Portal:Current events/2023 October 13

October 13, 2023 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic terrorism in Europe
- Arras school stabbing
  - A teacher is killed and another teacher and a security guard are seriously injured in a stabbing attack at a high school in Arras, Hauts-de-France, France. The Chechen attacker is arrested by police. (BBC News)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israel–Hamas war
  - Evacuations during the Israel–Hamas war
    - The Israeli Defense Forces notifies the United Nations that the 1.1 million Palestinians living north of Wadi Gaza in the Gaza Strip have been ordered to relocate to Southern Gaza within 24 hours ahead of an expected ground invasion. (Times of Israel) (Reuters)
    - The Israeli Air Force begins dropping evacuation leaflets over Gaza City warning residents to leave the city immediately. (BBC News)
    - Hamas tells Palestinians to remain in their houses and not to relocate to Southern Gaza, despite Israeli orders to do so. (Times of Israel)
    - The United Kingdom begins evacuating British citizens from Israel. (Euronews)
  - 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    - Israeli troops conduct "localized raids" into Gaza in an attempt to locate Hamas-held hostages. (Times of Israel) (Reuters)
  - At a press conference, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says that the main goal of the upcoming military operation will be to "topple Hamas rule in Gaza". (Axios)
  - Israeli soldiers open fire against protestors in the occupied West Bank, killing eleven people and injuring 124 others. (Al Jazeera)
  - Human Rights Watch accuses the Israeli Defense Forces of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operation in the Gaza area and Lebanon, saying that this puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries. (Reuters)
  - Hamas says that 13 hostages, including foreigners, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. (WION)
  - An Israeli missile strike hits a group of journalists on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, injuring six of them, and killing a Reuters videographer, Issam Abdallah. (Reuters)
- 2024 Iran–Israel conflict, Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  - Reuters photojournalists Issam Abdallah killed, Christina Assi critically injured and five journalist of AFP and Al Jazeera injured by two IDF tank shells when documenting an IDF outpost in southern Lebanon.(Reuters)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Avdiivka
  - Heavy fighting occurs between Ukrainian and Russian forces for control of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine says that Russia has launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on the city overnight but that its troops were "holding their ground". (Reuters)
A diplomat at the Embassy of Israel in Beijing, China, is stabbed by an unknown foreign attacker. The diplomat was taken to a hospital for treatment and is in stable condition. The incident is being treated as a terrorist attack. (i24 News)

Seven people are killed and 15 are injured after a suicide bombing at a mosque in Puli Khumri, Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. (RFE/RL)

Arts and culture

International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- German literary society LitProm postpones a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair honoring Palestinian author Adania Shibli with the LiBeraturpreis award following the war. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft
- The UK's Competition and Markets Authority approves Microsoft's takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

Mühldorf van crash
- Seven people are killed and 16 others are injured when a vehicle carrying illegal immigrants from the Middle East crashes in Mühldorf, Bavaria, Germany. (AP)
A military helicopter crashes in Canelas Municipality, Durango, Mexico, killing three people. (AP)

Health and environment

The United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports a 99% likelihood of 2023 becoming the warmest year on record. (AFP via The Japan Times)

International relations

International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- During a CIS Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia will offer to mediate a ceasefire. (The Moscow Times)

Law and crime

Israel–Hamas war protests
- Anti-Israel protests occur in many cities across the Middle East. (AP)
- Cities across the United States tighten their security after former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal called for a Global Day of Jihad against Zionism. (The Guardian)
Russian police detain one of the three lawyers of Alexei Navalny and raid the houses of the other two, accusing them of belonging to an extremist organization. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
- Jim Jordan wins the Republican nomination for House Speaker after Steve Scalise withdrew his bid. (Axios)

Science and technology

Discovery Program
- NASA successfully launches its Psyche space probe from Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft will explore the M-type asteroid 16 Psyche, a suspected core of a protoplanet in the asteroid belt. (Reuters)