Early Edition: October 13, 2025

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — HOSTAGE AND PRISONER RELEASES

All 20 of the remaining living hostages in Gaza have returned to Israel this morning. They have been brought to the Re’im military facility in southern Israel to undergo initial medical screenings. Oren Liebermann reports for CNN.

Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank today. These are the first of nearly 2,000 detained Palestinians expected to be freed in the coming hours. David M. Halbfinger, Aaron Boxerman, Natan Odenheimer, Isabel Kershner, Adam Rasgon, and David E. Sanger report for the New York Times.

Israel has not included Marwan Barghouti, a popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, in the list of around 250 prisoners to be released from Israel. Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that the group that Hamas insists on the release of Barghouti, and other figures, and that it was in discussion with mediators. Lee Keath, Julia Frankel, and Jalal Bwaital report for AP News.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

The first aid trucks since the ceasefire began arrived in Gaza yesterday.  A spokesperson for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that supplies of cooking gas had entered Gaza for the first time since March. The easing of restrictions has allowed the agency to deliver medical and emergency supplies where they are most needed, OCHA added. BBC News reports.  

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not travel to Egypt today for a summit on ending the war in Gaza due to the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, according to a statement from his office. This statement came following an announcement by Egypt’s presidency and a White House official that Netanyahu would be attending. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will be attending the summit. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Melanie Lidman report for AP News; Eyad Kourdi, Kevin Liptak, Tal Shalev, and Kaitlan Collins report for CNN.

“Only by embracing the opportunities of this moment can we achieve our goal of ensuring that the horrors of recent years will never happen again,” Trump told the Knesset today during his speech, adding that “the long and painful nightmare is finally over.” Two members of the Knesset held up signs that said “Recognize Palestine” as Trump spoke, according to a Knesset spokesperson. As the two were escorted out of the room, other members of the Knesset began chanting “Trump! Trump!” Trump was still speaking to the Knesset at time of writing. CNN reports; NBC News reports. 

Egyptian and Qatari mediators told Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya that Trump’s deal was his last chance to end the war, following Al-Hayya’s immediate reaction to refuse the deal, according to officials. The sources said that Turkey warned him that Turkey and Qatar would remove all diplomatic and political cover if Hamas did not agree to the deal. Jared Maslin and Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Fighting between Hamas Security forces and armed members of the Dughmush family in Gaza City over the weekend killed at least 27 people. The Hamas-run interior ministry said that eight Hamas members were killed in “an armed assault by a militia.” Medical sources said that 19 Dughmush clan members had been killed. Both sides accused the other of triggering the clashes. Hamas has recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces to assert control over areas of Gaza vacated by Israeli troops, according to sources. Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

U.S. intelligence shared with Kyiv has enabled Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy assets, including oil refineries far beyond the frontline, according to Ukrainian sources and U.S. officials. Officials said that the United States has been helping Ukraine mount these long-range strikes for months, in an attempt to weaken Russia’s economy and force them to negotiate. Christopher Miller, Amy Mackinnon, and Max Seddon report for the Financial Times.

Trump said that he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday on the phone about Ukraine obtaining long-range Tomahawk missiles. Trump told reporters during his flight to Israel that before he agrees, he “might speak to Russia about that, in all fairness,” because it would be a “step up” in the war. Megan Messerly reports for POLITICO.

First Lady Melania Trump said on Friday that she has had an “open channel of communication regarding the welfare of children” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last three months. The First Lady claimed that eight Ukrainian children had been reunited with their families in the past 24 hours due to the initiative, adding that both sides had “agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all the people involved.” Sophia Cai and Diana Nerozzi report for POLITICO.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary has killed at least 57 people and wounded 43 others in a series of drone and artillery strikes on the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher overnight into Saturday, according to local medics and aid groups. The Sudan Doctors Network medical advocacy group said the attack targeted a shelter for displaced people and was a violation of international law. The RSF denied that civilians were killed as a result of its strikes. Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Times; Reuters reports.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban government yesterday claimed that Afghan forces had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in “retaliatory” border operations overnight into Sunday. The Pakistani army disputed the figure, stating that 23 of its armed forces’ members had died and that “200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists have been neutralized.” The Taliban have accused Pakistan of violating Afghan airspace and bombing a market in eastern Afghanistan last Thursday. Pakistan did not claim responsibility for the alleged assault. Carrie Davies, Stuart Lau, and Ethirajan Anbarasan report for BBC News; Riaz Khan reports for AP News. 

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu late yesterday announced his new government, two days after French President Emmanuel Macron re-appointed Lecornu as France’s Prime Minister on Friday. Lecornu resigned from the premiership last Monday after his coalition partners’ pushback to his first attempt at forming a government last week. Giorgio Leali reports for POLITICO; Noemie Bisserbe and Sam Schechner report for the Wall Street Journal.

Qatar and other Arab states have expanded security cooperation with the Israeli military over the past three years, according to leaked U.S. documents. The documents show that in May 2024, senior Israeli and Arab military officials convened at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar to discuss the threat posed by Iran. Presentations reviewed by the Washington Post detail the creation of what the U.S. army describes as the “Regional Security Construct”, involving Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. David Kenner reports.

5.7 million Haitians are facing a deteriorating food security situation, with 17% of Haiti’s population suffering emergency levels of acute food insecurity, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) hunger watchdog said in a report published on Friday. According to the IPC, the situation is expected to deteriorate in 2026, with 54% of Haiti’s population projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity. UN News reports; Reuters reports.

