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Has Gaza ceasefire been declared? What we know

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Has Gaza ceasefire been declared? What we know

A ceasefire has been agreed in southern Gaza according to Reuters, amid conflicting reports about the move that follows Israeli bombardments of the Palestinian enclave.

Citing two Egyptian security sources, the agency reported on Monday that the U.S., Israel and Egypt had agreed to the ceasefire, beginning at 6 a.m. GMT, which would coincide with the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the south of the enclave.

Open-source intelligence monitor OSINTdefender wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the ceasefire would last five hours, only include the southern Gaza Strip, and that there had been no agreement or discussions with Hamas.

However, the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any ceasefire and Hamas told Arabic language network Asharq News that it had no information regarding an agreement on a humanitarian truce.

The Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, is Gaza’s only exit route not controlled by Israel and is the only possible route out of the enclave, the others having been blocked. Cairo has tightly restricted the crossing amid badly strained relations between Hamas and Egypt.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the crossing “will be reopened” and that there would be “a mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it.”

However, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there was no ceasefire, and made reference to no humanitarian aid being provided in the Gaza Strip in exchange for foreigners being allowed to leave, according to Israeli news outlet Channel 14.

The government information office in Gaza said it had not received any communications or confirmations from the Egyptian side regarding the opening of the Rafah crossing, television channel Al Araby reported.

Newsweek has contacted the Israeli prime minister’s office and the U.S. State Department for comment.

Palestinians in Gaza said Israel’s bombing campaign overnight on Sunday was the heaviest since it launched strikes following the attack by Hamas militants on October 7 that killed at least 1,300 Israeli citizens, according to the Associated Press.

Bombardment has been especially heavy in Gaza City, with airstrikes hitting the areas around two of the city’s main hospitals, according to Reuters, noting that the death toll, according to Gaza authorities, had reached 2,670.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Authority of Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday a plan to evacuate residents of northern Israel who live up to 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) from the Lebanese border.

Update 10/16/23, 4:48 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.

Joe Biden "sickened" by Palestinian child stabbed to death in Illinois

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Joe Biden "sickened" by Palestinian child stabbed to death in Illinois

Joe Biden has said he is “shocked and sickened” by news of the stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian Muslim child and his mother in Illinois, which has left the boy dead and the mother hospitalized.

“This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are,” the president wrote in a statement on Sunday.

Officers were sent to the scene of the stabbing, in Plainfield Township, on the outskirts of Chicago, around 11:38 a.m. local time (12:38 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Will County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement later that evening. There they found both victims had “multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso, and upper extremities” who were taken to hospital.

It said the 32-year-old mother had more than a dozen stab wounds, but “is expected to survive this brutal attack.” However, the boy arrived in hospital in a serious condition and was later pronounced dead from his injuries.

Will County Sheriff’s Office said the boy had been stabbed 26 times with a serrated military-style knife that had a seven-inch blade, and that a forensic pathologist had to remove the knife from the boy’s abdomen.

Officers arrested Joseph M. Czuba, 71, the family’s landlord, who had been sitting on the ground near the house with a laceration to his head when they arrived. Police said despite not making any statements to detectives while being questioned, they were able to gather enough information to charge him with a number of offenses including first degree murder and two counts of hate crimes.

“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek—a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace,” Biden wrote. “As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone.”

The attack, which police allege was motivated by the victims’ faith and the war between Israel and Hamas, occurred a week after Israel was attacked by militants and in the midst of ongoing violence in the region.

That violence has so far taken the lives of more than 4,000 people, according to the latest death toll by the Associated Press. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded, while over 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 155 others, including children, have been taken hostage by militants, according to Israel.

Aid organizations have already warned of a worsening crisis in the region after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza—which Hamas controls—including the cutting off supplies and an intensive campaign of air strikes. Israel has indicated it was preparing a much larger offensive on the Palestinian exclave, which will likely increase the death toll significantly.

The day before the fatal stabbing in Illinois, Hamas had called on Muslims around the world to participate in a “Day of Jihad” which led to protests in several countries, and may have inspired the stabbing of a secondary school teacher in France.

Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a prior update that the mother in Plainfield had run into the bathroom when Czuba attacked her and her son, and had “continued to fight off her attacker as she dialed 911.” Czuba has also been charged with attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Newsweek approached Will County Sheriff’s Office via email for further comment on Monday.

Update 10/16/23, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include further details throughout.

Woman’s colleague spots mark on her arm that led to cancer diagnosis

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Woman’s colleague spots mark on her arm that led to cancer diagnosis

“I would have died and left my four kids behind. I never would have spotted it,” Kelly Avery told Newsweek, crediting her friend with saving her life not once but twice.

When Avery, 43, noticed a lump on the back of her arm in early 2018, she asked Gary Blanchfield, who she worked with at a nursing home, to have a look at it. After taking one glance at it, he was more concerned by the small brown mark next to the lump and urged Avery to get that checked immediately.

The caution in her friend and colleague’s voice was striking, so Avery knew it must be serious. She grew fearful that it could be melanoma.

The mother-of-four from Tampa, Florida, told Newsweek that she was “nervous and a little bit scared because it’s one of those silent cancers.”

“I had so many blistering sunburns when I was younger, which predisposes you to having melanoma,” she said.

As the tiny painless mark was hidden on the back of Avery’s arm, she said that she never would have seen it herself. Had it not been for Blanchfield’s intervention, it could have been a very different outcome.

“It was brown and about the size of a pea. It was raised, and the borders weren’t regular, so it was kind of choppy around the edges. Gary told me to get it checked out because it looked like melanoma, but I didn’t even know it was back there,” Avery said.

“I went for my appointment, and the nurse practitioner looked at the spot and said she was going to biopsy it. I had to go back two weeks later to have it removed because they didn’t want to wait any longer. The doctor said it had grown in those two weeks, and he told me that if I had left it for a few months, I probably would’ve been in a really bad situation.”

Following the biopsy, Avery was diagnosed with melanoma in August 2018, the most common form of cancer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most typical sign of skin cancer is a notable change in the skin, which could be a growth, a sore, or a new mole that develops.

For melanoma, the area will have a jagged border and uneven color tone and may change over a span of weeks or months.

A rise in melanoma cases in recent years has led the American Cancer Society to estimate that approximately 97,610 new cases will be diagnosed in 2023, resulting in 7,990 deaths. Although the average age to receive a diagnosis is 65, melanoma can occur at any age and is prevalent in young females.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the risk of melanoma or to catch it early. Dr. Jonathan Leventhal, the director of the Onco-Dermatology Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center said that UV exposure is the primary risk of skin cancer, so the importance of sun safety shouldn’t be underestimated.

“UV exposure is the greatest environmental risk factor, so prevention includes avoiding UV damage to the skin,” Leventhal told Newsweek. “Avoid tanning beds, protect skin outdoors by seeking shade, wear protective clothing, hat, and sunglasses, apply broad-spectrum sunscreen SPF 30 or above, and reapply frequently.

“Other risk factors are genetic and include having a large number of moles and light skin, which predisposes to sunburns, and family history of skin cancer. Anyone with these risk factors and especially a personal history of skin cancer or atypical moles should see a dermatologist. Early detection of skin cancer can save a life,” he said.

If people are concerned, Dr. Leventhal advises them to think of it as “the ugly duckling sign” when looking for moles or lesions. If they stand out compared to other moles or marks, he implores people to seek a dermatologist for any concerns.

‘I Shaved My Whole Head So They Could Look for More’

Shortly after her diagnosis, Avery had to have four square inches of the skin removed from her arm, but the fear of developing more cancer cells only heightened thereafter.

