The Living Archives

In a significant development in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, Israeli forces have claimed responsibility for killing Yahya Sinwar, the prominent Hamas leader. Sinwar, who has led Hamas in Gaza since 2017, was a central figure in the group's political and military operations, making him one of Israel's most-wanted targets.According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the strike took place as part of a broader military operation targeting senior Hamas figures following the recent surge in hostilities. The IDF did not provide specific details regarding the time or location of Sinwar's death but emphasized that this was a "precise and targeted" operation.As of now, Hamas has not officially commented on Israel's claims. Yahya Sinwar's death, if confirmed, would be a major blow to the leadership of Hamas, further intensifying the conflict between the two sides.

The Israeli military said Thursday it was looking into whether Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a military operation in Gaza. Authorities were conducting DNA tests on a body to determine if it is him, an Israeli security official said.The military said in a statement that three militants were killed during operations in Gaza, without specifying where or elaborating further. It said the identities of the three were so far not confirmed, but it was “checking the possibility” that one of them was Sinwar.The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the tests on the body had not yet confirmed if it was Sinwar’s.There was no immediate comment by Hamas on the report.Sinwar was one of the chief architects of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel has vowed to kill him since the beginning of its retaliatory campaign in Gaza. If confirmed, Sinwar’s death could be a heavy blow to the militant group. He has been Hamas’ top leader inside the Gaza Strip for years, closely connected to its military wing while dramatically building up its capabilities.Sinwar was chosen as Hamas’s top leader after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in July in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has also claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing Mohammed Deif in an airstrike, but the group has said he survived.President Joe Biden has been briefed on Israel’s investigation into whether it killed Sinwar, and U.S. officials have been in close contact with Israeli officials throughout Thursday morning, according to a senior administration official.The report came as Israeli forces continued a more than week-old major air and ground assault in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least 15 people, including five children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.Fares Abu Hamza, head of Gaza Health Ministry’s local emergency unit, said dozens of people were wounded. He said the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was struggling to treat the casualties.“Many women and children are in critical condition,” he said.The Israeli military said it targeted a command center run by Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside the school. It provided a list of around a dozen names of people it identified as militants who were present when the strike was called in. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.Israel has repeatedly struck tent camps and schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military says it carries out precise strikes on militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its strikes often kill women and children.In a separate development, a building in central Beirut that houses offices of the Al Jazeera news network and the Norwegian Embassy was evacuated after a warning.Mazen Ibrahim, Al Jazeera’s Lebanon bureau chief, said the building’s administration received three calls telling everyone to leave the building, which he said also houses the embassies of Norway and Azerbaijan, as well as dozens of offices. He said it was unclear who called in the warning.Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ragnhild Simenstad said the building was evacuated after a “bomb threat,” without elaborating.Israel has ordered the evacuation of several buildings, as well as entire cities, towns and villages, as it strikes what it says are targets linked to the Hezbollah militant group.

Liam Payne’s family and stars from across the music world have led tributes to the former One Direction star after his death at a hotel in Argentina.“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” his family said in a statement issued on Thursday.Medics confirmed the death of the 31-year-old after he fell from a balcony into the courtyard of the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.The X Factor – where Payne had his first audition as a 14-year-old and was later placed with other contestants in 2010 in the band that made his name – said that he would “leave a lasting legacy on the music industry”.The former X Factor host Dermot O’Leary shared an Instagram photo of him and a teenage Payne on stage, describing him as “a joy” who “had time for everyone, [was] polite, grateful, and was always humble”.He added: “The worst news. I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing.”Others remembering him included Ronnie Wood, the Rolling Stones guitarist, who recalled performing alongside Payne and One Direction for a performance of the boyband’s track Where Do Broken Hearts Go on The X Factor in 2014.“I am shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Liam Payne. It was a pleasure to work with him on our X Factor performance,” Wood wrote on Instagram.The Grammy-winning pop star Charlie Puth, who co-wrote Payne’s 2017 solo track Bedroom Floor, mourned Payne as a “major artist”.“I am in shock right now,” Puth wrote in a series of Instagram stories featuring a photo of the pair together in the studio. “Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone … I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace.”Listeners to BBC Radio 1 on Thursday morning heard Greg James opening his breakfast show by telling listeners the news had been “unbearably sad” to wake up to and that he would be processing it with them.“It might be the first time someone you’ve idolised has died and that’s a really strange thing to get your head around. So go easy on yourself today because it’s a shock, it’s destabilising,” he said, addressing Payne’s fans.“Even though you may not have not known Liam Payne personally, we do have these parasocial relationships where we do know these people to a certain extent and they are part of our lives, and when they’re gone that’s weird to deal with.”The singer Olly Murs, who starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said on Instagram that he was “lost for words”, describing Payne’s death as “devastating”.“We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch-ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together,” Murs wrote beside a picture of him and Payne.Among collaborators who paid their respects was the German DJ Zedd, who made the 2017 song Get Low with Payne and said on X: “I can’t believe this is real … absolutely heartbreaking.”The rapper Juicy J, who featured on an unreleased demo titled You, posted: “RIP Liam Payne wow I can’t believe it prayers up for the family.”

 Elon Musk, a tech mogul who is the world’s richest person, plunged more than $70 million into helping Donald Trump and other Republicans win in November’s election, making him one of the biggest donors to GOP causes this campaign season, according to campaign finance disclosures released this week.Musk made the donation over the summer to America PAC, a super political action committee he launched in May to aid Trump in his bid to return to the White House. It quickly became a central player in Trump’s election effort.“The America PAC is just aiming for common sense, centrist values,” the Space X and Tesla founder said Tuesday on his social media platform X, shortly after the sum of money he contributed was made public in a campaign finance filing.Super PACs like Musk’s America PAC can raise and spend unlimited sums of money but are typically are forbidden from coordinating their efforts with the candidates they support. A recent opinion by the Federal Election Commission, which regulates federal political campaigns, allowed for candidates and these big-spending groups to work together on so-called ground game efforts, which are the armies of people deployed to knock on doors to help turn out the vote.While candidates and political parties have traditionally organized and paid for such efforts, Trump’s campaign has struggled to raise money this year and has turned to a handful of outside groups to undertake the work, with Musk’s America PAC being top among them.But in doing so, the campaign has outsourced a core function to a coterie of untested groups that operate independently. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ’ decision to have an outside group canvass for him was is said to be one of the reasons his presidential bid failed.So far, America PAC has spent over $38 million on voter “canvassing” efforts, according to campaign finance disclosures.Much of America PACs money has been paid to a handful of consulting firms, including a number that are linked to Phil Cox, a former presidential campaign aide to DeSantis and a onetime executive director of the Republican Governors Association. Businesses under the umbrella of Cox’s various companies have collected at least $21 million since August, records show.Though Musk is America PAC’s top donor, he is not its only one. The super PAC also collected about $8.75 million from a handful of wealthy donors, including the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, the disputed creators of Facebook.The super PAC has spent nearly $80 million this year. Though most of the spending has gone toward the presidential race, at least $5 million has been spent to help Republican House candidates.

The death of Liam Payne, who shot to stardom as a member of British boy band One Direction and grappled with intense global fame while still in his teens, sent shockwaves across the world Thursday as Argentine authorities continued their investigation at the scene.Fans, music-industry figures and fellow musicians paid tribute to Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.As fans and media bombarded the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, the forensics unit worked inside on Thursday collecting evidence.The Buenos Aires police said they found Payne’s hotel room “in complete disarray,” with packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.” They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.Initial autopsy results indicated that Payne suffered hemorrhages and multiple traumatic injuries, a Buenos Aires security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official said the report showed that Payne’s plunge from the third-floor balcony was what caused his fatal injuries.

In a surprising turn of events, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have created confusion regarding their stance on Iranian military targets. Initially, the IDF reported that an imminent attack would focus on specific strategic sites in Iran, signaling a decisive shift in their military posture. However, just hours later, military officials issued a retraction, suggesting a complete reassessment of the situation.This unexpected reversal has raised eyebrows among defense analysts and military observers, leading to questions about the IDF's intelligence and operational planning. The initial statement had indicated that the targeted sites were crucial to Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, reflecting Israel’s long-standing concern over Iran's influence in the region.The IDF’s abrupt change, described as an “11th-hour U-turn,” has left many speculating about the factors contributing to this decision. Some analysts suggest that it may stem from new intelligence assessments or diplomatic pressures. The ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, exacerbated by recent regional developments, have placed immense scrutiny on the IDF's military strategies.As the situation unfolds, both domestic and international audiences are keenly observing how Israel will navigate these complexities. The IDF's handling of this situation could have significant implications for regional security and Israel's future military engagements with Iran.For now, officials are urging calm, asserting that they remain vigilant in monitoring Iranian activities while emphasizing the importance of clear communication in times of heightened tension. The need for a coherent strategy has never been more pressing as the threat landscape continues to evolve.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, is set to embark on a diplomatic mission to Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey, aimed at strengthening ties and addressing regional issues. The tour, scheduled for later this week, underscores Iran's efforts to enhance its relationships with key Arab and neighboring nations.During his visit to Jordan, Amir-Abdollahian is expected to engage in discussions with Jordanian officials on bilateral cooperation, security concerns, and the ongoing challenges posed by regional instability. This visit follows Jordan's increasing involvement in diplomatic dialogues aimed at resolving conflicts in the Middle East.In Egypt, the Foreign Minister will meet with his Egyptian counterpart to explore avenues for collaboration on economic, cultural, and security matters. The two nations have been working towards revitalizing their relationship, focusing on mutual interests amid shifting regional dynamics.Amir-Abdollahian's final stop will be Turkey, where he plans to discuss various issues, including trade relations and regional security. The visit comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region, and both countries are keen to address the challenges posed by terrorism and the ongoing conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.This diplomatic tour marks a significant step for Iran as it seeks to reaffirm its presence and influence in the Middle East while navigating complex relationships with its neighbors. The outcomes of these discussions are anticipated to play a crucial role in shaping the future of regional cooperation and stability.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to hold crucial discussions with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati this Friday. The meetings, taking place in Amman, aim to strengthen bilateral ties and address regional issues of mutual concern, including the ongoing humanitarian challenges in Lebanon and the stability of the broader Middle East.Meloni's visit underscores Italy's commitment to fostering cooperation in areas such as security, migration, and economic development. The Italian government has been actively involved in supporting Lebanon through various initiatives, particularly in light of the country's recent economic turmoil and the influx of refugees.King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Mikati are expected to discuss the impact of the Syrian crisis on regional stability, with a focus on collaborative efforts to manage the ongoing refugee situation. Meloni's trip is seen as a significant step in reinforcing Italy's role as a key player in Middle Eastern diplomacy and supporting peace initiatives in the region.As the discussions unfold, attention will be on potential agreements and joint initiatives that may emerge from this high-level meeting, highlighting Italy's strategic partnership with both Jordan and Lebanon in addressing pressing geopolitical challenges.