More than 20% of self-identified MAGA loyalists in a sample of online posts expressed doubts about the movement’s leadership and direction following Tuesday’s elections, according to an analysis conducted for Reuters by data intelligence firm PeakMetrics.

The findings reveal growing divisions within a political movement that has dominated the Republican Party for nearly a decade, as supporters turn their anger towards party leaders, White House advisers and, increasingly, Trump himself.

The election delivered Democrats decisive majorities in both chambers of Congress, including victories in traditional Republican strongholds such as Texas and Kansas.

Voter frustration over rising fuel prices, the war with Iran and corruption in Washington contributed to what became the Republicans’ worst electoral defeat in decades.

Yet the reaction within MAGA has been markedly different from the aftermath of Trump’s 2020 presidential defeat.

Claims of widespread election fraud, which helped unite the movement for years, have largely disappeared from the debate. Instead, supporters are demanding answers about the economy, foreign policy and promises they believe the administration has failed to keep.

More than 20% question MAGA’s leadership

The PeakMetrics analysis examined 12,850 posts sampled from approximately 4.6 million Trump-related comments published on X and Reddit between 9pm on election night and 8pm the following evening.

Among the self-described MAGA loyalists identified in the analysis, more than one in five raised concerns about the movement’s leadership and political direction.

About half of those expressing doubts continued to support MAGA but no longer backed Trump as its leader.

The remaining half stayed loyal to the president while criticising his decisions.

Among posts that assigned responsibility for the defeat, nearly a third pointed to the Iran war and Israel’s influence over American policy as factors that had overshadowed Trump’s political message.

A quarter blamed Republicans who had failed to fully embrace MAGA’s agenda.

The findings suggest that some supporters who once regarded Trump as the movement’s greatest political asset are beginning to question whether he has become a liability.

Trump responds by promoting hardline immigration architect

Trump’s first major response to the election came on Friday, when he appointed Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.

Miller, the principal architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policies, is closely associated with MAGA’s nationalist agenda.

Wiles, by contrast, had been regarded as a stabilising influence in an often chaotic White House.

The appointment was welcomed by some of the movement’s most committed supporters, who interpreted it as a return to MAGA’s anti-immigration roots.

“Exactly the energy we need,” conservative influencer Benny Johnson wrote on X, where he has 4.1 million followers.

“Solid move. It’s Miller Time.”

The White House did not directly answer Reuters’ questions about the election defeat, the losses suffered by candidates who embraced Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, or MAGA’s future.

Instead, it referred to comments Trump made on Wednesday.

“If I were on the ballot, we would have won,” the president said.

He also acknowledged that the Iran war had contributed to the Republican defeat, saying it was “largely true” that the conflict had hurt the party because “it drove the gasoline up”.

Nevertheless, Trump said he would make the same decision again.

Anger erupts among Trump’s own voters

The divisions were visible on election night in Dallas, where supporters of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton had gathered expecting a victory celebration.

Instead, they left the hotel ballroom as the scale of the Republican defeat became clear.

At the hotel bar, Michael Little, a 59-year-old businessman who had voted for Trump three times, watched the president on television.

“People are pissed off at Trump. Trump has cost us,” he told Reuters.

His frustration reflected a broader sentiment emerging from interviews with more than a dozen MAGA activists, influencers, party strategists, Christian nationalist leaders and researchers who monitor right-wing politics.

The interviews, combined with a review of online discussions and podcasts, revealed a movement increasingly directing its anger inwards.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, however, argued that the response should be to reinforce MAGA’s original agenda rather than abandon it.

“We have to rebuild,” Bannon told Reuters.

He called for a more aggressive populist and nationalist programme and praised Trump’s decision to appoint Miller.

“Miller’s appointment as chief of staff underpins my point,” he said.

“There is no more hardcore MAGA proponent than Stephen.”

Democrats’ victory reshapes American politics

The scale of the Republican defeat has dramatically changed the balance of power in Washington.

Democrats could hold as many as 56 of the Senate’s 100 seats, giving them considerable influence over Trump’s future judicial appointments.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that Republicans might struggle to regain control of the Senate before 2032.

“It’s the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States,” DeSantis said during a post-election briefing.

Democrats will also control the governorships of seven battleground states that Trump carried in the 2024 presidential election.

Perhaps most strikingly, they won every statewide contest in Texas, a state that has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976.

‘MAGA is stale’: Supporters blame broken promises

For some prominent right-wing commentators, the defeat has exposed a loss of enthusiasm within Trump’s political base.

