First Thing: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ of spying, hacking and intimidating the ICC exposed

Investigation reveals how intelligence agencies tried to derail war crimes prosecution. Plus, closing arguments in Trump ‘hush money’ trial

Good morning.

Israel has run an almost decade-long secret “war” against the international criminal court (ICC), deploying its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff in an effort to derail the court’s inquiries, an investigation by the Guardian and the Israeli-based magazines +972 and Local Call can reveal.

Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous ICC officials, including the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails and documents. The surveillance was ongoing in recent months, providing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with advance knowledge of the prosecutor’s intentions.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Pentagon said the US-built $320m makeshift pier in northern Gaza, intended to deliver humanitarian aid, broke apart in heavy seas, putting supply efforts on hold for at least a week.

What is the ICC? Since it was established in 2002, the ICC has served as a permanent court of last resort for the prosecution of individuals accused of some of the world’s worst atrocities. It has charged the former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, late-Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

What is the global significance of the recent ICC ruling? The decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, alongside Hamas leaders, plus demands for Israel to immediately halt its Rafah military offensive, has even led key allies to respect the ruling. Germany’s foreign minister said: “International humanitarian law applies for all, also for Israel’s conduct of the war.” Israel responded that the questions put to its prime minister’s office contained “false and unfounded allegations”.

What more do we know about the Israeli airstrike on tents in Rafah? The strike, which killed at least 45 people, outraged the global community. The New York Times is now reporting that the bombs used were made in the US.

Prosecutors outline Donald Trump’s ‘corrupt bargain’ in closing arguments as jurors prepare to consider charges

Donald Trump’s plot to bury negative press ahead of the 2016 election deprived Americans of their right to choose a candidate at the ballot box, said the prosecution in its summation on Tuesday at the former president’s hush-money trial.

Joshua Steinglass’s closing statement reminded jurors of a meeting in summer 2015 at Trump Tower, where the real estate mogul sat with his then-fixer Michael Cohen and the tabloid mogul David Pecker to capture and bury negative stories that could thwart the campaign.

“Three rich and powerful men, high up in Trump Tower, tried to become even more powerful by controlling the information that reached voters,” the prosecutor said. Trump denies all the allegations.

What happens next? Jurors will return on Wednesday morning to receive instructions and guidance from the judge, Juan Merchan,before going to deliberate on whether Trump is guilty.

What could it mean for Trump? If found guilty, the former president could face jail, though that is seen as unlikely. A guilty verdict is likely to trigger lengthy appeals.

South Africa elections under way amid grim national mood

South Africans are voting in what is expected to be the most competitive election since the end of apartheid, which could result in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party losing its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power 30 years ago.

Problems affecting citizens in the run-up to the election include some of the world’s highest rates of unemployment and inequality, power cuts, water shortages and violent crime. Younger generations do not feel the same gratitude and loyalty to the ANC as many of their parents and grandparents do for leading the successful fight for a multiracial democracy.

What are the polls saying? The ANC getting less than 50% of the national vote, down from 57.5% in the last elections in 2019. This raises the prospect of South Africa’s first coalition government since the “government of national unity” during Mandela’s single presidential term.

How’s the national mood? More than 80% of South Africans said the country was going in the wrong direction in a 2022 poll. Four in 10 adults are out of work.

In other news …

Pope Francis apologized for using a homophobic slur during a discussion with bishops about admitting gay men into seminaries, saying he “never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms”.

Javier Milei, Argentina’s right libertarian president, will court Silicon Valley leaders this week, meeting executives from Google, OpenAI, Meta and Apple.

The songwriter James Blunt claimed the News of the World, the former UK tabloid, paid women to sleep with celebrities – in order to get stories about their sexual performance. He said he fell victim to the plan.

South Korea accused North Korea of sending balloons containing what appeared to be litter and feces south of the border.

Stat of the day: Weekday transaction volumes in 2024 down 3.3% on 2019 – amid fears of the death of the lunch hour

Transaction data pulled by the digital-payments app Square found that weekday spending from 11am to 2pm was down 3.3% last year compared with 2019, with steeper decreases in cities including Boston, Atlanta and Dallas. Rising meal expenses and shrinking break times, it appears, are interfering with people’s ability to enjoy the workday lunchtime ritual.

Don’t miss this: The Odesa artists refusing to abandon their studios

Today, as Odesa in Ukraine is regularly pounded by Russian missiles, its city streets are empty of the tourists, and there are just a handful of artists left. Vasya Dmytryk chose to remain, and his studio is a cozy cave of books, tools and metal sculptures. “We have a very direct mission as artists,” he said. “Raising money for the army.”

Climate check: Majority of US voters support climate litigation against big oil, poll shows

The world’s first criminal climate lawsuit was brought in France last week, with the goal to hold big oil to account for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis. A survey of 1,200 Americans by the progressive polling firm Data for Progress, which teamed up with Public Citizen, found that 62% of voters believed fossil fuel companies “should be held legally accountable for their contributions to climate change” (84% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans).

Last Thing: Basketball court, home cinema, but no booby traps – Home Alone house on sale for $5.25m

The house in Winnetka, Illinois, still features the staircase that Macaulay Culkin rode down on a sledge in the 1990 movie. And for the bargain price of $5.25m it could be yours. Fortunately the swinging paint cans and booby traps have since been removed.

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