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AP News Digest 2 p.m.

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AP News Digest 2 p.m.
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AP News Digest 2 p.m.

2024-10-29 01:55 Last Updated At:02:01

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.

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Cars drive around a curve in a forest of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Cars drive around a curve in a forest of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Students of the Hellenic Naval Academy pose for a photograph before the military parade to celebrate the country's entry into World War II after it refused to align itself with a belligerent fascist Italy in 1940, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Students of the Hellenic Naval Academy pose for a photograph before the military parade to celebrate the country's entry into World War II after it refused to align itself with a belligerent fascist Italy in 1940, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Afghan migrant Khatera Mohammedi and her son Kein camp out in a public square in Tapachula, Mexico, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Afghan migrant Khatera Mohammedi and her son Kein camp out in a public square in Tapachula, Mexico, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Electoral volunteers count votes at the former Mapocho train station, now a cultural center, during regional and mayoral elections in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Electoral volunteers count votes at the former Mapocho train station, now a cultural center, during regional and mayoral elections in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

A police officer stands guard as a health worker, center, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A police officer stands guard as a health worker, center, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A vendor shows merchandise in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally outside Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A vendor shows merchandise in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally outside Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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ONLY ON AP

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ELECTION 2024-AP POLL-DEMOCRACY — A new poll finds that American voters are approaching the presidential election with deep unease about what could follow. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research speaks to persistent concerns about the fragility of the world’s oldest democracy. By Gary Fields, Ali Swenson and Linley Sanders. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, audio.

CONGRESS-VOICES — Polarizing. Challenging. A lot of wasted time. That’s how lawmakers describe what it is like being in the U.S. House these days. The Associated Press sat down separately with six lawmakers, three Republicans and three Democrats, to hear what it’s like on Capitol Hill and what they — and Americans — can do differently to make Congress work better. By Lisa Mascaro and Mike Pesoli. SENT: Video, photos, 1,500 words.

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TOP STORIES

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MIDEAST WARS — Israel’s parliament is scheduled to vote on a pair of bills that would effectively sever ties with the U.N. agency responsible for distributing aid in Gaza, strip it of legal immunities and restrict its ability to support Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. By Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With MIDEAST WARS-THE LATEST; MIDEAST-WARS-YEMEN — Ship comes under a suspected Yemen Houthi rebel attack in Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Red Sea; ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-REFUGEE-EXPLAINER — Israel wants to shut down the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. What would that mean? (all sent).

ELECTION 2024-HARRIS — Kamala Harris plans to highlight how government funding for computer chip manufacturers could create factory jobs in the electoral battleground of Michigan, just days after Donald Trump criticized the bipartisan 2022 law that provides the money and said he would rather just charge tariffs. By Josh Boak. SENT: 560 words, photos. All-formats spot coverage of rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With ELECTION-2024 — Harris says crude and racist rhetoric at Trump’s event fans the fuel of division; ELECTION-2024-THE-LATEST; ELECTION 2024-WHAT TO WATCH (all sent).

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP — Donald Trump hosted a rally featuring crude and racist insults at New York’s Madison Square Garden Sunday, turning what his campaign had dubbed as the event where he would deliver his closing message into an illustration of what turns off his critics. With just over a week before Election Day, speakers labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris “the devil,” and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute. SENT: 1,400 words, photos, video. All-formats spot coverage of 6 p.m. rally in Atlanta. With ELECTION 2024-TONY-HINCHCLIFFE — Who is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who insulted Puerto Rico? ELECTION-2024-PUERTO-RICO — Americans in Puerto Rico can’t vote for US president. Their anger at Trump is shaping the race; ELECTION-2024-ELON-MUSK — The district attorney of Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit to halt Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaways as part of his political organization’s effort boosting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign (all sent).

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-ELECTION STAKES — There is no doubt that the U.S. election will determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. The status of military aid from Kyiv’s chief international backer is dependent on who becomes president, as is any prospect for a cease-fire that could benefit Ukraine. Some in Kyiv say the country’s very existence hinges on who wins the White House. By Samya Kullab. SENT: 1,150 words, photos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine, Pentagon says (sent).

