News of the World

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USA

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FEMA Investing Money on Migrants Not Hurricane Victims

FEMA Tapped Out for Hurricane Recovery as GOP Points to $1B Spent on Migrants

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday that there is not enough money available for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to meet the needs of the communities affected by Hurricane Helene, which has killed more than 160 people.

The funding shortfall has come under scrutiny at a time when at least $640 million in FEMA funding is being spent on assisting communities across the country dealing with an influx of migrants.

Republicans called out this spending after Secretary Mayorkas' remarks that FEMA was "meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have," while adding that the agency did not have enough funding to make it through another hurricane this season.

"This is easy," Texas Governor Greg Abbot posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane. Put Americans first."

An account linked to former President Donald Trump's campaign also posted that it was a "scandal" that this money was being spent on migrants rather than U.S. citizens.

What is FEMA spending on migrants?

The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) provides funding to non-federal agencies to spend on humanitarian services for non-U.S. citizens. For the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on Monday, $640 million was made available.

The FEMA website says this funding is intended to "support CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities." The money can be spent on a range of services, including food, shelter, transportation, acute medical care, clothing and translation services.

The budget for the past year was a significant increase from the 2023 fiscal year, when $363 million was allocated. Together, more than $1 billion has been spent on non-citizen services over the past two years.

However, SSP is a small share of FEMA's overall yearly budget. For the new financial year which began Oct. 1, the agency laid out a need for $33.1 billion.

"These claims are completely false," a DHS spokesperson told Newsweek Thursday, addressing the accusations by Abbott and others. "As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters.

"The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA's disaster-related authorities or funding streams."

And just in case you wonder if there were other reports on this weird way of spending federal funds...

$380 Million Sweetener for Towns That Take Migrants

The federal government is giving communities rallying around immigrants recently released from border patrol custody a share of $380 million.

It's the latest wave of funding, after over $259 million was allocated in April as part of the Department of Homeland Security's Shelter and Services Program (SSP). In 2023, over $780 million was distributed,

DHS said the scheme was in such high demand, not all applications from groups and communities could be granted.

"This grant cycle provides a new opportunity through a competitive program and builds on the support being provided to communities on the border and in the interior," DHS said in a press release Wednesday.

The money is used by organizations working to offer food, shelter and clothing to migrants, as well as healthcare and transportation.

Previous recipients of funds include counties such as Pima County in Arizona, which received $21.8 million, through to smaller church ministry organizations with grants around $10,000.

States along the border and elsewhere have previously seen grants. In the last round, over 30 Texas organizations and local governments were given cash.

FEMA projects that dozens of projects will be given grants by the time the scheme completes in September 2026.

Community organizations and county authorities often bear the cost of noncitizens, especially when they are released from Customs and Border Protection custody along the southwest border.

Those awaiting immigration or asylum hearings may have very little personal possessions or means to pay for services. SSP is designed to ensure a "humane" release from custody for those new arrivals.

In October 2023, mayors from across the U.S. said there was an urgent need for additional funding for the communities looking after migrants.

"We are mayors from cities all over America – cities on or near the border and cities in other parts of the country to which migrants, including those awaiting asylum requests, have come," the 139 mayors said in a joint letter to Congress.

"While we welcome migrants to our cities, we need more help to provide them food, housing, services and access to employment," the group continued. "In many of our cities, both city government agencies and local non-profits are overwhelmed; they simply cannot keep up with the need to provide them this most basic assistance."

At the time, border crossings were high, but DHS said Wednesday that numbers had dropped significantly in recent months, potentially signaling a drop in demand in the coming months.

Musk Praises Trump

Elon Musk Praises Trump's "Courage Under Fire" at Emotional Butler Rally

Tech titan Elon Musk made his first-ever appearance at a Republican rally, delivering a fiery endorsement of former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign.
The event, held in Butler, Pennsylvania, was charged with emotion following the assassination attempt on Trump at the same location in July by 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthews Crooks.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, took the stage to laud Trump's resilience. "This is a man who has COURAGE UNDER FIRE!" he declared to the roaring crowd, his voice booming through the packed venue.

