📸  WEEK IN PICTURES 

A pictorial look at what has been an eventful week around the world, with the ongoing war in Gaza hogging the global headlines.
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 SATURDAY, OCT 28 

A man sits amid the destruction following Israeli strikes on Al-Shatee camp in Gaza City. Israeli air strikes destroyed hundreds of buildings in the Gaza Strip overnight, the civil defence service in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said on Saturday.

A protester waves Palestinian flags sitting on a red telephone box on Whitehall during the 'March For Palestine' in London, UK, to call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza.

A man stands by a wall identifying hostages held by Palestinian militants since the October 7 attack, during a demonstration calling for their release in Tel Aviv.

In Crimea, schoolchildren wearing gas masks and suits attend a training in the military-patriotic programme "School of Future Commanders" in Russian-occupied Sevastopol. The training conducted under the guidance of military personnel includes disciplines such as multi-sport racing, tactical medicine, and weapons handling.

South Africa's flanker and captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup as South Africa's players celebrate winning the France 2023 Rugby World Cup final match against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris.

 SUNDAY, OCT 29 

Turkish Air force pilots of the 'Turkish Stars' fly in Northrop F-5 near a national flag to mark the 100th anniversary of Turkish Republic in Istanbul. Turkey marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on Sunday, with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel's escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza. 

A person attaches a handwritten note next to others left on a board during a vigil in Seoul, South Korea, to mark the first anniversary of the tragic crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations, in Seoul’s popular Itaewon nightlife area a year ago. 

A picture taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot shows a fire erupting following Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

This image taken from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows black smoke ascending from the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. The Israeli army has raised the number of troops fighting inside the Gaza Strip, a spokesman said on Sunday, as the military stepped up its war on Hamas in the tiny Palestinian territory.

 MONDAY, OCT 30 

Afghan refugees arrive in trucks from Pakistan at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province. Islamabad issued an order to 1.7 million Afghans that it said were living in the country illegally to leave by November 1, or be deported.

This combination of pictures shows Inter Miami CF's Argentine forward Lionel Messi (L) holding his 8th Ballon d'Or award and FC Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati (R) holding her Woman Ballon d'Or award during the 2023 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. 

 TUESDAY, OCT 31 

Britain's King Charles III poses for a group photo with participants of the Prince's Trust International (PTI) Enterprise Challenge during a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi, Kenya.

Spanish Crown Princess of Asturias Leonor (R) attends with President of the Congress Francina Armengol a ceremony to swear loyalty to the constitution, on her 18th birthday, at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid. The swearing is a milestone seen as one to help turn the page on the scandal-tainted reign of her grandfather, Juan Carlos. After taking the oath, Princess Leonor can legally succeed her father, King Felipe VI, and automatically becomes head of state in the event of the monarch's absence. 

A participant dressed in Halloween costume takes part in a Drag show at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. 

A protester is removed while others raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testify during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Blinken and Austin were testifying for a $105 billion (sh394 trillion) request to support Israel, Ukraine and other security priorities. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

A picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military shows a bloody handprint inside a house at the Nir Oz kibbutz, one of the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip attacked on October 7 by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

People stand behind the metal mesh that covered the window of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. 

 WEDNESDAY, NOV 1 

This aerial view shows some of the hundreds of burnt vehicles that were destroyed in the October 7 attack carried out by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, after they have been collected from that area and transported outside the city of Netivot in southern Israel.

People walk through a gate to enter the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip. Scores of foreign passport holders trapped in Gaza started leaving the war-torn Palestinian territory on Wednesday when the Rafah crossing to Egypt was opened up for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

A journalist stands by as Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt.

A picture taken from southern Israel shows an Israeli army helicopter launching flares over the Gaza Strip amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Ukrainian servicemen shelting from the autumn rain are busy on their smartphones as they stand next frescos in St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv amid Russian invasion in Ukraine.

 THURSDAY, NOV 2 

An Israeli artillery unit fires during a military drill in the annexed Golan Heights near the border with Lebanon. Lebanon's southern border has seen tit-for-tat exchanges, mainly between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

People sift through the smouldering rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement rage on.

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.

Civilians leaving Gaza display their documents as dual national Palestinians and foreigners prepare to cross the Rafah border point with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip. Egypt was to help evacuate "about 7,000" foreigners and dual nationals from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said, with officials saying some 400 people were expected to cross on Thursday. 

A man reacts as he holds the remains of his mother wrapped in a blanket amid the rubble of building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

This photograph shows foam in the street of Penmarc'h, western France, as the storm Ciaran hit the region. Much of northwestern Europe went on high alert on Wednesday as Ciaran threatened to bring gale-force winds and extreme rainfall to the region.

Waves crash the harbour wall in Newhaven, southern England as strong winds and heavy rain from Storm Ciaran hit Britain. High winds and heavy rain brought by storm Ciaran caused major disruption in southern England, with shipping from the port of Dover suspended for several hours and hundreds of schools closed. Winds of up to 100/110 km/h were expected in the morning, and up to 100 km/h in the afternoon, according to the weather forecast on the British government website.

A disguised reveller takes part in the Sao Paulo Zombie Walk in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hundreds of people took to the streets in traditional costumes of zombies, witches, vampires, and horror characters during the Zombie Walk SP, held every year since 2006 on the Day of the Dead. 

 FRIDAY, NOV 3 

Trucks transporting Afghan refugees with their belongings are seen along a road towards the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border, following Pakistan's government decision to expel people illegally staying in the country. More than 165,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Islamabad issued an ultimatum to 1.7 million people a month ago to leave or face arrest and deportation, according to officials. 

Palestinian workers who were stranded in Israel since the October 7 attacks react after crossing back into the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom commercial border crossing with Israel in the south of the Palestinian enclave.