JAPAN-ELECTION — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition has lost a majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party remains the top party in Japan’s parliament, but the results reflect voters’ outrage over the governing party’s extensive financial scandals and could create political uncertainty. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 750 words, photos, video, audio. With JAPAN-ELECTION-EXPLAINER (sent).

MYANMAR-FIGHTING — A year ago, before three well-armed militias launched a surprise joint offensive in northeastern Myanmar, the country's military had seemed firmly ensconced with its vast superiority in troops and firepower, aided with material support from Russia and China. Today it is increasingly on the back foot, with the loss of dozens of outposts, bases and strategic cities that even its leaders concede will be challenging to take back. By David Rising. SENT: 1,750 words, photos. With MYANMAR-FIGHTING-TAKEAWAYS.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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THE FAIRNESS QUESTION — They play on the same team, but they couldn’t be further apart. One member of the women’s volleyball team at San Jose State University has signed on to being part of a federal lawsuit against the NCAA challenging the presence of transgender athletes in women’s college sports. The specific person she cites? One of her own teammates. The situation swirling around the team — which has gotten increasingly chaotic, with several teams canceling matches against the school and politicians and advocates weighing in — somehow seems unsurprising in the polarized United States these days. By Deepti Hajela. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

EDUCATION-IMMIGRANT STUDENTS — The school system in Aurora, Colorado, is striving to accommodate more than 3,000 new students mostly from Venezuela and Colombia. Teachers have been helping them by translating vocabulary and handing out written instructions in Spanish. Outside the classrooms, it’s a different story. The city council is vowing not to spend any money helping newcomers. Migrants arriving in the polarized U.S. have been bewildered by its divisions. By Bianca Vazquez Toness. SENT: 2,000 words, photos. An abridged version is also available.

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MORE NEWS

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CHAD-ATTACK — Unidentified assailants have killed at least 40 soldiers during an overnight attack on a military base in the country’s west, Chad’s presidency says. SENT: 240 words, photos.

IRAN — Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who lived in US, executed in Iran over terror conviction. SENT: 540 words.

BRITAIN-AI-ABUSE — British man sentenced to 18 years for using AI to make child sexual abuse imagery. SENT: 450 words, photo.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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RACIAL-RECKONING-POLITICS 2024 — Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by police a decade ago set off more than a week of protests by thousands of people in Ferguson, Missouri. More than three dozen activists, elected officials and political operatives told The Associated Press that the protests were defining moments for America’s racial justice movement. SENT: 1350 words, photos.

VOTER-ROLLS-LAWSUIT-VIRGINIA — Virginia has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene to allow the state to remove roughly 1,600 voters from its rolls that it believes are noncitizens. SENT: 620 words, photo.

ELECTION-2024-BALLOT-BOX-FIRES — Hundreds of ballots are destroyed after fires are set in ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington. SENT: 410 words, photos.

For more AP election coverage plans, click here.

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NATIONAL

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DIDDY-FEDERAL-JAIL — Investigators from multiple federal agencies have launched an “interagency operation” at the troubled New York City jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held. SENT: 610 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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PHILIPPINES-LANDSLIDES — Residents of a northern Philippine town are picking up the pieces following one of the deadliest storms to hit the country this year. At least 152 people are dead and missing after Tropical Storm Trami ravaged northern and central provinces. SENT: 750 words, photos, video, audio.

GEORGIA-ELECTION — Tens of thousands of Georgians have massed outside parliament, demanding the annulmentof the weekend parliamentary election that the president denounced as rigged with the help of Russia. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, video, audio. With GEORGIA-EUROPE — Hungary’s Orban highlights EU dysfunction with a surprise trip to Georgia (sent).

URUGUAY-ELECTION — The leading candidates in Uruguay's presidential election are headed to a runoff, a mostly expected and remarkably civilized outcome that has emerged as an exception in the region, defying trends of bitter division and democratic erosion seen across Latin America and in the United States. SENT: 900 words, photos.

