Hamas Chief Declares War in Gaza Over, Says Terror Group Confident in Trump-Brokered Cease-Fire; Israel Continues to Attack Gaza as Palestinians Celebrate Ceasefire Deal

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By New York Post. Exiled Hamas chief Khalil Al-Hayya declared Thursday the war in Gaza has ended after the terror group received assurances from the US and other nations about the impending cease-fire deal brokered by President Trump.

Al-Hayya delivered the long-awaited message as the Israel and the Palestinian terror group signed an agreement to stop the fighting and allow the remaining Israeli hostages to be released.

The Hamas leader said his side has received guarantees from the US, Arab mediators and Turkey that the bloody war has come to a permanent conclusion.

He also said along with the end of the war, the deal will pave the way to reopen a key crossing with Egypt and see all jailed Palestinian women and children released by Israeli authorities. (Read more from “Hamas Chief Declares War in Gaza Over, Says Terror Group Confident in Trump-Brokered Cease-Fire” HERE)

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Israel Continues to Attack Gaza as Palestinians Celebrate Ceasefire Deal

By The New Indian Express. Israeli military on Thursday continued attacks on the Gaza Strip, with just hours for the initial phase of a ceasefire deal agreed upon by both Israel and Hamas to come into effect.

Israeli attacks in the vicinity of Hamad City, northwest of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, have killed atleast one Palestinian, reported Al Jazeera. Several others were injured in an Israeli drone attack that targeted Yarmouk School, west of Gaza City.

According to the territory’s Health Ministry, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed and 49 injured in Israeli attacks on several parts of Gaza in the past 24 hours.

The attacks came as US President Donald Trump late on Wednesday announced that Israel and Hamas has agreed upon the first phase of his Gaza peace plan, signalling a long-awaited ceasefire. (Read more from “Israel Continues to Attack Gaza as Palestinians Celebrate Ceasefire Deal” HERE)

More Than 30 Christians Beheaded, Church Burned Down: Report

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More than 30 Christians were beheaded in Mozambique last month, with churches and homes burned down, according to a new report.

The Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP), an affiliate of Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Christian civilians in the northern part of the African country, often in the Cabo Delgado province, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said last Wednesday.

ISMP released photos, seen by MEMRI, showing militants killing people and setting fire to churches and homes across several villages.

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo said on Thursday that security in Cabo Delgado had improved thanks to the efforts of the national military, but that terrorism threats remained. (Read more from “More Than 30 Christians Beheaded, Church Burned Down: Report” HERE)

Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Denounces ‘Extremist and Failed Government,’ Calls for ‘New Direction’

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Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s opposition, denounced the “extremist and failed government” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming it for the country’s current precarious position.

In an essay published in Foreign Affairs on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas, Lapid let loose some of his most scathing criticisms of Netanyahu’s government yet, buoyed by the possible end of the war in Gaza. Lapid blames the current government for trashing Israel’s diplomatic position in the world, harming its relationship with the United States, failing to combat rising antisemitism, harming Israel’s democratic foundations, failing to respond to Hamas’s surprise attack properly, and more.

“Israel is not a failed state. It is a great state with a failed government. Its foundations remain strong. Israel is undeniably in crisis, but the source of the crisis is not structural. It is political,” Lapid wrote.

He contrasted the current situation Israel has found itself in with three years ago, when the country was normalizing relations with the Arab world, boasted world-class research and business fields, and “blended a profound philosophical and historical depth with the best of modernity.” . . .

“The crisis is the result of an extremist and failed government, led by a prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is implicated in criminal cases and has lost the support of the Israeli public. His years in power have corrupted him and those around him. This government is openly contemptuous of the principle of a democratic State of Israel committed to Western liberal values. In its place, it seeks to install a theocratic and illiberal regime, one that is exempt from media scrutiny and free of the nuisance of concepts such as the rule of law and the constant threat of free and fair elections,” Lapid ruled. (Read more from “Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Denounces ‘Extremist and Failed Government,’ Calls for ‘New Direction’” HERE)

Russia Cuts Deals with Cuba, Venezuela to Challenge U.S. in the West

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Russia’s rubber-stamp legislature passed an “intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation” with the communist government of Cuba on Tuesday, formalizing an already existing alliance providing cannon fodder for the invasion of Ukraine.

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro also announced on Tuesday that he had solidified a “strategic partnership” with Russia that could allow Moscow greater ability to leverage influence in the Western Hemisphere, challenging the United States.

According to the Russian news agency Tass, the upper house of the Duma ratified an agreement that “will provide legal grounds to define the goals, areas and forms of bilateral military cooperation,” suggesting that such cooperation already existed between the two countries informally. The agreement is one step below the commitments of the mutual defense treaty that Russia signed with North Korea in June 2024, which preceded Pyongyang admitting that it had deployed troops to the war theater against Ukraine in Kursk.

Alexander Stepanov, a purported Russian “military expert,” told Tass that the military agreement with Cuba was a form of retaliation against President Donald Trump for his ongoing support for Ukraine, in particular concerns that the United States may soon provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

“This is about a symmetrical response to the potential supply of Tomahawks,” Stepanov stated plainly. “The ratified agreement maximally expands our military cooperation and allows, within the framework of bilateral interaction and in coordination with the government of the Republic of Cuba, to deploy virtually any offensive systems on the island’s territory.” (Read more from “Russia Cuts Deals with Cuba, Venezuela to Challenge U.S. in the West” HERE)

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Police in Australia Seize Guns From Dozens of Owners Who Reject Government Authority

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Police in Western Australia have seized guns and revoked or suspended firearms permits from dozens of owners linked to what investigators describe as sovereign citizen ideologies, or views that reject government authority.

Officials linked the crackdown on firearms users believed to hold such views to the fatal shooting in August of two police officers in Victoria state, in the country’s east. The suspect in those killings, 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, remains at large, weeks after he is said to have killed two officers visiting his rural property to serve a search warrant.

In the years before the shooting, Freeman appeared to have embraced so-called sovereign citizen views during court appearances. Members of such movements use debunked legal theories to reject government authority.

Freeman is suspected of killing Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and wounding a third officer. Following the shooting, investigators in Western Australia used bolstered gun laws enacted in 2024 to identify weapons owners in their state who they said held similar views to Freeman’s. (Read more from “Police in Australia Seize Guns From Dozens of Owners Who Reject Government Authority” HERE)

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Israel To Spend Up To $4.1 Million on Propaganda Campaign Targeting American Christians

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The Israeli Foreign Ministry is planning to spend up to $4.1 million for a propaganda campaign that will target American evangelical Christians, a project that’s being sold as the “largest Christian Church Geofencing Campaign in US history.”

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on a federal filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act that shows the Israeli ministry has hired a newly formed US-based firm, Show Faith by Works LLC, which will target churchgoers with digital ads that are explicitly “pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian.”

The campaign will also involve creating a mobile “October 7 experience” that will visit Christian colleges, churches, and events. The document says the experience will involve a custom-built trailer designed by “Hollywood experts,” virtual reality headsets, set pieces, and full-length TVs for an “interactive experience.”

The filing lists hundreds of churches in California, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona that will be targeted by the information campaign. According to an invoice, Show Faith by Works expects to receive $3.25 million from the Israeli Foreign Ministry over a five-month period and includes a potential additional $835,000 for equipment and expansion of the campaign.

The document, which was filed on September 27, says one of the activities of the campaign will be to “combat low American Evangelical Christian approval of the Nation of Israel.” (Read more from “Israel To Spend Up To $4.1 Million on Propaganda Campaign Targeting American Christians” HERE)

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‘Peace, Not Surrender’: Ukrainians No Longer Believe Putin Can Be Beaten

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After more than three years of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion, the war’s scars stretch far beyond the frontline. Ukrainians are exhausted from the relentless waves of missile and drone attacks, with Kyiv regularly facing massive assaults and cities deep in western Ukraine, including Lviv, no longer spared from deadly air strikes.

Even hundreds of miles from the front lines, civilians see the human cost of war, with young veterans missing limbs navigating train stations, metros and supermarkets.

There’s no question of the intense longing for peace in the country, but there’s an equally strong feeling that conceding territory to Russia for any potential end to the fighting would make the immense sacrifices made by so many meaningless.

Polls conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology at the start of the invasion found around 9 out of 10 Ukrainians said that under no circumstances should the country give up any of its territories. More recent surveys show that roughly half of Ukrainians still outright reject territorial concessions. Around 39% say they are prepared to consider them.

