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Oct. 29, 2025, 6:10 AM EDTBy Chantal Da SilvaIsrael said Wednesday that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was back on after 100 people, including children, were reported killed by intense strikes it carried out across the Palestinian enclave.The Israeli military said it had “begun the renewed enforcement” of the fragile ceasefire after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” strikes on the territory as Israel and Hamas traded accusations of ceasefire violations.Dozens of targets were struck in the attack, it said, the most serious threat yet to the truce partly brokered by President Donald Trump.Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense agency, told NBC News on Wednesday that more than 100 people, including more than 30 children, had been killed since Tuesday night in the deadly strikes.NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the death toll and the health ministry in Gaza did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Wounded Palestinians in an ambulance after an Israeli strike on the Al-Mawasi tent area sheltering displaced families on Wednesday.Abdallah F.s. Alattar / Anadolu via Getty ImagesDestruction following Israeli attacks on Bureij camp, in Gaza City, on Wednesday.Moiz Salhi / Anadolu via Getty ImagesBasal said the strikes “targeted homes, tents and gatherings in various cities,” with heavy shelling He added that the assault had continued into the morning, with the death toll “expected to rise.”An official from the Israel Defense Forces told NBC News that the command to carry out the strikes was a result of Hamas allegedly attacking soldiers in the southern Gaza area of Rafah in an Israeli-controlled area. NBC News could not independently verify the claim. The IDF announced that an Israeli reservist soldier identified as Master Sergeant (Res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum had been killed in Rafah. Hanan Greenwood, a spokesperson for the Binyamin regional council, told NBC News on Wednesday that Feldbaum, 37, held an American passport. Hamas denied any involvement in the incident, calling Israel’s strikes a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire deal as the group urged mediators to step in and pressure Israel to halt its attacks. Israel had previously accused Hamas of a similar attack in Rafah that saw two soldiers killed earlier this month, with the militant group also denying involvement at the time. President Donald Trump voiced support for Israel’s actions, telling reporters on Air Force One, “the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back when that happens.”Still, he maintained that the truce in Gaza was not at risk, adding that Hamas was a “very small part” of peace in the Middle East.“They said they would be good, and if they’re good they’re going to be happy,” he said. “And if they’re not good, they’re going to be terminated.”Vice President JD Vance similarly maintained that the “ceasefire is holding,” adding: ” That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there.”Tensions have also been mounting over the return of hostage remains.The militant group returned all living hostages who remained held in Gaza, but has failed so far to return the remains of all the deceased hostages in the enclave. Both Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has helped facilitate the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, had warned it would be difficult to locate bodies under the Gaza rubble.But on Tuesday Hamas was accused by Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement after returning body parts that were identified to belong to Ofir Tzarfati, whose remains were already returned to Israel about two years ago in a military operation. The Israeli military also released footage that it said showed Hamas staging the recovery of hostage remains, with the footage appearing to show people carrying what appeared to be a white shroud from a building and covering it with dirt before then uncovering the area in front of a recovery team. In a statement Wednesday, the ICRC addressed the incident, saying its teams “were not aware that a deceased person had been placed there prior to their arrival, as seen in the footage” and that it was “unacceptable” for a “fake recovery” to be staged. Hamas has yet to publicly address the matter. Chantal Da SilvaChantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.Matt Bradley, Paul Goldman and Omer Bekin contributed.

