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Hamas chief says latest Israeli attack on Gaza could jeopardise ceasefire talks

AIRO, July 8 (Reuters) - A new Israeli assault on Gaza on Monday threatened ceasefire talks at a crucial moment, the head of Hamas said, as Israeli tanks pressed into the heart of Gaza City and ordered residents out after a night of massive bombardment.

Residents said the airstrikes and artillery barrages were among the heaviest in nine months of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the enclave. Thousands fled.

The assault unfolded as senior U.S. officials were in the region pushing for a ceasefire after Hamas made major concessions last week. The militant group said the new offensive appeared intended to derail the talks and called for mediators to rein in Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The assault "could bring the negotiation process back to square one. Netanyahu and his army will bear full responsibility for the collapse of this path," Hamas quoted leader Ismail Haniyeh as saying.

Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian enclave, was one of Israel's first targets at the start of the war in October. But clashes with militants there have persisted and civilians have sought shelter elsewhere, adding to waves of displacement. Much of the city lies in ruins.

Residents said Gaza City neighbourhoods were bombed through the night into the early morning hours of Monday. Several multi-storey buildings were destroyed, they said.

The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people were killed but emergency teams were unable to reach them because of ongoing offensives.

Gaza residents said tanks advanced from at least three directions on Monday and reached the heart of Gaza City, backed by heavy Israeli fire from the air and ground.

That forced thousands of people out of their homes to look for safer shelter, which for many was impossible to find, and some slept on the roadside.

