Israel is firmly rejecting any attempt to allow Hamas to retain influence or authority in Gaza, as the terrorist organization pushes to embed roughly 10,000 of its police officers into a new U.S.-backed governing framework for the enclave.

The United States on Tuesday announced the launch of a large, multi-day aerial military readiness exercise across the Middle East, underscoring heightened alertness as tensions continue to rise with Iran amid a deadly regime crackdown on nationwide protests.

Some 220 million Americans were on alert Tuesday for extreme cold after a colossal winter storm heaped more snow on the Northeast, kept parts of the South coated in ice, and led to dozens of deaths, authorities said.

Already frosty relations between Budapest and Kyiv further cooled Tuesday after Hungary’s pro-Russia prime minister accused Ukraine of election interference to overthrow him and ordered the Ukrainian ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry.

Reported abuses suffered by two Christian girls in Pakistan’s Punjab province have highlighted growing concern about the treatment of Christian women and children in the Islamic nation.

At least 25 people, were killed early Sunday in a “brutal attack” by an Islamic State-linked militant group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local rights groups and officials said, as violence continues to plague the region.a

China’s military leadership is facing major upheaval after its most senior general — a close ally of President Xi Jinping — was accused of leaking information about the Communist country’s nuclear-weapons program to the United States and committing other “serious violations of discipline and law.”

The recovery of the final Israeli captive, Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, during Operation Brave Heart in eastern Gaza City has removed the last major obstacle to reopening the Rafah Crossing, paving the way for the continued implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

A federal judge on Monday heard arguments from the state of Minnesota seeking an emergency halt to the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities, a sweeping operation that has intensified tensions between state and federal authorities following a fatal shooting involving a Border Patrol agent.

A systematic organization behind riots in Minnesota exposed through leaked group chats is under investigation, says FBI Director Kash Patel.