- Latest News - October 29, 2025

Israel said Wednesday that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was back on after 100 people, including children, were reported killed by intense strikes it carried out across the Palestinian.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 28, 2025, 5:10 PM EDTBy Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Dan De LuceA recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is more determined than ever to carry on the war in Ukraine and prevail on the battlefield, according to a senior U.S. official and a senior congressional official.The analysis, which was communicated to members of Congress this month, indicated the agencies see no sign Russia is ready to compromise on Ukraine as President Donald Trump seeks to broker peace talks.The assessment is consistent with how U.S. and Western intelligence agencies have viewed the Russian regime’s stance since February 2022, when Putin ordered an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, according to two other people with knowledge of the matter.But Putin is now believed to be more dug in than ever, according to the senior U.S. official and the senior congressional official.Facing steep Russian troop losses and economic setbacks at home, he is committed to securing Ukrainian land and expanding his country’s footprint to justify the human and financial toll, the intelligence assessment found, according to the officials. In a sign of Trump’s growing frustration, last week he called off a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, and for the first time since he returned to office in January he imposed punitive measures against Moscow, slapping sanctions on two major Russian oil companies. “I just felt it was time,” Trump told reporters, describing the new sanctions as “tremendous” and adding that he had “waited a long time” to implement them but hopes “they won’t be on for long.”“We hope that the war will be settled,” he said.The White House declined to comment on the recent intelligence assessment and pointed to Trump’s public comments on efforts to reach a peace deal.“As the president stated, these are tremendous sanctions against their two big oil companies which he hopes will help bring about the end of the war,” the official said in a statement. “He has been clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war. The United States will continue to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the war, and a permanent peace depends on Russia’s willingness to negotiate in good faith.”Trump has long vowed to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, and as a candidate he promised he would secure peace within 24 hours of his return to office. But his efforts to persuade Russia to come to the negotiating table and agree to a ceasefire have failed so far. Trump’s rhetoric has shifted in recent months, as he has expressed growing frustration and impatience with Putin, accusing him of failing to take action to back up positive statements made in their conversations.“Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” Trump said last week.Trump even said publicly that he might provide long-range U.S-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine this month, though he later backed away from the idea after a phone conversation with Putin.Ukraine has appealed to Washington for longer-range missiles to strike at targets inside Russia, and European powers have endorsed its request.Ukrainian officials, European governments and Kyiv’s supporters in Congress have repeatedly urged Trump to exert pressure on Russia through arms shipments and sanctions to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire and peace negotiations. The announcement of sanctions on Russian oil companies was the first time Trump has followed through on threats to introduce economic penalties against Moscow. The new sanctions on Russia, Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia’s oil and gas facilities and European efforts to provide more weapons to Kyiv’s forces could alter the Kremlin’s calculations over time, according to European diplomats, former U.S. intelligence officials and experts.In August, the White House portrayed a summit in Alaska between Putin and Trump as a promising step toward possible peace negotiations. But the war has raged on, and Russia has stuck to the same hard-line demands that would effectively disarm Ukraine, ban it from joining the NATO alliance and block the deployment of any Western-led peacekeeping forces. Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Carol E. LeeCarol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. 

