Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the former director of a Gaza hospital, appeared at an Israeli Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday via video link, marking the first time he’s been seen in public since February 2025. Abu Safiya was detained by Israeli troops in December 2024 and has since been held in Israeli prisons. Israel accuses him of being a Hamas operative but has not charged him.
The US has begun conducting strikes against multiple targets in Iran for the second straight day, US Central Command said Wednesday. Moments earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US will be bombing “key facilities” in Iran.
At an event commemorating IRGC commanders who were killed last June during an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, Iranian military officials expressed little concern over President Donald Trump’s latest threat to Tehran if they did not make a deal with the US. CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and photojournalist Claudia Otto report.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Anti-immigration chants rang out at demonstrations in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK following a knife attack in Belfast.
Protesters in France are demanding answers after an 11-year-old went missing and her body was later found on a farm, according to French media reports. The suspect, the 41-year-old father of a classmate, is now under formal investigation and in custody. He told police the girl was in his car on the afternoon she disappeared, but that he dropped her off at a swimming pool, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. An attorney told BFMTV his client is presumed innocent. Many are shocked that repeated warning signs were apparently missed, and the case has reignited a broader debate over how seriously sexual violence is treated in France. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reports.
The Trump administration is defending its decision to bar Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan from entering the US, just days before the FIFA World Cup, over alleged links to a terrorist group. A FIFA spokesperson said in a statement that the World Cup organizer “is not involved in host country immigration processes.” Artan, who was named Africa’s top male referee in 2025, would have been the first Somali to referee at the tournament. CNN’s Larry Madowo reports.
Pope Leo was invited directly into the cockpit during his flight to Barcelona as part of his official tour of Spain. From there, he was seen waving at the Spanish Air Force fighter jet that escorted the Vatican delegation’s plane for part of the flight. CNN’s Christopher Lamb reports on the Pope’s journey.
