October 17: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

Urban warfare: What will happen during an Israeli military ground offensive in Gaza?
The Middle East has seen much bloody urban fighting in recent years, including in Lebanon, in Syria and in the West Bank and in Gaza. The death toll from the Hamas-Israel conflict that began nine days ago, already in the thousands, will inevitably climb much further if an expected ground offensive in Gaza by the Israeli army goes ahead. History recalls names such as the Russian city of Stalingrad and the Iraqi city of Fallujah where large militaries suffered devastating losses against defenders. The Russian city saw the Nazi German army frozen and destroyed by well-prepared and committed fighters – while Fallujah had the US Army lose huge amounts of troops in house-to-house fighting. The difference with those conflicts is that much of the civilian population had fled. That will not be the case in Gaza and the death toll and slaughter of innocent unarmed civilians is predicted to be enormous. Figures from 2017 put the civilian population at around 500,000 with more than two million people across the whole of Gaza.
The Journal

Budget 2024: First three lump sums to be paid next month
The first of nine lump sums, worth a total of €1.2 billion, announced in last week’s budget to help meet cost-of-living increases will begin to be paid from mid-November, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys will tell the Cabinet on Tuesday. Her colleague Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan will also inform the Government that the three universal payments of €150 each to help meet higher electricity costs will be paid on December 1st, on January 1st 2024 and on March 1st 2024. Ms Humphreys will brief ministerial colleagues on the timetable for the payment of the once-off supplements. The first three payments will be made on the week beginning Monday, November 20th.
The Irish Times

Strike by health and community workers suspended as 8% pay deal reached
An indefinite strike by 5,000 community healthcare and social care workers has been suspended following an 8pc pay offer at late night talks. Staff at 19 organisations including Cheshire Ireland, Ability West, Cobh Hospital and Enable Ireland were due to mount pickets this morning in a dispute over pay. A group of unions representing the workers has agreed to recommend that they accept a proposal brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission. It includes a 3% pay rise backdated to April 1 this year, another 2% on November 1 and a further 3% on March 1 this year. Further talks on a key demand to link their pay to public servants’ wages are also proposed.
Independent.ie

Internal row has erupted in government over health service’s budget crisis
An internal row has erupted in government over the health service’s budget crisis, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin defending the health minister from a flurry of criticism by Fine Gael members. Stephen Donnelly has come under fire for his department’s management of its finances, with HSE boss Bernard Gloster saying that his allocation for next year will be below what is required.
The Irish Examiner

US President Joe Biden confirms he will travel to Israel
US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, amid fears about the war with Hamas expanding into a larger conflict. The American leader is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirm the country’s solidarity with Israel, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said.
Sky News

Suspected gunman shot by police after Brussels attack
Police in Brussels have shot a man in connection with last night’s terror attack in which two Swedish football fans were shot dead. Reports say the man was shot in a cafe in the Schaerbeek area of the Belgian capital. The suspected attacker identified himself last night on social media as Abdeselem Al Guilani and claimed he was a member of the so-called Islamic State. He is thought to have been a 45-year-old Tunisian living illegally in Belgium.
RTÉ

Wadea al-Fayoume: Last words of knifed US Muslim boy were ‘Mom, I’m fine’
The last words of a six-year-old Muslim boy stabbed to death in a suspected hate crime over the weekend were “Mom, I’m fine”, his uncle said as hundreds gathered to lay the child to rest. On Monday, the Mosque Foundation in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview was overflowing, with some paying their respects on the pavement outside. Police say Wadea al-Fayoume was attacked because he was Muslim. His funeral was held as the family’s landlord appeared in court charged with the boy’s murder. The 71-year-old suspect was allegedly upset about the Israel-Hamas war.
BBC News

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 601 of the invasion
Russia is testing defences around Kupiansk-Lyman as its Avdiivka offensive wanes, says Ukraine; Moscow admits reliance on China for drones.
The Guardian

Today’s forecast
Turning wet and breezy today. Rain will spread across Munster in the morning before extending across the rest of the country during the afternoon. The rain will be heavy and thundery at times, so localised flooding is possible, particularly in the southwest. Highest temperatures of 9 to 14 degrees in a fresh to strong and gusty east to southeast wind. It will continue wet and breezy tonight with rain heavy moving northwards bringing a further chance of localised flooding overnight. The clearance of that rain will be followed by a short break and then further rain later in the night. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 11 degrees in a moderate to fresh and gusty southeast wind, strong in coastal areas. A Status Orange Rain Warning has been issued for Cork, Kerry and Waterford while a Status Yellow Rain Warning is in place for Connacht, as well as counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford.
Met Éireann