Good morning. The Israel and Hamas truce shows signs of strain. Silver is on a red-hot streak. And the Louvre is the site of a Hollywood-level heist. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Samantha Stewart

Israel launched airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza and reportedly suspended all aid shipments after accusing the group of ambushing its troops and violating Donald Trump’s peace plan. Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a forceful response to weaken the militant group’s grip on the territory. Hamas said it remained committed to the truce.

Further east, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after deadly cross-border clashes earlier this month. Each side blamed the other for provoking the worst hostilities since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

In Japan, the Ishin party is considering joining forces with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party by Monday, boosting the chances of Sanae Takaichi becoming the nation’s first female leader. Among the options Ishin is considering is extra-cabinet cooperation—an arrangement in which an opposition party backs a minority government without joining the cabinet or creating a formal coalition, Kyodo reported.

Rare earths are still the hot topic in China, where delegates told their global counterparts that tightened export controls won’t harm normal trade flows, according to people familiar. Last month’s shipments may tell a different story, though, with exports slipping in September from a month earlier. Vice Premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet this week to defuse tensions between the superpowers.

France was hit with yet another downgrade after S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s debt rating to A+ from AA- in an unscheduled move, saying France’s budget uncertainty “remains elevated.” Finance Minister Roland Lescure said it’s time to get “serious” about finances.

Deep Dive: Silver Rush

Silver mania is rippling across the globe. Within days of India’s largest precious metals refinery running out of stock for the first time in its history—thanks in part to social media stars promoting the idea that it was silver’s turn after gold’s record rally—the shortage started to be felt around the world. 

• International investors and hedge funds got in on the action, piling into precious metals as a bet on the fragility of the US dollar—or simply to follow the market’s irrepressible surge higher. 

• The frenzy spread all the way to the London silver market, where global prices are set and the world’s biggest banks buy and sell in huge quantities. When available metal ran out, traders described a market that was all but broken.
• It looks like things may be cooling down now, though. The metal fell more than 6%, its biggest drop in six months, as concerns eased over credit quality in the US and trade frictions between China and the US.

Opinion

China is taking the lead when it comes to dealing with dangerous electric vehicle doors, Juliana Liu writes. With the country producing 70% of the world’s clean-energy vehicles and its carmakers looking for new markets, it pays to assure potential customers. Others should follow suit.

Our daily word puzzle with a plot twist.

Today’s clue is: Chief chief?

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Before You Go

Photographer: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP

A Hollywood-level heist. Several individuals descended on the Louvre Sunday in what Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described as a “major robbery” that lasted only minutes. “Jewelry that has historical and priceless value” was taken, Nunez said.

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