Friday Briefing: Israel targets Hezbollah’s remaining leaders

Plus, a billion-dollar plan to protect trees.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 4, 2024 By Justin Porter Good morning. We're covering Israel's targeting of Hezbollah's remaining leaders and Britain's working-class leadership. Plus, a billion-dollar plan to protect trees. Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli airstrikes yesterday. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters Israel targets Hezbollah's remaining leadership Israel said it bombed an underground bunker where senior Hezbollah officials were meeting at midnight local time. The targets included Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor to Hassan Nasrallah, the group's recently assassinated leader, Israeli officials said. Here's what we know about Safieddine. A series of huge explosions rocked Dahiya, a stronghold of the group, in the densely populated suburbs just south of Beirut, after Israeli warplanes struck. Shock waves rocked buildings across the Lebanese capital. The latest attacks were a sign that Israel had not let up on its campaign to eliminate the leadership of the Iranian-backed group. Israel is now carrying out major operations on multiple fronts. Earlier, an Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on the West Bank; Palestinian health officials said at least 18 people were killed. In Gaza, Israel carried out numerous strikes. Local health officials reported that nearly 100 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily toll there in the past three months. Israel's military warned residents of more than 20 towns and cities in Lebanon's south to leave their homes immediately. Oil: Prices jumped after President Biden, when asked if he would support an Israeli strike on Iran's oil facilities, said, "We're discussing that." Iran's oil infrastructure accounts for about 2 percent of the world's supply. Iran: The country's leaders are already threatening to hit back if Israeli retaliates for Iran's missile strike earlier this week. But in interviews, on social media and in virtual town hall discussions, many Iranians said anxiety about war was rising. Stephen Bannon at a political rally this year. Eze Amos for The New York Times To Trump, election results were an obstacle, not an outcome Three days before the 2020 election, one of Donald Trump's closest advisers told supporters that, no matter what happened, the president was going to "declare victory," according to a new court filing. "That doesn't mean he's the winner. He's just going to say he's the winner," said the adviser, who, based on other details, appears to be Stephen Bannon. The filing paints a picture of a wider cast of conspirators surrounding Trump and provided new details on his attempt to remain in power. These details paint a chilling picture of a candidate unlikely to accept another loss, my colleague Jess Bidgood wrote in the On Politics newsletter. The former president, now the Republican presidential nominee, sees elections "as an exercise in which the vote total is entirely beside the point. In his world, adverse election results were an obstacle, not an outcome." More on the U.S. election Americans head to the polls in less than five weeks. Trump said that, if elected again, he would revoke the legal status of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants. Punishing hours, dilapidated facilities and an ill-conceived retiree program left the Secret Service without the personnel it needed in a year of threats and violence. Trump is refusing to disclose basic health information. If elected again, he would become the oldest president by the end of his term. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we'll find the answers. Stay up to date: See our poll tracker. Listen to "The Run-Up" podcast. Sign up for the On Politics newsletter. David Lammy, center, in Tottenham, the part of North London where he grew up. He represents the area in Parliament. Andrew Testa for The New York Times U.K.'s leadership is more working class, but voters don't see it Britain's current cabinet — as well as its prime minister, Keir Starmer — is one of the most working class in the nation's history. Only one attended a private school, and several spent their early lives in poverty. Yet Britons don't seem to have noticed. According to one recent opinion poll, fewer than one in four people see the Labour government as caring about "people like them." That perception wasn't helped by the recent revelations that senior Labour figures had accepted free gifts from party donors. There is a widespread disenchantment with the system among many Britons, analysts said, and with the political class in general. MORE TOP NEWS S. Iswaran. Edgar Su/Reuters Singapore: A former government minister was sentenced to one year in prison in a rare graft case that has transfixed the affluent city-state. U.S.: Three former Memphis police officers were convicted of witness tampering in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the most serious charge. Labor: The union representing dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. has agreed to suspend a strike after employers made an improved wage offer. Trade: The E.U. is expected to raise tariffs on Chinese electric cars to as much as 45 percent. Tech: Irina Bolgar, who shares three children with Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has poked holes in his carefully managed image. Russia: A shadowy network of ships has registered in Gabon to help Moscow evade oil sanctions. Music: Garth Brooks, one of country music's biggest stars, has been accused of sexual assault, according to a lawsuit filed in a California court. SPORTS NEWS Michael Jordan is co-owner of 23XI Racing.  Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images NASCAR: Michael Jordan is suing the association. The action could change stock car racing. Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner go head-to-head in their own tennis galaxy. Soccer: Prince William watched his team, Aston Villa, claim a big victory. MORNING READ Regent's Park in London. Jeremie Souteyrat for The New York Times A revolution is afoot in London's green spaces, including Regent's Park: Manicured is out, wild is in. Much of the park has been allowed to take on a more rugged look in response to the global climate and biodiversity emergency. However, the park's famous rose garden and elegant tree-lined walkways will always remain well tended. CONVERSATION STARTERS Searching for a pepper's soul: The writer Ligaya Mishan traveled to Peru in search of the ají amarillo, one of the world's most exquisite peppers. Asteroids you can eat: Scientists are studying whether future astronauts could transform compounds in asteroids into food. Cassette comeback: Musicians and fans have developed a new taste for the vintage format. With few tape players on the market, listeners are finding creative solutions. ARTS AND IDEAS Garo Batmanian, one of the architects of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. Victor Moriyama for The New York Times Brazil's billion-dollar plan to protect trees What if financial markets treated trees like shareholders? That's what a new fund in Brazil is pitching to the world. The fund, Tropical Forests Forever Facility, would pay developing countries a fee for every hectare of forest they maintain. The project could ultimately pay out $4 billion a year to protect forests. Over the past two decades, countries have been losing roughly nine million acres of tropical forest a year. The fund aims to flip the economics that have long fueled deforestation by effectively paying countries for the crucial benefits that tropical forests provide, such as storing planet-warming carbon and regulating rain patterns. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Armando Rafael for The New York Times Cook: Canned tuna is a complementary addition to the punchy, briny flavors of puttanesca. Read: Did you love "Heartstopper"? These seven love stories will also tug at your heartstrings. Watch: In "Daaaaaalí!," the French absurdist director Quentin Dupieux adopted the approach of Salvador Dalí, a Surrealist painter, to deliver a particularly loopy tale. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Justin Reach Justin and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018