Undercover Israeli team kills 3 in West Bank hospital; Hamas vows 'response': Live updates

An undercover Israeli military team infiltrated a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin and killed three militants Tuesday in an attack Hamas leaders described as an execution and war crime that "will not pass without a response."

Muhammad Jalamana, 27, had been using Ibn Sina Hospital as a hideout while planning a major attack "in the immediate time frame," the Israeli military said in a statement. Also killed were brothers Muhammad and Bassel Azawi, who the military said also had been involved in terrorist activities.

The Palestinian Health Ministry released video showing gunmen dressed in scrubs and other civilian garb sweeping through the hospital, guns drawn. The Israeli statement reiterated the claim that large numbers of militants use hospitals and other civilian space "as a shelter and human shield." Hamas again rejected the claim.

"The resistance that promised our people to jihad until the occupation was defeated ... will not be intimidated by the assassinations or the cowardly enemy crimes," Hamas leaders said in a statement.

Houthi rebels fire on U.S. Navy destroyer in Red Sea

Houthi rebels based in Yemen launched an attack on a U.S. Navy ship in the Red Sea, the latest salvo in the ongoing conflict, U.S. Central Command confirmed Friday morning.

"At approximately 1:30 p.m. Sanaa time (5:30 a.m. EST), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward Arleigh-Burke class destroyer USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

"The missile was successfully shot down by USS Carney. There were no injuries or damage reported."

The military did not provide any further information. However this would be the first reported time Houthis have targeted a U.S. military vessel rather than a commercial vessel.

Biathlon champ was harassed for years, SafeSport inquiry finds

U.S. biathlon national champion Joanne Reid was sexually harassed and abused for years by a ski-wax technician while racing on the World Cup circuit, a watchdog group that oversees sex abuse allegations in Olympic sports found. When the two-time Olympian complained, she says she was told his behavior was just part of the male European culture.

Teammate Deedra Irwin said she repeatedly had to step in to protect Reid. Outraged by what she called "a culture of harassment and misogyny," Irwin, a biathlete with the Army National Guard, notified her military superiors, who immediately demanded action.

Only then, in April 2021, did U.S. Biathlon officials alert the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Its 18-month investigation found that Petr "Gara" Garabik had engaged in repeated sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact with Reid. The Czech citizen was suspended for six months and put on probation until December 2024.

New Jersey Sheriff Richard Berdnik fatally shoots himself in restaurant after officers charged

New Jersey sheriff appears to have taken his own life in a restaurant in Clifton Tuesday, days after federal authorities charged three sheriff's officers in the beating of a detainee.

Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik, a longtime law enforcement officer with deep ties to North Jersey, fatally shot himself Tuesday afternoon at a well-known Turkish restaurant in Clifton, four people familiar with what happened told the Paterson Press and Northjersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Berdnik went into the bathroom at Toros on Hazel Street and soon after people in the restaurant heard a gunshot, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because family members hadn't been notified.

Federal authorities on Jan. 17 arrested three Passaic County sheriff’s officers on charges involving an alleged beating of a detainee at the county jail. The next day, Berdnik said he was planning to lay off more than two dozen correctional officers.

Israeli hostage posters at Harvard vandalized with antisemitic messages

Israeli hostage posters that were hung up at Harvard University had been vandalized with antisemitic messages just as students returned from winter break.

Harvard condemned the vandalization on Tuesday and said university police are investigating the incident.

“The University strongly condemns the senseless and horrific vandalization on Harvard’s campus of posters displaying the faces of Israeli hostages,” a university spokesperson told CNN in a statement.

Footage shared with CNN by Harvard student Alexander Kestenbaum shows a handful of hostage posters defaced with messages such as “Israel did 9/11.” A poster of a four-year-old Israeli hostage was defaced, while “LIES FAKE” was scrawled over another hostage poster.

Hamas says October 7 attack was a ‘necessary step’, admits to ‘some faults’

The Palestinian group Hamas has said there were “faults” in the October 7 attack it led on southern Israel, but claimed its fighters only targeted Israeli soldiers and people carrying weapons.

In a 16-page report titled “Our Narrative” and published on Sunday, Hamas, which governs Gaza, said it wanted to “clarify” the background and dynamics of the surprise attack it calls Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

In its first public report since the attack, Hamas said it was “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people”.

Early on October 7, Hamas fighters stormed communities along Israel’s southern fence with Gaza. At least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics, and about 240 others were seized as captives.

Hamas says two Israeli hostages are dead, as IDF calls videos ‘psychological torture’ of captives’ families

Israel said Monday that Hamas is carrying out “psychological torment” as the militant group released a third video in the space of 24 hours featuring the same three hostages being held in Gaza, the last of which appears to show two of the hostages dead.

“Hamas are hit badly by the IDF and all that is left for them is to bring psychological torment to the families [of the hostages], leaving the IDF to clarify things for the families later,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters on Monday.

The first video, released Sunday, showed clips of the three hostages – Noa Argamani, Itai Svirsky and Yossi Sharabi - speaking to a camera. It ended with a caption saying, “Tomorrow, we will inform you of their fate.”

A second video, released Monday, in an apparent attempt by Hamas to ramp up concerns, repeated the message that the fate of the three hostages would soon be made public.

Newly sworn Minneapolis City Council takes on Israel-Hamas war

At its first meeting under new leadership, the Minneapolis City Council on Monday dove headlong into one of the most polarizing topics of the day: the bloody Israel-Hamas war.

In their first meeting after being sworn in for two-year terms, council members voted to discuss a symbolic resolution on the conflict — amid chants from a crowd of people critical of Israel's continued bombardment of the Gaza Strip following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The council did not vote to take a formal position. But what would normally be a largely ceremonial "organizational meeting" turned into a raucous affair when five council members proposed amending the agenda to tackle the issue.

Minutes after being elected by his colleagues, new Council President Elliott Payne marked his first use of the gavel trying to bring the meeting to order as some members of the crowd shouted over council members.

Mickey Mouse horror game gets a name change amid antisemitic accusations

Infestation 88, the Mickey Mouse horror game from Nightmare Forge Games, has been renamed following accusations the title was antisemitic.

The first-person online co-op game was announced on January 1 and is based on Steamboat Willie, the oldest black and white version of Mickey Mouse, with a dark twist. This announcement came after the character officially entered the public domain at the beginning of this year.

After receiving a trailer and Steam page, however, Infestation 88 has undergone a swift name change after some users online pointed out the Neo-Nazi connotations of its original title. Now, the game is named Infestation: Origins.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number "88" is used as code within the Nazi movement to reference "HH" (or "Heil Hitler" ) as the letter is the eighth in the alphabet.