Early Edition: October 16, 2025

ISRAEL HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE AND HOSTAGES AND PRISONER RELEASE

Israel received the remains of two more hostages from Gaza yesterday. Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said yesterday that it was “committed” to the ceasefire plan and had “handed over … what it had in terms of bodies that it could recover.” Hamas said it required “special equipment” to find and extract remains of the 19 remaining deceased hostages. A senior U.S. adviser said that the recovery of all the bodies could take weeks due to the level of destruction in Gaza. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times; Yolande Knell reports for BBC News.

The director general of hospitals for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said today that experts are working to identify the bodies of 90 Palestinians handed over by Israel. Film footage provided by a freelance journalist for the BBC shows the body of a blindfolded man and another body with marks around the wrists and ankles at Nasser Hospital’s mortuary. The forensic team said that some of the bodies arrived still shackled and bearing signs of abuse. David Gritten reports for BBC News; Sam Metz, Samy Magdy, and Wafaa Shurafa reports for AP News.

A man has been killed in an Israeli drone strike southeast of Khan Younis, according to Palestinian news agencies in Gaza. There are reports that two others have been seriously injured in a strike northeast of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said that there have been no strikes in Khan Younis today. BBC News reports.

ISRAEL- HAMAS WAR – HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

The U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian affairs told Reuters that thousands of humanitarian vehicles must enter Gaza weekly to avoid further catastrophe. “We have 190,000 metric tons of provisions on the borders waiting to go in and we’re determined to deliver,” Fletcher said. Israeli officials said that 600 trucks have been approved to enter Gaza. Fletcher said it was a “good base” but not enough to meet the scale of need. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports.

Israeli military aid agency COGAT said today that preparations to open the Rafah Crossing for the movement of people are ongoing with Egypt, with a date to be announced at a later stage. “It should be emphasised that humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing,” COGAT added in a statement sent to Reuters. Alexander Cornwell reports.

ISRAEL HAMAS – POLITICAL RESPONSE

U.S. officials said yesterday that Trump’s peace plan remains on track despite Israel’s threat to resume its war with Gaza due to Hamas’s delay in returning the bodies of the hostages. A U.S. adviser said, “right now, the intention is to keep working with both parties, getting them both to show restraint and creating the right conditions for a demilitarization of Gaza to occur.” President Donald Trump said yesterday that Israeli forces could return to Gaza “as soon as I say the word” if Hamas refused to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal. Eli Stokols reports for POLITICO; Jake Tapper reports for CNN.

Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan are in talks to provide troops for a future stabilization force in Gaza, according to a current and former U.S. defense official. The current official said negotiations on the force are ongoing and no country has made a firm commitment. Felicia Schwartz and Paul McLeary report for POLITICO.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday at a meeting in Brussels said that the United States would “impose costs” on Russia for “its continued aggression” against Ukraine if there is “no path to peace” in the near future. Hegseth said that the “U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do,” adding that the most effective deterrence to Russia is “a lethal, capable, and European-led NATO.” Jeanna Smialek reports for the New York Times.

Proposals for an EU “drone wall” remain uncertain due to the potential costs, technical difficulties, and disagreements between member states and the EU commission over who should control such a major defense project, several officials and diplomats told Reuters. The EU commission plans to publish a policy plan for the “European Drone Defence Initiative” today. Andrew Gray, Supantha Mukherjee, and Max Hunder report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday announced a ceasefire following days of clashes that killed dozens of people on both sides of the border. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the ceasefire had been agreed for 48 hours, adding that it was at Afghanistan’s request. A spokesperson for the Taliban administration in Afghanistan said that the ceasefire was at the insistence of Pakistan. Munir Ahmed reports for AP News.

Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa yesterday met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for their first talk since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government fell and he fled to Russia. “Over the past decades, our countries have built a special relationship,” Putin said yesterday, adding that Russia was ready to “do everything to fulfil” the issues on the meeting agenda. Sharaa suggested he would continue to allow Russia access to its military bases in Syria. Syrian sources said that Sharaa had planned to ask Putin to extradite Assad so that Assad could face trial for war crimes. James Landale reports for BBC News.

Madagascar’s new military ruler Michael Randrianirina said yesterday that he will soon be sworn in as the country’s new president. The African Union told Reuters yesterday that the bloc had suspended Madagascar with immediate effect after the military coup. “The rule of law must prevail over the rule of force. Our approach is grounded in law and dialogue,” African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said yesterday at a bloc meeting. Lovasoa Rabary and Giulia Paravicini report.

Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said yesterday that Indonesia will acquire at least 42 Chinese-made Chengdu J-10C fighter jets, adding that the ministry had approved a budget of over $9 billion to pay Beijing. This marks Indonesia’s first non-Western aircraft purchase deal. Niniek Karmini reports for AP News.

Independent landmine experts, asked by Reuters to evaluate evidence and photographs, said that the PMN-2 landmines that sparked the 5 day war between Thailand and Cambodia in July were freshly laid. The analysts were not able to determine who had placed the weapons. The Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority told Reuters that a determination on the incidents could only be made following an impartial third-party investigation. A Thai foreign ministry spokesperson said that Bangkok’s investigation determined that the landmines had been newly planted. Panu Wonghca-um and Devjyot Ghoshal report.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

The Trump administration is considering significant changes to the U.S. refugee system which would prioritize English speakers, white South Africans, and Europeans who have been targeted “for peaceful expression of views” such as “opposition to mass migration,” according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The administration should only welcome “refugees who can be fully and appropriately assimilated, and are aligned with the president’s objectives,” the documents said. Sources said that there is no timetable for approving the plans though some are already in place, such as offering priority status to Afrikaners.  Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz report.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Trump said yesterday that he had authorized the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela, adding that the United States was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory. U.S. officials confirmed Trump’s authorization of the CIA. The new authority would allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean. When asked if the CIA had the authority to “take out” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump said “that’s a ridiculous question. not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” Julian E. Barnes and Tyler Page report for the New York Times; Julianna Bragg reports for Axios.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that the Trump administration is seeking to counter China’s economic measures by establishing a more assertive American industrial policy, exerting greater control in areas deemed critical to national security. “When you get an announcement like this week with China on rare earths, you realize we have to be self-sufficient, or we have to be sufficient with our allies,” Bessent said. His remarks follow China’s announcement proposing a new licensing system for global trade in products containing Chinese rare earth minerals. Alan Rappeport and Ana Swanson report for the New York Times.

Bessent also said yesterday that the Treasury Department is working on a “private sector solution” with banks and sovereign-wealth funds to provide an additional $20 billion to Argentina, “that would be a total of $40 billion for Argentina.” Bessent added that the U.S. bought Argentinian pesos again yesterday morning. Bessent said that the deal is not necessarily contingent on Argentinian President Javier Milei winning the upcoming election, adding that “as long as Argentina continues to enact good policy, they will have U.S. support.” Victoria Guida reports for POLITICO; Brian Schwartz and Santiago Pérez report for the Wall Street Journal.

Trump said yesterday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India will no longer buy oil from Russia, adding “that’s a big step.” An Indian government spokesman said discussions were “ongoing” with the US administration. Irie Sentner and Megan Messeryl report for POLITICO. Danielle Kaye reports for BBC.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Brown University yesterday rejected the White House deal proposing special funding arrangements to universities that agreed to certain requirements. Brown is the second university to refuse the government’s proposal, following MIT last week. “I am concerned that the compact by its nature and by various provisions would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance,” Brown’s President Christina H. Paxon said in a letter to Trump administration officials. New York Times.

The Trump administration is preparing changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow criminal inquiries into left-leaning groups, according to sources. The sources said that a senior IRS official has drawn up a list of potential targets that include major Democratic donors. The plans aim to install allies of Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division and to weaken involvement of IRS lawyers in investigations, according to officials. Brian Schwartz, Richard Rubin, and Joel Schectman report for the Wall Street Journal.

Dozens of journalists yesterday vacated their offices in the Pentagon, as “the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reports from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said yesterday. The association wrote that yesterday was “a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.” Helen Coster and Andrew Goudsward report for Reuters;  Josephine Walker reports for Axios.

Trump yesterday issued an executive order directing federal agencies to restrict hiring across the government, though exceptions were made for political appointees, immigration enforcement, and national security among others. The order came as Trump’s hiring freeze, in place since January 20, expired. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.

Trump also yesterday signed a presidential memorandum to expand his administration’s authority to use unspent federal funds to pay the military during the government shutdown. The memorandum purports to give Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authority to repurpose funds. It is unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to grant this power as no such permission has been granted by Congress. Luke Broadwater reports for the New York Times.

Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought said yesterday that more than 10,000 federal employees would lose their jobs due to the ongoing government shutdown. “We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy […] and we now have an opportunity to do that,” Vought said. Irie Sentner reports for POLITICO.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday ordered the Trump administration to issue no further Reduction in Force notices during the government shutdown and to take no further action to enforce RIF notices issued since October 10. The judge said that the early evidence suggested that the Office of Management and Budget had taken advantage of the shutdown to “assume all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them anymore and they can impose the structure that they like.” Tony Romm reports for the New York Times; Hassan Ali Kanu reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by 22 young people alleging that three of Trump’s executive orders on energy and the environment had violated their constitutional rights. The judge said the claims lacked a legal basis, largely because the harm could not be ameliorated by judicial decision, adding that she had made the decision “reluctantly.” Karen Zraick reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge yesterday extended by 14 days two temporary restraining orders that were set to expire on Friday, blocking the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard troops to Portland. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.

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