 Defense &
National Security |
Defense &
National Security |
|
|
US hopes for Gaza cease-fire dwindle despite pressure campaign |
President Biden's hopes for brokering a cease-fire before leaving office are looking increasingly distant, even as the White House ramps up pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement in cease-fire talks. |
© Sergio Flores, Yousef Masoud and Ting Shen, Getty Images |
"It's getting harder," Biden said Wednesday when asked if a cease-fire deal was becoming a more distant possibility, while traveling in New Orleans. "I'm not giving up." But military action is outpacing and undermining intensive efforts at diplomacy. Iran is expected this week to launch a retaliatory attack against Israel for the alleged assassination of a top Hamas political official in Tehran on July 31, and Israel drew global condemnation with a strike Saturday on a school compound where Palestinians were sheltering, killing dozens. Israel said it was targeting Hamas militants. While Biden is deploying intensive diplomatic efforts to calm tensions in the region, momentum in Gaza seems to be moving in the wrong direction with about five months left in his presidency, with both Israel and Hamas reportedly making new demands in recent weeks. Hamas has so far rejected participating in the talks, set to resume Thursday, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of changing the goalposts of the cease-fire terms, and furious over the Israeli military operation over the weekend. State Department press secretary Vedant Patel said Tuesday that Qatar had assured the U.S. that "they will work to have Hamas represented." Netanyahu, who has confirmed a delegation to the talks, has rejected Hamas's characterizations that it had introduced new terms, though The New York Times reviewed documents that seem to support those claims. Also hanging over the talks is Iran's threat to launch a retaliatory strike against Israel, with analysts predicting Iran and its proxies — particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon — will coordinate a large-scale, multifront attack consisting of drones and missiles. But Iran is also sending signals that it could hold back its retaliation in favor of the cease-fire talks, with three unnamed Iranian sources telling Reuters that only a cease-fire can stop a military attack on Israel. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Biden said it's his expectation that Iran will hold off its retaliatory strike in favor of the cease-fire talks. "We'll see what Iran does. We'll see what happens." Read the full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
|
|
How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
|
|
A majority of voters said the most important issues to them are those involving the economy and immigration, according to a new poll. The Economist/YouGov poll, conducted Aug. 11-13, found 54 percent of voters said the most important issues to them were "inflation/prices," "jobs and the economy," "immigration" and "taxes and government spending." The Department of Labor reported Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI), … |
| |
|
An Iranian-backed cyber group is carrying out an “aggressive, multi-pronged” effort to target the U.S. and Israel and interfere with the American presidential election, Google analysts said in a Wednesday blog post. The group, APT42, is associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has consistently targeted high-ranking U.S. and Israeli officials, including current and former government ones, Google … |
| |
|
Ukraine's military targeted Russian air bases Tuesday night with a barrage of missiles and drones, part of a continued push into Kremlin territory that began last week. Kyiv's attacks, which hit Russia's Kursk region, were praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "precise, timely and effective." An official at the Security Service of Ukraine told Politico the move was Ukraine's largest attack on Russian … |
| |
|
An open letter signed by more than 1,000 veterans and military family members bashed former President Trump and his vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) for their "politically motivated attacks" on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's (D) military record. "JD Vance's recent comments attacking Governor Walz’s service record are disrespectful and deeply disappointing, especially given Vance's own service — which … |
| |
|
Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
- Vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) will deliver remarks in New Kensington, Pa., on the U.S. military and veteran issues tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
|
|
|
Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
|
|
Jan. 6 rioter who attacked police with a pole gets 20 years in prison |
A California man prosecutors say “viciously assaulted and injured police officers” at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was on Friday sentenced to 20 years in prison, one of the longest terms handed down in connection with the attack. David Nicholas Dempsey pleaded guilty in January to two … |
|
|
Events in and around the defense world: |
- The Potomac Officers Club will hold its 2024 Navy Summit, with Nickolas Guertin, assistant Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition, and Franklin Parker, assistant Navy secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, at 8 a.m.
- Hudson Institute will host a talk on "One Year after Camp David: How Durable Are Trilateral (U.S., Japan and South Korean) Ties?" at 10 a.m.
- The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft will have a virtual book discussion on "Illusions of Control: Dilemmas in Managing U.S. Proxy Forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria," at 12 p.m.
|
|
|
News we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Eight US troops injured in attack on base in Syria (Military Times)
- Marines and sailors ordered to brush up on appropriate political activity amid heated election (Military.com)
|
|
|
Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
|
|
Voters have seen Trump's politics of rage and division before, and they are eager for something — anything — new. Read more |
| Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) hit back at Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-Ohio) attacks on his military record Tuesday, as the battle between the two vice … Read more |
|
|
Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
|
|
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 |
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment