1. Attacks intensify on Gaza and Lebanon as death tolls rise amid continued Israeli airstrikes. On Sunday, Israel targeted a mosque in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah. Officials have reported 19 casualties thus far. Meanwhile, in southern Beirut, Israeli planes struck alleged Hezbollah targets. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported more than 30 overnight strikes on Oct. 5. Most recent reports have established that at least 1,400 Lebanese civilians, medics, and Hezbollah fighters have been killed, while more than 1.2 million have been displaced. The northern Israeli city of Haifa also faced several airstrike attacks from five alleged Hezbollah projectiles, despite efforts to intercept them. This follows a continuous traffic of projectiles across the Israel-Lebanon border that have escalated since Sept. 23. 
2. Claudia Sheinbaum was inaugurated as president of Mexico on Oct. 1. This marks the beginning of the first female president’s term, as well as the first president of Jewish heritage in Mexico. The ceremony took place at the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro in Mexico City. Sheinbaum won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide, campaigning mostly as a successor to former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Sheinbaum’s victory is especially significant in a country that has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world. One of Sheinbaum’s first proposals since taking office have been reforms aimed to broaden women’s rights.
3. French president Emmanuel Macron called on countries to pause arms shipments to Israel that would be used in Gaza. Macron stated after this order that “France is not delivering any [weapons to Israel].” Macron’s comments faced pushback from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that calling for a halt in weapons shipment are “restrictions that will only strengthen the Iranian axis of evil.” Macron also expressed concerns over an expansion of the war, noting that it is his goal to avoid escalation in Lebanon. “Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza,” Macron said.
4. Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has a series of major interviews and television appearances planned for the week of Oct. 7 to Oct. 13. Most notable is the CBS 60 Minutes interview, since both Harris and former President Donald Trump (R-Fla.) were invited for prime-time interviews. However, Trump has backed out of the interview. 
5. The United Kingdom has agreed to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. The Islands are a grouping of seven atolls in the Pacific Ocean that have been a British Territory since 1965. The islands are located in a key strategic location. Under the agreement, the small island nation of Mauritius will gain control of the Chagos Islands, but the UK will retain a key military installation on the Island. This decision was heavily criticized by members of the opposition Conservative Party but was applauded by U.S. President Joe Biden. 

Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took power on Oct. 1, has announced a snap election planned for Oct. 27. The election will decide the majoritarian party in the parliamentary lower house. Two influential former prime ministers, Taro Aso and Yoshihide Suga, have been selected by Ishiba to advise him on the upcoming election. Ishiba’s party, the Liberal Democratic Party, recently faced backlash for under-reporting financial contributions to the party in addition to reports of an influential role played by Japan’s controversial Unification Church within the LDP. The snap election will aim to revitalize Ishiba’s political legitimacy and alleviate controversy surrounding the LDP.