Early Edition: February 23, 2024

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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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed yesterday to send Israeli negotiators to Paris today for new hostage deal discussions with CIA Director Bill Burns, the Qatari Prime Minister, and the Egyptian spy chief, an Israeli official and a source with direct knowledge told Axios. The decision follows pressure from the Biden administration and internal pressure from the Israeli war cabinet, with President Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk urging officials yesterday to send a delegation to negotiate after some progress was made with Hamas. Israel’s war cabinet yesterday “approved sending the delegation and also gave negotiators a mandate to negotiate and not only listen like in the previous round of talks,” an Israeli official said. 

Netanyahu’s plan for post-war Gaza does not bar a role for the Palestinian Authority and stresses that Israel will only allow reconstruction to occur after the enclave is demilitarized, according to a document released yesterday. According to the plan, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will indefinitely maintain operational freedom across the entire Gaza Strip, with Israel creating a “security zone” within Gaza’s territory bordering Israel for “as long as there is a security need for it.” Israel will also control the Egypt-Gaza border, operating “as much as possible in cooperation with Egypt and with the assistance of the United States.” The Gaza Strip would be completely demilitarized except for weapons “necessary to maintain public order,” the document says, and reconstruction would be “carried out with the financing and leadership of countries acceptable to Israel.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Israeli airstrikes have targeted police officers guarding U.N. aid convoys into Gaza in recent weeks, causing the volume of aid delivery to collapse and exposing staff to criminal gangs and looting, U.N. officials said. An average of only 62 trucks have entered Gaza each day over the past two weeks, according to figures by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, well below the 200 trucks per day Israel has committed to facilitating.

Israel’s far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich called for tighter restrictions on Palestinians and new settlements following a fatal shooting yesterday by three Palestinians at an Israeli checkpoint in Jerusalem. In response, Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir said the “freedom of life of the citizens of Israel prevails over the freedom of movement of the residents of the [Palestinian Authority].” Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, called for Netnayahu to approve a plan to build housing units in the West Bank as retribution for the attack. Doha Madani reports for NBC News.

Conditions at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis were rapidly deteriorating yesterday as Israeli forces reinvaded the hospital following a brief withdrawal earlier in the day, the Hamas-run health ministry said. The ministry added that 13 patients who had died from the lack of power and oxygen in recent days had been buried within the hospital complex. Anushka Patil reports for the New York Times.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has “reached breaking point,” its commissioner Phillippe Lazzarini said yesterday, due to “Israel’s repeated calls to dismantle UNRWA and the freezing of funding by donors at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza.” Doha Madani reports for NBC News.

The crisis in Gaza is “inhumane” and the enclave is a “death zone,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday. “We need a cease-fire now. We need hostages to be released. We need the bombs to stop dropping, and we need unfettered humanitarian access. Humanity must prevail,” he told a media briefing. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE

Egypt has built more than 3 kilometers of wall in the past week in addition to further clearing over 16 square miles next to its border with Gaza, BBC Verify has found. Egypt has previously denied it is making plans to house Palestinian refugees and said the area is intended as a “logistical hub” for aid. Jake Horton and Daniele Palumbo reports for BBC News.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE

The U.S. opposition to an immediate ceasefire came under repeated criticism during yesterday’s meeting of the G-20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, the host of this year’s annual gathering, began the meeting by decrying the “paralysis” at the U.N. Security Council, which saw Washington veto a third resolution for an immediate ceasefire earlier this week. Australia also warned of “further devastation” that could result from Israel’s “unjustifiable” looming invasion of Rafah. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that despite strong disagreements on an immediate ceasefire, he viewed the G-20 as largely united when it comes to goals in the conflict. John Hudson reports for the Washington Post.

The U.S. intelligence community has no reason to doubt Israel’s claims that some UNWRA employees were Hamas members and participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, but it lacks independent information, according to officials familiar with the matter. The officials said Washington is not in a position to verify the allegations with a high degree of confidence. Shane Harris and Karen DeYoung report for the Washington Post.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

A legal adviser to China’s foreign ministry told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today that Palestinians have the “legitimate” right to use force against Israel. “In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and to complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right,” Ma Xinmin said on the fourth day of hearings on the legality of Israeli’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Larissa Gao reports for NBC News.

