Jerusalem — Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in north Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding several others, including a pregnant woman, according to officials. The attack targeted a location on a road that leads to East Jerusalem.
Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) said five people were killed in the shooting attack, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking later during a visit to Hungary, said six people were killed and that a pregnant woman was among those wounded.
Police said two gunmen were also killed. The MDA said earlier that seven people were left in serious condition, but it was unclear if that number had changed as the death toll climbed from an initial four to the six announced by Saar.
The dead included a man “about 50 years old and three men aged around 30,” according to the statement from the MDA, which added that it was providing medical treatment to several of those injured.
A body is seen on the ground as reinforcements arrive to the area and roads are closed as a security precaution following an armed attack at the Ramot Junction, at the entrance to East Jerusalem, Sept. 8, 2025.
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty
The late morning attack took place at the Ramot Junction on Yigal Street, an earlier statement by MDA said.
“A painful and difficult morning. Innocent civilians, women, men, and children were brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood on a bus in Jerusalem by vile and evil terrorists,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a social media post. “In the face of this barbarity, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism which prevented even further loss of innocent lives. This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting to assess the situation after the shooting, his office said.
Hamas, the U.S. and Israeli-designated terrorist organization that has been at war with Israel in Gaza for nearly two years, praised the attack, saying it was carried out by two Palestinian militants.
“We affirm that this operation is a natural response to the crimes of the occupation and the genocide it is waging against our people,” Hamas said in a statement.
“The wounded were lying on the road and sidewalk near a bus stop, some of them unconscious,” paramedic Fadi Dekaidek, who was at the scene, said in a statement provided by the MDA.
Police said the attackers had opened fire on a bus stop after arriving in a vehicle.
“A security officer and a civilian at the scene responded immediately, returned fire, and neutralized the attackers,” they said in a statement.
Speaking on Israel’s Channel 12, a police spokesperson said there were two assailants involved, with the force later confirming both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting was one of the deadliest incidents of its kind since the war in Gaza was sparked by the Hamas-orchestrated, Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers the most reliable information available.
Pro-Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was ready enter negotiations with the United States over the release of hostages after President Donald Trump issued a new ultimatum.
“This is my last warning, there will not be another one!” Trump said. Hamas, however, said any talks would not be unconditional—underscoring the entrenchment on both sides.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
Freed Israeli hostages stand on stage with fighters of the Islamic Jihad and Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, before being handed over to representatives of the Red Cross in the southern… Freed Israeli hostages stand on stage with fighters of the Islamic Jihad and Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, before being handed over to representatives of the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on February 15, 2025.
Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Why It Matters
Trump is pressing Hamas to “end the war” by releasing all Israeli hostages taken during the attack on October 7, 2023. Israel has expanded its military presence and intensified airstrikes deeper into Gaza City, saying it is the group’s stronghold.
Hamas insists on the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area and refuses to disarm. It continues to clash with Israeli forces on the ground, even as the group’s capabilities appear to be waning and Israeli casualties continue to rise.
Globally, frustration is mounting over the conflict, with Palestinian civilian deaths numbering in the tens of thousands and famine risks growing amid the ongoing hostilities.
What To Know
In a statement on Monday, Hamas said it had received U.S. ceasefire proposals through mediators, but said any deal must include a public commitment by Israel to uphold the terms and avoid repeating past breaches.
Hamas holds nearly 50 Israeli hostages, of which 20 are still thought to be alive. On Friday, it released footage showing two hostages appealing for the war to end and for their safe return to their families, adding to growing public concerns in Israel for their safety amid intensifying combat.
Trump said Israel had accepted his proposal for a comprehensive deal but that Hamas had not. Hamas says it accepted a separate ceasefire plan from Arab mediators on August 18, to which Israel has yet to respond.
The U.S. is proposing that Hamas release all remaining hostages on the first day of a ceasefire in exchange for Israel freezing its assault on Gaza City, according to CNN.
The proposal Hamas has accepted stipulates a temporary 60-day ceasefire, during which the Israeli army would relocate to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, while half of the 50 Israeli captives would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners within the same time frame, Al-Jazeera reported.
The Israeli military said it struck a high-rise in Gaza City on September 5, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its forces’ planned conquest of… The Israeli military said it struck a high-rise in Gaza City on September 5, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its forces’ planned conquest of the urban hub.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s stated goal is to end Hamas’ rule over the Gaza strip. Since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, the frequency and intensity of rocket attacks on Israel have escalated with major clashes previously occurring in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021.
The October 7 attacks nearly two years ago were the most significant to date, with hundreds of militants crossing the border amid a barrage of nearly 5,000 projectiles. The attack killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Hamas has said it wants to see “the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians” to run Gaza—an Arab suggestion put forward by Egypt.
Egypt, acting as the U.S.’s co-mediator along with Qatar, has expressed concern over the large numbers of Palestinians crossing the border from Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula, which it says undermines its national security interests.
The Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled Gaza government said on Sunday that 64,445 had been killed and more than 162,776 injured since the outbreak of war with Israel in fall 2023. Its data did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
What People Are Saying
Hamas said in a statement via Telegram on Monday: “Hamas welcomes any step that supports the efforts to stop the aggression on our people and confirms readiness to immediately sit at the negotiating table to discuss the release of all prisoners in exchange for a clear declaration of ending the war, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to run the Gaza Strip and to start its work immediately.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Sunday: “Everyone wants the Hostages HOME. Everyone wants this War to end! The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday: “Today, a powerful hurricane will strike the skies of Gaza City, and the roofs of the terror towers will. This is a final warning to the murderers and rapists of Hamas in Gaza and in luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and lay down your weapons—or Gaza will be destroyed, and you will be annihilated.”
What Happens Next
Israel will continue expanding its attacks, Katz said, while details of what the Trump administration could do next are yet to be revealed.
President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown.Related video above — ‘We’re going in’: President Trump vows National Guard deployments as judge rules against him”I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.”Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday called Trump’s post “not normal.””The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and that officials there were bracing for it to begin as early as Friday.In recent days, personnel from Immigration and Border Protection, as well as Customs and Border Protection, have begun trickling into the city, White House officials told CNN.The Trump administration has also reserved the right to call in the National Guard if there is a reaction to the operation that warrants it, the officials said. The Chicago operation is being modeled after a similar operation carried out in Los Angeles in June. A judge ruled this week that the June deployment broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on U.S. soil in most cases; the Trump administration has appealed.White House officials have made clear the Chicago immigration crackdown is distinct from the idea the president has floated to use federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to carry out a broader crime crackdown in the city, similar to the operation in Washington, D.C.When asked by a reporter Tuesday about sending National Guard troops into the city, Trump said, “We’re going,” adding, “I didn’t say when. We’re going in.”Democratic officials who represent Chicago and Illinois also condemned Trump’s post Saturday.”The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” wrote Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on social media. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Trump’s post on X as “Stolen valor at its worst,” writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it.”CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown.
Related video above — ‘We’re going in’: President Trump vows National Guard deployments as judge rules against him
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”
The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.”
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday called Trump’s post “not normal.”
“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and that officials there were bracing for it to begin as early as Friday.
In recent days, personnel from Immigration and Border Protection, as well as Customs and Border Protection, have begun trickling into the city, White House officials told CNN.
The Trump administration has also reserved the right to call in the National Guard if there is a reaction to the operation that warrants it, the officials said. The Chicago operation is being modeled after a similar operation carried out in Los Angeles in June. A judge ruled this week that the June deployment broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on U.S. soil in most cases; the Trump administration has appealed.
White House officials have made clear the Chicago immigration crackdown is distinct from the idea the president has floated to use federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to carry out a broader crime crackdown in the city, similar to the operation in Washington, D.C.
When asked by a reporter Tuesday about sending National Guard troops into the city, Trump said, “We’re going,” adding, “I didn’t say when. We’re going in.”
Democratic officials who represent Chicago and Illinois also condemned Trump’s post Saturday.
“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” wrote Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on social media. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Trump’s post on X as “Stolen valor at its worst,” writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it.”
Israel’s army called Saturday on Palestinians in Gaza City to move to a humanitarian area it designated in the south as it expanded its operations in preparation for seizing the famine-stricken city.
Parts of the city, home to nearly 1 million people, are already considered “red zones,” where evacuation orders have been issued ahead of expected heavy fighting.
Aid groups have repeatedly warned that a large-scale evacuation of Gaza City would exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. Palestinians have been uprooted and displaced multiple times during the nearly two-year-long war, with many being too weak to move and having nowhere to go.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in X that the army declared Muwasi — a makeshift tent camp in southern Gaza Strip — a humanitarian area and urged everyone in the city, which it called a Hamas stronghold and specified as a combat zone, to leave. The army said they could travel in cars down a designated road without being searched.
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli army airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, after the Israeli army issued a prior warning.
Yousef Al Zanoun / AP
The military, in a statement, provided a map showing the area in Khan Younis that the humanitarian area encompasses, which includes the block where Nasser Hospital is located. The area around the hospital has been considered a red zone, though not the medical facility itself. Last week, Israel struck the hospital, killing 22 people, including Mariam Dagga, who worked for The Associated Press and other media outlets. The hospital was not under evacuation.
