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 — AID SUPPLY CRISIS
The “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global hunger monitor said today, citing “mounting evidence” showing that “widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths.” The alert, which does not constitute a formal famine declaration, warns of “widespread death” if immediate action is not taken. Michelle Nichols and Olivia Le Poidevin report for Reuters; Sam Mednick and Cara Anna report for AP News.
All 55 U.N. aid trucks that entered Gaza on Sunday were unloaded by crowds before reaching their destination, a spokesperson for the U.N. World Food Programme told AP News. Another U.N. official stated that nothing on the ground had changed, and no alternative routes were opened. Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Two leading Israeli rights organisations, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, yesterday released two reports accusing Israel of “committing genocide against the Palestinians” in Gaza. “An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes … leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society,” the groups’ joint statement reads. The reports are the first time any Israeli group has used the term to describe Israel’s actions. An Israeli government spokesman “strongly rejected” the reports’ findings, with the Israeli military calling the allegations “entirely unfounded.” Ivana Kottasová and Abeer Salman report for CNN; Emir Nader reports for BBC News.
Israeli fire killed at least 78 Palestinians across Gaza yesterday, including at least 25 people seeking food and a pregnant woman whose baby was delivered after her death but also died, according to local health officials and witnesses. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy report for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
There is “real starvation” in Gaza, President Trump said yesterday, adding that civilians “have to get food and safety right now” and that the United States would work with its European allies to distribute more aid to Gaza, including by setting up “food centers” without barriers. Trump’s statement breaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that there is no starvation in the territory. Amy B Wang reports for the Washington Post; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The United Kingdom government is now more actively weighing the recognition of a Palestinian state, prompted by public revulsion at the images of starving children in Gaza and intense cross-party pressure from lawmakers on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to two senior government officials. Mark Landler reports for the New York Times.
Germany will immediately launch an airlift to deliver aid into Gaza and “closely coordinate with France and the UK, who are also willing to provide such an airlift for food and medical supplies,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday. Sarah Marsh reports for Reuters.
The Dutch government yesterday announced it had imposed travel bans on far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and would summon Israel’s ambassador to denounce the “unbearable and indefensible” situation in Gaza. Reuters reports.
The EU Commission yesterday recommended curbing Israel’s access to the EU’s flagship Horizon Europe research funding programme after calls from EU countries to increase pressure on Israel to alleviate the aid crisis in Gaza. Lili Bayer reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia must agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine in “ten or twelve days” or face U.S. sanctions and secondary tariffs, Trump said yesterday, stating that there was “no reason” to wait any longer as no progress towards peace had been made. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Trump for his “clear stance” delivered “right on time.” Laura Gozzi reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
Russian missiles and glide bombs killed at least 22 people and injured nearly 90 others across Ukraine yesterday, striking a prison and a medical facility in an overnight attack, officials said. Separately, Russian authorities said that Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia’s southern Rostov region killed one person. Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov report for AP News; Reuters reports.
A pro-Ukrainian hacker group and a Belarusian hacker activist group have claimed responsibility for yesterday’s cyberattack that caused Russia’s national air carrier, Aeroflot, to cancel more than 100 flights and delay others. The group also threatened to release “the personal data of all Russians who have ever flown Aeroflot.” The Russian prosecutor’s office confirmed there had been “a failure in the operation of the Aeroflot information system as a result of a hacker attack.” Laura Gozzi and Joe Tidy report for BBC News; AP News reports.
THAILAND-CAMBODIA CONFLICT
Military commanders from Thailand and Cambodia today held talks to address Thailand’s allegations that Cambodian troops violated the ceasefire agreement struck yesterday as relative calm returned to the countries’ disputed border. Cambodia denied Thailand’s accusations, insisting that its troops have strictly abided by the ceasefire. Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat report for Reuters; Sui-Lee Wee and Edward Wong report for the New York Times.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday said they had rescued ten seafarers from the Greek-operated cargo ship Eternity C, which they attacked and sank in the Red Sea earlier this month. Reuters reports.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
A Colombian judge yesterday found Colombia’s former president Álvaro Uribe guilty of bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud, the first major criminal conviction of a former Colombian leader. Uribe has previously stated that he would appeal a decision that goes against him. Genevieve Glatsky and Julie Turkewitz report for the New York Times.