The billionaire first made his endorsement of Trump public on July 13, in the immediate aftermath of the first assassination attempt against the Republican nominee.

Musk, known for his outspoken nature and controversial social media presence, didn't mince words as he addressed rallygoers. "This is the most important election," he declared.

He then made a series of contentious and false claims, stating without evidence, "They want to take away your arms. They want to take away your freedom of speech. They want to take away your ability to have fair elections."

The mogul proclaimed, "Free speech is the bedrock of Democracy! There's a reason why it's the First Amendment!" He then tied his support directly to constitutional preservation, insisting, "President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution!"

As the rally reached its crescendo, Musk's rhetoric intensified. He urged attendees to take action, shouting, "REGISTER TO VOTE AND GET EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE! TEXT PEOPLE NOW! NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT!" The tech billionaire concluded with a battle cry: "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT VOTE VOTE VOTE!"

LATIN AMERICA

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Cartels Keep Killing People

Twelve Bodies Discovered Amid Escalating Cartel Violence

Twelve bodies were discovered in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato amid escalating cartel wars over turf.

Local authorities said the violence was over a dispute between two between organized crime syndicates over a square.

According to the state prosecutor's office, all the bodies were discovered within two hours across five locations in the city of Salamanca.

The victims, three women and nine men, were found on roads, bridges, and avenues, with gunshot wounds and signs of torture, while one was dismembered.
The perpetrators left messages in which a cartel took responsibility for the violent crime, state prosecutors said.

The bodies were discovered after unknown gunmen attacked a rehabilitation centre, killing four people and injuring five the same municipality on October 2,

Crime rates have increased in Guanajuato, according to local officials.

"This month of October has started with very high crime rates here. That makes 16 people (murdered) so far," Salamanca Mayor Cesar Prieto told reporters.

In Celaya, Guanajuato, two police officers were shot dead by the brutal Santa Rosa de Lima gang amid increased attacks on authorities.

"Climate Politician" Sheinbaum Becomes the New Mexican President

Mexico's New President Vows Dramatic Climate Policy Change

Mexico's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, vowed to enact dramatic climate policy change shortly after being sworn in on Tuesday.

Sheinbaum became Mexico's first female president and its first Jewish president when she took office on Tuesday. During her first public speech after being inaugurated, Sheinbaum talked about her goals for the future of Mexico's energy sector. The new president has experience in the field as she has a PhD in energy engineering and degrees in physics.

"We are going to boost renewable energies. The goal is that by 2030, they will have a 45 percent share [of total electricity production]," she said Tuesday in a speech in Mexico City's Zocalo square.

This goal is well above the 24 percent of clean electricity that Mexico represented last year, according to the country's ministry of energy.
Sheinbaum said she will release an "ambitious energy transition program" aimed at "the reduction of greenhouse gases that cause climate change" in the coming days.

She also told the Congress of the Union, Mexico's federal governing body, that the country will have a first-ever oil production limit of 1.8 million barrels a day. All crude oil in Mexico is produced by state-owned oil company Pemex. Sheinbaum's oil production goal is roughly what the company produced in 2023 on an average day.

But the new president also promised to "strengthen Pemex" and build up Mexio's Federal Electricity Commission, which owns older plants that mainly burn fossil fuels.

Sheinbaum's proposed policies are a big shift from those of her predecessor, former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a staunch supporter of fossil fuels.

López Obrador spent over $20 billion to build a new oil refinery and stopped auctions that allowed developers to build solar and wind farms in Mexico. Sheinbaum's oil production goal is substantially less than the 2.6 million barrels per day limit that López Obrador promised at the start of his term, which began in December 2018.

On Wednesday, Sheinbaum visited Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero, on her first trip as president. She was there to assess the damage caused by Hurricane John, which first hit the coast as a hurricane and then again as a tropical storm last week. Hurricane John and last year's Hurricane Otis, which also hit Acapulco, have been made more powerful by rising ocean temperatures attributed to global warming.

While Sheinbaum's goals to combat climate change could curb global warming, it is uncertain if she can implement them within Mexico's current legal framework. López Obrador pushed through a constitutional reform before leaving office that strongly favored the Federal Electricity Commission.

Sheinbaum has supported the reform and promised that Mexico will keep control of 54 percent of electricity generation. Meanwhile, she has said she will once again encourage private investment in renewable energy, something the previous government discouraged.

ASIA

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US Submarine in Japan

US Nuclear Attack Submarine Reaches Allied Base Near China

One of the most advanced nuclear-powered submarines in the United States Navy arrived in Japan on Friday, as China continues the rapid expansion of its fleet of warships in a bid to challenge American naval dominance.

USS Seawolf, an attack submarine and the lead ship of its class, arrived at Yokosuka, a city in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, according to a ship spotter who posted photos of the vessel on X, formerly Twitter. The prefectural government has confirmed the visit by the American submarine.

The U.S. Navy describes the Seawolf and its two sister ships as "exceptionally quiet, fast, well-armed, and equipped with advanced sensors." Each is equipped with eight torpedo tubes and can carry up to 50 weapons in their torpedo rooms, including land-attack cruise missiles and torpedoes.

According to the U.S. Naval Institute News, the Seawolf-class was initially developed for deep-water operations to counter Soviet submarines. The class was later upgraded and modified to conduct sensitive missions following the end of the Cold War.

The Seawolf-class is part of the larger American attack submarine fleet of 53 boats, all powered by nuclear reactors. They are designed to seek out and destroy enemy vessels, project power and conduct spying missions, among other tasks.

The Chinese military, which has the world's largest navy by number of hulls, only operates a small number of nuclear-powered attack submarines. Unlike its American counterpart, the Chinese navy also has 48 diesel powered/air-independent powered attack submarines in service.

China has two Type 093 and four Type 093A nuclear-powered attack submarines. Beijing launched two new nuclear-powered attack submarines, the Type 093B, between May 2022 and January 2023, and could have three boats of this class by 2025.

The U.S. Navy has routinely deployed attack submarines in the Western Pacific Ocean to project power and support allies. USS Vermont, a Virginia-class attack boat armed with 25 torpedoes and 12 cruise missiles, visited Busan in South Korea on September 23.

EUROPE

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Russian Forces' Accuracy Now Failing Significantly?

Russia Shoots Down Own Military Jet on Bombing Mission: Reports

There have been unconfirmed reports that a Russian aircraft or drone has been shot down over Ukraine's Donetsk region on Saturday, possibly in a friendly fire incident.

According to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper the Russian aircraft had been launching guided aerial bombs at Ukrainian positions and was shot down its own troops on the ground.

Footage shared on social media showed an aircraft being hit in the air by a missile and the remnant of an aircraft after it crashed into the ground, though it is unclear whether they were taken from the same incident. A former adviser to Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry suggested the downed aircraft was either an Su-25 ground support jet or a Hunter S-70 drone.

Russian forces have been advancing slowly in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which President Vladimir Putin annexed in September 2022, but at the cost of heavy casualties. Earlier this week the Ukrainian military confirmed it had withdrawn from Vuhledar, a city in Donetsk province which had a pre-war population of around 14,000, following weeks of intense fighting.

However Putin's troops are still struggling to recapture parts of Kursk province in Russia which were seized by Ukrainian troops in a surprise August offensive.

Citing a source in the Ukrainian air force, Ukrainska Pravda reported a Russian aircraft was brought down over the Donbas in a friendly fire incident. The newspaper said it was hit while dropping glide bombs, large but cheap explosive devices that have been used to devastate Ukrainian defenses. Russian military bloggers also reported one of their aircraft had been destroyed, though some details remain unclear.

