Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 7-13:
April 7: Country singer Bobby Bare is 89. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 86. Actor Roberta Shore (“The Virginian”) is 81. Singer Patricia Bennett of The Chiffons is 77. Singer-guitarist John Oates of Hall and Oates is 76. Drummer John Dittrich of Restless Heart is 73. Singer Janis Ian is 73. Actor Jackie Chan is 70. Actor Russell Crowe is 60. Singer Mark Kibble of Take 6 is 60. Actor Bill Bellamy (“Last Comic Standing,” ″Fastlane”) is 59. Drummer Charlie Hall of The War on Drugs is 50. Singer-bassist John Cooper of Skillet is 49. Actor Heather Burns (“Miss Congeniality”) is 49. Singer John Cooper of Skillet is 49. Actor Kevin Alejandro (“Lucifer,” ″Southland”) is 48. Actor Sian Clifford (“Fleabag”) is 42. Bassist Ben McKee of Imagine Dragons is 39. Contemporary Christian singer Tauren Wells is 38. Actor Ed Speleers (“Downton Abbey”) is 36. Actor Conner Rayburn (“According to Jim”) is 25.
April 8: Original Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie is 83. Singer Peggy Lennon of the Lennon Sisters is 83. Songwriter Leon Huff of Gamble and Huff is 82. Actor Stuart Pankin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Not Necessarily The News”) is 78. Guitarist Steve Howe of Yes (and of Asia) is 77. Film director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) is 75. Bassist Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad is 73. Singer-actor John Schneider (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 64. Guitarist Izzy Stradlin (Guns N’ Roses) is 62. Singer Julian Lennon is 61. Actor Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad,” ″Under the Dome”) is 61. Singer-guitarist Donita Sparks of L7 is 61. Actor Robin Wright is 58. Actor Patricia Arquette is 56. Actor JR Bourne (TV’s “Teen Wolf,” ″Revenge”) is 54. Singer Craig Honeycutt of Everything is 54. Drummer Darren Jessee of Ben Folds Five is 53. Actor Emma Caulfield (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is 51. Actor Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) is 44. Actor Taylor Kitsch (“True Detective,” ″Friday Night Lights”) is 43. Singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend is 40. Actor Taran Noah Smith (“Home Improvement”) is 40. Guitarist Jamie Sierota (Echosmith) is 31. Actor Sadie Calvano (“Mom”) is 27.
April 9: Actor Michael Learned (“The Waltons”) is 85. Actor Dennis Quaid is 70. Humorist Jimmy Tingle (“60 Minutes II”) is 69. Keyboardist Dave Innis of Restless Heart is 65. Talk show host Joe Scarborough (“Morning Joe”) is 61. Actor Mark Pellegrino (“Dexter”) is 59. Actor-model Paulina Porizkova is 59. Actor Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”) is 58. Singer Kevin Martin of Candlebox is 55. TV personality Sunny Anderson (“The Kitchen”) is 49. Singer Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is 47. Actor Keshia Knight Pulliam (“The Cosby Show”) is 45. Guitarist Albert Hammond Junior of The Strokes is 44. Actor Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”) is 44. Actor Jay Baruchel (“Knocked Up,” ″Tropic Thunder”) is 42. Actor Annie Funke (“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”) is 39. Actor Jordan Masterson (“Last Man Standing”) is 38. Actor Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”) is 38. Singer-actor Jesse McCartney (“Summerland”) is 37. Singer Jazmine Sullivan is 37. Actor Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”) is 34. Actor Elle Fanning (“Because of Winn-Dixie”) is 26. Musician Lil Nas X is 25. Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright (“Game of Thrones”) is 25. Singer Jackie Evancho is 24.
April 10: Actor Steven Seagal is 72. Singer Terre Roche of The Roches is 71. Actor Peter MacNicol (“Numb3rs,” ″Ally McBeal”) is 70. Actor Olivia Brown (“Miami Vice”) is 67. Bassist Steven Gustafson of 10,000 Maniacs is 67. Singer-producer Babyface is 66. Musician Brian Setzer (Stray Cats) is 65. Singer Katrina Leskanich of Katrina and the Waves is 64. Drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander of Primus is 59. Singer Kenny Lattimore is 57. Comedian Orlando Jones is 56. Guitarist Mike Mushok of Staind is 55. Rapper Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest is 54. Actor David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) is 49. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland is 45. Actor Laura Bell Bundy is 43. Actor Harry Hadden-Paton (“Downton Abbey”) is 43. Actor Chyler Leigh (“Supergirl,” ″Grey’s Anatomy”) is 42. Bassist Andrew Dost of fun. is 41. Actor Ryan Merriman (“The Pretender”) is 41. Singer-actor Mandy Moore (“This is Us”) is 40. Actor Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) is 39. Actor Shay Mitchell (“Pretty Little Liars”) is 37. Actor Haley Joel Osment (“The Sixth Sense”) is 36. Country singer Maren Morris is 34. Singer-actor AJ Michalka of Aly and AJ is 33. Actor Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) is 32. Actor Sofia Carson (“Descendants”) is 31. Actor Ruby Jerins (“Nurse Jackie”) is 26.
April 11: Actor Joel Grey is 92. Actor Louise Lasser is 85. Actor Peter Riegart (film’s “Animal House,” TV’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) is 77. Actor Bill Irwin (“Law & Order: SVU”) is 74. Singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 67. Guitarist Nigel Pulsford (Bush) is 63. Country singer Steve Azar is 60. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 58. Actor Johnny Messner (“Killer Instinct,” ″The O.C.”) is 55. Bassist Dylan Keefe of Marcy Playground is 54. Actor Vicellous Shannon (“The Hurricane”) is 53. Rapper David Banner is 50. Actor Tricia Helfer (“Lucifer”) is 50. Drummer Chris Gaylor of All-American Rejects is 45. Actor Kelli Garner (“Taking Woodstock,” ″Lars and the Real Girl”) is 40. Singer Joss Stone is 37. Actor Kaitlyn Jenkins (“Bunheads”) is 32.
April 12: Musician Herbie Hancock is 84. Musician John Kay of Steppenwolf is 80. Actor Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family,” ″Married...With Children”) is 78. Actor Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”) is 77. Talk show host David Letterman is 77. Singer J.D. Nicholas of The Commodores is 72. Singer Pat Travers is 70. Actor Andy Garcia is 68. Country singer Vince Gill is 67. TV personality J Alexander (“America’s Next Top Model”) is 66. Guitarist Will Sergeant of Echo and the Bunnymen is 66. Singer Art Alexakis (al-ex-AH’-kis) of Everclear is 62. Singer Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls is 60. Actor Alicia Coppola (TV’s “Jericho,” film’s “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”) is 56. Singer Nicholas Hexum of 311 (three-eleven) is 54. Actor Retta (“Good Girls,” ″Parks and Recreation”) is 54. Actor Nicholas Brendon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is 53. Actor Shannen Doherty is 53. Actor Marley Shelton (“Pleasantville”) is 50. Actor Sarah Jane Morris (“NCIS”) is 47. Bassist Guy Berryman of Coldplay is 46. Actor Riley Smith (“Nashville”) is 46. Actor Claire Danes is 45. Actor Jennifer Morrison (“Once Upon a Time,” ″House”) is 45. Actor Matt McGorry (“How To Get Away With Murder,” ″Orange Is the New Black”) is 38. Actor Brooklyn Decker (“Grace and Frankie”) is 37. Drummer Joe Rickard of Red is 37. Singer-guitarist Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco is 37. Actor Saoirse Ronan is 30.
April 13: Actor Edward Fox is 87. Singer Lester Chambers of The Chambers Brothers is 84. Composer Bill Conti (“Rocky” film theme) is 82. Musician Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane is 80. Musician Al Green is 78. Actor Ron Perlman is 74. Actor William Sadler (“Wonderfalls,” ″Roswell”) is 74. Singer Peabo Bryson is 73. Drummer Max Weinberg of the E Street Band (and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien”) is 73. Keyboardist Jimmy Destri (Blondie) is 70. Comedian Gary Kroeger (“Saturday Night Live”) is 67. Actor Saundra Santiago (“Miami Vice”) is 67. Guitarist Joey Mazzola (Sponge) is 63. Actor Page Hannah (TV’s “Fame”) is 60. Actor-comedian Caroline Rhea (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” ″The Biggest Loser”) is 60. Bassist Lisa Umbarger (The Toadies) is 59. Guitarist Marc Ford (Black Crowes) is 58. Actor Ricky Schroder is 54. Singer Aaron Lewis of Staind is 52. Actor Bokeem Woodbine (TV’s “Fargo,” ″Saving Grace”) is 51. Singer Lou Bega is 49. Actor Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) is 48. Actor Kyle Howard (“Royal Pains”) is 46. Actor Kelli Giddish (“Law and Order: SVU”) is 44. Actor Courtney Peldon (“Boston Public”) is 43. Singer Nellie McKay is 42. Rapper Ty Dolla $ign is 42. Actor Allison Williams (“Girls”) is 36. Actor Hannah Marks (“Necessary Roughness”) is 31.
Singer Maren Morris arrives on the red carpet at the 2024 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at a Library of Congress dinner event on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Israel's military has ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.
The announcement on Monday complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city.
The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Currently:
— Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of an expected assault
— Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in ‘very near future’
— Israel orders Al Jazeera to close its local operation and seizes some of its equipment
— Netanyahu uses Holocaust ceremony to brush off international pressure against Gaza offensive
— Anti-war protesters leave USC after police arrive, while Northeastern ceremony proceeds calmly
— Israeli strike kills 4 civilians in southern Lebanon, state media says
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here's the latest:
BEIRUT — The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday the bodies of 52 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 90 wounded, it said in its daily report.
That brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to at least 34,735 the ministry said, and 78,108 wounded.
The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but says that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
BEIRUT -- Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot on Monday called for an urgent “diplomatic solution” to end intensifying clashes between the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group and the Israeli military along the tense Lebanon-Israel border.
“The Netherlands has grave concerns about rising tensions in the border region and intensified fighting, and we regret the loss of innocent civilian lives,” Bruins Slot said following a meeting with her Lebanese counterpart, caretaker Foreign Minister Fouad Bou Habib in Beirut. “And this has implications for Lebanon and the wider region.”
Israel, which sees Hezbollah as its most direct threat, has not ruled out a war in southern Lebanon. It estimates that the Iran-backed Shiite group has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at the country. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.
Western diplomats have scrambled to halt the hostilities. Hezbollah, and ally of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, has maintained that it would stop its attacks on northern Israel when the Hamas-Israel war ends.
JERUSALEM — The Norwegian Refugee Council has condemned the Israeli army’s “forced, unlawful” evacuation order in Rafah, saying that it could lead to “the deadliest phase of this conflict.”
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the international nonprofit organization, says there are not enough resources in Israel’s self-declared Muwasi humanitarian zone, where the army instructed some 100,000 people in Rafah to relocate on Monday.
“The area is already overstretched and devoid of vital services,” Egeland said.
He says his organization and other international humanitarian groups are struggling to provide essential support for Palestinians in Gaza. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are currently located in Rafah, while Israel’s government has vowed to press on with a military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city.
JERUSALEM -- The Israeli army says a fourth soldier has died from wounds sustained in a Hamas rocket attack on the border with Gaza.
Hamas launched at least 10 rockets toward soldiers positioned on the border Sunday, killing three other soldiers.
The attack occurred near Kerem Shalom, a major crossing point for international aid being delivered to Gaza, and came as Israel is preparing a possible invasion into the nearby Palestinian city of Rafah.
Israel has shuttered Kerem Shalom indefinitely, and on Monday, it began ordering civilians to evacuate parts of eastern Rafah, near the border, ahead of an expected military operation.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- The United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees says it will not comply with an Israeli military order to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA, says the agency has not evacuated the area and has no plans to do so. She says it has thousands of employees in the city.
“UNRWA will not take part in any forced evacuation of the population in Rafah or elsewhere in Gaza,” she said. “We are committed to staying and delivering humanitarian assistance.” She called for a cease-fire.
Relations between Israel and UNRWA have long been strained and further deteriorated during the seven-month war.
Israel has accused UNRWA of collaborating with the Hamas militant group and called for the agency’s closure.
UNRWA, the largest international provider of aid and services in Gaza, denies the accusations.
BERLIN — Germany’s Foreign Office on Monday condemned the shutdown of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network in Israel.
The Foreign Office wrote on X that “a free and diverse press landscape is the cornerstone of every liberal democracy. In times of conflict especially, it is of crucial importance to protect the freedom of the press.”
“The decision of the Israeli authorities to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel is the wrong signal,” the ministry said.
Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel. Berlin, however, has gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza have soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and speaking out against a ground offensive in Rafah.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army has ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.
The announcement on Monday complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But last October, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.
BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on northeastern Lebanon wounded three people and destroyed a building, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says.
The strike on the village of Safri early Monday targeted a factory in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the agency said without giving further details.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military structure in Safri.
Monday’s strike came after a tense day along the Lebanon-Israel border during which an Israeli airstrike on a village near the border killed four Lebanese civilians.
The militant Hezbollah group said it fired dozens of rockets in retaliation toward northern Israel.
The Lebanon-Israel border has seen almost daily exchange of fire since a day after the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 350 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups but also including more than 50 civilians. In Israel, strikes from Lebanon have killed at least 10 civilians and 12 soldiers.
An Israeli Defense Forces tank drives away from the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Palestinians flee from the eastern side of the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the Israeli army orders them to evacuate ahead of a military operation, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 6, 2024. The order affects tens of thousands of people and could signal a broader invasion of Rafah, which Israel has identified as Hamas' last major stronghold after seven months of war. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
An Israeli Defense Forces tank drives away from the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
An Israeli Defense Forces tank drives away from the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Palestinians flee from the eastern side of the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the Israeli army orders them to evacuate ahead of a military operation, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 6, 2024. The order affects tens of thousands of people and could signal a broader invasion of Rafah, which Israel has identified as Hamas' last major stronghold after seven months of war. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
Palestinians flee from the eastern side of the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the Israeli army orders them to evacuate ahead of a military operation, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 6, 2024. The order affects tens of thousands of people and could signal a broader invasion of Rafah, which Israel has identified as Hamas' last major stronghold after seven months of war. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
Palestinians flee from the eastern side of the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the Israeli army orders them to evacuate ahead of a military operation, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 6, 2024. The order affects tens of thousands of people and could signal a broader invasion of Rafah, which Israel has identified as Hamas' last major stronghold after seven months of war. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
An Israeli tank overlooks the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
The office of late Al Jazeera network journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is decorated with memorial items, inside the network's office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Sunday, May 5, 2024. Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Palestinians react next to the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians react next to the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian woman mourns her relative, 7-month old baby Hani Qeshta, who was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building with Qeshta's family, at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
Israeli soldiers drive a tank at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
The Qeshta family is seen in body bags at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. The family was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building in Rafah. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
