Tensions flare in Lebanon and Gaza
Fragile cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza were put to the test yesterday.
In Southern Lebanon, Israeli forces killed or injured scores of people, Lebanese officials said, and in Gaza, Israel prevented thousands of uprooted Palestinians from moving back to their homes, saying Hamas had violated the terms of their truce, including by not adhering to the agreed order of hostage releases.
By the end of the day, however, Israel and Hamas said understandings had been reached via mediators to resolve their dispute, and the White House issued a statement indicating that in Lebanon, an arrangement for an initial 60-day truce would be extended until Feb. 18.
Negotiators had hoped that the cease-fire in Lebanon would become permanent by now, securing a measure of calm in a turbulent region. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war have poured onto roads leading south as they aim to return home.
The latest: Displaced Gazans in the enclave’s south can start returning on foot to their homes in the north starting at 7 a.m. local time this morning, followed by vehicles via a different route two hours later, according to an Israeli military spokesman.
Diplomacy: President Trump has pushed to “clean out” the Gaza Strip, including by asking Egypt and Jordan to take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. His suggestion drew flat rejections from those countries, two of the most important U.S. allies in the Middle East.
Related: A sudden halt to U.S. foreign aid will not apply to emergency food aid and weapons support to Israel and Egypt.
A Colombia-U.S. feud comes to an end
The U.S. and Colombia narrowly avoided a trade war yesterday, with President Gustavo Petro of Colombia and President Trump sparring over the deportation of Colombian migrants from the U.S.
Late last night, Petro backed down and agreed to receive all deportees from the U.S., including those on military planes. Trump had threatened to impose steep tariffs and a raft of other penalties in response to Petro’s announcement that he had turned back military planes carrying deportees to Colombia.
In a statement yesterday, the White House said Petro had agreed to all of its terms. It said tariffs and sanctions would be “held in reserve” and that other penalties would remain in effect until the first planeload of deportees had arrived in Colombia. Colombia’s foreign ministry also released a statement, saying that it would accept deportation flights and “guarantee dignified conditions” for those Colombians on board.
In other Trump administration news:
Lukashenko wins re-election — again
In an election that was widely dismissed as rigged, Europe’s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row yesterday.
A survey of voters leaving polling places that was released by state media yesterday evening showed the president getting 87.6 percent of the vote, more than the 81 percent he claimed to have won in 2020. Exit polls are controlled by the state, like all aspects of elections in Belarus, and generally reflect the ultimate outcome.
MORE TOP NEWS
Caity Weaver, a Times magazine writer, loves sugar. Like, really loves it. Her home contains stashes of Dunkaroos, pouches of Gushers and packs of Strawberry Sensation Fruit Roll-Ups, auto-delivered from Amazon.
Determined to kick the habit and learn about sugar dependence, Weaver traveled to a food therapy facility in Austria to try to change her ways. It was, she says, a journey into hell.
Lives lived: Carol Downer, a leader in the feminist women’s health movement who drew national fame for her role in a case known as the Great Yogurt Conspiracy, has died at 91.
Art fraud, on a grand scale
Two art fraud rings in a remote Canadian city produced thousands of paintings that were peddled as works by Norval Morrisseau, Canada’s most celebrated Indigenous artist.
By the time it all came out — decades later — the works had collectively fetched millions of dollars across Canada, making it onto the walls of the country’s top galleries and universities. They were purchased by retired schoolteachers, billionaire art collectors and even a rock star.
“None of us knew anything about art,” said one of the hard-boiled homicide detectives who helped crack the case. They carried out their investigation by reconstructing Morrisseau’s life so they could understand how and what he painted, and how he signed his works.
Read about the saga here.
That’s it for today’s briefing. It’s great to be back. — Natasha
Reach Natasha and the team at [email protected].
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