What to know about the surprise Hamas attack on Israel

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Gaza and Jerusalem CNN  —  As the conflict between Hamas and Israel entered its second day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its focus was on taking control …

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Israel/Palestine: Netanyahu says Israel is ‘at war’ as Palestinian militants launch surprise air and ground attack from Gaza

Gaza and Jerusalem CNN  —  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was “at war” on Saturday, after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a deadly barrage of rockets and sent gunmen into Israeli territory in a major escalation of the long running conflict between the two sides. Militants launched a barrage of some …

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Travis King: American soldier back in US after being freed by North Korea

CNN  —  US Army Private Travis King arrived back on United States soil Thursday after being returned to American custody weeks after he crossed into North Korea, a Defense Department official said. King flew in on a US military flight, landing at Kelly Field at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston around 1:30 a.m. ET, …

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Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Canada expels Indian diplomat over ‘credible allegations’ linking India’s government to killing on Canadian soil

CNN  —  Canada’s accusation that India may have been involved in the assassination of a Sikh activist on its soil has triggered a growing spat with Ottawa and New Delhi both expelling senior diplomats, sending relations between the two countries plunging. The tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating …

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Gabon coup: Military officers place president under house arrest

CNN  —  Military officers in Gabon declared they were seizing power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a stunning coup on Wednesday, threatening the family’s half-century rule over the central African nation. Men in army uniform appeared on national television to announce the president’s house arrest during the military takeover, prompting celebrations and reports of …

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Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief was on plane that crashed in Russia, aviation agency says

CNN  —  Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner who staged a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June, was on board a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said. “An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred …

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