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BUSINESS

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APPLE-ARTIFICIAL-INTELIGENCE — Apple is releasing a free software update that will inject its first dose of artificial intelligence into its iPhone 16 lineup as the trendsetting company tries to catch up with technology’s latest craze. SENT: 730 words, photo.

FINANCIAL-WELLNESS-JOB-SCAMS — Between finding openings, sending out your resume and interviewing, looking for a job is tough. Now a growing trend of scammers impersonating recruiters is making it even harder. SENT: 940 words, photo.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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MED-AIRPODS-HEARING-AIDS — Some Apple AirPods wireless headphones can be used as hearing aids with a new software update. It’s a high-profile move that experts applaud, even if they only reach a small portion of the millions of Americans with hearing loss. SENT: 1,130 words, photos, video.

MED-ORGAN-DONATION-SHAKEN-CONFIDENCE — Transplant experts are seeing a spike in people revoking organ donor registrations, their confidence shaken by reports that organs were nearly retrieved from a Kentucky man mistakenly declared dead. SENT: 850 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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WORLD SERIES-OHTANI'S STATUS — Shohei Ohtani is set to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Monday night despite a partially dislocated left shoulder, according to manager Dave Roberts. SENT: Photos, 700 words.

SOC-BALLON D'OR — Vinícius Júnior is not expected to be at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday when the award for the world’s best player in men’s and women’s soccer in 2024 will be announced. SENT: 310 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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ELECTION-2024-AMAZON-WILLIAMS — Former NBC News anchor Brian Williams is asking people interested in election night news to take a leap of faith with him. He’s anchoring live results coverage for Amazon. SENT: 920 words, photo.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450, ext. 1600. For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

Cars drive around a curve in a forest of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Cars drive around a curve in a forest of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Students of the Hellenic Naval Academy pose for a photograph before the military parade to celebrate the country's entry into World War II after it refused to align itself with a belligerent fascist Italy in 1940, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Students of the Hellenic Naval Academy pose for a photograph before the military parade to celebrate the country's entry into World War II after it refused to align itself with a belligerent fascist Italy in 1940, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Afghan migrant Khatera Mohammedi and her son Kein camp out in a public square in Tapachula, Mexico, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Afghan migrant Khatera Mohammedi and her son Kein camp out in a public square in Tapachula, Mexico, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Electoral volunteers count votes at the former Mapocho train station, now a cultural center, during regional and mayoral elections in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Electoral volunteers count votes at the former Mapocho train station, now a cultural center, during regional and mayoral elections in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

A police officer stands guard as a health worker, center, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A police officer stands guard as a health worker, center, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A vendor shows merchandise in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally outside Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A vendor shows merchandise in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally outside Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Israel's military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on a hospital in northern Gaza over the weekend, while its warplanes on Monday sent plumes of smoke rising over the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre.

Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday, detaining 44 male staff, according to the World Health Organization. Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid.

Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the yearlong war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes. Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians.

The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The U.N. said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians, but say more than a half were women and children. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the total toll over the past year there is over 2,600 killed and 12,200 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Defense Ministry said Monday it has signed a $500 million deal to begin production of a laser interception system that can strike down incoming rockets, missiles and drones.

The Iron Beam will be produced by two Israeli companies and is expected to be ready in a year’s time, the ministry said.

Israel already has an elaborate, multilayered aerial defense system that relies on interceptors to strike down incoming missile fire and drones. But Israel has said the Iron Beam system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. It is expected to be operational within a year

The aerial defense array includes the Iron Dome, which intercepts short range missiles and drones, David’s Sling, which intercepts medium-range missiles, and The Arrow, which intercepts long-range ballistic missiles.

“The Iron Beam will complement the Iron Dome, and the combination of laser and missile interception will further strengthen our defense systems against rockets, missiles, UAVs, cruise missiles, and additional threats,” the ministry said.

The vast majority of missiles and drones fired at Israel during the ongoing Mideast wars have been intercepted. However, some have made it through and drones have become a particular challenge to shoot down.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported Monday that 38 people were killed and 124 wounded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total toll from a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel to 2,710 killed and 12,592 wounded. One quarter of those killed were women and children.