As a full skin check discovered seven other areas where there were abnormal cells, she became anxious about new marks or changes in her body.

“I was nervous and afraid that maybe there were other ones that they didn’t see, so I shaved my whole head so they could look on my scalp for more melanoma. I was very nervous that there was something up there and they couldn’t see it, which was extreme,” Avery said.

“The diagnosis made me paranoid, and it still does. I still look at the different freckles I have all the time and want to get them checked out. I go to have them looked at every six months now and I’m always pointing small marks out as I’m so paranoid about it.”

Blanchfield may have saved Avery’s life in 2018, but that wasn’t the end of his heroic efforts. Many months later, while showing him the scar from the melanoma surgery, he noticed another small mark, this time on the wound.

“I showed him the scar from the melanoma that he found and I told him that the doctor said he saved my life. He looked at it and said, that’s a cool scar, but you need to get that checked out and he pointed to a spot on the scar. So, I ended up going back to the doctor and it was melanoma, meaning Gary saved me twice.”

Sadly, Blanchfield passed away in 2020. Avery remembers him fondly as the reason she is still here today, because she may have never got the mark on her skin checked otherwise. While Avery gets biannual skin checks to ensure there are no further developments, her children also get examined because individuals with a family history are at greater risk.

“Looking back, knowing that he effectively saved my life makes me feel so sad. I never would have known, and nobody else would have seen it either because it was right where my shirt would usually be,” Avery told Newsweek.

“Melanoma has a genetic link, so my kids get skin checks every year now too. When my son was 8, on his first check, they found an abnormal mole on his wrist and they had to remove it. Then they did a second scraping to go deeper because it would have turned into melanoma otherwise.

“He was only 8. That’s so young. It shows that you’ve got to be aware, and wear sunscreen.”

‘A Good Way to Honor Gary’s Memory’

In August 2023, Avery decided to share her story on TikTok, under the username @shrinkingwhilegrowing. Alongside the series of images showing how a tiny mark led to a huge surgery scar, Avery said that Blanchfield will “always be [her] hero.”

The video touched many hearts online and went viral, generating more than 438,000 views and 5,000 likes.

“I did not expect that reaction to my post on TikTok, it just really took off,” she said. “It was a very positive reaction and there were people who were glad I’d got it checked because they had a family member who had passed away from melanoma.

“A lot of people were saying that they have some spots which they’ll go get checked out now too, so it was a good way to honor Gary’s memory.”

Is there a health issue that’s worrying you? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.

Signs your job is ruining your happiness and what to do about it

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Signs your job is ruining your happiness and what to do about it

Do you find yourself thinking about work all the time, getting sick more than ever and feeling the “Sunday scaries” every day? If so, your job may be eating away at your happiness. These negative patterns among employees are unsurprising in an age of “quiet quitting” and “rage applying.”

“The reality is that even in the work-from-home era, work takes up most of our lives,” Lacey Leone McLaughlin, an executive coach in California, told Newsweek. “Some people are even working more now that they work from home because the already thin division between the office and home has fully evaporated. If you’re not enjoying your work, think about why.”

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in February found that only 51 percent of Americans are “extremely or very satisfied” with their job overall.

Steven Pinto, an executive coach and licensed mental health counselor in New York, told Newsweek that while your job doesn’t need to be your main source of fulfillment in life, “it does need to have elements of fulfillment in it that you can garner along the way.”

So how are our jobs dragging us down and what can we do about it? Here, business coaches describe the signs that your job is ruining your happiness.

Your Health Is Affected

Dawid Wiacek, an executive career coach in New York state, said that many of his clients, “even or especially the ones earning high salaries—think mid- to high six figures,” feel that they have “golden handcuffs.” They are unwilling to separate from their current employer, “no matter how toxic the boss or how unpleasant the company culture may be.”

Some of the health problems his clients have experienced are headaches, migraines, ulcers, panic attacks, eczema and other stress-related manifestations.

