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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah continued overnight as thousands of people fled their homes in southern Lebanon. Yesterday, Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 492 people had been killed and at least 1,600 others wounded, marking the deadliest single day of conflict since the civil war ended in 1990. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward northern Israel this morning, but the IDF said most were intercepted. BBC News reports; the Washington Post reports.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to escalating fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Pentagon said yesterday. Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor report for AP News.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
France’s foreign minister said his country was requesting an emergency Security Council meeting on the situation in Lebanon, where French troops are located as part of the U.N. peacekeeping force. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
China’s foreign minister told his Lebanese counterpart yesterday that China strongly condemned Israel’s airstrikes and supported Lebanon in safeguarding its security. Separately, Jordanian officials expressed solidarity with Lebanon, calling for U.N. action against “Israeli aggression,” while Turkey said Israel’s attacks on Lebanon “mark a new phase in its efforts to drag the entire region into chaos.” Reuters reports; the Washington Post reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said yesterday that Israel’s July assassination of Hamas’s political leader in Tehran will not go “unanswered.” Pezeshkian said that Iran’s response to the killing was delayed because of U.S. warnings that a Gaza ceasefire deal was imminent, which he called misleading. He also said Iran will back Hezbollah so long as Washington continues to arm Israel. John Hudson and Michael Birnbaum report for the Washington Post.
Israeli forces yesterday struck a school building housing displaced Palestinians, killing three people and wounding several others, according to Gaza Civil Defense. Hiba Yazbek reports for the New York Times.
A Hamas field commander was killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Hamas’s armed wing said yesterday. Hamdi Alkhshali reports for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
While the U.S. government’s two foremost authorities on humanitarian assistance — the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration — concluded in April that Israel had deliberately blocked aid deliveries into Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not accept the findings. Days after the assessment, Blinken told Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.” Brett Murphy reports for ProPublica.
The United States yesterday urged Israel to extend its relationships with Palestinian banks for at least a year to prevent an economic crisis in the West Bank, warning that Israel’s security was at stake. Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
President Biden will be under increasing pressure this week to loosen restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons as world leaders converge at the U.N. for their annual gathering. Steven Erlanger reports for the New York Times.
At least 56 civilians have been killed and 266 wounded during Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, Russia’s foreign minister said yesterday. Reuters reports.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Russia, Iran, and China are using AI tools as they increase their effort to sway voters ahead of the November election, U.S. intelligence officials said yesterday. Russia, the most aggressive and skilled of the three countries, is focusing its efforts on undermining Vice President Kamala Harris. Joseph Menn reports for the Washington Post.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Department of Commerce is seeking to ban sales of autonomous vehicles equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware over national security concerns, the agency announced yesterday. The proposed bans would take effect from 2027. Anne D’Innocenzio reports for ABC News.
A federal civil jury yesterday cleared all but one defendant for their roles in the so-called Trump Train that followed a Biden-Harris campaign bus in Texas in 2020. J. David Goodman reports for the New York Times.
The federal inquiry into Mayor Eric Adams’ alleged conspiracy with Turkey to obtain illegal foreign donations has expanded to include his dealings with five other countries, sources say. William K. Rashbaum, Dana Rubinstein, and Michael Rothfeld report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
The government will press charges of attempted assassination against the man accused of lurking with a gun near where former President Trump was golfing in Florida last week, prosecutors said yesterday. Patricia Mazzei, Adam Goldman, and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
Two weeks after the attempted assassination on Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, an Idaho man called the former President’s Mar-a-Lago resort and threatened to kill him, court documents obtained by Forbes show.
The Secret Service is taking a “heightened posture” of protection around Trump following “recent events,” an agency official said yesterday. Kelly O’Donnell and Raquel Coronell Uribe report for NBC News.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Trump’s lawyers yesterday opposed special counsel Jack Smith’s plan to file a legal brief explaining why Trump can be criminally prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Spencer S. Hsu reports for the Washington Post.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
An Argentinian court yesterday ordered the “immediate” arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his interior minister for alleged crimes against humanity against dissidents, including torture, homicides, and forced disappearance. Débora Rey reports for AP News.
A Russian military patrol plane yesterday breached Japanese airspace three times, prompting Japan’s military to dispatch a fighter jet to issue radio warnings and, for the first time, to use a warning flare. Motoko Rich and Kiuko Notoya report for the New York Times.
Swedish authorities accused Iran today of orchestrating a cyberattack in which thousands of people received text messages calling for revenge over Quran burnings in summer 2023. Tehran did not immediately respond to the allegations. Jan M. Olsen reports for AP News.
An Egyptian warship delivered a consignment of military cargo to Somalia on Sunday, Mogadishu security officials were quoted as saying. It is the second delivery of its kind in a month, as relations between Somalia and Ethiopia deteriorate. Will Ross and Damian Zane report for BBC News.
Singapore’s former transport minister was convicted of receiving gifts while in office, the first case of its kind in the past 50 years. Suranjana Tewari reports for BBC News.
A prominent economist in China has vanished after he allegedly criticized leader Xi Jinping’s management of the economy in a private chat group, according to people familiar with the matter. Chun Han Wong and Lingling Wei report for the Wall Street Journal.