Rogan O’Handley, a MAGA influencer known online as DC_Draino, who has 2.3 million followers on X, rejected claims that election fraud explained the result.

“I have been banging the drum of rigged and stolen elections since 2020, but that is not why we lost the midterms,” he wrote.

“We lost because we failed to fix the things voters sent us to do.”

Another conservative influencer, Isabella DeLuca, accused Republican leaders of assuming that MAGA supporters would vote for them regardless of their performance.

DeLuca was among the thousands who entered the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack.

She faced five criminal charges, including the theft of a table from inside the Capitol, and pleaded not guilty. Her case was dismissed after Trump returned to office and pardoned her.

Now 26, DeLuca said Republicans had failed to connect with younger voters concerned about living costs and avoiding foreign wars.

“Republicans were just lazy. They felt like that they were entitled to people’s votes and that people would vote for them no matter what,” she told Reuters.

“It goes to show you that you do have to earn people’s votes, and that even in a super red state like Texas, you’re not untouchable.”

She described MAGA as looking tired.

Research by Jennifer Golbeck, a University of Maryland professor who has analysed MAGA-related online activity since 2016, points to a similar decline in enthusiasm.

Golbeck found that engagement among some of Trump’s most committed supporters had steadily declined since January.

Posts and comments on Patriots.Win, a popular MAGA forum, fell by 27%.

“The enthusiasm and the passion even among this hardest core group of supporters hasn’t really been there,” she said.

“They are saying that ‘MAGA is stale.’ It’s not new and exciting like it once was.”

Fox News, a longstanding platform for MAGA commentators, also experienced a decline in its audience ahead of the elections.

According to Nielsen, the network’s total daytime viewership fell by 27% in October compared with the same month a year earlier.

Fox News responded by highlighting its performance against competing cable news channels on election night.

“FOX News has been the number one network in cable news for a quarter century,” spokesperson Caley Cronin said.

Economy, Iran war and Epstein files deepen divisions

The cost of living was not the only issue frustrating MAGA supporters.

Many also criticised the war with Iran, allegations of corruption and the administration’s handling of government investigative files concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The administration’s decision to redact or withhold substantial portions of the Epstein files became another source of anger among supporters who believed Trump had failed to fulfil his promises.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the Daily Wire, argued that economic concerns alone could not explain the defeat.

“If you’re talking about an electoral catastrophe – a wipeout like we saw last night – you need more ingredients,” he said on his online programme.

“Here are the other ingredients: chaos and corruption.”

Laura Loomer, an influential Trump supporter, offered a particularly bleak reaction on X.

“America is over and the American Dream is dead,” she wrote.

Nevertheless, Loomer told Reuters that the election defeat did not mean MAGA was finished.

“The Republican Party belongs to President Trump,” she said.

“The MAGA movement is still the majority of the GOP base, and whoever wants to run for president in 2028 on the GOP ticket, they would be unwise to be dismissive of President Trump.”

On Thursday, Loomer announced she was suspending her podcast until January, saying she had been “running on empty for too long” and wanted to concentrate on her personal life and forthcoming wedding.

Election fraud claims lose their grip on MAGA

One of the most notable changes following the election has been the retreat of claims about widespread electoral fraud.

Such claims became central to MAGA politics after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

But this time, Republican candidates who supported Trump’s false allegations of widespread fraud suffered heavy defeats.

According to States United Action, a non-profit organisation monitoring election-denying candidates, at least 41 fewer congressional and statewide offices will be held by election deniers next year.

Candidates associated with election denial also lost 70% of the decided races for statewide positions overseeing elections.

Trump did not attempt to challenge the midterm results, instead blaming Republicans for the defeat.

With few close contests and no credible basis for challenging the results, many prominent pro-Trump activists abandoned fraud allegations and urged supporters to continue organising.

A small number continued making unsupported claims.

Among them was Mike Lindell, founder of MyPillow, who promoted false allegations about voting machines during the 2020 election.

Asked about Trump’s willingness to accept the latest results, Lindell told Reuters:

“That’s his opinion. I’ve got a different opinion.”

“I think it’s all been stolen.”

Such claims, however, remained largely confined to the movement’s fringes.

Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, suggested that the election-denial movement could lose the financial support and public attention that had sustained it.

“Nobody’s going to be putting money behind it,” she said.

Christian nationalists split over Trump’s future

The election defeat has also divided prominent figures within MAGA’s Christian nationalist wing.

