Monday Briefing: Israel and Hezbollah exchange major attacks

August 26, 2024

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering Israel and Hezbollah launching major attacks at each other and the arrest of Telegram’s chief executive.

Plus, DMZ honey.

A large plume of gray smoke and dust drifts high into the sky, set in the middle of a hilly landscape with agricultural fields visible in the distance.

The site of an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese side of the border yesterday. Kawnat Haju/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged major cross-border fire

Israel’s military and Hezbollah fired back and forth in one of the largest cross-border barrages since the war in Gaza began. Here’s the latest.

Israel said that roughly 100 of its fighter jets bombed more than 270 targets connected to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon yesterday, a figure which could not be independently verified. Hezbollah said it had answered with more than 320 rockets at nearly a dozen Israeli military bases and positions.

Both sides claimed that their actions had been a success. Israel said its attack was a pre-emptive defense against Hezbollah rockets, and Hezbollah said it had retaliated for the killing last month of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in Beirut.

For now, at least, the exchange of attacks fell short of the major escalation that many had feared after Shukr was killed. Both sides later appeared to signal that they did not intend to escalate further. This timeline shows how the attack unfolded.

Elsewhere in the war:

In a show of support for Israel and an attempt to deter Iran, the U.S. has steadily moved Navy forces closer to the area, including two aircraft carrier groups and a guided-missile submarine.
Israel’s hunt for Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader, has been like chasing a ghost. His ability to manage a military campaign while evading capture or death has denied Israel a major victory.
Palestinians fled the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza after the Israeli military again ordered people to “immediately” leave parts of Deir al-Balah.

Pavel Durov gestures with both hands while speaking on a stage using a wireless headset microphone.

Pavel Durov in 2016. Aop.Press/Corbis, via Getty Images

Telegram’s top executive was detained, French media said

The top executive of Telegram was detained in France on charges related to the spread of illicit material on the platform, according to French news reports.

Pavel Durov, 39, a Russian-born entrepreneur, was reportedly arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget Airport near Paris after landing from Azerbaijan. His detention could not immediately be confirmed, and the Russian Embassy in France said it had asked for clarification. French authorities would not comment and redirected questions to the Paris prosecutor’s office, which also declined to comment on what it called an open investigation.

Telegram has more than 900 million users. The platform’s light oversight of what people say or do there has helped people living under authoritarian governments communicate and organize. But it has also made the app a haven for disinformation, far-right extremism and other harmful content.

Police vehicles with lights on a road in front of a building lit up in purple.

Police officers with a suspect in the killings. Christoph Reichwein/DPA, via Associated Press

Stabbing in Germany may be linked to the Islamic State

Friday’s attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, which left three dead and eight wounded, is being investigated as a terrorist attack with possible connections to the Islamic State, authorities said.

The suspect, a 26-year-old man from Syria, was living in a refugee shelter only a few hundred meters from where the attack took place, the police said yesterday. He was wearing bloodstained clothes when he turned himself in on Saturday night.

Politics: The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which is poised to make significant gains in three state elections next month, was quick to react. Before the suspect’s identity was confirmed, one of the party’s leaders called for changes to “migration and security policy.”

U.S. ELECTION 2024

The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.

Kamala Harris walks under a spotlight while on stage at the DNC. A throng of attendees behind her hold blue KAMALA signs.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign said that it raised $82 million during the week of the Democratic National Convention and $540 million in the last month.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspended his bid and endorsed Donald Trump.
On immigration, Democrats are walking a harder line than they have in decades.
In his 30s, JD Vance was drawn to the church’s teachings on family and social order, and he became a Catholic.

Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us and we’ll find the answers.

Stay up-to-date: Live coverage | Poll tracker | The “Run-Up” podcast | On Politics newsletter

MORE TOP NEWS

A shirtless man wearing blue swim trunks looks across the water to where a group of law enforcement officials and rescue personnel are congregated under temporary shelters.

Rescue personnel near where a luxury yacht sank off the island of Sicily. Louiza Vradi/Reuters

Italy: Authorities opened a manslaughter investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian luxury yacht.
Nepal: A busload of Indian tourists plunged into a river, killing at least 27.
U.S.: Asylum seekers have dropped 50 percent since June, following an executive order from President Biden. Migrant activists say too many people are being weeded out.
France: A suspect was arrested in connection with an attack on a synagogue in Nîmes Saturday morning; prosecutors called the attack a terrorist act.
Pakistan: At least 37 people, including a dozen who were returning from a religious pilgrimage in Iraq, died in two unrelated bus crashes in Pakistan, officials said.
Business: 7-Eleven is a cornerstone of Japanese culture. A takeover attempt by a Canadian company has met resistance.
Space: NASA extended the stay of astronauts on the International Space Station by months after deciding that they could not return on Boeing’s troubled Starliner.
Hawaii: Tropical Storm Hone could bring flooding to the state — and could also heighten the risk of fires.
Cambodia: In the countryside where most Cambodians live, a bus serves as a mobile history museum about the Khmer Rouge.

Sports

Coco Gauff hoists a silver trophy into the air with both hands as blue and silver ribbons fall from the sky.

Coco Gauff winning the 2023 U.S. Open Women’s Singles Finals. Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Tennis: Black Americans are a major presence in the sport’s top ranks — and also in the development pipeline. Here’s how it happened.
F1: Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix by 22 seconds over Max Verstappen.
Soccer: Stone Island, a high-end Italian clothing brand, has become a must-have for coaches, players and fans.

MORNING READ

A man in a gray collared shirt with long sleeved gloves holds part of a beehive with bees on it. Trees and other beehives are visible in the background.

Cho Seong-hoan at his honeybee farm.

The DMZ is an unhealed wound between North and South Korea, littered with land mines and sealed by razor wire. The area is also an excellent source of honey. But for some of the farmers who work this land, it’s about more than just a sweet business.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Hot topic: The Finnish Embassy offers one of the hottest invitations in Washington: a chance to discuss serious topics in a sauna.
Solving real mysteries: Investigators explain how they crack decades-old murder cases, even when they have been dormant for decades.
Leaving home: Elon Musk is moving X to Texas from San Francisco, birthplace of the company when it was called Twitter. City officials said “good riddance.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

A man walks past a barricade placed across a wide road. A large brick building with a tall tower is behind him.

Preparing to shoot a protest scene for “Zero Day” in Taipei. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

A TV series asks: What if China invades?

The new series “Zero Day” from Taiwan imagines how China could mount a blockade and then try to overrun the island, a possibility that many experts see as increasingly plausible. The tone is somber. Characters wrestle with whether to flee or stay, and whether to collaborate or resist.

Cheng Hsin-mei, the producer, said she wanted to jolt people out of what she sees as widespread complacency about the possibility of war. “I think it’s the biggest fear in each Taiwanese person’s heart,” she said.

The show won’t release until next year, but the trailer has set off heated debates. Some think it helps to confront an increasingly possible scenario; others say the show is alarmist and a tool of the government.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Two white plates with grilled chicken thighs and halved peaches lie on a table.

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times

Cook: These grilled chicken thighs are spiked with ginger, garlic and soy sauce.

Soothe: We’ve got some bug bite tips for you, from medicine to mental tricks.

Plan: Sifnos, Milos and Serifos might be the most scenic of the Greek islands. We asked a local to show us around.

Train: Some people can’t help letting out a little noise during a hard workout. Doing so might be giving them an edge.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Justin

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