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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel launched an “extensive” air and ground offensive in Gaza over the weekend that Israeli officials said is aimed at pushing Hamas to demilitarize and release the remaining hostages. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, Israeli strikes killed more than 300 people and injured more than 1,000 others since Thursday and shuttered the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday described the situation in the territory as “beyond inhumane.” Wyre Davies and Rushdi Abualouf report for BBC News; Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jeremy Diamond, Ibrahim Dahman, and Eyad Kourdi report for CNN; Mostafa Salem, Eugenia Yosef, Ibrahim Dahman, Kara Fox, and Dana Karni report for CNN.
The Israeli Security Cabinet yesterday decided to resume limited transfers of aid to Gaza through the existing U.N.-backed channels until a new humanitarian provision mechanism starts working, according to two senior Israeli officials and a U.N. spokesperson. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “due to an operational need,” Israel would “allow a basic amount of food” into the territory “to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in Gaza.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
Hamas launched its Oct. 7 2023 attack on Israel to derail negotiations intended to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to the minutes of a high-level meeting the Israeli military claimed it discovered in a tunnel in Gaza. Hamas did not comment on the authenticity of the document or its contents. Marcus Walker and Summer Said report for the Wall Street Journal.
Israel’s strike targeting Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar last week likely killed him, according to a senior Israeli official. Hamas has not confirmed Sinwar’s status. Carrie Keller-Lynn and Summer Said report for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
White House Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff has given Israel and Hamas an updated proposal for a Gaza deal and is pressing them to accept it, sources say. Indirect talks between the two parties resumed on Saturday and include discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal proposal, Netanyahu’s office said yesterday. According to senior Israeli officials, the talks have yielded little progress so far. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Reuters reports.
The U.S. embassy in Libya yesterday denied a report that the U.S. government was working on a plan to relocate as many as one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya in exchange for releasing Libya’s frozen funds. Reuters reports; Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee, and Gordon Lubold report.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Trump on Saturday announced that he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and key NATO leaders today to stop the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. Ali Bianco reports for POLITICO.
Vice President JD Vance met with Zelenskyy in Rome yesterday in what Zelenskyy described as a “good meeting.” Neither side described the details of the discussions that took place. Jeremy Roebuck, John Hudson, and Mariana Alfaro report for the Washington Post.
In an op-ed published on Friday, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said she resigned from her post as she “could no longer in good faith” carry out the Trump administration’s policy of “put[ting] pressure on the victim … rather than the aggressor” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “Peace at any price is not peace at all,” Brink added. Detroit Free Press reports; Marc Santora reports for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directed the U.S. Cyber Command to pause all its operations regarding Russia for a day earlier this year as a negotiating tactic, House Armed Services Committee cyber subcommittee Chair Don Bacon (R-NE) confirmed Friday. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia has launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion yesterday, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that the drone strikes killed one person in the Kyiv region and injured at least three others. Danai Nesta Kupemba reports for BBC News.
A Russian drone strike on a minibus evacuating the residents of Ukraine’s Sumy region killed nine civilians and injured seven others on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, describing the attack as a “cynical war crime.” Isobel Koshiw and Serhiy Morgunov report for the Washington Post.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners each during the two countries’ first direct peace talks since the start of the war on Friday. While the exchange would amount to the largest prisoner swap of the conflict, the negotiators failed to agree to a temporary ceasefire or a meeting between the two countries’ leaders. Paul Sonne, Safak Timur, and Maria Varenikova report for the New York Times.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
In a weekend of European elections, the centrist, pro-European Nicuşor Dan dealt a surprise upset to the right-wing nationalist George Simion in Romania, as Portugal’s governing right-of-centre Democratic Alliance emerged victorious in snap parliamentary elections while falling short of a majority. In Poland’s first-round presidential runoff, Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski placed first with a slim lead, setting up a tight race against the nationalist Law and Justice’s candidate Karol Nawrocki. William Booth, Catherine Belton, and Madalin Necsutu report for the Washington Post; Alison Roberts reports for BBC News; Adrianna Ebert and Karl Badohal report for Reuters.
International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan will step down temporarily pending an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, the Court’s press office confirmed. Jeanna Smialek reports for the New York Times.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, last week announced an inquiry into “credible reports” that Indian authorities expelled Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, in some cases by casting them into the sea from naval vessels. Suhasini Raj reports for the New York Times.
The United Kingdom and the European Union today reached a tentative agreement on a number of issues, including defense and security, ahead of a summit later today intended to constitute the most significant reset of ties between the two parties since Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc. Reuters reports.
SYRIA
The World Bank on Friday announced that it had cleared Syria’s $15.5 million debt after payments by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a development that “will allow the World Bank Group to re-engage with” Damascus. Euan Ward reports for the New York Times.
