Monday Briefing: A Deadly Strike on the Israel-Lebanon Border
Fears of war between Israel and Lebanon after a deadly strike
Western diplomats were scrambling to prevent a surge of fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border after a rocket from Lebanon killed at least 12 children and teenagers at a soccer field in an Israeli-controlled town on Saturday.
It was the deadliest assault on Israeli-controlled territory since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging missile and rocket fire in October, and Israel retaliated early yesterday with strikes across Lebanon. The Israeli response was short of a major escalation, but fears remained that the fallout from the rocket launch would lead to all-out war.
A spokeswoman for the National Security Council said in a statement that Hezbollah had organized the attack. U.S. officials asked Lebanon’s government to relay a message to Hezbollah to show restraint in the face of a further Israeli response, according to Lebanon’s foreign minister. Hezbollah denied that it was responsible.
For now, Israeli officials say that they are still open to a diplomatic resolution. A spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday that a full-scale war could still be averted through the enforcement of a never-implemented U.N. resolution from 2006 that would create a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon.
Venezuelans vote in a pivotal election
Over a generation, the Venezuelan socialist movement known as Chavismo has shattered the country’s democracy, decimated the economy and created one of the largest migrant crises in the world. In an election yesterday, the movement faced a robust challenge.
Nicolás Maduro, the president and the successor to the movement’s founder, Hugo Chávez, has a long history of crafting elections in his favor. His opponent is a former diplomat, Edmundo González, who is essentially the surrogate candidate for María Corina Machado, a hard-charging former lawmaker who was barred from the election.
Campaign events held by Machado have taken on the feeling of mass pilgrimages, and polls show high enthusiasm for González. But the outcome of the election is anyone’s guess, and the entire nation is on edge. Results could come as soon as this morning, but probably much later.
Texts show when officers spotted Trump’s would-be assassin
At 4:26 p.m., nearly 100 minutes before former President Donald Trump was almost assassinated on July 13, a local countersniper who was leaving his security detail shift texted his colleagues about a young man sitting on a picnic table: “He knows you guys are up there.”
The message, obtained exclusively by The Times, revealed that law enforcement was aware of the would-be assassin about half an hour earlier than previously known.
At 5:38 p.m., pictures of the man, Thomas Crooks, were shared in a group chat, and another text went out among the officers: “I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.”
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