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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden is expected to hold a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today about Israel’s plan to strike Iran, three U.S. officials told Axios. Barak Ravid reports.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has postponed a scheduled visit to Washington today to meet with his U.S. counterpart to discuss Israel’s military response to Iran’s missile attack. An Israeli official said the decision is partly because Netanyahu wants the cabinet to vote on the nature of Israel’s response before the U.S. trip. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times; Lauren Izso reports for CNN.
Israeli leaders have not yet briefed the United States on the specifics of their military response to Iran’s missile attack, U.S. officials said. The Biden administration hopes to avoid a repeat of surprise attacks, and is reportedly frustrated that Israel has not divulged details yet. Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee, Monica Alba, Mosheh Gains, and Andrea Mitchell report for NBC News; Nancy A. Youssef and Carrie Keller-Lynn report for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Netanyahu suggested that Israel had not only killed the presumed successor of Hezbollah’s assassinated leader, Hassan Nasrallah, but also his potential replacement. Neither Hezbollah or Israel has confirmed Hashem Safieddine’s death. Johnatan Reiss reports for the New York Times.
Cross-border fighting continued overnight between Israel and Hezbollah. The IDF said it had killed at least 50 Hezbollah operatives in attacks across Lebanon. As many as 2,119 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023, the Lebanese ministry of health said yesterday. The Washington Post reports.
Israel’s military carried out airstrikes on a residential building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, in an attempt to assassinate a ranking Hezbollah official, two Israeli officials said. Syrian state media reported the strike killed seven people. Ronen Bergman, Farnaz Fassihi, Alissa J. Rubin, and Euan Ward report for the New York Times; the Washington Post reports.
Hezbollah supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, the group’s top official said yesterday, marking the first time it has publicly endorsed a ceasefire without conditioning it on a Gaza truce. Abbas Al Lawati reports for CNN.
A quarter of Lebanese territory is under “Israeli military displacement orders,” the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today. Around 1.2 million people have been displaced since Israel began airstrikes last month. BBC News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Palestinians fleeing sites of Israel’s renewed military offensive in northern Gaza are being shot at as they evacuate, according to local residents and footage shared with CNN documenting their journey. Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder and Nadeen Ebrahim report.
Hamas and Fatah leaders are meeting today in Cairo for further Palestinian unity talks, a Hamas official told Reuters.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday expressed concern over a draft Israeli law that he said would prevent the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees from continuing its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Sammy Westfall and Karen DeYoung report for the Washington Post.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Federal officials have arrested an Afghan citizen living in Oklahoma who was allegedly plotting an Election Day attack in the United States in support of the self-styled Islamic State group. A juvenile has also been arrested in connection with the planned attack. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.
Trump’s White House constrained an FBI probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh prior to his confirmation to the Supreme Court, according to a report by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) released yesterday. Beth Reinhard reports for the Washington Post.
The Trump-allied Georgia State Election Board is pushing to include 2020 election deniers in the vote monitoring team in Fulton County, the biggest Democratic-leaning county in the state. The Board has no legal authority to install its own monitors. Nick Valencia and Jason Morris report for CNN.
A former city official under Mayor Eric Adams was arrested yesterday and charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence as part of a federal probe into the New York City mayor. Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
Biden called off planned trips to Germany and Angola to oversee the U.S. response to Hurricane Milton, the White House said yesterday. It is unclear how Biden’s absence will affect a planned summit at the Ramstein U.S. airbase in Germany to discuss Ukraine’s “victory plan” with 20 other world leaders. Dan Sabbagh reports for the Guardian.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will represent the United States at summits with Asian leaders in Laos later this week, where he expects to discuss the human rights situation in Myanmar, China’s behavior in the South China Sea, and Ukraine. David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, and Doina Chiacu report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Months into Russia’s Ukraine invasion, the United States had “credible” intelligence that Putin was considering using nuclear weapons to avoid battlefield losses, leading to multiple high-level confrontations between U.S. and Russian officials, journalist Bob Woodward claims in his new book. AP News reports.
The U.K. yesterday imposed sanctions on Russian troops said to be involved in the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Sachin Ravikumar reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Brazil’s Supreme Court is lifting the ban on the social media platform X after it complied with the court’s orders and fines. Ben Derico and Ione Wells report for BBC News.
Russian intelligence agents are on a mission “to generate mayhem on British and European streets,” Britain’s spy chief said in a speech yesterday, also warning of rising threats from Iran, China, and jihadist non-state actors. Stephen Castle reports for the New York Times.
North Korea will sever all road and rail links to South Korea in a bid to “permanently shut off and block the southern border,” Pyongyang’s military said yesterday. South Korea said it will not tolerate any attempt to change the status quo. Gavin Butler reports for BBC News; Hyung-Jin Kim reports for AP News.
In the first test of Indian Prime Minister Nardendra Modi’s poll power since his party’s unexpected defeat this summer in national elections, two elections yielded mixed results. Modi fared surprisingly well in the northern state of Haryana, but overwhelmingly lost in the contested territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Alex Travelli, Hari Kumar, and Showkat Nanda report for the New York Times.
Russia’s defense minister and Burkina Faso’s prime minister met to discuss expanding military ties, the Russian defense ministry said yesterday. Lidia Kelly reports for Reuters.
The Kenyan National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to impeach the country’s deputy president yesterday over corruption allegations. Wycliffe Muia and Will Ross report for BBC News.
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s new center-right government yesterday survived a left-wing no confidence vote. Gabriel Stargardter and Elizabeth Pineau report for Reuters.
A self-described Nazi yesterday became the first person convicted of performing an outlawed Nazi salute in the Australian state of Victoria. Rod McGuirk reports for AP News.
Voting is underway today in Mozambique in a tense general election likely to see the ruling party Frelimo win. Independent observers have previously accused Frelimo of vote-rigging. Nellie Peyton and Manuel Mucari report for Reuters.