Israel has renewed its attacks on southern Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and threatening to further unravel Israel’s truce with Hezbollah. With the latest attacks, the U.N. says Israel has committed more than 100 ceasefire violations since agreeing to halt attacks last week. In response, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel as a retaliatory measure. Earlier today, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned his military would no longer distinguish between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state if the ceasefire collapses.

Israel has continued its unrelenting assault on Gaza, with attacks on the northern town of Beit Lahia today that killed at least eight people while leaving 20 others wounded. In Gaza City, dozens of civilians are feared trapped under the rubble of a four-story building leveled by an Israeli airstrike.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the situation in Gaza “appalling and apocalyptic” and said Israel may be guilty of the “gravest international crimes.” The U.N. reports Israel has killed at least 341 humanitarian workers since it began its massive assault on Gaza nearly 14 months ago. Meanwhile, Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees in the world per capita, with many children forced to endure surgery without anesthesia due to Israel’s blockade. And the World Health Organization reports more than 10,000 cancer patients remain stranded in Gaza, awaiting permission from Israeli authorities to seek care abroad. This is Dr. Mohammed Abu Afsh, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.

Dr. Mohammed Abu Afsh: “Tragically, even with the necessary authorizations, they cannot leave. The Rafah crossing is closed. The Erez crossing is closed. The Kerem Shalom crossing is closed. Every exit point around Gaza is shut down. How can these patients leave? They are enduring unimaginable suffering. A mechanism and solution must be devised to allow them to exit Palestine for treatment.”

Hamas said Monday that 33 people held captive in Gaza had been killed by Israeli strikes since October of last year, while other hostages had gone missing. Among those said to have been killed was Omer Neutra, a 21-year-old Israeli American tank commander detained by Hamas after its fighters raided an Israeli army outpost. Hamas also released a video showing Israeli American Edan Alexander, a soldier taken captive by Hamas on October 7, calling on President-elect Trump to negotiate a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Hamas’s announcements drew a threat of renewed violence from Trump, who wrote on his social media site, “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East … Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.” On Sunday, Trump hosted Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and their son Yair at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have arrested at least 18 Palestinians over the past 24 hours. On Sunday, the youngest Palestinian ever to be imprisoned by Israel began a one-year sentence. Fourteen-year-old Ayham al-Salaymeh was convicted of throwing stones at Israeli settlers last year when he was just 12 years old. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reports the boy was subjected to violence and humiliating treatment during an interrogation.

Meanwhile, B’Tselem has uncovered repeated cases of severe abuse of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in Hebron. Victims describe being randomly seized by soldiers as they went about their daily affairs. They were then beaten and subjected to severe abuse, sometimes in full view of the public and at other times inside military outposts.

The Biden administration said Monday it is sending Ukraine another $725 million in weapons from its stockpiles, including missiles, drones and anti-personnel landmines, amid fears the incoming Trump administration could cut off military support to Kyiv. The announcement came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Scholz vowed to supply some $680 million in new military aid. Scholz also had this warning for Russia’s president.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “My very clear message from Kyiv to Putin: We’re in this for the long haul, and we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Over the weekend, President Zelensky indicated for the first time that a ceasefire that includes temporarily giving up land that Russia has seized could be an option if NATO agrees to protect Ukrainian-controlled territories. Earlier today, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine and will continue “using Ukraine as a testing ground for experimental missiles.”

On Capitol Hill, President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks for his new administration have been meeting with senators ahead of Trump’s inauguration and confirmation hearings. During a meeting with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, was peppered with reporters’ questions about the latest revelations published by The New Yorker, including that Hegseth was forced out of leadership roles at two veterans organizations for misusing funds, sexually harassing women and being repeatedly drunk on the job.

Reporter: “You misspent funds, mistreated women, were intoxicated on the job. Do you have any comment about that reporting at all?”

Aide: “OK, guys, we’re not doing questions!”

Reporter: “Any comment about that reporting? … So, that article suggests you have an alcohol problem.”

After their meeting, Senator Tuberville praised Pete Hegseth. Tuberville is a staunch Trump ally who has publicly supported white nationalists and made racist comments.

A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her decision to void a $56 billion compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. On Monday, Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her January ruling, which noted the astronomical 2018 pay package was the largest ever for a publicly traded corporation. Elon Musk is already the richest person in history, with a net worth estimated at more than a third of a trillion dollars. 

Meanwhile, Musk has promised to “delete” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when he takes the reins of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency under President Trump next year. His pledge comes after the CFPB finalized a rule to supervise tech companies which offer digital funds transfers and payment wallet apps. Those are features Musk is working to add to his social media site X.

In The Hague, Netherlands, a landmark climate case is underway at the International Court of Justice. Over two weeks of hearings, the court will consider what countries around the world are legally required to do to combat the climate disaster. The case was brought by low-lying island nations, which face an existential crisis caused by wealthier, polluting nations. This is Ralph Regenvanu, special envoy on climate change for Vanuatu, which is leading a coalition of more than 100 countries and organizations in the historic case.

Ralph Regenvanu: “Coming to the International Court of Justice, we are trying to find another way to get climate action that we need, that the IPCC says we need, that science says we need, but which so many countries, through political convenience and the power of fossil fuel lobby, refuse to take action on.”

Australia has passed legislation banning social media use for children under 16 years old. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touted the first-of-its-kind law as he spoke from Canberra Friday. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: “World-leading action to make sure social media companies meet their social responsibility. Social media is doing harm to our children. … Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them.”

Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram could be fined up to $33 million if they systematically fail to prevent users younger than 16 from having accounts. It’s unclear if the ban will affect ties between the U.S. and Australia. Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, blasted the ban as a “backdoor way” for the Australian government to control internet access. In response, Albanese said of Musk, “he has an agenda.”

In Germany, tens of thousands of auto workers at nine Volkswagen plants have gone on strike after VW demanded 10% wage cuts and threatened to close German factories for the first time in its 87-year history. Members of the IG Metall union staged two-hour work stoppages and threatened to begin an open-ended strike unless VW managers drop their demands for plant closures. This is Daniela Hildebrandt, one of about 14,000 striking workers at VW’s Hanover plant. 

Daniela Hildebrandt: “We are totally ready to go on strike. The mood is obviously subdued, since they show absolutely no goodwill. We are all scared. Many of those who are nearing retirement are really scared that they could lose their job now. I am a mother of two children. I commute over an hour every day to come to work here. I love my job. I don’t want to lose it.”

Volkswagen is Germany’s largest private employer.

A judge in Wisconsin has struck down parts of Act 10, restoring collective bargaining powers for public workers. On Monday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jacob Frost ruled the law, signed by Republican Governor Scott Walker in 2011, violated the Wisconsin Constitution’s equal protection clause, since it exempted police and firefighters unions from a ban on public sector workers’ right to negotiate labor contracts with the state. Act 10 drew massive protests in 2011 when it was proposed, including a rally of over 100,000 workers and a weekslong occupation of the Capitol building. Click here to see our coverage of the Wisconsin uprising.