Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia is increasing its use of prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine, including the WW1-era poison gas chloropicrin, two Dutch intelligence services and the German intelligence service said on Friday. According to the intelligence, Russia’s use of prohibited weapons in Ukraine had become “standardized and commonplace,” with the Russian military using chemical agents to force out sheltering Ukrainian soldiers and kill them. Citing the findings, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. CBS News reports; Anthony Deutsch reports for Reuters.
President Trump on Friday spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Trump said yielded “no progress … at all.” In their Friday call, Trump told Zelenskyy that the United States wants to help Ukraine with air defense due to escalating Russian attacks, according to a Ukrainian official and another source. Gisele Ruhiyyih Ewing reports for POLITICO; Matt Viser, Alex Horton, and Mary Ilyushina report for the Washington Post; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi privately told the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, that Beijing cannot accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to focus on China, according to an official briefed on the talks. The reported remarks run counter to China’s public position of neutrality in the conflict. Nick Paton Walsh reports for CNN.
Ukraine on Saturday said it had struck a Russian air base containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and “possibly other aircraft,” a day after Russia launched 550 drones and missiles on Ukraine in one of Moscow’s largest attacks to date that killed one person, injured 26 people, and damaged the consular section of the Polish embassy in Kyiv. Elise Morton reports for AP News; Yurii Stasiuk reports for POLITICO; Paul Adams and Jessica Rawnsley report for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The first round of indirect Israel-Hamas talks mediated by Qatar ended inconclusively, two Palestinian sources said early today, adding that the Israeli delegation did not have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with Hamas. Ahead of his White House meeting with President Trump later today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli negotiators have instructions to achieve a ceasefire deal under conditions that Israel has accepted. A Palestinian official said the talks are expected to resume today. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Sebastian Usher and Rushdi Abualouf report for BBC News; Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times.
The ceasefire proposal under discussion would entail a 60-day truce during which Hamas would hand over 10 living and 18 dead hostages, Israeli forces would withdraw to a buffer zone along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt, and U.N. and the Palestinian Red Crescent would distribute significant amounts of aid, according to a copy of the document seen by AP News. Wafaa Shurafa, Abby Sewell, and Kareem Chehayeb report.
Hamas has lost about 80% of its control over Gaza, with armed clans filling the void, according to a senior Hamas security forces official. “Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead” and “there’s no control anywhere,” the official said. Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 38 people in Gaza yesterday, according to media reports. Separately, the IDF yesterday said that its strike on the popular al-Baqa cafe in Gaza City last Monday killed the commander of Hamas’s naval force. The IDF also said it has taken steps to “mitigate the risk of harming civilians” in the strike, which local medics say killed 40 people. POLITICO reports; Ruth Comerford and Alice Cuddy report for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — AID SUPPLY CRISIS
The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Saturday blamed Hamas for injuring two of its workers at a Khan Younis aid centre. The Hamas government media office yesterday rejected accusations the group was involved in the attack. Ruth Comerford reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
The U.N. has recorded 613 killings of Palestinians seeking aid at GHF distribution points and near humanitarian convoys as of June 27, with further incidents since, a U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson said on Friday. Of the 613 Palestinians killed, 509 were killed near GHF sites, the spokesperson added. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-IRAN CEASEFIRE
Iran does not plan to further retaliate against the United States but has no plans to stop uranium enrichment, Tehran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told NBC News in a Thursday interview. Separately, a source said that the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week to restart nuclear talks. The final date of any talks is yet to be set, and neither country has publicly confirmed the meeting. Richard Engel, Marc Smith, and Alexander Smith report; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have safely departed Iran, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday, days after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the international agency. Erika Solomon reports for the New York Times.
Trump discussed the situation with Iran and other regional issues with the Saudi Defense Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, during a Thursday meeting at the White House, according to a source. Following his meeting with Trump, Bin Salaman said he spoke on the phone with the Chief of Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
European officials say they believe that Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran have created new incentives for Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons in secret, with the strikes hardening the mood in Iran. Ellen Francis reports for the Washington Post.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
The Israeli military early today launched airstrikes targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the first time in nearly a month, with the Houthis responding by firing missiles at Israel in retaliation. The exchange of fire came hours after the rescue of the crew of a Greek-operated bulk carrier whose vessel was hit by gunfire, drones and missiles in the Red Sea in an attack maritime security firms said bore hallmarks of Houthi tactics. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News; Yomna Ehab and Mohammed Ghobari report for Reuters; Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE
Hezbollah will not lay down its weapons until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes, the group’s leader Naim Kassem said in a video address yesterday. AP News reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan, marking a major milestone in the Taliban’s quest for political legitimacy. The Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network said the move legitimizes “a regime that is authoritarian, anti-women, and actively dismantling basic civil rights.” Flora Drury and Tabby Wilson report for BBC News.
