A Massachusets family stranded in Gaza for weeks as Israeli forces wage war against Hamas has been cleared to leave the territory. 

Abood Okal, Wafa Abuzayda and their 1-year-old son, Yousef, are on a list of 400 Americans cleared to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing to Egypt as soon as today. As of 5:20 a.m. ET Thursday, they reached the Rafah crossing into Egypt and boarded a shuttle to Cairo.

Okal, his wife and their son were visiting family in Gaza when Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel on Oct. 7. The family has been in the region since late September and had intended to return home to Medway, Massachusetts, on Oct. 13 before the violence delayed their plans.

In an audio recording obtained by Fox News Digital, Okal explained that the family ran out of drinking water on Sunday and that a nearby desalination station had run out of fuel needed to power generators. He said they had been roaming the main roads and streets in Rafah City, where they were staying in a single-family home with 40 other people including his sister Haneen and her three kids, in search of trucks or carriages carrying tanks of 1,000 or 2,000 liters of drinking water. Haneen and her children are also Americans.

‘We stood in line, I think it was for maybe about two hours, to fill one gallon. They tried to limit the portions, so ours was a gallon. And we’re hoping that would last us for the rest of the day today and for most of tomorrow until we could find another place to get drinking water from,’ Okal said in the recording created on Monday.

Two sources involved in the negotiations told Fox News that 400 Americans have been cleared to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing as soon as today. 

Officials said the State Department has been working to assign Americans in Gaza specific departure dates. Those in Gaza who have been in contact with the State Department will receive notifications when they are able to leave. 

In addition to the United States, there are citizens from Mexico, Hungary, Croatia, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Greece, Chad, Bahrain, Italy, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Belgium who have obtained permission to leave Gaza. 

Not all 400 Americans approved to leave Gaza will get out today. Sources tell Fox News that some family members were left off the list and those who are on it will not leave them behind. 

Dozens of foreign passport holders were allowed to leave through the crossing on Wednesday following negotiations between the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar. The Rafah crossing had previously remained closed at the insistence of both Israel and Egypt.

Fox News’ Rich Edson, Trey Yingst, Nick Kalman, Anders Hagstrom and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

The United Nations is raising concerns about a surge of executions in Iran, according to a new report. 

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres brought concerns over the use of capital punishment in Iran to the UN General Assembly.

A total of 419 people were executed by the Iranian government during the first seven months of 2023. 

Statistics show that this is a 30% increase in executions, compared to the same time period last year.

Guterres reported that seven men were executed in the aftermath of Iran’s widespread September 2022 protests against the death of Mahsa Amini. 

Amini died in the hospital under mysterious circumstances after Iranian police say she suffered a heart attack while under arrest for not wearing a hijab. 

Witnesses claimed this was a lie and that she was beaten to death by authorities.

Guterres said the UN had found evidence in all seven executions related to the protests that ‘consistently indicated that the judicial proceedings did not fulfill the requirements for due process and a fair trial under international human rights law.’

The UN Human Rights Office said that at least 20,000 people were arrested by the Iranian government between September 2022 and February 2023.

Of significant concern were the ages of those arrested.

‘It is particularly concerning that most of the individuals arrested may have been children, given that the reported average age of those arrested was estimated to be 15 years, according to the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,’ the secretary general said.

The UN also reported a 98% increase in executions for drug-related offenses. Guterres claims that 239 people were given the death penalty for drug crimes in the first seven months of 2023.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is facing his first big GOP spending showdown as leader of the House of Representatives.

Republican lawmakers and aides told Fox News Digital that the bill laying out funding for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) could land with a ‘thud’ on the House floor if it’s not pulled from the schedule or altered.

Among the main issues that kept resurfacing were cuts that both Northeastern and Midwestern Republicans said would severely hinder U.S. train and railway operations. 

‘Yeah, it is,’ Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said bluntly when asked whether the spending bill was in trouble. ‘I know there’s a lot of Republicans I talked to last night, they have the same concerns on the railroad side.’ 

He explained earlier, ‘We’re making some serious cuts . . . to the railroad funding. And you know, I worry about it. We’ve got Union Pacific, we’ve got some Burlington Northern. Amtrak goes through.’

For New York Republicans, Amtrak is a particular concern. The THUD bill would cut funding to the rail system by 64% from 2023 levels. It’s likely to also have a major effect on the Northeastern Corridor, the busiest passenger rail line, which runs among Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.

‘It’s a lot of jobs in our area, in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, that could potentially be lost with the 64% cut,’ Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. ‘The cuts are not really proportionate. They’re just, you know, a direct slash across the board.’ 

Asked whether he is opposing the bill in its current form, D’Esposito said, ‘We’re trying to talk through it and make sure that there’s not something that we’re missing. Perhaps, you know, there’s ways to find the funding elsewhere, but right now, a 64% cut to Amtrak in New York is a tough pill to swallow.’ 

A staffer for a Northeast House Republican said many lawmakers from that area are opposing the bill.

Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that he had ‘reservations’ about supporting the THUD funding.

‘Certainly, the significant cut to Amtrak in particular, for me, the Northeast line, is . . . hard to accept. I’ve expressed those reservations and am hopeful that they can be addressed to a degree,’ he said. ‘The Northeast Corridor line is the one Amtrak line that makes significant revenue. And it is a major artery for not only the northeast, but the heart of New York State.’

He added, ‘I’m certainly interested in reining in federal spending, but it shouldn’t be done on the backs of Amtrak employees.’

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., however, told Fox News Digital that she supported the overall bill but added, ‘I would like to see some additional Amtrak funding being put back.’

But a senior GOP aide was not optimistic that enough Republican lawmakers felt the same way.

‘There’s enough opposition to kill it. It’s just a matter of whether or not they want to go to the amendment process and try to whip it still. Or if they want to pull it,’ the aide said. 

‘People were looking at THUD as a place to cut a bunch of things. So the Freedom Caucus guys are upset that we’re not cutting enough, and then you have folks like the New Yorkers, who are moderates, looking at it saying, ‘You’re cutting way too much, especially to Amtrak.’ . . . So I don’t think there’s a lot of room to budge,’ the senior GOP aide explained.

Two more lawmakers from the New York City metropolitan area would not discuss their thoughts on the bill – Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Thomas Kean, R-N.J. 

‘I’m not talking about any of the approps bills right now,’ Lawler said tersely when asked for his thoughts. When pressed as to why, he said, ‘Because I’m not.’

As of Thursday afternoon, the THUD spending bill vote is expected on Friday.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, dismissed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution to censure progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., as ‘feckless’ on Wednesday night.

The resolution led by Greene, R-Ga., was killed when 22 Republicans and all House Democrats voted to table it before it could be voted on. The final tally was 222 votes to 186. 

‘Rep. Rashida Tlaib has repeatedly made outrageous remarks toward Israel and the Jewish people. Her conduct is unbecoming of a member of Congress and certainly worthy of condemnation — if not censure,’ Roy began in a statement provided Wednesday to Fox News Digital.

‘However, tonight’s feckless resolution to censure Tlaib was deeply flawed and made legally and factually unverified claims, including the claim of leading an ‘insurrection.’’

He continued, ‘I voted to table the resolution. In January 2021, the legal term insurrection was stretched and abused by many following the events at the Capitol. We should not continue to perpetuate claims of ‘insurrection’ at the Capitol and we should not abuse the term now.’ 

Greene had earlier released a list of the Republicans who voted to table the censure and derided them as ‘feckless.’

In her bill to censure Tlaib over her participation in a massive Israel-Gaza ceasefire protest on Capitol Hill, during which hundreds of demonstrators were arrested in the Cannon House Office building, Greene repeatedly referred to the protest as an ‘insurrection.’

The House vote Wednesday that killed the resolution has led to open war between hardliners in the GOP conference.

Greene hit back at Roy’s explanation in an X post on Thursday morning: ‘You voted to kick me out of the freedom caucus, but keep CNN wannabe Ken Buck and vaping groping Lauren Boebert and you voted with the Democrats to protect Terrorist Tlaib.’

Roy mocked Greene when asked for a response later that morning.

‘Tell her to go chase so-called Jewish space lasers if she wants to spend time on that sort of thing,’ he said.

Greene again posted about Roy on X late on Thursday morning, challenging his pushback on her use of the word ‘insurrection.’

