Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
An Israeli strike on Gaza City’s Holy Family Catholic Church yesterday killed three people and injured ten others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The strike also caused extensive damage to the religious complex. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that “what we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, […] hit the Church directly.” Several hundred Palestinians were sheltering at the church compound when the strike occurred. Natan Odenheimer reports for the New York Times; Stefano Pitrelli, Claire Parker, Mohamad El Chamaa, and Siham Shamalakh report for the Washington Post.
Qatar, Egypt, and the United States on Wednesday presented Israel and Hamas with an updated Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal proposal that incorporates the progress made in negotiations in the last ten days, sources say. U.S. Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler yesterday described the truce deal as “closer than it’s ever been.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
Israel has demolished thousands of buildings across Gaza since its March resumption of hostilities with Hamas, with satellite imagery reviewed by BBC News showing entire towns and suburbs leveled in the past few weeks. An IDF spokesperson said that the “destruction of property is only performed when an imperative military necessity is demanded.” According to multiple legal experts, Israel’s actions may amount to war crimes under the Geneva Convention, which largely prohibits the destruction of infrastructure by an occupying power. Benedict Garman, Matt Murphy, and the BBC Visual Journalism team report.
Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in attacks on Gaza yesterday, medics and church officials said. The number of killed reportedly includes eight men tasked with protecting aid trucks. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
President Trump yesterday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express “not a positive reaction” to the attack on the church, according to the White House press secretary. Shortly after the call, Netanyahu’s office said that “Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit [the church]” and that the incident is under investigation. Natan Odenheimer reports for the New York Times.
In a statement, Pope Leo XIV yesterday said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the attack on a Gaza City church and renewed his call for “an immediate cease-fire” in the territory.
SYRIA
Damascus is not preparing to redeploy government forces to the Sweida province, the SANA state news agency reported today, with an interior ministry spokesperson denying earlier reports of an planned redeployment. Reuters reports.
The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, a State Department spokesperson said yesterday, while declining to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary. Humeyra Pamuk reports for Reuters.
594 people have been killed during the recent sectarian violence in southern Syria, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights monitoring group said yesterday, adding that 83 members of the Druze religious minority were “summarily executed” by government forces and three Bedouin civilians were summarily killed by Druze fighters. Emir Nader reports for BBC News.
An armored convoy carrying several Western diplomats was passing by Syria’s defense ministry when Israel struck the building with several missiles on Wednesday, sources say. No one in the convoy was injured, the sources added. Timour Azhari reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-IRAN CEASEFIRE
U.S. bombardment badly damaged, and potentially destroyed, Iran’s deeply buried nuclear enrichment plant at Fordow, according to U.S. officials familiar with a new U.S. intelligence assessment. Two other sites were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months, the officials added. Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube, Julie Tsirkin, Katherine Doyle, Dan De Luce, and Carol E. Lee report for NBC News.
Iran is making new efforts to arm its militia allies across the Middle East, a pattern of high-value weapons seizures by Syrian, Yemeni, and Lebanese forces shows. Benoit Faucon and Adam Chamseddine report for the Wall Street Journal.
France, the United Kingdom, and Germany yesterday informed Iran that they would restore the U.N. Security Council sanctions on Tehran unless it reopens talks on its nuclear programme immediately and produces concrete results by the end of August. John Irish reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
More than 100 Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and various parts of Russia yesterday, according to the Russian defense ministry. Matthew Luxmoore and Thomas Grove report for the Wall Street Journal.
The European Union today approved its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, aiming to lower the G7’s price cap for buying Russian crude oil to $47.6 per barrel, diplomatic sources say. Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer report for Reuters.
Ukraine will let foreign arms companies test new weapons on the front lines of Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s state-backed arms investment and procurement group Brave1 announced yesterday. Sabine Siebold reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Leading human rights organization Cristosal has pulled 20 employees out of El Salvador amid President Nayib Bukele’s drive to crack down on critics and humanitarian organizations, the group’s representatives said. Emily Green reports for Reuters.
Burkina Faso’s military rulers have disbanded the country’s electoral commission, according to the country’s state-run RTB TV, which reported that the interior ministry will handle elections in the future. Chris Ewokor and Damian Zane report for BBC News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Congress today approved the White House’s request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, with a 216-to-213 House vote sending the measure to Trump for signature. GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) and Michael R. Turner (OH) voted against the measure. Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans yesterday unanimously voted to advance the nomination of Emil Bove to a lifetime federal judgeship to full Senate consideration. Democrats on the panel boycotted the vote after the panel’s chairman, Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called the roll before every Democrat had a chance to air their objections. Carrie Johnson reports for NPR; Glenn Thrush reports for the New York Times.
The Senate Judiciary Committee also yesterday voted to advance Jeanine Pirro’s nomination to the post of the U.S. attorney for the D.C. to the Senate floor for a final vote. Keith L. Alexander reports for the Washington Post.
The Justice Department Civil Rights Division’s head, Harmeet Dhillon, and Robert Keenan, the Division’s Senior Counsel, have requested a day-long prison sentence for Brett Hankison, a Louisville police officer convicted in connection with a raid that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. In a sentencing memo filed on Wednesday, Dhillon and Keenan also suggested that the Biden administration should not have prosecuted the officer on the civil rights charges on which he was convicted. Perry Stein and David Nakamura report for the Washington Post.
