Breaking News

Syrians begin piecing their lives back together a week after rebels overthrow Assad

News Wrap: Displaced Gazans struggle to escape fighting between Israel and Hamas

What caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan? Here's what we know so far

Plane crash probe in Kazakhstan underway as speculation mounts about possible Russian involvement

Google Maps helps solve murder mystery by capturing moment a person put suspected corpse into car in Spain

France rushes aid to Mayotte, with hundreds feared dead and hunger rising after Cyclone Chido

Germany’s Chancellor Scholz loses a confidence vote, setting up an early election in February

Gaza death toll tops 45,000 from Israel-Hamas war, health officials say

2025-02-13

76 Read.

News Wrap: Displaced Gazans struggle to escape fighting between Israel and Hamas

In our news wrap Sunday, dozens of people were killed in Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on, Israel said it wants to double the population of Israeli settlers in the Golan Heights along the border with Syria, and Trump named long-time foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell as his next envoy for special missions.

John Yang:

Elsewhere in the Middle East, nearly two dozen people were killed in attacks in northern Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on. Medics and residents say Israeli troops stormed a school being used as a shelter in Beit Hanun and killed several people and detained others. In other parts of Gaza, at least nine were killed in airstrikes on homes and Beit Lehiya and Jabalya.

The Israeli army says it was targeting homes where Hamas militants were planning attacks. Residents say they keep moving to try to escape the fighting and that they have few options left.

UM Hassan Ammar, Displaced Gazan Woman:

We were sleeping. We're all civilians. This is a safe shelter. They told us to head south, so we left. I went to Khan Younis. From Khan Younis, we moved to Rafah, and from Rafah we fled to Deir al-Balah. Again, we saw the bombing and a red light coming down on us, the tent collapsing on us. I miraculously survived with my daughters and husband.

John Yang:

According to the United Nations, more than half the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents have been driven from their homes. That's about 90 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, Israel says it wants to double the population of Israeli settlers in the Golan Heights along the border with Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it's vital to blossom and settle in the area because a new front had opened. Israeli forces went into the buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights shortly after the fall of the Assad regime in what Netanyahu called a temporary security measure. Since then, more troop movements have been spotted in the area.

President Elect Trump added another loyalist and veteran of his first term to his second term. White House staff. Mr. Trump said longtime foreign policy advisor Richard Grenell will be his envoy for Special Missions. He'll be working in what he called the hottest spots around the world, including Venezuela and North Korea.

Grenell held several posts during the first Trump term, including ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence.

Still to come on PBS News, what a second Trump administration could mean for abortion access nationwide. And how some Indiana high school students offering up ideas to combat climate change.