The durability of the ceasefire in Gaza was tested as Israeli strikes overnight on Wednesday (Oct. 28) in Gaza have killed at least 60 people, including many children, local hospital officials said. It was the most serious challenge yet to the tenuous ceasefire deal in Gaza since it came into force earlier this month. The development - the deadliest ceasefire breach to date - came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to conduct "powerful strikes" over Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the fragile ceasefire. Hamas said in response that it would delay handing over the body of another hostage.

US President Donald Trump, during a trip to Asia, defended the strikes, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after what he said was an incident in which Hamas killed an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. Hamas denied any involvement in that deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal.

Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled onto roads as Hurricane Melissa pummeled the Caribbean island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported as Melissa hit with 185 mph (295 kph) winds near New Hope, with officials cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment could be slow.

"There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5," Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. "The question now is the speed of recovery. That's the challenge." Nearly 15,000 people were in shelters in Jamaica and some 540,000 customers, or 77%, were without power, officials said. Its 185 mph (295 kph) winds and 892 millibars of central pressure tied two records for the strongest Atlantic storm at landfall. The wind speed tied the 1935 hurricane and 2019's Hurricane Dorian, said hurricane scientists.

About 2,500 Brazilian police and soldiers launched a massive raid on a drug-trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday (Oct. 28), arresting 81 suspects and sparking shootouts that left at least 60 suspects and four police officers dead, officials said. The operation included officers in helicopters and armored vehicles and targeted the notorious Red Command in the sprawling low-income favelas of Complexo de Alemao and Penha, police said.

The police operation was one of the most violent in Brazil's recent history, with human rights organizations calling for investigations into the deaths. Rio's state Gov. Claudio Castro said in a video posted on X that 60 criminal suspects were "neutralized" during the massive raid that he called the biggest such operation in the city's history. Some 81 suspects were arrested, while 93 rifles and more than half a ton of drugs were seized, the state government said, adding that those killed "resisted police action."

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday (Oct. 27) that the US military has carried out strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean on four boats accused of carrying drugs, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor in the deadliest single day since the Trump administration began its divisive campaign against drug trafficking in the waters off South America. It was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day as the pace of the attacks has escalated.

The nearly two-month campaign and US military buildup have strained ties with allies in the region and opened speculation that the moves are aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A Pentagon official told AP the strikes were conducted off the coast of Colombia. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference that she asked the foreign affairs secretary and the navy to meet with the U.S. ambassador in Mexico to discuss the issue because "we do not agree with these attacks."