The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. August 21, 2025 State Department Fires Officer Who Expressed Condolences for Journalists Killed by Israel in Gaza ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. State Department has fired its top press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. The Washington Post reports the officer, Shahed Ghoreishi, was fired days after he recommended expressing condolences for journalists killed in Gaza and for opposing the forced displacement of Palestinians. In one case, Ghoreishi had drafted a press statement that read, "We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza," but the State Department vetoed the language.  .