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Israel breaks Gaza truce 

The Israeli regime has launched a wave of heavy airstrikes on Gaza in blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The fresh strikes have left over 40 Palestinians dead and more than 60 others injured. At least five civilians were killed and several others injured in airstrikes targeting a car in the southern city of Khan Yunis. The attack killed the driver as well as his wife and children. Several Palestinians were killed in later strikes on the city. Separate attacks on residential areas of Gaza City, including the Sabra neighborhood, killed 11 more Palestinians. Multiple casualties were also reported after a school sheltering displaced people was hit in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Another Palestinian was killed in a separate attack when the regime’s forces bombed a tent sheltering displaced persons south of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Israel’s airstrikes also targeted the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, in addition to the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, east of the city. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery shelled the east of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. The resumption of deadly strikes followed the alleged killing of an Israeli soldier in the city of Rafah. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, then ordered powerful attacks on Gaza, claiming Hamas has breached the ceasefire. 

Gaza ceasefire agreement 

The Hamas resistance movement has denied any connection to the security incident involving Israeli forces in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire agreement. Hamas said the terrorist attack in Rafah was a continuation of a series of truce violations that were committed over the past days, including attacks that have caused casualties among civilians. The movement noted that such truce violations prove that certain parties are bent on breaking and undermining the Gaza ceasefire agreement. It also condemned Israel’s renewed strikes on the territory under the pretext of the Rafah attack. Hamas said criminal bombardments carried out by the fascist Israeli army across Gaza constitute a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement. The movement called on truce mediators and guarantors to take immediate action to pressure Israel to stop its brutal escalation against civilians in Gaza, and halt its serious violations of the ceasefire agreement.

US government shutdown 

A nearly month-long US government shutdown has increased risks for aviation security, as hundreds of air traffic controllers have taken second jobs after missing their first full paychecks. This, according to vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Mike Christine. The official said air traffic controllers and trainees are now taking side jobs like waiting tables, delivering food, driving for Uber, and signing up as weekend tutors to make ends meet. He added that after missing their first full paycheck on Tuesday, controllers are swapping notes about which companies are deferring payments and who is donating food to workers. Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 transportation security officers must work without pay after a budget impasse between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats triggered the shutdown. Thousands of flights across the US have been delayed as a result of staff shortages during the government shutdown, with air traffic controller absences mentioned as the primary cause.

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