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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
Israel has agreed to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the coming days as part of an accord negotiated with the European Union, Israeli and EU officials said on Thursday. The agreement encompasses a substantial increase in daily supplies, as well as the reopening of several aid routes, a source said. An Israeli official said that there was no formal agreement with the EU, but Israel decided independently to increase aid to Gaza during a cabinet meeting last Saturday. Separately, a U.N. spokesperson yesterday announced that a U.N. team got about 75,000 litres of fuel into Gaza on Wednesday, the first such delivery in 130 days. Andrea Palasciano reports for Bloomberg News; Natan Odenheimer, Jeanna Smialek, and Isabel Kershner report for the New York Times; Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
An Israeli strike near a clinic in central Gaza killed at least 18 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, who were queueing to receive treatment for malnutrition and illnesses, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah said yesterday. The U.S.-based Project Hope aid group, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said that it targeted a “Hamas terrorist” and that it regrets any harm to “uninvolved individuals.” David Gritten reports for BBC News; Adam Rasgon and Natan Odenheimer report for the New York Times.
The Israeli military’s legal branch and some of the country’s leading lawyers are raising concerns that Defense Minister Israel Katz’s plan to move hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed-off area in Rafah could expose Israel to accusations of forced displacement and internment of civilians, both illegal under international law, according to military officials. A group of military lawyers and other officers met with military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir this week to explain the problems with the plan, the officials added. Dov Lieber and Feliz Solomon report for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Senior U.S., Israeli, and Qatari officials on Tuesday held secret talks in the White House that focused on the lines to which the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw during a 60-day truce, the key remaining sticking point in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, sources say. The debate on the issue helped produce clear progress on that front, the sources add. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese yesterday said that she was “shocked” by learning that the Trump administration has sanctioned her and that the move was “not a sign of power” but “a sign of guilt,” adding that the powerful were trying to silence her for defending those without any power of their own. Separately, a U.N. spokesperson called the imposition of sanctions on Albanese “unacceptable.” Amer Cohadzic reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The United States is “sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100% […] and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons [to Ukraine],” President Trump told NBC News yesterday. He added that the deal was reached at a NATO summit last month. Alexandra Marquez and Steve Kopack report.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said he expressed frustration with Russia over the lack of progress in peace talks on Ukraine in a “frank” conversation with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Rubio added that he would talk to U.S. officials about new ideas he and Lavrov discussed during the meeting. Separately, Trump yesterday said that he “thinks [he will] have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” without elaborating further. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times; Daphne Psaledakis reports for Reuters; Alexandra Marquez and Steve Kopack report for NBC News.
Countries participating in the “coalition of the willing” yesterday agreed to set up a headquarters in Paris for rapid deployment of troops participating in the newly-christened Multinational Force Ukraine peacekeeping effort after the end of Russia’s hostilities on Ukraine. The coalition’s meeting was attended by a U.S. delegation for the first time, with Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-NY) in attendance. Separately, the European Commission yesterday announced 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in loans and grants to support Ukraine’s reconstruction effort. Nicole Winfield reports for AP News; Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A gunman yesterday killed a Ukraine domestic intelligence agency (SBU) officer in a daytime attack in a Kyiv parking lot, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukrainian officials would not speculate on Russia’s possible involvement, and the agency said that it is investigating the killing. Michael Schwirtz reports for the New York Times.
A Kremlin spokesperson yesterday said that Russia did not think peace talks on Ukraine had stalled due to Trump’s remarks on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intransigence and resumed U.S. weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Reuters reports.
IRAN
Israeli intelligence officers have concluded that some of Iran’s underground stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium survived last month’s U.S. and Israeli strikes and may be accessible to Iranian nuclear engineers, according to a senior Israeli official. The official added that any attempts by Iran to recover it would almost certainly be detected and could prompt renewed Israeli strikes. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The International Criminal Court has reasonable grounds to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are continuing to take place in Sudan’s Darfur region, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the U.N. Security Council yesterday, citing the court’s “independent investigations.” Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
The U.N. sanctions monitors have seen no “active ties” between Al-Qaeda and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group leading Syria’s interim government, according to a report set to be published later this month seen by Reuters. Michelle Nichols reports.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament tabled by a far-right faction. Laura Gozzi reports for BBC News.
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
EU officials yesterday unveiled a new “code of practice” that will mandate makers of the most powerful AI to improve transparency, limit copyright violations, and protect public safety. The rules, which will become enforceable next year, apply only to a small number of tech companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google that make so-called general-purpose AI and represent the first concrete details about the EU’s plans to enforce the bloc’s AI Act. Adam Satariano reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Starting next month, Canadian goods imported into the United States will face a blanket 35% tariff, Trump said yesterday. In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing the move, Trump criticized Canada for what he called its “failure” to prevent drugs from being smuggled into the United States. Trump’s announcement came in the midst of active trade negotiations between the two countries. Seb Starcevic reports for POLITICO.
