The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a dire state of Gaza's health system, warning it can't endure further losses of ambulances or hospital beds. Christian Lindmeier, WHO spokesman, described the situation as "horrible beyond belief," emphasizing that only 14 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are operational. The ongoing conflict has devastated vast areas, displacing 80% of the population, facing severe shortages of essentials. Lindmeier pleaded for a ceasefire, citing patients bleeding on the floor and trauma wards resembling battlefields. A planned medical convoy had to be suspended due to security concerns, amplifying the urgency of humanitarian intervention in Gaza.        

A senior Hamas leader, who is in exile abroad, accused Israel of a "heinous crime against innocent civilians" after images circulated of Palestinian men stripped to their underwear in Gaza. Izzat El-Reshiq said the men were captured at a school being used as a shelter, urging rights groups to expose this and secure their release. Israel TV showed the footage, saying they were captured Hamas fighters. Some Palestinians recognised relatives and denied links to any group. An Israeli spokesperson said they were apprehended in Hamas strongholds. Rights groups and relatives raised concerns over humanitarian law violations. London-based Arabic outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said its correspondent Diaa Kahlout was among those detained, heightening calls for their release.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday announced he will run in the 2024 presidential elections, seeking to extend his rule. "I've had different thoughts at different times, but this is a time when a decision has to be made. I will run for the office of president," Putin said. According to reports by Russian media outlets, Putin told Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, a Russian military officer, about his decision to participate in the upcoming vote at a Kremlin ceremony. Russian media quoted the officer saying all of Russia and its "reunified territories" support Putin's decision to heed the "request to participate". Though Putin has governed Russia for over two decades as president or prime minister, he is yet to formally announce his candidacy for the March 2024 polls. 

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, in his new role as UK Foreign Secretary, urged Republican lawmakers during a visit to Washington to provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons. "There is nothing that will drive Russia further back and put Putin more on the back foot than actually seeing that Crimea, which is legally part of Ukraine, is properly under attack from Ukrainian forces," Cameron said. This would require sending additional long-range weapons to Ukraine. Cameron argued that aid to Ukraine so far has been "tremendous value for money," saying that for 10% of the U.S. defense budget, "nearly half of Russia's prewar military assets have been destroyed." The comments come as Republicans recently blocked $44 billion in new aid to Ukraine in the Senate.

In a crucial phone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden stressed the "critical need to protect civilians" in Gaza following the recent attacks by Hamas. The White House emphasized the call for humanitarian corridors to separate civilians from Hamas-controlled areas. While the US has defended Israel's right to self-defense, Biden expressed concern over the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the sentiment, urging Israel to prioritize civilian protection. Biden welcomed Israel's decision to allow more fuel but insisted on urgent, comprehensive assistance. The leaders also discussed efforts to restore a truce and expressed commitment to a "durable and sustainable peace" in the Middle East, including a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that Israel would unleash "devastation in Beirut and southern Lebanon" if Hezbollah dares to open an "all-out war" against the Jewish state. "If Hezbollah decides to open an all-out war, then with its own hands it will turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, which are not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Yunis," Netanyahu warned, referring to the widespread destruction Israel's military has brought upon parts of Gaza in retaliation to Hamas rocket attacks. Netanyahu delivered the stern warning during a visit to the Israel Defense Forces' northern command headquarters overseeing Lebanon. While Hezbollah has expressed solidarity with Hamas militants in Gaza and exchanged cross-border fire with Israel, it has so far avoided starting a full military offensive. 

71-year-old yoga guru Gregorian Bivolaru was arrested last week in Paris after six years on the run on suspicion of rape, exploitation, kidnapping and people trafficking. His arrest brought forward sinister details of sexual atrocities carried out by him over two decades. One victim, Agnes Arabela Marques was 15 when she met the 'guru' Gregorian Bivolaru, narrated her horrific experience to AFP. Though the 'soft-spoken guru' seemed "nice" to Agnes initially, her belief was shaken when she was forced into performing lesbian acts with dozens of women before having sex with Bivolaru at her "initiation ceremony." Aged 16, Marques next had to join 300 women parading naked at Bivolaru's "Miss Shakti" beauty pageant, a cult event with some women masturbating publicly in front of onlookers. More ex-followers described group pornography screenings, use of hypnosis, enforced orgies, and also being forced to drink the guru's urine when held in "deplorable conditions." In a raid last week that marked the end of a nearly two-decade-long quest by authorities in at least three jurisdictions - Romania, France, and Finland, police freed over 50 women and seized $215,000 cash, pornography, and fake IDs from Bivolaru's home. 

UK PM Rishi Sunak faces internal turmoil as Tory Rightwingers, led by Suella Braverman, challenge the Rwanda immigration plan. Sunak defends the policy, cautioning that going further risks the entire deal. "We have set the bar so high that it will be vanishingly rare for anyone to meet it," he asserts. Braverman presses for excluding international law to halt boat crossings, emphasizing the urgency: "We can't keep failing the British people." Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel urges a robust treaty to curb illegal migration. Veteran MP Sir Christopher Chope demands a stronger bill, believing small boats can only be stopped by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. The Safety of Rwanda Bill, granting powers to disregard parts of the Human Rights Act, intensifies a Conservative party rift.

A BBC news anchor was caught showing her middle finger during a live broadcast on Wednesday. Video shows presenter Maryam Moshiri giving the obscene middle finger gesture at the camera just as she appears on-screen to begin delivering the day's news headlines. Quickly realizing she is live on-air, Moshiri pulls her hand away and starts reading the news, though she stumbles over her words in an apparent sign of embarrassment. Moshiri later apologized, explaining she was joking around with studio crew, pretending to count down to the broadcast with hand signals when she accidentally flipped the middle finger not realizing she was live. The cringeworthy gaffe comes a few years after another BBC presenter was famously caught flashing the middle finger on-air before realizing he was live.

In Gaza's Khan Younis, Israeli ground forces scoured for the suspected mastermind of October's bloody attacks, Hamas's Yahya Al-Sinwar. Troops located tunnels and destroyed buildings as the military said Sinwar's house was now encircled.  PM Netanyahu asserted in a video: "His house may not be his fortress and he can escape but it's only a matter of time before we get him." Israel's Army, Air Force, and Navy have all launched an offensive in South Gaza forcing thousands of displaced civilians to seek shelter on the border and in a desolate seaside area of the besieged enclave. The IDF announced targeted raids killed several Hamas militants amid the intense street-to-street search. Naval forces struck alleged bases as thousands sheltered near Gaza's border, fleeing Israel's escalating bombardment and hunting down Hamas figures on the "most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation,"