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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
One Israeli male hostage was killed by his guard and two women captives were seriously injured in two separate incidents involving al-Qassam Brigades soldiers in Gaza, according to a statement from Hamas’s military wing. The statement blamed Israeli “massacres” against Palestinians. Mirna Alsharif reports for NBC News; Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Jaidaa Taha report for Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed his defense minister yesterday after Yoav Gallant reportedly disparaged his goal of achieving a “total victory” over Hamas in Gaza, telling lawmakers in a private security briefing yesterday that it was “nonsense.” Adam Rasgon, Isabel Kershner, Eric Schmitt, and Michael Levenson report for the New York Times.
Israeli strikes on Khan Younis killed at least 24 people yesterday, while at least eight were killed in the north, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. Meanwhile, Hamas reacted to the latest round of Egyptian and Qatari-brokered talks due on Thursday, saying it had seen no movement from Israel. The New York Times reports; Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Egypt today condemned a visit to the Temple Mount by Israeli officials and Israeli settlers, calling it “irresponsible” and accusing them of “storming the courtyards of Al Aqsa mosque.” Gianluca Pacchiani reports for the Times of Israel.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow today, the Kremlin announced. Abbas will travel to Turkey afterward for talks with President Recep Erdogan. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Iranian officials said today that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza stemming from hoped-for talks this week would restrain Tehran from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Parisa Hafezi and Laila Bassam report for Reuters.
The White House yesterday said that U.S. intelligence indicates it is increasingly likely Iran will attack Israel this week, in line with Israel’s latest intelligence assessment. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking “insane” steps that threaten to escalate the war beyond his country, Russia’s security services said today. Ukraine’s top commander said his forces now control 386 square miles of the Kursk region, to which Putin has vowed a “worthy response.” The Guardian reports.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
The FBI and other investigators probing the apparent hack-and-leak of Trump campaign documents suspect the hackers were able to compromise the personal email account of Trump operative Roger Stone, multiple sources say. Former President Trump has blamed the incident on Iran. Sean Lyngaas, Evan Perez, and Kristen Holmes report for CNN.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign was dealt a blow yesterday after a judge ruled he cannot appear on the New York ballot, saying Kennedy had used a “sham” address to maintain his residency there. The ruling, if it stands, could also jeopardize his placement on the ballot in other states. Rebecca Davis O’Brien, Jesse McKinley, and Jay Root report for the New York Times.
Authorities are looking for a man in connection to a burglary at Trump’s campaign office in Virginia, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday. Leah Sarnoff reports for ABC News.
Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s sorority is forming its own Political Action Committee (PAC). The move by Alpha Kappa Alpha is an unusual venture by a sorority rallying around the chance of one of its own becoming president. Caitlin Oprysko reports for POLITICO.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former Colorado official Tina Peters was found guilty yesterday of seven charges for her role in helping copy election information after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. She will be sentenced on Oct. 3 and could face prison time. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Patrick Marley report for the Washington Post.
A suspect accused of stabbing a Jewish man after yelling “Free Palestine” near a synagogue on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with hate crimes yesterday, police said. Antonio Planas reports for NBC News.
A Muslim advocacy group filed a lawsuit yesterday against the FBI and leaders of other U.S. government agencies over what it called the discriminatory and racist placement of two Palestinian Americans on a watch list. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Renewed fears of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya are growing after reports that hundreds of people were killed by drone strikes last week while escaping violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. Avery Schmitz and Helen Regan report for CNN.
International Criminal Court prosecutors said yesterday they are “actively monitoring” events in Venezuela, where security forces have launched a sweeping crackdown on dissenters. The ICC has an ongoing investigation into violence that followed Venezuela’s 2017 election, but so far has not sought any arrest warrants. Mike Corder reports for AP News.
Sudan is at a “breaking point,” a U.N. agency said yesterday, as the growing number of people needing food, water, shelter, and medical care is creating “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.” Michael Mitsanas reports for CNN. Readers may be interested in Payton Knopf’s recent analysis of U.S. policy on Sudan for Just Security.
Iran’s vice president has resigned, in a public display of deep divisions as the country’s new government takes shape. It came after President Masoud Pezeshkian, who ran as a reformist, announced on Sunday his cabinet would include several conservatives and only one woman. Farnaz Fassihi and Leily Nikounazar report for the New York Times.
The Pakistani military yesterday announced that it had arrested its ex-spy chief and Imran Khan ally Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, accusing him of corruption and political meddling. Hameed is the first current or former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence to face court-martial proceedings. Salman Masood and Christina Goldbaum report for the New York Times.
U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian fighters said they conducted an attack yesterday in eastern Syria, striking three posts manned by pro-government gunmen and killing 18. Separately, several U.S. troops suffered minor injuries from a one-way drone attack in Syria Friday, the Pentagon said yesterday. Eleanor Watson reports for CBS News; Hogir Al Abdo reports for AP News.
Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq “neutralized” 17 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, the defense ministry said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Militants allied with the self-styled Islamic State group in eastern Congo killed at least 12 people in North Kivu province, according to a local official. Jean-Yves Kamale reports for AP News.
The leader of a Kenyan cult who allegedly encouraged over 400 followers to starve themselves to death pleaded not guilty to manslaughter yesterday, in one of the worst ever cases of cult-related mass deaths. Robert Kiptoo and Newton Ndebu report for BBC News.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Trump filed a claim last week seeking $100 million in damages from the Justice Department following the search of his Mar-a-Lago residence, the latest in a series of challenges to the retrieval of classified records from his home. Rebecca Beitsch reports for The Hill.