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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
Israeli strikes on two school complexes being used to shelter displaced people in northern Gaza killed at least 16 people yesterday, the Palestinian Civil Defense said. Israel’s military said the attacks were intended to destroy Hamas “command-and-control centers” inside the schools. The attacks were among a series of Israeli strikes across Gaza yesterday that killed at least 40 people, Palestinian Civil Defense said. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND REGIONAL RESPONSE
Egypt, Qatar, and the United States issued a joint statement yesterday calling on Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table on Aug. 15 to finalize a ceasefire agreement. “The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework … there is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” the statement said.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
A Belgian publisher removed an opinion column accused of inciting antisemitic hatred, in which the writer said the suffering in Gaza made him want to “ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.” Herman Brusselman later defended his words as being protected under free speech. The European Jewish Association has announced it is taking legal action. Lianne Kolirin and Rosanne Roobeek report for CNN; Elena Giordano reports for POLITICO.
U.S.-IRAN DEVELOPMENTS
Security forces arrested five people in connection with an attack on Monday at a military base in Iraq that wounded four U.S. troops and a U.S. contractor, Iraqi officials said yesterday. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Israeli strikes launched from northern Lebanon on military sites in central Syria injured four soldiers yesterday, according to Syrian state media. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Israel is on high alert for widely anticipated retaliatory attacks by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The government told its citizens this week to stock up on food and water in fortified safe rooms, while hospitals prepare to move patients to underground wards, and search-and-rescue teams station themselves in major cities. Israel’s security cabinet convened yesterday as speculation grows over what the attacks might entail. Ronen Bergman, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon, and Thomas Fuller report for the New York Times.
The United States has warned Iran of a serious risk of “major escalation” if it conducts a major attack on Israel, a U.S. official said. Michael Gordon and Lara Seligman report for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine launched a “massive” drone strike on Russia’s Lipetsk region, according to its governor, as Kyiv’s cross-border assault shows no signs of abating. The attack, which stunned Moscow, appeared to involve the use of armored fighting vehicles donated to Kyiv by the United States and E.U. partners. The Biden administration said yesterday that the operation is an acceptable use of U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia. Christian Edwards, Olga Voitovych, Victoria Butenko, and Alex Stambaugh report for CNN; Isabelle Khurshudyan, Alex Horton, John Hudson, and Samuel Oakford report for the Washington Post.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has blocked access to social media platform X for 10 days following a public dispute with the platform’s owner, Elon Musk. Musk described the Venezuelan leader as a “dictator,” while Maduro accused Musk of inciting “hatred, fascism, [and] civil war.” Christy Cooney reports for BBC News.
The youths accused of planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna had hoped to kill as many people as possible, the Austrian authorities said yesterday. A third teenager has been arrested in connection to the foiled plot, which authorities say appeared to be inspired by the self-styled Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda. Christopher Schuetze reports for the New York Times; Phillipp-Moritz Jenne, Stefanie Dazio, and Kirsten Grieshaber report for AP News.
A military court in Congo yesterday sentenced to death 25 people, including the leader of a rebel coalition. Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo, was found guilty of war crimes, participation in an insurrection, and treason. Nangaa and 19 other defendants are currently on the run and were absent from the trial. Jean-Yves Kamale reports for AP News.
The Sudanese government said today it will send a delegation to Jeddah to consult with the United States over an invitation to ceasefire talks in Geneva on Aug. 14. The talks would be the first major attempt to mediate between the two warring sides in Sudan in its 15-month-old civil war. Reuters reports.
India’s Supreme Court has granted bail to Manish Sisodia, a prominent opposition leader of Delhi’s governing Aam Aadmi Party, in a money laundering case. Sisodia has been jailed for over 17 months and denies all corruption allegations. Cherylann Mollan reports for BBC News.
Vietnam has dramatically expedited its effort to build islands and reclaim land in the South China Sea since the start of the year to challenge China’s maritime claims, according to satellite imagery and Vietnamese officials, diplomats, and security analysts. Rebecca Tan and Laris Karklis report for the Washington Post.
Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont traveled back to his home in Belgium today after appearing at a rally in Barcelona despite his arrest warrant in Spain, according to his party’s general secretary. Meanwhile, the Catalan separatist party Junts today said it would decide whether to keep its parliamentary support for the central government in Madrid. Reuters reports.
Just two days after being disbanded by a court order, Thailand’s main progressive political party regrouped today under a new name, the People’s Party, pledging to continue its fight for reforms. Jintamas Saksornchai reports for AP News.
Kenyan police fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in Nairobi as a new cabinet was sworn in yesterday. The demonstrations are a continuation of months-long anti-tax protests that have morphed into calls for President William Ruto to resign. Wycliffe Muia reports for BBC News.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Iran-backed hackers targeted a high-ranking U.S. presidential campaign official in a June spear-phishing attack, according to a Microsoft report released today. Iranian groups have started to launch aggressive disinformation and hacking campaigns to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Microsoft said. Sam Sabin reports for Axios.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Trump’s Jan. 6 prosecution case has today been handed back to District Judge Tanya Chutkan, ending an eight-month pause in the case that followed the Supreme Court’s decision to return the case to the lower courts after granting Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Chutkan has scheduled an Aug. 16 conference to outline a plan to address several unresolved issues in the case. Rebecca Beitsch reports for The Hill. Readers may be interested in Norman Eisen, Matthew Seligman, and Joshua Kolb’s analysis of the case for Just Security, including which parts of the indictment against Trump are likely to survive the immunity test and the path forward.