On Saturday (August 17th), a huge explosion was heard over the city of Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia. The Israeli Defense Forces and security agencies have issued a statement stating that they have killed two senior members of Hamas. Wall Street predicts that after soaring more than 20% this year, the price of gold will approach $3000.

Israel: Kills 2 senior Hamas members

According to Reuters, a joint statement issued by the Israeli Security Agency and the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that the two armed militants are Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the northern region near Jennin in the West Bank of the Jordan River.

The military department of Hamas' Kassan Brigade expressed condolences in a statement for the deaths of two fighters in the Israeli airstrike on the Jenin area.

The Israeli statement stated that these two armed militants were involved in planning the shooting incident that occurred in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank last week, resulting in the death of Israeli man Yonatan Deutsch.

The Israeli authorities claimed at the time that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a major road in the occupied West Bank on August 11, resulting in one death and one injury.

Later that day, the Kassan Brigade reported that its armed personnel stationed in the West Bank of the Jordan River had killed an Israeli soldier at close range near the settlement of Mehora in the Jordan Valley and had "safely returned to base".

Hamas claimed that this operation was retaliation for Israel's attack on a school in Gaza City where Palestinian displaced persons were taking refuge. The civil defense department stated that the attack resulted in at least 90 deaths.

Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, violent incidents in the West Bank have escalated, with Israeli attacks, violent actions by Jewish settlers, and increasing street attacks by Palestinians.

Israeli settlers attacked villages near the West Bank city of Karkilia on Thursday, resulting in the death of at least one Palestinian. This move has been condemned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

The new round of negotiations in Doha, aimed at ending the ten month long war conflict in the Gaza Strip, will resume next week, while the latest violent incidents in the West Bank have also occurred.

The Gaza War and escalating violence in the West Bank have the potential to trigger broader regional conflicts involving Iran and its proxies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen.

A huge explosion was heard over the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia

At around 1:40 am local time on August 18th, after the missile alarm sounded at the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia, several muffled explosions could be heard over the city of Kurchatov, possibly intercepted by air defense systems.

One minute later, they heard a loud explosion. Kurchatov is a city of nuclear scientists, located about 90 kilometers from the border town of Suja in Kursk Oblast, Russia.

Rosatom, the Russian atomic energy company, reported to the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Saturday that Ukraine is suspected of carrying out provocative plans involving two nuclear power plants, and subsequently accused Moscow of carrying out provocations.

According to Anadolu Agency, the news office of the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation stated in a statement that Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation, called Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), informing him that based on Russian intelligence, Ukraine intends to attack the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).

There are reports that the Ukrainian armed forces plan to provoke these nuclear power plants. In the past day, the number of messages and signals about preparing for this provocation has increased many times, "he said.

Earlier that day, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Kiev hoped to attack the spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the Kursk region, accusing Russia of "self shelling". Subsequently, Kiev will take the same action against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, calling it Moscow's "retaliatory strike".

Likhachev also told Grossi that on August 17th, a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on the road frequently used by workers at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; On August 14th, another drone attacked an open switchgear area.

Likhachev emphasized that the deterioration of the environment near nuclear power plants not only poses a direct threat, but also undermines the International Atomic Energy Agency's assumptions about nuclear safety.

He invited Grossi to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant and the city of Kurchatov to personally assess the situation.

Wall Street: Gold is no longer far from $3000

Fortune reported that since the beginning of this year, gold has performed better than the US stock market, and as the Federal Reserve approaches interest rate cuts, Wall Street's bullish sentiment towards gold has become increasingly strong.

In 2024, gold prices rose by about 21%, while the S&P 500 index rose by 16%. On Friday, the price of gold rose by 2.2% at one point, reaching a historical high of $2509.59 per ounce, breaking through $2500 per ounce and closing at $2506.96 per ounce.

Although concerns about an economic recession have eased in the past week following the warning of a weak non farm payroll report, recent indicators suggest weak performance in key areas such as housing and construction, which may be a reasonable reason for the Federal Reserve to further cut interest rates significantly. When yield assets such as bonds become unattractive due to a bleak long-term interest rate outlook, gold prices typically rise.

The research department of Deutsche Bank raised its forecast for gold in a report on Friday, expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates three times by the end of this year and another three times in the first half of 2025. Overall, this is 2 more interest rate cuts than previously expected.

Therefore, we expect gold prices to further rise to $2600 by the middle of next year, "wrote Carsten Fritsch, senior commodity analyst. Given the resurgence of inflation and the subsequent speculation of interest rate hikes next year, gold prices are likely to fall to $2550 by the end of 2025, down from $2200 previously

Other analysts are more optimistic.

Bart Melek, Global Head of Commodity Strategy at TD Securities, told Bloomberg on Friday that given the prospect of the Federal Reserve relaxing monetary policy, gold prices could reach $2700 per ounce in the coming quarters.

Meanwhile, Patrick Yip, Senior Director of Business Development at the US Precious Metals Exchange, told CBS News at the end of last month that if geopolitical uncertainty persists, interest rates are cut, or global central banks increase their purchases, gold prices could reach $3000 as early as next year.

In fact, as Türkiye, India and other countries seek to diversify their reserves from dollars, especially since the West froze their dollar assets after Russia invaded Ukraine, central banks have been the main source of gold demand.

According to JPMorgan estimates, central banks around the world purchased over 1000 tons of gold last year. In June, the Reserve Bank of India increased its gold reserves by the largest amount in nearly two years.

At the same time, concerns about an economic recession persist, which will drive demand for safe haven assets such as gold and force the Federal Reserve to further cut interest rates.

Mark Spitznagel, "Black Swan" investor and founder and chief investment officer of private hedge fund Universa Investments, said that this year there will be an economic recession because the biggest market foam in history is about to burst.

"It's no different this time. Anyone who said something different didn't notice," he said. "The only difference is that this foam burst to a greater extent than we have seen before."