Anton Gerashchenko, formerly an adviser to Ukraine's internal affairs minister, shared footage of a destroyed aircraft on X adding: "Videos appeared online showing a Russian Su-25 that crashed in Donetsk region.

"There is unconfirmed information that it could have been friendly fire by Russians themselves."

Gerashchenko later said the aircraft could have been "a Russian Hunter S-70 drone that was allegedly carrying out a reconnaissance flight," citing a Russian military Telegram channel.

Russian Tu-22 Bomber Struck Wrong Black Sea Target 'in Haste': UK

Russian pilots flying a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber mistakenly hit a grain ship in the Black Sea having "targeted it in haste," likely while trying to evade Ukrainian air defenses, U.K. defense officials have said.

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a social media post that the merchant vessel Aya may have narrowly avoided catastrophic damage because a missile failed to detonate.

The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

In an intelligence update shared on X, formerly Twitter, the MoD said: "On 11 September 2024, the merchant vessel Aya was struck by a missile in the Black Sea as it transited south from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, having been loaded with more than 26 thousand tons of grain bound for Egypt.

"It is almost certain that the missile was an AS-4 KITCHEN anti-ship missile launched by a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE Russian bomber that was operating in the area at the time. It is a realistic possibility that a detonation failure avoided catastrophic damage."

The MoD said it was unlikely that the ship was the intended target of the mission and an aging munition may have been used.

"It is a realistic possibility that this incident occurred due to pilots incorrectly identifying MV Aya as their target in haste, wanting to depart the area immediately after launch for fear of being targeted by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile," British officials said.

They reported that Russia has grown increasingly cautious about its strike operations in the Black Sea region since the loss of a Tu-22 earlier this year.

In April, Ukraine downed a Russian Tu-22M3 for the first time in the war, according to Kyiv's military intelligence.

Ukraine said that Kyiv's forces shot down the aircraft, causing it to crash in Russia's Stavropol Territory.

The Tu-22M3 is a long-range bomber designed to destroy sea- and ground-based targets with guided missiles and bombs.

Russia's Usual Warning or a Serious Threat?

Russia Issues Nuclear Threat to US

Russia "will not hesitate" to resume nuclear weapons testing if similar steps are taken by the United States, according to Sergei Ryabkov, the country's deputy foreign minister.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, Ryabkov made the comments during an interview with state-backed RT television network, though there are no indications the U.S. is planning new nuclear weapons tests.

The remarks came against the backdrop of renewed nuclear threats from senior Russian officials as the Kremlin seeks to discourage Western military support for Ukraine. Speaking at Russia's Security Council on September 25, President Vladimir Putin hinted Moscow could respond with nuclear weapons to what it described as a "joint attack" from a non-nuclear-armed country backed by an ally with nuclear capability.

Speaking to RT, Ryabkov said that if Washington conducts new nuclear weapons tests "we will not hesitate" to respond in kind. Ryabkov was repeating a warning he made to Russian news agencies in September when he said Moscow would not initiate fresh nuclear tests unless the U.S. made the first move.

In his September remarks, Ryabkov insisted "nothing has changed" in Russia's nuclear doctrine, adding: "As defined and formulated by the president of the Russian Federation, we can conduct such tests, but we will not conduct them if the United States refrains from such steps."

The U.S. has not conducted any nuclear weapons tests since 1992 and there are no indications it plans to do so. Both Washington and Moscow signed, but did not ratify, the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty which prohibits any nuclear weapon detonations for testing purposes.
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Speaking to Newsweek Mark Galeotti, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said: "This notion that a non-nuclear state that is being supported and backed by a nuclear state could trigger a nuclear response is a pretty transparent way of saying, 'If Ukraine launches some kind of major offensive in those circumstances, we reserve unto ourselves the right to be able to go nuclear in response.'"

Speaking at the U.N. Security Council on September 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Washington and London have "already prepared Europe to leap into a suicide venture," highlighting what he called the "pointlessness and danger of the very idea to fight to victory with a nuclear power like Russia."

Ukraine Destroys Russian Tank

Ukrainian 'Dragon' Drone Destroys Russian Tank With Molten Thermite

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has released footage which it claims shows a Russian tank being destroyed by a drone which covered it with "molten thermite."

The 26-second clip, attributed to Ukraine's 30th Mechanized Brigade, was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Kyiv on Friday.

Over the past few weeks a number of videos have emerged showing Ukrainian "dragon drones" dropping thermite charges on Russian positions. Thermite, a mixture of aluminum and rust, burns at over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit according to the Science Channel, making it twice as hot as molten lava.

In Friday's video a Russian armored vehicle is filmed advancing, followed by an explosion as it strikes a mine or is hit by a Ukrainian rocket, leaving it damaged. A drone then approaches the vehicle from above and drops molten thermite, causing it to catch fire and become consumed by the blaze.

It is unclear where the video was filmed and its authenticity has not been independently verified by Newsweek.

Ukraine Destroys Russian Oil Depots

Fire Engulfs Russian Oil Depots Following Ukrainian Drone Attack

Russian authorities have struggled to contain several blazes that broke out overnight following a string of Ukrainian drone attacks on the country's oil depots.

"From 9.50 to 11.30 Moscow time, attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using aircraft-type UAVs against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation were thwarted," the Russian Ministry of Defense wrote on Telegram.

"Six UAVs were destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod Region, six UAVs were destroyed and intercepted over the territory of the Voronezh Region, five UAVs were destroyed over the waters of the Sea of Azov and one over the territory of the Rostov Region."

Ukraine took credit for the Voronezh attack and said that the target was the Annanefteprodukt fuel and lubricants storage base in the town of Anna.
"The work of the Russian air defense system was recorded in the area of the facility," Ukraine's General Staff wrote on Telegram. "At least one of the vertical tanks is confirmed to have been hit. There was a fire."

On Telegram, Voronezh Oblast Governor Aleksandr Gusev said that "several UAVS" were destroyed by Russia's air defenses, falling debris from which had caused the fire.

Gusev said no casualties were recorded in the blaze, which was extinguished "immediately after the firefighters arrived."

On Friday morning, a larger fire also broke out in Perm Krai, around 1,118 miles from Ukraine, according to the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

"A fire in Perm Krai has been extinguished on 10,000 square meters. Russian Emergencies Ministry investigators are establishing the cause of the fire," the ministry said, noting that drone attacks were not being considered as a possible cause.

Perhaps it didn't go as planned but it's still an actual achievement for the Ukrainian forces, I guess.

Russian Collusion Not Taking Place in US but Moldova

US Ally Accuses Russian Oligarch of $15 Million Election Interference Plot

Moldovan authorities have accused a Moldovan Israeli oligarch of trying to interfere in their upcoming presidential elections by convincing citizens to vote with a candidate against joining the EU through compensation on behalf of Russia, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Ilan Shor, a Moldovan-Israeli pro-Russia oligarch and former member of the Moldovan Parliament, has been accused of organizing a network that allegedly paid $15 million to 130,000 Moldovan citizens in exchange for their vote in accordance with instructions sent on Telegram, alongside misinformation about the EU.

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Moldova on October 20 and will include the opportunity for Moldovans to vote on a referendum deciding whether the country should join the EU, according to Reuters.

Shor is the leader of the Șor Party, a pro-Russia party in Moldova that has been banned due to being declared unconstitutional, according to Reuters, and has been accused of money laundering and sentenced in absentia, as he lived in Israel, for money laundering in April for a separate $1 billion bank scandal.
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Discussing the allegations, Moldova's chief of police, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, told Politico, "Moldova is facing a phenomenon of voter bribery, combined with hybrid warfare and disinformation, the likes of which our country has never seen before."

