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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas said it is continuing to study Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal with a “positive spirit” and would soon return to in-person negotiations in Cairo. The proposal includes the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the return of civilians to northern Gaza, and increased aid delivery to the territory. A statement from the group yesterday said a delegation will return to Egypt soon to “complete the ongoing discussions” for a deal that “realizes our people’s demands and ends the aggression.” Adam Rasgon, Hwaida Saad, Edward Wong, and Damien Cave report for the New York Times.
Rebuilding homes in the Gaza Strip could take up to 80 years, according to a new U.N. report. Released yesterday by the U.N. Development Program, the report says Gaza needs “approximately 80 years to restore all the fully destroyed housing units” under a scenario assuming the pace of reconstruction follows the trend of several previous Gaza conflicts. Emma Farge reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators met virtually on Wednesday with senior officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to express concern over possible arrest warrants being issued for Israeli leaders. Sources with knowledge of the meeting confirmed it took place but did not disclose the identity of senators or the ICC officials. The office of the ICC prosecutor did not respond to comment, citing confidentiality. Barak Ravid and Stephen Neukam report for Axios.
President Biden yesterday rejected calls from student protesters to change U.S. policy over the war in Gaza. Biden denounced the protests, saying “order must prevail” and “dissent must never lead to disorder.” Nationwide, more than 2,000 protesters have been arrested on college and university campuses since April 18. Chris Megerian reports for AP News; Alex Leeds Matthews, Kyrstina Shveda, Amu O’Kruk, and Renée Rigdon report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Turkey halted all trade with Israel today, citing the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza. The Turkish Trade Ministry posted a statement announcing the restrictions and calling on Israel to increase aid into the territory. “Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” it said. Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz responded to the news in a post on X, accusing Turkish President Recep Erdogan of acting like a “dictator.” Kareem Fahim and Andrew Jeong report for the Washington Post; Aoife Walsh reports for BBC News.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of Iran-backed armed militias, launched multiple attacks on Israel using cruise missiles yesterday, a source in the group said. The source said the attack was carried out with multiple Arqub-type cruise missiles and targeted the Israeli city of Tel Aviv for the first time. Israel has not publicly commented on the attacks at the time of writing. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron yesterday promised £3 billion ($3.74 billion) of annual military aid for Ukraine for “as long as it takes.” In an interview on a visit to Kyiv, Cameron said Ukraine has the “right” to use British-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia, adding, “some of that (equipment) is actually arriving in Ukraine today, while I’m here.” Max Hunder reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Pentagon is shuffling its military assets to Qatar to allay concerns among Gulf powers about Iran and its proxies. The assets include jet fighters, armed drones and other aircraft. The repositioning will allow U.S. forces to obviate restrictions on conducting airstrikes from an air base long used by Washington in the United Arab Emirates imposed by the U.A.E. government in February. Nancy Youssef, Gordon Lubold, and Michael Gordon report for the Wall Street Journal.
Saudi Arabia and the United States are finalizing terms of a landmark deal to boost bilateral trade and defense, on the condition the kingdom establishes diplomatic relations with Israel, U.S. officials said. The “mega-deal” involves three components, including a package of U.S.-Saudi agreements, the normalization of Saudi-Israeli relations, and a pathway to a Palestinian state. “All of them are linked together. None can go forward without the others,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said yesterday. Becky Anderson, Mostafa Salem, and Jennifer Hansler report for CNN.
Russian military personnel have been staying at an air base in Niger that also houses U.S. troops and equipment, a U.S. official confirmed to The Hill yesterday. The Russian troops “for a couple of weeks” have been at Airbase 101, next to Diori Hamani International Airport in the capital city of Niamey, the official said. The news comes as 1,000 U.S. service members are expected to withdraw from Niger after the military junta demanded U.S. forces leave and turned to Russia for weapons and security.
Gangs in Haiti launched fresh attacks in Port-au-Prince yesterday, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled. The attacks mark one of the biggest since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced. Dánica Coto reports for AP News.
An attack by gunmen on an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid convoy in South Darfur, Sudan killed two drivers and injured three staff yesterday. The convoy was returning from Layba to evaluate the humanitarian situation of populations impacted by armed conflict in the area when the incident occurred, the ICRC said.
China intends to build floating nuclear reactors that might power military sites it has erected in contentious parts of the South China Sea, according to the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific and State Department officials. U.S. officials fear China will use reactors to power military bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea. Ellen Nakashima, Vic Chiang, and Joby Warrick reports for the Washington Post.
Myanmar’s military government will no longer allow conscription-age men to travel out of the country for work, weeks after a conscription order prompted many to try and flee. Yesterday, authorities said they would suspend the almost 1,000 applications from men for overseas work permits. Frances Mao reports for BBC News.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
Former President Trump’s hush money trial is continuing today. The court yesterday heard vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Keith Davidson. Davidson was grilled on his communications with former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard around the 2016 election and Michael Cohen. The court was told that as it grew increasingly apparent on election night 2016 that Trump would become president, Davidson texted Howard: “What have we done?”