The New York Times: U.S. Counterterrorism Chief Is Stepping Down

“The director of the National Counterterrorism Center will step down next month, Biden administration officials said on Wednesday. The director, Christine S. Abizaid, has served three years as the country’s top counterterrorism official. In recent years, a resurgent China and Russia, as well as the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, have replaced counterterrorism as the country’s main national security priorities. But speaking to a security conference in Doha, Qatar, last month, Ms. Abizaid warned that the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, and the ensuing Gaza conflict, had energized an increasingly diverse set of worldwide terrorist threats. The Islamic State no longer controls vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, but its fighters and groups aligned with Al Qaeda are on the march in Africa.”

Reuters: Dozens Reported Killed In Israeli Strike On Gaza School, Israel Says Hamas Inside

“Israel hit a Gaza school on Thursday in an airstrike that it said targeted and killed Hamas fighters inside, while a Hamas official said 40 people including women and children were killed as they sheltered in the U.N. site. Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office, rejected Israel's assertion that the U.N. school in Nuseirat, in central Gaza, had hidden a Hamas command post. "The occupation uses ... false fabricated stories to justify the brutal crime it conducted against dozens of displaced people," Thawabta told Reuters. Israel's military said it had taken steps to protect civilians before its fighter jets carried out a "precise strike", circulating satellite photos highlighting two parts of a building where it said the fighters were based.”

CEP Mentions

DW: Russia Rebuilding Ties With The Taliban

[…] “Hans-Jakob Schindler, a Middle East expert at Counter Extremism Project (CEP), believes Russia's Foreign Ministry might be expecting something in return for delisting the Taliban as a terrorist group. But that might be easier said than done. "The Taliban are always very willing to accept advance concessions," said Schindler, "but things get complicated when it comes to reciprocating them." Thomas Ruttig, co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, interpreted the Kremlin's recent overtures as "a kind of piecemeal tactic, advancing toward official recognition in very smalls steps — something the Taliban is sure to be pleased about." Both Schindler and Ruttig agree the next step following Taliban's delisting as a terrorist organization could be its official recognition as a legitimate state power.”

Afghanistan

Voice Of America: Taliban Official Facing $10 Million US Bounty Makes Rare UAE Visit

“A senior Taliban leader in Afghanistan, wanted by the United States for terrorism, has concluded a rare visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with the host country's leadership, an Afghan official said Wednesday. Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani traveled abroad for the first time since the Taliban took over the war-torn South Asian nation nearly three years ago. Reward for Justice, a U.S. Department of State program aimed at combating international terrorism, offers $10 million for information that will lead to Haqqani’s arrest. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Haqqani in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, on Tuesday. The state-run WAM news agency reported the meeting and included a picture of them shaking hands.”

Yemen

Reuters: Yemen's Houthis Target Three Vessels In Red Sea And Arabian Sea

“Yemen's Houthis conducted military operations targeting three vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday. The Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen and is aligned with Iran, has attacked ships off its coast for months, saying it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in Gaza. Houthi militants targeted two vessels in the Red Sea, Roza and Vantage Dream, with a number of missiles and drones, Saree added in a televised speech. The third ship, the U.S. vessel Maersk Seletar, was targeted in the Arabian Sea with a number of drones, Saree said.”

Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Unveil Solid-Fuel ‘Palestine’ Missile That Resembles Iranian Hypersonic

“Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unveiled a new, solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds. The rebels fired its new “Palestine” missile, complete with a warhead painted like a Palestinian keffiyeh checkered scarf, at the southern Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat in Israel on Monday. The attack set off air raid sirens but caused no reported damage or injuries. Footage released by the Houthis late Wednesday showed the Palestine being raised on what appeared to be a mobile launcher and rising quickly into the air with plumes of white smoke coming from its engine. White smoke is common with solid-fuel missiles.  Solid-fuel missiles can be set up and fired faster than those containing liquid fuel.”

Saudi Arabia

Bloomberg: UK Navy Reports Blast Near Vessel Off Saudi Coast, Crew Safe

“A “significant explosion” was reported near a vessel that was located off Saudi Arabia’s coast, the UK Navy said Wednesday, adding that the crew and ship were safe and continuing to their next port of call. The Red Sea incident took place 50 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. There was no immediate claim for the blast but Houthi fighters based in Yemen have carried out multiple attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and have escalated such incidents since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October. The Houthis and Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and Europe Union, are both Iranian-backed groups operating in the Middle East.”

