Israel lacking respect for dead buried in Gaza rubble: UN

Areas in war-devastated Gaza continue to be razed by Israeli bulldozers with “no respect for the dead”, the United Nations’ human rights chief has said.

Volker Turk criticised Israel’s actions in clearing rubble in the enclave in a statement issued on Tuesday. His words come as the discovery of “extensive” remains have heightened concerns that evidence of war crimes is being destroyed or concealed.

“Much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives,” he said, warning that areas where the Israeli military remains deployed “continue to be levelled by bulldozers with no respect for the dead under the rubble”.

TOPSHOT - Smoke and fire rises after a house was targeted by an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip on September 9, 2026.
Smoke and fire rise after a house was targeted by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on September 9, 2026 [AFP]

The UN human rights chief said the remains of what appeared to be entire families were being unearthed from sites that were destroyed during Israeli attacks, adding that many victims were women and children.

“It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst ⁠fears confirmed,” he said.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has generated about 61 million tonnes of wreckage and debris. It could take seven years to clear the debris, the UN has estimated.

A US-brokered “ceasefire” in October 2025 has failed to halt regular Israeli strikes and attacks, with more than 1,300 Palestinians killed since the “truce” came into effect, according to Gaza officials.

Widespread destruction

Palestinian Civil Defence says more than 630 bodies and human remains have been recovered from beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza since November 2025.

Palestinian authorities estimate more than 8,000 people remain buried in the wreckage.

Turk said he feared the remains recovered ⁠so far could be “only the tip of the iceberg,” noting that large parts of Gaza had been flattened ⁠by Israeli bombing or later demolition and clearance operations.

The UN official also reiterated his concerns over Israel’s conduct, including its extensive use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas, which he said failed to effectively distinguish between civilians and fighters.

“The discovery of extensive remains under the rubble in Gaza City resurfaces these concerns of war crimes and other atrocity crimes,” he added.

“The reported killing of large numbers of family members, including children, women and persons with disabilities, in attacks on residential buildings, raises grave concerns regarding compliance with the rules governing the conduct of hostilities,” he said.

On September 6, Palestinians in northern Gaza held funerals for about 100 people, including 60 children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Continued violence

Despite last year’s agreement to halt the hostilities, the Israeli military continues its operations in Gaza.

One Palestinian was killed by sniper fire in the north of the enclave on Tuesday.

The man was in the Jabalia refugee camp when he was shot by a sniper positioned on a high-rise crane, Al Jazeera reporters said.

At least two other people were killed in an Israeli drone attack on an industrial area of Gaza City, according to a source from the enclave’s Ambulance and Emergencies service.

Eto’o could face Cameroon probe over alleged Russia payment

The Association of Amateur Football Clubs of Cameroon (ACFAC) has called for a probe into the Cameroonian Football Federation and its chief Samuel Eto’o following media reports of alleged graft.

Eto’o has been accused of improperly receiving a payment from the Russian Football Union in connection with a friendly match between the two countries in October 2023.

According to ACFAC, the Russian Football Union allegedly violated the terms of its contract with the Cameroonian federation FECAFOOT by transferring around 567,000 euros ($655,000) into a bank account that did not belong to the latter.

The association also announced its intention to file a lawsuit against former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Eto’o in the Cameroonian courts, as well as a separate legal complaint in Russia against the Russian Football Union.

Last month, Eto’o threw his support behind beleaguered FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying he “hasn’t done anything wrong” despite facing mounting pressure to step down over a controversial World Cup sell-off plan.

India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets to seal T20 series

Sanju Samson scored 57 off 22 balls as India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets to clinch their three-match T20 series with a match to spare on Tuesday.

Samson hit four sixes and seven fours en route to his first half-century since this year’s T20 World Cup final – where he was named player of the tournament.

His opening partner Abhishek Sharma scored 39 off 19 balls – including four sixes – as the duo amassed 88 off only 38 balls.

India finished with 163-3 in 14.5 overs. It had won the first T20 by seven wickets as well, at the same venue on Sunday.

Afghanistan is playing host in this series, in a unique arrangement, and for the second game running, it finished with an under-par score after India won the toss and opted to field.

All-rounder Nitish Reddy picked 3-24 in three overs as Afghanistan was restricted to 159-8 in 20 overs.

Samson and Sharma set a hectic pace as India raced to 82-0 in the powerplay. Afghanistan used spin in the powerplay as compared to the first game, but to no avail.

Rashid Khan came on after the powerplay, getting the breakthrough in the seventh over, as Sharma was out caught at deep midwicket.

Samson carried on to reach his seventh T20 half-century off 20 balls. Khan picked a second wicket in the seventh over, as Samson holed out to long-off.

But India had powered its way to 100 in 7.1 overs – joint second-quickest for them since 2024.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer was Khan’s third victim, out caught at slip, but Ishan Kishan (38 not out) and Tilak Varma (15 not out) polished off the remaining runs without any bother.

Earlier, put in to bat, Afghanistan made another poor start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for a second consecutive duck, this time to Arshdeep Singh.

Skipper Ibrahim Zadran scored 37 off 33 balls to make sure Afghanistan didn’t lose too many wickets in the powerplay again.

But the “hosts” slid from 59-2 to 100-6 in the middle overs and lost their base as Reddy picked two wickets. Afghanistan only managed to recover thanks to a 48-run partnership off 28 balls between Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi.

Khan hit 28 off 16 balls with three fours and a six, while Nabi scored 20 off 14 balls.

Egypt’s el-Sisi meets MBS, backs Saudi call for secure Red Sea navigation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has backed Saudi calls for secure and unhindered navigation in the Red Sea during a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.

Sisi met the crown prince, known as MBS, on Tuesday as part of a Saudi delegation that included Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and other senior officials.

The statement affirmed that “relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia can only be exemplary within the Arab framework, and that the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states is an integral part of Egypt’s national security”, while also emphasising efforts to achieve a sustainable political solution to the Yemen conflict. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has lost key territories including coastal areas vital for oil shipping to the Iran-aligned Houthis in recent days.

MBS emphasised the importance of secure navigation in both the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The visit by Saudi leaders comes as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have captured Mocha port and effectively control the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.


Despite Houthi assurances that maritime traffic in the Red Sea will not be affected, Saudi-linked ships have been targeted by the group in recent months.

The sharp decline in Red Sea transit affected Egypt’s economy, which relies heavily on Suez Canal tolls as a key source of foreign currency.

Egypt lost approximately $7bn between 2023 and 2024, or about 60 percent of the Suez Canal’s revenues, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

Despite Egypt’s assurances, the country has so far avoided military action to stop the Houthi disruption of tanker traffic in the Red Sea.

Police crack down on protests against constitutional change in DR Congo

Protests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have spurned violent clashes as police cracked down.

Police fired tear gas as hundreds of people protested in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday against proposed constitutional changes that critics worry could allow President Felix Tshisekedi to seek a ‌third term in power. The political unrest adds to DRC’s struggles as it faces a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak and ongoing conflict in the east of the country.

At least 10 people were arrested during the confrontations, with demonstrations also taking place in the cities of Lubumbashi – a major mining centre in the southeast of the country – and Uvira, despite restrictions imposed by authorities.

The protests were part of a nationwide day of action called by the “C64” coalition, which was forged by opposition forces in a bid to defeat Tshisekedi’s attempt to change the constitution.

“Many of our activists were unfortunately and arbitrarily arrested,” said Mohamed Eyenga of the Envol opposition party, a senior figure in the C64 coalition, according to the AFP news agency.

“We were taken aback by the large deployment of the army and police to prevent this peaceful demonstration,” he said.

However, the provincial police commander, General Blaise Kilimbalimba, insisted that “peaceful” demonstrators had not been arrested.

Security forces take position ahead of a protest organized by opposition parties against constitutional changes proposed by President Felix Tshisekedi, in Kinshasa, Congo, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)
Security forces take position ahead of a protest organised by opposition parties against constitutional changes proposed by President Felix Tshisekedi, in Kinshasa, DR Congo, September 15, 2026 [Samy Ntumba Shambuyi]

Congo’s constitution currently limits presidential terms to two five-year increments.

