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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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that an airstrike that killed dozens at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Sunday was a “tragic mistake.” At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 injured after a fire ignited at the camp following the strike, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry and Palestinian medics. It marks the deadliest incident in Rafah since Israel began its offensive in the city in May. The U.N. Security Council has called an emergency meeting for today to discuss the incident. Mohammad Al Sawalhi, Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder, Sarah El Sirgany, and Nadeen Ebrahim report for CNN; Peter Bowes reports for BBC News; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Israeli tanks reached the center of Rafah for the first time today, witnesses say. The military said its forces continued to operate in the Rafah area without commenting on reported advancements into the city center. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
The former head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court over an inquiry into atrocity crimes in Gaza. Yossi Cohen reportedly pressured then prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to abandon an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories in the years leading up to her decision to open the investigation in 2021. That investigation culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli officials, including Netanyahu. Harry Davies reports for The Guardian.
Hamas said it launched a “big” rocket attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday, the first time in nearly four months the group has attacked central Israel. The Israeli military said its air defense systems intercepted several of the rockets. Lipika Pelham and Dan Johnson report for BBC News.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed two senior Hamas officials in a “precise airstrike in northwest Rafah.” In a post on X, the military said it “eliminated” Yassin Rabia, who “managed the entirety of Hamas’ terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria,” and Khaled Nagar, who “directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria.”
At least 10 people, including children, were killed in Gaza on Saturday after a drone strike hit the school they were sheltering in on the outskirts of Jabalia, local health workers say. CNN reports.
Aid trucks from Egypt entered Gaza on Sunday under a new U.S.-brokered agreement to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Israeli military and the Egyptian Red Crescent said. Aaron Boxerman and Vivek Shankar report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The White House is still assessing whether the Israeli strike that killed 45 civilians in Rafah is a violation of President Biden’s “red line,” according to two U.S. officials. A U.S. official said the White House is still determining what happened in order to decide if the circumstances justify U.S. action, with a National Security Council spokesperson adding that the administration is engaging with their Israeli counterparts to assess the incident. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Qatar said Israel’s strike on a Rafah displacement camp could “hinder” ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are set to resume in Cairo today, according to an Egyptian official. Mostafa Salem reports for CNN.
A member of Egypt’s security forces was killed on Sunday near the Rafah border crossing, an Egyptian army spokesperson said yesterday. The Israeli military confirmed a “shooting incident at the Egyptian border” and said it was investigating the incident. Emad Mekay and Matthew Mpoke Bigg report for the New York Times; Adela Suliman, Heba Farouk Mahfouz, and Lior Soroka report for the Washington Post.
An Israeli strike at the entrance to a hospital in southern Lebanon yesterday killed at least two people and injured 15, according to Lebanese health officials. The Israeli military said in a statement it was targeting a member of Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, but Lebanese officials stressed that the man was a civilian. Euan Ward reports for the New York Times; Mohammed Zinaty reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah, citing its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The court ruled that Israel must “immediately halt” its military offensive in Rafah and undertake other steps, including opening the Rafah crossing and allowing international investigators to enter the enclave. Readers may be interested in Adil Haque’s analysis of the court’s order for Just Security. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Ellen Francis and Louisa Loveluck report for the Washington Post.
The Israeli airstrike on Rafah that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians has drawn widespread international condemnation, with world leaders calling for an investigation into the attack. Top U.N. officials including Secretary-General António Guterres, human rights chief Volker Türk, and relief chief Martin Griffiths have condemned Israel’s actions. France, Britain, and Spain also denounced the attack, China called on Israel to “stop its attacks on Rafah,” and Germany’s vice chancellor reportedly said on Saturday Israel’s Rafah offensive was “incompatible with international law.” Alexandra E. Petri reports for the New York Times; BBC News reports.
E.U. foreign ministers have for the first time engaged in a “significant” discussion on sanctioning Israel if it fails to comply with international humanitarian law, Irish foreign minister Micheál Martin said yesterday. Nathalie Weatherald reports for POLITICO.
Spain, Ireland and Norway will officially recognize an independent Palestinian state today. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
A Russian strike killed 18 people in a Kharkiv megastore over the weekend, the deadliest attack on Ukraine in several weeks. Maria Kostenko, Svitlana Vlasova, Radina Gigova, and Ivana Kottasová report for CNN.
Ukraine and Belgium signed a bilateral security agreement today including the delivery of 30 F-16 fighter jets. The pact was signed during a Brussels meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo. Reuters reports.
Zelenskyy yesterday urged Western leaders to pressure Russia into peace by using “all means” necessary. Speaking in Spain, Zelenskyy said there needed to be “tangible coercion of Russia,” adding that he will not negotiate with Russia directly until Moscow’s forces leave all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. Matt Murphy and James Waterhouse reports for BBC News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Over 2,000 people were buried alive in a landslide in Papua New Guinea on Friday in the country’s remote northern highlands, authorities told the U.N. yesterday. Damien Cave reports for the New York Times.
The United States is expected to lift its ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, potentially in the coming weeks, according to U.S. officials. President Biden suspended the sale of such armaments to the kingdom three years ago, and lifting the ban would represent Washington’s latest move to improve U.S.-Saudi relations. Felicia Schwartz and Andrew England report for the Financial Times.
North Korea attempted to launch a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit yesterday, but the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff, South Korea’s military said. Choe Sang-Hun reports for the New York Times.
China and the United States held bilateral consultations on maritime affairs in which both countries agreed to continue dialogue and manage risks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today. Reuters reports.
A German military officer has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for spying for Russia. The officer, then a captain in the army’s procurement office, yesterday admitted in court to passing secret military information to Russia. Matt Murphy and Damien McGuinness report for BBC News.
Burkina Faso’s military government announced on Saturday it will extend its rule for another five years. Favour Nunoo reports for BBC News.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A former CIA officer pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy to commit espionage, the Justice Department said in a statement. Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu admitted to conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to China. He worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989.
At least 66 members of an anti-government organization in Oregon that was founded by far-right militia activist Ammon Bundy have attempted to win local positions of influence in Oregon’s Republican party, The Guardian reports. “The move is part of what appears to be a coordinated attempt to capture the local Republican party infrastructure, following a far-right strategy of ‘entryism’ into more mainstream political bodies.” Jason Wilson reports for The Guardian.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
Closing arguments are set to be delivered today by both the prosecution and defense team in former President Trump’s criminal hush money trial. Zach Schonfeld reports for The Hill; AP News reports.