Fdd's overnight brief

Israel

As negotiations to halt more than 10 months of fighting in Gaza drag out with no clear breakthrough in sight, U.S. officials see a silver lining: Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah have for now held off on what many feared would be a major retaliatory attack against Israel. – Wall Street Journal

It took Israeli combat engineers hours of nighttime digging deep inside a 650-foot long tunnel in Khan Younis to unearth what they were looking for: the bodies of four men and one woman. All were Israeli hostages who had been kidnapped during a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.  – Wall Street Journal

Hamas directly criticized President Joe Biden on Tuesday, saying his comments that the militant group is “backing away” from a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip caused “great astonishment and disapproval” and demonstrated “blind bias” toward Israel. – Washington Post

The United States on Tuesday disputed a report that cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying he might have convinced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel should keep troops on a border strip between Gaza and Egypt. – Reuters

Israeli central bank chief Amir Yaron has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speed up the process of debating and approving the 2025 state budget, saying financial markets were seeking responsible fiscal policy even during a time of war. – Reuters

Israel’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has recently intensified his rhetoric against the UN and its affiliated bodies. – Jerusalem Post

Israel won’t make a hostage deal at any price Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday in advance of high-level negotiations slated for later this week. – Jerusalem Post

Israeli intelligence has ascertained that powerful Claymore antipersonnel mines have reached the hands of terrorists in the terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria after being smuggled into the area through the border with Jordan. – Arutz Sheva

IAF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the area of Beqaa in Lebanon overnight Tuesday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said. – Arutz Sheva

Editorial: His secretary of state has made an unprecedented nine visits to the region since October 7, a testament to the importance sees in its alliance with Israel. We thank them for standing with Israel and for confirming over the last 24 hours that it’s not Israel that is holding up a deal that would bring some of the hostages back home; it’s Hamas. – Jerusalem Post

Ilan Alon writes: It’s an opportunity to solidify Israel’s place as a leader in the global digital economy while ensuring that the country’s financial system remains secure, transparent, and inclusive. The time for Israel to act is now. The world is watching, and the future of finance is being written in code. Israel should be the one holding the pen. – Jerusalem Post

Russia & Ukraine

In the spring of this year, Moscow’s new military appointee overseeing security in the Kursk province dismantled a council tasked with protecting the vulnerable border region. Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin said the military alone had the strength and the resources to protect Russia’s border, according to an official in Russian security services. – Wall Street Journal

Two weeks after Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia, the Kremlin’s forces have slowed the enemy advance, with the hardening front line in the Kursk region of Russia setting up the next phase of a battle with great political stakes for both sides. – New York Times

Ukraine’s Parliament passed a bill on Tuesday creating a legal path to ban a Russian-aligned branch of the Orthodox church, furthering a long, post-Soviet split between two of the world’s largest Orthodox communities. – New York Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday inspected Chechen troops and volunteers readying to fight Ukraine, the Kremlin said, in what was Putin’s first trip in 13 years to the North Caucasus republic. – Reuters

Russia said on Tuesday its forces had taken control of what it described as the strategically important logistics hub of Niu-York in eastern Ukraine, part of Moscow’s grinding drive to capture the entire Donetsk region. – Reuters

Russia said it summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on Tuesday to protest over what it called the “provocative actions” of American journalists reporting from Russia’s Kursk region. – Reuters

Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on Moscow on Wednesday, the city’s mayor said, with Russian air defence units destroying 11 drones flying towards the capital. – Reuters

Russia hit energy infrastructure in northern Ukraine in an overnight missile and drone attack and caused a huge fire in the west of the country, resulting in an increase in chlorine levels in the air, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday. – Reuters

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a scientist in Moscow on suspicion of treason, it said in a statement on Tuesday. – Reuters

Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia, according to Russian sources, as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia entered its third week Tuesday. – Associated Press

Ukraine and Russia both lack the military assets to mount major offensives against each other, the Pentagon’s intelligence agency said in new assessments that suggests the two sides are headed toward stalemate. – Bloomberg

The Biden administration continues to reiterate its frequent refrain that it supports Ukraine, though it has not lifted restrictions on how Kyiv uses the weapons America provides it as requested. – Washington Examiner

Marc Champion writes: All concerned, including Zelenskiy, know this war will end at the negotiating table. The question is on whose terms. It is up to Western leaders to at last define securing a strong negotiating position for Ukraine as victory, and put together the financial and military strategy to achieve that. They have the means, and they can start by lifting restrictions on those long-range missiles. – Bloomberg

Joseph Bosco writes: A negative lesson that Russia’s war on Ukraine taught is that the threat of economic sanctions is not enough to deter a powerful state intent on aggression and willing to pay a manageable price to achieve its military and political objectives. Only a clear and credible promise of U.S. military intervention would have stayed Putin’s hand, and only that will deter China from attacking or coercing Taiwan. – The Hill

Korean Peninsula

Wanting to halt defections to neighboring South Korea, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has ordered the construction of new border walls, rearmed guard posts and installed more land mines. But North Koreans keep finding creative ways to flee. – Wall Street Journal

Tropical Depression Jongdari moved toward South Korea on Tuesday, threatening to buffet the country with heavy rain and strong winds. – New York Times

South Korean prosecutors are set to clear the wife of President Yoon Suk Yeol of any criminal charge over her receiving a luxury handbag under questionable circumstances, a report said, winding up a probe into a case that has rocked politics. – Bloomberg

Hoshik Nam and Wilder Alejandro Sánchez writes: Besides exploring new export destinations, the defense industry should pursue partnerships with regional countries for joint production. Also, South Korea should continue its successful strategy of donating weapons to expand its potential markets in Latin America. These efforts could provide a more secure market for the South Korean defense industry. – War on the Rocks

South Asia

Three months ago, 26-year-old Nahid Islam was airing his views in online posts about the war in Gaza and alerting followers to a book club discussion. Now the sociology student—who helped lead protests that toppled Bangladesh’s longtime leader, Sheikh Hasina—is the country’s technology and telecom minister, making decisions that affect 170 million people. – Wall Street Journal

When Shafi Naeem noticed internet speeds slowing in Pakistan in recent days, he grew nervous. Then he panicked. The websites that the Karachi-based freelance software designer used to find work would not load. Those that he had built for clients were taking hours longer than usual to upload onto servers — if they uploaded at all. – New York Times

A bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims overturned in central Iran, killing 28 passengers and injuring another 23 people, state media reported on Wednesday. – Reuters

India and Japan agreed on Tuesday to bolster defence and security ties and backed a “common strategic vision” of a free and open Indo-Pacific – a region where both countries have troubled relations with China. – Reuters

The Taliban’s morality ministry dismissed more than 280 members of the security force for failure to grow a beard and detained more than 13,000 people in Afghanistan for “immoral acts” in the past year, officials said on Tuesday. – Reuters

Prime ministers of India and Malaysia sought to reset relations between the two countries on Tuesday as they agreed to boost trade, movement of workers and the use of their own currencies to settle bilateral transactions. – Reuters

Pakistani security forces shot and killed three insurgents who were involved in the recent killing of a senior government administrator in the country’s restive southwest, the military said Tuesday. – Associated Press

Suvra Dev Kar writes: A national reconciliation process to address the root causes of communal violence is also essential. Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. The world is watching. Will we allow the dream of a secular, inclusive nation to be consumed by the fires of hatred, or will we rise from these ashes to build a truly united Bangladesh? The choice is ours, and the time to act is now. – Newsweek 

Hriday Sarma writes: As India continues to navigate its complex regional dynamics, this shift toward a more assertive and less ambiguous stance in its foreign and domestic policies could redefine its role on the global stage. The phone call between Modi and Netanyahu on India’s Independence Day may very well be remembered as a pivotal moment in India’s diplomatic and military evolution. – Jerusalem Post

Europe

The test was spectacular, but not in the way those involved had hoped. A rocket engine firing at a planned spaceport on a remote Scottish island ended in a tower of fire on Monday, with an explosion that engulfed the launch platform in flames. – New York Times

The German Federal Court upheld a 99-year-old woman’s conviction for accessory to murder over her role as a typist at a Nazi concentration camp in the last two years of World War Two. – Reuters

King Charles travelled to northern England on Tuesday to pay tribute to victims and families of those affected by a mass stabbing last month which sparked riots and racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants. – Reuters

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Israel’s premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday agreed that regional de-escalation was in everyone’s interests, Starmer’s office said in a statement following a phone call between the two. – Reuters

Three suspects wanted in connection with the killing of an Israeli Arab businessman in Istanbul have been detained in Romania, Turkish police said late Tuesday. – Associated Press

Lithuania has begun constructing a military campus that will house up to 4,000 German troops in Rūdninkai, a southeastern region of the Baltic country near the border with Belarus, which shares close ties with Russia. – Newsweek

The Americas

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on former Haitian president Michel Martelly, accusing him of abusing “his influence to facilitate drug trafficking” and of sponsoring several of the gangs that have killed and kidnapped thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more in the beleaguered Caribbean nation. – Washington Post

Every morning they wake up and look at the mountains of Caracas. On days when protests fill the streets they can hear the chants. But they know that if they take one step outside their compound, they could be arrested and thrown in prison. – New York Times

The first flight of deported migrants left Panama early on Tuesday, part of a new strategy to reduce the mostly U.S.-bound flow of people that crosses the treacherous jungle connecting Central and South America. – Reuters

The Brazilian Senate approved a bill on Tuesday containing measures to offset the effects of a payroll tax exemption, in a key step to solve a months-long struggle between Congress and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration. – Reuters

The Dominican Republic on Tuesday said it will create a state mining firm to explore and exploit the nation’s key mining resources, including rare earth minerals. – Reuters

Dozens of former guerrilla fighters and their families were forced to abandon their village in southern Colombia on Tuesday, after receiving death threats by a rebel group that is still fighting the government, authorities said. – Associated Press

The murders of about a dozen people in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa appear to be linked to infighting in the dominant drug smuggling cartel there, confirming fears of repercussions from the July 25 detention of two top cartel leaders. – Associated Press

Cybersecurity

The Federal Aviation Administration this week will formally propose cybersecurity mandates for future manufactured aircraft and equipment like engines and propellers, according to a post in the Federal Register. – CyberScoop

The White House has a new slew of recommendations to consider that the congressional watchdog believes will contribute to the saving of federal funds, improved modernization efforts and better cybersecurity coordination. – FedScoop

Researchers have uncovered a previously unseen backdoor which was used in an attack on a university in Taiwan. – The Record

Hackers set up malicious banking applications that were nearly identical to legitimate European ones in an effort to steal user data in an elaborate phishing scheme, according to new research. – The Record