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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Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson dies at 75

CNN  —  Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics with turns as Energy Secretary and United Nations ambassador under the Clinton administration, died on Friday, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said in a statement. He was 75. Richardson died in his sleep at his summer home in Massachusetts. “He …

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Danelo Cavalcante escapes Chester County Prison where he was imprisoned for murder of Deborah Brandao

Philadelphia CNN  —  A convicted murderer who escaped a Pennsylvania prison Thursday was spotted on a surveillance camera in the area, according to local officials. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, broke out of the Chester County Prison, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, at around 8:50 a.m. Thursday, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said. The district …

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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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