The highest number of casualties has been recorded in the South province, followed by Nabatiyeh, the Baalbeck region and Bekaa Valley.

The health ministry reported that over the past year, 2,041 men have been killed and 9,881 wounded. Women account for 532 fatalities and 2,351 injuries, while 157 children have been killed and 1,129 injured.

In the health care sector, the ministry said that 168 health workers have been killed, 232 wounded and 239 medical vehicles damaged since Oct. 8. Additionally, 79 medical and ambulatory centers have been affected, along with 38 hospitals.

On Monday, intense airstrikes have continued to pummel various villages across South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. In one case, two Israeli strikes killed six members of a single family in the town of Bodai in the Baalbeck province, according to the state-run National News Agency.

JERUSALEM — An airstrike on a street in central Gaza’s Nuseirat Refugee Camp killed 10 people and injured 20 others Monday, according to Palestinian health officials and Associated Press journalists.

The dead and injured were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where they were counted by AP staff there.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The latest deadly strike comes as Israeli forces intensify their operations across northern Gaza.

The war erupted on Oct. 7. last year when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed some 1, 200 people. Israel responded by bombarding and invading the enclave, killing over 43, 000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry’s tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians but more than half of the dead are said to be women and children

JERUSALEM — Israel’s government said it would continue its discussion with international mediators about a potential cease-fire deal in its war with Hamas, as the head of the Mossad spy agency returned from Qatar on Monday after taking part in the latest round of in-person talks.

David Barnea met with the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, and the Prime Minister of Qatar in Doha, Israel’s prime minister’s office said in a brief statement.

“In the coming days, the discussions between the mediators and with Hamas will continue to examine the feasibility of talks and the continuation of attempts to advance a deal,” the statement said.

Washington and Qatar have been key mediators in the stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Many of the militant group’s leaders are based in the Qatari capital.

The new round of talks was announced by the U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week.

Neither Hamas nor Israel has shown any sign of softening their demands since the negotiations sputtered to a halt over the summer.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament is scheduled to vote Monday on a pair of bills that would effectively sever ties with the U.N. agency responsible for distributing aid in Gaza, strip it of legal immunities and restrict its ability to support Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Israel accuses the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, of turning a blind eye to Hamas militants it says have infiltrated its staff, including a small number of its 13,000 employees in Gaza who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. The agency denies it knowingly aids armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants from its ranks.

The bills risk crippling humanitarian aid distribution in the Gaza Strip, at a time the United States is pressing Israel to allow in more food and other supplies. More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.

The bills, which do not include provisions for alternative organizations to oversee its work, have been strongly criticized by international aid groups and a handful of Israel’s Western allies.

UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s foreign minister said in a letter requesting an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that his country reserves the right to respond to Israel’s recent attacks “at the appropriate time.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of violating Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and “a flagrant breach of international law and the United Nations Charter,” which prohibits the use of force against any U.N. member nation.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon called Iran’s request “another attempt by Iran to harm us, this time in the diplomatic arena.”

“We will stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” he said in a statement, stressing that the Israeli attack was in response to an Iranian attack on Oct. 1.

The Security Council scheduled a meeting Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) at Iran’s request, which was supported by Russia, China and Algeria, the Arab representative on the U.N.’s most powerful body.

Araghchi urged the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the letter obtained by The Associated Press “to take a firm stance and condemn the Israeli regime for committing these acts of aggression strongly and unequivocally.”

Israel’s airstrikes early Saturday followed Iran’s launch of at least 180 missiles into Israel on Oct. 1. The Iranian airstrikes were in retaliation for devastating blows Israel landed against Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

JERUSALEM — Israel is discussing an Egyptian cease-fire proposal that would see four hostages released in exchange for a two-day halt to the fighting in Gaza, an Israel official said Monday.

The official said the discussions were both internal and with Egyptian officials. “We are examining every possible option to advance a deal,” the official said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed enthusiasm for the deal in a meeting with his Likud party on Monday, according to another official.