- Latest News - October 29, 2025

A recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is more determined than ever to carry on the war in Ukraine.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 29, 2025, 5:00 AM EDTBy Rohan NadkarniWhile the United States has largely dominated the Summer Olympics — topping the overall medal table 19 times — the Winter Olympics are a slightly different story. Norway is the all-time medal leader in winter competition, and at the 2022 Games in Beijing, the U.S. finished third in the medal count, behind first-place Norway and second-place Germany.For the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, here are the events in which Americans are most likely to take home some hardware.Freestyle skiingFreestyle skiing was the event most kind to Americans in 2022, as the United States won a total of eight medals across the competitions.Alex Hall will be defending his gold medal in the men’s slopestyle, while the U.S. will also be looking to repeat gold in mixed team aerials.There were also four silver medalists, including Jaelin Kauf in women’s moguls, Colby Stevenson in men’s big air and David Wise in men’s halfpipe. Kauf, Stevenson and Wise are all set to return to the Games next year.Nick Goepper also won silver in men’s slopestyle, but he has retired from that competition and will switch to halfpipe in Italy.SnowboardingSnowboarding was arguably the U.S.’ best event in Beijing, as the country took home three gold medals, the most of any discipline.The headliner will be Chloe Kim, who in 2018 became the youngest woman to win a snowboarding gold medal when she won at 17 years old in the women’s halfpipe. Lindsey Jacobellis won two golds: a solo one in snowboard cross and a team win with Nick Baumgartner in mixed snowboard cross. Baumgartner, 43, and Jacobellis, 40, are the elder statespeople of the group. While Baumgartner is training for his fifth Olympics, Jacobellis’ participation is up in the air after she had a child earlier this year.Figure skatingThe U.S. won three medals in figure skating in 2022, but one of its most decorated skaters won’t be defending his title in Italy.Nathan Chen, who won gold in both men’s singles and the team event, won’t compete in 2026 as he has decided to pursue medical school instead.“I just want to open doors to kind of see what’s the best sort of approach for me,” Chen told the Los Angeles Times in August. “And frankly, at this point in time in my life, I’ve already accomplished enough in skating that I’m quite satisfied with my career.”The States will still be looking to defend its team title, which includes wife and husband Madison Chock and Evan Bates.The ice dance team of Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell, who won bronze and participated in the team event, won’t be returning after retiring from competition in 2022.Some youthful faces should be in their skating prime, however: Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn will both be coming off championships in 2025, while Ilia Malinin — the only skater to land a fully rotated quadruple axel — will be participating in his first Olympics.BobsleighOr as you probably know it, bobsled, was responsible for three American medals in Beijing. Two women took home hardware in monobob. Elana Meyers Taylor won silver, while Kaillie Humphries — who competed for Canada in 2010, 2014 and 2018 — won gold.Humphries became a naturalized American citizen shortly before the 2022 Games. She stopped competing for Canada after filing a harassment complaint in 2018. Meyers Taylor, who will be participating in her fifth Olympics in 2026, also won bronze in the two-woman with Sylvia Hoffman.Cross-country skiing, Alpine skiing and ice hockeyThe U.S. won four medals across these three disciplines, though they should receive a boost in 2026.Lindsey Vonn, who has three Olympic medals, is returning to Alpine skiing. She retired from competition in 2019 after suffering several injuries, but resumed her career late last year. Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine skiing’s most decorated athlete, is looking to return to the podium in 2026. She won golds in 2014 and 2018 but uncharacteristically struggled in Beijing. Shiffrin is still working her way back to her athletic peak after suffering a serious injury last November.In ice hockey, the United States women will be looking for redemption after winning silver in 2022. The men, who did not make the podium in Beijing, will have some reinforcements next year as NHL players will be returning to the Games for the first time since 2014.Rohan NadkarniRohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News. 

- Latest News - October 29, 2025

While the United States has largely dominated the Summer Olympics — topping the overall medal table 19 times — the Winter Olympics are a slightly different story.

