News Wrap: Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis kill at least 70

In our news wrap Monday, Israeli airstrikes tore through buildings in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, a gunman in Croatia killed six people at a nursing home, body camera footage released shows the chaotic moments in which a Black woman in Illinois was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy now charged with murder and wildfires are wreaking havoc across parts of the western U.S.

Read the Full Transcript

Amna Nawaz: In the day’s other headlines: Israeli airstrikes tore through buildings in and around the Southern Gaza City of Khan Yunis, killing at least 70 people.

Medical staff at Nasser Hospital called the situation out of control. The overall death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 39,000 people since the war began. That’s according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Those strikes come as Israel ordered a new evacuation for an area near Khan Yunis that it had designated a humanitarian zone. Israel now says that Hamas fighters have embed there.

Many Palestinians expressed anguish over being uprooted once again.

Kholoud Al Dadas, Displaced Gazan (through interpreter): We do not know where we are walking in God’s vast land. Every day, we are displaced. This is the seventh or eighth time we have been displaced. While we were sleeping in our homes, they started shooting at us, bombing from everywhere.

Amna Nawaz: Also, today Israel announced the death of two Israeli hostages. They have been identified as 76-year-old Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab, who was 35. Officials say they were kidnapped from their homes in Southern Israel during the October 7 attack.

That comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with several families of those held in Gaza before departing for Washington. He’s due to meet with President Biden this week and has reportedly requested a meeting with Donald Trump. Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

A gunman in Croatia killed six people and wounded half-a-dozen others at a nursing home today. The shooting took place in the town of Daruvar in the center of the country. Officials say the victims were residents of the home, mostly in their 80s and 90s, and included the suspect’s mother, as well as an employee. The suspect is in police custody, and authorities are trying to determine a motive.

The country’s prime minister said that he was — quote — “horrified and dismayed” by the attack.

Body camera footage released today shows the chaotic moments in which a Black woman in Springfield, Illinois, was shot and killed by a white sheriff’s deputy. Authorities say that Sonya Massey had called 911 earlier this month to report a suspected prowler. One video from the encounter that followed shows former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson yelling at her about moving a pot from the stove.

A bit later in the video, he pulls his gun, she ducks, and he then fires his pistol at her three times. Grayson was fired last week. He faces 45 years to life for murder, among other charges. Grayson has pleaded not guilty.

Wildfires and extreme temperatures are wreaking havoc across large parts of the Western United States. Almost 11 million Americans are under an excessive heat warning today. Temperatures remain high in the Pacific Northwest, where a number of wildfires are ongoing in places like Oregon and Washington. Fires are also blazing in both Northern California and near Los Angeles.

In Utah, meanwhile, evacuation orders have been lifted for a wildfire near Salt Lake City, but officials warn that residents should remain ready to evacuate with the fire only partially under control.

Hunter Biden has dropped a lawsuit against FOX News over the use of explicit images of him in a streaming series. The complaint had accused FOX of violating New York’s so-called revenge porn law. The case stemmed from a fictional FOX Nation miniseries from 2022 that featured graphic images of the president’s son as part of a mock trial.

FOX had described the lawsuit as — quote — “entirely politically motivated.” The dismissal notice was filed the same day that Hunter’s father, President Joe Biden, dropped out of the 2024 race.

A court in central Russia has convicted a Russian-American journalist of spreading false information about the military in a rushed and secret trial. Alsu Kurmasheva is a journalist with the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague. She was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, which her employer called a mockery of justice.

Today, a State Department spokesperson called for Kurmasheva’s release.

Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesman: She is a dedicated journalist who is being targeted by Russian authorities for her uncompromising commitment to speaking the truth and her principled reporting. Journalism is not a crime.

Amna Nawaz: Kurmasheva is one of nine U.S. citizens known to be detained in Russia. The arrest of Americans has become increasingly common, as tensions between the two nations escalate over the war in Ukraine.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher, as tech shares rebounded from last week’s losses. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points to start the week. The Nasdaq jumped 280 points to close above 18000. The S&P 500 also ended sharply higher.

And LeBron James has been selected as the men’s flag-bearer at Friday night’s Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer heard the news in London surrounded by his teammates. Fellow superstar Steph Curry nominated him. James will be the first U.S. men’s basketball player to carry the flag. He first appeared at the Olympics in 2004.

Team USA’s female flag-bearer is due to be revealed tomorrow.