One resident said a recent cull in Białołęka took place outside a school for autistic children.

She told the newspaper: 'My neighbours often report encounters with wild boars because they are afraid, even though they've never actually interacted with them. The boars were sleeping under a tree. They were killed very quickly, with stun darts and then a lethal injection.

'Their determination [to kill the animals] was frightening… they should show respect when taking the life of a living creature.'

One more said they did not agree with the 'mindless killing' of animals.

Officials say growing boar populations are a wider European issue, with countries including Spain, Germany, France, and Estonia carrying out regular culls.

In Britain, wild boar are culled annually in the Forest of Dean to maintain a population of around 400.

Experts say milder winters linked to climate change and a decline in natural predators such as bears and wolves have contributed to the increase.

The animals have also become more accustomed to urban environments and are increasingly entering the city in search of food, sometimes being fed by residents

The cull has also drawn attention online after footage circulated of a humanoid robot, Edward Warchocki, appearing to chase boars through a Warsaw car park, although there are no plans for it to be used in the operation

Karol Podgórski, head of Warsaw's culling programme, defended the operation.

He told the newspaper: 'I understand the concerns of animal rights advocates, but in a situation with so many conflicts between wild boars and people, we, as authorities, must take steps that are not liked by part of society.'

He added that the number of animals justified the measures and said non-lethal options are used where possible.

'Another issue is that wild boars also cause damage in the city. They dig up lawns, destroy fences, attack dogs and damage cars. And damage caused by wild boars is not covered by insurance,' he said.

The cull has also drawn attention online after footage circulated of a humanoid robot, Edward Warchocki, appearing to chase boars through a Warsaw car park, although there are no plans for it to be used in the operation.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15766273/Up-3-000-rampaging-wild-boars-plaguing-Polands-capital-kill-sight-orders-issued-hunters.html

How USA Destroyer Shot Out Engine Room of Iranian Blockade Runner

https://www.businessinsider.com/new-details-how-us-destroyer-shot-engine-iran-blockade-runner-2026-4

Top general shares new details on how a US destroyer shot out the engine of an Iran blockade runner

     USS Spruance

• An Iranian-flagged cargo ship tried to bypass the US blockade in the Arabian Sea
• To stop the ship, which ignored warnings, a US destroyer fired nine rounds into its engine room.
• The top American general shared new details about the operation 
• A US Navy guided-missile destroyer fired nine "inert" rounds into the engine room of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel trying to evade the American military blockade in the Arabian Sea.

• Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared new details about the blockade incident, a rare use of force by the Navy against a non-combat vessel.

  Since the US launched its blockade of maritime traffic going in or out of Iranian ports earlier this month, 34 ships have turned around at the direction of American forces. However, one vessel did not comply with those orders, Caine told reporters at a briefing.

  M/V Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel, was sailing in the north Arabian Sea, heading toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, when it was intercepted by the Navy destroyer USS Spruance.

  The Spruance approached the Touska at around 4 a.m. EST (middle of the day locally). The warship's crew issued multiple warnings to the Iranian-flagged vessel, informing the vessel that it was sailing in violation of the blockade and directing it to turn around, Caine said.

• The Touska ignored multiple Navy warnings over a six-hour period before the Spruance "executed a series of preplanned, carefully calibrated escalation options, including firing five warning shots," Caine said, adding that the cargo ship still didn't comply. US commanders then "authorized disabling fire" against the cargo ship.

  The Spruance warned the Touska's crew to abandon the engine room, and at around 9 a.m. EST (late afternoon in the north Arabian Sea), the US destroyer fired "nine inert rounds" from its 5-inch MK 45 gun into the engine room, disabling the vessel.

  The 127 mm Mk 45 deck gun, standard on the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, fires a range of ammunition types tailored to different missions, including high-explosive rounds for direct impact, airburst, and area effects, as well as illumination and inert practice rounds.

  

  USS Spruance issued multiple warnings to M/V Touska before opening fire.  US Central Command

  The large gun's autoloader holds about 20 ready rounds, which can be fired in roughly a minute at maximum rate, with additional ammunition supplied from the ship's larger magazine below deck. The use of inert rounds in an engagement like the one over the weekend between the Spruance and Touska prioritizes control and safety over outright destruction.

  The tactic is intended to target the ship's propulsion system to allow boarding while minimizing danger to the crew.

  Hours after the Spruance shot out the engine room, US Marines flew by helicopter to the Touska and boarded the ship by rappelling down onto the deck. American forces have the vessel and its crew in custody.

  US forces have also boarded two vessels transporting Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean this week.

  More than 17 US Navy warships and over 100 aircraft — including fighter jets, helicopters, and surveillance planes — are involved in enforcing the US blockade of Iranian ports, which started on April 13 and stands to reduce oil revenue critical to Tehran's struggling economy.

  The blockade is occurring alongside a US operation to clear Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz.

  US forces destroyed most of Iran's naval mines during Operation Epic Fury, but Tehran likely placed some in or near the Strait during the war, a defense official told Business Insider. A combination of crewed and uncrewed assets is working to clear the strategic waterway.

  President Donald Trump ordered the Navy to destroy any boat, including Iran's fast-attack boats, laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

  Meanwhile, a third US aircraft carrier strike group entered the area of responsibility for US Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, bringing additional firepower to the region amid the tenuous ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

• https://www.businessinsider.com/new-details-how-us-destroyer-shot-engine-iran-blockade-runner-2026-4

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