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Oct. 29, 2025, 5:00 AM EDTBy Sahil Kapur, Scott Wong and Brennan LeachWASHINGTON — The pain of a U.S. government shutdown is poised to intensify this week as the funding lapse nears a full month with no resolution in sight.A series of deadlines in the coming days could have negative consequences for ordinary Americans, cutting off food assistance for low-income Americans, raising health insurance premiums for millions on Obamacare and depriving air-traffic controllers, TSA agents and other federal workers of paychecks.Here are four ways the pain is about to hit Americans:Food assistance will be cut offSNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, are slated to dry up on Nov. 1 without congressional action, impacting an estimated 40 million low-income Americans across red and blue states.New York, Texas and Florida are each home to about 3 million SNAP beneficiaries, according to KFF, a nonpartisan research group.“This is the biggest pressure point that we’ve seen in 28 days,” said Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, whose state of Alabama has about 750,000 SNAP beneficiaries. “I think Democrats are getting a little bit tight right now. It’s their constituents — a lot of them — in some of these inner cities that are gonna need SNAP to survive … And they’re getting a lot of calls.” “A lot of people need to go back to work — a lot of young men that are on SNAP that should be working,” Tuberville added.We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now, a person who relies on federal benefits like SNAP, or someone who is feeling the effects of other shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., chairman of the Agriculture Committee that oversees SNAP, said millions of American families will be harmed if the government doesn’t reopen by Nov. 1.“It will make their lives more difficult. And, you know, the bottom line is, we need to quit holding these people hostage,” said Boozman, co-chair of the Hunger Caucus. “We have a clean CR. Sen. Schumer needs to open the government — that’s the solution to the problem.”Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., however, scoffed at the suggestion that SNAP benefits are a partisan pressure point.“Starving children will put pressure on members of Congress? Well, that’s a good moral position,” he said, while emphasizing that the Department of Agriculture has a $5 billion “emergency fund set aside for exactly this purpose” and argued it is obligated to use it to preserve SNAP benefits.Democratic leaders in 25 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday sued USDA, arguing just that. They asked a federal judge to compel USDA to keep SNAP going as long as it has contingency funding. Some states are dipping into their own emergency funds to provide support for SNAP during the shutdown as well.Apart from SNAP, it’s unknown if the Trump administration will be able to find alternate funding for a critical nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), after Trump this month tapped into $300 million in tariff revenue to keep WIC running.And as of Nov. 1, Head Start — and the thousands of preschool children who depend on it — may be in limbo as money runs out for the popular program that provides free learning, health screenings and meals to young children from low-income families.Soaring health care costsOpen enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, begins on Nov. 1, a month before subsidies that have helped keep premium costs low are set to expire. Insurers have set higher rates for 2026 in case those subsidies aren’t renewed, with some Americans seeing their premiums double or triple for next year.If Congress acts soon to extend the money, reversing the sticker shock for enrollees will be complicated, but insurers can find ways to lower the bills for them next year. Still, the parties do not appear close to a resolution.The central Democratic demand during the shutdown battle has been to extend those funds, which cost about $35 billion per year and cap insurance premiums for “benchmark” plans on the ACA exchanges at 8.5% of an enrollee’s income.Many Republicans say the money, which was initially passed in 2021 as part of the Covid pandemic relief, should expire.Democrats are reminding them that many of their constituents in red states would face skyrocketing premiums if the tax credits end.“The majority of benefits will go to people living in states that Trump won,” said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J. “I’m not thinking about this in terms of blue or red voters; I’m just trying to help as many people as possible. The Trump administration has shown such a deep disregard, even for people that voted for them.” Kim said the White House is treating programs like ACA and SNAP as “a political chip” rather than a lifeline for Americans.There’s also concern that some people will go without insurance rather than pay higher premium costs, putting greater strain on the U.S. health care system.#embed-20251002-shutdown-milestones iframe {width: 1px;min-width: 100%} Air traffic controllers and TSA agents miss full paychecksFederal workers are either furloughed or forced to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown. Tuesday marked the first time during this shutdown that certain “excepted” workers, such as TSA agents and air traffic controllers tasked with keeping the skies safe, missed a full paycheck.Previously, they had received partial paychecks, but this time their pay stubs showed $0.00.“I’m very concerned about air traffic controllers,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chair of the Appropriations Committee that writes federal funding bills. “I had two flights this Sunday and last Sunday averted at the last second. One of them actually touched down and then took back off. And in all the years that I’ve served in the Senate, I’ve never had that happen.”The longest government shutdown in U.S. history, spanning 34 days in late 2018 and early 2019, ended after air traffic controllers and TSA agents started calling in sick, severely threatening air travel. One of the biggest travel holidays of the year, Thanksgiving, is coming up in just a few weeks.Even fiscal conservatives who’ve fought to slash government spending argued that not paying air traffic controllers could have dangerous consequences when it comes to public safety.“I fly twice a week. I want my air traffic controller to be happy, well fed, not anxious, not nervous,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the only Republican who has voted against the GOP bill to reopen the government. “So I’m for paying our soldiers, paying our air traffic controllers, paying our employees — anybody that’s working ought to be paid.”Pay for troops is in fluxTwo weeks ago, the White House alleviated a major pain point in the shutdown by shifting money around to ensure active-duty military troops didn’t miss a paycheck. Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to find the money to pay the troops; the Pentagon reallocated billions of dollars from research and development programs to service member paychecks.On top of that, a private donor, whom The New York Times later identified as billionaire Timothy Mellon, contributed $130 million to help pay the troops. But that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $6.5 billion needed for the Pentagon to fund Friday’s paychecks.The Trump administration is now desperately searching for other funding streams to tap into. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that the White House has figured out a way to pay members of the military at the end of this week. But there are far from any guarantees. And what happens next month is unclear.”We believe that we can continue to pay the troops Friday,” Vance said after huddling with Senate Republicans over lunch.Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., a member of the Armed Services Committee, said that not being able to pay the troops would be “awful” and noted that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the administration to identify other pots of money.“They can only do that for so long before they run out of funding pools,” Cramer said Tuesday. “I think the White House is doing everything that the White House should be doing, and they should be insisting on Democrats pushing the easy button and vote to reopen the government.”Sahil KapurSahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.Scott WongScott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News. Brennan LeachBrennan Leach is an associate producer for NBC News covering the Senate.