The designated safe zone would include field hospitals, water pipelines, food and tents, and relief efforts “will continue on an ongoing basis in cooperation with the U.N. and international organizations,” the statement said. The United Nations couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Israeli forces have struck humanitarian areas throughout the war, including Muwasi, which they previously declared a safe zone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The evacuation order came a day after Israel struck a high-rise building in Gaza City, saying Hamas used it for surveillance, without providing evidence.
Palestinians run for cover during an Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, after the Israeli army issued a prior warning.
Yousef Al Zanoun / AP
The war started after Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in their attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with many released through ceasefires or other agreements. Israel believes about 20 are still alive, though the bodies of two hostages were recovered during a joint operation in late August.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half the dead. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Israel says the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed, and that it will retain open-ended security control of the territory of some 2 million Palestinians. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“Lack of food, treatment and possibilities”
Shamm Qudeih, a toddler who was photographed by Dagga and evacuated to Italy for treatment for severe malnutrition and a genetic metabolic disease, celebrated her second birthday in an Italian hospital this week. She was evacuated with her mother and 10-year-old sister. The Italian Foreign Ministry says 181 Palestinian children are being treated in Italy.
A photo of Shamm in her mother’s arms in Gaza went viral for the child’s thin limbs, visible ribs and distressed face. Shamm weighed about nine pounds when she arrived at the Santobono Pausilipon Children’s Hospital in Naples.
Islam Qudeih shows her daughter, Shamm, who is three weeks shy of her second birthday, to journalists at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 9, 2025.
Mariam Dagga / AP
The toddler was “in a serious and challenging clinical state,” said Dr. Daniele de Brasi, a pediatric genetic disease specialist who is treating Shamm. De Brasi said “a big part” of her undernourishment was due to a genetic metabolic disease called glycogen storage disease, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients, particularly carbohydrates, and can cause muscle weakness and impede growth. The condition is primarily managed through a high-carbohydrate diet.
Shamm’s mother, Islam Qudeih, said that the family has moved more than a dozen times since the start of the war in Gaza. It has been a struggle to get proper medical care, she said. Doctors suspected Shamm had the rare condition, but could not test for it or treat it properly. Qudeih said her daughter’s condition “became worse as a result of the lack of food, treatment and possibilities.”
Shamm now weighs just over 12 pounds, which is still no more than half of the median weight for a child her age, de Brasi said. Her current caloric intake is about 500 calories a day, which doctors are gradually increasing. A cornerstone of her diet is a carbohydrate-rich porridge. At night, a feeding tube ensures she gets the right mix of nutrients while she sleeps. Doctors hope to remove the tube in about a month.
Islam Qudeih holds her daughter, Shamm Qudeih, 2, during an interview with The Associated Press at the Santobono Pausilipon Children’s Hospital in Naples, southern Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, where Shamm is being treated after being evacuated from Gaza.
Andrew Medichini / AP
Shamm’s sister Judi has also been treated by doctors after they noticed she was underweight, de Brasi said. Judi has gained about five pounds and is in condition. Qudeih said that she is allowing herself to experience relief as her daughters improve, but she can’t imagine going back to Gaza, where Shamm’s father remains.
“Now there is no way to go back, as long as the war is going on. There are no possibilities for my daughters,” Qudeih said.
A General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper practices landings at March Air Reserve Base on Thursday, Aug 17, 2023 in Moreno Valley, Calif. (Dylan Stewart/AP/Newscom)
On September 2, at President Trump’s order, US military forces used a drone strike to kill 11 Venezuelans on a small boat in the Caribbean Sea. The claimed justification for this action is that the people on the boat were drug traffickers. Even if that claim is true, the killings were unjust and illegal.
In my view, the entire War on Drugs is fundamentally unjust. It kills and imprisons many thousands of people every year, for no good reason, and in the process stimulates the growth of organized crime and associated violence. It has also severely undermined the Constitution. Under the principle of “my body, my choice,” the government should not be in the business of deciding what drugs adults, at least, are allowed to consume. And the way to get rid of drug gangs like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua (TdA) is to end it, just as ending the similarly unjust Prohibition regime was what largely put paid to the organized crime involved in the alcohol trade then. But even if we assume the War on Drugs has some justification, it is a matter of ordinary law enforcement and doesn’t justify gratuitously killing people without due process.
US officials admit they could have interdicted the boat and detained the people on board. They did not pose any imminent threat of violence, and they were not combatants in any war against the US. Calling them “narco-terrorists” does not change these obvious facts.
In addition, it is not even clear these people were drug traffickers at all (they might have been migrants fleeing Venezuela’s horrible socialist dictatorship). If they were shipping drugs, it is not clear they were going to the US, as opposed to Trinidad and Tobago (which was much closer to their location) or somewhere else. It is not illegal for people on a ship in international waters to transport drugs that are banned in the United States. US law only applies, if at all, if they were planning bring their cargo into US territorial waters.
As GOP Senator Rand Paul put it, “The reason we have trials and we don’t automatically assume guilt is what if we make a mistake and they happen to be people fleeing the Venezuelan dictator? … off our coast it isn’t our policy just to blow people up … even the worst people in our country, they still get a trial.” He’s right.
I won’t go through the legal issues in detail here, because national security law expert Brian Finucane has already done so in a thorough Just Security article. The bottom line is that these were illegal, extrajudicial killings.
I would call it a war crime, except that there is no war here, despite Trump’s (also illegal) efforts to use TdA’s activities to invoke the Alien Enemies Act against Venezuelan migrants. So really it’s just an old-fashioned regular crime. Perhaps the president has immunity for his part in it under the Supreme Court’s dubious immunity ruling in Trump v. United States (which is far from a model of clarity). But if so that just means he can’t be prosecuted. It does not not make his actions either legal or right.
I have previously warned against Republicans’ dangerous plans to try to turn the War on Drugs into a real war, thereby making an already awful policy much worse (though at that time they seemed more focused on Mexico than Venezuela). We shall have to see if this strike is just the first of a series of similarly terrible actions; administration officials say it may be.
Back in 2013, I testified before a Senate subcommittee on President Obama’s use of targeted drone strikes in the War on Terror. Ironically (in light of recent events), I was called as a witness by Republicans who worried that Obama was going too far; some Democrats on the committee also had concerns. I argued that targeted killing of Al Qaeda terrorist leaders was legal and justified (citing precedents like the targeted killing of Admiral Yamamoto and SS General Reinhard Heydrich during World War II) but also that there should be somewhat greater due process to prevent inadvertent targeting of the innocent. See my testimony here.
I have not kept up with this issue in detail since then, instead focusing my writings on other matters). But the concerns I and others expressed at that time apply with much greater force to targeting alleged drug smugglers. And unlike Heydrich, Yamamoto, and Al Qaeda leaders, suspected drug traffickers are simply not proper military targets, except perhaps in rare situations where they are themselves about to launch an attack.
Perhaps, though I am skeptical, evidence will emerge to prove that the people killed in the strike were planning a dangerous terrorist attack, or the like. Otherwise, the president committed an utterly indefensible and criminal act here.
Beijing — China will host its biggest military parade ever on Wednesday, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan’s formal surrender. The massive procession will go down Chang-an Avenue, the name of which means “Eternal Peace.”
Joining Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping for the “Victory Day” event — which will showcase some of China’s newest and most advanced weapons — will be Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Rehearsals have been underway for weeks, and security in the sprawling Chinese capital has been extra tight. All buildings overlooking the parade route will be locked down as the leaders and other dignitaries from 26 countries take in the spectacle, along with some 50,000 spectators.
For China’s 72-year-old leader Xi, it will be a landmark moment. It’s the third and most important military parade he will have overseen since coming to power in 2012. As commander-in-chief of the world’s largest standing armed forces, he will watch as tens of thousands of troops under his orders march toward Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.
Xian H-6N jet bombers fly in a formation past a Chinese national flag during a flyover rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2025.
Tingshu Wang/REUTERS
It will be a visceral display not only of China’s growing military might and newest hardware, including hypersonic weapons, nuclear capable missiles, fighter jets and underwater drones, but of its growing clout as a geopolitical power, with deepening ties to some of the United States’ most potent adversaries.
North Korea’s Kim arrived in Beijing Tuesday aboard his green armored train, stopping to inspect one of his own country’s missile production facilities on the way before crossing into China.
The parade will be the first time that Kim appears together with both Xi and Putin — offering him a first multilateral diplomatic event.
A North Korean flag flutters from a train believed to have carried North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as it arrives in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025.
Go Nakamura/REUTERS
The symbolism of the three leaders together on a stage with Xi’s military thundering past in formation will be undeniable. Xi is expected to be flanked by Putin and Kim. Together, they have been dubbed an “Axis of Upheaval” by some Western analysts.