Trump also said yesterday that he plans to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on trade partners who do not conclude a trade deal with the United States. Alexandra Marquez and Steve Kopack report for NBC News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio today met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Rubio yesterday said that he planned to speak to Wang about Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Adam Taylor reports for the Washington Post.
Decades of progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS are in danger of collapsing due to funding cuts, and in particular the sudden withdrawal of U.S. funding, the U.N. Aids Agency warned in its annual report yesterday. UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, warned that “we could have four million additional AIDS-related deaths” in the next four years if the funding gap is not addressed. Kate Bartlett reports for NPR.
The State Department will start issuing layoff notices to employees “in the coming days,” Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Riggs told staff yesterday in a memo seen by the Washington Post. The document did not detail how many employees would be let go. John Hudson reports.
Trump yesterday nominated Nick Adams, a right-wing influencer with a history of Islamophobic remarks who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2021, to be the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
In a series of coordinated agency statements, the Trump administration yesterday announced it would exclude undocumented immigrants from enrolling in Head Start preschools, community health centers, and other federal benefits. Although undocumented migrants are already ineligible for most federal benefits, the move removes undocumented children’s access to Head Start, which has historically accepted children regardless of their immigration status. Laura Meckler, David Ovalle, and Brianna Tucker report for the Washington Post; Maya Goldman reports for Axios.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former Justice Department attorney, Erez Reuveni, has given Congress a cache of internal communications supporting his allegations that U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General and federal judicial nominee Emil Bove discussed means of defying court orders, documents released yesterday show. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times; Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday voted 15-14 to block the funding for the Trump administration’s plan to keep the FBI headquarters in downtown D.C., with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) breaking party lines to vote for Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) amendment. Erin Cox reports for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Threat bulletins issued by the Homeland Security Department to local police forces urge officers to consider a range of nonviolent behavior and common protest gear, such as masks, flashlights, and cameras, as potential precursors of violence. The guidance tells police forces to prepare for protests “from the point of view of an adversary” and suggests that livestreaming or sharing information about protests should be considered methods of “surveillance sharing” and “threatening” police. A senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said that the government should not treat citizens’ constitutionally protected activities, such as documenting police action, as threats. Dell Cameron reports for WIRED.
The FBI has stepped up its usage of polygraph testing its employees since FBI Director Kash Patel assumed office, sources say. According to several sources, the number of officials asked to take a polygraph is in the dozens. Typically used to test employees suspected of betraying the country or leaking secrets, the lie detectors have been now used to ask senior employees whether they have said anything negative about Patel or to try to identify staffers who leaked information about Patel’s request to be given a service weapon, the sources add. Adam Goldman reports for the New York Times.
A DOGE staffer recently obtained high-level access to the National Payment Service, a payments system that controls tens of billions of dollars in government payments and loans to farmers and ranchers, according to internal access logs reviewed by NPR. A U.S. Agriculture Department employee said the staffer’s level of permissions goes against normal access protocols, with no other individual at the agency holding a similar level of control. Jenna McLaughlin reports.
The DOJ yesterday announced that its Civil Rights Division is investigating Minnesota for possible hiring discrimination over a policy that hiring supervisors at the Minnesota Department of Human Services provide a “hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate.” Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
Trump’s budget plan for next fiscal year is set to gut federal science funding by a third, or $44 billion, with particularly severe cuts to the category of basic research that seek to advance scientific breakthroughs, according to an analysis published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Wednesday. William J. Broad reports for the New York Times.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week abruptly canceled a meeting of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force with no explanation, several sources say. The task force helps determine which preventive health measures must be covered fully by insurance companies. Andrew Jacobs reports for the New York Times.
Firings with no explanation or warning across the Justice Department and FBI have created speculation and fear within the workforce over who might be terminated next, sources say, adding that scores of experienced staffers are opting to voluntarily leave to avoid being fired at random or asked to do things that would potentially violate legal ethics. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday issued a preliminary injunction for a nationwide class, temporarily blocking the Trump administration from enforcing Trump’s executive order purporting to limit birthright citizenship. Zach Montague and Pat Grossmith report for the New York Times.
Mahmoud Khalil yesterday filed a claim for $20 million in damages against the Trump administration, alleging the government has falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted, and smeared him as an antisemite in its drive to deport Khalil over his role in pro-Palestine campus protests. Khalil said he would also accept instead of the payment an official apology from the administration and changes to its deportation policies. Jake Offenhartz reports for AP News.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
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The post Early Edition: July 11, 2025 appeared first on Just Security.