Retired Lieutenant General Mike Flynn, who previously promoted false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, accepted the latest defeat.

He described the results as “a massacre” and criticised Trump and his administration for failing to deliver on promises ranging from lowering living costs to releasing the Epstein files.

Responding to Vice President JD Vance’s assessment on X that the Iran war was “the reason we lost”, Flynn argued that the administration’s failures extended much further.

“The sheer number of broken promises is why the blue tsunami happened,” he wrote.

Flynn also criticised Christian voters for failing to turn out.

“As a Catholic and a Christian, I’m sorely embarrassed and disappointed,” he said.

Other Christian nationalist leaders disagreed sharply over whether MAGA could survive Trump.

Douglas Wilson, a pastor invited by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to deliver a sermon at the Pentagon in February, told Reuters that the movement “is not going anywhere”.

However, he argued that it needed to become less dependent on individual personalities and concentrate more on border security, tax cuts and avoiding foreign wars.

Joel Webbon, a far-right Christian nationalist pastor from Texas, took a very different view.

“Trump lost this all by himself,” Webbon said in a video posted on X.

He accused the president of abandoning his political base by supporting Israel, launching the war with Iran and failing to fulfil his promises on the Epstein files and mass deportations.

“MAGA is dead,” Webbon wrote in an accompanying post.

“Forever.”

(Reuters)

The discussions come amid reports of financial difficulties at privately owned Arkia. Israeli media have reported that the airline recently recorded a loss, although its financial results have not been published.

Arkia’s owners have acknowledged that the company is facing a “crisis” and said they are working to find a solution.

The airline, however, stressed that “its operations continue as usual” and said it was “looking forward, making the adjustments required by a changing reality, maintaining operational stability, and continuing to develop its activity.”

Israir, valued at $144 million, and Arkia are Israel’s second- and third-largest airlines respectively, behind national carrier El Al.

(Reuters)

Authorities had recovered 21 bodies and rescued one survivor by Saturday evening, the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

The boat sank off Kebemer, a town approximately 180 kilometres north of the capital, Dakar.

Search and rescue operations were continuing as authorities looked for possible additional survivors.

The ministry said the boat was carrying people attempting to migrate irregularly but did not specify how many passengers were on board.

Thousands of migrants have died in recent years attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa, one of the main migration routes towards Europe.

According to migrant rights organisation Walking Borders, 635 people died attempting the journey during the first five months of 2026.

(Reuters)

The bodies are those of two women and a man believed to be close relatives of the gunman, Tusk said.

“They appear to be members of his immediate family,” the prime minister said, without providing further details about how they died.

He added that the bodies were discovered after drone images were taken over the property.

Polish media reported that the victims were the gunman’s parents and sister, although authorities have not officially confirmed their identities.

Tusk declared two days of national mourning.

At least six people were killed and 15 others injured after a gunman opened fire at a crowded market square in Krakow, Poland, on Saturday, authorities said. The suspect drove into the city’s historic Main Market Square around 3 p.m. and began firing at people from his vehicle. Police confronted and shot the gunman a short distance from the scene before taking him into custody.

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2026

British national among six killed in shooting

A British national was among six people killed when a 25-year-old Polish gunman opened fire in Krakow, the country’s police chief announced.

“Six people were killed: four women and two men. Three Polish women, one British citizen and two people who have not yet been identified,” police chief Marek Boroń told a press conference.

He said another 15 people were injured.

Five foreign nationals were among the injured, from Austria, Britain, Germany, Portugal and Russia.

Police seriously wounded the gunman.

Police search for weapons and possible explosives

Polish authorities are carrying out extensive searches at the suspect’s home and his family’s property amid concerns that large quantities of weapons may be stored there.

“There may be many weapons, many firearms inside the house,” Tusk said.

The prime minister expressed confidence that authorities would soon identify and arrest any possible accomplices or supporters of the gunman.

He also thanked police officers who “saved many lives, risking their own”.

Far-right ideology investigated as possible motive

Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the gunman had been influenced by far-right ideology.

“Everything indicates that the perpetrator was influenced by far-right ideology, an issue that will also be investigated,” the minister told reporters.

“Police officers are at the scene, as are agents from the Internal Security Agency, both here, at the scene of the incident, and at the individual’s family home,” he added.

Tusk also described the deadly shooting as a “terrorist act”, saying the gunman had been influenced by far-right ideology.

“In Poland, we have not experienced such radical acts of terrorism, because that is what this horrific attack on human lives here in Krakow must be called,” he told a press conference.

