3 American women found dead at Belize beach resort: Police
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(BELIZE) — Police in Belize are investigating after three young American women were found dead in their hotel room at a luxury beachfront resort last weekend.
The women — identified as 23-year-old Koutar Naqqad, 24-year-old Imane Mallah and 26-year-old Wafae El-Arar — were found dead at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro on Saturday morning.
The investigation into the cause of their deaths is underway, but Belize’s police commissioner said on Tuesday that carbon monoxide poisoning and possible overdoses are being considered.
Officials noted that alcohol and gummies were found in the hotel room. “We’ve had issues with gummies in the past being resold and sending people to the hospital,” the commissioner said in a statement.
An autopsy is being conducted Tuesday, according to police.
The commissioner said authorities reviewed surveillance footage from the resort that showed the women entering the hotel Thursday evening and they were not seen leaving the room again.
Additionally, nobody was seen entering the women’s room in the footage, according to the police.
The hotel told authorities that nobody answered the door when housekeeping arrived on Friday, so they left.
Police said the women could have been dead in the hotel for approximately 20 hours before they were found.
The women, originally from Morrocco, lived in Revere, Massachusetts.
“The City of Revere extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the three local women who tragically and unexpectedly passed away in Belize,” the city wrote on Facebook on Monday.
People walk about in the heavy rain on January 24, 2025 in Scotland, United Kingdom. The Met Office has issued rare red Warnings for wind for Northern Ireland as well as central and southwestern areas of Scotland. These are accompanied by wider Amber and Yellow Warnings for wind, as well as Yellow Warnings for rain and snow across the UK. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A massive storm is battering parts of the U.K. and Ireland today, bringing devastating winds, heavy rain and snow, according to the Met Office, the United Kingdom’s national weather and climate service.
“This is probably going to be the most consequential wind storm for most people across the island of Ireland and across the U.K. in their lived experience,” Peter Thorne, a climate change professor at Maynooth University in Ireland, told ABC News.
Red warnings for high winds have been issued for Northern Ireland along with central and southwestern areas of Scotland. The storm, named Éowyn, will also impact Northern England, Southern England and Wales, according to officials.
“We reserve the issuing of Red Warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption,” according to Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gunderson.
“Storm Éowyn is a multi-hazard event, with snow likely for some, rain for many and strong winds for much of the U.K.,” Gunderson added. “As a result, a number of weather warnings have been issued, with all parts of the U.K. covered by one warning at some point on Friday.”
Wind gusts in excess of 90 mph were recorded in Northern Ireland and parts of Wales early Friday as the storm approached, with record peak gusts of 114 mph recorded in Mace Head, on the west-central Irish coast, according to the Met Office.
The initial forecast was for heavy rain and wind starting early Friday morning in southwestern parts of the U.K., according to the Met Office, traveling northeast across the rest of the country. Along with destructive winds, the storm will bring snow to Northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, but will quickly transition back to rain, the Met Service said.
In Ireland and Scotland, wind gusts were expected to reach up to 80-90 mph, and potentially up to 100 mph for exposed coastal areas, according to Gunderson.
In the U.S., winds of that velocity would be found in a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane.
“I’ve never seen a red warning cover the entirety of the island,” Thorne told ABC News.
Thorne said that the cold weather system from the U.S. is what’s making Éowyn a major storm.
“At the same time [as the cold weather], you have a North Atlantic that is near a time-of-year record warmth,” Thorne said. “That huge temperature gradient is kicking off a very active jet stream. This particular storm is hitching a ride on the jet stream that supercharges it.”
Thorne told ABC News he expects half a million to a million properties or businesses will be without power after this storm.
“It’s important to note that even those away from the immediate Red Warning areas will still likely see disruptive weather, with travel plans likely to be severely impacted, as well as the possibility of power cuts for some,” according to Gunderson.
The Met Service also notes that although the snow is unlikely to last long, it will change to rain which in turn could cause surface-water flooding in some places. The weather event will likely cause significant challenges and disruption to travel, according to the Met Office, which advises motorists to visit the U.K.’s National Highways website for hazardous weather travel safety tips.
After Éowyn barrels through on Friday and early Saturday, a series of additional storms are expected to arrive in northwest Europe, bringing more wet and windy weather on Sunday and continuing into the beginning of next week, according to the Met Office.
(LONDON) — A Russian citizen held in a U.S. prison will be repatriated to Russia following the release of U.S. citizen Marc Fogel, who was returned to the United States on Tuesday, Moscow said.
“In exchange for Fogel, a Russian citizen imprisoned in the United States will be returned to Russia in the coming days,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said on Wednesday.
Peskov did not disclose which Russian citizen held in a U.S. jail would be repatriated, but said the United States had agreed to the release during negotiations for the return of Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021.
President Donald Trump didn’t disclose on Tuesday the negotiations that led to Fogel’s release or say whether there had been any conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I can only say this: We got a man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately,” Trump said.
Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said in a statement on Tuesday that Washington had “negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” His statement did not include details on the exchange.
Trump earlier on Tuesday had been asked if Russia had given the United States anything in return.
“Not much, no,” Trump said. “They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually.” Peskov on Wednesday declined to say whether additional prisoner exchanges were expected in the future, but said that “contacts between the relevant departments have intensified in the last few days.”
Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in October 2024 that Fogel, an American teacher, had been “wrongfully detained,” the State Department confirmed to ABC News.
The U.S. tried but was unable to include Fogel in the large prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, a State Department spokesperson said last year.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Michelle Stoddart, Nathan Luna and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Many residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are expected to return to their homes in the coming days and weeks, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Under Israel’s multi-phased deal with Hamas, some hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue amid the first phase of the deal, which was slated to last about six weeks.
Israeli troops to remain in Syria for ‘unlimited period of time’
The IDF will remain on the summit of Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
“The IDF will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an unlimited period of time to ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria — from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis, and we will not be dependent on others for our defense,” Katz said.
Israel warns Lebanese residents to avoid areas near border
Israel issued a warning to Lebanese residents on Tuesday, telling them to avoid multiple areas near the Israeli border as it redeploys in various locations in southern Lebanon.
At least 22 were killed over the weekend.
“The deployment process is taking place gradually and in some sectors it is being postponed and requires more time in order to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to re-establish its strength in the field,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
”Hezbollah, as usual, puts its narrow interests above the interests of the Lebanese state and tries through its mouthpieces to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the destruction of the south,” the IDF said.
Palestinians on returning home: ‘It feels like we’re reborn!’
Emotional scenes played out all over the Gaza Strip on Monday as families and friends reunited for the first time in over 15 months after the Israeli military allowed movement between northern and southern Gaza.
A sea of people swept the shoreline heading north along the sandy remains of the coastal highway. Many traveled on foot trudging through sand, a Palestinian flag flickering in the wind above them.
“It feels like we’re reborn!” Om Wael, a grandmother from Gaza City, told ABC News as she carried her granddaughter in her arms, with a look of joyful determination on her face.
“Even if our home is flattened, we’re so happy to return to our city, to our homes, unharmed. Thank God,” she said.
Mirvat Ajur, 29, from the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, told ABC News that she walked for about five hours until she reached central Gaza.
“It was a difficult journey, but the people were very happy, singing, clapping and dancing in joy at returning to their homes,” she said.
Approximately 300,000 people made the journey home, according to figures released by Gazan authorities. Samira Halas, 55, was among them.
“I know that my home is damaged and burned, but I want to return to it,” Halas, from Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya neighborhood, told ABC News, describing the destruction she saw upon her return “like an earthquake had hit it.”
“I want to live in those burned and destroyed rooms,” she continued. “I am like a fish dying far from the sea.”
-ABC News’ Ruwaida Amer and Zoe Magee
At least 300,000 return to northern Gaza
At least 300,000 Palestinians returned home to northern Gaza on Monday, according to the Gaza government office, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
135,000 tents needed in Gaza
As people return to northern Gaza on Monday, the Gaza government said it “immediately and urgently” needs at least 135,000 tents because 90% of the buildings have been destroyed.
The government called on the international community to help provide “basic supplies” for Palestinians.
8 dead hostages among 33 being released in 1st phase: Israel
Of the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, eight have been killed by Hamas, according to Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.
Seven hostages have already been released since the start of the ceasefire, meaning 18 more living hostages will be released by Hamas in the coming weeks.
More hostages are set to be released on Thursday and Saturday, Mencer said.
Threats to ceasefire will ‘bear the full cost,’ Israeli minister says
Katz Israel, the Israeli defense minister, said on Monday that his country would “firmly” enforce the ceasefires that have paused fighting in Gaza.
“Anyone who violates the rules or threatens IDF forces will bear the full cost,” he said in Hebrew on social media. “We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.”
Tens of thousands trek into northern Gaza
Tens of thousands of people were marching and driving on Monday back to northern Gaza, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
Long lines of Palestinians — some singing, others smiling and some kneeling to kiss the soil as they stepped into the northern part of the strip — were seen making their way home.
Those returning home were moving along two main routes.
Many of those who were were walking home were moving along al-Rashid Street, a path expected to be taken by about 300,000 people.
Many of those who were driving north were doing so along Salah al-Din Road.
A line of cars could be seen stretching for about 8 miles on Monday morning, as they waited for permission to cross into the northern part of Gaza.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta and Samayeh Malekian
1 dead, 4 injured after IDF fired at ‘dozens of suspects’ in central Gaza
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its team evacuated one person who was killed, and four people who were injured, after an attack by Israeli snipers near the Wadi Gaza Bridge on Sunday.
Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops fired “warning shots” at “several gatherings of dozens of suspects” who the IDF said posed a threat to them.
Additionally, a rocket was destroyed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, according to the IDF’s statement.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had introductory call with Israel’s Netanyahu
Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an introductory call on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement from a U.S. senior defense official.
“Both leaders discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats,” according to the statement.
Hegseth, who won Senate confirmation after being selected by President Donald Trump for the role, stressed to Netanyahu that the U.S. is “fully committed” to ensuring that Israel “has the capabilities it needs to defend itself,” according to the statement.
Additionally, the defense official said that “both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.”
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended to Feb. 18
The White House announced Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended until Feb.18.
Lebanon, Israel and the U.S. will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after Oct. 7, 2023.
