Morning news brief

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Political leader of Hamas is dead.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

He was one of two key figures in the Palestinian group. The military leader is believed to be inside Gaza, where Hamas is fighting Israel. The political leader was Ismail Haniyeh. He moved around the region, and he was in Iran for the inauguration of its new president. That is where he was killed. The Hamas leader previously told Al Jazeera the battle for Palestinians comes with a price.

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ISMAIL HANIYEH: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTÍNEZ: He said, "this is a responsibility that has costs, and we are prepared for the cost - martyrdom for the sake of Palestine."

INSKEEP: This is one of several developments through the region we're going to discuss with Jane Arraf in Beirut and Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's veteran correspondents in the region. Welcome to you both.

JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Thank you, Steve.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: Jane, what happened in Tehran as best we know at this moment?

ARRAF: Well, Steve as best we know, Hamas and Iran both say that Haniyeh, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader, has been killed in Tehran, and they blame Israel. Israel hasn't commented yet. The Iranian news agency describes an air strike that targeted his residence in Tehran. He's normally based in Qatar. Still some remaining questions, obviously, but an extremely dangerous development.

INSKEEP: Why would that be? Why would this be so important?

ARRAF: Well, first, it was the place - targeting the Iranian capitol - and then the timing, around the inauguration of the new Iranian president. That timing is seen by Iran as particularly provocative. And then there's Haniyeh himself. He was the head of the Hamas political Bureau based in Qatar, a former Palestinian Prime Minister and perhaps most importantly now, he was a key negotiator in the U.S. and Qatar mediated cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel. And let's not forget, Steve, the killing of Haniyeh and his bodyguard was less than 12 hours after Israel said it killed a very senior commander of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group in Beirut.

INSKEEP: OK, so we have two different killings in two different capitols. Israel claims credit for one, does not yet take responsibility for the other. We'll find out what they have to say, and we're going to Daniel in a moment. But how is Hezbollah responding where you are in Beirut?

ARRAF: Well, so far, it's pretty measured, I'd say. Israel says categorically that it killed Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah commander. But Hezbollah, in its first statement on the attack today, said civil defense workers are still going through the rubble of the building, and they hadn't yet determined whether he's dead. It did say he had been in the building, so that statement is presumed to mean they haven't identified his body yet. And that buys them a bit of time as these attacks are unlikely to go unanswered. Shukr was described as the second in command of the group close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who's expected to speak at some point, but he has made clear in the past that any Israeli strikes in Beirut will provoke a greater response on an Israeli city. And Steve, just one last point, a key part of this is Iran, of course. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon told reporters this morning that since the attack happened a few hours ago, it requires more time, and Iran has not yet formulated an official response.

INSKEEP: Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, I'm just trying to keep my head around the sheer number of vitally important world news stories that are touched by this. Because it's in Iran, because it involves Hamas, because it involves Israel in some way, what is Israel saying about these two assassinations?

ESTRIN: Well, Israel has no comment on the attack on the Hamas leader, and any official Israeli acknowledgment of that could further escalate tensions and even draw a forceful response by Iran where this attack took place on its own soil. We did see Iran's president say Iran would defend its territorial integrity. But as for the other attack that happened before that in Beirut, Israel has claimed responsibility for that strike - for killing the Hezbollah official in Lebanon, they are calling him Hezbollah's most senior military commander in charge of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry. And responsible for rocket fire that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights last weekend, and that is what sparked this latest escalation.

INSKEEP: Jane Arraf, I'm just trying to keep everything straight on the map. We have an assassination in Iran. We have an assassination in Beirut. Each one is a leader of a group that Iran supports. I guess we should note that. And Iran also has allies in Iraq, where you've done much, much reporting over the years, and Iranian proxies in Iraq are saying that the United States has attacked them. What's going on there?

ARRAF: Yeah. Let's not forget about Iraq. The U.S. says it struck - in what it called self defense - a main base of a group called Kata'ib Hezbollah near Baghdad. It says it was targeting the launch of an attack drone that it believed was headed for U.S. forces. That group isn't related to Lebanese Hezbollah, but it is backed by Iran, as well, and very powerful. The resistance - the so-called resistance - the Iran backed militias - are holding emergency meetings to determine a response. And as for U.S. forces, they were on their way out. They're coming to an agreement with Iraq on leaving the country and leaving some troops here in a new arrangement. But this certainly does complicate things, to say the least.

