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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli officials believe the International Criminal Court (ICC) is preparing arrest warrants for senior government officials on charges related to the war in Gaza, according to five Israeli and foreign officials. The officials said they believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials could be charged, and that the court was also considering warrants for Hamas leaders. Netanyahu’s office has not commented, but on Friday Netanyahu said in a post on X, “Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.” Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley report for the New York Times.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today said the United States is the only country that can stop Israel from launching an offensive in Rafah. “We appeal to the United States of America to ask Israel to stop the Rafah operation because America is the only country capable of preventing Israel from committing this crime,” Abbas said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, adding, “The biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people’s history would then happen.” Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said yesterday that while the United States will be able to share its “perspectives and concerns” before Israel enters Rafah, Washington does not fully understand what the Israeli military’s goals and intentions are. George Wright reports for BBC News; Tal Axelrod reports for ABC News.
World Central Kitchen will resume distributing food in Gaza, nearly a month after seven of its aid workers were killed in an Israeli air strike. “Ultimately, we decided we must keep feeding,” the charity said yesterday, adding that it has 276 trucks with eight million meals ready to enter through the Rafah crossing. Andrew Rhoden-Paul reports for BBC News.
Israeli airstrikes on Rafah overnight killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children, the Hamas-run health ministry said. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden reiterated “his clear position” on Rafah in a phone call yesterday with Netanyahu. According to a White House statement, the leaders “reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza” and “discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” with Biden stressing the need for this progress to be sustained and enhanced in full coordination with humanitarian organizations. The leaders also discussed Rafah, and Biden “reiterated his clear position,” the statement says.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken today spoke with top Arab diplomats about the Gaza war in Saudi Arabia. Blinken arrived in Riyadh early this morning for the WEF, where he met with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, and then with the foreign ministers and a top policy adviser from five other Arab nations in the Persian Gulf. According to a State Department summary, Blinken and the Arab diplomats discussed a range of issues related to the war in Gaza, including ceasefire and hostage negotiations and “a pathway to a Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel.” Blinken will travel to Jordan and Israel tomorrow. Vivian Nereim and Zolan Kanno-Youngs report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The world’s top diplomats are gathering in Riyadh today for the WEF, where Gaza ceasefire negotiations and regional stability are set to dominate the agenda. The foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, and France are expected to attend, alongside Blinken, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, and other Middle East officials. Rachel Pannett reports for the Washington Post.
France’s foreign minister Stephane Sejourne yesterday said there has been progress in discussions with top officials in Lebanon aimed at easing tensions between Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel. Sejourne will discuss Lebanon at the WEF today, before relaying the latest Lebanese positions in Israel later in the week. John Irish reports for Reuters.
MILITARY CONFLICT WITH THE HOUTHIS
U.S. Central Command said it “successfully engaged five airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the Red Sea” today. The UAVs “presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said yesterday that Kyiv’s situation on the frontline has worsened in the face of multiple Russian attacks. According to Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from positions in the eastern Donetsk region that had formed part of a defensive line, established after Russia captured Avdiivka in February. George Wright reports for BBC News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the death of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, U.S. intelligence officials concluded. A person familiar with the determination said that while U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for Navalny’s death, the intelligence community found “no smoking gun” that Putin had directly ordered the killing, or that he was aware of the timing of Navalny’s death. Aruna Viswanatha, Dustin Volz, Warren P. Strobel, Alan Cullison, and Thomas Grove report for the Wall Street Journal.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said today he will not resign, a week after publicly raising the possibility in response to corruption allegations against his wife. Sanchez and other officials have denounced the allegations as a smear campaign, and Spain’s public prosecutor’s office has sought to have the complaint against his wife dismissed for lack of evidence. Jason Horowitz reports for the New York Times.
Far-right coup suspects will go on trial in Germany today. Nine men have been charged with high treason, attempted murder, and plotting a violent coup d’etat, which aimed to install an aristocrat as a leader and impose martial law. The hearing marks the start of three trials of 27 people accused of conspiring in a plot foiled by authorities at the end of 2022. Together, they amount to one of the largest legal proceedings in German history. NBC News reports.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A trial for a mass environmental injury case begins in Hawaii today. It comes more than two years after an underground U.S. military fuel tank facility poisoned thousands of people when it leaked jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water. The lawsuit was brought against the United States by “17 ‘bellwether’ plaintiffs: a cross-selection of relatives of military members representing more than 7,500 others, including service members, in three federal lawsuits.” NBC News reports.