Israel and Hamas traded more heavy fire Thursday in the Gaza war that has killed thousands as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited to stress strong solidarity but also urge restraint to protect Palestinian civilians.

Israel's army has hammered Hamas with thousands of strikes ahead of what is widely expected to be a ground invasion of the crowded territory, after Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages.

Palestinians in Gaza lined up outside bakeries on Thursday after spending the night in pitch darkness surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighborhoods, as Israel launched new airstrikes and said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion.

International aid groups warned that deaths in Gaza could accelerate as Israel prevents delivery of supplies. The war, which was ignited by a bloody and wide-ranging Hamas attack into Israel, has already claimed at least 2,400 lives on both sides.

A top opposition Israeli politician said Wednesday that he has reached an agreement to enter a wartime unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and military chief of staff, released what he said was a joint statement with Netanyahu.

Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes in Argentina's central Cordoba province on Tuesday as wildfires grew amid an intense heat wave.

Images and video from the area showed massive flames in hills surrounding populated areas as firefighters worked to combat the flames that had reached some homes in the region. It was not immediately clear how many homes had been affected by the flames.

At the most harrowing of times, some Israeli citizens living overseas aren't running from the war at home, but to it. From Athens to New York, they're rushing to airports and diving into online chat groups for help, desperate to make their way to the country after Hamas militants attacked.

Some of these Israelis abroad are yearning to serve, whether that means fighting in a military reserve unit or volunteering to shuttle supplies to those in need, even as the war has already claimed at least 1,800 lives and shows no signs of abating. On Tuesday, Israel's military expanded its mobilization of reservists to 360,000, according to the country's media, as it ramped up its retaliation for the surprise attacks.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at NATO for Wednesday's meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.

"It's very important that there are priorities. There are air defense systems. These are not just basic words. These are very concrete things and we need them," Zelensky said on arrival, insisting that long-range missiles were just as essential. He also called for more ammunition, making for the three types of military aid he was looking for.

Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel and the war it launched has raised new questions about the influence of its main sponsor, Iran, and whether it had anything to do with the assault.

From Tel Aviv to Washington, however, no one is willing to directly blame Iran as they say they lack direct evidence. Tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West remain high over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. In Tehran, even its supreme leader has denied the country being involved while praising what he described as the "capable, smart and courageous" militants who killed more than 1,000 Israelis and for the first time took over 100 civilians and soldiers as hostages.

Residents in Gaza are facing an imminent loss of electricity as fuel supplies run dangerously low in the sealed-off territory. Israeli airstrikes left entire neighborhoods demolished Wednesday, and hospitals in the Gaza Strip are struggling to treat the injured with dwindling medical supplies.

The war, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. The weekend attack that Hamas said was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation has inflamed Israel's determination to crush the group's hold in Gaza.

You could say Joe Cristalli tweeted his role as an executive producer and co-showrunner on the new " Frasier " sitcom into existence.

About 10 years ago as a fledgling TV writer and "Frasier" super fan, Cristalli started a Twitter account with "random jokes" about the show and character made famous by Kelsey Grammer in the sitcoms "Cheers" and "Frasier."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to neighboring Romania on Tuesday for talks with his counterpart on regional security and strengthening bilateral ties against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of his country.

Zelensky met with President Klaus Iohannis in the capital, Bucharest. The two are also expected to discuss security cooperation in the Black Sea region, Zelensky said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.