❗️A Hamas spokesman said that among the Israeli prisoners there are “dozens” of people with second citizenship, western media report

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📹🇺🇸 Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. has announced that he will run for US president as an independent.

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⚡️Latest statements by Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the nation:

▪️Netanyahu assures nation that Israel will win 'in this war with Hamas';

▪️Hamas fighters still present in Israel;

▪️Netanyahu ready to establish emergency government without preconditions.

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⚡️Hezbollah says shells Israeli military facilities after death of three of its fighters

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🇵🇬 The twin earthquakes that hit Papua New Guinea this weekend have significantly damaged the runway of the Madang Province's airport, leaving it with long deep cracks requiring repairs, Prime Minister James Marape stated on Monday.

Magnitude 6.7 and 6.9 quakes hit near Madang on Saturday. There have been no reports of casualties and damage so far.

Marape was quoted as saying by a newspaper that the government had tasked a senior inspector with checking the airport for damage.

"[The inspector] identified long cracks along the runway as a direct result of the earthquake. The location of the cracks is between 70m and 170m from the runway threshold. The fence line beyond runway 25 threshold was also damaged," the prime minister was quoted as saying, adding "There will be an urgent pavement repair work to be carried out on the runway and along the fence."

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❗️ The Palestinian side expects that Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip may begin soon, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said on Russian TV channel.

"The cessation of electricity supplies is a very strong signal. We pay for this electricity, we pay for everything else too. It means that Israel is preparing for an offensive on the Gaza Strip, it will start today or tomorrow," the diplomat said.

❗️ Hamas said it does not intend to negotiate on the issue of prisoners while the fighting continues

❗️The Albanese Government wants to drag Australia into the Israel-Palestine conflict, just like they did with Ukraine. Is Taiwan next?

“There are people in the Australian government, who at the behest of the Americans, want to commit Australia to World War III. Let’s keep Australia safe and neutral.”

🇦🇺Do you agree with @AussieCossack?

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❗️ At least 11 Americans have died in Israel since the start of the escalating armed conflict, Biden said

The military wing of the Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad, Al-Quds Brigades, on Monday announced its responsibility for carrying out an operation in southern Lebanon that left seven Israeli soldiers injured.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces that it eliminated several armed suspects who infiltrated Israel from the territory of Lebanon. The Israeli military added that during clashes near the border with Lebanon, two people were killed by Israeli forces, and one returned back to Lebanon.

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🇮🇷🇸🇩 Iran and Sudan have agreed to resume their diplomatic ties after a seven-year pause and intend to exchange embassies in the near future, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The governments of both countries have also agreed to develop friendly bilateral relations based on respect for each other's sovereignty, equality, mutual interests and peaceful coexistence, the ministry added.

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The Hamas operation in Israel has been planned for more than a year, involving almost 2,000 fighters, while there are 40,000 in Gaza, said Ali Baraka, a member of the Hamas leadership abroad.

He denied suggestions that Iran helped prepare the operation and that it was aimed at disrupting US efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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❗️US to announce new military aid to Israel in coming days, the White House said.

There's no plans to send troops to take part in military action in Israel, the White House added.

❗️ Nearly 140,000 people have fled their homes because of the escalating Palestinian-Israeli conflict, shelters are 90% full, the UN agency told Sputnik

🇹🇷 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel in a speech on Monday that it would never see peace in the region if it continued to deny statehood to Palestinians.

"We believe that there will be no peace in the region without the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital. Obviously, the problem in the region cannot be solved by constantly oppressing Palestinians and seizing their homes and land," he said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

The Turkish president criticized the international community for failing to deliver on the promises it had made to Palestinians. Separately, Erdogan urged his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, to work toward the immediate restoration of peace in the region.

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The European Commission will not suspend due assistance payments to Palestinians, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, shortly after the EU neighborhood commissioner announced an end to "all payments."

The top EU diplomat said that the review of the EU's assistance for Palestine announced by the commission earlier in the day would not suspend "the due payments, as clarified by the Commission's press release." This is despite the commission saying that no due payments were forthcoming.

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The tightening of the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel will make the already bad humanitarian situation there much worse, UN Relief and Director of Communications Juliette Touma told Sputnik.

"Gaza has been under a severe blockade for the past 16 years with high levels of poverty, with dependence on UN agencies, including UNRWA, which is the UN agency for Palestine refugees," Touma said. "So, any tightening of the blockade is going to make things that are very, very bad, far, far worse, including for civilians, among them many women and children."

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza strip, including of food, gas and electricity supplies. Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered an immediate stoppage of the water supply to the Palestinian enclave.

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🇩🇪 Germany's Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, faced a significant setback in the Bavaria and Hesse parliamentary elections.

Preliminary results from Sunday's German elections showed the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) winning in Hesse with 34.6% of the vote, while the SDP received only 15.1%. In Bavaria, the SDP secured a mere 8.4% of the votes, with the center-right Christian Social Union (CSU) emerging as the victor with 37%.These results are considered the SDP's worst performance since 2018.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) also made gains in both elections, receiving 18.4% of the vote in Hesse and 14.6% in Bavaria.

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German airline Lufthansa announced that it had canceled all flights to and from Israel until October 14, citing possible security threats in the light of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian hostilities, the air carrier said on Monday.

The airline also urges passengers to check current status of their flight before heading to the airport.

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Will US put Ukraine on back burner while aiding Israel?

The Israeli Iron Dome, a short-range aerial defense system, was overwhelmed by Hamas strikes on October 7, revealing its vulnerability. Following the strike, Tel Aviv asked Washington to assist it militarily, which includes the provision of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), interceptor missiles for Israel's air defenses, intelligence support and, potentially, "more capabilities and weapons" depending on how Tel Aviv's operation against Hamas evolves, according to the US press.

How could the MidEast conflict affect Washington's Ukraine commitments?

Find out here

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The Finnish Border Guard is taking part in the investigation into an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which could mean that there is a leak, a Finnish Border Guard spokesperson said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, energy operator Gasgrid Finland said that the pipeline between Finland and Estonia had been shut down on Sunday night after an unusual drop in pressure, which could have been caused by a leak.

The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) will also be involved in the investigation, the broadcaster said it was told by a spokesperson.

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