Axios

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday "it seems" Hamas has refused to release all of the Israeli women it is holding hostage in Gaza because the terror group doesn't want them to tell what they have gone through in captivity.

Why it matters: Miller did not provide any evidence to back up his claim, but it's the first time a senior U.S. official has raised the possibility that Hamas has harmed some of the women it's holding hostage.

Researchers are flagging a suspicious surge in the short-selling of Israeli stocks days before the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7.

Why it matters: A new draft paper published today posits that a trader — or traders — were informed of Hamas' plans to attack ahead of time, and potentially made millions on it.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told Axios on the sidelines of COP28 on Monday that she is "very concerned" about the ability of U.S. adversaries to spread disinformation and sow distrust in the wake of natural disasters in the U.S.

Driving the news: She pointed to misinformation and disinformation spread by nation-state actors — namely, China and Russia —  following this year's devastating fires in Maui and train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Israeli war cabinet is set to approve on Monday a significant increase in humanitarian aid and fuel into Gaza, five Israeli and U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: The increase in aid would come as Israeli Defense Forces prepare to expand their ground operation into southern Gaza — a new phase in fighting that the U.S. is concerned will significantly deepen the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. About 2 million Palestinians are now located in southern Gaza after being displaced by fighting in the north.

Depending on who you ask, the Jewish festival of lights can have different English spellings.

What's happening: "Hanukkah" (the spelling we've been using at Axios) comes from a Hebrew word, and there are a few ways people write it in English.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28 Sunday that coal-fired power plants should no longer be permitted.

What he's saying: "The reality is the climate crisis and the health crisis are one and the same," Kerry said at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai, citing a study that found coal "doubles the number of deaths" compared to other sources of air-carried pollution.

COP28 president Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber's newly reported comments that there's "no science" behind the push to phase out fossil fuels were criticized by activists at the U.N. climate summit in Dubai on Sunday.

Context: The UAE climate envoy and CEO of state oil firm ADNOC made the comments during a Nov. 21 online discussion while being challenged to take a lead on the matter by former Republic of Ireland President Mary Robinson, a longtime climate activist, per video that The Guardian published Sunday.

A U.S. Navy warship intervened after three commercial ships came under attack from drones and missiles in a Red Sea assault claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Sunday, American military officials said.

The big picture: Houthi rebels said the attacks that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) believes were "fully enabled by Iran" were in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Maria Martin, a ground-breaking Latina radio journalist who later founded "Latino USA," one of the first nationally syndicated radio programs about Latinos, died Saturday. She was 72.

Driving the news: Martin died following complications from a medical procedure and had suffered from several illnesses in recent years.