Israel passed information on an alleged Iranian plot to attack U.S. interests in the Gulf to the U.S. before national security adviser John Bolton threatened Iran with "unrelenting force" last night, senior Israeli officials told me.
Why it matters: Bolton's unusual and aggressive statement included news that the U.S. would move an aircraft carrier to the region. The officials said intelligence gathered by Israel, primarily by the Mossad intelligence agency, is understood to be part of the reason for Bolton's announcement.
China has detained an estimated 1 million to 2 million Uighur Muslims in the region of Xinjiang, and millions more live one step away from detention under the watchful eye of the Chinese Communist Party.
Why it matters: It has been two years since the internment camps first came to light internationally, and a series of reports from Xinjiang have made vivid the scale of the abuses. Yet foreign governments and corporations are content to pretend it isn't happening.
At least 41 people died after a plane operated by Russian airline Aeroflot burst into flames during an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow Sunday, investigators said.
The latest: The Sukhoi SSJ100 was carrying 73 passengers and 5 crew members when it landed and sped down a runway, billowing huge flames and black smoke. Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Yelena Markovskaya told state-run news agency Tass that 37 people had survived, including 4 crew members. Aeroflot published a list of survivors.
Israel's army lifted security restrictions, as Palestinian leaders said they had agreed to a ceasefire following 2 days of deadly violence in the region, Reuters and AFP reported Monday, citing officials with knowledge of the agreement.
Details: Israel didn't confirm the Palestinian report, but the Times of Israel noted that the lifting of restrictions at 7 am local time for people living along the Gaza border and schools announcing they would open indicated "a truce had indeed been reached." Palestinian medical officials reported 25 deaths, including 3 women, 2 babies and at least 10 militants, per AP. AFP reports 4 civilians in Israel were killed.
The Trump administration plans to target a new sector of the Iranian economy with significant new sanctions this week, two senior administration officials told me, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to reveal the new sanctions. The officials would not say what sector the administration will target, but it won't be the energy sector.
Driving the news: The administration will likely announce this new wave of sanctions on Wednesday — marking the one year anniversary of President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
More than 600 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip within 24 hours on Sunday, killing at least 4 Israeli civilians for the first time since the 2014 war with Hamas, AP reports.
The big picture: The barrage of rocket attacks marks one of Israel and Gaza's "most intense flareups of violence in years," per AP. The Israeli military said it retaliated with 0ver 220 airstrikes against "high-quality" militant sites, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that Hamas will be held accountable for both its own actions and the actions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, which operates out of Gaza.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un oversaw "strike drill" missile tests and said troops should be on "high alert posture," according to state media, following reports Pyongyang launched "multiple unidentified short-range projectiles" Saturday morning (local time).
Details: Projectiles touched down in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. and South Korea are working closely "to maintain a full readiness posture," per the Washington Post.
