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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 WAR
The Israeli military yesterday said it killed Hashem Safieddine, the presumed next leader of Hezbollah, in an airstrike near Beirut in early October. The strike had targeted a meeting of senior Hezbollah leaders, and was one of the heaviest bombardments to hit the Dahiya area since the killing of Hezbollah’s long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sept. 27. Michael Crowley, Aaron Boxerman, Gabby Sobelman, and Ephrat Livni report for the New York Times.
Israel said today it has killed three Hezbollah commanders over the last two days. Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it fired at an Israeli military base on the outskirts of Tel Aviv for a second day straight. There were no reports of casualties. Mike Schwartz reports for CNN; Victoria Kim, Michael Crowley, and Gabby Sobelman report for the New York Times.
In a statement yesterday, Hezbollah claimed “exclusive responsibility” for the drone strike targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home over the weekend. Netanyahu’s office confirmed there were no injuries and that no one was home at the time. Lior Soroka, Sammy Westfall, and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT — U.S. RESPONSE
The FBI is investigating the leak of classified U.S. intelligence documents detailing Israel’s preparation for an attack against Iran, after an Iran-affiliated Telegram account posted the documents and claimed to have received them from a source in the U.S. intelligence community. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Seven people were arrested in East Jerusalem on suspicion of planning attacks for Iran, Israel’s Shin Bet security service said yesterday, the second such case in recent days. The group, yet to be indicted, planned to assassinate a senior Israeli scientist and an Israeli mayor, authorities said. Raffi Berg reports for BBC News; Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 16 people yesterday, as Israel’s growing pressure on the northern areas of the territory forces local residents to flee. The World Health Organization and Hamas-run health ministry said they are unable to launch a planned polio vaccination campaign as a result. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Netanyahu and top Israeli officials yesterday, urging Israel to take “urgent and sustained steps” to increase the flow of aid into Gaza and “capitalize” on Yahya Sinwar’s death to end the war. Blinken said Netanyahu made a “commitment” that Israel is not applying a surrender-or-starve policy to Palestinians who refuse to leave northern Gaza. The Washington Post reports; Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood report for CNN.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with eleven Democrats, yesterday urged the Justice Department to “open a formal investigation into an Israeli air strike that injured American journalists over a year ago.” Ashleigh Fields reports for The Hill.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
It could take up to 350 years for Gaza’s battered economy to return to its pre-war level, according to a report released Monday by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development evaluating the territory’s recovery capacity. Joseph Krauss reports for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
Federal prosecutors charged an official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and three others connected to the Iranian government with plotting to assassinate a U.S.-based dissident journalist, the Justice Department announced yesterday. Hannah Rabinowitz reports for CNN.
Two U.S. soldiers were injured in Iraq in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid that killed “multiple ISIS operatives,” a Defense Department spokesperson said yesterday. Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler report for ABC News.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Former President Trump’s campaign accused the U.K. Labour Party of “blatant foreign interference” in a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission over reports of Labour staffers heading to battleground states to campaign for Vice-President Harris. Prime Minister Keir Starmer downplayed the allegations, saying the staff were volunteering “in their spare time.” Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios; Chris Mason and Paul Twinn report for BBC News.
U.S. intelligence officials said yesterday that Russian election interference efforts are behind attempts to smear Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz. The officials also warned that Russia is considering fomenting physical violence during and after the voting period. Joseph Menn and David Nakamura report for the Washington Post.
A Michigan federal court yesterday dismissed a Republican National Committee voter records lawsuit, holding that the Committee lacked standing and did not produce evidence to support their claim. Isabella Volmert reports for AP News.
Georgia’s Supreme Court yesterday declined to reinstate the rules approved by the Trump-allied state election board, which were previously declared “unconstitutional and void” by lower courts. Amy Gardner reports for the Washington Post.
Alabama’s secretary of state wrote to thousands of residents to clarify their voter status following a court ruling halting his voter “purge program” last week. AP News reports.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
A federal judge yesterday ordered the U.S. Army to release records related to Trump’s August visit to Arlington National Cemetery in proceedings brought by a government transparency non-profit organization. Haley Britzky reports for CNN.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former Trump attorney and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani was ordered yesterday to turn over all his valuable possessions and Manhattan penthouse to two Georgia election workers following his loss in a federal defamation lawsuit. Katelyn Polantz reports for CNN.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin yesterday announced he is resigning to take responsibility over a sprawling scandal in which dozens of prosecutors are alleged to have misused their positions to avoid military service and receive disability status. Yuliia Dysa and Max Hunder report for Reuters.
The United States has agreed to give Ukraine $800mn to domestically manufacture long-range drones for use against Russian troops, Pentagon sources say. It marks a shift in U.S. policy toward strengthening Ukraine’s own defense capabilities. Kim Barker, Maria Varenikova, and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
The United States and Europe are close to finalizing a $50bn loan to Ukraine backed by Russia’s frozen central bank assets, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said yesterday. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The U.K and Germany will sign a new defense agreement today, bolstering cooperation between Europe’s two biggest defense spenders. Alistair Smout and Madeline Chambers report for Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday welcomed the leaders of China, India, and South Africa at a summit for emerging economies, the highest-profile international event in Russia since the 2022 Ukraine invasion. Valerie Hopkins and David Pierson report for the New York Times.
China held live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait yesterday, amid growing tensions in the region. Kelly Ng and Rupert Wingfield-Hayes report for BBC News.
Austria’s incumbent Chancellor was tasked with forming a new government yesterday after all other parties refused to enter a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, which won a national election for the first time last month. Phillip Jenne and Geir Moulson report for AP News.