Ryan Reynolds is teaming up with Hugh Jackman and director Shawn Levy once again — and for now, it’s not a follow-up to their blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine.
During a forthcoming chat with Variety‘s Awards Circuit podcast, Reynolds didn’t share many details about the project itself with the trade, except to say it is “not Marvel.”
“I’m spending the year writing,” Reynolds said, adding the project will star him and Jackman, with Levy back behind the camera.
Reynolds previously worked with Levy on the 2021 theatrical hit Free Guy, as well as the successful time-traveling Netflix adventure The Adam Project that was released to the streamer a year later.
Jackman worked with Levy on the 2011 robot boxing family flick Reel Steel.
(WASHINGTON) — While tens of millions of early votes have already been cast, there are still millions of Americans who will be heading to the polls on Election Day. Experts predict the 2024 election will be one of the closest in history, with several key states still in contention that could determine the next president.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have been actively campaigning over the past few months in several swing states. This year, seven swing states are in intense competition: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
To win the White House, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes, different combinations from the collective total of 93 electoral votes from these swing states will ultimately determine the winner.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, with polling hours varying by state law. Here’s an update on three of the seven swing states in the final hours leading up to the election.
In Pennsylvania, young voters ready to make an impact
Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral college votes, is considered the key to the election and many believe the winner of Pennsylvania will become the next president.
In this battleground state, ABC News spoke with young voters who believe their vote could significantly impact this election. These voters have observed Harris and Trump competing often in their state.
Both candidates held many stops and rallies on Monday.
Two first-time voters, 18-year-old Isaac Gourley and Caleb Root, will be at one of Pennsylvania’s thousands of polling places. They attend Redbank Valley High School in Western Pennsylvania.
They have been listening to both presidential candidates and will decide their vote based on their priorities.
“What stuck out to me was just their — kind of like international — policy,” Gourley said. “You know, how we talk to other people.”
According to a Tufts University study, about 50% of registered voters 18-29-year-olds voted in the 2020 election — an all-time high. In Pennsylvania, they turned out at a rate even higher than the national average: 54%.
“I pay attention a lot to the economy,” Root said.
The rules for counting ballots in Pennsylvania indicate that it may take days to determine the winner. Mailed-in votes cannot be counted until polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.
Helene won’t stop voters in North Carolina
Despite initial concerns, voter turnout rates in the 25 North Carolina counties hardest hit by Hurricane Helene surpassed statewide early voting averages leading up to Election Day, with more than 760,000 total ballots cast.
North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes are especially crucial in the razor-thin contest between Harris and Trump. According to the latest NYT/Siena College polling, Harris has a narrow lead over Trump in a race that remains too close to call.
In this historic election that hinges on voter turnout, both campaigns are targeting women, the country’s largest voting bloc.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll shows a clear gender gap between voters. Trump is up 5 points with male voters, while Harris is up by 11 points with women.
During early voting, young women on the North Carolina State University campus marched to the polls with a pro-choice message, inviting men to join them.
“I’m really scared that I feel like I don’t know the rights I have as a woman,” Lizzie Pascal, a student there, said.
Harris leads suburban women voters nationally by 15 points overall; however, Trump has a four-point advantage among white women, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll. That demographic is widely believed to have contributed to his victory in 2016.
Sandy Joiner, president of the Western Wake County Republican Club, has worked to canvass with Republican women competing for state and local seats.
“We have knocked on around 12,000 doors in our area,” Joiner said. “And we have, we have knocked all the doors, so we don’t have any doors left. So what we’re doing now is we’re knocking doors in areas that may not have been reached.”
The same goals drive these women, whether they are encouraging voters to turn out in storm zones, suburbs or on college campuses. Women are likely to hold the key to determining who ascends to the White House when all the votes are counted on and after election night.
How Michigan is a must-win for both Trump and Harris
Experts say Michigan is a must-win for both sides, which is why both candidates campaigned extensively across the Great Lakes.
Once part of the Democrats’ so-called “blue wall,” polling shows that Michigan — and its 15 electoral votes — is a tossup.
While early votes show an increase in women and young voters in college towns, one of the groups that was once solidly Democratic is no longer true blue: union members.
ABC News spoke with Douglas King, an autoworker and UAW member for nearly 30 years. He says the economy, like for so many other Americans, is his top issue.
“I was raised to believe that the Democrats are the party of the working people,” King said. “And maybe at one time they were. I don’t feel that way now.”
Many union leadership endorsed Harris.
In this tightly contested race, the more than 500,000 union workers are crucial for Harris; however, some of them appear to be moving away from voting for the Democratic Party. King, who voted for Barack Obama twice, has decided to support Trump for president for the third time.
“People are afraid to say they’re voting for Trump because Trump supporters are put in a box, that they’re these hateful, racist people that are homophobic, and it’s just not true,” King said. “Trump has a lot of support on the plant floor.”
There are cracks in the old coalition that has consistently voted for Democrats for the past 30 years. However, Trump broke through the blue wall in 2016 by narrowly defeating Hillary Clinton by roughly 10,000 votes in Michigan.
(NEW YORK) — Even before the pandemic took hold in 2020, Americans drifted away from their social circles, dedicating more and more time to solitary activities. This shift has deepened feelings of social isolation, leaving many individuals longing for connections and companionship that once felt more accessible.
Approximately 20% of American adults are grappling with “daily loneliness,” according to a recent Gallup report, marking the highest level in two years. The U.S. Surgeon General, often referred to as the “Nation’s Doctor,” declared that we are currently facing a serious loneliness epidemic. They also stated that Generation Z — those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s — might be the loneliest generation.
Chronic loneliness — prolonged feelings of loneliness and social isolation — affects not only your mental health but also has physical consequences.
“It can do everything from increase rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, increased rates of dementia, and actually decrease how long we live,” Dr. Kelli Harding, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, told “Nightline.”. “It’s as risky for health as, you know, smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
To combat the loneliness epidemic, professional cuddlers like Jasmine Siemon from Bethesda, Maryland, are leading the way. She uses platonic touch therapy to assist adults dealing with issues such as intimacy, anxiety and loneliness.
Siemon told “Nightline” she always does a consultation to see what made the person interested in touch and cuddle therapy.
“I want to know what their touch history is. There’s a clear understanding of having agency over your body in the session,” she said. “At no point am I going to touch you in a way that you’re not comfortable with or that you’re not curious about, and vice versa. So the boundaries are the rigid boundaries — no touching anywhere a bathing suit covers.”
Siemon acknowledged that while her job may sound unusual to some, she has seen how her work has helped people like Elliot Wallace, who has been having cuddle therapy sessions with Siemon for a year.
“I found myself being nervous in certain cases, whether people were very close, like moving in too close or taking up my space or even being touched,” Wallace said. “And I wanted to find a way to not have that [be] threatening anymore.”
Since Wallace works a lot from home, he says it makes it harder for him to meet people. He sought out Siemon to help him discover who he is, so he can be more open and vulnerable with people.
While Siemon says she has seen how her work has helped some people, consulting a professional cuddler may not suit everyone. Experts warn that if cuddle therapy ends suddenly, it can lead to feelings of abandonment, rejection, loss and even despair.
Professional cuddlers are just one option for coping with loneliness, which can manifest in various ways. Kaari Hostler, a recent college graduate who has moved from the Midwest to New York City, hopes to connect with others, but the 22-year-old isn’t seeking love or romance. Instead, she’s looking to make friends.
Hostler was searching for ways to branch out when she came across “The Girls NYC” online. It’s an exclusive social group for women looking to make friends in their early 20s in New York City.
When attending these events, there is one important rule: you must come alone. Similar groups focusing on finding connections, like dinner parties and running clubs, are rising across the U.S.
“We spend so much time online, we end up isolating ourselves,” Hostler said. “It’s not a substitute for actual human interaction.”
Through social media, people can connect and game with others across continents. TikTok trends like “Get Ready With Me” videos — which show the process of someone getting ready for an event or activity — can help you feel connected to your favorite influencers. There are also dating and friendship apps.
However, these are remote and experts say may not be a good substitute for actual human interaction.
“Gen Z has had it tough,” Dr. Harding said. “They didn’t have a traditional graduation from high school. They have also been part of this great experiment of social media we are learning without guardrails.”
Like Hostler, 38-year-old Quincy Winston struggled to make new friends after relocating to Phoenix with his wife, Latoya, in 2015.
However, a heartfelt conversation with his wife sparked an idea.
“Her girlfriends are very organized, very tight knit,” said Winston. “A lot of my friends at the time were distant,” adding his wife told him that “it’s important for men to seek out friendship and build camaraderie.”
In 2022, Winston formed the Phoenix Professional Black Men’s Friends Group, a space for men to meet locally and find new friends.
“So for me, it’s been a self-discovery,” Winston said. “It’s been a journey. I’ll thank my wife every day for kind of opening up about my own emotions and encouraging other men to support other men.”
Winston’s group now has nearly 200 members, and helps men connect with something he says some men may struggle with.
“I think there’s a term out there,” Winston said. “Emotional intelligence — guys, you have to work at that. What do I need to do in order to be a friend and make friends and have friends and keep friends?”
Experts say loneliness does not discriminate, and could happen to anyone at any age.
At the New Ground Estate in London, 26 residents are making history — living at the first and only co-housing community in the United Kingdom dedicated to women aged 50 and over.
Some have likened this housing situation to a real-life version of “The Golden Girls,” the TV show that followed four older women living together in Miami.
“It is really beneficial because there’s that sense of community,” Dr. Harding said. “I think it can also reframe how we think about aging.”
Everyone at New Ground has their own flats but there are also communal living spaces — all run by the ladies themselves.
Jude Tisdall is 73 years old and moved into the community in 2018.
“There’s a few people here who are of a certain age and are inspirational and are fit and still active and doing things,” Tisdall said. “I think that has made me really, really think about is I’m going to live to the nth degree till I die. And that’s what I’ve got to do.”
Kelsey Klimara, Arturo Ruiz, Sabrina Shanghie and Caroline Kucera contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — For the better part of 2023 and 2024, President Joe Biden plotted a course to Nov. 5, 2024. As the incumbent, the veteran politician was the presumptive Democratic nominee, clinching enough delegates in March, and locked in a tight race with former President Donald Trump.
But instead of spending Election Day preparing for an evening speech, the president’s daily schedule is empty beyond his daily briefing by aides: No public events.
The president and first lady Jill Biden will spend election night watching the election results in the White House residence with “long time aides and senior White House staff,” according to a White House official.
“The President will receive regular updates on the state of races across the country,” the official added.
Monday night, Biden also held calls with Democratic state party chairs across the country. Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin state Democratic Party, told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks that the call was “electrifying.”
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote, in part, in a letter posted on social media. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Biden created last-minute controversy on Oct. 29 when he seemed to call Trump supporters “garbage” during a campaign call hosted by the nonprofit Voto Latino.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been,” Biden said.
Trump quickly seized on the comments, saying Biden “meant it,” though the president posted a clarification, saying his comment was about the comedian who made the joke and “referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it.”
“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation,” Biden said in the post on X.
(L-R) Levi McConaughey, Matthew McConaughey, Livingston McConaughey, Camila Alves McConaughey, and Vida McConaughey
Camila Alves is celebrating her husband Matthew McConaughey in the sweetest way on his birthday.
The Oscar winner turned 55 on Monday.
In an Instagram video she shared on Monday, Alves and McConaughey are seen riding on a motorbike of some sort and cruising through the streets at night with music playing.
She wrote in the caption of the post, “Today we celebrate you!”
Alves then goes on to say that she and her family have been celebrating McConaughey all weekend before saying, “you bring so much Joy Matthew… but I am stopping here before I get all sentimental…!”
“To more sleigh street rides celebrating YOU!” she added.
In the past, Alves and McConaughey have taken to Instagram to celebrate their family’s milestones, especially birthdays.
For her birthday in January, McConaughey shared a photo of the both of them and called Alves a “hot mamma” in the caption of the post.
The duo tied the knot on June 9, 2012 after first meeting in 2006.
Prior to getting married, they welcomed their son Levi, 15, in 2008, and daughter Vida, 14, in 2010.
They welcomed their son Livingston during the same year of their wedding in 2012.
Since Nov. 1, an FBI command post has been operating 24/7 and will continue to for at least nine days to to ensure the election is safe and secure.
“This command post is an opportunity for us to bring people together, all the different subject matter experts here in the FBI at headquarters and in the field, and we bring in our partners so the intelligence and threats that come in, and we can disseminate that information to the key partners, which is state and local officials around the United States,” said Jim Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
The command post is staffed with 80 people from more than a dozen agencies from the U.S. Capitol Police to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The FBI is focused on criminal threats, such as threats to election workers, foreign malign influence, cyberthreats and acts of violence.
Barnacle said there have been some foreign operations that they have seen as well as “some attempted cyber attacks.”
“Russia, China and Iran are seeking to influence us, government, policy and politics for their benefit, they are also looking to undermine democracy, sow discord and undermine Washington’s standing in the world,” he said.
Last week, the intelligence community found that Russian actors were behind a video purporting to show Haitian migrants voting in Georgia. MORE: Law enforcement on alert for Election Day threats, new report says
Also in Georgia, there was a denial of service attack on the secretary of state’s office. Officials are ready for those incidents to occur and stress there is no material impacting on voting, Barnacle said.
“The FBI is looking at all those threats that come in here in the command post,” he said. “We’re triaging that information.”
Barnacle said the FBI learned from its 2016 and 2020 operations and have improved its communications. When it comes to physical threats, he said it’s important for state and locals to have the information they need to act.
“We’ve learned our lessons in the past,” he said. “We are trying to share information.”
The FBI isn’t monitoring social media and wants to ensure the First Amendment is followed, but when threats are made that is when they step in.
People are more aware about how to report things that happen than in years past, but that has resulted in only a smaller uptick in reporting incidents, he said.
“That’s what we’re asking people to do when they see a threat of violence or they see a foreign malign influence operation, we’re asking people, if they see threats of violence or they see criminal activity, to report that to state and local election officials and law enforcement,” he said.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Israeli strikes kill 40 in Lebanon, officials say
At least 40 people have been killed in a fresh round of Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials.
The Israel Defense Forces has described its airstrikes as “limited and localized,” claiming that all targets are linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Overnight strikes also caused several large explosions in the capital Beirut, including one which erupted close to the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Lebanese officials say the death toll from Israel’s military operations has surpassed 3,000. Bombardments have been especially intense in Hezbollah-controlled southern and eastern Lebanon, and in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya, which is also known as a stronghold for the group.
Lebanon’s National News agency reported that at least 44,000 homes across the country have been destroyed since mid-September. Several videos have emerged of Israeli forces using explosives to demolish several villages and towns in the south of the country close to the Israeli border.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF reports 110 strikes in Lebanon, Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it struck more than 110 “terror targets” in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, as its intense military operations in both areas continue.
The IDF claimed to have killed around 60 Hezbollah fighters in strikes in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and north of the Litani River.
The IDF’s operation in north Gaza continued, with the force claiming to have killed around 50 militants there over the past day. The focus is on the Jabalia and Beit Lahiya areas.
In Gaza’s southern Rafah area, the IDF said its forces killed “a number of armed terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure.”
Israeli leaders congratulate Trump on election result
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top officials congratulated former President Donald Trump on a “huge victory” in Tuesday’s presidential election.
Netanyahu wrote on X: “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback.”
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” Netanyahu added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, newly-appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also all offered their congratulations.
Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is replacing him with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.
The prime minister and defense minister must have “complete trust” during war, and “over the past few months this trust has been cracked between me and the Minister of Defense,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Netanyahu said he tried to bridge the gaps, but “they kept widening.”
“They also came to the attention of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse, they came to the attention of the enemy – our enemies were pleased with this and benefited greatly from it,” he said.
Netanyahu said Katz “has already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Finance, as Minister of Intelligence for five years, and no less important than that, as a member of the political-security cabinet for many years.”
“He is known as a bulldozer in a combination of responsibility and firmness, quiet firmness,” Netanyahu said.
Families of hostages are critical of Netanyahu’s decision, saying it’s “unfortunate proof of the Israeli government’s poor prioritization.”
“The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant is a direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the hostage deal,” the families said in a statement. “We demand that the incoming Defense Minister express an explicit commitment to ending the war and implementing a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages immediately.”
Gallant said in a brief statement, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn
Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military’s ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.
Dr. Abu Safiyeh — who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.
Safiyeh’s warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations’ food assistance arm warning that “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti
Gaza situation ‘has not significantly turned around,’ US says
The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements,” Miller continued. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.”
Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. “I don’t want to forecast in any way what it is that we’ll do at the end of those 30 days,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 20 people — including eight women and six children — were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The town is at the heart of Israel’s most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.
Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 3,000: Health ministry
More than 3,000 have been killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began over a year ago, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Sixteen people were killed in Lebanon on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 3,002, it said.
60 rockets fired into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said that at least 60 rockets were fired into Israel by Hezbollah on Monday.
Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell “in open areas,” the IDF wrote on X.
The IDF also said it attacked one Hezbollah launcher suspected of firing up to 30 rockets, posting what it said was a video of the strike to its X page.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza, health officials say
Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday.
Almost half of the deaths occurred in northern areas, health officials said, where Israel Defense Forces troops are pressing an intense campaign intended to root out surviving Hamas fighters and stop its units from regrouping.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that around 1,800 people have been killed and 4,000 injured by Israel’s north Gaza campaign, with “widespread destruction of hospitals and infrastructure.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.
Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.
Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA
The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.
UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.
Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.
Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.
Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.
The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.
Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.
The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.
The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is replacing him with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.
The prime minister and defense minister must have “complete trust” during war, and “over the past few months this trust has been cracked between me and the Minister of Defense,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Netanyahu said he tried to bridge the gaps, but “they kept widening.”
“They also came to the attention of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse, they came to the attention of the enemy – our enemies were pleased with this and benefited greatly from it,” he said.
Netanyahu said Katz “has already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Finance, as Minister of Intelligence for five years, and no less important than that, as a member of the political-security cabinet for many years.”
“He is known as a bulldozer in a combination of responsibility and firmness, quiet firmness,” Netanyahu said.
Families of hostages are critical of Netanyahu’s decision, saying it’s “unfortunate proof of the Israeli government’s poor prioritization.”
“The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant is a direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the hostage deal,” the families said in a statement. “We demand that the incoming Defense Minister express an explicit commitment to ending the war and implementing a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages immediately.”
Gallant said in a brief statement, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn
Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military’s ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.
Dr. Abu Safiyeh — who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.
Safiyeh’s warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations’ food assistance arm warning that “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti
Gaza situation ‘has not significantly turned around,’ US says
The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements,” Miller continued. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.”
Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. “I don’t want to forecast in any way what it is that we’ll do at the end of those 30 days,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 20 people — including eight women and six children — were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The town is at the heart of Israel’s most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.
Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 3,000: Health ministry
More than 3,000 have been killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began over a year ago, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Sixteen people were killed in Lebanon on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 3,002, it said.
60 rockets fired into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said that at least 60 rockets were fired into Israel by Hezbollah on Monday.
Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell “in open areas,” the IDF wrote on X.
The IDF also said it attacked one Hezbollah launcher suspected of firing up to 30 rockets, posting what it said was a video of the strike to its X page.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza, health officials say
Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday.
Almost half of the deaths occurred in northern areas, health officials said, where Israel Defense Forces troops are pressing an intense campaign intended to root out surviving Hamas fighters and stop its units from regrouping.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that around 1,800 people have been killed and 4,000 injured by Israel’s north Gaza campaign, with “widespread destruction of hospitals and infrastructure.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.
Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.
Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA
The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.
UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.
Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.
Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.
Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.
The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.
Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.
The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.
The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn
Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military’s ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.
Dr. Abu Safiyeh — who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.
Safiyeh’s warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations’ food assistance arm warning that “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti
Gaza situation ‘has not significantly turned around,’ US says
The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements,” Miller continued. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.”
Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. “I don’t want to forecast in any way what it is that we’ll do at the end of those 30 days,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 20 people — including eight women and six children — were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The town is at the heart of Israel’s most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.
Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 3,000: Health ministry
More than 3,000 have been killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began over a year ago, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Sixteen people were killed in Lebanon on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 3,002, it said.
60 rockets fired into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said that at least 60 rockets were fired into Israel by Hezbollah on Monday.
Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell “in open areas,” the IDF wrote on X.
The IDF also said it attacked one Hezbollah launcher suspected of firing up to 30 rockets, posting what it said was a video of the strike to its X page.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza, health officials say
Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday.
Almost half of the deaths occurred in northern areas, health officials said, where Israel Defense Forces troops are pressing an intense campaign intended to root out surviving Hamas fighters and stop its units from regrouping.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that around 1,800 people have been killed and 4,000 injured by Israel’s north Gaza campaign, with “widespread destruction of hospitals and infrastructure.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.
Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.
Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA
The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.
UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.
Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.
Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.
Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.
The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.
Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.
The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.
The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.
