For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio and, via Consortium News, AntiWar.com, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and VENEZUELA entries for this date are HERE  and HERE.) — MCM

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in Iran by an alleged Israeli strike, threatening escalation, by Abby Sewell | AP  BEIRUT — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital today, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the conflict even as the U.S. and other nations . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Who was Ismail Haniyeh and why is his assassination a blow to Hamas? by Samia Nakhoul and Stephen Farrell | Reuters  DUBAI / LONDON — Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was killed in Iran, was the tough-talking face of the Palestinian group’s international diplomacy as war raged back in Gaza, where three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike. But despite . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for related Reuters report.

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Blinken says Gaza ceasefire is ‘imperative,’ after Hamas chief killing. From AFP. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken refused to comment directly on the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, but said at a forum in Singapore that reaching a ceasefire in Gaza “is the enduring imperative.” READ MORE . . .

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Hamas says its top leader has been killed in Iran’s capital Tehran. Reported by Jane Arraf Daniel Estrin and Steve Inskeep | NPR  Ismail Haniyeh, who was the Palestinian group’s political leader, was in the Iranian capital for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Hamas blamed his assassination on Israel. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Hamas accuses Israel of killing its top political leader while he was in Tehran. Reported by Steve Inskeep and James Hider | NPR  Trita Parsi of he Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft talks about the ramifications of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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U.S. veterans tell Harris: End siege of Gaza, by Gerry Condon | AntiWar.com / Consortium News  The national organization Veterans For Peace has written an open letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, asking her to push for an immediate end to the siege of Gaza. It begins: . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ismail Haniyeh: From a Gaza refugee camp to Hamas leadership, by Huthifa Fayyad | Middle East Eye  Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the fourth Palestinian prime minister and the third political leader of Hamas, has died at the age of 62. Hailing from a family of refugees expelled from historic Palestine . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to six reports: from the Kyiv Post, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA and VENEZUELA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine delivers one of largest cyberattacks in history, source says, by Kateryna Zakharchenko | Kyiv Post  A Ukrainian intelligence source said today that hackers from Main Intelligence Directorate last night completed one of the largest distributed denial-of-service attacks in history, derailing Russia’s internet infrastructure, hitting critical resources and gaining access to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine says it repelled one of Russia’s largest drone attacks of war, by Anastasiia Malenko and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  KYIV — Ukraine’s air force said today it repelled one of Russia’s largest long-range drone attacks of the war overnight, shooting down all 89 drones launched at Kyiv, the surrounding region and other areas. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Ukraine says it struck weapons facility in Russia’s Kursk region. From Reuters  KYIV — Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian storage facility for weapons and military equipment in the western Russian region of Kursk overnight, the latest in a series of strikes by Kyiv in that area. READ MORE . . .

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Russian troops liberate Leninskoye community in DPR over past day — top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberated the settlement of Leninskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for earlier report from Reuters.

  

For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, the Anadolu Agency, Reuters, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and VENEZUELA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Lice, scabies, rashes plague Palestinian children as skin disease runs rampant in Gaza’s tent camps, by Wafaa Shurafa and Mohammed Jahjouh | AP  KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Skin diseases are running rampant in Gaza, health officials say, caused by appalling conditions in overcrowded tent camps housing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes, along with the summer heat and the collapse of sanitation . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.

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Gaza has become ‘world’s largest extermination camp’: Turkish president, by Esra Tekin and Seda Sevencan | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL — Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today said that the Gaza Strip has become the “world’s largest extermination camp,” adding that Israel has committed an atrocity that will “outshine Hitler.” READ MORE . . .

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Israeli forces quit east Khan Younis, Palestinians recover dozens of bodies, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Mohammad Salem | Reuters  CAIRO / KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in the ruins of Gaza’s main southern city Khan Younis today, after Israeli forces ended a week-long incursion there which . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel has delayed the evacuation of sick children in Gaza. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  Israel agreed to allow 150 seriously ill and injured children in Gaza to leave for medical treatment. But after an attack blamed on Lebanese Hezbollah, Israel’s prime minister suspended that approval. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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What went wrong with the U.S.-built floating pier designed to get aid into Gaza. Reported by Steve Walsh | NPR  The pier built by the U.S. military to get aid into Gaza cost $230 million. It broke apart early on, and critics say it did little to help people in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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UK government offers no timetable for decision on arms sales to Israel, by Dania Akkad and Imran Mulla | Middle East Eye  The UK government offered no timetable today for its anticipated decision over whether to continue licensing arms exports to Israel as parliament prepared to break for its summer recess. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to seven reports from: Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Independent, the Kyiv Post, Tass, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from ScheerPost via Popular Resistance; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and VENEZUELA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Russia says its forces took control of Pivdenne in eastern Ukraine. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia’s defence ministry said today its forces had taken control of the settlement of Pivdenne in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Pivdenne, which Russia calls by its Soviet-era name of Leninskoe .. . . READ MORE . . .

