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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
Representatives from Israel, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt are set to continue negotiations today over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. Hamas is not attending the talks, which began yesterday in Doha, but says it will reengage if it receives a “clear commitment” from Israel on its latest proposal. Frances Vinall and Victoria Bisset report for the Washington Post.
Israeli settlers yesterday stormed a village in the occupied West Bank and set fire to houses and cars. The Palestinian Authority said one Palestinian was shot dead and another wounded. The attack drew rare rebukes from Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ephrat Livini reports for the New York Times.
The Israeli army today ordered a fresh evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone, saying the areas had been used by Hamas “as a base for firing mortars and rockets towards Israel.” Reuters reports.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday pledged a visit to Gaza “even if it costs my life.” It was not immediately clear whether such a visit was feasible, as Abbas has not been to the enclave since Hamas seized power there in 2007. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
U.S. officials said some progress was made yesterday in the first day of Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks, without providing details. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
U.S. colleges this week revised rules on free speech in the hopes of containing anti-war student demonstrations, with some of the new rules including the banning of encampments, and limiting both the duration and location of demonstrations. Critics say some of the measures will curtail free speech. Nick Perry, Jake Offenhartz, and Jocelyn Gecker report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine has captured the Russian town of Sudzha, around six miles from the border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday. It would be Ukraine’s first capture of a Russian urban center since its surprise incursion began 11 days ago. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused NATO and the West of having direct involvement in planning Kyiv’s Kursk attack. Constant Méheut reports for the New York Times; BBC News reports.
Ukraine has set up a military administrative office to “maintain law and order” in Russia’s western Kursk region, according to its top military commander. Ukraine’s intelligence also announced yesterday the detention of over 100 Russian troops, in what it said was the “largest mass capture” of enemy soldiers at one time. Ian Aikman and Jonathan Beale report for BBC News; Siobhán O’Grady, Tetiana Burianova, David L. Stern, and Robyn Dixon report for the Washington Post.
Belarusian President and key Putin ally Aleksandr Lukashenko has called for peace between Russia and Ukraine, saying, “Let’s sit down at the negotiating table” to end the conflict. His plea is set to be broadcast on Russian state-owned channel Rossia 1 on Sunday. Veronika Melkozerova reports for POLITICO.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Thailand’s parliament has picked Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of tycoon and former leader Thaksin, as prime minister. At 37, she will lead the Pheu Thai Party as the country’s youngest prime minister and the second woman in the post, after her aunt Yingluck. Jonathan Head, Thanyarat Doksone, and Kelly Ng report for BBC News.
A key border crossing for humanitarian aid to enter Sudan will be reopened for three months, the country’s government said yesterday. Louis Mian and Sarah Dean report for CNN.
Yemen’s rival parties are making military preparations and threatening to resume war as hunger and cholera worsen in the country, U.N. officials said yesterday. Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
A reputed Peruvian gang leader wanted for 23 killings in his home country was arrested in New York by U.S. immigration authorities. Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, the leader of “Los Killers,” is being held at a federal detention facility pending an immigration hearing. CNN reports.
Russia’s ambassador to Washington said today that Ukraine would not have attacked the Nord Stream gas pipelines without U.S. approval, and that Moscow would identify and punish those behind the attack. The remark follows reports yesterday that Ukraine approved the attack despite U.S. warnings. Reuters reports.
Bangladeshi protests yesterday attacked supporters of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasana, who was ousted by student protests. Hasina had urged her supporters to commemorate the anniversary of the assassination of her father, which historically had been a national mourning day, although it was canceled by the interim government. NBC News reports.
The 95 Libyans who were arrested in South Africa on suspicion of receiving training at an illegal military camp had their charges dropped due to insufficient evidence. The men have only been charged with breaching South Africa’s immigration laws and will be deported to their home country. BBC News reports.
China’s calls to denounce “die hard” Taiwanese separatists is turning dangerously real, according to Taiwanese people, academics, and analysts. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has said this rhetoric is aimed at a “small number of hard-line independence activists” and not the population at large. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports for BBC News.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
The Secret Service approved new plans for former President Trump to continue outdoor rallies, including using bulletproof glass to shield Trump on stage. The plan is a major enhancement in the agency’s standard security planning for candidate campaign events. Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey report for the Washington Post.
Pro-Russian propagandists are still working to influence Americans ahead of the presidential elections, Meta announced yesterday in its Adversarial Threat Report. The report said Meta had dismantled five distinct Russian propaganda campaigns in the last three months, and detailed influence campaigns by groups based in Vietnam and the United States. Kevin Collier reports for NBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
The United States imposed new sanctions yesterday intended to cut off financing to Iranian-backed militias, targeting companies, individuals, and vessels involved in shipping Iranian commodities to finance Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Houthis. The New York Times reports.
The State Department approved the possible sale of up to 600 Patriot air defense missiles to Germany for an estimated $5 billion, the Pentagon said yesterday. Reuters reports.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is set to appoint his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to represent the state in the Senate. Helmy will fill the seat for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who resigned office after being found guilty of corruption. Jimmy Vielkind reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows has asked that the Arizona election-subversion case against him be moved to federal court. Meadows unsuccessfully tried a similar legal maneuver in a separate election interference case in Georgia. The U.S. District Court in Arizona has set a Sept. 5 hearing to consider his request. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports for the Washington Post.
A Detroit judge was temporarily removed from the bench yesterday after “he forced a 15-year-old girl to wear handcuffs and a jail uniform because she appeared to fall asleep during a field trip to his court.” Brandon Drenon reports for BBC News.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Trump this week sought to delay his sentencing for falsifying business records until after the November election. His sentencing has already been pushed back from July 11 to Sept. 18 so that New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan can weigh Trump’s request to toss out his criminal conviction because of the Supreme Court’s granting of broad presidential immunity. Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post.