Xi is bringing together the leaders of some of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world. Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the leader of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, President Min Aung Hlaing will also be attending, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is a clear show of solidarity against the West, and it’s being seen as a direct challenge to the U.S.-led world order that has prevailed for a century. Xi and Putin have made their ambition to shake up that status quo clear for at least several years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk at the personal residence of the Chinese leader, Zhongnanhai, in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool/REUTERS
“We, together with you and with our sympathizers, will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order,” Russia’s longtime Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in 2022, ahead of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
The gathering in Beijing will make represent a clear challenge to President Trump’s claim to be fostering close working relationships with Xi, Putin and Kim. Xi’s bond with Putin was on clear and deliberate display in the days leading up to the parade.
China and Russia have declared their “no limits partnership,” and while China claims to maintain a neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s support of the war effort — by providing dual-use technology and continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas in defiance of Western sanctions, has proven to be an economic lifeline funding Putin’s three and a half year war.
During talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Putin hailed “unprecedentedly high relations” with China and thanked his “dear friend” Xi for the warm welcome.
Kim’s support for Russia’s war has been even more direct. Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 13,000 troops, along with conventional weapons, to support Russia’s war effort. South Korea’s intelligence services estimate that around 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces.
A pool photograph distributed by the Russian state media shows North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, June 19, 2024.
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty
The parade will be a show of both China and Russia’s implicit support for Kim’s nuclear weapons program, which remains the subject of numerous United Nations sanctions.
Xi burnished his credentials as a geopolitical powerbroker at a regional security summit in Tianjin, northern China, that ended on Monday. He hosted more than 20 world leaders there, including Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We should uphold fairness and justice,” Xi declared at the gathering of the Shanghai Corporation Organization, seemingly trying to claim moral high ground amid the upheaval and strained relationships caused by President Trump’s global trade war and isolationist policies. “We must oppose the Cold War mentality, block confrontation and bullying practices.”
Without mentioning the U.S. or its president by name, Xi told the assembled leaders of non-Western countries: “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, Sept. 1, 2025 in Tianjin, China.
Suo Takekuma/Pool/Getty
On Monday Xi, Putin and Modi were shown together smiling and laughing at the summit — a deliberate public display of warmth and camaraderie. Just last week, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a close ally of Mr. Trump, called the summit “performative” and accused China and India of being “bad actors” for fueling Russia’s war.
At the parade this week, Xi is not only asserting China as a reliable and stable partner, but also showing off his country’s burgeoning alliances, influence and its military might and power. It is a message that many will see as being aimed squarely, if not entirely, at China’s rival across the Pacific.
Anna Coren, CBS News foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong, is an Emmy Award-winning international correspondent who covers the Asia-Pacific region.
London — European countries are drawing up “precise plans” for international military deployments in Ukraine as part of security guarantees that could be implemented if a peace agreement is struck to end the war sparked by Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday that there was a “clear road map” for possible post-war deployments, and that President Trump had agreed to ensure an unspecified “American presence” to help keep the peace.
President Trump told Fox News on Aug. 19 that he will not deploy American troops to Ukraine as part of any ceasefire arrangement — a point that other members of his administration have made repeatedly.
“You have my assurance,” Mr. Trump told the network following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In her interview with the Financial Times, von der Leyen said Mr. Trump “reassured us that there will be [an] American presence as part of the backstop” to what she said would be a multinational troop deployment.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shakes hands with President Trump during a meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club, July 27, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland.
Andrew Harnik/Getty
The Trump administration has previously suggested the role of the United States in post-war peace-keeping efforts in Ukraine could be to provide coordination, rather than boots on the ground. In an interview with the Daily Caller published over the weekend, President Trump did not dismiss the suggestion that American jets could be used to assist European peacekeeping efforts on the ground.
CBS News has contacted the White House seeking further context on any assurances European allies have been given by the administration regarding an American “backstop” for any multinational force that could eventually be deployed in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has previously rejected the idea of European or NATO troops in Ukraine as part of any peace deal. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said recently that the Kremlin had “a negative attitude” toward discussion of such a Western military presence, claiming it was NATO interference that led to the start of the war in the first place.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for international security guarantees – to prevent a new Russian invasion – as part of any eventual peace agreement with Russia.
But three and a half years after Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale Russian invasion, there has been little indication of an imminent breakthrough in negotiations aimed at brokering a truce, despite Mr. Trump’s urging and his campaign trail promises to end the war quickly.
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet for their summit on the war in Ukraine, at a U.S. air base in Anchorage, Alaska, Aug. 15, 2025.
Getty
He has voiced frustration repeatedly with both Zelenskyy and Putin, but more with Putin’s in recent weeks, for failing to stop the war.
Zelenskyy’s administration – echoed by European partners – has repeatedly pointed to Russia’s ongoing strikes on civilian areas as evidence that Putin is merely playing for time, and not interested in a brokered peace deal while his forces continue to seize Ukrainian territory.
The concern for many in Kyiv and Europe is that Russia could use any halt in the conflict as an opportunity to refortify its forces for a new invasion. Thus Kyiv’s repeated demands for security guarantees.
The so-called “coalition of the willing,” which includes the British, German and French governments, has rallied behind Zelenskyy as he seeks Mr. Trump’s backing to push a ceasefire deal with Russia that doesn’t involve Ukraine agreeing to cede Russian-occupied territory.
Following a summit in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin, Mr. Trump also met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and several European leaders who form the so-called “coalition of the willing.”
Win McNamee/Getty
President Trump and his aides have stressed, however, that both sides in the war will have to make concessions to end the fighting.
“The sense of urgency is very high. It’s really taking shape,” von der Leyen told the Financial Times. “[Trump] wants peace and Putin is not coming to the negotiation table.”
In a speech delivered during a visit to China on Monday, Putin said he had reached “understandings” with Mr. Trump during their meeting in Alaska about ending the war in Ukraine.
But despite the U.S. president’s public optimism on the matter, and a two-week deadline he set Putin to end the war or face a new round of sanctions, no major progress has been reported in the negotiations, and the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities continues daily.
Speaking to reporters Monday in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the “European party of war” of hindering U.S.-led efforts to negotiate a peace deal.
“We are ready to resolve the problem by political and diplomatic means,” Peskov said, according to the Reuters news agency. “But so far we do not see reciprocity from Kyiv in this. So we shall continue the special military operation.”
China is preparing for one of the most anticipated and politically charged military events in recent years. On September 3, in Tiananmen Square, China will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II with a spectacular military parade that is not only a ritual of historical remembrance but also a message to the entire world to be prepared for the war of the future.
President Xi Jinping and several foreign leaders and officials, including Vladimir Putin, will attend the ceremony. The Russian president’s presence is reported to have prompted several European ambassadors to consider defecting from the event, fearing it would contribute to the Kremlin’s international legitimization amid the ongoing war against Ukraine.
China’s New Weapons Send a Message
The parade will last about 70 minutes and will see dozens of formations parading down Chang’an Avenue in the heart of Beijing. Xi, as supreme commander of the armed forces, will review the troops before the march through the square. More than 10,000 military personnel, more than 100 aircraft, and hundreds of ground vehicles will be involved.
The official theme is the celebration of peace and international justice, but the real content will be the demonstration of the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to fight high-tech wars in new strategic domains: cyberspace, outer space, electronic and hypersonic warfare. According to leaked information from Chinese dress rehearsals and official sources, more than 100 models of weapon systems, all domestically produced and already in operational service, will be on display.
Enter the Anti-Ship Missiles
Among the most anticipated weapons are the new YJ (Ying Ji, “Eagle Shot”) series anti-ship missiles, designated YJ-15, YJ-17, YJ-19, and YJ-20. These are systems designed for a specific mission: to neutralize large US naval units, particularly aircraft carriers, the heart of American supremacy in the Pacific. These carriers are part of China’s A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) strategy, i.e., the creation of “defensive bubbles” that can prevent or make it too risky for enemy fleets to access the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the Western Pacific.
China has developed a wide range of anti-ship missiles in recent decades, often starting with Soviet technologies, and then surpassing them with indigenous designs since the YJ-8 in the 1980s, derived from French Exocets. With the new series, China is aiming for a further qualitative leap, combining stealth, hypersonic speed, and artificial intelligence.
The exact specifications are top secret, but from general tests and expert analysis, some distinguishing features come into focus. First: speed of at least Mach 4-6, thus in the range of hypersonic missiles, with terminal maneuvering capability to evade anti-missile systems. Second: range of hundreds of kilometers. Third: combined flight profile, with the cruise phase at medium-high altitude, followed by grazing descent to the sea to reduce the possibility of interception. Fourth: multiple guidance with Beidou satellite, active radar, and IR sensors. Fifth: launch versatility, adaptable to aircraft, ships, submarines, and mobile land platforms, increasing possible saturation against enemy fleets. Put together, these weapons signal to the United States that aircraft carriers are no longer untouchable, and the Pacific is no longer an “American sea.”
Going Hypersonic
Also expected at the parade are new launchers capable of overcoming US missile defenses and providing Beijing with credible strategic deterrence. Rehearsal images show road-mobile ballistic missile systems, an ideal weapon to ensure so-called second strikes in the event of a nuclear conflict. China is developing and deploying a new generation of advanced mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), designed to ensure the survival of the nuclear deterrence force in the event of a preemptive strike.
