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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news
MOSCOW CONCERT HALL ATTACK
Two men accused in the terrorist attack in Moscow spent time in Istanbul just weeks before the assault, a senior Turkish security official said yesterday, adding that the brevity of the men’s visits suggested that they had not been radicalized in Turkey. The information came on the same day Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said in a post on X that the Turkish security services had caught 147 people alleged to have connections to the self-styled Islamic State group since last June. Yerlikaya did not specify how many of those suspects had been apprehended since the concert hall attack, or whether any were believed to have links to the attack. Ben Hubbard reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel has called its negotiations team back from Qatar after 10 days of talks over a possible hostage deal reached an impasse, sparking a blame game between Israel and the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement blaming Hamas for the deadlock shortly after the delegation returned, saying, “Hamas’s stance demonstrates its utter disinterest in a negotiated deal and attests to the damage done by the UN Security Council’s resolution … Hamas rebuffed all U.S. offers for a compromise, while celebrating [the resolution].” The statement angered U.S. officials, with one saying, “This statement is inaccurate in almost every respect and unfair to the hostages and their families. Hamas’ response was prepared before the UN vote even took place. We will not play politics with this most important and difficult issue.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Gazan authorities said late yesterday that 12 people had drowned while trying to reach airdropped aid that had fallen into the Mediterranean, calling for an end to the airdrops and an increase in deliveries by land. A Pentagon spokesperson said that three of approximately 80 aid bundles dropped by the United States on Monday “were reported to have had parachute malfunctions and landed in the water,” but that she could not confirm reports of the drownings. Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have apprehended “500+ Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists” during its raid on the Al-Shifa hospital complex, the military said in a post on X.
Three Palestinians were killed and four others wounded by Israeli fire during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said today. Reuters reports.
Hamas deputy military commander Marwan Issa was killed in an Israeli strike this month, Israel’s military spokesperson said yesterday, confirming reports from earlier in the month. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden yesterday responded to pro-Palestinian protesters who disrupted his speech on health care to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “What about health care in Gaza?” three protesters yelled, saying that hospitals in Gaza are being bombed and accusing Biden of being “complicit in genocide.” As the protesters were escorted out, Biden said, “Be patient with them. They have a point. We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.” Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.
The Biden administration has not yet reached a conclusion that Israel has violated the international laws of war, but the processes to assess their compliance are ongoing, the State Department said yesterday. Speaking in a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the administration was due to submit a report to Congress by May 8 as part of a national security memorandum that reminds countries who receive U.S. weapons to comply with international law and not block humanitarian aid. Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
Biden is facing backlash from pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties for allowing the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) yesterday introduced a resolution saying that “any resolution of the Israeli-Hamas conflict should take place only with the full cooperation and approval of Israel at each step of the process” and that the United States “should continue to support Israel and should not attempt to force Israel to take any course of action that is against its best interest.” The resolution draws on furious bipartisan reactions to a perceived U.S. policy shift away from supporting Israel. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday urged Israel to abandon plans for a major ground offensive against Hamas in southern Gaza, as the Biden administration attempts to curb a spiraling humanitarian crisis. In talks with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon, Austin highlighted what he described as a deepening “catastrophe” in Gaza, where Palestinian civilians face widespread hunger, disease, and danger amid Israel’s military response. Austin said there was a “moral necessity and a strategic imperative” to protect civilians and pressed Israel to pursue less destructive alternatives to a major military offensive into Rafah. Missy Ryan reports for the Washington Post.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
A series of airstrikes in eastern Syria yesterday killed more than a dozen people, including an Iranian military adviser and a World Health Organization employee, officials and reports said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq. The United States yesterday denied it carried out the strikes after Syrian and Iranian state media claimed U.S. forces were responsible. Two regional intelligence sources said Israeli jets conducted several strikes on two locations within Deir el-Zour city and Al Bukamal, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have outposts. Israel frequently launches strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria but rarely acknowledges them. AP News reports.
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets at Kiryat Shmona, an Israeli town over the border, early today in response to deadly Israeli strikes on the village of Hebbariyeh in southern Lebanon a day earlier. Israeli emergency services said a rocket strike today killed a factory worker in Kiryat Shmona, while two Lebanese security sources say at least seven people were killed in the Israeli strikes on Hebbariyeh. Reuters reports.
Three Hezbollah militants were killed in Israeli air strikes near two towns in northeast Lebanon yesterday, the group posted on Telegram, the furthest bombardment yet from the border where Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire. Israel confirmed the strikes and said its aircraft targeted several military sites used by Hezbollah in response to a rocket attack on one of its bases near the Lebanese border. Reuters reports.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Five Chinese workers were killed yesterday when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into their convoy in northern Pakistan, the latest in a series of terrorist attacks highlighting the security challenges Pakistan faces in protecting Chinese personnel. Over the past week, terrorist attacks also struck a Pakistani military air base and a strategic port in Pakistan’s southwest, where China has invested billions in infrastructure projects, challenging the two countries’ strategic ties. Salman Masood and Christina Goldbaum report for the New York Times.
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered that former President Jair Bolsonaro must explain within 48 hours why he spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy. Brazilian federal police have also launched an investigation into whether the February stay violated earlier court orders. The moves follow a New York Times investigation published on Monday showing Bolsonaro hiding at the Hungarian Embassy in Brasília, days after authorities confiscated his passport because he was under criminal investigation. Bolsonaro’s lawyer has said his stay at the embassy was to talk politics, and that “any other interpretation” was “just another piece of fake news.” Jack Nicas reports for the New York Times.
A senior North Korean official leading a delegation met with his Vietnamese counterpart on Monday and discussed ways to elevate bilateral relations, North Korean state media KCNA reported today. The delegation, which met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week and is expected to visit Laos next, comes as North Korea seeks to expand its diplomatic engagement post-Covid. Reuters reports.
A Tunisian court today sentenced four people to death and two to life in prison on charges of participating in the murder of prominent political leader, Chokri Belaid, 11 years ago, which sparked widespread protests against the then ruling Islamists. Belaid, a left-wing politician, had been critical of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party, accusing it of ignoring violence by extremists against secularists. Belaid was shot dead in his car by gunmen in 2013 in what was considered the first political assassination in Tunisia in decades. Tarek Amara reports for Reuters.
Former Mongolian prime minister Sukhbaatar Batbold bought two luxury apartments in New York City with the proceeds of a corrupt scheme, U.S. authorities have alleged. Prosecutors are seeking to seize the real estate in midtown Manhattan, worth a total of $14 million, which Batbold allegedly bought after his family-controlled firm was awarded a major mining contract. Batbold still sits in parliament and has denied the allegations. Frances Mao reports for BBC News.
Thousands of people protested in Budapest near parliament yesterday demanding that the chief prosecutor and Prime Minister Viktor Orban resign after a former government insider accused a senior aide to Orban of attempting to interfere in a graft case. Reuters reports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping today met with U.S. businessmen and scholars, as Beijing seeks to attract overseas investment and bolster its ailing economy. During the meeting, Xi called for more exchange and cooperation between the two countries despite differences and disagreements, according to state-run China Central Television. The Wall Street Journal reports.
Senegal has a new president-elect following Sunday’s election. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a former tax inspector and political newcomer, has vowed to fight corruption and reform the economy. Faye was backed by the popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who had been barred from running due to a prior conviction. Babacar Dione and Jack Thompson report for AP News.
The Brazilian and the French presidents yesterday announced a plan to invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including parts of the rainforest in neighboring French Guiana. In a joint statement, the two countries’ governments said the money will be spread over the next four years to protect the rainforest, in collaboration with state-run Brazilian banks and France’s investment agency. Mauricio Savarese and Sylvie Corbet report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russia sees no chance of Switzerland leading efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said yesterday, after Bern said it plans to host a high-level Ukraine peace conference in the coming months. “As of now, we don’t see any possibility that Switzerland would take the lead and organize something,” said Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. in Geneva. Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber reports for Reuters.
Ukraine has sunk or disabled a third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea in just over two years of war, a spokesperson for the navy told the Associated Press yesterday.
Ukraine’s air force chief said today that Russia launched 13 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight, 10 of which were downed in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kyiv regions. Reuters reports.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Six construction workers are presumed dead after a container ship yesterday hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Rescue efforts have been called off and investigators are now hoping to board the vessel to retrieve its data recorder. BBC News reports.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
The judge overseeing Former President Trump’s upcoming hush money trial in Manhattan issued a limited gag order yesterday barring him from discussing witnesses and other people involved in the case. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote that Trump’s history of “prior extrajudicial statements establishes a sufficient risk to the administration of justice,” in a move which could curtail some of Trump’s public comments during his presidential campaign. Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post.