The official, who attended the meeting, said Netanyahu told lawmakers that he would immediately take the Egyptian proposal. He quoted Netanyahu as saying, "I am ready, even now.”

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations about the proposal with the media.

Hamas has yet to formally respond to the plan.

-- By Tia Goldenberg

BEIRUT — Successive Israeli airstrikes have pummeled the southern port city of Tyre in Lebanon following an evacuation warning from the Israeli military for parts of the city, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.

Footage aired by local media and the Lebanese Civil Defense showed thick plumes of smoke rising against the Mediterranean skyline, with fires and widespread destruction of residential buildings. No casualties have been reported immediately.

Following the Israeli evacuation warning, Lebanese Civil Defense teams patrolled the city with loudspeakers, urging residents to leave the area immediately.

An Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on X that Israel attacked Hezbollah targets in Tyre, including “weapons and anti-tank missile depots, military buildings and reconnaissance sites of various Hezbollah military units, including the Aziz unit.”

The Aziz unit is one of Hezbollah’s three military units and is responsible for the western sector in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of launching operations from the Tyre area into Israeli territory.

CAIRO — Egypt’s president on Monday called for coordinated international efforts to establish a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, a day after he proposed a two-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s comments came in a meeting in Cairo with Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament.

“The president stressed the need for all international parties, including the European Union, to combine efforts to push hard for … a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon,” el-Sissi’s office said in a statement. He also called for Israel to halt raids in the occupied West Bank, and allow unfettered and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

El-Sissi told reporters Sunday that Egypt, a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has proposed a two-day cease-fire during which four hostages held in Gaza would be freed.

He said the proposal, which aims to jumpstart the stalled negotiations, also includes the release of some Palestinian prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza and negotiations on making the cease-fire permanent.

Global oil prices are falling sharply Monday after a retaliatory strike by Israel over the weekend targeted Iranian military sites rather than its energy infrastructure as had been feared.

Prices for crude spiked globally on Oct. 2, after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles into Israel, part of a series of rapidly escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatened to push the Middle East closer to a regionwide war.

Iran is the world’s seventh largest oil producer, but if the conflict in the Middle East were to spread, it could drag in some of the world’s largest energy producers. The United States is the world’s largest producer of crude.

On Monday, the price of benchmark U.S. crude and Brent crude, the international benchmark, tumbled 6%.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There was no indication that Iran’s oil or nuclear sites were hit.

MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow has been doing all it can to prevent the further escalation after Israeli strikes on Iran.

Lavrov said that “we are doing everything possible to help end the escalation and defuse the situation.”

“Of course, Israel’s strikes on Iran, which are presented as a response and that now the response has happened, we are even, no actions needed, is an uneasy situation,” he said. “But we hope that the (U.N.) Security Council will be able somehow to help calm the situation.”

He noted that “at this stage, the worst-case scenario has been avoided” for now, but added that “there are someone who want to heat the flame up to the extent when the U.S. get involved.”

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on a hospital in northern Gaza over the weekend.

Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday, detaining 44 male staff, according to the World Health Organization. Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid.

Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the yearlong war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes. Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said there was heavy fighting around Kamal Adwan Hospital, though not inside it, and that weapons were found inside the facility.

The official said medical staff were detained and searched because some of the militants had disguised themselves as medics. The official said the military had helped international organizations relocate 88 patients and medical staff to other hospitals in the weeks leading up to the raid, and that during the raid itself, troops had brought 30,000 liters of fuel and medical supplies from international organizations to help keep the facility running.

The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks.

The UN said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.

— By Melanie Lidman

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard made his first public comments Monday after Israel’s weekend attack on the country.

Gen. Hossein Salami, in a condolence message to Iran’s regular military, called Israel’s strike “illegitimate and illegal.” Four soldiers in Iran’s air defense network were killed in the attack on Saturday, as was one civilian, Iranian state media say.

The attack was “a sign of miscalculation and the inability” of Israel on the battlefield with Iranian-backed militants “particularly in Gaza and Lebanon.”

