In a poignant ceremony that lit up more than just candles, a memorial service honoring United Nations staff who lost their lives in 2025 unexpectedly stirred controversy. The event, which aimed to pay tribute to these dedicated employees, inadvertently included a name that later raised eyebrows—a U.N. employee posthumously identified as a Hamas commander.

Held in June, the annual service commemorated 136 U.N. workers who passed away while on duty that year. During the gathering, Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, and the Security Council President at the time, Leonor Zalabata Torres, united to light a symbolic “eternal flame.” As somber violin notes filled the air, one name read aloud was Imad Youssif El Samhouri, causing unforeseen ripple effects.

El Samhouri had served as a teacher and later the principal of the UNRWA Rafah Preparatory Boys School B under the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. This accolade turned controversial when, on August 8, he was revealed via the messaging platform Telegram by Hamas to have been a field commander in their Al-Qassam Brigades.

Amidst these developments, António Guterres emphasized the heavy toll taken on U.N. personnel, particularly in Gaza, stating, “More U.N. colleagues have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict or disaster in the history of the United Nations. Some died alongside their families, in places they thought safe; others perished while fulfilling their duties.” Guterres called for a global remembrance of these tragedies, stressing unequivocally, “U.N. personnel must never be targeted.”

Guterres also said, “In keeping with long-standing practice, we have sought the consent of families to read aloud the names of those we honor. Tragically, in the case of men who served with UNRWA, we could not reach those families because they, too, have been killed or forced to flee.”

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, has written an open letter to Guterres and Baerbock asking both to issue an apology for the incident and acknowledge that UNRWA is “unwilling or unable” to roust terrorists from its schools.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Guterres, told News Media during a press briefing last week, “[UNRWA] and we are always very deeply concerned when allegations against the former staff is raised. Obviously, when his name was included, the agency was not aware. I will remind you that the list of all UNRWA staff is shared with the Israeli parties as they are every year. His name was shared in the list of 2024. No concerns were raised based on that information from the Israeli side, and obviously, had those allegations been raised before, his name would likely not have been included.”

When pressed further about whether Guterres would retract the honors or issue an apology, Dujarric seemed to put the blame on Israel, “We’re now stating our position, which makes it clear. Had we known, and had we been told, his name would probably not have been included.”

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told News Media, “It is outrageous to watch the U.N. spokesperson struggle to clearly condemn the crimes committed by former UNRWA employees. Israel repeatedly warned the U.N. that active Hamas terrorists were operating within UNRWA and played a significant role in the atrocities of Oct. 7. The U.N. spokesperson’s response reflects Secretary-General Guterres’ entire tenure: the organization has lost its moral compass. It is because of terrorists like Imad Youssif El Samhouri and others that Israel ended UNRWA’s operations in Israel.”

Neuer has accumulated multiple social media posts that he says are attributed to El Samhouri, which demonstrate his support of so-called Palestinian martyrs, his praise for the kidnapping of Israeli teens, and his support for the “good news” of Hamas attacks between 2012 and 2014. 

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El Samhouri’s case is one of about 200 cases that senior fellow at UN Watch Salo Aizenberg told News Media he has cataloged in which terror groups shared posthumous proof that journalists, NGO personnel, aid workers, lawyers and medical personnel were part of their organizations. Citing the Institute for Palestine Studies, which says El Samhouri was killed June 8, 2025, when Israeli forces targeted his tent with no warning, Aizenberg noted on X that El Samhouri was “using the cover of the humanitarian zone as a human shield” when he was targeted.

In a martyr video viewed by News Media that the Israel Defense Forces provided, El Samhouri stands before multiple grenades and a weapon and states that “the call to arms has resounded in the hearts of the faithful and they have answered the call.” He also says that “we have chosen jihad as our path; our anthem is that Death in the cause of Allah is our highest aspiration, and our resolve will not waver, no matter how long the road or how great the sacrifices.” 

In the same video, while standing within what appears to be an underground tunnel, El Samhouri thanks God, “who has honored us with the tunnels and made them a means of resistance, a means by which the Zionist enemy never imagines we will emerge from beneath the ground.”

Neuer told News Media, “Samhouri publicly glorified terrorism, circulated Hamas battlefield propaganda and brought Hamas officials into UNRWA school life. Photographs show his own principal, Muhammad Al-Bardawil, repeatedly appearing at school events with Jumaa Al-Ghoul, Hamas’ representative in Rafah.” He said, “The evidence shows clearly that many officials in the UNRWA school system knew about Samhouri’s support for terrorism and ties to Hamas, and that they actually tolerated or even encouraged it.”

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El Samhouri is far from the first UNRWA employee exposed for support of Hamas. Neuer added that “in UN Watch’s network map of more than 400 UNRWA employees, Hamas terrorists and their supporters have served as school principals, teachers and leaders of UNRWA’s powerful staff unions. Hamas influences UNRWA hiring and promotions, mobilizes strikes to protect extremists and intimidates international managers whenever even mild disciplinary action is attempted. Hamas pays some of its agents by getting them hired by UNRWA.”

According to Neuer, “The deeper problem is that the international leadership of UNRWA and of the U.N. rarely act. This is hardly a vetting oversight — it’s a system failure. UNRWA has demonstrated that it is either unwilling or unable to remove Hamas terrorists from its schools. UNRWA cannot be reformed; it must be dismantled if Gaza is ever to be deradicalized and given a real future for peace and success.”

UNRWA did not respond to News Media’s questions about El Samhouri’s social media activities, or whether his employment with the agency was further proof of its infiltration by Hamas.

The USAID Office of Inspector General is currently investigating 1,500 UNRWA employees for possible ties to Hamas. Thus far, the USAID OIG has referred 108 UNRWA staff to the State Department, requesting they be suspended or barred from further cooperation with organizations that receive U.S. funding.

A senior State Department official told News Media that “USAID OIG’s independent and ongoing investigation is revealing the pervasive extent to which UNRWA has aided and abetted Hamas. The investigation demonstrates that UNRWA hired droves of Hamas-linked terrorists and turned over their infrastructure to the terrorist group.”

The official stated, “This can never happen again, and other U.N. agencies would be wise to study the USAID OIG’s ongoing work to understand how to avoid a repeat.”

Democrats in Nassau County are stepping up efforts against human trafficking with the introduction of a comprehensive measure designed to curb illicit activities in massage parlors. This initiative aims to set a precedent for strict enforcement of anti-trafficking laws across New York.

The newly proposed Nassau County Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim Protection Act mandates rigorous compliance from massage parlors, requiring them to uphold licensing standards, maintain detailed employee payroll records, and prohibit any residential use of their premises. The legislation imposes escalating fines that can reach as high as $25,000 for violators.

Additionally, the bill seeks to hold landlords and property owners accountable, particularly those associated with repeatedly raided parlors for sex trafficking. These individuals could face legal consequences if their properties are tied to continuous investigations.

“For too long, we’ve seen the brunt of law enforcement efforts target those least empowered in trafficking situations—the victims,” stated Democratic Nassau Legislator Viviana Russell. “While the exploited individuals face arrest, the core operators often evade significant scrutiny, disappearing into the background.”

Russell emphasized that, “It is unjust for the victim to be the easiest target for punishment; our legal framework needs to consider the entirety of these operations and not just the individuals caught at the lowest level of the hierarchy.”

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The money the county would collect from the fines, Russell said, would flow into a new human trafficking victim assistance fund that would cover emergency housing, counseling, transportation, legal services, workforce development and language assistance for survivors of trafficking. 

The legislation would go even further by establishing a new countywide human trafficking response working group that would bring together police, prosecutors, social services, health professionals, educators and survivor advocates to help coordinate how the county identifies victims, prosecutes traffickers and connects survivors to services. 

This proposed bill would expand on a Nassau County law already on the books that combats sex trafficking in hotels and motels by banning hourly motel bookings, requiring hotels to keep a detailed log of all guests, preserve all security footage for at least 90 days, and increasing financial pressure on those found to be illicit operators.

The bill is now being reviewed by Republicans — who hold an 11-8 majority — who, along with the legislature’s Presiding Officer Howard Kopel, will decide whether the legislation will be put up for a vote next month.

