Israel has intensified its attacks on the Gaza Strip, with at least 31 people killed in the latest airstrikes. This brings the total death toll in the area to over 43,340, according to Reuters. A report on Monday, November 4, stated that Palestinian doctors reported at least 31 casualties from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday, November 3, with nearly half of the fatalities occurring in northern Gaza. Claiming that Hamas is regrouping in the region, the Israeli military has been conducting month-long operations to prevent this. In a separate report, the Anadolu news agency stated that at least 27 more Palestinians were killed in the ongoing attacks, bringing the total death count to 43,341 since October of last year, as reported by Gaza's Health Ministry on Sunday. The ministry's statement revealed that over 102,105 individuals have also been injured in relentless attacks. Over the last 24 hours, Israeli forces’ continuous assaults have led to 27 more deaths and 86 injuries. Many people remain trapped under rubble or stranded in the streets, as rescuers are unable to reach them. Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 10,000 people are still missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings across Gaza. Despite a United Nations Security Council proposal urging an immediate ceasefire, Israel continues its severe offensive in the blockaded territory. The conflict between Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group supporting Hamas, and Israel also escalated after Israel's assault on Gaza began on October 7, with Hezbollah launching rockets at Israel. Israel has reported that Hamas’s attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and the taking of approximately 250 hostages. According to Gaza's health authorities, Israeli attacks have killed 41,600 people in Gaza and displaced over 2.3 million individuals.

Germany's closure of Iran's consulates in the country effectively serves as a "sanction" against Iranians residing in Germany, Tehran said on Friday. It comes after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday announced that three Iranian consulates would be closed in Germany in response to the execution of German-Iranian dual national Jamshid Sharmahd. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the order online. "The closure of Iran's Consulates in Germany is a sanction against Iranians residing in that country — most of whom possess German citizenship as well," he wrote. Germans urged to leave Iran Meanwhile, Germany reiterated its call for citizens in Iran to leave the country and warned others against traveling there. "We have long had a travel warning for Iran and a request to Germans in Iran to leave the country because we saw from the Jamshid Sharmahd case that Iran is taking German citizens hostage," foreign office spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said on Friday. "We want to spare other German citizens this fate," he added. Germany orders all Iranian consulates shut On Thursday, Germany ordered Iran's consulates in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich to be closed but said the embassy in Berlin would remain open. "We have repeatedly and unequivocally made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences," Foreign Minister Baerbock said when announcing the closures. On Monday, Iran said it had executed Sharmahd after he was sentenced to death in 2023 on charges of "corruption on Earth" related to a 2008 attack on a mosque and other incidents. The German government, relatives, and human rights activists strongly rejected the accusations against him and dismissed the trial as unfair. Baerbock also said Germany would seek EU-wide sanctions against those involved in Sharmahd's execution. The minister said this included the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Eight people died in a large fire at a cooking oil factory near the Indonesian capital Jakarta, local fire authorities said on Friday, November 01. Around 20 firefighting trucks are at the site and have contained the blaze in most areas of the factory, authorities said. Footage from Metro TV showed flames and billowing black smoke coming out of a building in the center of an industrial complex in Bekasi, a city on Jakarta's eastern edge. The report said roads had been closed around the factory. All of the bodies had been evacuated from the site, Suhartono, head of Bekasi's fire department, told Reuters, adding that three other people were injured. But the number of casualties could still rise, he said. Local authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. The factory is operated by PT Primus Sanus Cooking Oil Industrial (Priscolin), said Suhartono.

Iran is angered by Israel over various issues, including conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Tensions have already led to attacks and counterattacks between the two sides. According to a report, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has now instructed his military officials to prepare for a “retaliatory attack” against Israel. Citing Iranian officials, The New York Times reported that Iran would not carry out any attack on Israel before the U.S. election on November 5. However, other media sources suggest that Iran might launch an attack on Israel before the U.S. election. According to The Times, which quoted three officials linked to Tehran’s war planning, after being briefed on the extent of damage from Israeli attacks, Khamenei directed his Supreme National Security Council last Monday to plan the retaliatory attack. The report also mentions that Iranian military officials are preparing a potential list of Israeli military targets. On Wednesday, October 30, CNN, quoting a senior source, reported that a “specific” and “painful” Iranian response to recent Israeli strikes could occur before the U.S. presidential election. The source connected to Iranian authorities told CNN that Iran’s reaction against “Zionist regime aggression” would be “specific” and “painful.” While no exact date was provided, the source indicated that “it will likely happen the day before the U.S. presidential election.” The Israeli military has yet to comment on this matter.

