International News from Monday, August 18th, 2025

Hamas has accepted the latest proposal for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages the group holds in Gaza and Israel's release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source said on Monday.

Fearing an Israeli onslaught could come soon, some Palestinian families began leaving eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and some explored evacuating further south.

Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining captives.

A Russian drone attack on a residential area in Kharkiv killed seven people including a toddler and a 16-year-old boy overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday, as the US presses Kyiv to accept a quick deal to end the war that Moscow started.

Raging wildfires in Spain spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountain range on Monday and authorities closed part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

Incessant heavy rain lashed India's financial capital of Mumbai on Monday, disrupting flights, flooding roads and prompting shutdowns of schools.

Authorities in Pakistan resumed rescue and relief work on Monday in the country's northwest where flash floods have killed over 300 people after heavy rain forced them to suspend operations for several hours, a government official said.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders will meet Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to map out a peace deal amid fears the US president could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow.