For today, links to reports from National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

A Hamas leader is killed in an explosion in Beirut. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  AMMAN, Jordan — A senior official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been killed in what it believes to be an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, according to Hamas media networks. Saleh Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing and a deputy chief of the group’s . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

–   –   –

Gaza war extends into Beirut with killing of a Hamas leader, by Laila Bassam, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Arafat Barbakh | Reuters  BEIRUT / CAIRO / GAZA — Israeli forces intensified their bombing of the Gaza Strip today and told civilians to leave a refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian enclave after the war stretched into Lebanon with the killing in Beirut of the Hamas deputy leader. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it killed Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday. But . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Israel on alert for possible Hezbollah response after senior Hamas leader is killed in Beirut strike, by Fadi Tawil and Samy Magdy | AP  BEIRUT — Israel was on high alert for an escalation with Hezbollah today after Saleh Arouri, one of the top leaders of the Palestinian Hamas, was killed in a strike in Beirut that was widely blamed on Israel and heightened the risk of a broader Middle East conflict. The strike in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold could . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Israel minister slams U.S. for condemning call for mass exodus of Gazans. From AFP.  Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has hit back at ally the United States over its criticism of his push for the transfer of Gazans out of the Palestinian territory. “The United States is . . . READ MORE . . .