Top leaders of Hamas admitted the group’s desire to engage in a permanent war in Israel to prop up the Palestinian cause while showing no interest in governing the Gaza Strip or improving the lives of its 2 million residents, the majority of whom live in dire poverty, according to media reports. 

In a series of interviews with the New York Times, Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ highest leadership body, defended the terror group’s surprise multi-pronged Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians, triggering Israel to respond militarily. 

‘We succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm,’ he told the newspaper from Qatar. 

Hamas’ top brass also expressed little desire to govern Gaza or provide essential services to its people, according to the report. 

‘I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders and that the Arab world will stand with us,’ said Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser. He added that its goal is ‘not to run Gaza and to bring it water and electricity and such.’

‘Hamas, the Qassam and the resistance woke the world up from its deep sleep and showed that this issue must remain on the table,’ he said. ‘This battle was not because we wanted fuel or laborers. It did not seek to improve the situation in Gaza. This battle is to completely overthrow the situation.’

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has responded heavily to the Hamas attack one month ago, with continuous airstrikes that have killed thousands in Gaza. Israeli officials have refused to discuss a ceasefire until hostages kidnapped by Hamas are returned. 

While Gazans live in poverty, Hamas’ top leaders are apparently living a life of luxury. Israeli officials say Hamas leaders are amassing an overwhelming jackpot of terror money for themselves in the billions od dollars. 

‘It’s just really the numbers that are shocking, looking at the sheer amount of money that some of these terror chiefs have been able to sock away,’ Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at The Foundation For Defense of Democracies told Fox News.

Hamas bosses Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh are worth an estimated $4 billion each, and political bureau leader Mousa Abu Marzouk is worth $3 billion. The group itself is estimated to earn more than $1 billion a year from a global network that includes cryptocurrency, real estate, legitimate business and taxing and extorting Gaza residents.

Fox News’ Eric Shawn contributed to this report. 

Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders made a major endorsement Wednesday in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

‘Our country has never needed Donald Trump more than we do right now,’ Sanders told a crowd gathered at a Hialeah, Florida rally in support of former President Donald Trump.

‘We’ve got out of control inflation, violent crime, an open border, a rising China. Biden and the left have failed over and over again, and they know it, and you know it, and it is time for a change. That is why tonight I am so proud to endorse my former boss, my friend, and everybody’s favorite president, Donald J. Trump,’ she added.

The rally is seen as a counter programming move by Trump, as the event is being held simultaneously as the third GOP presidential primary debate just a few miles away in Miami. 

Trump – the commanding front-runner for the nomination as he makes his third straight White House run – is once again skipping out on participating in the debates with his Republican rivals.

Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, served as White House press secretary for two of Trump’s four years in office. And she’s been a strong Trump ally since he left the White House.

She was convincingly elected Arkansas governor last November, had stayed neutral until now in the GOP presidential primary race. Her holding off on making an endorsement irritated the former president, according to sources in Trump’s political orbit.

DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, are currently battling for second place in the polls in Iowa and the other crucial early voting states.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

MIAMI – Nikki Haley gave as good as she got at the third Republican presidential primary debate – on a slimmed down stage during a showdown full of insults intertwined with serious policy discussions.

In a sign of the former United Nations ambassador and former South Carolina governor’s ascendancy in the 2024 GOP nomination race, Haley was repeatedly in the spotlight during the two-hour debate held in Miami, Florida, just a few miles from where former President Donald Trump – the commanding Republican front-runner – was simultaneously holding a rally.

Three of her rivals teed off on Haley, but it was biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy who fired the most shots.

It appeared to get real ugly and quite personal between the two candidates as Ramaswamy took aim at Haley’s pledge to ban the short-form video hosting service TikTok – which is a subsidiary of a Chinese owned company – over national security concerns.

‘She made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,’ Ramaswamy argued. ‘So you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anyone else.’

Haley quickly snapped back.

‘Leave my daughter out of your voice,’ she told Ramaswamy.

As some in the audience booed Ramaswamy – who’s tussled with Haley repeatedly in recent months – she charged ‘you’re just scum.’

Haley entered Wednesday’s debate on a roll – thanks to well-received performances at the first two showdowns that helped to propel her into battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race to become Trump’s main rival.

The debate started with Trump in the cross-hairs, as the former president skipped his third straight showdown with his rivals.

‘He should explain why he didn’t have Mexico pay for the border wall. He should explain why he racked up so much debt. He should explain why he didn’t drain the swamp,’ DeSantis emphasized as he jabbed at Trump.

And Haley spotlighted that the former president ‘put us $8 trillion in debt, and our kids are never gonna forgive us for that.’

And when it comes to dealing with Russia’s war against Ukraine, she argued that her former boss is getting ‘weak in the knees.’

But Haley and DeSantis soon took aim at each other, fueling their burgeoning rivalry, with each accusing the other of being too friendly to China during their tenures as governors.

And Haley once again accused DeSantis of banning fracking in Florida, which he once again denied.

On the policy front, Haley reiterated her support for entitlement reforms. And on the combustible issue of abortion – on the day after abortion fueled Republican defeats in key ballot box contests across the country in the 2023 off-year elections – Haley noted ‘as much as I’m pro-life, I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice. And I don’t want them to judge me for being pro-life.’

Haley and Sen. Tim Scott – a fellow South Carolinian – argued over the feasibility of passing a 15-week federal abortion ban.

‘No Republican president is going to ban abortions,’ she reiterated, as she spotlighted that the GOP doesn’t have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass such a bill.

Later, in the post-debate spin room, Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview that ‘you should be willing to fight for what you believe in. Our party should be the party of life. A 15-week limit is plenty of time for people to make a decision about what they want to do.’

DeSantis made news during the debate by clearly saying the nearly two-year old conflict between Russia and Ukraine needs to come to an end.

‘We need to bring this war to an end,’ DeSantis. said. ‘The U.S. needs to focus more on other priorities, including the southern border…We need the Europeans to step up and do their fair share, and we need to get serious about this threat this country faces, which is the Chinese Communist Party.’

Ramaswamy spent much of the debate throwing bombs, mostly at Haley.

He described Haley, the only woman on the stage, as ‘Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.’

She fired back saying her heels are actually five inches and are ‘for ammunition.’

In his opening answer, Ramaswamy also attacked the debate moderators. And pointing to Tuesday’s dismal performance by the GOP at the ballot box, he charged that ‘we’ve become a party of losers. He then demanded the resignation of Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.

Asked by Fox News about the jab from Ramaswamy, McDaniel said after the debate that ‘everybody’s gotta get headlines. Right. I’m going to focus on beating Joe Biden. I am very proud of the RNC and our staff and the work that we’ve done to win back the House.’

The fifth contender on the debate stage, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, mostly kept his spotlight on policy, from the wars in Europe and the Middle East to economic matters and abortion.

But Christie, a vocal GOP critic of Trump, also took aim at the former president, who embroiled in four trials, including two for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

‘Anybody who is going to be spending the next year and a half of their life focusing on keeping themselves out of jail and courtrooms cannot lead this party or this country,’ Christie charged.

Trump, at his rally 10 miles away, once again tried to steal the spotlight.

‘Nobody’s talking about it,’ the former president told his supporters as he dismissed the debate. ‘Everybody’s watching us.’

Nicole Schlinger, a longtime Iowa based conservative strategist, told Fox News that Haley ‘came in with a reputation of being the strongest debater on the stage. Nothing tonight changed that.’

She offered that ‘DeSantis seemed to have more swagger tonight, and I think that’s directly correlated to [Iowa] Governor Kim Reynolds endorsement this week.’

But DeSantis didn’t reference the endorsement during the debate.

Pointing to Ramaswamy, Schlinger said that ‘Vivek was provocative as always.’ But she added that ‘ultimately I don’t think going after Nikki Haley’s daughter will do him any favors.’

And she called the debate a draw, arguing that ‘I doubt anyone’s mind was changed.’

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rolled out a new gender pronoun policy that one Heritage Foundation expert and former HHS official says violates employee rights and will result in firings for ‘misgendering.’

‘HHS and the federal government is requiring its employees to speak falsehoods,’ Roger Severino, the Heritage Foundation’s vice president for domestic policy and the former head of civil rights at HHS during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. 

Severino first broke the story on X, formerly Twitter, last week. He wrote that HHS ‘imposed a transgender pronoun mandate on its employees who will now be forced to deny biological realities with their own words or face firing’ and he included a screenshot of an email sent to employees at the department. 

Severino told Fox News Digital that the First Amendment protects federal employees from being required to speak falsehoods, being compelled to adopt a state-approved ideology, and requiring people to deny their own faith.

‘These policies would require all of those things,’ said Severino, a Harvard Law School graduate.

‘All employees should be addressed [by] the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves,’ the email to HHS employees stated as part of its push for ‘Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance’ that it says protects ’employee rights and protections related to gender identity.’

Severino says the push began with two White House executive orders, one in January 2021 and one in June 2022, that were framed as ways to combat ‘gender discrimination’ on the base of ‘gender identity.’