Among the main models is the DF-31AG, with an estimated range of more than 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles), capable of hitting any target in the continental United States. Next up is the DF-41. Considered the most powerful intercontinental missile in China, it has a range of over 12,000 to 15,000 kilometers (7,456 to 9,320 miles) and can carry up to 10 MIRV warheads, each capable of hitting a different target. It is mobile and can be launched from both silos and rail platforms. Beijing is also banking heavily on the JL-3, an ICBM that can be launched from nuclear submarines, currently being deployed on the new Type 096 class of submarines.
The Lethal Stealth Drone
According to several analysts, the September 3 parade will also feature the FH-97: China’s first unmanned aircraft declared combat-ready. Nicknamed “loyal wingman,” it is capable of operating in synergy with manned fighters, carrying out reconnaissance, attack, and electronic jamming missions. If confirmed, China would become the first country in the world to have a this type of stealth drone declared “combat ready,” ahead of even the United States and Australia, which are still experimenting with similar models such as Australia’s Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat or the US Skyborg project.
Many details remain confidential, but from what has emerged, the FH-97 can carry guided bombs and air-to-air or air-to-surface missiles, and packs sensors for reconnaissance and electronic warfare. In addition, it can network with fighters such as the J-20 or J-16, acting as a force multiplier for offensive and defensive missions. Finally, it should have artificial intelligence systems to maneuver independently, follow preprogrammed routes, avoid threats, and cooperate with manned aircraft. Showing this aircraft in public means signaling to Washington, Tokyo, and Taipei that Beijing is capable of supporting next-generation air operations that are difficult to counter with current defense doctrines.
Block and Tackle
Alongside hypersonic missiles and ICBM, China’s developing weapons include a less conspicuous but potentially revolutionary arsenal: electronic warfare systems and directed-energy weapons. If missiles are the weapon of visible deterrence, electronic and directed energy weapons are silent tools that can blind enemy radar and communication systems, neutralize drones and missiles in flight, and protect Chinese forces from cyber- and space attacks.
China has invested heavily in the field, seeing it as decisive in winning “informatized” and “intelligentized” conflicts. China’s mobile land and naval systems can jam the frequencies used by airborne radars, cruise missiles, and satellites, while some People’s Army brigades combine cyberattacks and electronic jamming, simultaneously targeting enemy hardware and software. Direct-energy weapons, on the other hand, use concentrated beams of energy (lasers, microwaves, high-power electromagnetic waves) to strike targets without traditional projectiles.
Also on display will be the latest models of reconnaissance drones and combat drones, including unmanned underwater ones, expanding Chinese surveillance capabilities in disputed waters. The debut at the September 3 parade of these systems has strong symbolic value: Beijing wants to show that it has not only caught up with the West, but in some areas, aims to surpass it.
This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian.
Taipei — The head of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday he was determined the United States and Taiwan remain “the best of friends,” calling the democratic island claimed by China a “free country,” as he visited with another American lawmaker.
Republican Senators Roger Wicker and Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a two-day visit, as President Trump seeks to strike a trade deal with China — which insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.
China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its long-time stance in a statement issued Friday as the American senators arrived in Taipei, saying it firmly opposed any official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan.
“We come here from the United States bringing a message from the Congress of commitment, of long-term friendship and a determination that a free country like Taiwan absolutely has the right to remain free and preserve self-determination,” Wicker said during a news conference alongside Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office, as shown in video published by the Reuters news agency.
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) speaks during a joint news conference with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in Taipei, Taiwan, during an official visit on Aug. 29, 2025.
Reuters
China’s Foreign Ministry responded to a CBS News request for reaction to the language used by Wicker to describe Taiwan over the weekend, with a statement saying the senators’ visit to Taiwan “and the dissemination of erroneous remarks on Taiwan issues violate the one-China principle and the U.S.-China joint communiqués, undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and send wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces.”
The ministry statement voiced China’s “strong dissatisfaction” with the visit and the comments by Wicker, and said the “future of Taiwan must be decided by the 1.4 billion Chinese people, including the people of Taiwan. China will be reunified, and it must be reunified. This is an irreversible trend that no one or any organization can reverse.”
Even before Wicker spoke in Taipei, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the U.S. delegation’s visit “a serious violation” of the one-China principle, a U.S. policy adopted decades ago that recognizes Taiwan as part of China.
A senior Trump administration official told CBS News on Friday that the White House’s stance on the one-China principle “remains the same as the first Trump Administration.”
Wicker, who chairs the powerful Armed Services Committee and is a vocal supporter of Taiwan, said he and Fischer were visiting to better understand Taiwan’s needs, and they wanted to reiterate to Taiwan “our determination to remain the best of friends and to defend the freedom of everyone and both of our great countries.”
Mainland China and territory controlled by the Chinese government is show in yellow, while territory claimed by, but not controlled by Beijing, including Taiwan, is depicted in brown on this map.
Getty/iStock
“It is our determination and our intention that Taiwan remain free and make its own decisions,” Wicker said after their talks with Lai. “Part of maintaining the freedoms that we have is enhanced cooperation militarily, enhanced cooperation with our defense industrial base, making the best use of those funds.”
Since Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January, there have been growing jitters in Taipei over the strength of the Taiwan-U.S. relationship and Washington’s willingness to defend the island if China were to attack.
Fischer said the U.S. Senate understands “the gravity of the challenges that Taiwan faces” and that a “stronger Taiwan means a stronger United States and vice versa.”
While the U.S. stopped recognizing Taiwan as an independent state in the late 1970s, in favor of China, Washington has remained Taipei’s most important backer and biggest supplier of arms that it would need to defend itself from any theoretical attack by China.
A Chinese warship is seen sailing near Taiwan during military exercises announced by Beijing on April 1, 2025, in an image taken from video aired by China’s state-run CCTV television network.
Reuters/CCTV
That support has become increasingly crucial to Taiwan in recent years, as China’s President Xi Jinping has vowed to bring the island under Beijing’s control. China has increased military pressure with large-scale exercises and routine flights and naval excursions that test the democratic island’s air and sea boundaries.
Ahead of the meeting with Wicker and Fischer, Lai said he hoped Taiwan and the U.S. would further “enhance cooperation,” and insisted the island and China were “not subordinate” to each other.
Wicker and Fischer have been travelling in the Asia-Pacific region for the past week, stopping in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and the Philippines.
U.S.-Taiwan ties have been strained since Mr. Trump took office and launched a global trade war and pressured governments in Europe and elsewhere to spend more on their own defense.
The Trump administration reportedly denied permission for Lai to transit in New York as part of a planned official trip to Latin America this month after Beijing objected. Lai reportedly then cancelled the trip.
Taiwan is also struggling to finalize a tariff deal with the U.S. after Washington imposed a temporary 20% levy that has alarmed the export-dependent island’s manufacturers.
As those negotiations continue, Lai’s government has announced plans to increase defense spending to more than 3% of GDP next year and to 5% by 2030.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.
The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”
Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.
MOHAMMED HUWAIS
Yemen’s Houthi-led government’s Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi visits the offices of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Sanaa, to offer his condolences over the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas movement, on Oct. 20, 2024.
Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.
The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.
In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.
The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said Thursday, in an event that would bring him together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking office in late 2011.Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among 26 foreign leaders who attend next Wednesday’s parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.“We warmly welcome General Secretary Kim Jong Un to China to attend the commemorative events,” Hong Lei, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, told a press conference. “Upholding, consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.”DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Kim will visit China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. It gave no further details, including how long he will stay in China and whether he will hold an official meeting with Xi, Putin or other leaders visiting China.Others coming for the parade include the leaders of Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Malaysia. No leaders from the United States or other major Western European countries are expected to attend, in part because of their differences with Putin over the war in Ukraine. The parade is expected to feature some of China’s newest weaponry and a speech by Xi.If Kim’s trip is realized, it would be his first trip to China since 2019. Since inheriting power upon his father’s death in December 2011, Kim has met Xi, Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and others, but all those summits were bilateral meetings and Kim hasn’t attended any multilateral events involving foreign leaders.In all, Kim traveled to China four times from 2018 to 2019 to meet Xi.China has long been North Korea’s biggest trading partner and main aid provider, but there have been questions about their relations in recent years. North Korea has been focusing on expanding cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and ammunition to support its war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.But many observers say North Korea is expected to take steps to improve ties with China to revive its troubled economy, because there is a limit to what it can get from Russia and it’s also unclear if North Korea and Russia would maintain the same level of cooperation after the Ukraine war ends. In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia, according to Chinese data.Kim’s visit to China could also be related to efforts to restart diplomacy with Trump, who has repeatedly highlighted his relationship with Kim and expressed his hopes to resume talks. North Korea has so far dismissed Trump’s outreach, but many analysts say North Korea would return to talks if it believes the U.S. would make greater concessions.“Pyongyang’s illicit cooperation with Moscow has strained ties with Beijing, even as China’s political and economic support remains vital for the North Korean regime,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.“To re-engage Trump from a position of strength, Kim seeks to repair relations with Xi, and attending the parade in Beijing is a highly visible way of doing that,” Easley said.During a meeting with Lee in Washington this week, Trump spoke of his past summits with Kim, including one at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Responding to a question over whether he would return to the Demilitarized Zone, Trump told reporters, “I loved it. Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy.”During Trump’s first term, he met Kim three times from 2018-19, but their high-stakes summit eventually collapsed due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. Kim has since conducted weapons tests to modernize and expand his nuclear arsenal.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said Thursday, in an event that would bring him together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking office in late 2011.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among 26 foreign leaders who attend next Wednesday’s parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“We warmly welcome General Secretary Kim Jong Un to China to attend the commemorative events,” Hong Lei, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, told a press conference. “Upholding, consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.”
DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Kim will visit China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. It gave no further details, including how long he will stay in China and whether he will hold an official meeting with Xi, Putin or other leaders visiting China.
Others coming for the parade include the leaders of Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Malaysia. No leaders from the United States or other major Western European countries are expected to attend, in part because of their differences with Putin over the war in Ukraine. The parade is expected to feature some of China’s newest weaponry and a speech by Xi.
If Kim’s trip is realized, it would be his first trip to China since 2019. Since inheriting power upon his father’s death in December 2011, Kim has met Xi, Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and others, but all those summits were bilateral meetings and Kim hasn’t attended any multilateral events involving foreign leaders.
In all, Kim traveled to China four times from 2018 to 2019 to meet Xi.
China has long been North Korea’s biggest trading partner and main aid provider, but there have been questions about their relations in recent years. North Korea has been focusing on expanding cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and ammunition to support its war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.
But many observers say North Korea is expected to take steps to improve ties with China to revive its troubled economy, because there is a limit to what it can get from Russia and it’s also unclear if North Korea and Russia would maintain the same level of cooperation after the Ukraine war ends. In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia, according to Chinese data.
Kim’s visit to China could also be related to efforts to restart diplomacy with Trump, who has repeatedly highlighted his relationship with Kim and expressed his hopes to resume talks. North Korea has so far dismissed Trump’s outreach, but many analysts say North Korea would return to talks if it believes the U.S. would make greater concessions.
“Pyongyang’s illicit cooperation with Moscow has strained ties with Beijing, even as China’s political and economic support remains vital for the North Korean regime,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“To re-engage Trump from a position of strength, Kim seeks to repair relations with Xi, and attending the parade in Beijing is a highly visible way of doing that,” Easley said.
During a meeting with Lee in Washington this week, Trump spoke of his past summits with Kim, including one at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Responding to a question over whether he would return to the Demilitarized Zone, Trump told reporters, “I loved it. Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy.”
During Trump’s first term, he met Kim three times from 2018-19, but their high-stakes summit eventually collapsed due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. Kim has since conducted weapons tests to modernize and expand his nuclear arsenal.
Iran has “no choice but to become stronger,” the country’s army chief said Wednesday as the Iranian armed forces continue to gird themselves for more conflict.
The warning by Iranian Major General Amir Hatami comes in the wake of the 12-day conflict with Israel in June, when Israeli and U.S. forces struck Iranian military and nuclear sites, leaving a trail of casualties and inflaming regional tensions.
Newsweek has contacted Iran’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
With all sides on edge, fears of renewed confrontation are mounting, with Hatami’s remarks underscoring a fresh drive to strengthen Iran’s military capabilities amid a volatile and uncertain geopolitical landscape.
Iran faces growing scrutiny over its nuclear program. Britain, France and Germany—known as the E3—are considering triggering the “snapback” mechanism of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 by the end of August, which would automatically reinstate pre-2015 sanctions if Tehran fails to comply with inspection requirements.
With the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) set to expire on October 18, the stakes are high, carrying potential global consequences for non-proliferation and international diplomacy.
In this photo released on Monday, June 23, 2025, by Iranian army press service, Iran’s army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami attends a video call with top commanders, in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran, as portraits of… In this photo released on Monday, June 23, 2025, by Iranian army press service, Iran’s army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami attends a video call with top commanders, in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran, as portraits of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hang on the wall.
Iranian Army Press Service/AP Photo
What to Know
Speaking at an event on Wednesday, Hatami stressed the need to build up the military further, declaring: “We need a powerful army to protect our nation. A strong army is one whose every component carries out its missions and duties correctly.”
He noted that Iran’s strategic position had historically made it a target for external aggression, citing past invasions and conflicts. “This mission is important for every country, but in Iran, due to our strategic and geopolitical position, it is even more significant and exceptional.”
Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the Iran’s annual Army Day in Tehran on April 18, 2025. Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the Iran’s annual Army Day in Tehran on April 18, 2025. Atta Kenare/Getty Images
12-Day War
The June hostilities began with Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites, followed by U.S. airstrikes, prompting Iranian missile retaliation on strategic targets, including the Al-Udeid Air Base used by the U.S. military in Qatar.
The nonprofit group Human Rights Activists in Iran and the Iranian Health Ministry reported that the conflict killed between 935 and 1,190 Iranians, including 38 children and 132 women, and injured over 4,000.
Iranian missile attacks killed 29 Israelis, including one off-duty soldier, and left more than 3,200 injured, according to the Times of Israel.
Missile Defense
Meanwhile, rumors circulating on X and other social media sites included reports that the U.S. had redeployed a THAAD missile defense system from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
The claims, which Newsweek could not independently verify, highlighted a Bloomberg report this month that said the Pentagon plans to spend $3.5 billion to replace interceptor missiles used during the 12-day war, when Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems were heavily engaged against waves of short- and medium-range missiles fired by Iran.
The U.S. Defense Department has yet to disclose any THAAD transfer but typically does not comment on operational movements. The chatter, however, speaks to the strain on Israel and growing concern in the region over the potential for renewed hostilities.
JUST IN: US has relocated a THAAD missile defense system from the UAE to Israel as tensions with Iran grow.
Iran Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami said in a public address on Wednesday: “We need a powerful army to protect our nation. A strong army is one whose every component carries out its missions and duties correctly.”
Former Israeli intelligence officer Jacques Neriah told Tel Aviv radio station 103FM on Sunday: “There is a sense that a war is coming, that Iranian revenge is in the works. The Iranians will not be able to live with this humiliation for long.”
What Happens Next
Iran’s army plans to continue to strengthen its capabilities and modernize medical and combat readiness programs. Commanders have pledged ongoing support for military healthcare and training, ensuring the armed forces remain prepared for future challenges.
BEIRUT — Two Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza on Monday killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, four healthcare workers and a civil defense worker, according to Palestinian health authorities, the World Health Organization and video taken from the hospital.
Coming two weeks after Israeli strikes killed six journalists in the enclave, the attacks add to a tally that has seen Gaza become the deadliest conflict ever recorded for media workers and healthcare personnel, advocacy groups say.
The strikes targeted the top floor of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, with the first attack coming some time after 10 a.m. Roughly 10 minutes later, as a live broadcast from a local news channel zoomed in on civil defense workers sifting through the wreckage with journalists filming nearby, the second missile hit.
“The civil defense is gone! They [Israel] killed the people!” shouts a journalist from Al-Ghad TV as the scene is engulfed in smoke and rubble.
Other video taken inside the medical complex depicts a dust-covered man dragging himself on the floor away from the blast, while a bloodied cameraman is escorted to a nursing station. Hadil Abu Zaid, a British doctor with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians visiting the intensive care unit, in a statement described the scene as “unbearable,” with “trails of blood” across the floor.
The Gaza Health Ministry condemned the attacks, characterizing them as “a continuation of the systematic destruction of the health system and the continuation of genocide.”
In a statement on X, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 50 other people were injured in the attacks, including “critically ill patients who were already receiving care.” He said the hospital’s main building, which houses the emergency department, inpatient ward and surgical unit, was struck.
“While people in #Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to healthcare is being further crippled by repeated attacks,” he wrote. “We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!”
Activists in Gaza said journalists often congregated on the upper floor of the hospital and the emergency staircase outside so as to get a phone signal. Five journalists were killed in the attack, Gaza health authorities and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said.
The latter identified the slain media workers as Mariam Abu Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for the Associated Press; Hussam al-Masri, a contractor cameraman with Reuters; Moaz Abu Taha, a freelancer who also worked on occasion with Reuters; Ahmed Abu Aziz, who reported for Middle East Eye; and Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammad Salama.
Another contract photographer with Reuters, Hatem Khaled, was also injured, the news agency said.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate denounced the journalists’ killing, saying in a statement that “without a doubt [Israel] is waging war on free media.”
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that it carried out the strike and that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such,” and that it would conduct an “initial inquiry.”
Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement describing the attack as a “tragic mishap.”
“The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” he said.
“Our war is with Hamas terrorists.”
Rights groups accused Israel of conducting a so-called double-tap strike, where a second strike follows several minutes after the first. During that pause, rescue workers and medical personnel will assemble. A July investigation by the Israeli news outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call found that double-tap strikes had been adopted by the Israeli military as standard procedure when operating in Gaza.
Monday’s strikes come amid growing international criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which over the last 22 months has led to the deaths of hundreds of healthcare personnel and media workers, and carried out routine attacks on healthcare facilities and infrastructure.
Israel insists that Hamas militants are hiding inside or near healthcare facilities, or that the group’s cadres disguise themselves as medical personnel, civil defense crews and journalists. It has rarely provided evidence proving those accusations.
