Trump floats 'another little Operation Epic Fury'; envoy says Iran strike possible this weekend

Two Palestinian gunmen from one Hebron family killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Telem before being shot dead. Netanyahu closed Hebron and promised a West Bank operation 'unprecedented since '67', days before Israel's October 27 vote. A full West Bank lockdown followed, and about 20 army vehicles entered Hebron for a 'targeted and limited' operation of several days. Demolitions began, and B'Tselem warned of collective punishment.

Russia launched 176 drones overnight, 140 downed, hitting energy sites in six regions and leaving more than 500,000 without power; a Chernihiv strike killed one. Ukrainian drones closed all four Moscow airports, and the two sides swapped 270 prisoners each. Melania Trump brokered a local ceasefire in occupied Oleshky from October 27 to allow evacuation, which Moscow and Kyiv confirmed. Zelensky said trilateral talks were set for the first half of November, depending on Russia.

Two masked gunmen opened fire for about five minutes inside the Greek Orthodox Hammoud Church in Karak, southern Jordan, during a funeral on Friday, then fled. At least seven people were killed and 34 wounded, though early reports were lower. King Abdullah II called it terrorism and vowed the 'harshest retaliation'. Jordan's interior minister said a group of extremists carried it out, and a manhunt followed.

The quake struck overnight and is the strongest in China since January 2024. Officials said 16 people died and 65 were injured. More than 300 homes were toppled. President Xi Jinping ordered all efforts focused on search and rescue, warning of the cold, high-altitude conditions and the risk of secondary disasters.

The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh and two drones aimed at southern Saudi Arabia. Alerts sounded in Riyadh and Najran before civil defence said the danger had passed. Italy cited a deteriorating security situation and urged its citizens to avoid Saudi airports. Riyadh also postponed UN data forums to 2027. Separately, a Saudi strike on a home in Taiz, Yemen, killed one civilian and wounded four.

A 12-storey building under construction collapsed in the densely populated Eastleigh district of Nairobi on Friday, with many feared trapped. Rescuers worked through the rubble with excavators, police fired tear gas at looters targeting nearby shops, and authorities said they were investigating the cause amid accusations of unsafe building work.