A grand jury has indicted a former Voice of America employee on allegations that he threatened to kill Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) along with her family members between 2023 and early 2025. Filip Timotija reports for the Hill.
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command yesterday circulated an alert to retired senior military personnel who served in Iraq or Syria now living in Florida that they were the target of a possible terrorist threat. The notice did not specify the source of information, the kind of threat, or which terrorist group was involved. Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
In a 308-122 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday gave the final Congressional approval to major bipartisan legislation that aims to regulate a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins. Veronica Stracqualursi and Morgan Rimmer report for CNN.
The Trump administration’s cuts to cybersecurity and technology staff at the State Department are more extensive than previously reported and risk creating gaps in cyber, quantum, AI, and tech-focused expertise at the department, sources say. The mass firings at the State Department could significantly impact the administration’s ability to deliver on its priorities, multiple former and current officials say. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO; Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, and Annie Grayer report for CNN.
The Commerce Department yesterday announced steep tariffs on refined graphite, an essential ingredient for electric vehicle and other batteries, after issuing a preliminary ruling that Chinese suppliers were guilty of “dumping” the material on the U.S. market. Jack Ewing reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Nearly 800,000 mpox vaccines that the U.S. government had pledged to donate to African countries can no longer be shipped because they are about to expire, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. 220,000 vaccine doses have enough shelf life to be delivered to countries experiencing mpox outbreaks if the Trump administration signs off on their shipments, an Africa CDC spokesperson said. Carmen Paun reports for POLITICO.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s son is working closely with the White House to impose sanctions on Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is set to preside over Bolsonaro’s upcoming trial on charges of leading an attempted coup, sources say. Terrence McCoy reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. embassies and consulates should “comment publicly on elections only when there is a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest to do so” under new guidance the State Department issued yesterday. The department has historically criticized and questioned the legitimacy of certain elections, notably in authoritarian countries. Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control yesterday announced it has sanctioned the top leaders of Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua over involvement in criminal activities, including illicit drug trade, human trafficking, and money laundering. Reuters reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department yesterday asked sheriffs across California to provide lists of inmates in state jails who are not U.S. citizens, the crimes they committed, and their scheduled release dates. The DOJ said it would pursue “all available means of obtaining the data” if the sheriffs do not voluntarily hand it over. Jesus Jiménez reports for the New York Times.
The Health and Human Services Department has confirmed to Axios it is sharing Medicaid recipients’ personal data with the Homeland Security Department, saying that the information-sharing is lawful and focuses on ensuring benefits are not going to undocumented immigrants. Maya Goldman reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday signed an executive order creating a new classification of non-career federal staffers (“Schedule G”) who can more easily be fired. The White House did not specify how many workers would be put into the new classification. Jarrett Renshaw reports for Reuters.
Trump’s firings of watchdogs have created an atmosphere of fear inside inspectors general offices, with office leaders worried that simply doing their jobs could get them fired or prompt political blowback, sources tell the New York Times. There is now a widespread understanding that certain topics, such as DOGE cuts, are off-limits, one current investigator adds. Luke Broadwater reports.
Columbia University and Trump administration officials are inching closer to ending a standoff over the school’s federal funding and policies concerning the harassment of Jewish students, having agreed on the main terms of a deal during a meeting yesterday, sources say. Michael C. Bender and Sharon Otterman reports for the New York Times.
Trump on Wednesday moved to fill the vacancies at the National Labor Relations Board created by his firing of NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox, nominating Scott Mayer, the chief labor counsel at Boeing, and career NLRB lawyer James Murphy to the Board. Daniel Wiessner reports for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday issued an order restoring Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter to her role at the Federal Trade Commission, ruling that Trump’s attempt to fire her violated the FTC Act and protections under Supreme Court precedent that prevents a president from unilaterally firing officials at independent agencies. Alfred Ng reports for POLITICO.
A group of 20 Democratic Attorneys General sued yesterday to block the implementation of portions of a Health and Human Services Department rule on health insurance marketplaces that the lawsuit says could lead to nearly 2 million people losing their health insurance. Diana Novak Jones reports for Reuters.
Non-citizens who are lawfully present in the United States “probably” have the same First Amendment rights as U.S. citizens, a federal judge suggested yesterday during a hearing in a trial involving a group of university professors who say the administration’s efforts to deport individuals over their anti-Israel views limit protected political speech. Holmes Lybrand and Angélica Franganillo Díaz report for CNN.
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: yesterday on Just Security
The Legal Fig Leaf: The US-El Salvador Detainee Diplomatic Notes
by Brian Finucane
The Just Security Podcast: What Just Happened, The Budget Bill and the Future of DHS and ICE
By David Aaron and Steven Cash
As Georgian Regime Intensifies Crackdown, U.S. Should Support Its People
By Ambassador (ret) Ian Kelly and David J. Kramer
A Warm Welcome to Mark Nevitt as a Just Security Editorial Board Member!
By Tess Bridgeman, Ryan Goodman and Megan Corrarino