In June, a group of civil society organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders and others said more than 1,500 health workers and 460 aid workers have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others, most of them civilians. Health authorities in Gaza put the Palestinian death toll at nearly 63,000, the majority of them civilians.
Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza, except on tightly controlled tours with its military. Meanwhile, it routinely vilifies local reporters as Hamas apologists or operatives. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a tally published before Monday’s attacks that at least 192 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Health authorities in Gaza put the toll at 244.
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the fourth floor of southern Gaza’s main hospital Monday, killing at least eight people including several journalists, hospital officials told CBS News. An Official with the civil defense rescue agency in Hamas-run Gaza said later that at least 15 people were killed in the strike in total.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told journalists at the scene that “the death toll is 15, including four journalists and one civil defense member,” according to the French news agency AFP.
The victims were killed in a double-tap strike on the hospital, with one missile hitting first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived, the health ministry said.
Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, the largest in southern Gaza, has withstood raids and bombardment throughout 22 months of war, with officials citing critical shortages of supplies and staff.
Injured Palestinians are carried out of the Nasser Hospital by local residents and rescuers following an Israeli attack on the facility in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, Aug. 25, 2025.
Abdallah F.S. Alattar/Anadolu/Getty
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strike or the reports that journalists were among the victims. Israel has come under mounting pressure over the number of journalists being killed in its military operations in Gaza — including in targeted strikes against individuals whom Israeli officials claim were Hamas operatives.
A hospital official told CBS News that four journalists were killed in the Monday morning double-tap strike at Nasser Hospital. The official identified the four as Husam Al Masri, who worked for the Reuters news agency, Mohammad Salameh, who worked for Al Jazeera, and freelance journalists Maryam Abu Daqa and Mouth Abu Taha.
The Associated Press’ news director for the Middle East, Jon Gambrell, said in a social media post that Abu Aaqa had “freelanced for the AP since the Gaza war began.”
Freelance Palestinian journalist Maryam Abu Daqa, who worked for The Associated Press throughout the war in Gaza until she was killed in an Israeli strike at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Aug. 25, 2025, is seen in an undated file photo.
At least one other journalist was wounded in the strike, the hospital official said, identifying the man as Haithem Omar, who also works for Reuters.
Reuters confirmed that al-Masri, a contractor working for the international news agency, was among those killed. It said photographer Hatem Khaled, who also worked as a contractor for the agency, was wounded.
Israeli strikes and raids on hospitals are not uncommon. Multiple hospitals have been struck or raided across the Gaza Strip, with Israel claiming its attacks had targeted militants operating inside the medical facilities, without providing evidence.
On August 11, Israel’s military targeted and killed five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, including correspondent Anas al-Sharif. The Israel Defense Forces said it had intelligence and documents from Gaza to prove al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell, and the IDF shared undatedphotos of Al-Sharif with Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, who was killed last October.
CBS News could not verify the authenticity of the photos. Al Jazeera and al-Sharif had previously dismissed Israel’s claims as baseless, The Associated Press reported. Just three weeks ago, al-Sharif had appealed to the Committee to Protect Journalists over fears he might be assassinated.
This screen grab taken from AFPTV on August 11, 2025 shows Al-Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif speaking during an AFP interview in Gaza City on August 1, 2024.
AFP/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
A June strike on Nasser Hospital killed three people and wounded 10, according to the health ministry. At the time, Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas militants operating from a command and control center inside the hospital.
The Hamas-run health ministry said Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 others taken as hostages.
The ministry does not distinguish in its figures between fighters and civilians, but it says around half of those killed have been women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable information available on war casualties, as such figures are difficult to independently verify as Israel does not permit foreign journalists into Gaza.
Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said President Donald Trump has laid bare Washington’s true goal toward Iran—submission.
“The man who is now in office in the U.S. wants Iran to be obedient to the US,” Khamenei said on his official X account, signaling Tehran has no intention of backing down even as U.S. and European powers threaten fresh sanctions.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.
Why It Matters
Iran is locked in a high-stakes standoff with the U.S. and Western powers over the future of its nuclear enrichment program. Tensions soared and diplomacy stalled following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, with Trump threatening further attacks if Iran does not change course.
Tehran says its military is at a high state of readiness amid concerns over more attacks under a fragile ceasefire with Israel
In this photo released by the official website of the Supreme Leader’s Office on Thursday, June 26, 2025, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears among his supporters for the first time since the Iran-Israel… In this photo released by the official website of the Supreme Leader’s Office on Thursday, June 26, 2025, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears among his supporters for the first time since the Iran-Israel war, in Tehran, Iran.
Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran/Getty Images
What To Know
Khamanei said Trump’s statements and actions were part of a U.S. effort to subdue Iran, calling them “a grave insult” to the nation, and vowed that Iran “will stand with all its might against anyone who has such a wrongful expectation,” he said on Sunday.
Khamenei dismissed calls for direct talks with Washington as naive, arguing that they ignore the deeper conflict. “This is not a matter that can be resolved.”
The Trump administration has targeted Iranian oil firms and vessels, tightening the economic noose with sanctions before and after the nuclear talks—ultimately derailed by Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent U.S. bombing of its key nuclear facilities.
Khamenei further accused the U.S. of backing Israel against Iran, prompting Tehran’s retaliatory strikes. He called for concrete measures against Israel’s “crimes” toward Palestinians, praising the Yemen-based Houthi militant group, whom Tehran supports, as a model of resistance.
What People Are Saying
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in a public address on August 24: “The gentleman currently in power in America has revealed their true objective. He said their confrontation with Iran is because they want Iran to obey America’s commands, meaning, in reality, they want the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic system to submit to their commands. […] The Iranian nation feels deeply offended by such a grave insult, and it will stand with all its might against anyone who has such a wrongful expectation of it.
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on August 7: “Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords. This will insure PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
What Happens Next
Iran could face new sanctions under a “snapback mechanism” that European powers have threatened to trigger by the end of the month if no progress is made in nuclear negotiations.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the California State Capitol to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, creating a somber yet spirited celebration as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.”This day is a reminder to the whole world what freedom is about. And Ukraine fighting for their freedom,” said Vlad Skots, a Ukrainian American.Skots explained the evening’s significance, noting, “I would say we are not necessarily celebrating. We are here to remark the courage of the Ukrainian people. We are here to celebrate the American support.”While many Ukrainians want to celebrate, they are also mourning the lives lost in the fight to protect their freedom as the war continues.”The war today, it’s not only Ukrainian problem, that’s the global problem. And I deeply believe the United States will support Ukraine,” Skots said.Despite the current state of their country, attendees waved Ukrainian flags, danced to music and created a sense of community for refugees like Liana Lischenko, who arrived in Sacramento three years ago. “I remember my country, and I realize that I’m in Ukraine right now, and I have friends here who speak Ukrainian. And this is so kind,” Lischenko said.The gathering served as an important reminder of what they are still fighting for. “It’s not something particularly about country. It’s not about this group as a country only. No, that’s more than country. This is our value, our freedom, independence, what we stand for and what we will fight for,” Skots said.The event raised money for the Ukrainian military and featured multiple resource tents for those looking to get involved in the community.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the California State Capitol to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, creating a somber yet spirited celebration as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
“This day is a reminder to the whole world what freedom is about. And Ukraine fighting for their freedom,” said Vlad Skots, a Ukrainian American.
Skots explained the evening’s significance, noting, “I would say we are not necessarily celebrating. We are here to remark the courage of the Ukrainian people. We are here to celebrate the American support.”
While many Ukrainians want to celebrate, they are also mourning the lives lost in the fight to protect their freedom as the war continues.
“The war today, it’s not only Ukrainian problem, that’s the global problem. And I deeply believe the United States will support Ukraine,” Skots said.
Despite the current state of their country, attendees waved Ukrainian flags, danced to music and created a sense of community for refugees like Liana Lischenko, who arrived in Sacramento three years ago.
“I remember my country, and I realize that I’m in Ukraine right now, and I have friends here who speak Ukrainian. And this is so kind,” Lischenko said.
The gathering served as an important reminder of what they are still fighting for.
“It’s not something particularly about country. It’s not about this group as a country only. No, that’s more than country. This is our value, our freedom, independence, what we stand for and what we will fight for,” Skots said.
The event raised money for the Ukrainian military and featured multiple resource tents for those looking to get involved in the community.
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, including people sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food, local hospitals said as a famine in Gaza’s largest city sparks new pressure on Israel over its 22-month offensive.Israel’s defense minister has warned that Gaza City could be destroyed in a new military operation perhaps just days away, even as famine spreads there.Aid groups have long warned that the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation.Israel has rejected the data-based famine declaration as “an outright lie.” Hamas recently agreed to the terms for a six-week ceasefire, but hopes for a ceasefire that could forestall the offensive are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps. Women and children struck and killed in tentsIsraeli strikes killed at least 17 people in southern Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital. The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.“Awad, why did you leave me?” a small boy asked his brother’s plastic-wrapped body.Another grieving relative, Hekmat Foujo, pleaded for a truce.“We want to rest,” Foujo said through her tears. ‘’Have some mercy on us.”In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where U.N. and other agencies’ truck convoys enter the territory, health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital told the AP.Six people were killed in attacks elsewhere, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.Israel’s military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis at that location and was looking into the other incidents.Braving gunfire and crowds for foodMohamed Saada was among thousands of people who sought food from a delivery in the Zikim area on Saturday — and one of many who left empty-handed.“I came here to bring food for my children but couldn’t get anything, due to the huge numbers of people and the difficulty of the situation between the shootings and the trucks running over people,” he said.Some carried sacks of food like lentils and flour. Others carried the wounded, including on a wooden pallet. They navigated fetid puddles and the rubble of war as temperatures reached above 92 degrees Fahrenheit.Friday’s report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza City is gripped by famine that is likely to spread if fighting and restrictions on aid continue. It said nearly half a million people in Gaza — about one-fourth of the population — face catastrophic hunger.The rare pronouncement came after Israel imposed a 2 1/2-month total blockade on Gaza earlier this year, then resumed some access with a focus on a new U.S.-backed private aid supplier, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Over 1,000 people have been killed near GHF distribution sites.In response to global outrage over images of emaciated children, Israel has also allowed airdrops and a new influx of aid by land, but the U.N. and others say it’s still far from enough.AP journalists have seen chaos on roads leading to aid deliveries, and there have been almost daily reports of Israeli troops firing toward aid-seekers. Israel’s military says it fires warning shots if people approach troops or pose a threat.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office asserts it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war. It also accuses Hamas of starving the Israeli hostages it holds.An increase in Israeli airstrikes this monthWith ground troops already active in strategic areas, the military operation in Gaza City could start within days in an area that has hundreds of thousands of civilians.Aid group Doctors without Borders, or MSF, said its clinics around Gaza City are seeing high numbers of patients as people flee. Caroline Willemen, MSF project coordinator in the city, noted a marked increase in airstrikes since early August.“Those who have not moved are wondering what they should do,” she told the AP. “People want to stay; they have been displaced endlessly before, but they also know that at some point, it will become very dangerous to remain.”Israel’s military has said troops are operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and in the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Israel says Gaza City is still a Hamas stronghold, with a network of militant tunnels.Ceasefire efforts await Israel’s responseMany Israelis fear the assault on Gaza City could doom the 20 hostages who are believed to have survived captivity since 2023. A further 30 are thought to be dead. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested a week ago for a deal to end the war and bring everyone home.Netanyahu said Thursday he had instructed officials to begin immediate negotiations to release hostages and end the war on Israel’s terms. It was unclear if Israel would return to talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar after Hamas said earlier this week it accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators.Hamas has said it will release hostages in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarming without the creation of a Palestinian state.U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with Hamas’ stance, suggesting the militant group is less interested in making deals with few hostages left alive.“I actually think (the hostages are) safer in many ways if you went in and you really went in fast and you did it,” Trump told reporters Friday.Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 62,622 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee.The total number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 281, the ministry said.Israeli protest against far-right security ministerA small group of Israelis protested against the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as he walked to a synagogue in Kfar Malal, north of Tel Aviv. Videos showed the minister arguing with the protesters.“We don’t want him in our village. Our message is to bring back the hostages,” one of the protesters, Boaz Levinstein, told the AP.Ben-Gvir is a key partner in Netanyahu’s political coalition and a staunch opponent of reaching a deal with Hamas, which hostages’ families see as the only way to secure the release of loved ones. Magdy reported from Cairo. Sam Mednick in Jerusalem and Michelle Price in Washington contributed.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip —
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, including people sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food, local hospitals said as a famine in Gaza’s largest city sparks new pressure on Israel over its 22-month offensive.
Israel’s defense minister has warned that Gaza City could be destroyed in a new military operation perhaps just days away, even as famine spreads there.
Aid groups have long warned that the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation.
Israel has rejected the data-based famine declaration as “an outright lie.”
Hamas recently agreed to the terms for a six-week ceasefire, but hopes for a ceasefire that could forestall the offensive are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps.
Women and children struck and killed in tents
Israeli strikes killed at least 17 people in southern Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital. The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.
“Awad, why did you leave me?” a small boy asked his brother’s plastic-wrapped body.
Another grieving relative, Hekmat Foujo, pleaded for a truce.
“We want to rest,” Foujo said through her tears. ‘’Have some mercy on us.”
In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where U.N. and other agencies’ truck convoys enter the territory, health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital told the AP.
Six people were killed in attacks elsewhere, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel’s military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis at that location and was looking into the other incidents.
Braving gunfire and crowds for food
Mohamed Saada was among thousands of people who sought food from a delivery in the Zikim area on Saturday — and one of many who left empty-handed.
“I came here to bring food for my children but couldn’t get anything, due to the huge numbers of people and the difficulty of the situation between the shootings and the trucks running over people,” he said.
Some carried sacks of food like lentils and flour. Others carried the wounded, including on a wooden pallet. They navigated fetid puddles and the rubble of war as temperatures reached above 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
Friday’s report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza City is gripped by famine that is likely to spread if fighting and restrictions on aid continue. It said nearly half a million people in Gaza — about one-fourth of the population — face catastrophic hunger.
The rare pronouncement came after Israel imposed a 2 1/2-month total blockade on Gaza earlier this year, then resumed some access with a focus on a new U.S.-backed private aid supplier, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Over 1,000 people have been killed near GHF distribution sites.
In response to global outrage over images of emaciated children, Israel has also allowed airdrops and a new influx of aid by land, but the U.N. and others say it’s still far from enough.
AP journalists have seen chaos on roads leading to aid deliveries, and there have been almost daily reports of Israeli troops firing toward aid-seekers. Israel’s military says it fires warning shots if people approach troops or pose a threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office asserts it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war. It also accuses Hamas of starving the Israeli hostages it holds.
An increase in Israeli airstrikes this month
With ground troops already active in strategic areas, the military operation in Gaza City could start within days in an area that has hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Aid group Doctors without Borders, or MSF, said its clinics around Gaza City are seeing high numbers of patients as people flee. Caroline Willemen, MSF project coordinator in the city, noted a marked increase in airstrikes since early August.
“Those who have not moved are wondering what they should do,” she told the AP. “People want to stay; they have been displaced endlessly before, but they also know that at some point, it will become very dangerous to remain.”
Israel’s military has said troops are operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and in the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Israel says Gaza City is still a Hamas stronghold, with a network of militant tunnels.
Ceasefire efforts await Israel’s response
Many Israelis fear the assault on Gaza City could doom the 20 hostages who are believed to have survived captivity since 2023. A further 30 are thought to be dead. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested a week ago for a deal to end the war and bring everyone home.
Netanyahu said Thursday he had instructed officials to begin immediate negotiations to release hostages and end the war on Israel’s terms. It was unclear if Israel would return to talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar after Hamas said earlier this week it accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators.
Hamas has said it will release hostages in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarming without the creation of a Palestinian state.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with Hamas’ stance, suggesting the militant group is less interested in making deals with few hostages left alive.
“I actually think (the hostages are) safer in many ways if you went in and you really went in fast and you did it,” Trump told reporters Friday.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 62,622 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee.
The total number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 281, the ministry said.
Israeli protest against far-right security minister
A small group of Israelis protested against the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as he walked to a synagogue in Kfar Malal, north of Tel Aviv. Videos showed the minister arguing with the protesters.
“We don’t want him in our village. Our message is to bring back the hostages,” one of the protesters, Boaz Levinstein, told the AP.
Ben-Gvir is a key partner in Netanyahu’s political coalition and a staunch opponent of reaching a deal with Hamas, which hostages’ families see as the only way to secure the release of loved ones.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Sam Mednick in Jerusalem and Michelle Price in Washington contributed.
Palestinians sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food aid were among at least 33 people killed by Israeli strikes and shootings Saturday in Gaza, according to local hospitals, as the world confronted an exceptional announcement that famine is now gripping Gaza’s largest city.
The famine determination by the world’s leading authority on food crises galvanized governments and aid groups to intensify pleas for Israel to halt its 22-month offensive on Gaza, prompted by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Aid groups have warned for months that the war and Israel’s restrictions of food into Gaza are causing starvation among civilians.
Israel denounced the famine declaration as lies and the military is pressing ahead with preparations to seize Gaza City. Efforts toward a ceasefire that could forestall the offensive are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps.
Israeli strikes killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital. The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, which became home to hundreds of thousands who had fled from elsewhere in Gaza. More than half of the dead were women and children.
Mourners pray over the bodies of three Palestinians, killed along with others in Israeli strikes, during their funeral outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025.
Mariam Dagga / AP
Awad Abu Agala, uncle of two children who died, said no place in Gaza is now safe.
“The entire Gaza Strip is being bombed … In the south. In the north. Everywhere,” Abu Agala told The Associated Press, saying the children were targeted overnight while in their tents.
A grieving relative, Hekmat Foujo, pleaded for a truce.
“We want to rest,” Foujo said, fighting through her tears. ”Have some mercy on us.”
In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers Saturday near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where U.N. and other agencies’ convoys enter the enclave, health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital told the AP.
