CBS News
Hamas says Gaza cease-fire talks haven’t paused and claims military chief survived Israeli strike
Hamas said Sunday that Gaza cease-fire talks continue and the group’s military commander is in good health, a day after the Israeli military targeted Mohammed Deif with a massive airstrike that local health officials said killed at least 90 people, including children.
Deif’s condition remained unclear after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night “there still isn’t absolute certainty” he was killed. Hamas representatives gave no evidence to back up their assertion about the health of a chief architect of the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
The Israeli military announced Sunday that Rafa Salama, a Hamas commander it described as one of Deif’s closest associates, was killed in Saturday’s strike. Salama commanded Hamas’ Khan Younis brigade. The statement gave no update on Deif, who has long topped Israel’s most-wanted list and has been in hiding for years.
Hamas rejected the idea that mediated cease-fire discussions had been suspended after the strike. Spokesperson Jihad Taha said “there is no doubt that the horrific massacres will impact any efforts in the negotiations” but added that “efforts and endeavors of the mediators remain ongoing.”
The death of Deif would mark the highest-profile killing of any Hamas leader by Israel since the war began. It would be a huge victory for Israel and a deep psychological blow for the militant group. Netanyahu said all of Hamas’ leaders are “marked for death” and asserted that killing them would move Hamas closer to accepting a cease-fire deal.
Tsafrir Abayov / AP
Hamas political officials insisted that communication channels remained functional between the leadership inside and outside Gaza after the strike in the territory’s south. Witnesses said it occurred in an area that Israel had designated as safe for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. Israel’s military would not confirm that.
On Sunday, some survivors were angry that the attack targeting Deif occurred without warning in an area they had been told was safe.
“Where are we supposed to go?” asked Mahmoud Abu Yaseen, who said he heard two strikes and clutched his children, then woke up in the hospital to find his son had died. The family had already been displaced five times since the war began, he said.
A United Nations official described utter chaos at Nasser hospital where victims were taken, many treated on bloodstained floors with few supplies available.
“I witnessed some of the most horrific scenes I have seen in my nine months in Gaza,” Scott Anderson said in a statement. “I saw toddlers who are double amputees, children paralyzed and unable to receive treatment and others separated from their parents.” He said restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza hamper efforts to provide needed medical and other care.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised the pilots who carried out the strike and said Hamas is being eroded every day, with no ability to arm itself, organize or “care for the wounded.”
At least 300 people were wounded in the strike, one of the deadliest in the nine-month war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 hostage.
More than 38,400 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli ground offensives and bombardments since then, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike in Nuseirat in central Gaza killed at least 14 people at the gate of a school used as a shelter for displaced people, according to an Associated Press journalist who visited two hospitals. Children were among the 15 others wounded. Israel’s military in a statement said it struck “terrorists” operating in the area of a school run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
Also on Sunday, police said a Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem carried out a car-ramming attack in central Israel that injured four Israelis, two of them seriously. Israeli border police at the scene shot dead the attacker after he hit people waiting at two bus stops along a busy road. Israel’s military said four of its personnel were wounded, two of them severely.
Israel Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said such attacks were often “triggered” by events like Saturday’s airstrike in Gaza.
CBS News
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf; forecast to strengthen into hurricane headed toward Florida
Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane headed toward Florida with possible impacts to its western coast, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are expected to be at 40 mph with higher gusts and Milton is currently moving north-northeast, NHC said in an advisory.
Milton is forecast to undergo a period of rapid intensification before it makes landfall as a Category 2 hurricane across Florida’s west coast, CBS News Miami reported.
The forecast comes a little more than a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and across the Southeast, killing more than 200 people and causing immense destruction. President Biden on Thursday took an aerial tour of Florida’s Big Bend where Helene struck as a Category 4 storm. Hundreds of people are still missing and Mr. Biden said the work to rebuild will cost “billions of dollars” as communities suffer still without power, running water and passable roads.
NOAA
Milton is forecast to move across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night then across the south-central Gulf on Monday and Tuesday before reaching Florida’s west coast by the middle of the week, NHC said. Heavy rain is possible in the region starting Sunday into Monday, CBS Miami reported, and more rain and heavy winds will most likely arrive on Wednesday. Hurricane and storm surge watches will most likely be required for portions of Florida starting Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Along with the heavy rainfall, the hurricane center said to expect risks of flooding.
Residents in the area should ensure they have a hurricane plan in place, the National Hurricane Center said, follow the advice of local officials and check back for forecast updates.
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A new Barbie has joined Mattel’s lineup of inclusive dolls. The first “Diwali doll” was announced by the toymaker on Friday, a few weeks shy of the Hindu holiday of Diwali, also known as the festival of lights.
The festival, which lasts for five days, is marked on Western calendars to begin on Nov. 1, but some celebrations start on Oct. 31.
The doll, created in collaboration with fashion designer Anita Dongre, features traditional elements including the lehenga skirt, floral print and golden shoes, according to Mattel’s website. The doll is available at major retailers for $40.
“The look is infused with beauty and symbolism to rejoice in victory of light over darkness with contemporary silhouettes,” the description reads for the Diwali doll.
Lalit Agarwal, country manager for Mattel India, said in a news release that through the Diwali doll, the brand is hoping to showcase “India’s vibrant cultural heritage on a global stage while continuing to celebrate the power and beauty of diversity.”
Earlier this year, Mattel announced the first-ever blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie with Down syndrome.
In addition, to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and Barbie’s 65th birthday on March 9, the doll brand announced it was adding new dolls to its Role Models collection, based on real-life singers and actresses from around the world. They’re not for sale – a one-of-a-kind doll was made for each of the honored women.
The dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything,” according to Mattel.
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Nine years after his murder, Barway Collins returns to a community that won’t forget him
30 days out, Harris and Trump campaigns are in a grueling race to the finish