Thursday, August 1

Contents:

1. New Travel Articles Out Now!

2. Prominent Hamas Political Leader Killed in Tehran After Israeli Strike

3. Fact of the Day

4. Quote of the Day

5. Word of the Day

We have launched two new Travel articles, which explain some important news in the aviation industry:

1. Delta Airlines has announced that they are looking for compensation from Crowdstrike and Microsoft after last week's IT outage devastated the company. Read more here.

2. At least 20 flight attendants have been injured by exploding drink cans on Southwest Airlines flights. Here's why. Read more here.

On another note, a prominent Hamas leader was reportedly killed recently in an Israeli strike, and it could prove detrimental to the chances of reaching a ceasefire.

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top political chief, was killed in an airstrike on his house in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Iran is one of the biggest backers of Hamas, and they also back Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, which all have opposing views to Israel. Haniyeh was 62 years old when he was killed and has been the political leader of Hamas since 2017. He has been seen as the face of the organization for years, and it will be tough for them to restructure after this blow.

Unfortunately, Haniyeh is also the frontman of Israel-Hamas relations, and was the man negotiating most of the possible ceasefires. Haniyeh was open to a hostage deal, but his main goal was to get Israel to leave Gaza in a permanent ceasefire. He discussed possible options with mediators in Qatar and Egypt for months, trying to put an end to the deadly war. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will not back off until Hamas is completely eradicated. Since the organization's initial attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds of others, Israel has killed over 39,000 Palestinians and driven over 2.3 million Gazans from their homes. Due to these factors, his death may end up being very damaging to any prospects of reaching a ceasefire or hostage deal in the ongoing war between the Gaza-based organization and Israel.

While the United States and other allies of Israel attempt to maintain good relations with Hamas to try and reach some sort of ceasefire deal, Israel seems to be noncompliant with those objectives. Within a matter of days, the country has killed both Hamas' most prominent political leader in Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's senior commander Fuad Shukr. The Middle East is edging closer and closer to an all-out war between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, with the three groups all being backed by Iran. War is the last thing the world wants, but it seems to be slowly approaching as the groups trade strikes with Israel every other week.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Sloths can actually hold their breath for longer than dolphins can! By slowing their heart rates, sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes, while dolphins need to come up for air around every 10 minutes.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now. (Paulo Coelho)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Impeccable (adj)- Impeccable describes that which is free from fault, error, or blame. It is a synonym of flawless.

In a Sentence: Although the restaurant was a bit expensive, we found its memorable cuisine, luxurious decor, and impeccable service to be well worth the price.