‘Until you force the enemies to live by the same rules, they’re going to keep stomping our faces in the pavement,’ she said. ‘Chip Roy will be reciting his powdered wig soliloquies as Americans are marched to the firing squads.’

Fox News’ Peter Doocy confronted the White House Thursday over its friendly overtures to the nation of Qatar for helping to secure the release of American hostages in Gaza despite it being the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

‘Talking about getting Americans out of Gaza, President Biden said, ‘I want to thank our partners in the region, particularly Qatar.’ The leader of Hamas lives in Qatar, so why is President Biden thanking them for anything?’ Doocy asked.

‘Oh, geez, Peter. Let’s take a step back here and look at this,’ National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby responded, appearing to roll his eyes.

Doocy pressed him, ‘They are a terrorist group that killed Americans and kidnapped Americans within the last month.’

Kirby argued that Qatar had ‘been helpful’ in getting Americans out of Gaza and that the nation was a ‘key player’ in the talks for their release.

‘Qatar has lines of communication with Hamas that almost nobody else has. Now, I’m not saying we support Hamas. Of course, we don’t. They’re a terrorist organization, and Israel has an absolute right to go after them. But Qatar has lines of communication that not everybody else has,’ Kirby said.

He then claimed the administration would bear the brunt of media criticism if they weren’t doing everything they could to get the Americans being held hostage out.

However, Kirby did not address Doocy’s question over Qatar allowing the leader of Hamas to reside in the country before going on to 

Doocy jumped in, ‘You’re making my point.’ 

‘No I’m not. No I’m not,’ Kirby said.

‘If Qatar is so helpful, why aren’t we asking them to hand over the leader of this terrorist group?’ Doocy asked.

Kirby repeated that the U.S. was working with Qatar to help get American hostages out and humanitarian aid into Gaza, but did not address the Hamas leader being allowed to live in Qatar.

The House of Representatives approved sending $14.3 billion in federal aid dollars to Israel in a 226 to 196 vote on Thursday, with 12 Democrats joining Republicans to pass it.

Under the bill brought by House Republicans, that funding will be reallocated from money that was meant for the IRS in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. 

Just two Republicans voted against the bill — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Among the Democrats who voted in favor of it are Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.; Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.; Jared Golden, D-Maine; Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla.; and Lois Frankel, D-Fla.

Republicans celebrated the bill’s passage, with Republican Policy Committee Chairman Gary Palmer, R-Ala., lauding the aid to a major ally and the defunding of Biden’s IRS.

‘Israel has every right defend itself from the brutal attacks we have been witnessing over the past month,’ Palmer told Fox News Digital.

‘With this piece of legislation, we are helping an ally in need while also cutting funding from Joe Biden’s weaponized IRS. These funds are better used supporting Israel than being used by IRS agents to audit middle class Americans,’ he said.

Israel has been in open war with Hamas since last month when militants killed over a thousand Israelis in a surprise attack on villages throughout the southern part of the country. 

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, also highlighted the fact that more than two dozen of those slaughtered were also American citizens. 

‘Hamas terrorists senselessly murdered innocent Americans and Israelis with no remorse whatsoever. As our strongest ally in the Middle East, we must do everything in our power to support Israel and help them completely defeat and destroy Hamas,’ he told Fox News Digital of the bill’s passage.

Military veteran Rep. John James, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital, ‘This assistance is critical to Israel’s efforts to restore peace and stand as a haven of democracy for our Jewish brothers and sisters.’

The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, however, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it a ‘joke’ on Thursday morning.

‘It still mystifies me that at a moment when the world is in crisis, at a time when we need to help Israel respond to Hamas, the House GOP thought it was a good idea to tie Israel aid to a hard right proposal that will raise the deficit and is totally, totally partisan,’ Schumer said. 

Senate leaders have been pushing for an Israel aid package to also include money for Ukraine, which Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said earlier would be in a combined package with U.S. border security measures down the line. 

Biden had asked Congress for $106 billion in supplemental funding for a package that covers Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, the U.S. border and various humanitarian causes. 

The White House on Thursday said that Biden would veto a standalone Israel aid bill if it came to his desk.

The Office of Management and Budget said of the legislation, ‘This bill is bad for Israel, for the Middle East region, and for our own national security.’