CIA Director William J. Burns and Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea met on Tuesday in Egypt to continue negotiations for a possible hostage-release deal. Many Gazans are attempting to flee Rafah, ahead of an expected full-scale Israeli military operation in the southern city where about 1.4 million people are sheltering.
The Senate passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, overcoming the objections of a growing number of Republicans who opposed spending so much money abroad. The bill now goes to the GOP-controlled House, where it faces an uncertain fate.
The Israeli strikes that lit up the night in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Monday sent pulses of fear through the 1.4 million Palestinians for whom that strip of land has become a shelter of last resort.
Russian forces are using SpaceX’s satellite internet system near the front line in occupied parts of Ukraine, which uses Starlink for military communications in its war with Russia, said on Sunday that Russian troops were using Starlink in occupied areas as the full-scale war with Russia nears the two-year mark.
A campaign ad for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was aired during the Super Bowl, released by the American Values 2024 political action committee, which raised eyebrows for more reasons than one.
President Biden called Israel’s military conduct in the Gaza Strip “over the top,” his sharpest rebuke yet and the latest critical comment from a U.S. official in recent days. “A lot of innocent people are in trouble, and they’re dying, and it’s got to stop,” President Biden, who has generally avoided criticizing the U.S. ally, said Thursday. In Gaza, airstrikes hit Rafah overnight.