Speaking to Phileleftheros, the columnist and business consultant explains how the war in Iran, tariffs and Trump’s insistence on playing down the cost of living weighed on voters. The Democrats, for their part, capitalised on the discontent by choosing candidates who could speak to different audiences, even in traditionally Republican states. Texas stands out: if the shift there is confirmed in future elections, it could change the balance in a presidential race too.

In Washington, control of the House and the Senate gives the Democrats more leverage over the budget, appointments and scrutiny of the administration, while the defeat opens a debate among Republicans over their path to 2028.

The question is how deeply the landscape will change. The return of younger voters to the Democrats and Republican losses in states they considered safe show how fluid some electoral coalitions have become. But Trumpism has put down deep roots in the Republican Party. “Trumpism is now so deeply embedded in the structure of the Republican Party and its officials that it will not be dismantled easily. They are not going to wake up tomorrow morning, change their minds and say, fine, we are changing course, especially those who benefited and won positions of power because they sided with Trump,” he says.

Was last Tuesday mainly a defeat for Donald Trump or a victory for the Democrats?

First of all, it was a defeat for Donald Trump, because he caused the scale of the defeat through his own actions. Losing by such a wide margin, and in states where his party had led for decades, is his own responsibility, because of the war in Iran, the tariffs he imposed and his rhetoric. On the other hand, the Democrats made the most of the opportunity they were given. This time they made sure that in every state they had a candidate who suited the electorate, for example deeply religious candidates in Kansas and Texas. They adapted to the needs of local communities and capitalised on Trump’s mistakes.

Apart from the war with Iran and tariffs, what other decisive factors helped the Democratic Party win so broadly?

I would say Trump’s rhetoric showed that he has lost touch with people’s problems. He kept talking about the much-talked-about White House ballroom, about how proud he was of repainting the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, about the triumphal arch he wants to build. He spoke in favour of data centres, which are causing a great deal of public anger. And most importantly, he denied there was a cost-of-living problem. Inflation went up, as did the price of petrol and diesel. Tariffs made goods more expensive and caused a trade war with China. Not only did the US president do nothing to tackle these issues, but in his speeches he kept saying there was no problem at all. But how do you convince voters of that when, in their daily lives, they feel their money is not enough to get through the month?

Of all the Republican strongholds that changed hands, which do you see as the most significant?

Clearly Texas, mainly because the consequences it may have in future could be enormous. It is the second most populous state, and if this shift is confirmed in the next elections too, the presidential race will be extremely difficult for the Republican Party, not necessarily in 2028 but in 2032. The Democrats would then be able to count on three of the four most populous states.

Do you see a political shift in some states that traditionally voted Republican? And if so, what does that mean for the 2028 presidential election?

In Texas there seems to be a change in voters’ preferences, or at least they are not as fixed as they were in the past. We used to talk about blue states, red states and five or six purple states in between. It now seems that things are more fluid than we thought. Where there is real change and where there isn’t will become clear in the next elections. In South Carolina there appears to be a shift. In North Carolina, the Democrats’ latest win there was probably down to circumstances. Every state has its own characteristics, and it is far from certain they will stay “blue”.

Beyond the obvious reasons of the economy, the war and fuel, do you see a fundamental difference in how the younger generation now votes, in the sense that it wants solutions to its own problems and dares to vote differently?

It’s a fair question. From the statistics I have seen, the younger generation seems to have swung back to the Democrats. But I should say that in the previous elections there was a big swing towards Donald Trump, so I wouldn’t prejudge what happens next. One key difference compared with 2024, though, is the split between young men, who voted for Donald Trump in large numbers, and young women, who stayed with the Democrats. Among young men, this has reversed in these elections, and they seem to have moved away from the Republicans.

What will change after the Democrats’ sweeping victory?

A lot will change. The campaign for the 2028 elections began the very next day. In the Republican Party, we are seeing significant tremors. Vice President JD Vance spoke out against the war. We know that discussions are taking place, and a challenge to Donald Trump may well begin, now that they have realised how much damage he can do to the Republican Party when left unchecked. On the Democratic side there is enthusiasm, but it remains to be seen how they will read the result, that is, whether they will go with a centrist or a left-wing candidate in 2028, and generally how they will handle the situation.

And in domestic politics?