Israel yesterday carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing one person and wounding seven others, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck a place where machinery was stored for rebuilding Hezbollah infrastructure. AP News reports.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

A federal judge on Friday said the Trump administration had presented a “totally inconsistent” case to keep Kilmar Ábrego García in immigration detention. Since Uganda and Eswatini had refused to take Ábrego, “we’re getting to ‘three strikes and you’re out,’” the judge added. Ghana’s foreign minister posted on social media on Friday that Ghana would also not take Ábrego. The judge said she will decide soon whether Ábrego should remain in custody while his challenge moves forward. Separately, the judge presiding over Ábrego’s criminal case on Friday set a hearing for November 3 to take evidence on whether the charges should be dismissed. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO; Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.

The Labor Department warned last week that “the near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens” is threatening “the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. customers,” according to a document filed with the Federal Register. “Unless the Department acts immediately to provide a source of stable and lawful labor, this threat will grow.” Lauren Kaori Gurley reports for the Washington Post.

The Homeland Security Department announced on Friday that it has awarded 10 construction contracts worth $4.5 billion to add 230 miles of wall along the southwest U.S. border. Reuters reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The U.S. military is moving forward with plans to build a facility in Idaho dedicated to training pilots from Qatar, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday. Hegseth’s announcement drew a rebuke from far-right influencers, including Laura Loomer, who accused Qatar of funding Islamic terror organizations. Hegseth later on Friday posted what he called an “important clarification” on social media, stating that “to be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States — nor anything like a base.” Konstantin Toropin reports for AP News; Lillian Rizzo reports for CNBC.

Venezuelan government officials offered the Trump administration a large stake in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral wealth in order to end hostilities during months-long negotiations preceding the U.S. strikes, according to several sources. The sources stated that Venezuela offered to grant preferential contracts to U.S. businesses and terminate contracts with Chinese, Iranian, and Russian firms.  The Trump administration last week cut off diplomacy with Venezuela, effectively killing the deal, the sources added. Anatoly Kurmanaev, Julian E. Barnes, and Julie Turkewitz report for the New York Times.

Trump announced on Friday that he would impose 100% tariffs on all Chinese products, adding that they would take effect on November 1. Earlier on Friday, Trump said that he may cancel his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping due to Beijing’s “sinister and hostile” curbs on the exports of rare-earth materials. A spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry said yesterday that “threatening to impose high tariffs at every turn is not the right way to engage with China” and that Beijing will retaliate with “corresponding measures.” Ana Swanson reports for the New York Times; Phelim Kine reports for POLITICO.

The U.N. Security Council met on Friday to discuss the United States’ recent strikes on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean. The 15 members of the council held varying opinions on the strikes, with European and African countries avoiding direct denunciation of the Trump administration’s policies. “The United States will not waver in our actions to protect Americans from narco-terrorists,” John Kelley, a political counsel with the U.S. mission to the U.N. said. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

“The [Reductions in force] have begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced on Friday. Vought provided no further details on which federal workers would be fired or how many people had already been laid off. Senior OMB adviser Stephen Billy confirmed that RIF notices would be going out to at least 4,100 employees across several agencies, according to a court filing in a lawsuit filed by unions to stop the layoffs. Irie Sentner and Jennifer Scholtes report for POLITICO; Josephine Walker and Emily Peck report for Axios.  

The Trump administration on Saturday rescinded layoffs of hundreds of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were terminated during the mass firings within CDC on Friday. A senior official said that the employees were sent “incorrect notifications, which was fixed … with a technical correction,” adding that the terminations were mistaken and  have been remedied. A CDC official told POLITICO that “entire offices are being eliminated, including people in leadership roles.” Apoorva Mandavilli and Sheryl Gay Stolberg report for the New York Times; Sophie Gardner and Lauren Brensel report.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were not given notice that federal prosecutors would indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged bank fraud last Thursday, according to sources. The sources said the lack of communication was a result of the government shutdown, the rush to bring the indictment, and divisions between department leaders and the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Viginia Lindsay Halligan. Devlin Barrett and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.

Trump yesterday announced that he has appointed his longtime aide Dan Scavino as the White House Presidential Personnel Office. Scavino will remain the White House Deputy Chief of Staff while being “responsible for the selection and appointment of almost all positions in government,” Trump posted on social media. Yan Zhuang reports for the New York Times; Sarah Fortinsky reports for the Hill.

Trump also announced on Saturday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will “use all available funds to get our troops PAID on October 15th,” adding “I will not allow the Democrats to hold our military … HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government shutdown.” About $8 billion is being redirected from accounts that fund military research and testing to pay the army, according to two sources. Ben Johansen and Jennifer Scholtes report for POLITICO.

MIT on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s offer for the school to receive special funding treatment in exchange for signing the administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. “Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said. Vimal Patel reports for the New York Times.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

Over 30 sitting federal judges told the New York Times that the Supreme Court’s brief and opaque emergency orders in cases relating to the Trump administration have caused confusion in the lower courts about how to proceed with those matters. In response to a questionnaire, 47 out of 65 judges also said  that the Supreme Court had been mishandling its emergency docket since Trump returned to office. Matthias Schwartz and Zach Montague report.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal appeals court on Saturday left in place the part of a lower court order barring the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to the Chicago area. The appeals court temporarily reversed the other part of the lower court’s order that blocked the White House from federalizing National Guard troops. “Members of the National Guard do not need to return to their home states unless further ordered by a court to do so,” the appellate court said in its brief order. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO; Ernesto Londoño and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times.