MILITARY CONFLICT WITH HOUTHIS

U.S. forces shot down six Houthi drones in the Red Sea today identified as “an imminent threat” “likely targeting U.S. and coalition warships,” U.S. Central Command confirmed. A U.K.-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden was also attacked today after the Yemen group fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles, the statement said. Houthi officials released a statement confirming the attack on the British ship and claiming to have targeted a U.S. destroyer. The group also said it “launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones” at the city of Eilat in Israel. Doha Madani reports for NBC News.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

President Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow and daughter in San Francisco yesterday to express his condolences after the Russian opposition leader’s team said that the official death certificate recorded his death in prison as being due to “natural causes.” Navalny’s family and his team say he was murdered and that authorities have refused to release his body to cover up any evidence. Robyn Dixon reports for the Washington Post.

U.S. law enforcement officials conducted a multi-year inquiry into allegations that allies of Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, met with and took millions of dollars from drug cartels after he took office, according to U.S. records and three people familiar with the matter. The inquiry uncovered information indicating potential links between cartel operatives and Mexican officials close to the president while he was in power, but authorities never opened a formal investigation into Obrador, and the inquiry was ultimately shelved. Obrador called the allegations “completely false” yesterday and said the news of the inquiry would not “in any way” affect Mexico’s relationship with the United States, but said he expected a response from the U.S. government. Alan Feuer and Natalie Kitroeff report for the New York Times.

The United States will impose sanctions on over 500 targets, including Russian military industrial complexes and companies, as Washington seeks to hold Russia accountable for the war in Ukraine and the death of Alexei Navalny. Daphne Psaledakis, Andrea Shalal and David Lawder report for Reuters.

The Biden administration yesterday warned Iran of a “swift and severe” response from the international community if Tehran provided ballistic missiles to Russia, following reports this week that the Islamic Republic had shipped weapons to Moscow. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Washington has yet to see confirmation that missiles have been shipped from Tehran to Moscow. “We will take this matter to the U.N. Security Council,” Kirby added. “We will implement additional sanctions against Iran. And we will coordinate further response options with our allies and partners in Europe and elsewhere.” Humeyra Pamuk reports for Reuters.

Russia will contact Armenia after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country has frozen Moscow’s participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation because the pact failed to protect Yerevan. Pashinyan has previously expressed discontent over Armenia’s longstanding ties with Russia and said Armenia could no longer rely on Russia to support its defense needs. Reuters reports. 

A private lander made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years yesterday, the company that built and managed the craft, Intuitive Machines, has confirmed. Marcia Dunn reports for AP News.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall said yesterday that he will end his term in April as expected, but did not provide a new date for the presidential election originally scheduled for Sunday. Sall had postponed the elections for 10 months citing unresolved disputes over who could run, but Senegal’s Constitutional Court struck down the move as illegal. Sam Mednick and Babacar Dione report for AP News.

Hungary will sign a defense industry deal with Sweden and “lay down some goals about military cooperation,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said ahead of a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ukf Kristersson in Budapest today. The announcement comes as Hungary prepares to finally ratify Sweden’s NATO accession bid. Krisztina Than reports for Reuters. 

Somalia will “defend itself” if Ethiopia proceeds with plans to create a naval base in Somaliland and possibly recognize the territory as an independent state. “If Ethiopia insists, Somalia will resist and will refuse,” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said this week. “If they come into the country, Somalia will do everything that it can to defend itself.” Giulia Paravicini reports for Reuters.

China aims to “contain interference from external forces” over Taiwan and “resolutely combat” any efforts toward the island’s formal independence this year, Chinese state media reported today. Reuters reports.

A U.S. congressional delegation led by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei yesterday in a show of support for Taiwan. “The United States, Democrats and Republicans, stands with Taiwan, for your freedom and for ours,” Gallagher said. Jennifer Jett reports for NBC News.

The Taliban carried out a double public execution at a stadium in southeastern Afghanistan yesterday, marking the third and fourth public executions since the Taliban took power in 2021. Two men were convicted of stabbing to death two victims in separate attacks. Relatives of the victims fired guns at the two men while thousands of people watched. AP News reports.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine today to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Congress will deliver a further round of U.S. aid amid a stalled $60 billion package in the U.S. House. Ahead of the trip, Schumer said he plans to tell Ukrainian officials that “we’re going to win this fight, and America is not abandoning them.” Mary Clare Jalonick reports for AP News.

TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS

Former President Trump’s legal team filed multiple motions yesterday urging a federal judge in Florida to dismiss a case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents, arguing in part that presidential immunity protects Trump from prosecution. Attorneys Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche wrote that the charges “turn on his alleged decision to designate records as personal under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and to cause the records to be moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.” They also argued that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of special counsel Jack Smith to investigate the prosecution case was “unlawful” and grounds for dismissing the documents case. AP News reports. 

New York Justice Arthur Engoron rejected Trump’s request to postpone enforcement of a $355 million judgment in the civil fraud trial over his business practices. Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.