Good Monday morning! Four Israeli hostages rescued as Gaza’s death toll rises; Israeli war cabinet minister quits emergency government; Caitlin Clark Olympics snub.

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Good morning,

This love story has us smiling. 100-year-old American veteran Harold Terens married his 96-year-old sweetheart, Jeanne Swerlin, near the beaches of Normandy, France, this weekend.

• Rewind: Terens first set foot in Normandy in 1944, a couple of weeks after the D-Day invasion began, as a US Army Air Forces corporal tasked with transporting freed American POWs and German soldiers to England.

• Fast forward: The two met in 2021 after being set up on a blind date in Florida, following the losses of their decades-long partners.

  • “It’s not just for young people, love, you know? We get butterflies. And we get a little action, also,” the bride-to-be said on her way to the ceremony.

  • The groom wanted the thousands of Allied troops who died nearby eight decades earlier to attend his wedding in spirit.

• How they celebrated: Off to Paris, where France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, congratulated them during a speech at a state dinner with President Biden.

To the newlyweds 🥂

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

Mo News Podcast: A daily conversation about the news that matters.

🇮🇱 FOUR HOSTAGES RESCUED FROM GAZA; CENTRIST POLITICIAN RESIGNS

Israeli troops completed the largest rescue mission to date of hostages in Gaza captured by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. The four, all taken from the Nova music festival, were held in Central Gaza in a densely populated civilian residential area.

• Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, were rescued in daylight on Saturday from two buildings, about two blocks apart.

THE CASUALTIES?
Israeli forces said they came under heavy fire —including rocket propelled grenades— during the raid. One Israeli commando was fatally wounded.

• Israeli officials believe that around 100 Palestinians were killed during the operation.The Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry put the total at 274 dead—including a number of children—with hundreds more wounded.

• Hamas casualty numbers don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, the civilians involved in holding hostages, nor whether they were killed by Israeli or Hamas gunfire.

Regarding those differing accounts, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan blamed Hamas for holding hostages in residential areas and said, "It will take some time for us to make any kind of determination. And we may never be able to definitively determine [the death toll].”

LIFE IN CAPTIVITY
It appears Palestinian civilians, including a journalist and a doctor, were among those who held Israeli hostages in their apartments.

• Noa Argamani, whose abduction video was seen around the world when she pleaded for her life on the back of a motorcycle, was being held by a well-to-do family.

  • Among those holding the 3 male hostages were a journalist, his wife and his father (a doctor), all killed in the operation. Hamas will pay families to house hostages and armed Hamas terrorists.

  • The journalist is Abdallah Aljamal, 36, who was a staff writer for the US outlet The Palestine Chronicle. He has also written a freelance article for Al Jazeera, though the network distanced themselves from him.

• The four freed hostages were evaluated and reported to be in healthy physical condition.

• 🚨 There are still over 120 hostages believed to be in Gaza, 30 of whom are suspected to be killed. Of those, eight are Americans — five of whom are believed to be alive.

THE OPERATION
Because of those American hostages, in part, the US has been intimately involved in hostage negotiations and providing military intelligence for months. US officials said they offered no direct military support Saturday.

• The Israeli counterterrorism unit, Yamam, used models of the buildings where the hostages were located to train for the operation. Reports say officers disguised themselves as displaced Palestinian civilians looking for an apartment in the area.

• As the Israeli teams located and got the hostages, they were overwhelmed by fire as they left the buildings. That led to a street battle before the soldiers extracted the four hostages via helicopters on the beach. Israel also carried out airstrikes in the area, which led to the civilian deaths and hit the Nuseirat refugee camp.

• Response: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh responded, “The enemy continues the massacres against our people, children and women.” Neighboring Egypt and Jordan condemned the raid, as well as some UN and EU officials.

UP NEXT
There is still an American proposed hostage-for-ceasefire deal on the table, brokered by Egyptian and Qatari officials. The US says the onus is now on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal. Inside Israel, centrist Benny Gantz announced his party's withdrawal from the emergency government — formed after the Oct. 7 attack — over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.

