Morning Briefing: Oct. 4, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday with, including the Pentagon saying the US is speaking to Israel about Tel Aviv’s response to the Iranian missile attack, the EU’s foreign policy chief condemning an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed seven people as a violation of international law, and the US saying it was not aware that Hezbollah’s leader had agreed to a cease-fire before he was assassination by Israel.

TOP STORIES

• US speaking to Israel about its response to Iranian attack: Pentagon

The US has been in touch with Israel about its possible response to Iran's missile attack, Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.

"We are talking to them about their response," Singh told reporters, without providing further details.

Asked whether the US is coordinating details of the response, she said: "I think without going into private conversations, what I could tell you is it's more about trying to understand what their response might be."

• EU foreign policy chief condemns Israeli strike in Beirut that killed 7 people as violation of int'l law

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed seven people as a violation of international humanitarian law.

The “IDF targeted once again health care workers overnight, in central Beirut: 7 people including paramedics were killed,” he said on X.

“Not only civilians are victims of attacks, including in densely populated areas, but they are deprived of emergency care,” Borrell added.

• US says it was not aware Hezbollah leader agreed to cease-fire before assassination by Israel

The US said it was not aware that the leader of Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire shortly before he was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

“I can tell you that, if that's true, it was never communicated to us in any way,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters when asked about remarks by Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib.

“I can't speak to whether he ever agreed to it and told somebody inside Lebanon. Obviously, that could be something that happened that we wouldn’t be aware of,” he said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Sixteen Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.
• The Houthi group in Yemen released a video showing a British oil tanker being targeted in the Red Sea, west of Yemen, with a thick black cloud of smoke spreading across the sky.
• Hezbollah said it killed 17 Israeli military personnel in fighting in southern Lebanon.
• Sweden's recently-appointed Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was forced to flee parliament hall after tomatoes and red onions were thrown at her during a debate about how Sweden should vote on a UN referendum about Israel and the West Bank.
• The US and Britain launched two airstrikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, according to the Yemeni group.
• Türkiye said it will stand by Lebanon and its people in response to Israel's "inhumane" attacks that have killed more than 1,100 people and displaced tens of thousands more in less than two weeks.
• Hezbollah announced that it had thwarted six Israeli incursions and attempts to infiltrate southern Lebanon, in addition to launching 22 attacks on northern Israel.
• At least 202 people are confirmed dead from Hurricane Helene.
• More than 20 people died after a two-deck boat capsized on Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, near Rwanda.
• Iran summoned ambassadors from Germany and Austria in response to their reactions to its missile attack on Israel, the official news agency IRNA reported.
• The UN Security Council's non-permanent members, also known as the elected 10 (E10), expressed concern about the rising tensions in the Middle East as they condemned the "current cycle of violence."
• The World Health Organization’s chief said that 28 health care workers had been killed in the last 24 hours in Lebanon amid an escalation in the conflict with Israel.
• South Sudan is poised to declare a national disaster as catastrophic floods have ravaged large parts of the country, displacing nearly 200,000 people and causing widespread destruction to essential infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
• The Israeli army ordered the residents of 25 towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes and head north of the Litani River.
• Physicists have discovered a new type of gamma-ray radiation that emerges from tropical thunderstorms, according to two studies published in Nature, a science magazine based in London.
• The engine of a passenger plane caught fire in southern Italy, forcing those on board to evacuate onto the airport runway.
• Four Moroccan migrants with pending asylum claims escaped from a holding area at Madrid's Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport, Spanish authorities confirmed.
• The EU announced additional humanitarian aid worth €30 million ($33.1 million) for Lebanon, bringing the total to over €100 million for 2024.
• The Israeli army claimed to have killed 15 Hezbollah members in an airstrike on a municipal building in southern Lebanon.
• Russia is “looking forward” to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s participation in the upcoming BRICS summit in the city of Kazan later this month, the country’s top diplomat said.
• India’s top court blamed British colonial rule for “discriminatory norms” in prisons across the South Asian country.
• Five Chinese nationals have been charged with making false statements, conspiracy and destroying evidence in connection with photographing joint US-Taiwan military exercises, according to a US court document.
• Ukraine said that at least 12 people were injured in a Russian airstrike on the country’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
• Hurricane Kirk in the Atlantic Ocean has strengthened into a major Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.
• Georgia’s parliament speaker announced that he had signed into law a bill curbing LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
• At least 20 civilians have died due to ongoing heavy clashes between the army in northern Ethiopia and Fano militia forces.
• Tokyo expressed "extreme regret" after Moscow denied claims that a Russian military plane had violated Japanese airspace.
• The West African countries of Burkina Faso and Niger have banned a French TV show for “stigmatizing” African women as well as being “contrary to the values and customs” of the two nations.
• At least six people were killed and seven others injured in an overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Bachoura area of central Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
• China has pushed back against “condoning” any “military adventurism” in Lebanon and Gaza, warning it could cause “serious consequences.”

SPORTS

• FIFA Council accepts Palestinian Football Association's plea against Israel for human rights violations

The FIFA Council accepted a petition by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) against Israel for human rights violations and decided to launch an investigation.

The decision was made at the 74th International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Council meeting in Zurich to evaluate the PFA's application against the Israel Football Association.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to initiate an investigation into the alleged offence of discrimination raised by the Palestinian Football Association," said the committee statement.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye, Finland eye $5B in bilateral trade volume, says Finnish foreign minister

Türkiye and Finland aim to reach $5 billion in bilateral trade “as soon as possible” after having reached $2.9 billion this year, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Anadolu.

Valtonen said that Finland’s friendship with Türkiye dates back to a century, as the two nations have been allies and close trade partners.

“So there’s a lot that we share, even though we are a little bit further away geographically, (and) obviously, Finland has been supporting Türkiye’s path towards the European Union,” she said.