DRC’s parliament adopted a bill in June allowing constitutional changes to be put to a ⁠referendum, and members of Tshisekedi’s coalition have backed changes that would allow him to remain in office.

Opposition parties and the powerful Catholic Church have condemned the proposal.

The unrest comes three weeks after Tshisekedi announced plans for a national dialogue, bringing together opposition parties, civil society groups and religious leaders.

However, the discussion would exclude the M23 and other rebel groups that control parts of eastern DRC. Fighting over the resource-rich region has persisted for decades, and flared up once more in 2024.

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels – an allegation that Kigali denies. Key commitments under a precarious peace process remain unresolved.

Officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are due to reconvene in Geneva, Switzerland on September 16 and 17 for talks on the implementation of the 2025 Washington Accords.

The conflict has complicated the DRC’s bid to suppress the Ebola outbreak, which is now the world’s worst on record.

The disease has spread across conflict-plagued, remote eastern and northern regions, where armed groups have roamed for decades, the presence of the state is weak, and health infrastructure is largely lacking.

More than 100,000 displaced as they flee violence in Yemen: UN

More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee the conflict in Yemen between the Houthis and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government, according to the United Nations.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the rapidly escalating hostilities along Yemen’s western coast have displaced more than 100,000 people inside the country, and forced thousands more to risk the dangerous journey across the Bab al-Mandeb strait to reach Djibouti in search of safety.

The UNHCR statement warned that the violence threatens to trigger a humanitarian crisis, as more people are displaced, pressuring communities with limited resources.

The agency said it requires an estimated $14m in new funding to meet the immediate needs of displaced families inside Yemen, with additional support needed for those arriving in Djibouti.

“Many families fled at short notice with few belongings. Shelter, food, clean water, health care and protection services are among the most urgent needs, as receiving communities and displacement sites become overstretched,” the statement reads.


More than 65,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers inside Yemen, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia, are also facing risks due to the fighting.

The displacement began when the Iran-aligned Houthis began a rapid advance, seizing control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast to cement their grip on Bab al-Mandeb.

The strategic waterway is a critical maritime corridor linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and has become an alternative shipping route as the United States’ war against Iran choked the Strait of Hormuz.

Aisha Muhammad, a displaced woman, had to leave her five children in their village near the port city of Mocha when it was overrun by the Houthis last week.

“They are being blocked and shot at, so they are trapped inside their homes. They are cooking only rice, no bread, nothing else. My daughters called me saying they want to join us, but it has become too difficult,” said Muhammad.


Hussein Haydara, a displaced man from Hodeidah, said he was forced to escape suddenly with his family.

“You could barely take your children and the fewest essentials with you,” he said. “We were terrified of the shelling and sniper fire, and you just flee as quickly as you can out of fear for your children and your family.”

UNHCR reports that more than 2,400 people made the journey across the Bab al-Mandeb strait in the past four days. Most arrivals are women, children and older people, it said.

“People are arriving after a difficult sea journey, many exhausted, distressed and carrying what little they could take with them,” Sandrine Desamours, UNHCR’s representative in Djibouti, said.

How an Israeli cell orchestrated an anti-Qatar campaign

A group including Israeli influence experts and political advisers worked on a secret campaign targeting Qatar in the weeks after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, before the initiative was abruptly halted, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The campaign was launched days after the assault on southern Israel and sought to pressure Qatar over its relationship with Hamas, Haaretz reported on Monday.

“Their goal was to launch a global civilian influence campaign against Qatar,” the newspaper reported.

Those behind it believed international pressure could force Doha to influence Hamas to secure the release of the 251 captives taken to Gaza on October 7, Haaretz said.

According to the report, about 30 people were recruited to the project, including experts in psychological warfare.

A WhatsApp group called Free the Kidnapped was established several days after October 7. The identities of those who initiated the operation “are barred from publication”, Haaretz said.

The newspaper described the effort as a “civilian initiative”.

But Marc Owen Jones, associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera, “It is unlikely such a campaign would exist without the motivation of an actor like Israel.”

He said he has tracked a campaign against Qatar for the “past three years that sounds exactly like that”.

