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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Crowds participated in pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events across Europe, North Africa, and Asia yesterday, marking the eve of the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The Times of Israel reports.
At least 41,909 people have been killed and 97,303 injured since Oct. 7, 2023, the Hamas-run health ministry said today. Separately, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced today that one of the hostages taken from the Supernova music festival was killed during the attacks, marking the 38th hostage confirmed dead. Niha Masih reports for the Washington Post; BBC News reports.
Female IDF soldiers stationed near the Gaza border warned Israeli authorities for months about increasingly suspicious Hamas activity prior to Oct. 7, but their concerns were dismissed, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Anat Peled reports.
Six months before Oct. 7, former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar told his guests at a meeting with Palestinian businessmen in the enclave, “There’s going to be a surprise,” without elaborating, a source said. Joby Warrick and Loveday Morris report for the Washington Post.
Israeli airstrikes on a mosque and a school-turned-shelter killed 26 people yesterday, the Hamas-run health ministry said. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hamas militants operating within “command and control” centers at the sites, a claim the group denies. Aleks Phillips reports for BBC News.
Israel’s military says it has encircled Jabalya, northern Gaza, and launched a new ground operation there after seeing signs of Hamas regrouping. Abeer Salman, Irene Nasser, and Ibrahim Dahman report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden released a statement today marking one year since Oct. 7, saying he “became the first American president to visit Israel in a time of war,” and he “made clear then to the people of Israel: you are not alone.”
Biden said he is unsure whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding off on agreeing to a Gaza ceasefire deal in a bid to influence November’s U.S. presidential election. At the same rare appearance at a White House press briefing, Biden also cautioned Israel on striking Iranian oil fields. Gareth Evans reports for BBC News; Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
New details have emerged of Israel’s pager operation that saw Hezbollah communication devices kill or maim thousands of its operatives, as well as an unknown number of Lebanese civilians. Souad Mekhennet and Joby Warrick report for the Washington Post.
Hezbollah rockets hit Israel’s third largest city of Haifa early today, targeting a military base, the group said. Israeli police said 10 people had been wounded. The military is investigating how the missiles evaded Israel’s air defense systems. Meanwhile, the IDF said it deployed another division yesterday for “localized operations” in southern Lebanon. The Guardian reports.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon will not shift its positions along the Blue Line, the temporary border between Lebanon and Israel, despite requests from the Israeli military, a spokesperson told the Washington Post yesterday. Kareem Fahim and Maham Javaid report.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT – REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Iran’s foreign minister was in Lebanon on Friday after meetings with leaders of Gulf countries earlier in the week in Qatar, where he reportedly conveyed Iran’s readiness to support a joint ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, even as Iran’s supreme leader expressed readiness to fight Israel. Alissa J. Rubin reports for the New York Times.
The top Commander of Iran’s Quds Force Esmail Qaani is in “good health,” the force’s deputy commander said today, after Iranian security sources said he had been out of contact since Israel’s strikes on Beirut last week. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for an “immediate and lasting” ceasefire in Lebanon and said countries should stop shipping weapons to Israel for use in Gaza. Netanyahu spoke with Macron yesterday, according to his office, and told him that placing restrictions on Israel will “support…the Iranian terror axis.” Talya Minsberg reports for the New York Times; Reuters reports.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
A cyberattack tied to the Chinese government infiltrated at least three major U.S. telecommunications providers in a potentially catastrophic national security breach, U.S. officials said. Sarah Krouse, Dustin Volz, Aruna Viswanatha and Robert McMillan report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to decide issues related to mail-in ballots before the Nov. 5 election, citing earlier rulings pointing to the risk of confusing voters so close to the election. AP News reports.
The Colorado judge who sentenced ex-county clerk Tina Peters to nine years in prison received threats following the sentencing and was provided extra security, the county courthouse said in a statement Friday. Amy Beth Hanson reports for AP News.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is set to become the sixth senior member of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration to resign, sources say. Wright has yet to formally announce her resignation. Mark Morales and Gloria Pazmino report for CNN.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The mayor of a Mexican city battling drug violence was murdered less than a week after taking office. Alejandro Arcos was found dead yesterday, three days after the city government’s new secretary was shot dead. Authorities did not immediately release details of the investigation. Graeme Baker reports for BBC News.
Two Chinese nationals were killed and at least 10 people injured in a suspected suicide terrorist attack yesterday near the airport in Karachi, Pakistan. The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack. Caroline Davis and Kelly Ng reports for BBC News.
In a renewed crackdown on dissent, the Pakistani government yesterday banned an ethnic Pashtun rights movement that has long criticized the country’s powerful military. Zia ur-Rehman reports for the New York Times.
Tunisian President Kais Saied is moving toward a landslide win in yesterday’s election after an exit poll broadcast on state media showed him winning. Rights groups say Saied has undone democratic gains in the country after his main rival was jailed last month. Tarek Amara reports for Reuters.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico vowed yesterday to block Ukraine from joining NATO for as long as he leads the country. Tom Nicholson reports for POLITICO.
A gang attack in central Haiti on Thursday killed 70 people, including three infants, the U.N. Human Rights Office said. Mitchell McCluskey reports for CNN.
Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer released from U.S. jail in a 2022 prisoner exchange with Moscow, is back in business trying to broker arms sales to the Houthis, sources say. Benoit Faucon, Michael R. Gordon, Warren P. Strobel, and Alan Cullison report for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin was killed in action while fighting for Kyiv, his relatives and Russian media said yesterday. Dadin was a well-known Kremlin critic, and the first citizen convicted under a 2014 Russian protest clampdown law. Sarah Rainsford reports for BBC News.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on a surprise visit to Kyiv yesterday that his country will invest €400 million ($440 million) in drone development and deliver additional F-16s in the coming months. Anastasiia Malenko reports for Reuters.