Lebanon

Fox News: US Embassy In Lebanon Attacker Was Wearing What ‘Appeared’ To Be Isis Insignia, State Department Says

“The State Department revealed Wednesday that the shooter accused of opening fire on the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon earlier today was wearing what "appeared to be an ISIS insignia."  Spokesman Matthew Miller said "one member of the embassy’s local guard force was seriously injured" and the gunman has been arrested following the attack in Beirut that unfolded around 8:30 a.m. local time. "We are aware that the individual who was arrested was wearing what appeared to be an ISIS insignia, but we are conducting a full investigation with the Lebanese authorities into the actual motivations," Miller said during a press briefing.”

Middle East

Reuters: Diminished Hamas Switches To Full Insurgent Mode In Gaza

“Hamas has seen about half its forces wiped out in eight months of war and is relying on hit-and-run insurgent tactics to frustrate Israel's attempts to take control of Gaza, U.S. and Israeli officials told Reuters. The enclave's ruling group has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters, according to three senior U.S. officials familiar with battlefield developments, down from American estimates, opens new tab of 20,000-25,000 before the conflict. By contrast, Israel says it has lost almost 300 troops in the Gaza campaign. Hamas fighters are now largely avoiding sustained skirmishes with Israeli forces closing in on the southernmost city of Rafah, instead relying on ambushes and improvised bombs to hit targets often behind enemy lines, one of the officials said.”

France

Politico: ‘99.99 Percent’ Sure Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Will Be On The Seine, Top Official Says

“A senior Paris 2024 Olympics official on Tuesday left the door fractionally cracked open to moving the Games’ July 26 opening ceremony away from the River Seine. “My job is to be worried, so I will be 99.99 percent sure that this is going to happen,” said Olympic organizing committee CEO Etienne Thobois, in response to a question from POLITICO during a visit to the Invalides venue in central Paris, where Olympic archery events will be contested. Back in April, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that Paris did have contingency plans for the opening ceremony due to the increased threat of Islamist terror attacks. France raised its terror alert warning to its highest level in March following the concert hall shootings in Moscow where Tajik militants killed almost 140 people.”

Reuters: France Arrests Ukraine-Russia National With Explosives On Terror Charges

“French police have arrested a 26-year-old Ukranian-Russian man after he blew himself up with explosive materials in a hotel room north of Paris, a source at the French PNAT anti-terrorism prosecutors office said on Wednesday. The man was treated by fire-fighters after he "suffered significant burns following an explosion," on Monday, the source said. A subsequent search of his room led to the discovery of products and materials intended for the manufacture of explosive devices, the source added. The source said the PNAT office, working with France's domestic spy agency, has opened an investigation into the man, who is suspected of participation in a terrorist conspiracy and bomb plot. Neither the Ukrainian or Russian embassies in Paris immediately responded to a request for comment. The Paris CDG airport, which is close to where the man was arrested, said operations had not been affected.”

Germany

Bloomberg: Scholz Vows to Fight Surge of Political ‘Terror’ in Germany

“Olaf Scholz promised to send migrants who commit serious crimes back to their homelands, including Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-battered Syria, as the German chancellor responded to mounting concerns over law and order. After a spate of violent attacks, he labeled the recent death of a policeman following a knife attack by an Afghan-born man as an act of “terror.” There will be zero tolerance for such political violence, the chancellor said on Thursday. “We will fight terror,” Scholz said in a speech to lawmakers in Berlin. “Without security there is nothing.” Germany has faced several cases of violence and assaults on politicians ahead of Sunday’s European Parliament elections, which stoked a heated debate about security. With migrants involved in some cases, it has triggered calls for stricter rules.”

Politico: AfD Politician Stabbed By Man Wielding Box Cutter

“A politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was stabbed on Tuesday by a suspect wielding a box cutter in Mannheim in the country’s southwest, according to police. The attack comes amid a string of violent attacks on politicians in Germany that has sparked a national debate over rising political violence and the increasingly raw domestic political climate. The alleged attacker had torn down and damaged several election campaign posters before a local AfD politician “pursued the suspect and apprehended him,” according to a police statement. The male suspect, 25, then allegedly injured the politician with a box cutter. The victim was identified as 62-year-old Heinrich Koch, a local candidate for the municipal council. His injuries are not life-threatening, according to police.”

Europe

Associated Press: Spain Applies To Join South Africa’s Case At Top UN Court Accusing Israel Of Genocide

“Spain will ask a United Nations court for permission to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, its foreign minister announced Thursday. Spain is the first European country to take the step after South Africa filed its case with the International Court of Justice late last year. It alleged that Israel was breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza. Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Libya and the Palestinians have already requested to join the case currently being heard at the court in The Hague, Netherlands. The court has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire for the enclave. Israel has not complied.”