Six people were killed in other attacks on Gaza elsewhere Saturday, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about the deaths.
A famine announcement ups the pressure
A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Friday that Gaza City is gripped by famine that is likely to spread if fighting and restrictions on humanitarian aid continue.
It was a highly rare pronouncement by the group, its first in the Middle East, and came after Israel imposed a 2 1/2-month blockade on Gaza earlier this year, then eased access with a focus on a new U.S.-backed private aid supplier, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF.
In response to global outrage over images of emaciated children, Israel in recent weeks has allowed airdrops and a new influx of aid entering by land, but U.N. and other aid agencies say the quantity of food reaching Gaza is still insufficient.
Somoud Wahdan looks at the camera while she and her child wait for trucks of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza City, July 25, 2025.
Abdel Kareem Hana / AP
AP journalists have seen chaos and security problems on roads leading to aid delivery points, and there have been reports of Israeli troops firing toward aid-seekers. Israel’s military says they fire warning shots if individuals approach the troops or pose a threat to soldiers.
The IPC said nearly half a million people in Gaza, about one-fourth of the population, face catastrophic hunger that leaves many at risk of dying. It said hunger has been magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production.
Netanyahu’s office denounced the IPC report as “an outright lie,” and accuses Hamas of starving the hostages. Israel says it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war.
Activity is escalating ahead of Gaza City offensive
With ground troops already active on the edges of Gaza City, a wide-scale operation there could start within days.
Aid group Doctors without Borders, or MSF, said Saturday its clinics around Gaza City are seeing high numbers of patients as people flee recent bombardments. The group said in a statement that “strikes are forcing people, including MSF staff, to flee their homes once again, and we are seeing displacement across Gaza City.”
A Palestinian woman mourns her relative, who was killed along with others in Israeli strikes, during their funeral outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025.
Mariam Dagga / AP
The Israeli military has said troops are operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and in the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood.
Israel says Gaza City is still a Hamas stronghold, with a network of militant tunnels. The city also is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, some of whom have fled from elsewhere.
Ceasefire efforts await Israel’s response
Many Israelis fear the assault on Gaza City could doom the roughly 20 hostages who have survived captivity since 2023.
Netanyahu said Thursday he had instructed officials to begin immediate negotiations to release hostages and end the war on Israel’s terms. It is unclear if Israel will return to long-running talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar after Hamas said earlier this week that it accepted a new proposal from the Arab mediators.
Hamas has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Hamas’ stance, suggesting the militant group was less interested in making deals to release hostages with so few left alive.
“The situation has to end. It’s extortion, and it has to end,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I actually think (the hostages are) safer in many ways if you went in and you really went in fast and you did it.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday that at least 62,622 people have been killed since the war began, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee.
The total number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 281, the ministry said.
Israeli protest against far-right security minister
A small group of Israelis protested against the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as he walked to a synagogue in Kfar Malal, north of Tel Aviv. Videos showed the minister arguing with the protesters.
“We don’t want him in our village. Our message is to bring back the hostages,” one of the protesters, Boaz Levinstein, told the AP.
Ben-Gvir is a key partner in Netanyahu’s political coalition and a staunch opponent of reaching a deal with Hamas, which hostages’ families see as the only way to secure the release of loved ones.
The Gaza Strip’s largest city is now gripped by famine, according to the world’s leading authority on food crises. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Friday that famine was occurring in Gaza City and that this was likely to spread to the southern cities of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Aid groups and food security experts have warned for months that Gaza was on the brink of famine, but the IPC report is the first official declaration that the situation has reached this level. Israel immediately rejected the IPC’s assessment, with the foreign ministry repeating bluntly a claim it has made for months, that “there is no famine in Gaza.”
But the IPC — which is comprised of more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies and was first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia — said it had concluded based on “reasonable evidence” that famine “is confirmed in Gaza Governorate.”
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 16, 2025.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death,” the group said, warning that 1.07 million more people in Gaza were currently in a slightly lower starvation risk category, and that the circumstances were likely to expand within the densely populated Palestinian territory.
“Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with Famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58 percent). Acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly.”
The IPC said for the next year at least, “at least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition — double the IPC estimates from May 2025. This includes over 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death.”
In a separate statement, Tom Fletcher, who heads the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Israel’s “systematic obstruction” of aid had caused the famine in Gaza.
“It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” Fletcher told reporters in Geneva, calling it “a famine that will and must haunt us all.”
Israel insists “there is no famine in Gaza”
In a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry categorically rejected the findings of the UN-backed report.
“There is no famine in Gaza,” the ministry said, accusing the IPC of presenting a report “based on Hamas lies laundered through organizations with vested interests.”
“Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, and in recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices, which have plummeted in the markets,” the ministry said.
While more humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza in recent weeks, as Israel has come under intense international pressure, aid organizations say it is nowhere near the amount required. A controversial new U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid distribution group has also come under sharp criticism over the killing of numerous civilians near its four distribution hubs in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly denied that there is widespread hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation “lies” promoted by Hamas.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to Gaza, said the report was “false and biased.” It said that in recent weeks significant steps had been taken to expand the amount of aid entering the strip.
What does a famine classification mean?
Famine can appear in pockets, sometimes small ones, and so a formal classification requires caution, food security experts say. The IPC has only confirmed famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and last year in parts of Sudan’s western Darfur region. This is the first confirmed famine in the Middle East.
The IPC rates an area as in famine when all three of these conditions are confirmed:
20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving.
At least 30% of children 6 months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition, based on a weight-to-height measurement; or 15% of that age group suffer from acute malnutrition based on the circumference of their upper arm.
At least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
Gaza has posed a major challenge for experts because Israel severely limits access to the territory, making it difficult to gather and confirm data.
In a separate report Friday, the Famine Review Committee, or FRC, said it, too, had concluded there was famine in part of Gaza. The FRC is a group of independent international food security experts regularly consulted by the IPC.
The group acts as an added layer of verification when the data shows there could be famine.
The data analyzed between July 1 and August 15 showed clear evidence that thresholds for starvation and acute malnutrition have been reached, according to the IPC. Gathering data for mortality has been harder, but the IPC said it is reasonable to conclude from the evidence that the necessary threshold has likely been reached.
Most cases of severe malnutrition in children arise through a combination of lack of nutrients along with an infection, leading to diarrhea and other symptoms that cause dehydration, said Alex de Waal, author of “Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine” and executive director of the World Peace Foundation.
“There are no standard guidelines for physicians to classify cause of death as ‘malnutrition’ as opposed to infection,” he said.
Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 574 drones and 40 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Most of the weapons were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses, but the massive assault was far from unusual, and officials said at least one person was killed and 15 injured.
Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack hit energy infrastructure, private homes, an American electronics factory — where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 15 injuries were sustained, and a kindergarten.
“Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They struck civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and our people,” Zelenskyy said in a message posted on social media. He called the electronics plant an “American investment” and an “ordinary civilian enterprise” producing “everyday items as coffee machines.”
“This is also a target for the Russians. Very telling. The fire is still being extinguished at the enterprise. As of now, 15 people are known to have been affected by this strike. All of them have been provided with the necessary assistance,” he said.
Emergency services and firefighting teams work at the scene after a Russian missile attack hit a U.S.-owned factory in Zakarpattia, Ukraine, Aug. 21, 2025.
Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu/Getty
Alluding to President Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war, including the bilateral summit between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just a week earlier, Zelenskyy condemned Moscow for launching the new strike “as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war.”
“A response is needed,” he added. “So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs.”
There has been a lot of talk — outside of Ukraine — about a peace deal amid Mr. Trump’s ramped-up diplomacy. But inside Ukraine, people continue to live and die in a war zone more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Many in the country, like their president, simply don’t believe that Putin really wants to end the war. They think he’s just playing along with the ceasefire narrative to avoid angering Mr. Trump.
And in the meantime, Putin’s army continues to expand its massive seizure of territory in eastern Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry claimed Thursday that forces had captured yet another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
A map of Ukraine shows the percentage of different regions under Russian control, displayed in the Oval Office during President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, on Aug. 18, 2025.
BBC News
Major Taras Berezovets of the Ukrainian forces told CBS News that even if Putin were to agree to a ceasefire, the Russian leader simply should not be trusted.
“Absolutely not,” Berezovets told CBS News. “He’s a cheater, he’s a criminal… and he would never accept the fact that independent Ukraine still exists.”
That is why Ukraine wants security guarantees — a promise of protection from the U.S. and its NATO allies in the event Russia should invade again after any eventual ceasefire is implemented.
President Trump has been adamant that such a guarantee would not involve U.S. boots on the ground, and Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Europe would have to bear most of the costs.
But getting all sides, including Russia, to agree to those security guarantees may be next to impossible. After his meeting with Putin, Mr. Trump met with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to hold separate talks.
But Moscow has downplayed the prospects of a Putin-Zelenskyy summit any time soon, and officials have said Russia should be included in any looming discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Holly Williams is a CBS News senior foreign correspondent based in the network’s CBS London bureau. Williams joined CBS News in July 2012, and has more than 25 years of experience covering major news events and international conflicts across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
