In Israel, Blinken says Hamas must accept cease-fire deal, offers "cautious optimism" to hostage families
CBSN
Tel Aviv — Secretary of State Antony Blinken was back in Israel Wednesday morning for his seventh visit to the country since Hamas militants staged their bloody Oct. 7 terror attack on the Jewish state, instantly sparking the war in the group's Gaza Strip stronghold.
Blinken said as he arrived that the Biden administration was "determined" to see Hamas and Israel agree to a cease-fire in the conflict, which health officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory say has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children.
Desperate for more American support, Israelis rallied outside Blinken's Tel Aviv hotel, some of them holding signs voicing hope that U.S. pressure will help bring home the remaining 133 hostages still thought to be held in Gaza, including five U.S. nationals still thought to be alive.
A trove of gold and silver coins that experts believe were swindled out of an ailing population by an 18th-century conman has been discovered in central Poland, officials said. Volunteer metal detectorists found the treasure hidden underground in multiple locations while exploring the Jeleniowskie mountain range with permission from the local government, and the fact that it exists seems to validate a centuries-old legend.
Tel Aviv — Nearly 360,000 people had fled the Gaza Strip's southernmost city of Rafah by Monday, according to the United Nations, in an exodus that tripled in size over just a few days. The Israel Defense Forces sparked the upheaval late last week, issuing evacuation orders by text messages and fliers dropped from the sky to people in the city's eastern half.
Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday. Thousands of civilians fled the Kharkiv region as the intense battle capitulated more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested "gray zone" along the Russian border.
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation and adding that it is also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped. More than 110,000 people have evacuated Rafah, the United Nations says, more than doubling in the past few days.
Priest, 82, and retired teacher, 85, smash case holding copy of Magna Carta in environmental protest
The glass case containing an original copy of the Magna Carta at the British Library in London was smashed by two environmental activists on Friday, causing minor damage to the reinforced box but leaving the historic document unscathed.