Another poll, conducted by Gallup in July, found that 69% of Ukrainians now favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible, compared to just 24% who support continuing to fight until they are victorious. Back in 2022, 73% of respondents backed fighting on and only 22% believed talks were the way forward. (Read more from “‘Peace, Not Surrender’: Ukrainians No Longer Believe Putin Can Be Beaten” HERE)

Leaked Texts on Scott Bessent’s Phone Suggest the White House Got Played Bailing Out Argentina—And U.S. Soybean Farmers Are the Casualties

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According to a photo of a private text on the phone of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Argentina responded to the treasury secretary’s $20 billion bailout by turning around and removing its export taxes on soybeans and striking a huge new deal with China. That diminished the price of U.S. soybeans and weakened U.S. trade leverage with China, which immediately pulled out of its existing arrangements with soybean farmers in America’s heartland.

The photo taken by Angelina Katsanis for the Associated Press last week shows Bessent reading a text that appears to be from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“Finally—just a heads up, I’m getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate,” the text said. “We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, the Argentine’s [sic] are removing their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price, and sold a bunch of soybeans to China, at a time when we would normally be selling to China. Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us.”

A second message said, “On a plane but Scott I can call you when I land.”

Last week, Bessent outlined on X a plan to financially support Argentina following extensive talks between longtime allies President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei, a libertarian economist with a populist, Trump-like appeal, known for wielding a chain saw and cloning his enormous mastiff dogs. (Read more from “Leaked Texts on Scott Bessent’s Phone Suggest the White House Got Played Bailing Out Argentina—And U.S. Soybean Farmers Are the Casualties” HERE)

Netanyahu ordered drone attacks on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid boats off Tunisia

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels early last month that were part of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian supporters, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, CBS News has learned.

Two American intelligence officials briefed on the matter told CBS News that Israeli forces on Sept. 8 and 9 launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire. The officials spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on national security matters.

Under international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict, the use of incendiary weapons against a civilian population or civilian objects is prohibited in all circumstances.

Israel has enforced a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, first declaring the restriction in January 2009, when its navy announced the closure of the coastal waters to all maritime traffic. The move came some two years after Hamas took control of the region following a brief but violent civil war with the rival Fatah party, the political and military organization of Arab Palestinians, officially known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement.

The Israel Defense Forces didn’t respond to CBS News’ request for comment. (Read more about the incendiary device attack on the Portuguese vessel HERE)

IDF Attack Kills 14th Doctors Without Borders Staffer

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An early‑morning strike on October 2, 2025, claimed the life of Omar Hayek, an occupational therapist working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF / Doctors Without Borders), and injured at least four others, in the Gaza Strip. The incident marks the 14th MSF colleague killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the current conflict on October 7, 2023.

According to MSF, the attack occurred on a street in Deir al-Balah, where staff were waiting for a bus to take them to a field hospital. All those present were wearing MSF vests, clearly identifying them as medical humanitarian workers.

MSF stated that colleagues hit in the attack included a physiotherapist, an orthopedic surgeon, a supply officer, and a finance assistant; one staffer was reported to be in critical condition with shrapnel wounds.

Less than two weeks earlier, MSF had mourned the death of Hussein Alnajjar, the 13th staffer killed in Gaza, also in Deir al-Balah by Israeli strikes.
Doctors Without Borders. The organization has expressed profound sorrow and outrage, emphasizing that the killings indicate that “nowhere in Gaza is safe” for health professionals.

Omar Hayek was 42 years old. He joined MSF in June 2018 and had served as an occupational therapist at MSF’s clinic in Gaza City.

Due to the intensifying hostilities and mass displacement, Omar left Gaza City on September 13, heading south under assurances of relative safety — assurances that tragically failed. He was the sole provider for his family following the deaths of his father and his younger brother.

Omar’s death is part of a wider and deeply concerning pattern of attacks on health workers and humanitarian staff in Gaza. The United Nations estimates that at least 562 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including 376 UN personnel.

MSF has long warned that this war is degrading what remains of Gaza’s health infrastructure. Medical teams operate under extreme danger, frequently under bombardment, with limited access to supplies, and with uncertainty about safe passage.

In past statements, MSF has also condemned militarized food distribution schemes in Gaza—labeling certain operations “orchestrated killings”—arguing that the very lines along which aid is provided are being weaponized.

Under international humanitarian law, medical personnel are protected persons. Deliberate targeting of health staff or failure to distinguish between combatants and medical workers may constitute violations of the laws of war.