Tensions Rise in Middle East Following Death of Hamas Leader

Your weekly News Memo - a more human way to engage with the news.

In this week’s memo:

• Top Hamas Officials Killed as Risk of Broader Conflict Grows

• The Dark Underside of Phishing Texts: Human Trafficking and Scam Farms

• Trends: U.S. Politicians Are the Oldest in the World

• GetSmart: Apple Doesn’t Let Bad Guys Use Their Products in Movies

---

Newsbites

• Iowa’s new abortion law went into effect this week, which prohibits abortions after cardiac activity is detectable in the fetus, which typically occurs around 6 weeks into the pregnancy. Previously, abortions were banned in the state after 20 weeks. There remain certain exceptions in instances of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk. The law was first passed last year, but then faced legal challenges. The state supreme court ruled 4-3 in June that the law was constitutional and could stand. Here is a map of abortion restrictions around the U.S.
  
  More: Abortion has been a primary issue for Kamala Harris as she begins her campaign.

---

• Boxing Gender Controversy at Olympics: Angela Carini (Italy) forfeited after just 45 seconds of her boxing match against Imane Khelif (Algeria). Imane Khelif was disqualified from competing in the female 2023 World Championships because Khelif failed the gender test. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Khelif to compete in the 2024 Paris Games, along with Lin yu-Ting of Taiwan. yu-Ting was also disqualified from competing in the 2023 World Championships for failing the gender test. Carini broke her nose after taking an early punch in the match, saying it was the hardest she’s been hit.
  
  More: Carini broke down in tears in the ring after she forfeited, and again at the press conference. She said, “It could have been the match of my life…but I also had to look out for my life in that moment…I don’t fear the ring. I don’t fear taking blows. But this time there’s an end for everything.” (video). Mark Adams, an IOC official, responded to the controversy in a press conference (video).

---

• East/West Prisoner Swap: The 32-year-old American journalist from the Wall Street Journal has been freed from Russia in one of the largest prisoner swaps between the East and West since the Cold War. Evan Gershkovich had been detained for one year under espionage charges by the Kremlin that the WSJ says were fabricated. The deal involved 24 prisoners and six countries. Other U.S. freed prisoners included Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who was also accused of espionage. Germany also received 12 of their prisoners held in Russia. In exchange, the U.S. and Germany released multiple Russian businessmen and criminals. 
  
  More: List of all the people released in the prisoner swap deal.

---

• A knife attack in Southport, UK left 3 children dead and 8 injured this week. The attack, which occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed event at a children’s dance school, was perpetrated by a 17-year-old male. A motive for the attack has not been offered. Following the massacre, some protestors - believed to be part of the English Defence League - gathered in Southport outside a mosque, after speculation emerged that the attacker may be Muslim. The protestors violently clashed with police and set cars ablaze (video). The attacker has been identified as Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, Wales. His parents are originally from Rwanda.

---

• Trump Assassination Updates: According to new findings, the 20-year-old shooter began buying explosives, materials and guns more than a year before the assassination attempt. Between 2023 and July of 2024, he made 25 gun related purchases online as well as six different purchases related to explosive devices. The FBI said that although they have found no motive for the shooting, he planned long in advance to perform some act of domestic terrorism. His parents have told the FBI they were totally unaware of his actions or any motive. New footage this week shows the shooter running on the roof in clear sight to get set up for the shot.
  
  More: Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as a part of their investigation.

---

• NABJ Conference: President Trump attended the National Association of Black Journalists meeting on Wednesday. The interview went viral for its heatedness. ABC reporter Rachel Scott opened up by implying he is racist, and asking why black voters should trust him. Trump responded by saying he’s been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln. He also said Kamala Harris has always claimed Indian heritage until she “became a black person”. The exchange went viral online. Kamala Harris canceled the appointment with the NABJ due to a scheduling issue. Kamala responded on X saying Trump’s comments were “the same old show.” (full interview)

---

• Election chaos in Venezuela: Thousands of Venezualens have taken to the streets to protest what they say was a fraud election in which incumbent President Maduro has claimed victory with 51% of the vote. 11 people have died in the protests in the past couple of days. Opposition candidate, Edmundo González, claims instead that their party had a historic victory and “won in places where the democratic forces had never won in the last 25 years.” The U.S. has officially recognized that González won the election and received more votes, despite Maduro’s claims. 

---

Main Stories

---

Tensions Rise in Middle East Following Death of Hamas Leader

What happened?
On Tuesday at 2:30 a.m., Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Tehran, Iran. The strike came the night after Haniyeh attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the attack. Israel has not said anything about the news. Haniyeh is the highest ranked Hamas official to be killed in the Gaza war.

