Fears grow over blasts near Gaza hospitals. Trump maintains a commanding lead in Iowa. Plus, Halloween weekend celebrations across several states end in mass shootings.

 Hostage negotiations stall over Hamas demand for fuel deliveries to Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a long and difficult war ahead over the weekend and said that the conflict had entered its “second stage,” after ground troops entered Gaza in an expansion of fighting. 

Israel’s military will “continue and intensify” its ground operation in Gaza where its forces are making “gradual progress,” a spokesperson told a news conference today. Daniel Hagari said that “additional forces entered the Gaza Strip,” over the last day.

Internet and phone connectivity disrupted by Israel’s heavy bombardment was restored for many people in Gaza on Sunday, according to telecommunications provider Paltel and a member of NBC News’ crew.

Recent talks to free some of the hostages held by Hamas stalled after the group demanded that Israel allow fuel deliveries to Gaza, and Hamas declined to guarantee the release of a large number of foreign captives, a former U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations said.

Blasts have been heard less than 200 feet from Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, where thousands of people are sheltering despite Israeli evacuation orders, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society told NBC News. Staff have warned that evacuating patients from the site would be impossible.

In Russia’s predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan hundreds of protesters stormed an airport when a plane from Israel arrived, the interior ministry told Reuters.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates.

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Matthew Perry’s initial autopsy results are inconclusive, authorities say

Matthew Perry died Saturday in an apparent drowning in a hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, but the official cause of his death has been “deferred,” and further investigation has been requested, according to a report released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. 

An official conclusion, pending a toxicology report, isn’t likely to be released for several weeks, the medical examiner’s office said.

The star of “Friends” and several other TV shows and movies was 54. His death triggered an immediate outpouring of shock and grief by friends, colleagues and fans. 

Trump holds a commanding lead in Iowa

Former President Donald Trump now leads his nearest Republican rivals by nearly 30 points in Iowa, according to the second NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of the state conducted by J. Ann Selzer.

Former United States Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are now tied for second place, each garnering 16% support.

But most likely caucusgoers are still with Trump, who sits at 43% in the new poll. And 65% of those polled believe the former president can win a general election against President Joe Biden, regardless of the legal challenges he faces. 

Despite Trump’s commanding lead, a majority of likely caucusgoers — 54% — say they could be persuaded to change their first-choice picks. Read more about the poll results.

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Maine comes together to grieve after shootings

For residents around Lewiston, Maine, vigils dominated the weekend and provided spiritual sustenance after the deadliest mass shooting in state history.

Victims’ names were read aloud during a Sunday night vigil attended by Gov. Janet Mills and Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King. Allen Austin, the senior pastor of Lewiston’s Pathway Vineyard church, said at the vigil, “These events will never make sense to us. We’re never prepared for events such as this.”

Lea Boisvert, whose friend Arthur Strout was gunned down at Schemengees Bar & Grille said fear enveloped the region during shelter-in-place orders amid one of the state’s largest-ever manhunts. Now that fear must give way to a renewed sense of trust, she said.

“That sense of community that Androscoggin County has was not built overnight, but it was destroyed overnight,” Boisvert said.

Halloween weekend celebrations in four states end with mass shootingsAt least six people were killed and over 40 were injured in four separate shootings during the pre-Halloween weekend, according to officials.

Celebrations in Texas, Indiana, Florida and Illinois ended in tragedy. The deadliest happened in Tampa, where two people were killed and 18 injured after a fight broke out just before 3 a.m.

Florida authorities announced the arrest of Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, charged with second-degree murder with a firearm.

The Texas shooting started, the Texarkana Police Department said, when a fist fight broke out and “at least two men there pulled out their rifles and started shooting.”

▼ Today’s Talker

Too scoop or not to scoop…

… your bagel? One Los Angeles resident drew outrage from New Yorkers after documenting his failed attempt to order a hollowed-out bagel while visiting the city, a request he said would draw no questions back home. But many who stumbled across his post said it was the first they had ever heard of a scooped bagel.

▼ Politics in Brief

Combating antisemitism: The Biden administration is unveiling new actions to address antisemitism on college campuses after an “alarming” uptick in incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Artificial intelligence: President Biden signed a wide-ranging executive order on artificial intelligence, with focuses ranging from civil rights and industry regulations to a government hiring spree.

Supreme Court: Three major issues on the role of social media in society are before the justices, with oral arguments in the first two cases taking place this week. 

Gag order: A gag order in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump was back in effect yesterday after the presiding judge ended her pause on the order.

▼ Staff Pick

A toddling team of babies has been “hired” to brighten the days of residents at a nursing home in Japan, an aging country where loneliness is a growing social problem. “It energizes me to see them,” one 93-year-old resident said of the pint-sized visitors, who are paid in diapers and ice cream. — Jennifer Jett, Asia digital editor

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