World
China calls for Gaza peace conference; Hamas to disclose fate of Israeli hostages
China has called for a large-scale and authoritative peace conference on the war in Gaza, while Hamas aired video of three Israeli hostages and said their fate would be disclosed on Monday.
Speaking in Egypt at the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for "the formulation of a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the 'two-state solution' and support for the prompt resumption of Israel-Palestinian peace talks".
Hamas aired a video on Sunday showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza and urged the Israeli government to stop the offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group and bring about their release,Reuters reported.
The undated 37-second video of Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, ended with the caption: "Tomorrow (Monday) we will inform you of their fate."
Of some 240 people seized by Hamas in a cross-border killing spree that sparked the war, around half were released in a November truce. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza and that 25 of them have died in captivity.
Israel also says more than 1,200 people were killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 assault.
The Gaza health ministry has said almost 24,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive that followed with more than 60,000 wounded.
The U.S. military said on Sunday its fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward a U.S. destroyer operating in the Southern Red Sea.
The midair interception is the latest incident in the Red Sea where the Houthis have been attacking international shipping in what they say is a campaign to support Palestinians under siege from Israeli forces in Gaza.
It follows a series of American and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen last week that have drawn threats of a "strong" response from the Iranian-backed militia.
In the latest fighting in Gaza, Israeli tanks and aircraft hit targets in southern and central parts of the enclave on Sunday. Hamas also launched a fresh salvo of rockets on Sunday at Ashdod, an Israeli town 40 km (25 miles) away. There was no word of any casualties.
The Israeli military said it destroyed several silos used by Hamas to fire missiles at Israel.
NEW PHASE OF WAR
The Israeli military says it has shifted to a new phase of the war focused on the southern end of Gaza, where almost 2 million people are now sheltering in tents and other temporary accommodation, after the initial phase centred on clearing the northern end of the strip, including Gaza City.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off calls for a ceasefire, saying Israel will keep going until it achieves complete victory over Hamas and recovers the remaining hostages.
The military says, though, the next phase of the war will see months of more targeted operations against the Iranian-backed movement's leaders and positions.
World
NATO’s Stoltenberg says each country must decide if Ukraine can use its long-range missiles on Russia
Some U.S. officials are deeply skeptical that allowing the use of such missiles would make a significant difference in Kyiv’s battle against Russian invaders.
The outgoing head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday he welcomed talks on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory, but any decision on the issue would have to be made by individual allies, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pleading with allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russia to limit Moscow's ability to launch attacks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Joe Biden held talks in Washington on Friday on whether to allow Kyiv to use the long-range missiles against targets in Russia. No decision was announced.
"I welcome these developments and these decisions but its for individual allies to make the final decisions," Stoltenberg told LBC radio. "Allies have different policies on this."
Some U.S. officials are deeply skeptical that allowing the use of such missiles would make a significant difference in Kyiv's battle against Russian invaders, read the report.
President Vladimir Putin has said the West would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike with Western-made long-range missiles.
Asked about possible Russian retaliation, Stoltenberg said there were "no risk-free options in the war".
"But I continue to believe that the biggest risk for us, for United Kingdom, for NATO, will be if President Putin wins in Ukraine," he added.
World
Trump safe after assassination attempt thwarted at Florida golf course
The suspect left an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items at the scene and fled in a vehicle and was later arrested
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe on Sunday after the Secret Service foiled what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Several Secret Service agents fired on a gunman in bushes near the property line of the golf course after he was spotted a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing, law enforcement officials said.
The suspect left an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items at the scene and fled in a vehicle and was later arrested, Reuters reported.
The apparent attempt on Trump's life came just two months after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, sustaining a minor injury to his right ear.
Both incidents highlight the challenges of keeping presidential candidates safe in a hotly contested and polarized campaign with just over seven weeks to go before the Nov. 5 election.
"I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day!," Trump said on social media late on Sunday, thanking Secret Service and police for keeping him safe.
CNN, Fox News and The New York Times identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment and Reuters could not independently verify his identity.
It was not clear if or how the suspect knew Trump was playing golf at the time, or what his motive was, but the attempted attack was sure to raise new questions about the level of protection he is given.
World
Houthi missile reaches central Israel for first time, no injuries reported
At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known that Israel would exact a “heavy price” for attacks on Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a "heavy price" on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time, Reuters reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes.
An Israeli military official said the missile was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air, rather than being completely destroyed.
Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the impact at around 6:35 a.m. local time (0335 GMT), sending residents running for shelter. Loud booms were heard, read the report.
Missile pieces landed in fields and near a railway station. There were no direct casualties, but nine people were lightly hurt while seeking cover. Reuters saw smoke billowing in an open field in central Israel.
At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known that Israel would exact a "heavy price" for attacks on Israel.
"Whoever needs a reminder of that is invited to visit the Hodeida port," Netanyahu said, referring to an Israeli retaliatory air strike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv.
The Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on Israel in October, Reuters reported.
The drone that hit Tel Aviv for the first time in July killed a man and wounded four people. Israeli air strikes in response on Houthi military targets near the port of Hodeidah killed six and wounded 80.
Previously, Houthi missiles have not penetrated deep into Israeli air space, with the only one reported to have hit Israeli territory falling in an open area near the Red Sea port of Eilat in March.
Israel should expect more strikes in the future "as we approach the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 operation, including responding to its aggression on the city of Hodeidah," Houthis spokesperson Sarea said.
The deputy head of the Houthi's media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that the missile had reached Israel after "20 missiles failed to intercept" it, describing it as the "beginning".
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