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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
The Israeli military continued its raid in the occupied West Bank for a second straight day yesterday, killing at least five, including a commander who led the local branch of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa said 17 people had been killed in all Israeli raids since Wednesday. Victoria Kim, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, and Raja Abdulrahim report for the New York Times.
The World Health Organization yesterday reached an agreement with Israel to temporarily pause fighting in Gaza to allow for the distribution of polio vaccines. The campaign will begin on Sunday, with a “humanitarian pause” lasting from 6am to 3pm local time for three days, and aim to vaccinate 640,000 children under 10 years old. Israel has emphasized the move is not the first step to a ceasefire. Edith Lederer reports for AP News.
Relatives of Israeli hostages rushed toward the Gaza border yesterday before turning back at the request of Israeli security forces, in their latest high-profile protest demanding a ceasefire. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – U.S. RESPONSE
Israel told the United States it blamed Tuesday’s incident in which Israeli troops fired at a marked World Food Program vehicle on “a communications error” between military units. “[T]he simple fact is, almost eleven months into this conflict,” such incidents “remain all too common,” U.S. Amb. Robert Wood told the U.N. Security Council yesterday. The New York Times reports.
A leaked U.S. Embassy memo, obtained by NPR, shows that Washington is urging Israel’s military to stop mass evacuations orders driving the repeated displacement of Gazan civilians. For the first time since the war began, Israel’s military yesterday withdrew evacuation orders and said civilians could return to their homes in an area of central Gaza. Kat Lonsdorf, Daniel Estrin, and Hadeel Al-Shalchi report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called on Israel to immediately halt its operation in the West Bank, saying it was “fuelling an already explosive situation”. Alex Smith and Mallory Moench report for BBC News.
E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell yesterday proposed sanctioning Israeli ministers for hate speech and incitement to war crimes. Mared Gwyn Jones reports for Euronews; Al Jazeera reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian forces struck two oil depots inside Russia overnight, while Moscow yesterday launched its third major aerial attack on Ukraine this week, the latest strikes by both sides on each other’s energy infrastructure. David L. Stern and Ellen Francis report for the Washington Post.
A Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet crashed as it was fending off Russian missiles, killing a star fighter pilot, Ukraine’s military said yesterday. The demise of one of Ukraine’s top pilots as well as one of its few F-16 jets is a blow for the military as it seeks to gain momentum against Russia. Bryan Pietsch reports for the Washington Post.
Russian forces yesterday captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s defense ministry said its troops had seized control of Mykolaivka near the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, and Stelmakhivka in Lugansk. The Telegraph reports.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba yesterday said as he visited Brussels that Ukraine’s successes in Kursk show it is capable of “prevailing on the battlefield.” “We need more bold decisions to capitalize on this momentum,” he stressed, urging E.U. allies to expedite deliveries of promised air defense systems. The Guardian reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia next week, the Kremlin said yesterday, despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest. AP News reports.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will travel to Ukraine next week to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the agency said yesterday.
A military court in Moscow yesterday placed former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov in detention on fraud charges, in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Lucy Papachristou reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Japan has issued its highest-level alert to more than five million people after the country was hit by Typhoon Shanshan, one of its strongest typhoons in decades. At least four people have been killed and more than 90 injured. Nick Marsh and Kelly Ng report for BBC News.
Oil exports in Libya were halted yesterday due to a standoff between rival political factions over the country’s central bank. The dispute threatens to end four years of relative calm in the country. Ayman Al-Warfali reports for Reuters.
Elon Musk’s X refused to meet Brazil’s 24-hour deadline to name a legal representative in the country. The platform is bracing for a country-wide ban in Brazil as a result. Yesterday, Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink said it had received an order from Moraes that “freezes Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions” in the country.
Hannah Murphy and Bryan Harris report for the Financial Times.
The German government yesterday proposed a package of tighter security and asylum measures after a deadly stabbing spree linked to Islamic State. Riham Alkousaa reports for Reuters.
The Tunisian Administrative Court yesterday upheld an appeal by presidential candidate Mondher Znaidi, allowing him to return to the upcoming presidential race. It marks the second such ruling this week and could return momentum to the race. Tarek Amara reports for Reuters.
Nigeria and Niger have signed a deal to boost their security cooperation, despite tensions between the countries since Niger’s coup last year. Camillus Eboh reports for Reuters.
HOUTHI ATTACKS
Yemen’s Houthis yesterday released footage showing its fighters setting off blasts on the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea. The vessel was abandoned earlier, after the militant group repeatedly attacked it. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News and PBS.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced that it will resume a migrant sponsorship program that was previously paused due to suspicions of fraud. The program will allow up to 30,000 people into the United States each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela if they meet sponsorship requirements. Ted Hesson and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A former Nevada politician was found guilty of murder on Wednesday for the death of an investigative journalist who wrote critical stories about his time in office. Holly Honderich reports for BBC News.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s internal watchdog found continued shortcomings in the FBI’s handling and investigations of child sexual abuse cases. Ryan Lucas reports for NPR.