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China refuses to condemn Hamas as Israeli-Palestinian conflict widens

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China refuses to condemn Hamas as Israeli-Palestinian conflict widens

An Israeli diplomat in China has criticized Beijing for its allegedly weak official position on the latest Israel-Palestinian conflict.

“China is deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel. We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint, and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation,” said a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

Beijing has taken a neutral stance regarding the latest conflict in Israel and has historically backed Palestine’s aspiration to statehood without offering any official support for Hamas.

China repeated its long-held position by renewing calls for a “two-state solution.”

“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine,” said the Chinese foreign ministry.

Israel expected to see a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from Beijing, Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli embassy in Beijing, said in response on Sunday, according to Reuters.

“When people are being murdered, slaughtered in the streets, this is not the time to call for a two-state solution,” Waks told reporters.

“On the Palestine-Israel conflict, China has always been on the side of equity and justice. As a friend to both Israel and Palestine, what we hope to see is the two countries living together in peace,” said Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, when asked about Waks calling out China’s position.

“It’s not surprising that China has taken this position regarding the Israel conflict. It’s similar to China’s position on Ukraine,” Alfred Wu, Associate Professor at Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, told Newsweek.

“China is unlikely to change its position in the coming days and will remain neutral on the developments in Israel,” said Wu.

Tuvia Gering, researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Diane & Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center, said much like its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Beijing would avoid specifically mentioning Hamas when talking about events in Israel.

“Notice that the same language, full of false equivalencies (“China calls all sides”…), the use of euphemisms (“special military operation”), and no direct condemnation of the hostile party, was used for a Chinese statement in February 2022, when Russia launched an unprovoked and illegal invasion of a sovereign country. Nineteen months into the war in Ukraine, they can’t even call it an invasion,” Gering told Newsweek.

Meanwhile, Chinese netizens have closely watched developments in Israel as they expressed shock over gruesome deaths seen over the past few days.

On Monday, the hashtag “Palestine-Israel conflict has caused thousands of deaths” had been viewed 43 million times on Chinese social networking site Weibo.

There has been significant interest in the conflict on the Chinese social media platforms.

The search trend “260 dead in Hamas attack on Israeli music festival” was the number one trend on the Chinese search engine Baidu. A hashtag based on the same trend was ranked as the sixth-most popular search trend on Weibo.

Chinese nationals discussed the story of Noa Argamani, an Israeli national of Chinese descent, who was abducted by Hamas and is being held hostage in Gaza.

However, the Chinese government sought to shut down the discussions about Argamani, with the hashtag “Israel says a mixed Chinese Israeli girl has been kidnapped” being censored on Weibo.

“In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, the content of this topic is not displayed,” said a notice the social media platform.

On Sunday, the Israeli embassy in Beijing posted about Argamani’s abduction.

“Noa is of Chinese-Israeli descent. Noa was attending a peace music festival in southern Israel when Hamas terrorists kidnapped her and dragged her from Israel to Gaza. She is a daughter, a sister, and a friend,” wrote Israel’s embassy in China on their Weibo account.

In a separate post on Weibo, the Israeli embassy said: “Hamas = ISIS.”

“When my colleagues inquired about a Chinese-born Israeli girl who had been kidnapped and taken to Gaza, Noa Argamani, they essentially told us that she was not a Chinese citizen and it’s your problem,” Gering told Newsweek.

The Chinese foreign ministry has avoided directly commenting on Argamani.

“I have noted relevant reports. We have always opposed violence and attacks against civilians,” said Mao when asked about Argamani.

Meanwhile, according to Chinese state media, three Chinese nationals are known to have been injured, and four are currently missing in Israel. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was asked about plans to repatriate Chinese nationals stuck in Israel.

“The Chinese Embassy in Israel and the Office in Palestine have issued emergency security alerts to maintain contact with local Chinese citizens and make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds Chinese citizens not to travel to Palestine and Israel for the time being,” said Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.

In response to Hamas‘ attack, the U.S. has announced further military aid for Israel.

“China’s position on this issue is consistent. We always believe that dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental way to solve the problem,” Mao said when asked about the U.S. military aid. “We call on all parties to cease fire and stop the war as soon as possible to avoid further escalation of the situation.”

Hamas attack videos explained in detail: How events unfolded at festival

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Hamas attack videos explained in detail: How events unfolded at festival

After breaking through Israel’s heavily fortified separation fence from Gaza, Hamas fighters rampaged for hours on Saturday morning.

They gunned down civilians and snatched people, including many who had gathered in the desert near the Gaza border for a night of techno music.

The death toll at the Supernova festival, coinciding with the Jewish festival of Sukkot, was becoming clear on Monday—at least 260 bodies were recovered by paramedics, Israel’s rescue service Zaka said. Festival organizers said they were helping Israeli security forces locate attendees who were still missing.

Among the shocking images and videos from the festival that circulated on social media was one of a woman identified as 22-year-old Shani Louk lying face-down in the bed of a pick-up with four militants. Another showed a woman identified as 25-year-old Noa Argamani being abducted by men on a motorcycle. Other clips showed festival goers running across open fields to escape gunmen.

Early on Monday, the OSINTtechnical account on X, formerly Twitter, posted a thread mapping out and timing what had occurred at the festival.

“Working with new drone footage, multiple sets of satellite imagery and videos, it was possible to assemble a small idea of what happened in a small area,” the account said in the first post.

Analysis of satellite imagery showed the festival was held about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) from kibbutz Re’im, and about 5.2 kms from the Gaza border, according to the account.

Footage captured around daybreak shows confused festival attendees and security officers who appear to be trying to evacuate people. Sunrise was at around 6:40 a.m. local time on Saturday.

“This shot was taken right in front of the central pavilion, people are confused and unsure of where to go while security works to evacuate people east,” OSINTtechnical wrote.

Another video that shows people fleeing appears to have been captured in one of the fields east of the festival venue, according to the account.

Rescuers searching in vehicles found a working dash cam and found footage that included GPS location and timestamps.

The footage, according to OSINTtechnical, shows a Hamas fighter dragging away a civilian. The timestamp on the footage says 9:23 a.m.

Seconds later, another gunman executed an injured civilian lying behind a sedan, according to OSINTtechnical. The same footage showed a third Hamas militant searching for civilians.

Another clip captured by the dashcam almost three hours later shows several individuals arriving in the area. The clip shows the unarmed individuals rifling through the executed person’s pockets.

Minutes later, another group of people arrived. They searched the abandoned sedan, took out a suitcase and looked through it.

OSINTtechnical reported that drone footage shows many areas of the festival site were seen burning, with about 35 vehicles destroyed or severely damaged and at least 89 abandoned vehicles. Newsweek has contacted the account for comment via direct message.

Around 700 people have been killed in Israel, according to The Associated Press. The Gaza Health Ministry said 493 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory. Thousands more have been wounded on both sides.

Israel formally declared war on Sunday. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, an enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians bordering Israel and Egypt, halting the entry of food, fuel and supplies as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with airstrikes in retaliation for the weekend incursion.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza of varying strictness since Hamas seized power in 2007.

Mexico slammed by Tropical Storm Max as Lidia expected to hit Tuesday

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Mexico slammed by Tropical Storm Max as Lidia expected to hit Tuesday

As Tropical Storm Max pummels Mexico on Monday, another storm in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Lidia, is expected to wallop the country as a hurricane the following day, forecasters warn.

Tropical Storm Max made landfall Monday afternoon along the southern Mexico coast roughly 40 miles from the popular resort city of Zihuatanejo. The storm brought wind speeds topping 60 miles per hour and torrential rainfall, Dan Brown, a senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) told Newsweek in a phone interview on Monday night.

Brown said while Max should weaken quickly and likely dissipate by Tuesday morning, there will be excess “remnant moisture” around the southern coast of Mexico that increases the risk of dangerous flooding.

“There’s still a threat for heavy rainfall, especially through Tuesday,” Brown said. “Between four to eight inches of rainfall are likely with a maximum of 12 inches. Because that area is so mountainous, there’s likely to be some flash flooding and some mudslides.”

While the country will still be dealing with the lingering effects of Max, Tropical Storm Lidia is forecast to make landfall in West-Central Mexico as a hurricane on Tuesday evening, Brown said.

Lidia is expected to have “hurricane-force” winds reaching 100 mph as the storm slams the coast north of the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, hundreds of miles away from where Max made landfall.

“Lidia is likely to bring not only just strong winds but very dangerous storm surge as well and the potential for flooding,” Brown told Newsweek.

Swells from Lidia will also cause “dangerous” surf and rip currents along Mexico’s west coast and the Baja California peninsula for the next several days, NHC warns.

The Mexican government has issued a Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Warning for areas expected to be hit hardest by Lidia and Max, which include Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Sinaloa, Baja California Sur, Michoacán, and Guerrero.

After Lidia barrels through Mexico, the latest forecasts show the storm continuing through southern Texas.

The storm is expected to dump 2 inches of rain on the Lonestar State, which has been plagued by a severe drought all summer. However, the soil is too dry to quickly absorb excessive rainfall, leading to increased risks of flash flooding in the southern tip of Texas, according to NHC.

RFK Jr.: Today, I Declared Myself an Independent Candidate for President

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RFK Jr.: Today, I Declared Myself an Independent Candidate for President

Today, I declared myself an independent candidate for President of the United States of America.

And more than that, I joined my voice with all the people who are fed up and all the people who are hopeful, to make a new Declaration of Independence for our entire nation.

Today, I declared my independence from the corporations that have hijacked our government to milk us for profit.

I declared independence from Wall Street, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Ag, the military contractors, and their lobbyists who now outnumber members of Congress 20 to 1.

I declared independence from the mercenary media that forever urges us to hate our neighbors and fear our friends.

I declared independence from the cynical elites who betray our hope and amplify our divisions.

And finally, I declared independence from the two political parties and the corrupt interests that dominate them, and the entire rigged system of rancor and rage, corruption and lies, that has turned government officials into indentured servants of their corporate bosses. If left unchecked, they will commoditize our air, water, food, labor, and children, and turn the American Dream into desperation and dust.

I declared my independence from these corrupting powers because they are incompatible with the inalienable rights that our original Declaration of Independence invoked in 1776: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How can we guard life when for-profit corporations have captured the public agencies that are supposed to protect us? How can we enjoy liberty when a surveillance state seeks to hide the truth and quash dissent to preserve its power? And how can we pursue happiness when our nation’s families are imprisoned by debt and hunger and jobs that will never pay the bills?

And so today, I declared my independence from the tyranny of corruption which robs us of affordable lives, belief in our future, and respect for one another. And to do that, I had to declare my independence from the Democratic Party and independence from all parties.

I haven’t made this decision lightly. It is painful for me to let go of the party of my uncles, my father, of my grandfather and of both of my great-grandfathers—John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, Boston’s first Irish Catholic mayor, and Patrick Kennedy, a Boston ward boss, who together, launched my family’s political dynasty.

But my sacrifice is nothing compared to the risk our founding fathers took when they signed the Declaration of Independence 247 years ago right over there. They knew that if their revolution failed, every last one of them would be hanged. They chose to place everything on the line.

When John Adams put his pen down after adding his signature to the Declaration, he turned to those present and said, “Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, from this day on, I’m with my country.” I make that same pledge today, so that I may stand before you as every leader should, free of partisan allegiance and backroom wheeling and dealing, a servant only to my conscience, to my Creator, and to you.

Today, we are turning a new page in American politics. There have been independent candidates before. But this time is different. This time, the Independent is going to win.

The two major parties are fielding candidates that most Americans do not want even to run. A shocking three-fourths of Americans believe President Biden is too old to govern effectively. President Trump faces multiple civil and criminal trials. Both have favorability ratings deep in negative territory.

That is what two-party politics has come to, and that is why we need to break the stranglehold of the two parties. And that’s why we need to pry loose the hammerlock of corrupt power over Washington D.C. We are going to make this nation ours again.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for President as an Independent.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

As a Democrat, Biden Could Afford to Ignore RFK Jr. Not Anymore

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As a Democrat, Biden Could Afford to Ignore RFK Jr. Not Anymore

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign began as a joke in bad taste. His positions on vaccines (anti) should have disqualified him from cocktail parties and polite society long before he decided to seek the highest office in the strongest country in the world.

Kennedy is in possession of a noble name from a long-gone Camelot. RFK Jr.’s father was powerful attorney general of the United States under his now-idolized and idealized brother, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. RFK Senior was also a senator who seemed to be closing in on the 1968 Democratic nomination for president when he was assassinated, as John had been five years earlier. But Junior has fallen short.

His single redeeming Democratic credential would be his environmentalism, which is long-standing and in keeping with the party of today. Yet that hardly makes up for his deficiencies.

When Kennedy entered the Democratic primary earlier this year, it generated some noise. With his name and his near-familiar looks, it was inevitable that the media would swoon. They did, and in so doing, they helped him to the place where he now stands: a threat to the very democracy his family traditionally served so well.

When RFK Jr. was running as a Democrat, President Joe Biden could afford to laugh at the campaign and ignore calls for a debate. A 50-percent lead in the polls will give you a certain confidence in yourself and contempt for your opponent. It was a challenge Biden could practically welcome.

But now RFK Jr. is reportedly switching from the traditional political home of the Kennedys to run for president as an Independent. His chances of becoming president are still laughable, but Biden can’t afford to simply take the joke.

It shouldn’t be so, but the race between former President Donald Trump and Biden is a squeezingly close head-to-head when it’s just the two of them. There are enough Americans who are dying to vote for Trump, a fascist dictator-in-waiting with thoughts of revenge against the Republic on his mind, to at least keep it close.

But when you introduce a joker into the deck, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found Kennedy takes 14 percent of the national tally, leaving Biden a point or so behind Trump.

We should all be scared stiff of such an outcome—or at least, those of us who value democracy.

It’s not that the current Kennedy on offer can possibly win. It’s the fact that he could play the spoiler against a weak incumbent that is terrifying.

People for whatever their reasons don’t like President Biden all that much, to say the least. One often hears his age brought up as the explanation, yet he’s been more effective in terms of passing legislation at age 80 than his former boss, President Barack Obama, was while in his 40s. It’s a minor miracle. Yet it brings Biden little love.

And with his amazing name recognition and alleged Democratic credentials, it’s possible that just enough people will be fooled and peeled away from Biden by Kennedy’s bid.

Kennedy appears to have been a man of integrity who has lost his way. Now what’s left is a man of privilege, name recognition, and lost potential who stands to turn his ancestors over in their graves—not through his success,but through his ability to cause the failure of someone who deserves a second bite at the apple of the presidency.

If there’s anything left of the Kennedy in RFK Jr., it’s time to get serious, sit down, and shut up—for the sake of us all. Our democracy—our country—depends upon it.

Jason Fields is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek and the author of the acclaimed Holocaust novel Death in Twilight.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

RFK Jr. Is a Lesson for MAGA World: Be Careful What You Wish For

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RFK Jr. Is a Lesson for MAGA World: Be Careful What You Wish For

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign began by forcing the political Left and their media to confront harsh realities about their own policies on vaccines and support for foreign wars when it came to where their own constituents were at. Vehemently anti-war and anti-vax, RFK Jr. gave skeptical Democrats an outlet for their rage at a new pro-war, pro-vaccine mandate Democratic Party.

But poised to break from the Democratic Party today in what is largely expected to be a an announcement of an Independent bid, Kennedy’s horseshoe philosophies and campaign have found allies on the political Right—so much so that he may end up hurting former President and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump more than President Biden in the 2024 election.

Kennedy’s Democratic populism has found a home in MAGA world media, whose punditry sees him as a useful ally and tool against Joe Biden and in particular, the mainstream media. He has successfully courted some of MAGA world’s biggest media stars, who have given him a large platform to stand on, and his popularity with Republican voters eclipses that of Democratic ones.

A case in point: Kennedy will be a featured speaker at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Circus.

Yet MAGA World embraces Kennedy at their own peril. Recent polling has shown that Kennedy would not hurt Biden as an Independent in a general election run—though he would hurt Trump. The prospect of a Kennedy third party run should be putting Donald Trump and his supporters on all kinds of notice. With the narrow margins with which Trump lost the previous election, RFK’s popularity could be enough to swing the election to Biden—especially with the coveted normie suburban voters who don’t align with some of Kennedy’s more extreme positions.

Some of Trump’s supporters seem to have figured this out; RFK Jr’s possible Independent run has sent alarm bells through MAGA media’s biggest stalwarts, with some even suggesting Trump should offer Kennedy a cabinet position just to get him out of the race. Others have suggested Kennedy as a running mate.

It’s not quite as far fetched as it sounds. As President Elect, Trump met with Kennedy at Trump Tower in New York City and reportedly offered him a chair position on a panel that would probe vaccine safety—which is somewhat ironic given the fact that Operation Warp Speed fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccines is arguably Trump’s greatest accomplishment while in office, and one he still takes credit for to this day.

There is still a sizable anti-COVID vaccine contingent in Trump’s own base, and should Trump fail to walk the fine line between taking credit for the COVID vaccine while recognizing some of it’s side effects, they could abandon him in a general election. It’s a tightrope Trump has yet to figure out.

Kennedy could also act as a legitimate third party libertarian option, and he’s also quite popular with people who don’t tend to vote. Kennedy could pull from the sidelines of the American electorate, as Nate Silver pointed out.

Whether or not Kennedy would pull a sizable amount of voters is still up for debate, but with an appearance at CPAC, there’s enough to suggest that he could impact the election, and not in a way that MAGA world will like. At least, Trump’s team seems to think so: They are preparing to attack.

Stephen L. Miller has written for National Review, The Spectator, the New York Post and Fox News, and hosts the independent podcast Versus Media on Substack.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

Americans in Israel held hostage by Hamas: What we know, what we don’t

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Americans in Israel held hostage by Hamas: What we know, what we don’t

Israeli authorities confirmed that Americans are among the hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on Israel over the weekend.

Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel, while dozens of fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border by air, land and sea in areas near the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, marking an latest escalation in the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a televised address on Saturday that his country was now at war, while U.S. leaders pledged support for Israel.

More than 100 people are believed to have been taken by Hamas, though the exact number of hostages remained unclear.

“All I can say is that we know there are Americans among the hostages, but I cannot provide more details at this point,” Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said during an appearance on CNN on Sunday.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told Newsweek on Monday that authorities are working to locate Americans, writing in a statement: “We can confirm that there are unaccounted-for U.S. citizens, and we are working with our Israeli partners to determine their whereabouts.”

Neither U.S. nor Israeli authorities have provided details about how many Americans might be held hostage by Hamas.

Fox & Friends weekend co-host Will Cain reported that he was told by Israeli authorities that there are “dozens of American citizens among the hostages in Gaza,” though Newsweek was unable to independently verify that report. Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry via email for comment.

The State Department confirmed that at least nine Americans were killed in the attack that left more than 1,000 dead on both sides.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday that authorities were “working to get the facts” regarding Americans taken hostage.

U.S. Responds to Attack

President Joe Biden during a press conference at the White House on Saturday said the U.S. is standing with Israel and will “make sure” the country has what it needs.

“Israel has its right to defend itself and its people. Full stop. There’s never justification for terrorist attacks, and my administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” he said.

Biden on Sunday told Netanyahu that “additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces is now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days” during a phone call between the two, according to a White House statement.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed he movement of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean on Sunday.

“The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” he said in a statement.

Netanyahu promises a response Hamas will remember "for decades to come"

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Netanyahu promises a response Hamas will remember "for decades to come"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country’s response to the Hamas attacks would be remembered “for decades to come.”

Netanyahu’s message, shared to X, formerly Twitter, follows Hamas militants’ surprise attack on Israel Saturday. The Israeli government has declared its country at war with Hamas, the Palestinian fundamentalist political party, and has ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have since sealed off the region from food, fuel and other supplies, and the death toll of the war has risen to nearly 1,600 on both sides of the conflict, according to the Associated Press (AP).

“Israel is at war,” Netanyahu said in his message Monday. “We didn’t want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it.”

“Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions,” he continued. “We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.”

More than 900 Israelis are believed to have died in the Hamas attacks on Saturday, AP reports, which included air raids across the country and a barrage on a Jewish festival near the Gaza border—where many young festivalgoers were either killed or taken hostage.