“This is to say nothing of the toll a stressful job can take on one’s mental health and well-being, with clients often lamenting that their job took meaningful time away from their friends and families,” he said.

Joseph Liu, a career change consultant and host of the Career Relaunch podcast, said: “When you’re feeling both physically and mentally drained from your current work, that means you’re doing work that depletes you instead of energizing you.”

You Replay Arguments

Business coach and certified career coach Tim Toterhi said that conflict is a healthy part of team dynamics and that work debates should “attack issues and problems, not people.”

So “endlessly rehashing” co-worker conflicts on your off time is not only a sign of unhappiness but also indicates that “you feel unheard and even unsafe.”

You Rehearse Contributions

Toterhi said it’s a good idea to review notes and polish your opening for a big presentation.

However, it’s a red flag if you “feel the need to endlessly prepare for small interactions and standard staff meetings. It’s hard to be happy if you are made to second-guess your contributions.”

You Revisit Mistakes

Toterhi also said that “experience is often the best teacher,” so it’s healthy to draw lessons from our blunders.

However, “there is a difference between performing a project postmortem and beating yourself up over imaginary missteps.”

You Feel the ‘Sunday Scaries’ All the Time

April Shprintz, a business accelerator and sales expert in Florida, said the “Sunday scaries”—feeling anxious on Sundays about going back to work on Monday—on a daily basis is another sign that your job is affecting your happiness.

“While some people dread work on Monday, you find yourself feeling stress and anxiety about your job every time you think about it,” she said.

If your “Monday morning blues” extends to the rest of your week, evenings and weekends, Liu said, “it suggests that your current role is no longer fulfilling.”

What to Do if Your Job Is Ruining Your Happiness

Pinto said that our jobs and careers take up a good portion of our lives, so “it’s imperative to like what we do and to feel we are good at it…your career should challenge you but not crush you.”

Address the Underlying Causes of Dissatisfaction

Deb Harrison, a change/growth consultant and coach who has worked with various business organizations, said, “It’s crucial to identify the causes of anxiety. Is it the workload, toxic work environment, lack of time off or a mismatch between your skills and responsibilities?”

Leone McLaughlin advised speaking to your boss about what isn’t working and then making a plan on how you can fix it.

“Workplace culture is everything. Examine the culture and your workplace and consider if there are ways to improve it so you can be happier,” she said.

Focus on Things You Can Control

By focusing on the aspects of your situation that are under your control and accepting what you can’t, “you let go of so much angst—it’s a radical acceptance,” Leone McLaughlin said.

Harrison suggested reflecting on what initially sparked your passion for the job or industry. “You may find that remembering your why helps you to feel more in control of the situation.”

Consider Getting a New Job

The reality is that you may need a new job, Leone McLaughlin said. Perhaps the grass is greener on the other side. “Evaluate what that would look like. Maybe your job isn’t right? Maybe you should change?” she said.

Harrison agrees, saying, “You may need to try to change jobs or even consider a career transition. Your well-being and happiness are invaluable, and taking action to restore them is a vital investment in your overall quality of life.”

Do you have a work-related dilemma to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.

Lindsey Graham praises Biden, criticizes Trump’s "huge mistake"

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Lindsey Graham praises Biden, criticizes Trump’s "huge mistake"

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, praised President Joe Biden on Sunday for his support of Israel following Hamas’ attack, while criticizing Donald Trump for calling Hezbollah “very smart,” saying it was a “huge mistake.”

“I want to applaud President Biden for his strong statement in support of Israel,” he said while appearing on NBC News’ Meet the Press. “I just got off the phone with Israelis. Their goal is to destroy Hamas in the south and try to save as many innocent Palestinians as possible, to prevent escalation north from Hezbollah.”

In an address on Tuesday, Biden said that Israel has not just a right, but a duty to defend itself against the “pure unadulterated evil” perpetrated by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.

