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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
At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured yesterday in a strike that hit a tent encampment housing displaced people in Al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza area that Israel has designated a humanitarian safe zone, according to the Hamas-run health ministry and Gazan officials. The Israeli military has denied it carried out any attacks inside the zone. Hiba Yazbek and Abu Bakr Bashir report for the New York Times; Kareem Fahim, Hajar Harb, Loveday Morris, Sarah Dadouch and Adela Suliman report for the Washington Post.
The Israeli military yesterday claimed a secondary explosion caused the deadly Rafah blaze that killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians on Sunday. It said the munitions it dropped near a Rafah tent camp were insufficient to directly cause the large fire, and that a secondary explosion, possibly of a weapons cache, likely caused the blaze. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The Israeli military said three soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza today. Reuters reports.
Israel gave Qatar, Egypt, and the United States on Monday an updated proposal for a possible hostage release deal that could lead to a temporary ceasefire, according to two sources with knowledge of the negotiations. U.S. and Israeli officials said a meeting in Paris on Friday between CIA director Bill Burns, Mossad director Yossi Cohen, and Qatar’s prime minister made progress toward the possible resumption of negotiations. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The White House has provided the most complete definition yet of what it considers a “major ground operation” in Rafah that could change U.S. policy towards Israel, and said Israel’s actions haven’t reached that level. “We have not seen them smash into Rafah – we have not seen them go in with large units, large numbers of troops in columns and formations in some sort of coordinated maneuver against multiple targets on the ground. That is a major ground operation,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters yesterday. “As a result of this strike on Sunday, I have no policy changes to speak to” Kirby said. Trevor Hunnicutt and Katherine Jackson report for Reuters; Kevin Liptak and Samantha Waldenberg report for CNN.
Israel used U.S.-made bombs in Sunday’s deadly strike on a Rafah tent camp, according to weapons experts and visual evidence reviewed by CNN and The New York Times. Allegra Goodwin, Avery Schmitz, and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN; Robin Stein, Christiaan Triebert, and Haley Willis report for the New York Times.
The U.S.-constructed pier to transport aid into Gaza broke apart and sustained damage in heavy seas yesterday, the Pentagon announced. The pier was “damaged and sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, adding that the pier will be removed from the Gaza coast over the next 48 hours and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs. The gap in aid deliveries is likely to extend “at least a week.” Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand report for CNN; Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton and Kareem Fahim report for the Washington Post.
The Biden administration said yesterday it opposes sanctions being pushed by Republicans against the International Criminal Court in response to the prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials. Barak Ravid and Andrew Solender report for Axios.
Another senior State Department official has resigned over Biden’s Gaza policy. Stacy Gilbert, who served in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, resigned yesterday. She told colleagues that the State Department was wrong to conclude that Israel had not obstructed humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to two officials. John Hudson and Michael Birnbaum report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Algeria yesterday circulated a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council ordering Israel to stop its military operation in Rafah. Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama said after a closed-door meeting on Gaza that the aim of the move was to “stop the killing in Rafah.” Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters; Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Calls are mounting to let Ukraine strike Russia with Western weapons. French president Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that Kyiv should be allowed to target military sites used by Russia to launch attacks at Ukraine. His comments follow similar calls made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and government ministers in Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, and Latvia. Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday repeated his warnings to the West against helping Ukraine strike Russia. Constant Méheut reports for the New York Times; Siobhán O’Grady and Serhiy Morgunov report for the Washington Post.
Sweden will send military aid worth 13.3 billion Swedish crowns ($1.3 billion) to Ukraine, its biggest package so far, the government announced today. Reuters reports.
Russia’s human rights commissioner said today that prisoner of war exchanges between Russia and Ukraine had been suspended for several months, state TASS news agency reported. Reuters reports.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Voting is underway in South Africa in a crucial election that may see the ruling African National Congress party lose its majority for the first time since 1994. BBC News reports.
Georgia’s parliament voted yesterday 84-4 to overturn a presidential veto on the contentious “foreign agents law.” The law is now expected to come into force in 60 days. Gabriel Gavin and Dato Parulava report for POLITICO; Rayhan Demytrie reports for BBC News.
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted on charges of insulting the monarchy. The controversial leader returned to Thailand last year after 15 years in exile, and is being charged over an interview he gave to a Korean newspaper nine years ago. He is the most high-profile figure to face charges under the law. Jonathan Head reports for BBC News; A. Anatha Lakshmi reports for the Financial Times.
North Korea dropped at least 260 trash balloons into South Korea, prompting authorities to warn its residents to stay indoors. The balloons have been found in eight of nine provinces in South Korea. Kelly Ng reports for BBC News; Bart Schaneman reports for the Washington Post.
Opposition lawmakers in Taiwan brought in measures yesterday that could challenge the powers of the new president, Lai Ching-te. The bill, backed by the two opposition parties, would expand the legislature’s powers to investigate Lai’s administration. Amy Chang Chien and Chris Buckley report for the New York Times.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A Fulton County judge will allow a co-defendant of former President Trump in the Georgia election subversion case to continue his effort to access over 500,000 of 2020 ballots to argue debunked voter fraud theories. Nick Valencia and Jason Morris report for CNN.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
The judge overseeing Trump’s criminal hush money trial rebuked his defense attorney after closing arguments yesterday. Todd Blanche suggested to the jury that Trump could be imprisoned if convicted, but Judge Merchan shot back saying that claim was “outrageous.” Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.