Over 680 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel declared war. The armed wing of Hamas has warned that it plans to kill an Israeli hostage every time there is an unannounced Israeli attack against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, reported AP. More than 100 people, including Americans, are believed to have been snatched by Hamas Saturday.

“The savage attacks that Hamas perpetrated against innocent Israelis are mind-boggling: slaughtering families in their homes, massacring hundreds of young people at an outdoor festival, kidnapping scores of women, children and elderly, even Holocaust survivors,” Netanyahu continued Monday. “Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages.”

U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to provide Israel with “all appropriate means of support” in light of Hamas’ attacks, and Netanyahu thanked the U.S. commander-in-chief for his “unequivocal support” in his message Monday afternoon.

“I want to thank leaders across the world who are standing with Israel today,” Netanyahu continued. “I want to thank the people and Congress of the United States of America. In fighting Hamas, Israel is not only fighting for its own people. It is fighting for every country that stands against barbarism.”

AP reported Monday evening that the U.S. has begun delivering munitions and other military equipment to Israel, according to a senior Defense Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The news comes as Biden announced that the death toll of Americans in the conflict has risen to 11.

Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Embassy to the U.S. for comment via email on Monday.

As Israel warns Hezbollah and rockets fly, peacekeepers brace for wider war

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As Israel warns Hezbollah and rockets fly, peacekeepers brace for wider war

The United Nations Peacekeeping force deployed to the volatile border between Israel and Lebanon told Newsweek of troubling developments with the potential to open a new front for Israel as it contends with a sudden wide-scale assault launched over the weekend by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

And though a larger conflict has yet to erupt, a worsening series of hostilities is already playing out at the disputed boundary.

“The events of the past days are extremely concerning, and we continue to monitor the situation along the Blue Line,” U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Newsweek. “We have seen exchanges of fire between the Lebanese and Israeli sides, which fortunately have not escalated into widespread conflict.

“Our activities are coordinated with the Lebanese Armed Forces, and many are conducted together with them. We have actively engaged with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to de-escalate the situation and avoid misunderstandings.”

And while he said that “peacekeepers continue their essential work” under the tumultuous circumstances, he noted that “this has at times been from shelters for their safety.”

UNIFIL came to existence some 45 years ago, and has weathered two major wars between Israel and Lebanon, which is home to the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement that has been at the forefront of cross-border clashes. At 330 fatalities since it began, UNIFIL has the most casualties of any U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Today, UNIFIL counts around 10,000 troops from 49 countries within its ranks, with some of the top contributors being Indonesia, Italy, India, Ghana, Spain, France and China.

Though Israel and Hezbollah have not fought a substantial conflict since 2006, flare-ups of border unrest have emerged over the years, including amid past outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The latest rocket attacks from Lebanon came at a particularly volatile point for Israel as it reels from a surprise air, land and sea attack launched by the Palestinian Hamas movement on Saturday in an operation for which Hezbollah has expressed its support.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported Monday on infiltration attempts along the security fence separating the two nations.

Hezbollah initially denied involvement in any border-related incidents but later claimed a new round of rocket and mortar attacks targeting IDF barracks in the north after three Hezbollah members were said to have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanese soil. The Lebanese Armed Forces said one of its officers was wounded in Israeli strikes near the southern town of Rmeish.

Newsweek reached out Hezbollah for comment.

Speaking during a press call Monday, IDF spokesperson Major Liad Diamond issued a warning to Hezbollah and other Iranian allies across the region.

“Everybody now is very vigilant here in Israel. The IDF is on high alert,” Diamond said. “We are at war, all of our defense systems are on.”

“Nobody should try us now,” he added.

Tenenti said UNIFIL was actively trying to defuse the situation.

“UNIFIL’s raison d’être is to help avoid conflict between Lebanon and Israel, so any threat to that is a concern,” Tenenti said. “Our focus is on maintaining security and stability in the area. We have fully engaged our liaison and coordination mechanisms at all levels, to help avoid misunderstandings between Lebanon and Israel that could lead to an escalation of conflict.

“This is our main focus at the moment, and we are working 24/7 to accomplish it.”

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Pharmacy strikes could mean long lines for flu shots, prescriptions

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Pharmacy strikes could mean long lines for flu shots, prescriptions

Pharmacy workers are staging walkouts at Walgreens across the country as employees say they face harsh working conditions, and the job action has the potential for long lines for flu shots and prescriptions nationwide.

Walkouts are planned at hundreds of the roughly 9,000 Walgreens locations in the U.S. from Monday to Wednesday. While some employees will walk off the jobs for a single day, others plan to strike for all three days. Nationwide, the chain has about 8 million customers.

A walkout organizer wrote on Reddit that corporate demands are “unrealistic and unfair to us and to our patients.”

“The current regime has continued to cut hours while adding more tasks. This is unsafe for our patients and for Walgreens employees,” they wrote. “I have spent hours explaining to patients why we scheduled them an appointment for a vaccine we didn’t have. I’ve also given over 100 vaccines in a day all by myself while 600+ leaflets lay on the counter.”

The employee said prior expression of concerns were ignored or criticized.

“I’ve asked for help and voiced my concerns just as you have,” the user said. “They call you all whiners and tell you that you aren’t ‘meeting expectations.’ When will they meet our expectations? When will they give us the support to meet the expectations of our patients?”

Current and former workers took to X, formerly Twitter, to share some of their experiences ahead of the walkouts.

“Worked Wags for 2mo after graduating. Prior to starting, all staff [save 1 tech] quit,” one user said. “A floater walked in, saw the state of the store, and walked out in 5 minutes. I called the suicide helpline my first solo day.”

With expectations for prescription and vaccine counts are set exceptionally high, many say service is suffering for customers as working conditions become overwhelming for employees.

Another employee wrote: “These actions are a last resort but help improve patient care.”

Newsweek reached out to Walgreens for comment.

Walgreens previously told CNN that the company increased its training for new pharmacists but paused “non-critical” training during the busy fall flu shot season. The company said it does not maintain quotas, but employees allege the expectations are beyond what’s feasible.

“There have been nights where I’ve been on the verge of tears because of how hard it is,” an employee told CNN. “I had a patient give me a fist bump and tell me I was doing a good job, and that meant so much to me. The patients are caring more about us than the employer is.”

The company has acknowledged that the years surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have been increasingly challenging for employees, and said it is open to hearing workers’ concerns.

“The last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work while recognizing it has been a very challenging time,” Fraser Engerman, a communications director at Walgreens, told CNN. “We also understand the immense pressures felt across the US in retail pharmacy right now. We are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members.”

During the pandemic, the stores faced staffing shortages and a record demand for vaccinations. Engerman said Walgreens will continue to make investments in pharmacist wages and hiring bonuses as the industry deals with additional challenges.

Not the only one

CVS pharmacy has also had walkouts. In September, about 20 pharmacies closed their doors over the span of two weeks in the Kansas City area.

“Pharmacists are doing exactly what they’ve been trained to do, which is evaluate the situation and take whatever action is necessary to ensure that they’re providing the best patient care,” said Michael Hogue, CEO of the American Pharmacists Association, told CNN.

At CVS, leaders say the company is consistently involved in conversations with employees to improve working conditions.

“It’s a continuous two-way dialogue to share how we’re meeting the commitments we made to our teams and to continue to hear their direct feedback,” Amy Thibault, lead director of external communications for CVS Pharmacy, told CNN.

“We’re committed to providing access to consistent, safe, high-quality health care to the patients and communities we serve and are working with our pharmacists to directly address any concerns they may have.

Newsweek reached out to CVS for further comment.

Flu season demands

As the colder months approach, more Americans are looking to get flu shots and coronavirus vaccines.

Nationwide, roughly 50 percent of Americans get their flu shots most years. However, a typical flu season sees millions get the virus, hundreds of thousands hospitalized and tens of thousands die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And if more Americans are unable to get flu shots, that number could grow.

Peak flu season is between December and February, but customers are encouraged to get their immunizations as early as possible.

With coronavirus cases still high, many people are also showing up to their local pharmacies for booster shots, increasing demands on staff and creating an even more stressful environment.

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