The following day, Trump complimented Hezbollah, a Lebanese Islamist militant group that the U.S. also designates as a terrorist organization, during a speech in Palm Beach, Florida.

“Hezbollah are very smart, and they [Biden administration] have a National Defense minister saying ‘I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack us from the north.’ So the following morning, they attacked,” Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential primary, said. “They might not have been doing it, but if you listen to this jerk, you would attack from the north because he said that’s our weak spot.”

When asked about Trump’s comments on Meet the Press, Graham, an ally of the former president, said: “That was a huge mistake.”

He added: “If I were President Trump, I’d talk about being the strongest president for Israel in modern times. He issued a statement two days ago, ‘I stand with Bibi. I stand with Israel.’ Yeah, it was a mistake. He’s on the right track, but Biden’s administration’s border policies are failing and their policies against Iran are failing.”

Bibi is the nickname of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Trump previously criticized. During his speech on Wednesday, the former president said that Israeli leaders needed to “step up their game” and in an interview on The Brian Kilmeade Show, he said Netanyahu “was not prepared” for Hamas’ attack.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s office for comment via email.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,329 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, according to The Associated Press on Sunday. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed, the agency said.

Graham said that Trump’s remarks on Netanyahu was “not helpful,” but still backed the Republican presidential candidate for his past policies in the Middle East.

“He recognized Jerusalem as the capital [of Israel], he recognized Golan Heights as a part of Israel, he put into place the Abraham Accords,” the senator said Sunday.

The Abraham Accords was a peace agreement signed in 2020 between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, which was brokered by Trump with help from his son-in-law and White House senior adviser at the time, Jared Kushner.

Kushner, however, has since been criticized for the peace agreement’s failure to provide solutions to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Graham also gave a message to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas.

“If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I’ll consider that a threat to the state of Israel, existential in nature, I will introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel, to knock Iran out of the oil business,” he said. “Iran, if you escalate this war, we’re coming for you.”

Today’s "Wordle" #848 Answer, Clues and Tips for Sunday, October 15 Puzzle

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Today’s "Wordle" #848 Answer, Clues and Tips for Sunday, October 15 Puzzle

Despite its relative ubiquity across the world now, Wordle first came about fewer than two years ago, but quickly shot to prominence and spawned a whole new genre of brainteaser guessing games.

Invented by Josh Wardle, a New York-based software engineer, the online game came about as a way to entertain his partner during the coronavirus pandemic. The couple shared a love of crossword puzzles, so he developed Wordle as a way for them to spend quality time together.

Wordle was first released to the public in October 2021, and rapidly exploded from 90 users on November 1 that year to 300,000 on January 2, 2022, according to figures by Statista. The New York Times then purchased the game in January 2022 for an undisclosed low seven-figure fee.

As is to be expected with any brainteaser, some players may be stuck on Sunday’s answer, but you’re not alone, even the creator has said in an interview with Newsweek that he’s not the best player, usually taking “at least four or five attempts” to guess right.

As such, Newsweek has supplied some helpful hints below to help users on their way to those five green squares. But be warned, the answer to today’s puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll with caution.

Wordle #848, Clues for Sunday, October 15

Newsweek has put together five clues to help you solve today’s Wordle puzzle.

Hint #1: The answer contains two vowels.

Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.

Hint #3: It has multiple meanings.

Hint #4: The third letter is a vowel.

Hint #5: It can be associated with both faucets and people.

Wordle #848, Answer for Sunday, October 15

The answer to today’s Wordle puzzle is “Leaky.”

Wordle updates every day at 7 p.m. ET, at which point the next puzzle will become available for players around the world to try to solve.

But players who would like something to keep themselves busy while they wait can have a go at these similar word-based puzzles.

What Does ‘Leaky’ Mean?

The Collins English dictionary defines “leaky” as “allowing the accidental entrance or escape of a fluid substance.” But it can also refer to someone who has a habit of giving away as before undisclosed information.