By winning the House, the Democrats can block the budget and use that to pressure Donald Trump into changing some of his policies. In the Senate, they will have the power to approve appointments of cabinet members, judges, ambassadors and senior military officers. That is a powerful weapon, especially when it comes to the judiciary. Also very important is that they can now set up oversight and investigative committees and subpoena officials, business people, anyone, and question them under oath about, for example, their dealings with the Trump family. Legally, they cannot touch the president himself because of the immunity the Supreme Court granted him. But they can go after corruption around him. I don’t think a third attempt to impeach the US president is likely. They can, however, impeach cabinet members, starting with War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

And what could change in foreign policy?

The assessment before the elections was that Donald Trump, angered by defeat and unable to do much at home, would turn his attention to foreign policy, where he has more room for manoeuvre, since Congress cannot do much there. Only on the war in Iran can Congress apply pressure. We have heard that he might strike Iran again, undermine Ukraine, or even make some reckless moves on Cuba or with China. However, his reaction in the first few days was extremely calm: he did not dispute the result and showed signs of cooperation. We may well not see anything very different from what we have seen so far in Trump’s foreign policy.

Restoring trust will be hard

Can the whole system Donald Trump has built, of undermining institutions and laws and governing in an authoritarian way, be dismantled?

It is very difficult. On the one hand, when citizens’ trust in institutions is damaged, it takes a long time to restore, and both parties have to contribute. On the other, it has become clear that there are gaps in the protection of institutions that the US Constitution does not provide for, and it should be noted that it has been amended and modernised very little since it came into force.

In several cases, very wealthy candidates, or those generously funded by millionaires, have lost. Perhaps money is not as decisive a factor in politics as we think.

It’s true that we saw candidates and donors with deep pockets fail to achieve their goals. Suffice it to say that Elon Musk alone poured 500 million dollars into this campaign, more than George Soros has spent in his entire life. The Republicans spent more money in these elections and lost. That does not mean money does not play an important role in politics. It is a positive message that money is not everything. How it is used matters too: for example, an unknown candidate can gain name recognition, and it also matters whether the race is close and what the political climate is. The candidate’s personality is also an important factor, and that showed in these elections. Either way, at the moment the influence of money on politics in the United States is unlimited.

We have heard many times about the end of Trump and Trumpism, and it has turned out not to be true. Is the situation different now?

It is different because the shock the Republican Party suffered is very powerful; it was not just a defeat. On the other hand, Trumpism is now so deeply embedded in the structure of the Republican Party and its officials that it will not be dismantled easily. They are not going to wake up tomorrow morning, change their minds and say, fine, we are changing course, especially those who benefited and won positions of power because they sided with Trump. Trump is not only a cause of today’s political climate but also a product of what came before. Voters’ attitudes and sensibilities have changed a great deal. In 2001 he tried to get elected and failed miserably. That changed in 2016. Nobody expected that a candidate with such racist and vulgar rhetoric, with a past of so many documented immoral acts, could beat an experienced politician like Hillary Clinton, and yet it happened. Trumpism will take a hit, but we won’t forget it tomorrow or next year.

There was no official confirmation from the Iranian side on the source of the reported explosions.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said two missiles struck Qeshm Island with no official information on possible damage.

The reported explosions come days after the US carried out strikes on the island. A US official said those strikes were limited and not a resumption of major combat operations.

Countries in the region had been anticipating that US President Donald Trump, who has held off on strikes on Iran during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, could restart attacks once the voting was over. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to new attacks by striking at US and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.

(Reuters)

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is fighting to stay in office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its majority in an October 27 election but still emerged as the largest bloc in parliament.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, has declined to join forces with Arab parties, with whose support he would have a majority of seats in parliament. But Arab leaders, incensed by what they view as the racist policies of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, still nominated Eisenkot to try to form a government first — giving him the most endorsements.

“President Herzog has invited Gadi Eisenkot to the President’s Residence, where he will be tasked with forming the government tomorrow,” said the spokesperson of President Isaac Herzog, whose largely ceremonial role involves nominating a candidate to form a coalition after elections.

EISENKOT FACES LONG-SHOT BID TO FORM GOVERNMENT

Weeks of protracted negotiations are expected to follow Eisenkot’s nomination. He has 28 days to try to forge a government, with a possible 14-day extension.

His potential pathways to power include trying to form a minority government with Arab support from the outside; forming a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties that he and his allies have shunned in the past; or forging a unity government with Netanyahu.

Analysts say that all three options are unlikely to take shape. If Eisenkot fails, another candidate can try to form a government and if that candidate fails, parliament can nominate another. There is a deadline for the process of around 100 days. If no one succeeds, another election is ​held.

