## Israel links Gaza aid to hostages' release as humanitarian disaster looms

Authored by reuters.com

Palestinian President Abbas condemns violence against civilians. U.S. military not placing any conditions on security assistance to Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says.

The head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said lessons would be drawn from the security failures around Gaza that enabled the attack.

"The IDF is responsible for defending the country and its citizens, and Saturday morning, in the area around Gaza, we did not live up to it," he said.

Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza; Israel says it has identified 97 of them.

Gaza authorities said more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,000 have been wounded.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said fuel powering emergency generators at hospitals in Gaza could run out within hours.

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said there would be no exceptions to the siege without freedom for Israeli hostages. »

### Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack

Authored by edition.cnn.com

The Israeli government has not confirmed the specific claim that Hamas attackers cut off the heads of babies during their shock attack on Saturday, an Israeli official told CNN, contradicting a previous public statement by the Prime Minister’s office.

They instead likened Hamas’ brutality to that of ISIS, the Sunni terror group that beheaded captives and burned prisoners alive.

Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 11. »

### Republicans fail to coalesce around speaker choice, leaving House in limbo

Authored by washingtonpost.com

House Republicans were on the verge of open revolt Wednesday after the ideologically fractious conference failed to coalesce around a speaker nominee, leaving the chamber rudderless and leaderless for an eighth day.

Neither issue produced enough urgency for Republicans to quickly elect a speaker as many had hoped, again highlighting the conference’s deep divisions.

The stalemate led Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) to recess the House to avoid the embarrassment of a failed speaker vote. »

### CIA publicly acknowledges 1953 coup it backed in Iran was undemocratic as it revisits ‘Argo’ rescue

Authored by apnews.com

The CIA now officially describes the 1953 coup it backed in Iran that overthrew its prime minister and cemented the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as undemocratic.

FILE - A Communist newspaper kiosk burned by pro-shah demonstrators after the coup d’etat which ousted Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, in Tehran, Iran on Aug. 19, 1953.

Seven decades later, the 1953 coup remains as hotly debated as ever by Iran, its theocratic government, historians and others. »

### Opinion | Israel Has Never Needed to Be Smarter Than in This Moment

Authored by nytimes.com

Not the seizing of territory, but plain murder?

There is something new here that is important to understand.

Since I can’t interview the Hamas leadership, I’m drawing on my experience in the region, and here’s how I see it. »

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