Israeli and Syrian officials have recently held rare direct talks, according to an Israeli source. It is not clear who participated in the talks or what was discussed. Lauren Izso and Tim Lister report for CNN.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former President Biden has been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and is reviewing treatment options with his family, Biden’s personal office announced yesterday. In a social media post, Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump were “saddened” by Biden’s diagnosis. Kelly O’Donnell, Yamiche Alcindor, Megan Lebowitz, and Nnamdi Egwuonwu report for NBC News.
The man suspected of carrying out the Saturday bombing of a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic was a 25-year-old with “nihilistic ideations,” officials said yesterday, describing the attack, which killed the perpetrator, as “an intentional act of terrorism.” Praveena Somasundaram and Jeremy Roebuck report for the Washington Post.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States’ “clear red line” is Tehran giving up all enrichment of nuclear fuel in any deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Special Envoy Witkoff said yesterday. Within hours, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Witkoff’s demand, accusing the U.S. of trying to negotiate the deal in public. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times.
The United States may impose tariffs by region and not on a country-by-country basis, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday, with the Trump administration apparently curtailing its 90-deals-in-90-days ambition. Ben Berkowitz reports for Axios.
The United States will begin discussions to reduce U.S. troop presence in Europe later this year, U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Friday. No decisions have been made as of yet, Whitaker added. Andrius Sytas reports for Reuters.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio today held their first formal meeting with Pope Leo XIV. John Hudson, Anthony Faiola, and Michelle Boorstein report for the Washington Post.
U.S. aid cuts left food that could supply 3.5 million people for a month mouldering in warehouses around the world, as some of the supplies risk becoming unusable as early as July, sources say. Jessica Donati, Emma Farge, Ammu Kannampilly, and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Justice Department is considering a proposal to allow federal prosecutors to indict members of Congress without approval from lawyers in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, according to a DOJ spokesperson and sources. The proposal would also remove the requirement for prosecutors to consult with the unit during key steps of probes into public officials. If adopted, the changes to DOJ’s policies would remove a layer of review intended to ensure that cases against public officials are legally sound and not politically motivated. Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck report for the Washington Post.
Director of National Intelligence’s top aide, Joe Kent, ordered a National Intelligence Council analyst to “rethink” their assessment of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and the Tren de Aragua gang after the analyst’s initial findings contradicted the White House’s justification for deporting migrants, sources say. After re-examining the evidence, the council affirmed its analysis, the sources add. Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman, and Charlie Savage report for the New York Times.
The Government Accountability Office on Friday said it has rejected a request from DOGE to “assign a team” to the century-old financial watchdog agency. In its statement, the GAO said it is a ”legislative branch agency” and “not subject to executive orders.” DOGE also recently attempted to assign a team to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, which also denied the group’s request, congressional sources say. David A. Fahrenthold and Tony Romm report for the New York Times; Katherine Tully-McManus reports for POLITICO.
The Social Security Administration is ending a DOGE-backed phone fraud check, SSA leaders confirmed on Friday. According to SSA employees, the measure had identified only a couple of potential fraud cases while causing significant delays. Hannah Natanson, Lisa Rein and Meryl Kornfield report for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration’s push for early retirement of federal staffers and waves of dismissals are fueling an unprecedented exodus of senior leaders and experts across the government, according to interviews with 18 employees across 10 agencies and records reviewed by the Washington Post. Hannah Natanson, Dan Diamond, Rachel Siegel, Jacob Bogage, and Ian Duncan report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court on Friday extended its block on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to deport migrants detained in northern Texas, ruling that administration officials had not given individuals sufficient time and information to challenge their removal. The Court did not address the wider question of whether the government can legally invoke the wartime statute to target alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, remanding the case to an appeals court for further proceedings. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court order that temporarily prevented the Trump administration from implementing a directive to end many federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. In a 2-1 ruling, the court held that there was insufficient evidence that the claimant, the National Treasury Employees Union, faced irreparable harm that would justify the preliminary injunction. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge on Friday extended her earlier ruling temporarily blocking the Health and Human Services department from terminating $11 billion in public health grants set aside for states, finding that the funding terminations would cause a range of harms. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
In a late Friday court filing, the Trump administration acknowledged that its defense to a claim filed by a Guatemalan man the administration deported to Mexico was based on erroneous information. The government had previously claimed that the man told an official that he did not fear persecution if sent to Mexico. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
The DOJ on Friday said that it had reached a settlement ending litigation filed by the Biden administration in a bid to block the sales of the forced-reset trigger, a device that allows gun owners to fire semi-automatic weapons at great speed. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
FEATURED IMAGE: WASHINGTON – JANUARY 23: Clouds move as the sun sets against the west front of the United States Capitol building January 23, 2007 in Washington, DC. U.S. President George W. Bush is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union speech before a joint meeting of Congress at 9:00 PM Eastern. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
