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Four Palestinians were killed and nearly 20 others injured early Tuesday in raids by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. 

“There are three dead and 19 wounded, three of them seriously, by Israeli fire in Nablus,” the ministry said in a brief statement referring to a city in the occupied West Bank. 

The ministry later reported that another Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire, this time in Ramallah, home to the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the central West Bank.

The Israeli army confirmed in a joint statement with police and intelligence agencies that they had conducted a large-scale night operation in Nablus, raiding a “hideout apartment… that was used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site”.  

“The site was used by the main operatives of the ‘Lion’s Den’ terrorist group,” the statement said, referring to a new group of young Palestinian fighters who have carried out anti-Israeli operations in Nablus in recent weeks. 

“During the activity, multiple armed suspects were hit and Palestinian reports indicate that were multiple injuries.”

The Lion’s Den — called “Areen al-Ossoud” in Arabic — is composed of young Palestinian fighters, some of whom are affiliated with groups such as Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 

They claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Israeli soldier two weeks ago in the occupied West Bank. 

Their late leader Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, nicknamed “The Lion of Nablus”, was known for galvanising the youth before he was shot dead by Israeli forces in August. He has since become a folk hero to Palestinians on social media.

In the aftermath of Nabulsi’s death, the Israeli army tightened its grip on the city, setting up controls to identify people leaving and constantly scanning the skies above with observation drones. 

On Saturday night, a Lions’ Den fighter, Tamer al-Kilani, was killed in the Old City of Nablus by an explosion attributed by the group and the Israeli press to a bomb remotely activated by the Israeli army. The army did not comment on these claims. 

After Tuesday’s early morning clash, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas is establishing “urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people”, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said in a statement. 

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also said in a statement its “fighters were involved in violent clashes” with Israeli forces in Nablus and threatened Israel with reprisals “against these crimes” there.

– ‘War crimes’ – 

Violence has surged in recent months in the northern West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, especially in the areas of Nablus and Jenin. 

Israeli soldiers have stepped up operations in both cities since March in the wake of deadly anti-Israeli attacks.

These raids, often accompanied by clashes with the Palestinian population, have resulted in more than a hundred deaths on the Palestinian side, the highest death toll in the West Bank in nearly seven years, according to the UN. 

Since the beginning of the month, more than 20 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed, according to an AFP report.

Amnesty International on Tuesday called for an International Criminal Court probe into possible “war crimes” committed by both Israeli and Palestinian militants in August during deadly fighting in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade since 2007.

Thirty-one civilians were among the 49 Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip during the three-day conflict, the global rights group said in a new report, which looked at three incidents in particular — two attributed to Israeli forces and one to Palestinian factions.

“The three deadly attacks we examined must be investigated as war crimes,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. “All victims of unlawful attacks and their families deserve justice and reparations.”

Rishi Sunak will on Tuesday be installed as Britain’s third prime minister this year, replacing the humiliated Liz Truss after just seven weeks and inheriting a daunting array of problems.

Sunak became the ruling Conservatives’ new leader on Monday after rival contender Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs, and Boris Johnson dramatically aborted a comeback bid.

The 42-year-old Hindu will be Britain’s first prime minister of colour and the youngest in more than two centuries.

Sunak will take power in a morning audience with King Charles III, who is anointing his first prime minister since ascending the throne just two days after his late mother Queen Elizabeth II appointed Truss.

The ceremony on September 6 was the last major public act of her record-breaking reign.

Truss will hold a final cabinet meeting before making a departing statement in Downing Street at around 10:15 am (0915 GMT), with Sunak expected to speak just over an hour later.

She leaves office as the shortest-serving premier in history, after a calamitous tax-slashing budget sparked economic and political turmoil.

The 47-year-old announced her resignation last Thursday, admitting she could not deliver her “mandate” from Conservative members — who had chosen her over Sunak in the summer.

He has now staged a stunning turnaround in political fortunes, and vows to do the same for Britain as it confronts decades-high inflation, surging borrowing costs and imminent recession. 

Addressing the public on Monday, Sunak promised “stability and unity” as well as bringing “our party and our country together”.

– ‘Choices’ –

After delivering the now all-too-familiar new leader’s speech from the steps of Number 10 at around 11:35 am, Britain’s fifth prime minister in six years will start appointing his top team before facing his first session of “Prime Minister’s Questions” in parliament on Wednesday.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt, appointed by Truss just 11 days ago in an ultimately futile bid to salvage her premiership, could remain in the role after stabilising the markets.

He endorsed Sunak on Sunday, writing in the Telegraph that he was a leader “willing to make the choices necessary for our long-term prosperity”.

After reversing almost all of Truss’s various tax cuts, Hunt has warned “difficult decisions” loom over public spending.