• Viewed as the most moderate voice in the war cabinet, Gantz said, "I call on Netanyahu: Set an agreed election date. Don't let our people be torn apart.”

  • It comes as tens of thousands of Israeli protesters have called on Netanyahu to focus on freeing hostages and hold an early election. The current one is set for fall 2026.

🏀 CAITLIN CLARK LEFT OFF TEAM USA’S PARIS OLYMPICS ROSTER

One of the biggest sports stars in the U.S. won’t be traveling to the summer Olympic Games in Paris. Team USA has officially decided not to include WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.

The 12-player roster is full of WNBA veterans seeking USA Basketball's eighth-straight gold medal. Clark is taking it like a champ, saying, "No disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for… And hopefully in four years, when four years comes back around, I can be there."

BEHIND THE DECISION 
Clark has emerged as a face of women’s basketball since leading the University of Iowa to back-to-back national championship games and being selected as the No. 1 WNBA draft pick this year. She’s been a draw to bring millions of new fans into the sport.

• So why? The fans, in part. Clark would likely get limited playing time and organizers were concerned how her fans would react. And the older players are reportedly a bit jealous and do not want her there, according to USA Today’s Christine Brennan.

• USA Basketball has not lost a game in the Olympics since 1992 — about 10 years before Clark was born. This year’s roster will be headlined by a number of veterans who have helped get those wins.

  • Despite this dominance, or maybe because of it, the press stand is almost always half-empty. The average margin of victory in the gold medal game from 1994 to present: 23.4 points. Not a nail biter.

• Is she good enough? Well, the WNBA rookie set a record-tying seven 3's and dropped 30 points against Washington DC’s Mystics on Friday in front of 20,333 fans, the largest crowd the league has seen in 17 seasons.

  • However, Yahoo Sports reporter Dan Wetzel points out that creating a winning Olympic team is as much about math as it is art. Getting the needed positions paired with the right dynamics makes a dream team.

Who else is scratching their heads? We have to think the NBC execs, as Clark would have likely drawn massive ratings.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Fewer migrants caught crossing illegally at US-Mexico border as Biden asylum ban rolls out (REUTERS)

📌 ‘Catastrophic landslide’ closes critical mountain highway between Wyoming and Idaho (CNN)

📌 Trump probation interview set for Monday after hush money conviction (NBC NEWS)

📌 Manhattan DA agrees to testify before House GOP over Trump hush money trial (THE HILL)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Far-right gains in EU election deal stunning defeats to France’s Macron and Germany’s Scholz (AP) French President Macron dissolves parliament after EU defeat, calls election (POLITICO)

📌 Haiti’s new prime minister hospitalized days after being selected to lead country (AP)

📌 South Korea to restart loudspeaker broadcasts into North to combat trash balloons (NPR)

📌 Aid is delivered to Gaza from newly repaired US-built pier, US military says (CBS NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 FDA set to propose nutrition labels on the front of packaging to encourage healthier choices (NBC)

📌 Service dogs are working wonders for veterans with PTSD, study shows (USA TODAY)

📌 TJ Maxx, Marshalls have started using body cameras to combat theft (CBS NEWS)

📌 Tesla shareholders to vote whether Elon Musk deserves billions judge struck down (CNN)

📌 Parents are key when it comes to limiting screen time for kids, study finds (NPR)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck hire realtor to sell $60M home amid looming divorce rumors (YAHOO)

📌 Carlos Alcaraz wins the French Open for a third Grand Slam title at 21 by beating Alexander Zverev (AP)

📌 Howard retracts Diddy's honorary degree, ends $2 million in agreements following 2016 assault video (NEWS NATION)

📌 ‘Bad Boys’ ticket buyers toss Will Smith a career lifeline (NY TIMES)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: JUNE 10

• 1752: Benjamin Franklin flies kite during thunderstorm. (we think)

• 1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues executive order making Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota part of the National Park Service.

• 2003: The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission.

• 1994: ‘Speed’ premiered in theaters.

• 2007: ‘The Sopranos’ series finale airs on HBO.