Other top officials killed
Just one day after the death of Haniyeh, Israel confirmed that the top Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif, was killed in a July 13 bombing. Israel said they believe Deif was instrumental in coordinating the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel has been seeking to assassinate Deif since 2002. 

• In addition, Israel announced the death of Fuad Shukr, a top military official for the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Israel has long told of its strategy for “total victory.” That means not only destroying the military of Hamas, but the military leadership and those hiding in the Gazan cities. 

What does this mean for the future of the war?
According to reporters on the ground, Haniyeh was said to be the most liberal when it came to cease-fire talks with Israel. His death risks sparking an even wider conflict in the Middle East. A substantial number of countries in the Middle East, as well as Russia and China, have condemned the killing and warned of increased tension in the region. 

President Benjamin Netenyahu made his first public statement since the death of Haniyeh saying Israel will be “prepared for any scenario and will stand united against any threat. Israel will exact a very heavy price for any aggression from any arena.”

Iran threatens response
The U.S. will be sending Israel more missile defense and military equipment to defend themselves against a potential counter strike from Iran and other neighboring countries.

Countries come to Hamas’ defense

Iran: “The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our home and made us sad, but it also prepared a harsh punishment for itself.” The country’s supreme leader said “we consider his revenge as our duty.”

China: “We firmly oppose and condemn the act of assassination. We are deeply concerned that this incident may lead to escalation and turbulence in the region.”

Russia: “We resolutely condemn the attack that led to Mr. Haniyeh’s death,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “We believe that such action is aimed against attempts to establish peace in the region, and could significantly destabilize the already tense situation.”

Hamas: [The alleged assassination] “takes the battle to new dimensions and will have major repercussions on the entire region.”

---

The Dark Underside of Phishing Texts: Human Trafficking and Scam Farms

We’re all likely familiar with the phishy texts we receive occasionally from unknown numbers. There’s a good chance the text is coming from a “scam farm” or “scam den” in Southeast Asia, many of which are operated by human-trafficked labor. 

The ultimate intention of the scams are to swindle people into sending money. Many victims lose tens of thousands of dollars, with some losing virtually all their savings. The online scam market is estimated to be tens of billions of dollars annually.

How do the scams work?
While the exact plot of a scam may vary, the most common one is a “romantic-investment scam”. This involves the scammer building a persona of an attractive successful woman to target lonely men. The communication often happens through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook. The scammer works to build a “romantic” relationship over the course of weeks or even months until the target is vulnerable. Then, there is often a pitch to participate in an investment or business opportunity, many times involving crypto. The process is referred to as “pig butchering”, as scammers try to “fatten up” their victims by finding out how much wealth they have before extracting as much as possible and then ghosting them.

The U.N. estimates hundreds of thousands of people across Myanmar and Cambodia are being held against their will to work in scam farms. Other major hotspots are the Philippines and Laos. The WSJ has reported that the scam farms are often owned by Chinese crime syndicates.

How do scam farms work?
Scam farms are typically located in large, self-contained compounds, resembling an industrial warehouse park. There are dormitories for workers to sleep, cafeterias for meals, and buildings for entertainment. While some of the scammers are complicit, a large percentage is human-trafficked labor.

First, people are targeted to work in the scam farms. The primary target is migrant workers from other countries that are looking for job opportunities. Scam farms recruit people through fake job postings for computer programming or customer service. The fake companies have websites and candidates may go through multiple rounds of interviews before getting the job. Once they get the job and travel to the new country, they are brought to the scam farm and forced to work.

The victims are required to work at computers all day conducting scam operations. They are trained and given scripts for communicating with potential targets. Oftentimes they are given quotas of revenue to earn each week, and are threatened, beaten, or tortured if they don’t comply.

Learn more
A few of the victims have been lucky enough to escape to tell their stories. 

• Guracha Belachew Bersha from Ethiopia escaped after his family paid a ransom for his release. (podcast episode)

• U.N. News spoke with two individuals that were forced to work in scam farms in the Philippines and Malaysia.

• 10-minute documentary about scam operations (video - warning, graphic content)

When did scam syndicates start? 
According to the U.N.’s August 2023 paper, “Online scam operations are rooted in the rise of casinos and online gambling operations in the Southeast Asian region,” which began increasing more rapidly around 2015.

Then came the pandemic, which was the ideal environment for online scam and illegal gambling operations. People spent far more time online and isolated during the pandemic, which increased the number of vulnerable people to target. 

Migrant workers, who are the primary targets for working in scam farms, were more commonly out of jobs due to border and business closures and thus more susceptible to being tricked into working at a scam center. In addition, many casinos that were closed for social-distancing purposes moved operations to less regulated countries, such as the Philippines.

---

Trends: U.S. Politicians Are the Oldest in the World