Morning Briefing: Sept. 17, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday with, including Israel carrying out deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, the imminent sacking of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the suspect in an apparent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump being charged with firearm-related offenses.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli airstrikes kill 35 Palestinians across Gaza Strip

Israeli airstrikes killed 35 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the enclave’s civil defense agency.

In a statement, it said the Israeli army killed six Palestinians in areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including three who were killed by an airstrike on a gathering of civilians near Beit Hanoun.

It also said that 10 Palestinians including two children and a woman were killed in Gaza City in two Israeli airstrikes.

Another 13 Palestinians lost their lives in the central area of the Gaza Strip in Israeli airstrikes on two homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

In the southern areas of Gaza, the civil defense agency also said that six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent for displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis city.

• Israel's defense minister set to be sacked in imminent government reshuffle: Israeli sources

Israeli sources said the coming hours are expected to bring a government reshuffle that includes the ouster of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN quoted informed sources as saying that negotiations are underway between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Gideon Sa'ar, head of the right-wing New Hope party, to replace Gallant, who has reportedly been at odds with Netanyahu.

The sources added that the reshuffle may be announced within hours.

Israeli media recently reported deep differences between Netanyahu and top security officials, including Gallant, who says the time is right for a cease-fire in Gaza, contrary to Netanyahu, who insists on continuing the war and keeping control of the Gaza-Egypt border area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

• Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump charged with 2 firearm counts

The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump has been formally charged with two firearm-related offenses, according to local media.

Ryan Wesley Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, CNN reported.

A detention hearing for Routh is scheduled for Sept. 23, followed by an arraignment on Sept. 30, said the report.

Trump was the target of what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described as "an apparent assassination attempt" at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

Law enforcement officials in Florida said they apprehended the suspect after US Secret Service agents spotted him with an AK-47-style assault rifle outside Trump’s golf club.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• President Joe Biden said the US Secret Service "needs more help" one day after a second apparent assassination attempt on ex-President Donald Trump's life.
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northeast of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the number of staff and military personnel in the armed forces.
• Facebook owner Meta said it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks from its platforms.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to attend the US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue and discuss ongoing efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal.
• The death toll in Sudan from a cholera outbreak has risen to 315, while the number of fatalities from floods and heavy rains has reached 225, the country's health authorities said.
• Illegal Israeli settlers launched a series of assaults on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank
• Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed peace talks with Azerbaijan’s Caucasus neighbor Armenia in a phone call.

SPORTS

• UEFA Champions League inaugural league phase to begin Tuesday

The UEFA Champions League's inaugural league phase will begin on Tuesday.

The new season will start with the Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven and Young Boys vs. Aston Villa fixtures.

Both games will kick off at 1645GMT. Meanwhile, AC Milan will meet Liverpool at Milan's San Siro Stadium at 1900GMT.

• Japan halts gene research on athletes over privacy concerns

A Japanese sports institution has shelved its investigation into the relationship between the genes of the country’s top athletes and their performance, fearing that their personal information could be misused, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The Japan Institute of Sports Sciences launched the investigation, which also includes a study of injury risk, in 2017 but suspended it in fiscal 2022 following growing concerns about the possible misuse of athletes’ personal information, the agency said, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Boeing announces hiring freeze, cost-cutting measures

US-based aerospace manufacturer Boeing announced a hiring freeze and cost-cutting measures as it deals with a strike by over 30,000 factory workers.

Chief Financial Officer Brian West said in a note to employees that the company will make "significant reductions" to spending and halt purchase orders for its 737 MAX, 767 and 777 airliners.

"We are working in good faith to reach a new contract agreement that reflects their feedback and enables operations to resume," West said in the note. "However, our business is in a difficult period."

• US sanctions entities associated with Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium for role in spyware tech

The US Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on five individuals and one entity associated with the Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium, a spyware firm, for their alleged role in developing, operating and distributing commercial spyware technology.

The technology presents a significant threat to the national security of the US, it said in a statement.

The Treasury Department said the Intellexa Consortium is a complex international web of decentralized companies which built and commercialized highly invasive spyware products primarily marketed under the brand-name “Predator.”