Earlier this week, Jelly Roll found himself in the eye of a storm following his comments about former President Donald Trump while guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live!

On the final night of his hosting stint on the popular ABC late-night show, the 41-year-old country singer became visibly emotional. As he fought back tears, he clarified that his political stance is neutral, emphasizing he is not affiliated with any political party.

“Sure, I lean left on some things, but like most folks, I’m pretty down the middle,” he explained. “I am a Christian, I am a country music singer, I’m a farmer, I’m a bow hunter, and most of the things I eat, I prefer to catch with a stick and a string.”

The controversy began when Jelly Roll, on his first night as guest host, joked that Trump could benefit from shedding some pounds, humorously suggesting it might help him ‘see [his] penis again.’

“It’s funny,” he remarked, “before this week, everyone thought I was MAGA, and now they assume I’m a liberal snowflake.” Reflecting on the situation, he added, “I guess I’m just not used to others projecting their beliefs onto me. After all, a few years ago, I was so large you could project a movie onto me.”

Jelly Roll replayed a clip of a Fox News commentator Jesse Watters – who accused the three-time Grammy winner of having TDS ( Trump Derangement Syndrome) and being a ‘phony’ who only made jokes about the president for a big Hollywood paycheck.

‘First of all, I didn’t do this for the check. I’m rich, y’all,’ said the Son of a Sinner songwriter, who is worth an estimated $20 million. ‘And listen, I don’t want to throw my buddy under the bus, but Jimmy Kimmel is cheap as hell.’

Jelly Roll also reminded viewers that he supported the UFC Freedom 250 event, which took place in June on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington D.C.

‘Just because I watched a fight on TV doesn’t mean I support everything this administration does, just like hosting Jimmy Kimmel’s show doesn’t mean I have all of Jimmy Kimmel’s politics,’ Jelly Roll insisted.

On a serious note, he went on: ‘This year it wasn’t the hosting gig that I was looking forward to. It was the platform to get some very personal stuff off of my chest.

‘For the last six months, I’ve watched people decide who I am, what I am, what I believe, what I support and what I don’t support. And I felt that even more this week, just because I told a couple of jokes. And honestly, this goes back further for me, y’all. This goes back to February this year.’

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Jelly Roll was speaking about his controversial backstage interview at the 2026 Grammys, in which he declined to comment when asked about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other hot political topics.

‘Looking back, I don’t necessarily regret asking for more time before I spoke,’ he said. ‘I wish more people took more time before they spoke. But I do wish I had found the words to express my heart just a little bit sooner. But I was afraid that anything I was going to say was going to be immediately taken as a political statement. And ironically, by trying so hard not to make a political statement, I became one.’

He said that he ‘had a microphone and I didn’t use it the right way. So I’m going to try and do the right thing right now.

‘Human dignity isn’t Republican nor Democrat. Compassion isn’t left-wing, and mercy isn’t right-wing. Pain and healing knows no partisanship. Hurting hearts are more important than poll numbers. And there are no boundaries or borders for broken families.’

Jelly Roll, whose divorce from Bunnie Xo was finalized in May after 10 years of marriage, shared that his late father, Horace ‘Buddy’ DeFord, who died in 2019 and was a United States Marine Corps veteran, had been a ‘blue Democrat.’

‘This might be a hot take, but out of respect for him, and everybody who has ever served and continues to serve this country, I will always shake the hand of the sitting president of the United States when asked. My father would have been disappointed had I done anything other than that,’ he insisted.

Jelly Roll, who met and shook hands with Trump at the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden in November 2024, continued: ‘I’m proud that I was able to shake the  the president of the United States’ hand. I’m also proud that I live in a country where I can make jokes about him. Ain’t that what’s great about being an American? The democracy, the freedom of speech.

‘I will shake the hand of any president that occupies that office because a handshake is not an endorsement. A conversation is not allegiance. And a joke is not a political point of view. And in my business, taking a picture with a political figure, or anybody else for that matter, doesn’t mean you agree or disagree with their policies or politics. More often than not, I f***ing don’t.’