Hamas says Israeli airstrike has killed head of its operation in Lebanon | First Thing

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Hamas said on Monday the leader of its operation in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the country’s south, with Lebanon’s national news agency reporting that the bombing struck a Palestinian refugee camp.

In the past two weeks 1,000 people have been killed and 6,000 wounded by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, the health ministry says, including about 100 people killed on Sunday. The government said a million people – a fifth of the population – have fled their homes.

Meanwhile, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday, attacking the port of Hodeidah and targeting fuel facilities, power plants and docks.

• What’s happening in Israeli politics? The opposition lawmaker Gideon Saar rejoined the government on Sunday, a step that is likely to strengthen the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

• What did Netanyahu tell the UN? On Friday he shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in a defiant speech delivered barely an hour before massive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s leader levelled several apartment blocks in Beirut.

• Follow our live blog here. Today Israel has launched an apparent rare strike on central Beirut. If confirmed it would be the first attack by Israel on the centre of the Lebanese capital since 2006.

Ron DeSantis accused of ‘intimidation campaign’ against abortion rights

Ron DeSantis is making a concerted effort to maintain draconian limits on abortion access in Florida, sparking accusations the Republican governor is conducting a “state-sponsored intimidation campaign” against abortion rights and trampling on civil liberties.

A near-total ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effect in Florida in May, after its supreme court ruled that the right to an abortion was no longer covered by the privacy clause in the state constitution.

Registered voters in Florida have recently reported unannounced visits from law enforcement personnel, which appear to be part of a drive by DeSantis to use state government agencies and public funds to block the passage of Amendment 4, which would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution.

• What is Amendment 4? A referendum, held on 5 November, on whether to protect the right to abortion. Passage of Amendment 4 would change the state constitution to prohibit government interference with the right to an abortion before the “viability” of a fetus, which typically begins at about the 24th week of a pregnancy.

Putin says Russia will accomplish ‘all goals set’ in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will accomplish all goals it has set for itself in Ukraine.

“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” the Russian president said in a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls Reunification Day, when Moscow annexed four Ukrainian regions.

Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, was targeted by several waves of Russian attack drones overnight, with air raid sirens sounding in the capital just after 1am local time. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 67 of 73 drones and one of three missiles.

• Is Moscowstepping up its attacks? It appears that way. Russian drone attacks on Kyiv have intensified as Moscow’s forces target Ukraine’s critical energy, military and transport infrastructure in the run-up to winter.

• How is the US responding? It has accused Iran and North Korea of aiding Russia’s invasion.

In other news …

• The far right won the most votes in an Austrian election for the first time since the Nazi era. The Freedom party rode a tide of public anger over migration and the cost of living.

• Flooding and landslides caused by continuous rainfall have killed at least 101 people in Nepal, according to officials, while 64 people are missing.

• Kris Kristofferson, the country singer and actor, has died. His family said he died peacefully at the age of 88.

Stat of the day: Poverty in Argentina soars to nearly 53% as ‘anarcho-capitalist’ Milei’s austerity measures hit hard

Argentina’s poverty rate has soared to almost 53% of the 46 million population in the first six months of Javier Milei’s presidency, with 3.4 million people pushed into poverty this year. Since taking office, the rightwing Milei has frozen pensions, reduced aid to soup kitchens, cut welfare programmes and stopped all public works projects. Tens of thousands of public employees have been fired, reduced energy and transportation subsidies have pushed costs up, and purchasing power has eroded.

Don’t miss this: Six days of horror – the US’s thirst for executions returns with a vengeance

Five executions, five states, six days. A spate of judicial killings not seen in 20 years took place last week – and there was nothing random about it. “There’s been a radical shift in the legal culture as it relates to the death penalty in the past six years,” said Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. “The refs are gone, there is no more oversight.”

Climate check: Hurricane Helene’s ‘historic flooding’ made worse by global heating, Fema says

The head of the US disaster relief agency, Deanne Criswell, called Hurricane Helene a “true multi-state event” that caused significant infrastructure damage, made worse because of global heating. Nearly 100 people have been killed with many more unaccounted for.

Last Thing: New Zealand reclaims haka world record

New Zealand has reclaimed the world record for the largest mass haka after 6,531 people performed the Māori dance, dethroning France. “We want to bring the mana [pride] of the haka back home,” the organizer said.

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