By Sara Harmouch, American University and Nakissa Jahanbani, United States Military Academy West Point

From attacks by rebels in the Red Sea to raids in northern Israel and the Oct. 7, 2023, assault by Hamas, Western analysts have pointed a finger of blame toward Iran.

After more than three months of near-daily clashes, Israel in recent weeks appears to have moved to a strategy of targeted killings as daily shelling and strikes on Lebanon's south and Hezbollah's daily attacks on Israeli posts continued.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army bombed several southern border towns, including with white phosphorus bombs.

Mohamed Salah's agent says the player's injury is more serious than previously stated and that the Liverpool star will be out for three to four weeks – which would rule out a return to the Africa Cup of Nations for Egypt.

"His best chance at participating in the current AFCON is by undergoing intensive rehabilitation in the UK and rejoining the team as soon as he is fit," Ramy Abbas Issa wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

Lionel Messi had three shots on goal before exiting early in the second half in Inter Miami's 1-0 loss to FC Dallas in an MLS preseason game at the Cotton Bowl on Monday night.

Messi took three shots in the first half and left the game about 15 minutes into the second half with Inter Miami trailing in front of an announced crowd of 32,221 in a game played in a drizzle and 40 degrees (4 Celsius).

NATO signed on Tuesday a $1.2-billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries as they supply ammunition to Ukraine to help it defeat Russia's invasion.

The contract will allow for the purchase of 220,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition, the most widely sought after artillery shell, according to NATO's support and procurement agency. It will allow allies to backfill their arsenals and to provide Ukraine with more ammunition.

A senior Egyptian official says Israel has proposed a two-month cease-fire in which Hamas would release Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Under the proposal, Yehya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.

Egypt has warned Israel that any attempt to seize security control of the strip of land that separates Gaza and Egypt will result in a “serious threat” to relations between the neighboring states.

The Philadelphi corridor is a 14-kilometer (nine-mile) -long slither of land that separates Egypt from Gaza.

Thirty-one people were confirmed dead while several remained missing Tuesday after a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of China's southwestern province of Yunnan, Chinese state media reported.

The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. on Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan.

The Israeli military said in a statement Tuesday that its forces have encircled the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The territory’s second largest city has seen heavy fighting in recent days, with dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded.

The U.S. has hit Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and its CEO with sanctions, alleging assistance to Iran's military wing, and imposed a fifth round of sanctions on the militant group Hamas for abuse of cryptocurrency since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The sanctions come as Israel's bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip continues — killing 25,000 Palestinians so far, according to the Gaza Strip Healthy Ministry — and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq launch regular strikes against bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.