- Latest News - October 29, 2025

The pain of a U.S. government shutdown is poised to intensify this week as the funding lapse nears a full month with no resolution in sight.

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Oct. 28, 2025, 7:07 PM EDTBy Abigail Williams, Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Katherine DoyleWASHINGTON — Some of President Donald Trump’s aides have advised him against shifting the U.S. position on independence for Taiwan to favor China, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions, ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.The aides have privately expressed concern that Trump, who is pushing to reach a sweeping trade deal with China, may choose to ignore their advice, the people with knowledge of the discussions said. They said they worry that Trump could walk away from long-standing U.S. policy on Taiwan or more subtly shift the U.S. position by framing it with new language.“Everyone is holding their breath,” one of the people with knowledge of the discussions said.Stocks hit record highs over hopes of China trade deal00:47Administration officials have told Trump to expect Xi to seek a public declaration from him that the United States “opposes” Taiwan’s independence, the people with knowledge of the discussions said. Xi has for months pushed for a shift in the U.S. position on Taiwan from the current one, which is that the United States does “not support” its independence, to saying the United States “opposes” it.While many Americans might see that as a different way of saying the same thing, were Trump to say the United States opposes Taiwan’s independence or even that independence is not a good idea at this time, it would send shock waves across Asia and be seen as a huge gift to Xi.Openly expressing opposition to Taiwan’s independence would be seen as moving the United States from a neutral position on the issue to clearly standing on the side of China. For decades, U.S. administrations have adopted a policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, known as the “One China” policy, and presidents have taken the public position of not supporting its independence.A White House official told NBC News: “President Trump has repeatedly affirmed that his Taiwan policy has not changed. President Trump leads on all foreign policy — he always puts forward deals that put the American people first.”Asked what the Trump administration’s policy on Taiwan’s independence was, a senior State Department official said, “The policy on Taiwan hasn’t changed one bit.”“It’s as consistent as it’s been for decades,” the official said Monday.China sees democratic and self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland by military force if necessary. Taipei rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty and seeks to maintain its de facto independence even if it is not formally recognized by most countries.“The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said by email when he was asked for comment.“There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is a consensus of the international community and a political commitment made by the U.S. to China,” Liu said.Taiwanese officials are also uneasy about the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting and have expressed their own concerns to State Department officials that Trump could abandon Taiwan to secure a win from the meeting, one of the people familiar with the discussions said.Asked by reporters about Taiwan’s apprehension, Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed the concerns aside.“What people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal where we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio said Saturday en route to Asia for this week’s meetings. “No one is contemplating that.”Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry took to social media soon after, expressing its appreciation to Rubio for “reaffirming no one is contemplating walking away from Taiwan.”Abigail Williams, Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Monica Alba reported from Washington and Katherine Doyle from Tokyo.Abigail WilliamsAbigail Williams is a producer and reporter for NBC News covering the State Department.Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Carol E. LeeCarol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.Katherine DoyleKatherine Doyle is a White House reporter for NBC News. Monica Alba contributed.

- Latest News - October 29, 2025

Some of President Donald Trump’s aides have advised him against shifting the U.S. position on Taiwan to favor China with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

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