Waves of rocket fire from Lebanon hit Israel, killing 7 in deadliest strikes since Israeli invasion

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli authorities say rocket barrages fired from Lebanon have killed seven people in northern Israel. The rockets hit agricultural areas along the border and near the city of Haifa. The back-to-back attacks on Thursday represented the deadliest spate of strikes in Israel from Lebanon since the Israeli military invaded the country earlier this month. For over a year, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has been firing thousands of rockets, drones and missiles into Israel, and drawing fierce Israeli retaliatory strikes.

Spain searches for bodies after flooding claims at least 158 lives

BARRIO DE LA TORRE, Spain (AP) — Crews are searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings as people try to salvage what they can from ruined homes following monstrous flash floods in Spain that claimed at least 158 lives, with 155 people killed in one region alone. The death toll could rise more as search efforts continue Thursday. An unknown number remains missing. Spain’s transport minister says dead bodies remain inside some of the hundreds of stranded vehicles. Wrecked vehicles, tree branches, downed power lines and household items are mired in a layer of mud covering the streets of Barrio de la Torre, just one of dozens of localities in the hard-hit eastern region of Valencia.

Russian bomb hits building in Ukraine’s 2nd largest city, killing 3, including 2 teens

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have struck a residential building in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, killing three, including two teenage boys, and injuring scores of others. The region’s governor says a 12-year-old boy was fatally injured when the building was hit by a Russian 500-kilogram glide bomb early Thursday. He said that the rescuers later also retrieved the bodies of a 15-year-old-boy and an unidentified man from the rubble. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least 35 people were injured in the attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published a video showing the ravaged building, at least three of its floors destroyed and the rest of it seriously damaged, and urged Ukraine’s Western allies to ramp up military assistance for his country.

North Korea’s long-range missile test signals its improved, potential capability to attack US

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year, demonstrating an improved potential ability to launch long-range nuclear attacks on the mainland U.S. The launch was likely meant to meant grab American attention days ahead of the U.S. election and respond to condemnation over the North’s reported troop dispatch to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. Some experts speculate Russia might have provided technological assistance. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch, calling it “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves that threaten the North’s safety, according to state media.