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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’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, yesterday said he will resign in March over the IDF’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Shortly afterward, the chief of the IDF’s Southern Command also announced he is stepping down. Eugenia Yosef, Mick Krever, and Jeremy Diamond report for CNN; David Gritten reports for BBC News.
[Editor’s note: see Other Global Developments for West Bank news]
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), yesterday said she agrees with extremist members of the Israeli cabinet that Israel has a “biblical right” to the entire West Bank. She also denounced what she described as an “antisemitic rot that is pervasive within the U.N. system.” Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Qatar’s prime minister yesterday said he hopes the Palestinian Authority will play a role in governing post-war Gaza. Separately, the country’s foreign minister said Qatar is “confident” in the ceasefire deal but expects the next stage of negotiations to be much more complex. Samia Nakhoul and Marwa Rashad report for Reuters. Susannah George reports for the Washington Post.
More than 900 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday with no apparent law-and-order issues so far, a senior U.N. official said. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
Google rushed to provide Israel’s military with access to the company’s latest AI technology following the Oct. 7 attacks, internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show. Gerrit De Vynck reports.
TRUMP PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS
Far-right extremists Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys and Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers militia were released from prison yesterday following Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency for nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 Capitol attack defendants. Alan Feuer and Aishvarya Kavi report for the New York Times.
Several Republicans criticized Trump’s pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY) and Tom Thillis (NC). Justin Green reports for Axios.
Trump yesterday pardoned Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace serving a life sentence following his conviction for engaging in a criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, and other charges in 2015. Ali Bianco reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Judge Aileen Cannon yesterday ruled that the Justice Department cannot share Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents investigation report with the Congress, citing the risk of dissemination of information “that has not been made public” in court filings. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration is seeking to end the criminal prosecution of Trump’s co-defendants in the classified document case without pardons, sources say. Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz report for CNN.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Two dozen Democrat-led states and cities yesterday filed lawsuits alleging that Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are not lawfully present in the U.S. or hold a temporary visa is unconstitutional. Devan Cole, Kara Scannell, Priscilla Alvarez, and Tierney Sneed report for CNN.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials can now raid churches and schools to arrest undocumented immigrants, after the Trump administration scrapped a policy protecting sensitive spaces. April Rubin reports for Axios.
The Trump administration yesterday fired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, citing “leadership deficiencies” and an “excessive focus” on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Fagan was the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. armed forces. John Ismay reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration yesterday ordered all federal DEI employees to be placed on paid leave and all DEI websites and social media accounts to be removed by the end of today. Ashleigh Fields reports for the Hill.
Trump has sidelined at least 20 senior career DOJ officials while also shaking up key U.S. attorney offices in New York and Washington, D.C., sources say. Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, and Kara Scannell report for CNN.
Then-staffers of Trump’s National Intelligence Director pick, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, scrambled to contain political fallout from a “supposedly unplanned” three-hour meeting with Syria’s deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, files uncovered by the Washington Post show. Jon Swaine and Ellen Nakashima report.
The former sister-in-law of Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, yesterday submitted an affidavit to senators accusing Hegseth of “abusive” behaviour toward his second wife. Hegseth denies the claims. Julie Tsirkin, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Courtney Kube report for NBC News; Karoun Demirjian and Sharon LaFraniere report for the New York Times.
Trump terminated former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s Secret Service detail within hours of taking office, Bolton confirmed yesterday. In August 2022, the Justice Department charged two Iranian-linked individuals with attempting to arrange Bolton’s murder. Kaitlan Collins reports for CNN.
Federal health agencies must pause all external communications pending a Trump administration review, according to current and former officials. The planned duration of the pause is unclear. Lena H. Sun, Dan Diamond, and Rachel Roubein report for the Washington Post.
Trump yesterday announced the creation of a $100bn joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle and the UAE state-backed company investor MGX to boost the U.S. AI sector. Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.
SYRIA
French investigators on Monday issued an arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes, a legal source said yesterday. Reuters reports.
The Islamic State has already attempted two attacks on prisons holding IS fighters in northern Syria since Assad’s overthrow, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said. According to a Kurdish officer, SFD is opposed to handing the prisons over to Syria’s new Islamist rulers. Orhan Qereman reports for Reuters.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday said President Vladimir Putin is “destroying” Russia by waging war in Ukraine and “is not doing so well,” and that he will likely impose sanctions on Moscow if Putin refuses to negotiate about ending the war. The remarks were some of Trump’s most critical of Putin to date. Anton Troianovski reports for the New York Times; Reuters reports.
Two American citizens have been released from Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-Taliban prisoner swap deal, their families said yesterday. Victoria Bisset reports for the Washington Post.
Trump on Monday canceled a Biden-era program allowing migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela to enter the United States for up to two years. Hamed Aleaziz reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine detained three former commanders over failing to protect the Kharkiv region from Russian forces’ advance last year, Kyiv’s security service said late Monday. Maria Varenikova reports for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded nearly 40 others during a major operation in the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank yesterday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation targeted Iranian-backed militants. David Gritten and Yolande Knell report for BBC News; James Mackenzie and Ali Sawafta report for Reuters.
Suspected Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Monday, according to local officials. The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 21 Palestinians were injured. Aref Tufaha and Tia Goldenberg report for AP News; David Gritten and Yolande Knell report for BBC News.
A Moroccan U.S. green card holder stabbed four people in Tel Aviv before he was shot dead by Israeli police yesterday, the second such attack in the city in three days. Emanuel Fabian reports for the Times of Israel.
Panama on Monday submitted a formal letter rejecting Trump’s inauguration speech comments about “taking back” the Panama Canal to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the U.N. Security Council. Annie Correal and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times.
A Libyan warlord subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant was sent back to Libya after an Italian tribunal refused to approve his Sunday arrest in Turin, Italy’s state broadcaster RAI reported. Nicole Winfield and Sam Magdy report for AP News.
Elon Musk has agreed to pay jailed British far-right extremist Tommy Robinson’s legal fees, Robinson’s representatives claimed. Musk has previously called for Robinson to be released from prison. Mason Boycott-Owen reports for POLITICO.
A Turkish court yesterday ordered a far-right opposition figure be held in custody pending trial on charges of inciting public hatred through social media, prompting widespread condemnation from opposition leaders. Ezgi Erkoyun reports for Reuters.
Iraqi lawmakers yesterday passed a law that opponents say would effectively legalize child marriage. Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Stella Martany report for AP News.
U.N. experts yesterday urged Thailand to halt the possible transfer of dozens of detained Uyghur men to China, where they would face a “real risk of torture.” Helen Regan and Simone McCarthy report for CNN.