1. Senior Hamas commanders killed by airstrike: An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three senior commanders of the Hamas military wing this morning, delivering a likely blow to the organization's morale. A pre-dawn strike levelled a four-storey house in a densely populated neighbourhood of the southern town of Rafah, killing six, including Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, Raed Attar and Mohammed Barhoum.

Just yesterday, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif escaped an apparent Israeli assassination attempt that killed his wife and son, according to the militant group. The airstrike on a home where Deif’s family was staying came after ceasefire talks broke down earlier this week. In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the bombardment campaign will continue until the Palestinian territory stops firing rockets.

2. Manhunt for U.S. journalist’s executioner: The beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley by Islamic State group militants has drawn international condemnation, including from U.S. President Barack Obama, who vowed that the U.S. would not scale back its military attacks against the extremist group, even in the face of threats to kills another American hostage. Obama denounced the Islamic State as a “cancer” threatening the region, and said the U.S. “will be vigilant and we will be relentless.” The State Department did not rule out military operations in Syria to bring those responsible to justice.

Foley, meanwhile, is being remembered as a kind and dedicated journalist who didn’t let fear stand in the way of his reporting from conflict zones. The journalist had been missing since 2012, and was last seen in northwest Syria.

3. Push for concussion protocols: A group of Canadian health organizations is calling for concussion protocols to be put into play for all sports involving any kind of contact. The Canadian Concussion Collaborative, consisting of nine sports-advocacy groups, outlines the steps it says are necessary to ensure athlete safety in the September issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The recommendations are aimed at putting policies in place that address the needs of a concussion patient at every step of the process.

4. Investigation into Tina Fontaine’s death: An investigation is underway to determine whether Manitoba social services failed a 15-year-old aboriginal girl who was found dead in the Red River, as communities across Canada renew calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women. Tina Fontaine was found dead on Sunday after she ran away from her Winnipeg foster home. Police are treating the case as a homicide, and spent Wednesday canvassing the downtown area where Fontaine was last seen Aug. 8.

The murdered aboriginal teen, who was new to Winnipeg, faced many hardships in her short life, including her father’s violent death.

5. Trudeau sets sights on ambitious 170-seat majority: More than three years after the Liberals fell to just 37 seats -- and third-party status -- in the House of Commons, party leader Justin Trudeau says he has its sights set on a winning a majority in next year’s federal election. Trudeau said at the conclusion of a three-day caucus retreat that it will be hard work to win government in the next election, expected to be held in 2015, but is encouraged by the response his party is receiving across the country.