Turkish police on Saturday detained three more opposition-affiliated city mayors in what the government said was an investigation into alleged corruption. Opposition leaders disputed the charges, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of “imposing an authoritarian rule without a ballot box.” Jared Malsin and Elvan Kivilcim report for the Wall Street Journal.
Bosnia’s prosecutor’s office has lifted an arrest warrant against separatist Serb leader Milorad Dodik after Dodik appeared at a hearing investigating allegations that he violated the constitutional order, the authorities said in a statement issued late on Friday. Reuters reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday said he was confident that the Trump administration would be able to reach trade deals with some countries before Trump’s self-imposed tariff deadline tomorrow. Bessent also said that Trump would send letters “saying that, if you don’t move things along, then, on Aug. 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level.” Trump later said he had signed letters to 12 countries outlining the various “take it or leave it” tariff offers that will be sent out later today. Steven Moity reports for the New York Times; Andrea Shalal reports for Reuters.
The United States will impose an additional 10% tariff on “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS,” Trump said in a social media post yesterday. It was not immediately clear which policies Trump was referring to. Auzinea Bacon, John Liu, and Simone McCarthy report for CNN.
The European Union is considering a skeletal trade deal with the United States that would maintain a 10% tariff on most exports along with continuing talks on sector-specific industry relief, the European Commission told EU ambassadors on Friday. A senior European Commission official described the U.S. negotiations as “economic madness” that does not help the U.S., EU, or global economy. Camile Gijs, Koen Verhelst, and Nette Nöstlinger report for POLITICO; David J. Lynch reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Trump on Friday signed his sweeping domestic policy megabill into law, during an Independence Day ceremony attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. The House passed the bill in a mostly party-line 218-214 vote on Thursday. Scott Wong reports for NBC News.
In a Saturday social media post, billionaire Elon Musk said that “the America Party is formed” in response to Trump’s signing his domestic policy bill into law. Musk did not make clear whether he had taken steps to formally create the new political party. Trump responded by describing Musk as “off the rails” and a “trainwreck.” Michelle L. Price reports for AP News; Tyler Pager reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Homeland Security Department is preparing to cut nearly 75% of staffers at the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, tasked with developing and sharing threat intelligence with state and local partners, according to an official and a DHS statement. Democratic ranking members of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees last week urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to reconsider the cuts in a letter citing concerns over the elevated threat environment. Holmes Lybrand reports for CNN.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday put 139 employees who signed a “declaration of dissent” from the agency’s policies on leave pending an “administrative investigation.” In an email announcing the move, the agency spokesperson said EPA has a “zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting” the Trump administration’s agenda. Melina Walling reports for AP News.
The U.S. Northern Command on Thursday announced it has sent the “first wave” of around 200 Marines to support ICE operations in Florida. According to the command, the service members will perform case management duties, provide logistical support such as vehicle maintenance, and help process detainees at ICE facilities, while being “specifically prohibited from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain.” Daniel Wu reports for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
In an apparent 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a district court order that blocked the Trump administration from deporting eight men detained in a shipping container on a U.S. military base in Djibouti to South Sudan. In an unsigned order, the majority wrote that the district court judge could not “enforce an injunction that our stay rendered unenforceable.” In a dissent joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused the majority of employing a double standard, writing that “the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial.” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the deportation flight carrying the deportees landed in South Sudan just before midnight Eastern time on Friday. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO; Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports for CBS News.
The judge presiding over Kilmar Ábrego García’s criminal case on Thursday directed both sides of the lawsuit to stop making public statements about the case after Ábrego García’s lawyers argued the government was depriving him of his right to a fair trial by making inflammatory comments. Chloe Atkins and Dareh Gregorian report for NBC News.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
If you enjoy listening, Just Security’s analytic articles are also available in audio form on the justsecurity.org website.
ICYMI: last week on Just Security
COP 30 Must Not Cop Out
By Sue Biniaz
Incoming DHS Intelligence Lead Promotes Unlawful Activities
By Spencer Reynolds
Assessing the U.S. Article 51 Letter for the Attack on Iran: Legal Lipstick on the Use of Force Pig
By Brian Finucane
Pathways to “Universal” Relief After Trump v. CASA
By John Lewis and Jordan Ascher