Cernăuțeanu added, "This 'mafia-style' network, orchestrated from Moscow, aims to influence voters ahead of the presidential elections and EU referendum."

Macron Calls for Western Arms Embargo to Israel

French President Macron Calls for Embargo of Arms to Israel for Gaza Conflict Against Hamas

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for an embargo of Western arms to Israel used in the conflict with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Just days before the anniversary of the barbaric killing of over 1,200 people by Islamist Hamas terrorists, who broke into Southern Israel on October 7th last year to carry out a mass terror campaign, President Macron said on Saturday that France has stopped supplying Israel with weapons to use against the terrorists.

The French leader went on to call for a broader embargo on arms deliveries to Israel, saying in comments reported by Le Figaro: “I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza.”

Despite being one of the most hawkish supporters of the war in Ukraine, going so far as to float the idea of sending Western troops into the country as it fends off the Russian invasion, Macron has conversely attempted to play the role of the dove during the Israeli conflict, having called for a “truce” less than a month after the October 7th attacks.

The French president has also recently joined U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders in calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been targeting Hamas terrorists and the leadership of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group.

Macron has previously faced criticism from Jerusalem after he appeared to suggest that Israel was intentionally targeting “babies” and “ladies” in its military operation in Gaza to eliminate Hamas, although he later backtracked the allegations.

MIDDLE EAST

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Netanyahu on Macron's Arms Embargo Proposal

Netanyahu Blasts Macron’s Arms Embargo Demand as a ‘Disgrace’, ‘Shame Will Continue Long After War Is Won’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chastised Emmanuel Macron for calling for a Western arms embargo on Israel’s military operation to root out Hamas terrorists in Gaza, branding the French president’s comments as a “disgrace” while vowing that Jerusalem will prevail in its fight with or without support from Paris or other fickle allies.

Israel is defending itself and civilization as a whole against those who would “impose a dark age of fanaticism” on the world, Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Saturday in a video response to France’s Macron, who revealed that France has cut off arms supplies to Israel and urged Western powers to “stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza”.

“President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them,” Netanyahu said.

“Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, on the Houthis, on Hamas and on its other proxies? Of course not. This axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this terror axis call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace!” he declared.

Netanyahu argued that particularly in the wake of this week’s direct missile attack by the Islamist Iranian regime, it is incumbent upon “all civilized countries” to stand by Israel’s side in the conflict.

Nevertheless, the Israeli leader said that his country will prevail regardless, saying: “Israel will win with or without their support. But their shame will continue long after the war is won.”

“Rest assured, Israel will fight until the battle is won – for our sake and for the sake of peace and security in the world,” Netanyahu vowed.

It is not the first time that a diplomatic row erupted between Paris and Jerusalem over comments made by the French leader. In November of last year, Macron appeared to suggest that Israel was intentionally targeting “babies” and women as it sought to eradicate the Islamist Hamas terrorists from Gaza in the wake of the October 7th terror attacks which saw over 1,200 people murdered and hundreds more taken hostage from Israel.

Israel Killed Another Hamas Commander

Israel Kills Hamas Commander in Strike on Lebanon Refugee Camp

An Israeli strike on a refugee camp in north Lebanon on Saturday killed Hamas commander Saeed Atallah Ali and his family, the militant group has said.

In a statement, Hamas reported that an early Saturday strike on the Beddawi refugee camp targeted the home of Atallah Ali. The attack also claimed the lives of Ali's wife, Shaimaa Azzam, and their two daughters, who were described in the statement as children, The Associated Press reported.

Beddawi camp is near the northern city of Tripoli. Atallah Ali was a key leader of the al-Qassam brigades. Israel has yet to comment on the strike.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Hamas and Hezbollah officials in Lebanon since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted almost a year ago on October 7, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip in response, and so far 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, with just over half of the dead being women and children, according to local health officials.

