(VATICAN CITY) — The temporary chimney atop the Sistine Chapel released a plume of white smoke on Thursday, signaling that the 133 cardinals working inside had reached a two-thirds majority to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church.
American cardinal Robert Prevost was announced as the choice to replace Pope Francis.
Bells at St. Peter’s Basilica rang and crowds cheered as the white smoke billowed from the chimney.
The new leader of the Catholic Church was chosen amid the third round of conclave voting.
(LONDON) — At least 36 Palestinians were killed while attempting to get aid in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
This is the highest death toll from a shooting near an aid distribution center in Gaza since the opening of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites last month, according to numbers from the health ministry.
The shooting happened when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution site in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to two local hospitals in Gaza. Over 100 people were injured in the shooting, according to the two hospitals.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement it fired “warning shots to distance suspects,” who were advancing in the area and “posed a threat to troops.”
The IDF said the warning shots were fired “hundreds of meters form the aid distribution site,” before it opened in the statement.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding several individuals injured in the area,” it said. “An initial inquiry suggests that the number of reported individuals injured does not align with the information held by the IDF.”
“The details are under review,” the IDF said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — which has been running aid distribution in Gaza since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade last month — resumed aid distribution on Monday after previous shootings near aid sites, saying it gave out 1,386,000 meals at two sites. The GHF has not specified what it considers a meal.
The GHF has closed its aid distribution sites several times since it began distributing meals after several shooting incidents. As of Tuesday, at least 163 people had been killed while trying to get aid from GHF aid distribution sites, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The blockade was instituted to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of hundreds, Israel said.
The GHF was first announced on May 19 — three days after the Israeli government began its increased military operation in Gaza. After the end of an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering Gaza, the GHF — a private contractor backed by the U.S. and Israel — took over distributing aid in Gaza.
Humanitarian groups and the United Nations have said the GHF politicizes aid and criticized the role of IDF forces in the operation.
Palestinians in Gaza remain at risk of extreme starvation and famine even after Israel lifted the blockade on all humanitarian aid entering the Strip, according to aid groups like the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and others.
(LONDON) — Israel launched airstrikes on Sana’a International Airport in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, warning of the possibility of further attacks on the Iran-backed Houthi movement that controls the area.
“We work according to a simple rule: Whoever harms us, we harm them,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted to X by his office. “Whoever does not understand this with force, will now understand it with greater force.”
“But, as I have said more than once: The Houthis are only the symptom. The main driving force behind them is Iran, which is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen,” Netanyahu continued.
The Houthis have been attacking regional shipping and launching drones and missiles toward Israel since Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Houthis say their attacks are a protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces have attacked a range of targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen. The IDF has previously bombed the airport in Sana’a in December 2024 and earlier this month.
The IDF said in a Wednesday statement that the latest attack targeted “the central airport in Sana’a and an aircraft belonging to the Houthi terrorist organization.”
“The aircraft that were attacked were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transport terrorists who promoted terrorist acts against the state of Israel,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is determined to continue to act and strike with force anyone who poses a threat to the residents of the state of Israel, at whatever distance is required,” the IDF said.
Yemenia Airlines condemned the strike.
“Another Yemenia Airlines plane was directly and cowardly targeted this morning, just moments before the scheduled boarding of pilgrims,” the airline said in a statement Wednesday. “The plane had received all necessary permits for landing, operation, and takeoff from all relevant authorities.”
“Accordingly, we announce to the Yemeni and international public opinion the complete (temporary) suspension of Yemenia Airlines flights from Sana’a International Airport until further notice,” the statement continued. “This is a result of this cowardly terrorist act that targeted a Yemeni civilian aircraft, belonging to a national company that has distanced itself from all conflicts and is fully dedicated to serving all our noble people without discrimination.”
Last month, the Houthis agreed to end attacks on American commercial shipping in the region in exchange for an end to the intense U.S. airstrikes against them, a campaign President Donald Trump began in March.
The Houthis have said that the agreement does not include stopping its attacks on Israel, and have since launched multiple drones and ballistic missiles toward the country.
(LONDON) — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned Wednesday that “a whole series of nuances” needs to be addressed before Russia will agree to any U.S.-brokered peace deal to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking with journalists, Peskov appeared to downplay hopes of a quick peace agreement — which President Donald Trump said this weekend he wants to secure within two weeks.
President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said, “said that he supports this initiative — the establishment of a ceasefire, he supports it, but before going for it, a whole series of questions need to be answered and a whole series of nuances need to be resolved,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.
Peskov was responding to suggestions — including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — that Putin is not genuine about his professed desire to agree a peace deal.
Zelenskyy again urged greater international pressure on the Kremlin on Wednesday, citing the latest round of drone strikes in which 45 people were injured in Kharkiv — including two children — and one person was killed in Dnipro.
“Russian drones continue flying over Ukrainian skies all morning,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “And this happens every single day. That’s why pressure on Russia is needed — strong, additional sanctions that actually work. Not just words or attempts at persuasion — only pressure can force Russia to agree to a ceasefire and end the war.”
“Pressure from the United States, Europe and everyone in the world who believes war has no place on Earth,” the president wrote.
Zelenskyy said that more than 100 Russian attack drones were launched at Ukrainian targets overnight into Wednesday, with a total of 375 drones launched so far this week.
Ukraine’s air force said its forces shot down 50 of the 108 drones launched, with another 22 lost in flight without causing damage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
ABC News Guy Davies and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
