A rare October storm arrived in California on Tuesday and threatened to pummel wildfire-scarred Los Angeles neighborhoods with heavy rain, high winds and possible mudslides. Some homes were ordered to evacuate.

Israel and Hamas moved ahead on a key first step of the tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement on Monday by freeing hostages and prisoners, raising hopes that the U.S.-brokered deal might lead to a permanent end to the two-year war that ravaged the Palestinian territory.

But thornier issues such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza — and the question of Palestinian statehood — remain unresolved, highlighting the fragility of an agreement that for now only pauses the deadliest conflict in the history of Israel and the Palestinians.

President Donald Trump told Israeli lawmakers on Monday that their country had no more to achieve on the battlefield and must work toward peace in the Middle East after two years of war against Hamas and skirmishes with Hezbollah and Iran.

Although the U.S.-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.

Under a ceasefire deal many hope will finally turn the page on a two-year war, Israel has been preparing to exchange nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners for the 48 hostages — some alive, some dead — still held in the Gaza Strip.

The releases have powerful resonance on both sides. For Israelis, they're deeply painful, since some of those being release have been convicted over attacks that killed civilians and soldiers. For Palestinians, the issue of prisoners is among the most politically charged, with nearly every Palestinian having a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel, particularly young men. While Israel views them as terrorists, many Palestinians consider the prisoners as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long Israeli military occupation.

President Donald Trump has warned Russia that he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Moscow doesn't settle its war there soon — suggesting that he could be ready to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin's government using a key weapons system.

"I might say, 'Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I'm going to send them Tomahawks," Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One as he flew to Israel. "The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that."

The U.S. and Egyptian presidents are chairing a gathering of world leaders dubbed "the Summit for Peace" to support ending the two-year war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal.

The death toll from Mexico's torrential rains rose to 47 on Sunday as the fallout mounted from flooding and landslides in different states around the country, as the authorities were rushing to help affected residents, look for missing people and try to clean several areas.

Days after heavy rains drenched several parts of Mexico, the country saw over the weekend the extension of devastation in some states, where the flooding swept away vehicles and destroyed houses and roads.

President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, an agreement that he declared had effectively ended the war and opened the door to building a durable peace in the Middle East.

As he disembarked from Air Force One, a convoy of vehicles carried into Israel the first hostages released by Hamas as part of the deal.

Israel carried out intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Saturday, killing one person, wounding seven and briefly cutting a highway that links Beirut with parts of south Lebanon, the Health Ministry said.

The pre-dawn airstrikes on the village of Msayleh struck a place that sold heavy machinery, destroying a large number of vehicles.

Syria's foreign minister arrived in Beirut on Friday in what observers say could mark a breakthrough in relations between the two neighbors, which have been tense for decades.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji and and later with President Joseph Aoun. He is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. It is the first high-profile Syrian visit to Lebanon since insurgent groups overthrew President Bashar Assad's government in early December 2024.