Indian troops and police forces have killed three militants responsible for a deadly attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir earlier this year, a senior Indian official told lawmakers today. Rhea Mogul and Aishwarya S. Iyer report for CNN.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A third whistleblower has shared information with the Senate suggesting that Emil Bove misled lawmakers during his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing last month, the Washington Post reports. The whistleblower’s evidence contradicts claims Bove made during the hearing about a DOJ prosecution unrelated to the topic of the two other whistleblowers’ accounts. The additional whistleblower’s testimony has not yet altered Bove’s chances of being confirmed for a lifetime judicial post, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) stating he would still support his nomination yesterday, and noting to reporters that Bove would be confirmed even without Tillis’s support unless a fourth Republican also opposed the nomination. Perry Stein and Theodoric Meyer report; Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
The Freedom of Press Foundation yesterday submitted a complaint seeking the disbarment of Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr to the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Office of Disciplinary Counsel, citing alleged “egregious misconduct, most notably with [Carr’s] recent approval of CBS owner Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance.” Olivier Darcy reports for Status.
A shooter yesterday killed four people in a New York City office building, including an executive from financial firm Blackstone and a New York City police officer. As of last night, the police said they did not know the man’s motive or why he targeted the commercial office building. Jack Morphet, Miriam Gottfried, and James Fanelli report for the Wall Street Journal.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
The Commerce Department is considering charging patent holders 1% to 5% of their overall patent value, a move that would transform the patent system and potentially dramatically increase fees, sources say. Amrith Ramkumar reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Tesla has signed a deal to obtain semiconductor chips from Samsung Electronics, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said late on Sunday. Samsung earlier announced it had struck a $16.5 billion supply agreement without naming its contracting partner. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
In a recent letter, the National Republican Senate Committee expressed concerns that “aggressive message filtering” contained in Apple’s upcoming iOS 26 software may catch texts sent by political and fundraising efforts. Zak Doffman reports for Forbes.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
New documents show how the federal government plans to implement Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship. A CNN analysis of the information shows that children of refugees would be exempt from the policy, and that officials would be required to “request original proof of parental citizenship or immigration status” to proceed with processing a passport application. Devan Cole, John Fritze, and Priscilla Alvarez report.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration has heard competing proposals on how it could alter U.S. policy toward Myanmar to divert the country’s vast supplies of rare earth minerals away from China, sources say. According to the sources, the ideas have been proposed to administration officials by a U.S. business lobbyist, a former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, in indirect talks with the Kachin Independence Army rebels. Nothing has been decided yet, the sources stressed. Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom, Devjyot Ghoshal, and Poppy McPherson report for Reuters.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te is set to delay a diplomatically sensitive August trip to the United States that his team had previously floated to the Trump administration, in part due to the ongoing U.S. tariff talks with Taipei and Beijing, sources say. Trevor Hunnicutt and Yimou Lee report for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Harvard University is reportedly open to paying up to $500 million to end its dispute with the White House, according to people familiar with the intensifying negotiations. According to one of the sources, Harvard is reluctant to directly pay the federal government, with the exact financial terms still under discussion. Michael C. Bender, Alan Blinder, and Michael S. Schmidt report for the New York Times.
The Justice Department yesterday filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg. The complaint alleges Boasberg made “improper public comments about President Trump and his administration” by reportedly telling Chief Justice John Roberts and other federal judges that the administration would trigger a constitutional crisis by disregarding federal court rulings. Mark Sherman reports for AP News.
Federal employees can pray, discuss religion, and make efforts to “persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views” under new guidelines issued by the Office of Personnel Management yesterday. Under the new rules, supervisors are also allowed to encourage workers to engage in expressions of faith. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday announced a plan to “fix” the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which allows people who believe they were injured by vaccines to apply for financial compensation. Christina Jewett reports for the New York Times.
The Education Department yesterday announced it is launching an investigation into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal based on “recent reporting alleging that Duke University discriminates on the bases of race, color, and/or national origin by using these factors to select law journal members.” Betsy Klein and Samantha Waldenberg report for CNN.
The Pentagon’s recent ban on participation in think tank and research events hampers the Defense Department’s ability to make its case to Washington policy circles and allies, according to more than a dozen officials and think tank leaders. The move has had a chilling effect, with top leaders clearing most of their public speaking engagements, even if they are not sure the ban applies to them, the officials add. Jack Detsch, Paul McLeary, and Felicia Schwartz report for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday expanded its earlier preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that would prevent many Planned Parenthood clinics that offer abortion services from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. In her order, the judge stated that the enforcement of the policy could infringe Planned Parenthood’s First Amendment rights and amount to an unconstitutional “legislative punishment.” Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia yesterday filed a lawsuit arguing that the Agriculture Department’s demand for states to surrender sensitive information about millions of food stamp recipients violates federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit alleges that the demand appears to be part of an effort to collect information that can be used to “advance the president’s agenda on fronts that are wholly unrelated to SNAP program administration” such as immigration enforcement. Benjamin Weiser and Zach Montague report for the New York Times.
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 Real National Security Betrayal Isn’t Who Leaves—It’s What Gets Dismantled
By Brian O’Neill
Himalayan Water Disputes Awaken the Tensions and Promises of the UN Watercourses Convention
By