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Fire at Russian oil depot extinguished after Ukrainian drone strike, authorities say. From AFP. Authorities in southwestern Russia said today a fire that had broken after a Ukrainian attack over the weekend had finally been extinguished. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Post.

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Ukrainian UAVs attack oil depot, 5 drones shot down over Russia’s Kursk Region, Moscow says. From Kyiv Post. Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on a Russian oil depot as well as other targets just over Ukraine’s northern border, according to Russian media reports. This morning . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian paratroopers repel another massive Russian attack near Kurahove. From the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine’s 79th Tavrian Air Assault Brigade stopped another large-scale attempt by Russian forces to advance near Kurahove in Donetsk Oblast, the Airborne Assault Troops Command said today. READ MORE . . .

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Battlegroup Center liberates DPR’s Volchye settlement. From Tass. MOSCOW — The battlegroup North has defeated five Ukrainian brigades and repelled five counterattacks over the day, wiping out up to 220 enemy servicemen, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin, which gives details of combat actions over the past 24 . . . READ MORE . . .

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China can become ‘key player’ to help identify peace in Ukraine, says Italian premier, by Riyaz ul Khaliq and Giada Zampano | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL / ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said today China could become a “key player” in helping end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, “starting from the principles of . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 27  Europe’s path to war and self-destruction, by Fabian Scheidler | ScheerPost / Popular Resistance  The EU, which could be completely devastated by a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine, is not only doing nothing to avert this danger and stop the killing, but is also undermining the diplomatic attempts of a member state, Hungary. READ MORE . . .

Links to reports from the Orinoco Tribune, the Associated Press, and Reuters, and for news releases from the Carter Center and the National Lawyers Guild International Committee; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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CNE proclaims Nicolás Maduro president-elect, coup d’état threat and international recognition. From the Orinoco Tribune. CARACAS — From the headquarters of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council in Caracas and in the presence of officials, international electoral observers and the diplomatic corps, Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for the period 2025-2031 . . . READ MORE . . .

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Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election, by Joshua Goodman and Regina Cano | AP  CARACAS — As thousands of people demonstrated across Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González announced Monday that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the country’s disputed election in which . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for related AP reports.

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Anti-Maduro protests spread as Venezuelan opposition claims victory, by Deisy Buitrago and Mayela Armas | Reuters  CARACAS — Opponents and supporters of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro planned to rally today as protests and clashes spread after a weekend election was awarded to the long-ruling socialist despite opposition claims of a landslide victory. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for related Reuters reports.

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Venezuela vote results unreliable, says OAS body. From Reuters The Organization of American States’ election observation department said today it cannot recognize the results by Venezuela’s national electoral council declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday’s disputed vote. The 35-member regional body said . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 29  Carter Center calls on Venezuelan election authorities to release detailed results immediately. News release from the Carter Center. ATLANTA, Georgia — The Carter Center calls upon Venezuela’s National Election Commission, known by the Spanish acronym CNE, to immediately publish the presidential election results at the polling station level. The Carter Center technical mission observe the July 28 presidential election . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for news release in Spanish.

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FROM JULY 29 National Lawyers Guild electoral observers praise fairness, transparency of Venezuelan election. News release from the National Lawyers Guild International Committee / Popular Resistance  A delegation of five election observers from the National Lawyers Guild monitored the presidential elections in Venezuela that took place on July 28, 2024. The delegation observed a transparent, fair voting process with scrupulous attention to . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to nine reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli military detains 9 soldiers over alleged abuse of a detainee at shadowy military facility. From AP.  TEL AVIV — The Israeli military said today it was holding nine soldiers for questioning following allegations of “substantial abuse” of a detainee at a shadowy facility where Israel has held Palestinian prisoners throughout the war in Gaza. READ MORE . . .

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As fighting rages, displaced Gazans struggle with disease and lack of shelter, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed | Reuters CAIRO / DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians fled a community in the central Gaza Strip today in the face of new Israeli evacuation orders, worsening the humanitarian plight in an area already inundated with displaced people fleeing an assault in the south. READ MORE . . .

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Turkish official accuses Israel of targeting Erdogan after he seemed to threaten to invade over Gaza. From AP. ISTANBUL — A senior Turkish official today accused the Israeli government of trying to “hide your war crimes” by targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he seemingly threatened to invade Israel. Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s head of communications . . .  READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 28  Erdogan says Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians. From Reuters. ANKARA — President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting. A fierce critic of . . . READ MORE . . .

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End of genocidal Netanyahu will be like Hitler’s’: Turkish Foreign Ministry, by Alperen Aktaş | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL — Türkiye said early today that “just as the end of the genocidal Hitler came, so too will be the end of the genocidal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.” “Just as . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S., Israel and UAE working to create new body to govern post-war Gaza, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are working towards the creation of a national committee of Palestinian leaders and business figures that will administer Gaza once the war ends, several sources say. In reality, all of its members . . .READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 28  Egypt warns against opening new war front in Lebanon, calls for Gaza cease-fire. From Middle East Monitor. Egypt warned Sunday of the risks of opening a new war front in Lebanon and called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports. The warning . . . READ MORE . . .

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The war against Hamas is taking a toll on Israel’s economy and military. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Daniel Byman, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about the military case for Israel supporting a ceasefire. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Some Jewish Israelis are making the choice to leave Israel over the war in Gaza. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR  Many Jewish Israelis are looking for ways to leave the country after Oct. 7, saying they don’t feel safe in Israel anymore and that their government has failed them. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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For today, links to eight reports: from the Kyiv Post, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Tass, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Drones set ablaze power plant in Russia’s Belgorod region. From Kyiv Post.  Overnight mutual drone attacks exercised the air defenses of both Russia and Ukraine, with Kyiv’s drones scoring two hits on energy infrastructure targets within the Russian Federation, several Telegram channels reported. Early this morning . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian troops say Russia’s front-line push has driven them out of two more eastern villages, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — Russian forces have overrun two front-line villages, a Ukrainian army sergeant said today, after relentless assaults that are part of a Kremlin summer push to overwhelm battlefield defenses in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from the Kyiv Independent and Tass.

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FROM JULY 28  Ukraine keeps pounding Russia’s Kursk region with drones, Russian official says. From Reuters. Kyiv launched more than two dozen drones on the Russian region of Kursk in several waves of attacks that started Saturday night and damaged an oil depot, the acting governor of the region that borders Ukraine said late on Sunday. At least 13 . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 28  Ukraine says it struck an oil depot in Russia, as Moscow claims new gains in Donetsk region, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine on Sunday said it struck an oil depot in southern Russia that supplies the Kremlin’s troops as Russian strikes in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Moscow claimedfurther gains, left five civilians dead and 15 others wounded. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 28  U.S. discusses with India need for peace in Ukraine, by Kanishka Singh | Reuters.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday emphasized the importance of a “just and enduring peace” for Ukraine in a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the State Department said. The discussion came . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian ex-convicts seek second chance in army service, by Volodymyr Pavlov | Reuters KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine — Former car thief Bohdan Filonenko had a simple response for fellow inmates who criticized his decision to join Ukraine’s military. READ MORE . . .

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

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Israel forces advance in south Gaza, more people displaced, residents say, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into areas in the Gaza Strip‘s south today as fighting with Hamas-led militants raged, and Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes had killed 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 27  Children were main casualties in strikes in Gaza and near Israel’s Northern border. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf and Scott Detrow | NPR  An Israeli airstrike hit yet another school sheltering displaced people in Gaza. Later, a rocket strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights hit a soccer field where kids were playing. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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The Russia-U.S. divide was on display during Moscow’s monthlong presidency of the UN Security Council, by Edith M. Lederer | AP  UNITED NATIONS — Whether it’s Gaza, Ukraine, Syria or a new world order, it’s been Russia versus the United States and the West during Moscow’s presidency of the Security Council this month, with the growing divide on vivid display. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass, and to commentary from the Kyiv Post and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Russia says oil depot in Kursk region on fire after Ukraine drone attack. From Reuters. Three tanks at an oil storage depot in Russia’s Kursk region caught fire as a result of a Ukraine-launched drone attack, acting regional Governor Alexei Smirnov said today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberates two communities in DPR over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberated the communities of Progress and Yevgenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine — Is peace coming? by Timothy Ash | Kyiv Post  Lots of interesting developments around Ukraine over the past week or so, that might just suggest that momentum might again be building for peace talks over the next few months. First, Ukraine . . . READ MORE . . .

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The Russia-U.S. divide was on display during Moscow’s monthlong presidency of the UN Security Council, by Edith M. Lederer | AP  UNITED NATIONS — Whether it’s Gaza, Ukraine, Syria or a new world order, it’s been Russia versus the United States and the West during Moscow’s presidency of the Security Council this month, with the growing divide on vivid display. READ MORE . . .

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

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Israel forces advance in south Gaza, more people displaced, residents say, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into areas in the Gaza Strip‘s south today as fighting with Hamas-led militants raged, and Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes had killed 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 27  Children were main casualties in strikes in Gaza and near Israel’s Northern border. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf and Scott Detrow | NPR  An Israeli airstrike hit yet another school sheltering displaced people in Gaza. Later, a rocket strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights hit a soccer field where kids were playing. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED