Friday, October 18

Israel has announced that they have killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was one of the masterminds behind the organization's initial attack on October 7 of last year.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that some of their troops had accidentally killed Yahya Sinwar in battle yesterday, and later realized that they had taken out Hamas' number one leader when sifting through the bodies. He was found wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying several grenades and over $10,000. IDF Commander-in-Chief, Herzi Halevi, stated after the killing that the world is “now a better place” without Sinwar

Israel has been working on targeting the leaders of Iran-backed organizations in the Middle East, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. In August, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top political chief, was killed in an airstrike on his house in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah was killed in an airstrike earlier this month. Haniyeh was later replaced by Sinwar, who was killed yesterday's attack. They are aiming to take down the organizations from the top, but Hamas and Hezbollah push on.

United States President Joe Biden pointed out that Sinwar's death would momentarily cripple Hamas, and he stated that now is the perfect time to strike a deal for a ceasefire to end the war. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel will continue to occupy Gaza before the killing of Sinwar, he later said that he was working with Biden to come to terms on a possible offer for a hostage deal that could put an end to the war. Around one-third of the hostages are already dead after being killed by Hamas or accidentally being struck by Israel.

Some civilians in Israel fear that Sinwar's killing may motivate Hamas to kill more hostages, strengthening the fight against Israel. Through the eyes of many Israelis and other citizens around the world, it seems that Netanyahu has taken up a different agenda, putting the destruction of Hamas over the safety of the hostages. Others view the killing of Sinwar as the path to success in both missions, as they believe that destroying Hamas would allow Israel to take control of Gaza and forcefully take back the hostages.

However, while Israel's fight against Hamas may be coming to an end, their fight against Iran is becoming even more intense. After Iran struck Israel with hundreds of missiles earlier this month, Iran has been awaiting a strong response from Israel. Biden has attempted to discourage Netanyahu from striking back, but Israel has confirmed that a serious response is on the way, and it could come any day now. Meanwhile, the country is also fighting Hezbollah to the north and the Houthis from Yemen-- Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon is still ongoing, and the US is helping Israel to strike Houthi bases in Yemen to prevent the group from hitting cargo ships in the Red Sea.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The English alphabet briefly included a typographical letter called a “long s.” Used from the late Renaissance to the early 1800s, it resembled the letter ‘f’ but was pronounced simply as ‘s.’ It can be seen in various manuscripts written by the Founding Fathers of the US, including the Bill of Rights.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Your word is your wand. The words you speak create your own destiny. (Florence Shinn)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Fugacious (adj)- Fugacious is a formal word that describes something that lasts only a short time.

In a Sentence: The rock band’s early success proved fugacious; within two years its members had moved on to other careers.