On Tuesday, Israel stepped up its attacks against Hezbollah, beginning a ground incursion into Lebanon. The Israeli military said nine of its soldiers have died in the conflict in the south of the country. Meanwhile, Hamas has announced the deaths of at least 18 of its militants in Lebanon, while nearly 2,000 civilians have died.

US Rescues Americans from Lebanon

U.S. Rescues 250 Americans From Lebanon Amid Fighting

The U.S. has facilitated the flights of around 250 Americans out of Lebanon amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and heightened tensions across the Middle East.

Senior officials from the State Department and the White House met Thursday with two prominent Arab American leaders to discuss U.S. efforts to assist American citizens in leaving Lebanon. The Arab American leaders also held separate meetings with officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

Michigan state Rep. Alabas Farhat and Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, used their meeting at the White House to highlight critical concerns facing their community. Ayoub said that they used the meeting to "really drive home a lot of important points about the issues our community members are facing on the ground and a lot of the logistical problems that they're encountering with it when it comes to this evacuation."

In Michigan, which has the largest Arab American population in the country, several officials and community leaders have urged the U.S. to initiate a military evacuation. However, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh stated that such a move is not currently being considered.

"The U.S. military is, of course, on the ready and has a whole wide range of plans. Should we need to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon, we absolutely can," Singh said while speaking to reporters this week.

Israel has intensified airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, targeting leaders of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Meanwhile, Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Israel on Tuesday, heightening concerns that the escalating conflict could spiral into a full-scale regional war.
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Countries including Greece, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Colombia have organized flights or deployed military aircraft to evacuate their citizens from the region.

Meanwhile, a family in Dearborn, Michigan, is mourning the loss of Kamel Ahmad Jawad, a metro Detroit resident killed in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. Relatives say he chose to stay behind to assist civilians who were too elderly, sick, or impoverished to escape. Kamel Ahmad Jawad was on the phone with his daughter when the force of a strike knocked him to the ground, his daughter, Nadine Kamel Jawad, said in a statement.

Russia Orders Citizens to Leave Not Lebanon But Israel

Russia Tells Its Citizens to Leave Israel Now As Tensions Rise

Russia has ordered its citizens to leave Israel amid escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Iran.

Anatoly Viktorov, Moscow's ambassador to Tel Aviv, recommended that Russian nationals depart Israel without delay.

In remarks to the Russian news agency TASS on October 3, the diplomat highlighted the worsening situation in the region and reiterated his advice against traveling to Israel.

"As for the current extreme aggravation, we reinforce this recommendation [not to visit Israel] and suggest that those citizens who are now in Israel even think about leaving this territory while there are such opportunities in the form of continued regular flights operated by a number of airlines, including the Israeli airline El Al," Viktorov said.

"Before coming to Israel or making a decision to stay for a long time [in the Jewish state], you need to think hard about how justified it is and whether it is worth risking your lives and health," the Russian ambassador said.

He noted that some airlines are still operating scheduled flights and encouraged Russian citizens to take advantage of this opportunity.

The Israel-Lebanon conflict escalated in October 2024, fueled by Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon and amid fierce fighting and intensified clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants.

This escalation is closely linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that began in Gaza in 2023.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, initially joined the conflict over support for Palestinians, and it has since launched thousands of cross-border attacks against Israel, resulting in severe casualties and displacement on both sides.

Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on October 1, 2024, following months of rising tensions and airstrikes that targeted Hezbollah infrastructure throughout Lebanon.

The Israeli government justified the invasion as a necessary measure to neutralize Hezbollah's military presence in southern Lebanon, which Israel sees as a direct threat to its northern communities.

Hezbollah, in turn, aims to pressure Israel by opening a second front to stretch its military resources while also retaliating for Israeli strikes that killed senior Hezbollah leaders.