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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Parties negotiating a possible ceasefire in Gaza gave mixed signals yesterday, with Hamas’s political leader saying the group was ready to keep fighting Israel, while Egypt’s president said a truce could be reached “in the next few days.” The Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the group was open to mediated talks with Israel but that “any flexibility we show in the negotiation process is a commitment to protecting the blood of our people, matched by a readiness to defend them.” President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, which is brokering the agreement along with Qatar and the United States, offered a more optimistic view, saying, “God willing, in the next few days, we will reach a cease-fire agreement.” In public, however, Hamas and Israel are not signaling any breakthrough. Hwaida Saad and Shashank Bengali report for the New York Times.
Haniyeh yesterday called on Palestinians in Jerusalem to defy Israeli restrictions and march to the Aqsa mosque to pray at the start of Ramadan, creating the prospect of clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment last night, but said, “I would just say, as it pertains to Al Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice and that’ll continue to be our position.”
More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run health ministry said today. It added that at least six children have died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities.
Palestinian Authority (PA) foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said yesterday he believes Hamas understands why it should not be part of a new government in the Palestinian territories. Speaking a day before Hamas and the Fatah political faction that dominates the PA were set to meet in Moscow, Maliki said that a “technocratic government” is needed in the Palestinian territories, adding that “the time now is not for a national coalition government.” AFP and Times of Israel reports.
An apparent Israeli strike on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City today killed at least 70 people and wounded dozens, according to local health officials. Wafaa Shurafa and Kareem Chehayeb report for AP News.
Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main U.N. aid agency in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said yesterday. “To my knowledge, up to today, there (hasn’t) been any new information transmitted to UNRWA and to the United Nations,” Philippe Lazzarini said. Richard Roth and Amy Cassidy report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
New Zealand’s government designated all of Hamas as a “terrorist entity” today, broadening its policy on the Islamist group. It now considers the political wing of Hamas a “terrorist entity” after designating the group’s military wing a “terrorist entity” in 2010. “What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. Michael Rios and Akanksha Sharma report for CNN.
Austria’s foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg today urged Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah against escalating the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border and expressed hope for a fighting pause in Gaza. Speaking after meeting his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut, Schallenberg said, “Everybody is asked not to escalate and it always takes two sides.” Bassem Mroue reports for AP News.
Canada is working to airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as possible, a cabinet minister said yesterday. The announcement follows Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen saying that Ottawa was exploring new options to deliver aid. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The White House is exploring the possibility of airdropping aid from U.S. military planes into Gaza as land deliveries become increasingly difficult, four U.S. officials told Axios. That the Biden administration is considering such a move underscores concern about the worsening humanitarian crises in Gaza. “The situation is really bad. We are unable to get enough aid [in] by truck so we need desperate measures like airdrops,” one U.S. official said. According to the U.N, the amount of aid reaching Gaza fell by half this month compared to January.
U.S. officials are concerned that Israel is planning a ground incursion into Lebanon in the coming months if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah back from the northern border with Israel, according to senior Biden administration officials and officials familiar with the intelligence. “We are operating on the assumption that an Israeli military operation is in the coming months,” one senior official said. “Not necessarily imminently in the next few weeks but perhaps later this spring. An Israeli military operation is a distinct possibility.” Alex Marquardt reports for CNN.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli strikes in the vicinity of Damascus, state media said yesterday. Pro-Iranian Lebanese television al Maydeen said a large explosion was heard in the heavily fortified Sayeda Zainab neighborhood of the Syrian capital, where a major Shi’ite shrine is located, but it gave no further details. The Israeli military declined to comment. Reuters reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said fighter jets carried out strikes on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including rocket launchers. The targets in Jabal Blat included a complex where members of the militant group were gathered and several rocket launchers, according to the IDF, adding that it shelled rocket launch sites after attacks this morning on the Adamit and Shlomi communities in northern Israel. Emanuel Fabian reports for the Times of Israel.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is due to be buried tomorrow after a funeral service in Moscow that will be open to the public, his family and aides said yesterday, while warning that authorities could try to prevent people from attending or force the service to be cut off. The planned funeral creates the possibility of a rare display of opposition sentiment, and of a new crackdown on Navalny’s supporters, who will be taking a risk by attending. Anton Troianovski reports for the New York Times.
Heavy gunfire has been heard in Chad’s capital N’Djamena after a deadly attack on the headquarters of the National Security Agency. The government said several people were killed and blamed the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders. Its leader, Yaya Dillo, told the AFP news agency the allegation was a “lie.” The unrest comes a day after the announcement that Chad will hold presidential elections on May 6. Paul Nije reports for BBC News.
The United States yesterday pushed for the U.N. Security Council to take action to help end the nearly year-long conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “The council must act urgently to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators to account, and bring the conflict in Sudan to an end. Time is running out.” The United States says the warring parties have committed war crimes and that the RSF and allied militias have also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
A Dutch court said it had charged two Pakistani nationals yesterday over public calls for the murder of far-right anti-Muslim leader Geert Wilders. In a statement, the court said prosecutors had asked authorities in Pakistan to extradite the two suspects to stand trial in the Netherlands. The court scheduled its first hearing on the case for Sept. 2. The Netherlands and Pakistan do not have an extradition treaty, leaving prospects for a trial unclear. Reuters reports.
Five suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of Ecuadorian anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down in Quito last August, will go to trial, the attorney general’s office said yesterday. A sixth suspect will be released according to a judge’s ruling, the office added in a post on social media. AP News reports.
The United States, Mexico, and Guatemala will create a trilateral working group focused on security, law enforcement, and border infrastructure, the three countries said yesterday in a joint statement. “This effort will build on and expand existing partnerships to address shared challenges at our borders,” the statement said. The group will collaborate to detect security deficiencies, exchange information, and develop operation plans. Reuters reports.
The U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua accused the government of committing “serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity” in their latest report today. The report urged the Nicaraguan government, headed by President Daniel Ortega, to release “arbitrarily” detained Nicaraguans, and called on global leaders to expand sanctions on “individuals and institutions involved in human rights violations.”
A Russian rocket successfully put an Iranian satellite into orbit today, underscoring the increasingly close partnership between Moscow and Tehran.
Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said there should be “no role” for China in policing the Pacific Islands, and Australia will train more local security forces to fill gaps, after Reuters reported that Chinese police are working in Kiribati. Meanwhile, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Australia’s parliament today that the two nations’ strategic partnership was more important than ever amid threats from China. Kirsty Needham reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russia yesterday bombed parts of Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, killing four civilians, regional officials and the interior ministry said. Reuters reports.
Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops from the village of Orlivka but the situation on the eastern front remains difficult, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said today. Orlivka is less than 2 kilometers northwest of Lastochkyne, which was recently occupied by Russian forces.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. Senate’s longest-serving Republican leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), announced yesterday that he will be stepping down from his leadership position in November. McConnell said it was “time to move on” in his address to the Senate, adding that he would serve out his term, which ends in Jan. 2027, but would work “from a different seat in the chamber.” Phil McCausland and Anthony Zurcher report for BBC News.
Bipartisan negotiators announced yesterday they have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown this week, securing an agreement on six of twelve must-pass spending bills and extending two fast-approaching funding deadlines further into March. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a joint statement that the six agreed bills fund several federal agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Sahil Kapur, Scott Wong, Ryan Nobles and Rebecca Kaplan report for NBC News.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to decide whether former President Trump may claim immunity in the election subversion case. The court expedited the case and will hear arguments the week of April 22. John Fritze reports for CNN.
An Illinois judge ruled yesterday that Trump should be removed from the state’s primary ballot because of the 14th Amendment ban on insurrectionists holding office. Illinois became the third state, along with Colorado and Maine, to kick Trump off the primary ballot. Both states’ rulings are on hold pending an appeal of the Colorado decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Patrick Svitek reports for the Washington Post.
A New York appellate court yesterday denied Trump’s attempt to freeze the judgment in his civil fraud case, a ruling that means, for now, he is required to post a bond for $454 million in the coming weeks. Peter Charalambous and Aaron Katersky report for ABC News.