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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
Hezbollah acknowledged yesterday that Hashem Safieddine, who was widely considered likely to take over leadership of the group, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month. Michael Crowley and Euan Ward report for the New York Times.
An Israeli strike killed three Lebanese troops as they were evacuating wounded people in southern Lebanon today, the U.S.-backed Lebanese Army said. The Israeli military has not commented. Maya Gebeily, James Mackenzie, and John Irish report for Reuters.
At least 19 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a local official said. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
The Israeli military carried out strikes in southern Lebanon today, hitting the city of Tyre after issuing its broadest evacuation order there yet. It is not immediately clear what Israel’s targets or the extent of the damage or casualties were. Michael Crowley and Euan Ward report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday that Washington had not seen proof of Israeli claims that Hezbollah had set up a bunker complex under a hospital in Beirut. Austin also told his Israeli counterpart that Washington had “deep concerns” about strikes against the U.S.-backed Lebanese Armed Forces. Aaron Boxerman and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
Speaking at an international conference in Paris to rally aid for Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron said the conference would assist in recruiting 6,000 new troops for the Lebanese army. Criticizing Israel’s incursions into the south of the country, Macron also called for Hezbollah to stop its operations, and announced that France will give €100mn ($108mn) in aid. The Guardian reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Gaza’s Civil Defense agency, which conducts search and rescue operations, is pulling out of northern Gaza due to threats from Israeli forces, the group’s spokesperson said yesterday. The Washington Post reports.
An employee of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was killed by Israeli fire yesterday while driving in a U.N. vehicle, the agency said. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
The Israeli military yesterday accused six Gaza-based Al Jazeera reporters of being Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters. Al Jazeera called the accusations “a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region.” Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
Hamas wants Russia to push Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to begin negotiations on a national unity government for post-war Gaza, a senior Hamas official told the Russian state news agency. Guy Faulconbridge reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday condemned Israel’s siege of North Gaza, saying that people in the area are “rapidly exhausting all available means for their survival.” The Washington Post reports.
Germany’s foreign minister yesterday said supplying Israel with weapons poses “a dilemma” in light of international law violations concerns. She gave no indication that Germany was reconsidering its longstanding policy of supplying arms to Israel. Timour Azhari and Riham Alkousaa report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
There is evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia, Defense Secretary Austin confirmed yesterday, the first official U.S. acknowledgement of the development. Senior Biden administration officials said North Korean involvement in the war could make its troops “legitimate military targets.” Ivana Saric reports for Axios; Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan and Michelle Ye Hee Lee report for the Washington Post.
Murder charges were filed against a Russian citizen suspected of stabbing to death two Ukrainian soldiers convalescing in southern Germany, prosecutors announced yesterday. Miranda Murray reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
At least five people died and twenty two were injured in what the authorities called a “terrorist attack” on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Turkish minister said the style of the attack suggests it was “most likely carried out” by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The country’s defense ministry today said it struck more than 40 alleged PKK targets in Iraq and Syria following the attack. Kareem Fahim, Bryan Pietsch, Beril Eski and Sammy Westfall report for the Washington Post; Suzan Fraser reports for AP News.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said yesterday he believes an agreement to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be reached before the end of the year following a conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Andrea Shalal reports for Reuters.
Saudi Arabia recently held joint war games with Iran and other countries in the Sea of Oman, the Saudi defense ministry spokesperson told AFP yesterday. The Times of Israel reports.
India’s Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping met yesterday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia, their first bilateral meeting in five years amid signs of thawing relations. Ashok Sharma reports for AP News.
The Russian foreign ministry said it was targeted by a “massive cyberattack from abroad” yesterday, amid the ongoing BRICS summit. Maxim Rodionov reports for Reuters.
Canada’s Liberal Party members yesterday urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign in a closed-door meeting over worries about the party’s election chances. Ian Austen reports for the New York Times.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
One of the Kremlin’s most prolific propagandists and a former deputy Palm Beach County sheriff John Mark Dougan is cooperating with the Russian military intelligence to create deep fakes targeting Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, documents reviewed by the Washington Post show. Catherine Belton reports.
An Arizona man was arrested Tuesday on terrorism charges in connection with three shootings at a Phoenix Democrat campaign office. The authorities believe the suspect was “preparing to commit an act of mass casualty.” Separately, the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force yesterday announced developments in three other cases involving interstate transmissions of threats to election personnel. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
The Justice Department sent a letter to Elon Musk’s super PAC this week warning that its $1m lottery for registered swing-state voters might violate federal laws, sources say. Theodore Schleifer and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
Iranian, Chinese, and Russian hackers are ramping up their election influence campaigns and scanning election-related websites for vulnerabilities, a Microsoft report released yesterday says. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.
The office of Georgia’s secretary of state thwarted a cybersecurity attack earlier this month on an absentee ballot request website that was most likely an attack by a foreign country, a state official said. Simon J. Levien reports for the New York Times.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday ruled that voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected for not following procedural directions will be able to cast provisional ballots. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
The Florida Attorney General yesterday sued the Justice Department over blocking a state investigation into the man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at his golf course. Kimberley Leonard reports for POLITICO.