The “bitter consequences will be beyond the imagination of the occupiers,” Salami added, referring to Israel.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq has submitted a memorandum of protest to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council saying Israel violated its airspace in carrying out its attack on Iran over the weekend, the Iraqi prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The statement said that Israeli “aggressor aircraft violated Iraq’s airspace and sovereignty and used Iraqi airspace to carry out the attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran on Oct. 26.”

It added that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had directed Iraq’s foreign minister to discuss the matter with the United States. The two countries recently reached an agreement to begin winding down the mission of a U.S.-led coalition formed to fight the Islamic State militant group and to withdraw many of the U.S. troops who remain in the country.

On Sunday, the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah issued a statement accusing the U.S. of coordinating with Israel to use Iraqi airspace to launch the attack on Iran and threatening retaliation against U.S. forces.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Monday afternoon at Iran’s request on Israel’s air strikes against the country.

Switzerland, which holds the council’s rotating presidency, announced the meeting on Sunday and said the Iranian request was supported by Russia, China and Algeria, the Arab representative on the council.

The social platform X has suspended a new account on behalf of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that posted messages in Hebrew.

The account was suspended early Monday with a brief note appended to it saying: “X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules.” It wasn’t immediately clear what the violation was. The Elon Musk-owned social media company did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The move came after Israel openly attacked Iran for the first time this weekend. Khamenei said in a speech on Sunday that Israel’s strikes — in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack this month — “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation.

The X account opened Sunday with a message in Hebrew reading: “In the name of God, the most merciful,” a standard Islamic greeting.

Khamenei’s office has maintained multiple accounts for the 85-year-old supreme leader on X for years and has sent messages in a variety of languages in the past.

A second message corresponded to a speech Khamenei gave on Sunday and was sent on his English account as: “Zionists are making a miscalculation with respect to Iran. They don’t know Iran. They still haven’t been able to correctly understand the power, initiative, and determination of the Iranian people.” The message referred to Israel’s attack Saturday on Iran.

This isn’t the first time Khamenei has seen a suspension or removal from social media. In February, Meta removed Facebook and Instagram accounts for the supreme leader over his support of the militant group Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Social media platforms like X and Facebook have been blocked in Iran for years, requiring Iranians to use virtual private networks to access them.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will respond to Israel “appropriately," after Israel openly attacked Iranian military sites for the first time this weekend.

“We are not seeking war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and country and will respond appropriately to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” Pezeshkian was quoted by state TV on Sunday as saying.

Pezeshkian also said the U.S. had promised Iran to stop the war in Gaza and Lebanon if Iran restrained. “They had promised to end the war in response to our restraint, but they did not keep their word,” he said.

The Iranian president also warned tensions will escalate if Israel’s aggression continues, adding, “We know that the United States is encouraging Israel to commit these atrocities.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran announced Sunday that a civilian had been killed in Israel’s attack on the country, without offering any details on the circumstances of his death.

The state-run IRNA news agency identified the dead man as Allahverdi Rahimpour and said he lived in a suburban area of southwestern Tehran.

While offering no details on what he was doing or where he was killed, IRNA made a point to say he was not a member of Iran’s armed forces.

Iran has offered few details on the attack and the damage caused by them so far.

A rescue worker checks a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A rescue worker checks a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese women pass in front of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese women pass in front of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

A building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

A building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Journalists work as smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Journalists work as smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Smoke rise from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rise from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises next of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Smoke rises next of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Journalists film as smoke rises from buildings hit in Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this photo provided by the Israeli army, armed Israeli Air Force planes depart from an unknown location to attack Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Israeli Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the Israeli army, armed Israeli Air Force planes depart from an unknown location to attack Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Israeli Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the Israeli army, armed Israeli Air Force planes depart from an unknown location to attack Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Israeli Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the Israeli army, armed Israeli Air Force planes depart from an unknown location to attack Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Israeli Army via AP)

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows damaged buildings at Iran's Khojir military base outside of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran's onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program, satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show. The damaged structures are in the bottom center of the image. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows damaged buildings at Iran's Khojir military base outside of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran's onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program, satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show. The damaged structures are in the bottom center of the image. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

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