World's deepest diving pool opens in Poland, 45.5 meters deep
The world's deepest diving pool, Deepspot, opened this weekend near the Polish capital Warsaw. The 45.5-meter pool contains artificial underwater caves, Mayan ruins and a small shipwreck for scuba divers and free divers to explore. Deepspot can hold 8,000 cubic meters of water, more than 20 times the capacity of a normal 25-meter swimming pool. Unlike ordinary swimming pools, Deepspot can still open despite Poland's COVID-19 epidemic prevention restrictions because it is a training center that provides courses. The operator also plans to open a hotel where guests can observe divers at a depth of 5 meters from their rooms. "This is the deepest diving pool in the world," Michael Braszczynski, 47, Deepspot's director and a diving enthusiast, told AFP at the opening yesterday. The current Guinness World Record holder is a 42-meter-deep pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy. The 50-meter-deep Blue Abyss pool in the UK is scheduled to open in 2021. On the first day of Deepspot's opening, about a dozen people visited, including eight experienced divers who wanted to pass the instructor exam. "There are no spectacular fish or coral reefs here, so it can't replace the ocean, but it is certainly a good place to learn and train safe open water diving," said 39-year-old diving instructor Przemyslaw Kacprzak. "And it's fun! It's like a kindergarten for divers."
OpenAI's internal AI details stolen in 2023 breach, NYT reports
July 4 (Reuters) - A hacker gained access to the internal messaging systems at OpenAI last year and stole details about the design of the company's artificial intelligence technologies, the New York Times reported, opens new tab on Thursday. The hacker lifted details from discussions in an online forum where employees talked about OpenAI's latest technologies, the report said, citing two people familiar with the incident. However, they did not get into the systems where OpenAI, the firm behind chatbot sensation ChatGPT, houses and builds its AI, the report added. OpenAI executives informed both employees at an all-hands meeting in April last year and the company's board about the breach, according to the report, but executives decided not to share the news publicly as no information about customers or partners had been stolen. OpenAI executives did not consider the incident a national security threat, believing the hacker was a private individual with no known ties to a foreign government, the report said. The San Francisco-based company did not inform the federal law enforcement agencies about the breach, it added. OpenAI in May said it had disrupted five covert influence operations that sought to use its AI models for "deceptive activity" across the internet, the latest to stir safety concerns about the potential misuse of the technology. The Biden administration was poised to open up a new front in its effort to safeguard the U.S. AI technology from China and Russia with preliminary plans to place guardrails around the most advanced AI Models including ChatGPT, Reuters earlier reported, citing sources.
Samsung Electronics wins cutting-edge AI chip order from Japan's Preferred Networks
SEOUL, July 9 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab said on Tuesday it won an order from Japanese artificial intelligence company Preferred Networks to make chips for AI applications using the South Korean firm's 2-nanometre foundry process and advanced chip packaging service. It is the first order Samsung has revealed for its cutting-edge 2-nanometre chip contract manufacturing process. Samsung did not elaborate on the size of the order. The chips will be made using high-tech chip architecture known as gate all-around (GAA) and multiple chips will be integrated in one package to enhance inter-connection speed and reduce size, Samsung said in a statement. South Korea's Gaonchips Co (399720.KQ), opens new tab designed the chips, Samsung said. The chips will go toward Preferred Networks' high-performance computing hardware for generative AI technologies such as large language models, Junichiro Makino, Preferred Networks vice president and chief technology officer of computing architecture, said in the statement.
Israeli strike kills a senior Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM July 3 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed one of Hezbollah's top commanders in south Lebanon on Wednesday, prompting retaliatory rocket fire by the Iran-backed group into Israel as their dangerously poised conflict rumbled on. The Israeli military said it had struck and eliminated Hezbollah's Mohammed Nasser, calling him commander of a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel. Nasser, killed by an airstrike near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, was the one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders to die yet in the conflict, two security sources in Lebanon said. Sparked by the Gaza war, the hostilities have raised concerns about a wider and ruinous conflict between the heavily armed adversaries, prompting U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at deescalation. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces were hitting Hezbollah "very hard every day" and will be ready to take any action necessary against the group, though the preference is to reach a negotiated arrangement. Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets at the border after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, declaring support for the Palestinians and saying it would cease fire when Israel stops its Gaza offensive. Hezbollah announced at least two attacks in response to what it called "the assassination", saying it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster reported that dozens of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli Defence Ministry said that air raid sirens sounded in several parts of northern Israel. Israel's military did not give a number of rockets launched but said most of them fell in open areas, some were intercepted, while a number of launches fell in the area of Kiryat Shmona.
iPhone 16 Pro leak just confirmed a huge camera upgrade
The tetraprism lens with 5x optical zoom currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be headed to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, narrowing the gap between Apple's premium flagships. That's according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who cites a recent earnings call with Apple lens supplier Largan. In the call, a spokesperson from Largan said "some flagship specifications will be extended to other models" in the second half of 2024, presumably in reference to the upcoming iPhone Pro models. "Apple is Largan’s largest customer, and Largan is also Apple’s largest lens supplier," Kuo said. "Therefore, the quote likely refers to the fact that the new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have a tetraprism camera in 2H24 (while only the iPhone 15 Pro Max had this camera in 2H23).” The report goes on to say that the tetraprism camera for the iPhone 16 Pro series won't be all that different from the one in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the lack of an upgrade is disappointing, it's not necessarily a bad thing as these kinds of lenses are already top-of-the-line. They represent a major increase over prior models’ zoom capabilities, and they're capable of offering more depth while still fitting into super-slim smartphones. That being said, Apple does appear to be revamping the main camera and ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Evidence continues to mount that both iPhone 16 Pro models will share the same 5x optical zoom camera. Earlier this week, DigitTimes in Asia (via 9to5Mac) reported that Apple is set to ramp up orders for tetraprism lenses as it expands their use in its upcoming iPhone series. Industry sources told the outlet that Largan and Genius Electronic Optical were tapped as the primary suppliers. Apple would be wise to streamline its Pro-level iPhones with the same camera setup; then all customers have to consider with their choice of a new iPhone is the size and price. Of course, this should all be taken with a grain of sand for now until we hear more from Apple. It's still a while yet before Apple's usual September time window for iPhone launches. In the meantime, be sure to check out all the rumors so far in our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs.