Israel-Gaza live updates: US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East
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(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.
Here’s how the news is developing:
US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions
The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.
The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.
Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.
The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt
Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.
Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.
“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.
The sun sets in Brasilia, Brazil, amid smoke from forest fires in the northern and central western states, on September 9, 2024. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Wildfires in the Amazon are choking swaths of Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador with smoke, leading to evacuations, school closures, canceled flights and a dire threat to plant and animal life in the region in what officials say is thought to be the worst fires in 20 years.
An estimated 20% of the Brasilia National Forest burned just last week and officials have launched a probe into suspected arson as residents of the nearby Brazilian capital city of Brasilia reported coughs, stinging eyes and scratchy throats, according to park officials.
In Bolivia’s capital city of La Paz, many schools held virtual classes and flights to and from the region were delayed and canceled. Elsewhere, in the provinces of Beni, Santa Cruz and Pando, many farmers and indigenous Bolivians have evacuated their land as fires continued. More than 3 million hectares of land have already burned in Bolivia this year.
In Ecuador, the government deployed an anti-fire helicopter and specialized brigades to contain a wildfire that has lasted almost two weeks.
The wildfire season in the Amazon region used to last three months from August to October. Now, it stretches on for six months, said Efrain Tinta Guachalla, a socio-territorial investigator at Fundación Tierra, a Bolivian NGO dedicated to sustainable rural development.
Guachalla attributes the fires to a growing amount of farmland, often for soy and cattle, and the deforestation that occurs because of this expansion. Deforestation causes the land to dry out due to a rise in temperatures and decreasing rainfall, causing a greater risk of fires in the surrounding forests.
“The fires are out of control,” he said. “The land is full of scars from the burning.”
While occasional wildfires in Europe and the American West are normal considering the climate, he continued, the humid Amazon is never meant to burn. He says that rainforest flora and fauna are being wiped out at unprecedented rates.
“The fires in California or the fires in Europe, those aren’t the same as the fires in South America. There’s an enormous difference — the loss of biodiversity,” said Guillermo Villalobos, a political scientist focusing on climate science at Bolivian nonprofit Fundación Solon. “Forests like the Amazon are historically tropical forests, meaning they’ve never burned, they’ve never coexisted with the fire. This is terribly tragic for the ecosystem and the world. The Amazon is in its worst state of the last 50 years.”
Over ten thousand species are at high risk of extinction, researchers say, in large part due to deforestation, according to a report by the Science Panel of the Amazon.
As climate change and global demand for agricultural products increase, Villalobos thinks the fires are only going to get worse as more land is cleared for farming, raising the risk of wildfires.
“We’re in an interminable loop,” he said. “A point of no return.”
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have demanded its government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
16 minutes ago Funeral underway for slain American hostage
A funeral procession is underway in Jerusalem for slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old was one of six murdered hostages recovered this weekend.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said the six hostages were killed “in a number of short-range shots” between Thursday and Friday morning.
The funeral comes one day after thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the deaths of the six hostages.
2 hours and 31 minutes ago Tel Aviv braces for fresh protests
More than 1,000 people have gathered in the northern Israeli city of Tel Aviv for continued anti-government protests, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Other marches are taking place elsewhere in Israel. A general strike — called by Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union — also began on Monday morning in protest of the government’s failure to free those still held hostage inside Gaza.
Police reported violent clashes with anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, saying officers had arrested 29 people.
The current wave of demonstrations was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six of Hamas’ hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and David Brennan
3 hours and 57 minutes ago Israel Police accuses Tel Aviv marchers of ‘brutal’ vandalism, violence
The Israel Police has condemned what it called “brutal vandalism” during a night of anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv, sparked by the deaths in captivity of six of Hamas’ Gaza hostages.
In a statement, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit said officers arrested 29 suspects for a range of offenses including disorderly conduct, assaulting officers and vandalism.
The violence followed a planned protest at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv, the statement said, after which “hundreds of protesters” left the approved demonstration area and moved to the Ayalon Highway, “with the intent to disrupt traffic and public order.”
Some marchers “violently pushed against barricades and officers, leading to a confrontation during which a policewoman was injured and lost consciousness,” the statement said. The officer was evacuated for medical treatment.
As officers attempted to clear the area, some protesters “breached security perimeters, blocked the Ayalon Highway, and set fires, while firing fireworks that nearly hit officers,” police said.
“The Israel Police strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and violence directed at officers,” the statement read. “We will pursue legal action against those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
The protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government agree to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
A general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut — began on Monday morning in a bid to pressure the government into reaching an accord with the militant group.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage who was found dead in Gaza on Saturday along with five other Oct. 7 hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The vice president and her husband called parents Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin on Sunday to “express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists,” Harris said in a statement on X.
“My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” Harris continued.
“I told them: As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them,” Harris said.
4:59 PM EDT Protest erupts in Tel Aviv as demonstrators demand cease-fire deal
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv Sunday night, demanding a cease-fire agreement and the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.
The demonstration came a day after Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages in tunnels under the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters were seen waving Israeli flags as they demanded a cease-fire agreement, chanting “Deal. Now.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
3:25 PM EDT 6 killed in IDF strike on Gaza school, says Gaza Civil Defense
At least six people were killed on Sunday when Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on a school in Gaza City, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The IDF said in a statement that the strike was aimed at Hamas terrorists they allege were operating a command-and-control center inside the Safad school to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the IDF and Israel.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Gaza Civil Defense confirmed the Safad school was hit in the IDF strike, but said the school houses displaced people from the Al-Zeitoun area east of Gaza City.
(LONDON) — Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is being held in custody after being arrested at an airport near Paris over the weekend.
French authorities say his arrest was made in connection with a sprawling investigation into illicit and illegal activity on Telegram, a popular messaging app that promises ultra-secure communications, as well as the option for group chats that can support tens of thousands of people. Telegram says nearly a billion people use the platform worldwide.
The investigation covers everything from alleged drug trafficking, child pornography, money laundering and fraud that took place on or was organized on Telegram. Authorities say Durov is not implicated in those specific crimes; rather, his platform may have run afoul of European law by hosting that content. Durov himself has not yet been charged.
In the European Union, the Digital Services Act is aimed at regulating illegal material posted on social media platforms. It holds that once a company is informed about illegal content on its platform, it becomes liable for that content. In the United States, this content is governed by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which, by contrast, holds that platforms cannot be held liable for content posted on them.
Previous violations of the Digital Services Act by Big Tech firms have largely come in the form of fines, meaning Durov’s arrest marks a significant escalation by European authorities.
Telegram has responded, saying it “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and that Durov has “nothing to hide.”
The company also says that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for the abuse of that platform.”
Durov was born in Russia, and founded Telegram alongside his brother in 2013. The following year he fled the country amid pressure from the Russian government for Telegram to share information on Ukrainian users. Prior to that Durov created VK, a Russian social networking site similar to Facebook.
