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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 said it has pulled some troops out of the Zeitoun area in northern Gaza, but that it continues to operate there. The military also said it has intensified its operations in Jabaliya refugee camp, as well as carrying out what it described as “targeted operations in specific areas of eastern Rafah.” The Guardian reports.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said it will hold hearings tomorrow and Friday on South Africa’s request for additional emergency measures to limit Israel’s military operation in Rafah. Last week, South Africa asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah, calling it “the last refuge” for Palestinians in the besieged enclave. The New York Times reports; Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.
The U.N. says it is “in discussion with Israel” over the killing on Monday of one of its employees and the wounding of another. The U.N. believes the shots fired “came from a tank in the area,” and said the vehicle was flying a U.N. flag, noting that its route had been cleared in advance with the Israeli military. In contrast, the IDF said it had “not been made aware” of the vehicle’s route. Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.
Israeli forces have conducted at least eight strikes on aid worker convoys and premises since October, even after aid workers provided Israeli authorities with their coordinates, Human Rights Watch reported yesterday.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that as of yesterday, almost 450,000 people have fled Rafah in the past week. UNRWA said that displaced civilians are arriving at sites that “lack shelter, water, and latrines, and water points,” adding it is “impossible” to improve conditions there if aid cannot enter the enclave.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden warned he would veto the GOP-led bill that would compel the delivery of defensive weapons to Israel. The bill, which is set to be voted on tomorrow in the House, comes amid pushback on Capitol Hill following Biden’s decision to withhold at least one arms shipment to Israel over concerns about an extensive military operation in Rafah. Sam Fossum reports for CNN.
The Biden administration has told lawmakers it would send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said yesterday. It is the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed since the administration paused another arms transfer earlier this month, though there was no immediate indication when it would be sent. Two congressional aides told the Associated Press that the shipment is not part of the long-delayed foreign aid package President Biden signed last month. “It wasn’t known if the shipment was the latest tranche from an existing arms sale or something new,” Seung Min Jim, Ellen Knickeyer, and Zeke Miller report for AP News; Nancy. A Youssef and Jared Malsin report for the Wall Street Journal.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend amid rising tensions over Israel’s operation in Rafah, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios. A senior U.S. official said yesterday the Biden administration had reached an understanding with the Israeli government that there would not be a significant expansion of a Rafah operation before Sullivan’s visit. Barak Ravid reports.
The U.S. pier to facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza is expected to become operational in the coming days, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said yesterday.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Israel and Egypt are trading blame over blocked aid at the Rafah border crossing. Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said yesterday he had told Britain and Germany about “the need to persuade Egypt to reopen” the crossing, but Egypt said the Israeli military’s operations in the area were blocking the aid, adding that Israel was trying to shift the blame for the hold up. Natasha Preskey reports for BBC News; Maytaal Angel and Nayera Abdallah report for Reuters.
Gaza ceasefire negotiations are at “almost a stalemate,” and the talks have been set back by Israel’s military offensive in Rafah, Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
British foreign secretary David Cameron said attacks by “extremists” on aid convoys headed for Gaza were “appalling.” In a post on X, Cameron called on Israel to “hold attackers to account and do more to allow aid in,” adding that he will be “raising [his] concerns with the Israeli government.”
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
Jordan has foiled a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the kingdom to help opponents of the ruling monarchy undertake acts of sabotage, according to two Jordanian sources. The weapons were sent by Iran-backed militias in Syria to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan with ties to the military wing of Hamas, the sources said. Samia Nakhoul and Suleiman Al-Khalidi report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published today he supported China’s plan for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine war, saying Beijing had a full understanding of what lay behind the crisis. Speaking to China’s Xinhua news agency ahead of his visit to Beijing this week, Putin said Moscow remained open to dialogue to solve the conflict. Reuters reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Kyiv urgently needs more air defenses. The call was later echoed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz, who urged Europe to do more to help Ukraine access air defense systems. CNN reports.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A manhunt is underway for a prisoner who escaped a police van taking him to jail in Normandy, France. Mohamed Amra was being transported back from a court hearing in Rouen when a car rammed the prison van at a toll booth. Armed men opened fire on the vehicle, killing two prison officers. French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Everything is being done to find the perpetrators.” Malu Cursino reports for BBC News; Clea Calcutt reports for POLITICO.
Georgia’s parliament passed a divisive “foreign agent” law that has sparked weeks of mass street protests. The country’s president is expected to veto the bill, but parliament can override it by holding an additional vote. Thousands protested in Tbilisi after the vote, and riot police moved in when some protestors attempted to storm the parliament, arresting several people. Readers may be interested in an analysis of the events by former Amb. Ian Kelly and David Kramer for Just Security.
A curfew was imposed yesterday amid protests in the semi-autonomous French territory New Caledonia. Authorities banned all public gatherings after protests over a proposed constitutional change to allow more French citizens to vote in the territory turned violent. Three people have been killed in the unrest, a spokesperson for New Caledonia’s president said today. Yan Zhuang reports for the New York Times; Kirsty Needham reports for Reuters.
A German court yesterday found Björn Höcke of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) guilty of using a banned Nazi slogan during a campaign speech in 2021. Höcke claimed in his defense that he was unaware of the phrase’s Nazi origin. The court fined him the equivalent of $14,000. Christopher F. Schuetze reports for the New York Times.
The U.K. has summoned the Chinese ambassador, one day after three men were charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service. Stephen Castle, Mara Hvistendahl, and Megan Specia report for the New York Times; Noah Keate reports for POLITICO.
India has urged the United States not to take a “narrow view” of its port agreement with Iran, a day after Washington cautioned that countries doing business deals with Tehran risked sanctions. Cherylann Mollan reports for BBC News.
DOMESTIC U.S. DEVELOPMENTS
The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun case in Delaware yesterday refused to delay the June 3 trial date. Hunter Biden’s attorneys argued the case would not be prepared in time, but U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused the motion, saying, “I trust everyone can get done what needs to be done.” Jack Forrest reports for CNN.
The ship involved in the Baltimore bridge collapse lost power a day before the crash, according to a preliminary report released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB said it is still investigating if the prior outage contributed to the two blackouts that occurred minutes before the ship crashed into the bridge. Jacob Knutson reports for Axios.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
Former President Trump’s legal team yesterday sought to dismantle the credibility of Michael Cohen, who was on the stand for a second day of testimony. At one point, Trump’s lawyer asked if Cohen wanted to see Trump convicted in the case. After being pressed, Cohen replied, “Sure.” Court resumes tomorrow in the ongoing criminal hush money trial. Kayla Epstein and Mike Wendling report for BBC News; Adam Reiss, Jillian Frankel, Gary Grumbach, and Dareh Gregorian report for NBC News.