An example of its use may be: “I wouldn’t use that faucet, it’s a bit leaky.”

How "Saturday Night Live" tackled Israel-Hamas war

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How "Saturday Night Live" tackled Israel-Hamas war

Saturday Night Live opted to forgo its typical cold open parodying the week’s news for the first episode of season 49, with host Pete Davidson instead delivering a solemn message addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“This week, we saw the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza,” Davidson said.

“And I know what you’re thinking, who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson? Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it because when I was 7 years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. So I know something about what that’s like.” Davidson’s father, Scott Davidson, was a New York City firefighter who died in the 9/11 terror attacks.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest militant attack in Israel’s history, prompting the country to launch its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza, a long-blockaded territory with about 2.3 million Palestinian residents.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,329 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, according to The Associated Press. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, the agency said. The militant group has also taken hostages into the besieged territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists as it prepares for a likely ground offensive into the territory.

“I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, Israeli children and Palestinian children,” Davidson said. “It took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. No one in this world deserves to suffer like that, especially not kids.”

Davidson went on to talk about how his mother had tried so many ways to cheer him up after his father died.

“I remember one day when I was 8, she got me what she thought was a Disney movie, but it was actually the Eddie Murphy stand-up special, Delirious,” he said.

“We played it in the car on the way home, but when she heard the things Eddie Murphy was saying, she tried to take it away, but then she noticed something: for the first time, in a long time, I was laughing again.

“I don’t understand, I really don’t, I never will, but sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy.”

He said: “My heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight, I’m going to do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy and that’s try to be funny.”

A moment later, he added: “Remember, I said try.”

Later in the episode, the first “Weekend Update” segment of the season saw host Colin Jost touch on the war.

“This was a terrible week for the world, but a great week for random idiots who like to share completely unhinged thoughts wherever they can,” Jost said.

He joked that one person had written a 1000-word essay titled “How I’d Fix Palestine” and posted it in a Yelp review for a Buffalo Wild Wings.

Jost went on to reference former president Donald Trump’s recent comments about the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

“Even world leaders who could be making it better or making it worse,” Jost said. “For example, former President Trump went out of his way to praise the terrorist group Hezbollah, calling them quote ‘very smart.'”

Jost joked that “in Trump’s defense, he thinks Hezbollah is the genie from Aladdin.”

Newsweek has contacted Trump’s office for comment via email.

Everything Pope Francis has said on Israel-Hamas war

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Everything Pope Francis has said on Israel-Hamas war

Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help Palestinians who are under siege in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

During his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Francis said humanitarian law must be respected, “especially in Gaza where it is urgent and necessary to ensure humanitarian corridors and to come to the aid of the entire population.”

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest militant attack in Israel’s history. Israel then launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza, a long-blockaded territory with about 2.3 million Palestinian residents. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,329 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, according to The Associated Press. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed, the agency said.

Israel has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza and ordered more than a million people to evacuate to the south ahead of a looming ground offensive.

“I continue to follow with much sorrow what is happening in Israel and Palestine,” Francis said on Sunday. “I think back to the many people, especially the little ones and the elderly.”

The pope also called for an end to the shedding of “innocent blood” and also reiterated calls for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack.

“Brothers and sisters, already many have died,” he said. “Please, let no more innocent blood be shed, neither in the Holy Land nor in Ukraine, nor in any other place! Enough! Wars are always a defeat, always!”

He added: “I renew my appeal for the freeing of the hostages and I strongly ask that children, the sick, the elderly, women, and all civilians not be made victims of the conflict.”

During a weekly audience on Wednesday, Francis had called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas fighters.

“I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured,” he said. “I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately.”

The pope added that “it is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very concerned about the total siege under which the Palestinians are living in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims.”

Francis said that terrorism and extremism “do not help reach a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but fuel hatred, violence, revenge, and only cause each to other suffer. The Middle East does not need war, but peace, a peace built on dialogue and the courage of fraternity.”

Newsweek reached out to the Vatican via email for additional comment.

Iran issues ominous threat to the US and deadline warning to Israel

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Iran issues ominous threat to the US and deadline warning to Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian issued a threat on Sunday that the United States would see “heavy losses” and warned Israel with a deadline to end its military actions toward Gaza.

On October 7, Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization, led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Sunday, more than 1,300 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported. More than 2,300 people had been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the AP said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists as it prepares for a likely ground offensive into the territory, which has an estimated population of around 2.3 million.

“We announced to the Zionist regime, through its supporters, that if it does not stop its crimes in Gaza, tomorrow will be too late,” Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with Al Jazeera during a visit to Qatar on Sunday. Iran helps provide arms and funding for Hamas, and has expressed strong support for the militant Palestinian group’s actions against Israel.

The Iranian official then issued a threat directed at the U.S. “Iran cannot just watch this situation as a bystander. If the scope of the war expands, heavy losses will be inflicted on the United States,” he said.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the Iranian official’s remarks. Newsweek reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.

Iran has denied involvement in the attack, a sensitive matter for President Joe Biden, who tried to pursue some of the rapprochement with Tehran started by the Obama administration, in which he was vice president. U.S. and Israeli officials, while accusing Iran of having a long history of supporting Hamas militarily, financially and otherwise, have not identified any clear connection between Tehran and the Hamas attacks.

Any direct Iranian involvement would create multiple headaches for Biden, potentially widening the war in the Middle East and putting an unwelcome spotlight on his diplomacy with Iran including trying to revive a nuclear non-proliferation deal scuppered by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and a controversial decision to unfreeze some $6 billion of Iranian funds in a sanctions-bound bank account as part of deal to free American prisoners.

The Biden administration has rejected the idea that the unfrozen funds have in any way benefited Hamas. “The money held in restricted accounts in Doha remains in Doha. Not a penny has been spent, and it will never go to Iran—it can only be used for future humanitarian-related purposes. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and misleading,” a State Department spokesperson previously told Newsweek.

Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian issued a similar warning to Israel on Saturday during a visit to Lebanon, where he met with the leaders of Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The Lebanese militant group is also supported by Iran, and has repeatedly exchanged fire with Israel since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out just over week ago.

The Iranian official said that the window of opportunity for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict was closing, according to Lebanese news site Naharnet. “Maybe, in the next few hours, it will be too late,” he said.

The Iranian official warned that pro-Iranian groups, such as Hezbollah, “have designed all the scenarios and are prepared, and their finger is on the trigger to shoot.”

The U.S. State Department told Newsweek last Monday that Hezbollah and other groups should not get involved in the conflict. “Any decision by Hezbollah or other actors to drag Lebanon into this conflict would have terrible consequences for the Lebanese people. They deserve better,” a spokesperson said.

Hezbollah again on Sunday announced that it had carried out several strikes on Israel. “As part of retaliation to Israeli aggression… Unit of martyrs Ali Youssef Alaaddine and Hussein Kamal Al-Masri targeted an Israeli enemy post in Shtula settlement with guided missiles on Sunday,” the Lebanese militant group said, according to its television station Al-Manar.

Israeli media said at least one Israeli was killed while several others were injured. A previous Israeli strike targeting Lebanon on Friday left a Reuters video journalist dead and injured six other journalists. Three Hezbollah militants were killed in Israeli attacks on Monday, and Israel said that one Israeli soldier was killed in a skirmish with the Lebanese group two days later, the AP reported.

“The situation in the region is very dangerous and open to all possibilities, including direct Iranian and American involvement. Neither side wants a head on confrontation, but they might nonetheless find themselves there as we go up the escalatory ladder of tit for tat,” Firas Maksad, director of outreach at the Middle East Institute, told Newsweek in a Sunday email.

Maksad said that a “worst case scenario would see the US use its deployed naval assets to, not only defend Israel, but also engage Hezbollah directly. That could mean that US forces in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the region can come under fire from Iranian-backed militias or even Iran itself.”

Analysts have warned that Hezbollah’s involvement could significantly escalate the situation, as the militant group has much greater firepower than Hamas. However, others have noted that the group, which holds significant political power within Lebanon, also faces substantial opposition within the country.

Lebanon continues to face a severe economic crisis, and while much of the Lebanese population is sympathetic to the Palestinians’ cause, they would not be eager for their nation to be drawn into a bloody confrontation with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006 that lasted 34 days. That conflict is estimated to have left some 165 Israelis and more than 1,100 Lebanese dead.

“If Hezbollah unleashed a major rocket attack on Israel, which it would only do with the permission of Iran, there would be an enormous price to pay for Lebanese civilians,” F. Gregory Gause, III, professor of international affairs and John H. Lindsey ’44 chair at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, told Newsweek in a Sunday email.

He added: “I’m not sure that Hezbollah, whose position in Lebanese politics depends to some extent on its ability to sustain support in the Shia community and work with political forces in other communities, wants to take responsibility for that level of damage right now.”

Update: 10/15/23, at 1:15 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional expert analysis.

Update: 10/15/23, at 4:59 p.m. ET: The article was updated to reflect that Israel’s military declined to comment.

Maps of Middle East show Hamas-Israel clashes, rocket attacks

Fox News
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Maps of Middle East show Hamas-Israel clashes, rocket attacks

Hamas is signaling that it is prepared to defend the Gaza Strip against Israeli forces, according to a Washington-based think tank.

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and abducting others in the deadliest militant attack in Israel’s history.

Israel responded by launching its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing a response that Hamas would remember for “decades to come.”

The Israeli military on Thursday said it had dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza since the start of the war. Israel says it is striking Hamas targets, but many civilians in the besieged strip have been killed.

The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, according to The Associated Press. More than 1,300 Israelis have also been killed, the agency said.

Israel has cut off the flow of food, medicine, water and electricity into Gaza, and told the estimated 1 million residents in the north to move south ahead of an imminent ground offensive.

Meanwhile, Hamas continued its ground and rocket attacks on Israel, primarily in the south, on Saturday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in an update alongside maps showing the locations of reported rocket attacks.

Hamas’ military wing Al-Qassam Brigades “claimed responsibility for conducting rocket attacks on 12 locations, including Tel Aviv,” the ISW wrote.

One map shows a rocket had been some 30 miles from Gaza into Israeli territory, near the city of Beersheba. The graphic also showed attacks near the cities of Ashdod, Ramla and Tel Aviv.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Gaza militant group, claimed responsibility for launching rockets on seven locations in southern Israel.

According to the think tank, Hamas has reduced its rate of rocket fire into Israeli territory since Thursday to “conserve its stockpile and prepare for a prolonged war.”

The institute also said Palestinian militants are “continuing limited attempts to infiltrate southern Israel via land and sea.”

They engaged in “small arms clashes” with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at least four times on Israeli territory surrounding the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the ISW said.

“These militants used an anti-tank missile in one of these instances. The IDF Navy separately interdicted speedboats trying to enter Israeli territory,” the update said.

The institute said it had recorded 13 small arms clashes in the West Bank on Saturday, a significant drop from the 32 recorded on Friday. “Israeli forces are conducting arrest campaigns in the West Bank, which may be contributing to the reduced violence.”

Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group—whose fighters have exchanged fire with Israel in recent days—are “messaging that Hamas is prepared to defend the Gaza Strip effectively against the IDF,” the ISW wrote, noting that the Palestinian group had published messages on Saturday “boasting about its anti-armor capabilities and defensive preparations.”

The institute and the Israeli Ministry of Defense have been contacted for further comment via email.

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