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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
An Israeli cabinet vote on the Gaza ceasefire deal announced yesterday has been delayed due to “Hamas reneg[ing] on parts of the agreement,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said today, adding that the cabinet will not convene “until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.” Tamar Michaelis, Ibrahim Dahman, and Catherine Nicholls report for CNN.
A senior Hamas leader said this morning the group is committed to the ceasefire as announced by the mediators. Late yesterday, a different Hamas source said they were hoping to include one or two significant names from the group’s former leaders held in Israeli prisons. Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News
Israeli strikes killed 81 people across Gaza in the last 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry said. BBC News reports.
The Israeli military was “escalating its aggression against civilians” even with a ceasefire in sight, Gaza Civil Defense said late yesterday, adding that a “residential block” was “being bombed” at the time of its statement. Hiba Yazbek reports for the New York Times.
The director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Gaza has died of his injuries after being hit by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, the Hamas-run health ministry and another rights group confirmed today. Ibrahim Dahman and Antoinette Radford report for CNN.
An Israeli strike in the occupied West Bank killed three Palestinians yesterday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Emily Rose and Ali Sawafta report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – U.S. RESPONSE
The Gaza ceasefire deal emerged at the end of an intense 96 hours of negotiations in Doha, with the presence of President-elect Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, “critical” to its achievement, according to a senior Biden administration official. The deal came about through an extraordinary collaboration between the incoming and ongoing presidential administrations. Steve Holland reports for Reuters; Peter Baker reports for the New York Times.
Two U.S. citizens are on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, a senior U.S. official said. Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.
The incoming Trump administration will be obliged to continue investigating Israel’s potential violations of international humanitarian law through the use of U.S. weapons, a State Department spokesperson said yesterday. Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
World leaders and heads of humanitarian organizations praised yesterday’s ceasefire deal announcement, with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres urging the deal to be fully implemented and saying the U.N. is ready to ramp up aid delivery to Gaza. Frances Vinall reports for the Washington Post; Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
The Palestinian Authority must be the sole governing power in post-war Gaza, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said yesterday. The future Gaza governance arrangements remain a key question in the negotiations. Reuters reports.
SYRIA
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk yesterday called for both the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Syria and transitional justice for the Assad regime’s victims. Albert Aji and Omar Albam report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia and Ukraine have swapped 25 prisoners of war each following UAE-mediated negotiations, according to statements from both countries. Reuters reports.
Britain’s Starmer arrived in Ukraine today for security talks and plans to sign a pledge with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to help guarantee the country’s security for a “century.” Jill Lawless reports for AP News.
The Biden administration yesterday imposed hundreds of sanctions targeting Russia’s military industrial base and evasion of existing U.S. sanctions. Any future reversal of the new sanctions would require Congress to be notified. Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom report for Reuters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) yesterday confirmed his decision to remove Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-OH) as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, fresh evidence of a likely shift in Republicans’ approach to the Ukraine war. Turner reportedly told CBS News that Johnson cited “concerns from Mar-a-Lago” as the reason for his removal. Maegan Vazquez reports for the Washington Post.
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION AND NEW CONGRESS
President Biden warned that the “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of wealthy and well-connected individuals poses a threat to U.S. democracy in his final address yesterday, likening the “tech-industrial complex” to “robber barons.” Toluse Olorunnipa and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. report for the Washington Post.
Trump’s Attorney General pick, Pam Bondi, sidestepped questions on the claims she made about the 2020 election during her confirmation hearing yesterday while pledging that “politics will not play a part” in her decisions about who to investigate. Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett, and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
Jon Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick to head the CIA, yesterday vowed the agency will maintain its apolitical nature when pressed by Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), the panel’s top Democrat, on whether he would fire CIA personnel based on their perceived loyalty to Trump. Al Weaver reports for The Hill.
Trump aides asked three senior diplomats overseeing the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination to step down from their roles, according to U.S. officials. Sources say Trump plans to install more political appointees in such operational posts, typically filled by both career and political bureaucrats. Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, and Gram Slattery report for Reuters.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai will attend Trump’s inauguration, a source familiar with the planning said. Steven Overly reports for POLITICO.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Canada is preparing billions of dollars in potential retaliatory measures on U.S. exports if Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. Matina Stevis-Gridneff reports for the New York Times.
Biden yesterday issued a directive to allow Cyprus to buy arms from the United States and get surplus American military equipment. Menelaos Hadjicostis reports for AP News.
The Biden administration yesterday rolled out new licensing restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors to China as part of a last-minute clampdown on Beijing’s ability to use AI for its military and tech sector. Liza Lin and Asa Fitch report for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) yesterday said he is considering calling Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify on his federal investigation into Trump. Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Chinese hackers accessed more than 3,000 unclassified Treasury files, including ones belonging to Secretary Janet Yellen and a number of other top officials, Treasury officials told lawmakers yesterday in a closed-door meeting. Jasper Goodman reports for POLITICO.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks’ handling of Austin’s medical crisis last year violated protocol, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog found in a report released yesterday. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
More than 400 Washington Post employees asked Jeff Bezos, the company’s owner, to meet amid “deep alarm” at “recent leadership decisions” in a letter sent on Tuesday evening. David Folkenflik reports for NPR.
The Biden administration is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the United States if the ban scheduled to go into effect on Sunday proceeds, an official said. Carol E. Lee, Jonathan Allen, and Savannah Sellers report for NBC News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Russia “planned acts of air terror” against Poland and “airlines across the globe,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said yesterday in an apparent confirmation of Western intelligence officials’ warning of a Russian plot to blow up cargo aircraft. Michael Schwirtz reports for the New York Times.
Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives for its nuclear enrichment program, Tehran acknowledged for the first time this week. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol exercised his right to remain silent while questioned by investigators yesterday and will refuse further questioning, his lawyers said today. Kim Tong-Hyung reports for AP News.
Former Georgian Prime Minister and opposition party leader Giorgi Gakharia has been treated in hospital following an attack his party said was “politically motivated” and aimed at intimidating the opposition. Paul Kirby reports for BBC News.