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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
Israel has rejected the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for its prime minister and defense minister over their conduct in the war in Gaza, according to court filings recently made public. The Israeli findings rejecting the warrants are based on technical grounds and do not speak to the substance of the claims of whether the officials may be guilty of war crimes. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.
The death toll from an Israeli strike on a refugee camp in central Gaza yesterday has risen to 30, the local hospital said today. Abeer Salman reports for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The Biden administration imposed new sanctions yesterday intended to stop Hamas from using charitable donations to fund its military wing. The Treasury Department added a “sham” charity to the sanctions list, a Hamas-controlled financial institution in Gaza, as well as three Hamas members who are based in Europe. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Israel’s military claimed it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s headquarters in “the area of Beirut.” CNN reports.
The IDF said it mobilized its first reserve division to operate in southern Lebanon, suggesting plans to widen its ground military offensive along the Israel-Lebanon border. Meanwhile, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged cross-border strikes overnight. The Washington Post reports.
At least 10 firefighters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a border area in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT – U.S. RESPONSE
The United States is not currently pushing to revive an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, U.S. officials told CNN. Natasha Bertrand, Kayla Tausche, and Oren Liebermann report.
The Biden administration has assessed that Israel’s actions in Lebanon constituted “limited targeted operations,” a Pentagon spokesperson said yesterday. Sammy Westfall reports for the Washington Post.
There is no evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon, CIA Director William Burns said yesterday. If it did, Washington and its allies would likely be able to detect such a development soon after it was taken, he added. Dan De Luce reports for NBC News.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT – REGIONAL RESPONSE
Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, has banned pagers and walkie-talkies from its flights, following Israel’s recent attacks on Hezbollah communication devices. Ismaeel Naar reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Elon Musk’s PAC is offering $47 payouts to people who successfully refer swing state voters to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments, appearing to financially encourage voter registration of those who may vote for Trump. Kat Tenbarge reports for NBC News.
The Department of Justice officially launched a historic federal review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racist terror against Black Americans in U.S. history. The department plans to release a report analyzing the incident by the end of the year, officials announced yesterday. DeNeen L. Brown reports for the Washington Post.
New York City’s deputy mayor for public safety Phil Banks resigned on Sunday, the sixth top city official to resign in the last month. Jason Beeferman reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday ordered Google to open up its Android app store to competition, continuing a wave of legal challenges to the power of U.S. tech giants. Shira Ovide reports for the Washington Post.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
The Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear X Corp.’s challenge to the process used by Special Counsel Jack Smith to secure a search warrant for former President Trump’s account data. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstain report for POLITICO.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
Russia, China, and Iran are trying to undermine trust in the U.S. democratic process by stoking false claims about the upcoming election’s integrity, U.S. intelligence officials warned yesterday. Julian E. Barnes and Steven Lee Myers report for the New York Times.
Russia said today that its hotlines with the United States and NATO remain open amid rising nuclear risks as the Ukraine war escalates. Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian forces have reached another key city on the eastern frontline, Ukraine’s military said late yesterday. Moscow’s advance toward Toretsk comes less than a week after it captured the key city of Vuhledar. Oleksandr Kozhukhar and Lidia Kelly report for Reuters.
Ukraine’s military yesterday claimed it struck a major oil terminal providing fuel for Russia’s war effort in Crimea. Separately, a Russian missile struck near a major military airfield yesterday in western Ukraine. Illia Novikov and Hanna Arhirova report for AP News; Constant Méheut reports for the New York Times.
A Russian court yesterday sentenced a 72 year-old U.S. citizen to nearly seven years in prison on charges of serving as a mercenary in Ukraine, Russian state media reported. Mary Ilyushina reports for the Washington Post.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Dutch prosecutors are considering a request to open a criminal case against senior Israeli intelligence officials for allegedly interfering with the ICC’s investigation into crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. Harry Davies reports for the Guardian.
Tunisian President Kais Saied was reelected on Sunday, securing more than 90 percent of the vote in an election critics and experts condemned as neither free nor fair. Sammy Westfall reports for the Washington Post.
France’s fragile minority government is expected to survive a vote of no confidence today by relying on support from the far-right, in a test for the new conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier. AP News reports.
A woman associated with the self-styled Islamic State group went on trial yesterday in Sweden on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Raqqa, Syria. Jan M. Olsen reports for AP News.
Romania’s top court has barred a hardline nationalist candidate from the presidential race due to her pro-Russian and anti-NATO views. Reuters reports.
Vietnam and France officially upgraded their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Vietnam’s highest level, during a visit by the country’s president to Paris. Reuters reports.
Votes are being counted today in the election of Indian-controlled Kashmir, the first since India’s prime minister stripped the region of its special status five years ago. AP News reports.