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Hi, I'm VOA's Alexis Strope with your worldwide news update.
Thousands of Israelis protested on the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday in a final weekly anti-government demonstration ahead of the first anniversary of October 7. Many people have felt disillusioned by the failure of Israel's government to secure the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting his own political priorities ahead of those being held captive. According to Israeli tallies, Hamas-led fighters took around 250 foreign and Israeli hostages when they burst into Israel on October 7 and killed 1200 people. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians. The potential successor to slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been out of contact since Friday. David Doyle from Reuters reports. That's after an Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted Hashem Safieddine in Beirut's southern suburbs late on Thursday. The security source and two others said ongoing strikes have kept rescue workers from scouring the site of the attack. An Israeli lieutenant colonel said on Friday that the military was still assessing the Thursday night airstrikes. He said they had targeted Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters. Hezbollah has made no comment so far on Safieddine since the attack. Reuters correspondent David Doyle. Hamas said Saturday an Israeli strike on a refugee camp in north Lebanon has killed Hamas official Saeed Atallah Ali and his family. Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. The strikes come a day after another Israeli airstrike cut off a main highway linking Lebanon with Syria, leaving two huge craters on either side of the road. Israel began a ground incursion Tuesday into Lebanon against the Hezbollah militant group. This is VOA News. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims come to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah. AP correspondent Mimmi Montgomery reports. The sound of traditional ram's horns is filling the air in the Ukrainian town of Uman, where thousands of pilgrims during an annual gathering to mark the Jewish New Year. Despite Ukrainian and Israeli diplomats warning of security threats, officials estimate 35,000 pilgrims have arrived this year, the same as in earlier years. The town south of Kyiv is transformed for Rosh Hashanah celebrations. People chant and dance in circles holding hands, and the streets are decorated with signs and Hebrew for pilgrims who come to pray at Rabbi Nachman's tomb, the great-grandson of the founder of the Hasidic movement. I'm Minni Montgomery. Ukrainian forces say they have shot down a Russian fighter plane, while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine's east. Photos showed charred remains of the aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire in the partially occupied Donetsk province. In the same province, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that it had taken control of a village. If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the nearby frontline town of Vuhledar following a hard-fought two-year defense. Rescuers dug through rubble in the village of Donja Jablanica on Saturday morning in search of people who went missing in Bosnia's deadliest flood in years. Reuters correspondent Christy Kilburn reports. Flash flooding on Friday tore through a quarry above the village, pouring rubble and dirt over homes and cars. The quarry collapse awoke residents. Glušić says when she went to bed, she heard loud roars that resembled an earthquake. Nizama Begović shared the same experience. "I heard a tremendous rumble," she says. "I also heard screams and then all went silent." An official on Saturday said at least 13 people were killed in the Jablanica area. Reuters correspondent Christy Kilburn. Donald Trump rallied supporters at the same Pennsylvania grounds where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near constant worries for his physical safety. The Republican presidential nominee returned to the site on Saturday, joined by running mate JD Vance, Elon Musk and others on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show. The former president and Republican nominee picked up where he left off back in July. As he suggested he would for weeks beforehand, he began his speech with "as I was saying" and gestured toward an immigration chart that he was looking at when the gunfire began. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |