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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli tanks and snipers killed at least 79 Palestinians and wounded hundreds yesterday, with “massive crowds of hungry civilians [coming] under gunfire” as they mobbed a U.N. convoy carrying aid into the territory, according to witnesses, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and the U.N. World Food Programme. The IDF said that it had “a gathering of thousands of Gazans” and fired “warning shots” to “remove an immediate threat” to troops, without identifying the nature of the threat. It also stated that the health ministry’s death toll did not “align” with its information. Louisa Loveluck, Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Abbie Cheeseman, and Siham Shamalakh report for the Washington Post.
The Israeli military yesterday issued evacuation orders for Deir al-Balah, stating that it is “expanding its activities” to target “terrorist infrastructure” in the area, which has not been a target of an Israeli ground offensive to date. According to the Medical Aid for Palestinians group, several humanitarian organizations’ offices and clinics have also received evacuation orders. The U.N. warned that any damage to the humanitarian infrastructure in the area “will have life-threatening consequences.” Wafaa Shurafa, Fatma Khaled, Melanie Lidman, and Samy Magdy report for AP News; BBC News reports.
The World Central Kitchen charity yesterday announced that it has halted its provision of hot meals in Gaza after running out of supplies, with aid trucks stuck at the Gaza border. The charity will continue to bake bread and distribute water in the territory, its statement added. The Hamas-run health ministry said that 19 people, including eight children, have died of a lack of food in Gaza in the last 24 hours. Nurit Yohanan reports for the Times of Israel; Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News.
Israel last week declined to renew the visa of Jonathan Whittall, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a U.N. spokesperson said. An OCHA spokesperson added that the refusal “came immediately after remarks in a press briefing about starving people being killed while trying to reach food.” Miriam Berger and Louisa Loveluck report for the Washington Post.
Hamas is presently facing its worst financial and administrative crisis in its history, according to former and current IDF officers and Gazan sources. Shira Rubin and Hazem Balousha report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, visited Washington last week seeking U.S. help in convincing countries to take in Palestinians from Gaza, sources say. Barnea told U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that Israel has been speaking in particular with Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya, a source added. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
SYRIA
Clashes in Syria’s Suwaida city have stopped, according to the Syrian government, with the ceasefire agreement between Damascus, Druze groups, and Bedouin tribes appearing to hold. An aid convoy from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered the province yesterday; elsewhere, the Syrian health ministry said it was denied access. Eyad Kourdi, Tim Lister, and Catherine Nicholls report for CNN.
Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire in a deal “embraced” by Turkey, Jordan, and other neighboring countries, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said on Friday. Mitchell McCluskey and Gul Tuysuz report for CNN.
The Syrian government misread how Israel would respond to a deployment of Syrian troops to Suweida, encouraged by U.S. comments that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, Syrian officials, regional security sources, and diplomats say. Israel’s attacks took Syria by surprise, the sources add. Timour Azhari, Suleiman Al-Khalidi, and Maya Gebeily report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The Trump administration is reordering its arms deliveries schedule to speed up the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, U.S. officials say. The reshuffle has moved Germany ahead of Switzerland to receive the next systems off the production line, enabling Berlin to send the two Patriots it already has to Kyiv, the officials said. Lara Seligman, Robbie Gramer, and Alexander Ward report for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday called for talks with Russia to be held next week, saying that “the dynamics of the negotiations must improve” and that Ukraine is ready for a meeting “at the leadership level.” Ollie Ieltsov and Max Saltman report for CNN.
The “main thing” for Russia “is to achieve [its] goals” in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday, telling state television in an interview that reaching a peaceful settlement in the war “is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy.” AP News reports.
An overnight Russian drone attack on Ukrainian cities killed one person and injured six in a residential building in Odessa on Saturday, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian army said it shot down 208 Russian drones and missiles. Giorgio Leali reports for POLITICO.
A sustained Ukrainian drone attack on Russia yesterday caused Moscow’s four major airports to close temporarily, with at least 140 flights canceled, according to Russia’s aviation watchdog. Kathryn Armstrong reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-IRAN CEASEFIRE
Iran’s deputy foreign minister will meet with his British, French, and German counterparts in Istanbul for nuclear talks on Friday, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said early today. Reuters reports.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba today vowed to stay in his post despite the “harsh result” of yesterday’s election, in which Japan’s ruling coalition has lost its majority in the country’s upper house. Gavin Butler, Michael Sheils McNamee, and Shaimaa Khalil report for BBC News.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebels on Saturday pledged to sign a peace agreement by August 18, with representatives of both sides signing a declaration of principles laying out the new timeline. Imad Creidi reports for Reuters.
German authorities last week arrested a Libyan man suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on an International Criminal Court warrant, the court has said. Anna Holligan reports for BBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States has revoked the visa of Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the prosecution of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. The announcement came hours after de Moraes placed Bolsonaro under curfew and banned him from communicating with foreign governments amid concerns that Bolsonaro may abscond. Terrence McCoy reports for the Washington Post; Jessica Rawnsley reports for BBC News.
The White House is growing alarmed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regional policies, with U.S. officials reporting a growing perception that Netanyahu is too disruptive following Israel’s recent strikes on Syria and the shelling of a Gaza church. It is unclear whether Trump shares his adviser’s concerns about Israel’s actions. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
The European Union is gearing up for a possible trade war with the United States if a trade deal is not reached by August 1, sources say. The move was prompted by U.S. officials informing the EU’s trade chief last week that they expect Trump to demand further concessions. Kim Mackrael and Bertrand Benoit report for the Wall Street Journal.
The Trump administration’s decision to cut nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left at least 21 water and sanitation projects half-finished in 16 countries, with some creating new hazards for people they were intended to benefit, Reuters reports. The administration has also decided to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need, according to a state department spokesperson. Ammu Kannampilly and Andy Sullivan report; Carter Sherman reports for the Guardian.
A Chinese-American man who works for the U.S. Commerce Department is being prevented from leaving China by Beijing after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, sources say. Ellen Nakashima, Adam Taylor, and Cate Cadell report for the Washington Post.
The United Arab Emirates informed the United States it had begun returning Afghan evacuees stuck in a UAE processing facility back to Afghanistan, days before Trump’s announcement he would help the evacuees yesterday, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. Humeyra Pamuk reports.
The United States on Friday officially rejected amendments to legally binding health rules adopted by World Health Organization members to improve global preparedness for future pandemics, according to the Health and Human Services and State Departments. Ahmed Aboulenein reports for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A global hack on Microsoft’s SharePoint systems used by government agencies and businesses in the past few days has breached U.S. federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies, and an Asian telecommunications company, state officials and private researchers say. Microsoft has released a patch for one version of the software, but two other versions remain vulnerable placing tens of thousands of servers at risk. Ellen Nakashima, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, and Joseph Menn report for the Washington Post; Davey Winder reports for Forbes.
“Fragmented and under-resourced” U.S. efforts are failing to counter industrial-scale scam centers backed by Chinese criminal organizations, the bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned in a report released on Friday. Cate Cadell reports for the Washington Post.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass yesterday called for an end to what she described as ICE and the military presence’s “reign of terror” in the city, saying that she hopes “the military leaves because they were never needed here to begin with.” Cheyanne M. Daniels reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Venezuelan government on Friday released ten U.S. citizens and residents in exchange for the release of 252 Venezuelan migrants from a maximum security prison in El Salvador, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Venezuela has also agreed to permit the men to return to the United States for legal proceedings if ordered by a court, according to a court filing. Julie Turkewitz and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times; Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
The State Department has regularly taken criticism of Israel into account when vetting foreign students’ social media posts and revoking their visas, a senior bureau official in the Bureau of Consular Affairs testified on Friday. The bureau was also operating without concrete guidance on what constitutes antisemitism, the official added. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard on Friday called for several Obama administration officials to be prosecuted for participating in a “treasonous conspiracy” related to the 2016 election, citing newly declassified evidence in alleging that they “manipulated and withheld” intelligence related to Russian interference in the election from the public. Jacob Wendler and Amy MacKinnon report for POLITICO. The report “conflates … two activities by the Russians,” efforts to hack voting machines and influence operations such as leaking information hacked from the Democratic National Committee, Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger write for the New York Times.
Justin Fulcher, one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers and a former DOGE staffer, has left his position, the Pentagon announced on Saturday. In a statement, Fulcher said he had planned to work for the government for only six months. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced that Trump has selected Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte to replace Vice Adm. Yvette Davids as the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Davis, who was the first woman to lead the U.S. Naval Academy, will be nominated to serve in another role as a three-star admiral, a defense official said. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
Trump and his appointees have been accused of failing to obey court order in a third of the more than 160 lawsuits against the administration in which a judge issued a substantive ruling, suggesting a pattern of widespread noncompliance, the Washington Post has found. Justin Jouvenal reports.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced it is eliminating its research and development arm, the Office of Research and Development, and moving ahead with a 23% reduction in staffing levels. Matthew Daly reports for AP News.
The massive layoffs at the State Department were engineered by a handful of political appointees chosen for their “fidelity” to Trump and willingness to “break stuff,” leading to a haphazard and error-ridden process, sources say. A senior State Department official disputed this characterization, saying that the cuts were finalized in consultation with “experienced career staff” and the White House. Adam Taylor, Hannah Natanson, and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
Trump’s executive order that seeks to punish people who work with the International Criminal Court most likely violated the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled on Friday, pausing the enforcement of the order for the two claimants in the case, who assisted the court with investigations in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. Mattathias Schwartz reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, finding the federal government lacked legal authority to refuse Congressionally-appropriated funding without a clear basis. Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
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