In Gaza, over 100 more Palestinians have been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes within the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll to 43,163 since October of last year, according to the Ministry of Health in the blockaded territory, as reported by Anadolu on Wednesday (October 30). Over 101,510 Palestinians have also been injured in these ongoing attacks. The Ministry of Health stated that in the past 24 hours alone, Israeli forces’ assaults left 102 people dead and 287 wounded, with many still trapped under rubble and on the streets as rescue teams struggle to reach them. Palestinian health officials estimate that more than 10,000 people remain missing beneath the debris of destroyed homes across Gaza. Despite a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire, Israel continues its offensive on Gaza. Since Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, Israel has launched sustained air and ground assaults, severely damaging or destroying thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques, and churches. Over 2 million residents have been forced to leave their homes due to the ongoing Israeli aggression.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the North's eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday. "It is believed the North Korea ballistic missile is a long-range ballistic missile fired at a high angle," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The reported launch came a day after South Korea's military intelligence agency told lawmakers that North Korea has likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test. The intelligence said the North was close to testing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States. The Japanese Coast Guard also said North Korea had fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile. The Japanese government said the missile was expected to land at around 2336 GMT, some 300 kilometers (190 miles) west of Japan's Okushiri Island. "Around 7:11 a.m. today (2217 GMT Wednesday) North Korea launched at least one ICBM-class ballistic missile from an area near Pyongyang toward the northeast," Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani told reporters, adding that its flying distance was estimated at about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and its highest altitude more than 7,000 kilometers. The missile had the "longest flying time" yet for North Korea, Nakatani said, adding that he thinks "it may be different from conventional missiles." The United States was quick to condemn the launch of the ballistic missile by North Korea. North Korea ramps up weapons program Since 2022,  Pyongyang has sharply increased the pace of its weapons tests. In September 2023, North Korea enshrined nuclear weapons in its constitution, with the motion unanimously rubber-stamped in parliament. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at the time it was "very important" to "accelerate the modernization of nuclear weapons in order to hold the definite edge of strategic deterrence." Last month, North Korea said Kim had supervised the testing of two different missiles, including one that would carry a "super-large conventional warhead." The other missile tested was referred to as a "strategic" cruise missile, indicating that it could have been testing nuclear capacity. US and South Korea wary of North Korean troops in Russia Thursday's development came just a few hours after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin alleged that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment, were en route to the Russian region of Kursk, near Ukraine. Speaking alongside South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Austin said "the likelihood is pretty high" that Moscow will deploy North Korean troops in combat. Concerns are growing over North Korea's deployment of as many as 12,000 troops to aid Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

More than a year into the Gaza war, the Israeli army's reservists are exhausted and it is struggling to recruit soldiers just as it opens a new front in Lebanon. Some 300,000 reservists have been called up since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, according to the army, 18 percent of them men over 40 who should have been exempted. Military service is mandatory from the age of 18 for Israeli men and women, though several exemptions apply. Israel is waging a multi-front war against Hamas in Gaza and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since the military launched its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 last year, it has lost 367 soldiers in the campaign, while 37 have died in Lebanon since Israel began ground operations there on September 30. Periods of reserve duty have been extended, and some reservists complain they are unable to go on with their normal lives for up to six straight months. "We're drowning," said reservist Ariel Seri-Levy in a social media post shared thousands of times. He said he had been called up four times since the October 7 attack, and called out those who want Israel to "stay in Lebanon and Gaza". "We have to end this war because we are out of soldiers," he said, adding that while he still believed in serving one's country, "the concessions have become too great". Another reservist and father of two told AFP under condition of anonymity that "to fatigue and moral exhaustion is added the fact that I lost my job". Many freelance workers have had to close shop because of the war, even if the government guarantees a minimum income for reservists. "The collective is still above the individual but the cost is too great for my family," the reservist said, adding that he spent nearly six months in Gaza this year. Ultra-Orthodox exemptions The ongoing war has inflamed the public debate on drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews, many of whom are exempted from military service. The ultra-Orthodox account for 14 percent of Israel's Jewish population, according to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), representing about 1.3 million people. About 66,000 of those of conscription age are exempted, according to the army. Under a rule adopted at Israel's creation in 1948, when it applied to only 400 people, the ultra-Orthodox have historically been exempted from military service if they dedicate themselves to the study of sacred Jewish texts. In June, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the draft of yeshiva (seminary) students after deciding the government could not keep up the exemption "without an adequate legal framework". Ultra-Orthodox political parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition called for such a framework before a vote on the budget at the end of the year. Aryeh Deri, leader of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas, said he hoped "to solve the problem of the draft" for seminary students. 'Lighten the load' Some 2,000 wives of reservists from the religious Zionist movement, which combines religious lifestyle with army participation, signed an open letter asking to "lighten the load for those who serve". "There is no contradiction between Torah study and military service, both go hand in hand," academic Tehila Elitzur, mother and wife of a reservist, told the Yediot Aharonot newspaper. Six men who had volunteered despite being eligible for exemptions were killed in combat between October 22 and 28, including a father of 10. David Zenou, a 52-year-old rabbi who fought for 250 days this year, including several weeks in Lebanon, said: "It's an honour to serve my country, and I will continue to do it for as long as I can. "Above all, let's not forget that this is war and we are short on soldiers," the father of seven and grandfather of six told AFP.