Likud won the most seats of any single party with 27 in the 120-seat Knesset, but Netanyahu’s wider religious-nationalist coalition garnered only 53 in total, short of a 61-seat majority.

Eisenkot’s Yashar party emerged as the second-largest party with 21 seats, while his coalition, spanning four centre-left to right-wing Jewish-led parties, won just 48 seats. Two parties representing Israel’s Arab minority won an unprecedented 19 seats.

EISENKOT CRITICAL OF SETTLER VIOLENCE

A son of Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot, 66, would be the country’s first prime minister from Israel’s Mizrahi community, Jews who trace their roots to the Middle East and North Africa.

Reserved and media-shy, Eisenkot only entered politics in 2022. He briefly served in Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel before returning to the opposition.

From opposition, he publicly rebuked Netanyahu over his leadership, including his management of the military campaign in Gaza, and has sworn that he would not serve in government with him.

Eisenkot’s public standing is also bound up with the personal price his family has paid since 2023: a son and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.

Eisenkot highlighted his security credentials on the campaign trail, citing his “Dahiyeh doctrine” of responding to attacks with disproportionate force, which he deployed as a commander during Israel’s 2006 war with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Eisenkot has criticised settler violence against Palestinians, which has surged since 2023, raising tensions in Israel’s ties with Western states, and he opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have both faced sanctions by some Western countries for inciting violence against Palestinians.

(Reuters)

Reuters could not independently verify the account. Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication did not immediately comment, saying it would look into Reuters’ inquiries.

The renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce that largely halted attacks between the Saudi-led coalition and the group, which controls Sanaa. The Houthis have since launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, while Riyadh has carried out airstrikes in Yemen in support of its Yemeni allies.

The ministry said the strikes hit homes in the town of Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold east of Sanaa, and that most of those killed were women and children.

Abdul-Aziz al-Dailami, director of Sehatuna Hospital in Sanaa, said many victims remained trapped under the rubble, including first responders. “The strikes keep coming. Just as rescuers arrive, another strike hits. We have even lost some of our own medical responders, who have been martyred,” he said.

“We received a number of wounded individuals in very critical condition, with injuries to the head, chest and legs, as well as fractures,” al-Dailami added.

The fighting, a spillover from the wider US-Iran conflict, has revived a complex 12-year war in Yemen that has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises globally and fragmented the Arab world’s most impoverished country. The number of people displaced since the latest round of fighting began has climbed to more than 200,000, the International Organization for Migration said in October.

(Reuters)

“The perpetrator was shot by police officers and is currently being transported to a hospital,” police wrote on X.

A police spokesperson told Reuters that they began to receive reports at around 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) that a car from which shots were being fired at random people had entered the square.

(Reuters)

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 70,000 tents had been flooded in the past 12 hours, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing injuries although no fatalities had been reported.

The territory’s civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents. Three abandoned houses collapsed without causing injuries, it added.

At a tent encampment in Gaza City, some people tried to repair their tents, while others used sand to reinforce them and prevent water from entering. Some were busy getting their children out of flooded tents.

Olfat Magdoub, a Gaza resident, tried in vain to sweep water away from her tent.

“This is the first day of rain, and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the first day and we’re already overwhelmed,” said the woman.

“Two weeks ago when it rained, I swear to God, I spent four days sleeping on blankets spread on the floor because the rainwater had flooded the bedding. Same now, the mattresses are wet so we sleep on the ground.”

Municipal and civil defence officials said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damage to equipment.

They said Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and others used to pump water, during its war against Hamas, which had displaced most of the territory’s more than 2 million residents and left much of Gaza in ruins. Most of the population now lives in tent camps.

Hamas blamed Israel for not allowing shelters and construction materials into Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, did not immediately comment on the accusations by Hamas. It said in a statement on Friday that it had stepped up efforts to improve sanitary conditions across Gaza before the heavy rain, which had been expected, in coordination with international organisations.

LITTLE PROGRESS ON RECONSTRUCTION

The agency said four additional vacuum trucks entered Gaza this week through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), joining eight others brought in over the past month to support sewage pumping, weekly waste removal and repairs to water and sewage infrastructure.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year called for the eventual reconstruction of Gaza, but little progress has been made. Negotiators have failed to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, which control about two-thirds of the territory and from which residents have been ordered to leave.

“We have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is checking on us,” said displaced Gaza resident Rafiq Ghattas, standing barefoot in the middle of a large pool of rainwater.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its assault on the territory after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on attacks on October 7, 2023.

(Reuters)