“I imagine it stopped either because they are pretending it is not happening or outsourced it to another entity for cover.”


Qatar has been the key mediator between Hamas and Israel since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began.

Although Israeli officials have repeatedly travelled to Doha for indirect negotiations with Hamas, the Israeli army carried out a missile strike on the country last year on September 9, targeting Hamas’s negotiating team. Six people were killed, including a Qatari national.

The episode was condemned by countries including France and the United Kingdom.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologised for the strike.

The following month, Israel and Hamas agreed to a “ceasefire” deal, which Israel to date has violated hundreds of times.

Since October, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza and injured nearly 4,700.

In total, Israel has killed more than 73,700 people since October 2023, when it launched its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

Focusing on Qatar-Hamas relationship

Qatar has repeatedly denied allegations that it funds Hamas, pointing to the strict oversight governing its aid transfers.

“All our aid, financing, and all our support … went to the people in Gaza, and was a very transparent process that the United States is very aware of … [and] Israel was the one facilitating,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister, said last year. “This communication has led to ceasefires, has led to the release of hostages, has led to alleviating the suffering of the people over there.”

Doha, which has long served as a mediator in Middle East conflicts and beyond, has hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012. The decision to host the Hamas leadership came after a request from the United States, according to Qatari officials.


Haaretz reported that one member of the anti-Qatar WhatsApp group asked, “Do we know how much Qatar gives Hamas every year or some other monetary figure that we can hammer home?”

Another responded, “Qatar-ISIS Ltd”.

The message “Hamas is ISIS” was subsequently used on the campaign’s website and Facebook profile, the Haaretz report revealed.

Participants raised donations, produced videos, contacted journalists and arranged media appearances as part of their secret campaign.

A website was also established in several languages and social media accounts were opened.

Haaretz reported that a former Mossad official was also part of the group.

But about a month after it began, the campaign was abruptly halted.

“After a while, it was shut down. We stopped dealing with the Qatar campaign,” one participant told the Israeli newspaper. “I never heard anything more about the campaign.”

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that the story reveals an “extraordinary contradiction at the heart of Israel’s relationship with Qatar”.

“Israel has spent years presenting Qatar as an enabler of Hamas,” he said. “Yet at the same time, successive Israeli governments have relied on Qatar precisely because Doha possesses access to Hamas and other actors that Israel cannot reach directly. Qatar has effectively been both demonised and instrumentalised.”

Can China play peacemaker as Iran’s foreign minister heads to Beijing?

Tehran, Iran – When Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last visited China in May, it came shortly before a trip by United States President Donald Trump to the same country.

Araghchi is expected to be back in Beijing on Wednesday, his second visit to the Chinese capital since the US-Israel war on Iran began at the end of February. Once again, the trip comes shortly ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, this time in Washington later in September

Araghchi’s own meeting on Wednesday will be with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The meetings in May and now in September highlight the role China has played during the war, framing itself as a neutral party that wants an end to the conflict.

Xi urged the BRICS bloc of Global South powers during his address to a summit of member countries in New Delhi earlier this week to act as peacemakers in the Middle East conflict, and said China was willing to work with them towards that goal.


War diplomacy

While Xi hinted at interest in potentially playing an explicit US-Iran mediation role in his BRICS speech, he did not explicitly announce any such imminent diplomatic initiative.

Instead, the Chinese president once again promoted a broad four-point plan for de-escalation in the Middle East, which is centred on peaceful coexistence, respect for national sovereignty, adherence to international law, and balancing development and security.

Analysts have pointed out that while China wants to see an end to a war that has brought tumult to financial and energy markets, it has traditionally avoided deeply entangling itself in third-party conflicts and potentially failed diplomatic initiatives.

Inside Iran, there have been varied opinions on the significance of Xi’s latest remarks.

Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that Xi’s “constructive initiatives offer timely openings to de-escalate tensions” and show that multilateral diplomacy “is the only viable path to stability”.

But Hamed Vafaei, professor of Chinese literature at the University of Tehran and a China researcher, said that perceiving Xi’s remarks as an offer to mediate between Iran and the US was more of a “free interpretation” of his words than reality.


