October 9, 2004 (Saturday)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflicts:
- In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops shoot and kill Abed Rauf Nabhan, a local Hamas leader, as he prepares to fire an anti-tank missile at Israeli tanks in Jebaliya. The Israeli military says that Nabhan was responsible for a rocket attack that killed two Israeli children in Sderot on Sukkot eve. (Maariv)
- In addition to Abed Rauf Nabhan, seven Palestinians, including two Palestinian Authority policemen, are reported to have been killed today. A total of 94 Palestinians, about half of whom were civilians, including 18 children, have been killed since Israel began its offensive 10 days ago. (ABC News)(BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: A peace agreement is reached in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City between the Iraqi government and local militants loyal to Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The militants will turn in medium and heavy weapons during a five-day grace period, and Iraqi and US forces will then take control of the area. (CNN)
- Afghanistan's presidential election ends peacefully, but its legitimacy comes into question when all 15 candidates opposing incumbent president Hamid Karzai withdraw, alleging that election irregularities had invalidated the vote. (Reuters)[permanent dead link] (BBC)
- Australia votes in its 2004 Federal election, with the incumbent Coalition government winning a fourth term. As a result, in December, Australian Prime Minister John Howard will become the nation's second longest-serving Prime Minister. (ABC)