‘All applicants and employees should be addressed by the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves. Using correct names and pronouns helps foster workplaces free of discrimination and harassment,’ the U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance states.

‘This practice also creates an inclusive work environment where all applicants and employees are treated with dignity. The isolated and inadvertent use of an incorrect name or pronoun will generally not constitute unlawful harassment, but, as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has explained, continued intentional use of an incorrect name or pronoun (or both) could, in certain circumstances, contribute to an unlawful hostile work environment.’

In an unlisted YouTube video linked in the email to HHS employees last week that features Assistant HHS Secretary Rachel Levine, who identifies as transgender, says ‘who you know yourself to be is valid.’

Severino explained to Fox News Digital that the ‘Orwellian’ policy means that ‘misgendering’ someone would qualify as violating anti-discrimination law which ‘gets you fired.’ 

The video also states that employees ‘can wear clothing’ and ‘use restrooms’ based on what gender they identify as. 

‘Men who identify as female have the right to get naked in front of female colleagues in the locker room,’ Severino said about how this rule relates to HHS locker rooms and bathrooms. 

‘It used to be that if you allowed a man to get naked in front of a woman in the workplace that is instantly a violation of civil rights law,’ Severino said. ‘That’s the quintessential hostile work environment, subjecting women to that. Now, the policy says to the women who may be uncomfortable with that situation, they’re the ones who have to leave.’

Severino, who said it was ‘breathtaking’ the Biden administration would unveil this policy, said that there are ‘strong arguments’ that employees have legal recourse against policies like this and can ‘exercise their rights.’

‘Governments cannot compel speech and certainly cannot compel false speech,’ Severino said, citing West Virginia vs. Barnette in which even though children being told to say the pledge of allegiance during World War II was a good thing, the Supreme Court ruled that parents and students have a right to dissent from that view.

‘We protect the right of political dissent and here it’s a pledge of allegiance to the Rainbow flag that’s been essentially required,’ Severino said.

Severino also said that employees have a ‘right to their faith’ and ‘your boss cannot force you to deny your faith as a condition of working there.’

He told Fox News Digital that policies that force employees to deny gender reality or go against their beliefs absolutely have a negative effect on morale and production and that current government employees have told him as much. 

‘They are faced with a horrible dilemma,’ Severino said. ‘Do they hope that they can fly under the radar and try to avoid the issue and keep a low profile and perhaps hide their faith so they can keep their job, or do they stand up and say this policy is wrong and fight for their rights? And then see a gigantic target on their back after that.’

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS and the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

FIRST ON FOX: A GOP lawmaker is calling for a federal investigation into whether Americans donating money to pro-Palestinian charities are unwittingly sending cash to Hamas. 

‘These terrorist organizations are getting millions of dollars from American citizens who think they’re giving out of the goodness of their heart to help people, and what they’re actually doing is funding [these groups],’ Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital.

Murphy wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking what, if any, plan she has to ensure Americans’ charitable dollars are not going to Hamas and other similar organizations.

‘I write this letter with grave concern regarding the use of fraudulent charitable organizations to fund Hamas and other affiliated terrorist groups,’ Murphy wrote. 

‘In the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on the Israeli people, it is essential that the Treasury Department is taking the necessary action to clamp down on funding that bankrolls Hamas and its affiliates.’

Murphy also warned that social media could be used to help amplify alleged charity groups that funnel funds to Hamas.

‘With the rise of social media, we have seen countless charitable organizations use these platforms to raise millions of dollars in donations intended to help Palestinian civilians,’ Murphy said.

‘By using social media, these charitable organizations have been able to crowdsource funds more easily from ordinary American citizens, who are likely not aware of Hamas’ use of fraudulent charitable organizations to fund its war against Israel.’

He told Fox News Digital he believes TikTok, for example, ‘absolutely’ helps amplify pro-Palestinian messages over pro-Israel content. Murphy pointed out that TikTok is partially under China’s influence via its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.

‘I have firm belief to think that Russia, China, Iran collude on so many different things. They want to spread out American resources as much as they can,’ Murphy said.

At least one organization, American Muslims for Palestine, is under investigation for where its funds are going. The Virginia attorney general is probing the organization ‘for potential violations of Virginia’s charitable solicitation laws,’ according to a press release on AG Jason Miyares’ website. 

Miyares’ office said he would ‘investigate allegations the organization may have used funds raised for impermissible purposes under state law, including benefiting or providing support to terrorist organizations.’

It comes just over a month after Hamas militants infiltrated southern Israel Oct. 7 and slaughtered roughly 1,400 people, most of them civilians. 

The attack prompted a swift and intense response from Israel. More than 10,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.