A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and that it will last for four days. The agreement will bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. Currently: — Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades — South African lawmakers vote in favor of closing Israel’s embassy and cutting diplomatic ties. — Bahrain government websites are briefly inaccessible after a cyberattack over the Israel-Hamas war. — Gaza health officials say they lost the ability to count dead as Israeli offensive intensifies — Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war Here’s what's happening in the war: US STRIKES BACK AT IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS IN IRAQ Baghdad — The United States military said Wednesday that it had carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq that have launched attacks on U.S. forces. Two officials with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said the strikes hit three locations in the area of Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad, killing five members of the Kataeb Hezbollah militant group and wounding seven. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Iranian-backed militants have launched dozens of attacks on bases and facilities housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. While most of the more than five dozen attacks have been ineffective, at least 60 U.S. personnel have reported minor injuries. The militant groups have said that the strikes are in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that its forces had “conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq … in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups,” including one on Tuesday involving the use of close-range ballistic missiles. ___ Qassim Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. FRANCE IS HOPEFUL ITS NATIONALS WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST RELEASED UNDER DEAL PARIS — France’s foreign minister says she’s hopeful that French nationals will be among the first hostages released as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas. “We hope that French nationals are among them and even, if possible, among the first group that will be released,” the minister, Catherine Colonna, said Wednesday morning on France Inter radio. “We are working for that.” France counts eight people missing, some of them confirmed as hostages, from the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that ignited their latest and deadliest war. France also counts 40 killed in the attack. Colonna said that not all the hostages taken on Oct. 7 were captured by Hamas. But she said that in the course of negotiations, the militant group has said that “it could assemble together all of the hostages.” THE RED CROSS STANDS BY TO ASSIST ANY SWAP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is standing by to assist any swap in the Israel-Hamas war. “Currently, we are actively engaged in talks with the parties to help carry out any humanitarian agreement they reach,” the Red Cross said. “As a neutral intermediary, it is important to clarify that we are not part of the negotiations, and we do not make decisions on the substance of it. Our role is to facilitate the implementation, once the parties agree.” Read More Israel and Hamas have reached a deal on a cease-fire and hostages. What does it look like? Cameron welcomes Israel-Hamas truce which paves way for hostage release Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades At least 50 hostages to be freed in deal for four-day ceasefire – follow live Fifty hostages in Gaza to be freed in Israel and Hamas deal after weeks of talks

Along with giving glimpses from her attending the NYFW, Sunny Hostin showed support to the renowned designer Sergio Hudson

A group of pro-Ukrainian forces said on Friday they were fighting Russian troops on the outskirts of a

The deadly attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians and the devastating Israeli airstrikes and blockade of Gaza have raised accusations among international legal experts that both sides were violating international law. A United Nations Commission of Inquiry said it has been “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides” since the violence started last week. That evidence could be added to an investigation by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas in past conflicts. “Intentional targeting of civilians and civilian objects without a military necessary reason to do so is a war crime, period,” said David Crane, an American international law expert and the founding chief prosecutor of the United Nations’ Special Court for Sierra Leone. “And that’s a standard that both sides are held to under international law.” Even Israel’s staunchest ally has sounded a note of caution. U.S. President Joe Biden, at a meeting with Jewish leaders Wednesday, said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “that it is really important that Israel, with all the anger and frustration and just — I don’t know how to explain it — that exists is that they operate by the rules of war — the rules of war. And there are rules of war.” DID HAMAS COMMIT WAR CRIMES? After breaking through Israel’s security barrier early Saturday morning, Hamas militants gunned down entire families, including women and young children, in border communities around the Gaza Strip. Israel’s health service said it extricated the bodies of over a hundred community members from Kibbutz Be’eri. Militants attacked the Tribe of Nova music festival, gunning down people as they desperately sought refuge. The attacks killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades. Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director of Human Rights Watch, pointed to Hamas “shooting civilians en masse, taking hostages, including women and children — undeniably grave abuses of international law, for which there’s no justification.” In an analysis published on the international law website Opinio Juris, Cornell Law School professor Jens David Ohlin wrote that the Hamas attacks amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the International Criminal Court’s founding Rome Statute. Rights group Amnesty International called for accountability. “Massacring civilians is a war crime and there can be no justification for these reprehensible attacks,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general. “These crimes must be investigated as part of the International Criminal Court’s ongoing investigation into crimes committed by all parties in the current conflict,” Callamard said. IS ISRAEL’S MILITARY RESPONSE LEGAL? The Israeli military has pulverized large parts of the Hamas -ruled Gaza Strip with airstrikes and blocked deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity ahead of a possible ground invasion. The bombardment already has killed about 1,800 people in Gaza, including U.N. workers, paramedics and journalists. Experts say the blockade, which is hitting the territory's more than 2 million residents, violates international law. "Collective punishment is a war crime. Israel is doing that by cutting electricity, water, food, blocking aid from entering the Gaza Strip,” Shakir said. Early Friday, Israel’s military directed the evacuation of some 1 million civilians living in the northern Gaza Strip ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. Hamas called on residents to remain in their homes. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the order to leave along with the siege "are not compatible with international humanitarian law.” Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, also called the order illegal. It is "not an evacuation opportunity, it’s an order to relocate. Under humanitarian law, it’s called forcible transfer of populations, and it’s a war crime,” he said. Israel has also faced criticism for its widespread airstrikes razing large areas of Gaza since the Hamas attacks. But Crane said that Hamas’ base in the densely populated area makes any Israeli military action extremely difficult. “They’re almost in an impossible situation. Every time they fire an artillery piece, an aircraft fires missiles and stuff at a legitimate target, they’re going to collaterally kill civilians,” he said. The Israeli military has “this challenge where you have one of the most densely populated places on Earth where you have a combatant hiding behind and firing from those positions, using the civilians as human shields,” Crane said. Many in Israel’s defense establishment have pledged to fight until every trace of militancy is gone from the territory — even if it means wreaking mass havoc on the besieged strip’s civilian population. But Israel's relentless airstrikes could come under scrutiny, both because of the heavy civilian death toll and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure. “We’re seeing reports of entire neighborhoods, blocks that are reduced to rubble. Certainly that would appear to be, you know, war crimes as well,” Shakir said. “We’ve seen attacks that have affected hospitals and other areas that are entitled to protection.” The Israeli army says it follows international legal norms and strikes only legitimate military targets. “The most pleasant way not to cause any harm to anyone is not to do anything,” said retired Israeli general Giora Eiland. “But Israel has to fight. And how do you fight? You have to bomb them. Or you do nothing. If civilians decide to stay on the streets of Gaza, there will be much more civilian casualties.” CAN THE ICC GET INVOLVED? While Israel is not one of the court’s 123 member states, ICC judges have ruled that the Palestinians are and that the court has jurisdiction over territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The ICC prosecution office's ongoing investigation — spurred by the last major conflict in Gaza — can analyze war crimes allegations from the latest war. But Israel does not recognize the court's jurisdiction and the ICC does not have a police force to execute arrest warrants. ___ Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Read More A father worries for his missing child: 'My daughter didn't go to war. She just went to dance' US cities boost security as fears spread over Israel-Hamas war despite lack of credible threats BBC journalist ‘stopped and assaulted’ by Israeli police FACT FOCUS: Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the facts Israeli shelling along Lebanon border kills 1 journalist, wounds 6 In Israel's call for mass evacuation, Palestinians hear echoes of their original catastrophic exodus

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The Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins close out their series with a strong pitching matchup on Sunday afternoon.Jose Berrios (4-4, 4.22 ERA) is pitching well this month, posting a 2.81 ERA over his last four starts while the Jays are 3-1 in those games.He takes on Twins youngster Bailey ...

The tragedy of the ill-fated Titan sub has sparked a flood of interest in ocean adventures and misadventures but there’s a particular group of people who steer well-clear of such subjects. These are sufferers of the rare phobia submechanophpbia, which is the fear of man-made objects submerged partially or fully underwater. For those with the condition, snorkelling expeditions and trips to the local pool can be fraught with dread as the prospect of glimpsing so much as a ball beneath the surface can be enough to trigger waves of panic. Anyone unfamiliar with the phobia but who recognises such feelings of terror might want to check whether they’re submechanophobics themselves. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Handily, the TikTok account 'br1ghtfacts' has created a test to do just that, featuring images that might seem innocuous to many, but strike horror in the hearts of that unique group. It begins with a picture of a flooded mine shaft before moving on to an eye-popping underwater statue. From there, we’re greeted by a photo of a diver hovering by the propellor of an abandoned ship, then by a pretty convincing statue of a crocodile peeking through the surface. Finally, we’re confronted by what the video’s voiceover describes as “the stairway to hell”, showing a metal staircase leading into a body of frozen water. The slideshow has racked up more than 2.6 million views and 193,000 likes as commentators shared their alarm at the catalogue. Interestingly, the most fright-inducing was the second image: the googly-faced statue. “Number two was a JUMP SCARE,” one TikToker wrote. “I have submechanophobia but number 2 got me terrified,” admitted another. “The second one… my soul left my body for a second,” said a third. While a fourth said they “almost fainted at the statue”. @br1ghtfacts Phobia test - submechanophobia ? Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys and miscellaneous debris. #abcxyz #fypシ #creepy #phobia #fy For readers who manage to survive the challenge with your sanity in tact, br1ghtfacts offer other phobia tests that you might want to try out. There’s one for nyctophophia – an extreme fear of the dark; thalassophobia– the fear of deep water; and even fykiaphobia –the fear of seaweed. All we can say is, we’re glad to have our feet planted firmly on solid ground right now. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 26, 2023--

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone longs for summer bikini pics on the shores of the Caribbean, and plenty shiver at the thought of playing in the winter snow no matter how luxurious the circumstance. Which makes fall getaways to an Airbnb the ultimate crowd-pleasers, especially if they come with an amazing vantage point for leaf peeping. The weather is still crisp enough to enjoy the view from a hot tub or pool, and the golden scenery is even more amazing if you're lucky enough to stay at a waterfront Airbnb.

Leslie Fhima on 'The Golden Bachelor' admitted that she dated Prince when she was younger and that he allegedly wrote the song 'Sexy Dancer' about her