Whoever heads the Treasury is set to unveil the government’s much-anticipated medium-term fiscal plans on October 31, Halloween, alongside independent assessments. 

Sunak must also decide whether to appoint to his cabinet senior MPs who did not support him, such as Mordaunt, in a bid to unify his fractured party. 

One so-called big beast unlikely to get a seat around the table is his former boss Johnson, who was driven out in July partly thanks to Sunak’s resignation.

The pair met late Saturday, when Johnson reportedly urged him to form a power-sharing partnership. 

The ex-leader had only secured the public backing of a few dozen Tory MPs, compared to well over 100 for Sunak, and the offer was rebuffed.

A day later, Johnson bowed to political reality and announced he would not move forward with his audacious comeback.

“You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament,” he acknowledged.

– ‘No mandate’ –

Sunak, a wealthy descendant of immigrants from India and East Africa, is also facing calls for a general election after becoming the latest UK leader who lacks a direct mandate from the electorate.

Pollster Ipsos said Monday that 62 percent of voters want a vote by the end of the year.

“He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas,” Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, whose nationalist government wants to hold an independence referendum next year, echoed the comments — while recognising the significance of Britain getting its first leader of colour.

The next election is not due until January 2025 at the latest and opposition parties have no way to force one, unless dozens of Conservative MPs acquiesce.

That appears unlikely as a flurry of polls show Labour with its largest lead in decades.

YouGov modelling Monday showed Sunak faces an uphill battle to restore confidence in both the Tories and himself.

Weekend responses from 12,000 people found that Labour leader Keir Starmer was seen as the “best prime minister” in 389 constituencies, compared with Sunak’s 127.

Amnesty International on Tuesday called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into possible war crimes committed in August by both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants during deadly fighting in Gaza.

Thirty-one civilians were among the 49 Palestinians killed in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip during the three-day conflict, the global rights group said in a new report.

The London-based organisation pressed the ICC to “urgently investigate any apparent war crimes committed during the August 2022 Israeli offensive” in the Palestinian enclave.

“Amnesty International has collected and analysed new evidence of unlawful attacks, including possible war crimes, committed by both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups,” it said.

The report detailed a strike that hit the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing seven civilians.

The bombing was “likely to have been caused by a rocket launched by Palestinian armed groups that misfired”, Amnesty said.

Fighting began on August 5 when Israel targeted the Islamic Jihad militant group in what it said were pre-emptive strikes to avert attacks.

The Palestinian organisation responded with barrages of rocket fire that did not result in any Israeli casualties.

Amnesty’s research found that an attack in which five children were killed at a cemetery “was likely to have been carried out by an Israeli guided missile fired by a drone”.

A third incident Amnesty said may amount to a war crime was Israeli tank fire on a house in the southern Khan Yunis area, which killed one civilian.

The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, expected to focus in part on possible war crimes committed during the 2014 conflict in Gaza.

The probe is supported by the Palestinian Authority, but Israel is not an ICC member and disputes its jurisdiction.

The violence in August was preceded by four wars between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008.

The Palestinian enclave has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since 2007, imposed after the Islamist movement Hamas took control of the territory.

Hamas said its militants did not participate in the August conflict.

Russia must not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to unleash a so-called “dirty bomb”, the head of NATO warned Monday.

Jens Stoltenberg weighed in following Moscow’s repeated allegations that Ukraine could deploy such a weapon, sparking fears Russia could use one and blame Kyiv.

The head of the US-led military alliance said he had spoken with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace “about Russia’s false claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.”

“NATO Allies reject this allegation. Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation. We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine is close to developing a dirty bomb, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the threat is real.

“This is not empty information… there are serious suspicions that such things may be planned”, Lavrov said, adding: “We have a keen interest in preventing such a terrible provocation.”

But State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is worried that Russia’s claims could be a cover.

“We have seen a pattern in this conflict and the lead-up to this war where the Russians have engaged in mirror imaging — the Russians have accused the Ukrainians, the Russians have accused other countries of what itself was planning. That is our concern”, Price said.

The head of the Russian army Valery Gerasimov repeated Moscow’s claims in a telephone call with his US counterpart on Monday, the defence ministry said. 

The call was the latest in a string of conversations between Russian defence officials and counterparts from NATO countries, during which Moscow said, without providing evidence, that Kyiv was planning to deploy a dirty bomb.

In a statement on Monday, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said: “According to the information we have, two organisations in Ukraine have specific instructions to create a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stage”. 

At its most basic, a dirty bomb is a conventional weapon laced with radioactive, biological or chemical materials that are disseminated in an explosion.

Moscow’s claims follow weeks of military defeats for Russia in southern and eastern Ukraine, with observers and Kyiv saying the Kremlin is becoming increasingly desperate.

In Kyiv’s latest announcement of territorial gains, the Ukrainian military claims to have pushed Russian forces from several villages in the northeast of the country.

– Inspection mission –

“Due to successful actions, our troops pushed the enemy out of the settlements of Karmazynivka, Myasozharivka and Nevske in the Lugansk region and Novosadove in Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.

Both Kyiv and its allies have fiercely rejected the dirty bomb claims, which follow thinly veiled threats from Moscow of potential nuclear escalation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the head of the United Nations nuclear agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, accepted his request to “urgently send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine, which Russia deceitfully claims to be developing a dirty bomb.”

The IAEA confirmed in a statement that it would visit two Ukrainian facilities “in the coming days.”

Britain, the United States and France also issued a joint statement dismissing the Russian claims.

“Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” the statement said.

With the help of Western-supplied heavy weapons, Ukraine has managed to claw back swathes of its territory from Russia in the east and south, while its power grid has been pummelled ahead of winter.

As momentum has swung toward Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced fissures in domestic support for his campaign, as a messy troop draft and battlefield losses challenged the prospect of a quick conclusion.

The Kremlin meanwhile said on Monday that France and Germany were showing “no desire” to participate in mediation on the conflict and praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to organise talks.

Turkey helped broker the deal that allowed grain exports to resume under the UN’s aegis in July, and played a role in a prisoner swap in September, one of the largest exchanges.

Cyclone Sitrang slammed into densely-populated, low-lying Bangladesh late Monday, killing at least five people as authorities fearing heavy rain and storm surge rushed to move hundreds of thousands out of the system’s path.

Sitrang, packing winds of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour, made landfall along the Chittagong-Barisal coast around 9:00 pm (1500 GMT), government meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallick told AFP.

The storm was moving swiftly over the country’s southern region and its outer bands were already impacting Dhaka, hundreds of kilometers away from the Bay of Bengal, with trees uprooted and roads flooded in the capital. 

Mallick said some coastal towns had received nearly 294 milimetres (12 inches) of rainfall. 

At least five people had been killed  in the districts of Barguna, Narail, Sirajganj and the island district of Bhola, disaster ministry control room spokesman Nikhil Sarker told AFP.

“The casualties may rise as we are hearing from our officials from some other districts as well,” he said.

Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific — are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean where tens of millions of people live.

But scientists say climate change is likely making them more intense and frequent, and Bangladesh is already rated by the United Nations as one of the countries most affected by extreme weather events since the turn of the century.

Most worrying for authorities was the predicted storm surge of up to three metres (10 feet) above normal tide levels, which could inundate areas home to millions of people.

About 33,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, controversially relocated to a storm-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, were advised to remain indoors.

The newly-formed silt island of Bhashan Char, where Bangladesh has been relocating Rohingya refugees to alleviate overcrowding in their refugee camps, was expected to be hit by heavy rains and strong winds.

“The Bhashan Char shelters are protected by a 19-feet-high embankment. Still, we asked people to stay at home,” a senior security officer told AFP from the island.

The government had hoped to evacuate about 2.5 million other people ahead of the storm, the country’s disaster management minister Enamur Rahman told reporters earlier Monday.

“The evacuation has already begun from the morning,” the minister said, adding that more than 7,000 shelters have been readied in an effort to keep casualties to a minimum.

At least 250,000 people had already been evacuated from coastal districts to cyclone shelters by the afternoon, two regional administrators told AFP.

Tens of thousands of volunteers were mobilised for the effort, said a spokesman for the local chapter of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.

“We have already evacuated the most vulnerable people, especially those who live in remote islands and river banks and those who live in flimsy houses,” Aminul Ahsan, regional administrator of Barisal, told AFP.

“In some places we have used force to bring people to cyclone shelters. It is for their own safety,” another regional administrator said.

The Red Crescent Society has mobilised tens of thousands of volunteers to help villagers evacuate, spokesman Shahinur Rahman said.

– India evacuations –

In the neighbouring eastern Indian state of West Bengal, several thousand people were also being evacuated as a precaution, with more than 100 relief centres opened, officials said.

“A special squad is making a round-the-clock vigil along the coastline of the state,” West Bengal government minister Arup Biswas said.

“Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea. Ferry services have also been suspended,” he said.

In 2020, Cyclone Amphan, only the second “super cyclone” ever recorded over the Bay of Bengal, killed more than 100 people in Bangladesh and India, and affected millions.

Last year, more than a million people were evacuated along India’s east coast before Cyclone Yaas battered the area with winds gusting up to 155 kilometres an hour — equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

The 1970 Bhola cyclone, one of the world’s worst natural disasters, killed several hundred thousand people in Bangladesh — then known as East Pakistan — and India.

In recent years, better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced the death toll from such storms.