Nuclear file, sanctions and military cooperation

Araghchi is also expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme with China, as Washington attempts to renew focus on Tehran’s activities.

Last week, the US and its European allies, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, successfully pushed the board of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to refer Iran to the UN Security Council.

The last such referral came 20 years ago and was followed by six UN Security Council resolutions being passed against Iran, and sweeping sanctions that hit the country’s economy hard.

This time, however, the move is expected to be largely symbolic. China and Russia have strongly opposed it, and can veto any new Security Council measures.

Western pressure on Tehran is continuing elsewhere. Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami was barred from attending this week’s IAEA General Conference in Vienna under “snapback” sanctions reimposed by European powers last year.

The US has continued to build on its own sanctions against Iran, launching “Operation Economic Outcast” to further isolate the Iranian government from the international community as it also tries to choke off the country through a naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports.

A large number of China-linked refineries, companies and financial channels allegedly facilitating dealings with Iran have also been targeted as part of the sanctions, although larger Chinese banks have not been hit so far.

But on Monday, the US Treasury designated Russia’s VTB Bank under the Iran sanctions. It did not name China in its statements, but the second-largest Russian bank is the only one with a licensed branch in mainland China, with direct access to China’s national payment system.

China remains the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil and has vowed to protect its own interests despite the sanctions. It has continued purchasing Iranian oil stored beyond the reach of the US blockade.

China’s links to Iran’s military capabilities also drew attention in the US this week, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had obtained high-resolution satellite images from Chinese entities before carrying out an attack on a US military base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers.

Trump downplayed the incident when he was asked about it by reporters, saying that the Chinese were “basically doing what we do”.

“I think he’s behaved reasonably well,” Trump separately said about Xi. “When they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them, too”.


Election in Philippines’ Bangsamoro region ends in hung parliament

Marawi City, Philippines – The first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the southern Philippines has resulted in a hung parliament as no single party managed to secure a majority, according to unofficial results.

With more than 99 percent of votes counted as of Tuesday evening, the two rival parties that emerged from the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front each had more than 30 percent of the vote, showed the partial count of GMA News, one of the country’s largest news networks. Neither secured the 41 seats needed for a majority in the 80-member parliament.

The front signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014 after decades of conflict for independence and self-governance. It served as an interim government after voters approved the autonomous region in 2019. But last year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr replaced longtime Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim with Abdulraof Macacua, a former front commander, as chief minister, in a move that worsened internal divisions in the Muslim-majority region.

Philippines Election
A Muslim woman voter shows the indelible ink on her fingers after voting [Richel V.Umel/AP Photo]

Macacua, who leads the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, has acknowledged that a coalition with other parties is “an unavoidable situation” following Monday’s vote.

Ebrahim told reporters after casting his ballot that he hoped his party – the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) – would clinch most of the seats, but expressed openness to negotiating with other parties.

“If the party does not get majority of the seats, we will look for parties who can be our allies so that we can form a coalition,” Murad said.


Some voters had feared a return to fighting if the UBJP failed to get a commanding lead, especially because the front has halted the disarming of former fighters, citing the government’s failure to provide aid as promised.

“One of the commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has said that if they don’t win the election, there might be war again,” Alinair Aracaya said.

The commander he was referring to was 64-year-old Abdullah Macapaar – also known as Commander Bravo and notorious for being one of the most defiant front leaders. On Monday, Macapaar, who was also running to become a member of parliament, voted for the first time in his life.

In a Facebook post, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, who led peace negotiations with the front on behalf of the government, commended the participating parties “for their great effort to build their capacity to enter the field of electoral politics and play by the rules of the electoral process”.

Authorities said the elections were generally peaceful, but security forces will remain on high alert in the coming days. Multiple shooting incidents on election day left at least three people dead and several wounded.

“We will still hold our deployment in place even after the proclamation of winners. We are trying to ensure that the security situation will remain stable,” said Brigadier General Jemuel Siason, deputy police director of the Bangsamoro region.


After years of negotiations, the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a peace agreement that paved the way for autonomy in the region.

Voter Aracaya’s wife, Norhailyn Madayan, remembers a childhood spent fleeing conflict. “Just the sight of soldiers terrified us because that meant there might be clashes again. There were also clan wars,” Madayan said.

Aracaya and Madayan said peace has allowed them to build a life. They have a thriving business and a newly constructed concrete home. But they also say peace has been fragile. In 2016, ISIL-linked fighters briefly took control of their town.

The following year, the same group laid siege to Marawi City. The military responded with air attacks.

Asraf Balt, a resident, was only nine years old at the time. But because shots rang out every now and then, he said he did not immediately realise the gravity of the situation until he saw what happened to their home.

“We got displaced, and our house got destroyed. Like, heavily destroyed to the point that we had to rebuild it,” Balt said. His family has moved back to their home, but hundreds of others remain in temporary shelters.

Analyn Pangandaman said her family cannot afford to rebuild their home without reparation from the government. She has been waiting to get compensated for nearly nine years.

Now, she says, she cannot even visit her mother, even if she lives just a few towns away.

“I used to see my parents a lot, but I don’t any more because I can’t afford the commute. We used to be able to visit them because we had a car,” Pangandaman said.

With the Bangsamoro region having been able to conclude its first election, Pangandaman hopes to receive what the government owes her family soon. And it’s only possible, she says, if winning parties set aside differences and work together towards peace and progress.

Philippines Election
An elections worker places indelible ink on the finger of a man after voting at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region [Richel V.Umel/AP Photo]

FBI’s Kash Patel defends hiring policy change on bestiality, prostitution

United States FBI Director Kash Patel has defended the bureau’s loosening of hiring requirements regarding prostitution and bestiality, saying the changes were meant to enable victims of those acts to apply for employment without fear of automatic disqualification.

The FBI quietly issued guidance this past spring lifting a categorical hiring ban on applicants who had previously engaged in prostitution, and said that it would instead consider the context of the behaviour in at least some cases. The bureau made a similar change regarding bestiality.

Pressed about the moves at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Patel on Tuesday denied that the changes reflected a lowering of employment standards and insisted they were designed to protect victims forced to engage in that conduct and to prevent automatic disqualification.

“We did not want to punish victims of bestiality, victims who were trafficked. We did not want to make it an automatic disqualification for the FBI to consider you,” Patel said.

The answer did little to satisfy Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who grilled Patel on the rationale for a change the FBI director said subordinates proposed to him.

Kennedy asked Patel why, given the FBI’s current difficulty attracting new agents because of negative public sentiment, Patel would make these changes now.

“Why would you even get into bestiality?” Kennedy said.

Patel replied it was a way of supporting victims, and that some people who were “forced into” bestiality should not be disqualified.


The Republican-led panel tried to keep the focus on Patel’s efforts to combat violent crime, counter drug trafficking and pursue the Trump administration’s agenda from his perch at the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.

But Democrats seized on the tumult inside the FBI over the last year, including sweeping firings of agents who participated in investigations into President Donald Trump, the bureau’s efforts to investigate Trump’s perceived political adversaries and Patel’s travel schedule, which has blended private leisure with professional responsibilities.

“Mr Patel is the least qualified and most partisan FBI director in our nation’s history,” Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the panel’s top Democrat, said in his opening statement at the hearing. He accused Patel of wielding the bureau’s law enforcement powers to seek retribution against Trump’s political opponents and pursue the president’s grievances, including his false claims that the 2020 election he lost was stolen.

Patel has made multiple appearances before Congress while serving as director, including to testify about the FBI’s budget, but this was his first time since last September before the Senate committee that has primary oversight jurisdiction over the bureau.

That hearing featured feisty and personal exchanges with Democrats, with Patel at one point shouting over Senator Adam Schiff of California, calling him an “utter disgrace” and a “coward”.

“You can make an internet troll the FBI director, but he will always be an internet troll,” Schiff shot back.

Tuesday’s hearing was expected to be no less contentious given Democrats’ fierce criticism of his leadership and conduct. Durbin called for Patel to be replaced as director in April following an article by The Atlantic magazine that raised allegations of excessive drinking.

Patel later filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit, calling the article false and a “malicious hit piece”. The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit”.