INSKEEP: Daniel Estrin, I've got to come back to you here, and our main news story of all the unbelievable number of news stories we have here, the killing of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh inside Iran. I would imagine that Ismail Haniyeh had some significant role in the effort to bring a cease-fire in Gaza, where his group has been fighting with Israel. What does the assassination mean for those talks?

ESTRIN: Well, sure, he was the No. 1 Hamas contact for the cease-fire mediators for Egypt and Qatar. So this may significantly delay cease-fire talks for some time. And, you know, with his assassination, we now believe that only three of the four top Hamas leaders are now either killed or presumed killed. There was a Hamas official killed in Beirut. There was another Hamas official presumed to be killed in Gaza, that only leaves one of the top four - Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Gaza's militant wing - alive. I should just add, Steve, that one political analyst from Gaza that I spoke to, Mukhaimar Abu Sada, says that the assassination of this Hamas leader, he was seen as one of the most - the more moderate leaders of Hamas, and he says that killing Hamas leaders in the past has led to more radical leaders filling Hamas' leadership.

INSKEEP: Yahya Sinwar, of course, is one who's been reported to be in favor of continuing the fighting. NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's Jane Arraf in Beirut, thanks for your insights and your long experience. I really appreciate it.

ARRAF: Thank you, Steve.

ESTRIN: Thank you, Steve.

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MARTÍNEZ: At least two things were notable about yesterday's campaign speech by Vice President Harris.

INSKEEP: The first was the attitude. Harris has revived interest in the Democratic presidential campaign, and before a big crowd in Atlanta, she addressed her opponent, former President Trump, as Donald, and challenged him to show up for a debate that he had previously scheduled with President Biden.

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KAMALA HARRIS: I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage. Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face.

INSKEEP: Harris also smiled as if mocking Republicans who have criticized her for laughing. Aside from the attitude was the location - she was in a state that previously seemed lost to Democrats.

MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Stephen Fowler was at that Atlanta rally. Stephen, what's behind this apparent new focus on Sun Belt states such as Georgia?

STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Well, simply put, it's Kamala Harris. Polls had Biden losing in all the battleground states he won in 2020. The debate made it worse. So his campaign was primarily focused on the Midwestern blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Then he dropped out, and all the groups that soured on his campaign, like younger voters, Black voters, independents, etc., are moving back to Harris. Now, that diverse coalition, A, is what made Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia competitive in 2020. And with Harris as the nominee, it's likely to make them close again. Basically, thanks to a surge of enthusiasm over the ticket switch, Democrats now have multiple potential pathways to victory.

MARTÍNEZ: You were there. I mean, was the enthusiasm visible last night? We heard a little bit of that.

FOWLER: Absolutely. I mean, Democrats in Georgia and other places in the South I've reported from were telling me the election was about stopping Donald Trump and less explicitly about supporting Joe Biden. But now it's a vibe shift. This was the largest event of the campaign so far - about 10,000 people in Atlanta - all excited for Kamala Harris and beating Trump. It's like a switch was flipped for the base, and not just at these rallies - the campaign is reporting record fund raising, volunteer signups and interest in supporting Harris.

MARTÍNEZ: So what are Republicans going to say?

FOWLER: Well, it's important to remember that the Trump campaign is already firing on all cylinders. Trump named Republican U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate to cap off a triumphant Republican convention that cemented the party's unity. But now, Harris has them pivoting both messaging and geography. Vance was in Nevada yesterday, Arizona, today and tomorrow, he's got a visit to the border. This is fascinating to note. On Saturday, Trump and Vance will be here in Georgia at the exact same arena as Harris' rally last night, likely with the same capacity, crowds and energy.

MARTÍNEZ: Now, while there's clearly a lot of enthusiasm for Harris in some spots, how much overall visibility does she have with voters, Stephen?

FOWLER: So there's this big effort to define Harris to voters since she's less well-known as a presidential candidate for just over a week, and even less known as the Vice President. This is happening on both sides. There's multimillion-dollar ad spending campaigns in swing states. Trump's video goes on offense. He's attacking Harris' weak on immigration issues. The Harris campaign spots is more biographical, highlighting her background as a prosecutor. We should find out within the next few days about Harris' runningmate selection. The campaign says they'll barnstorm several battleground states next week because things change day to day.

MARTÍNEZ: They certainly do. NPR's Stephen Fowler. Thank you very much.

FOWLER: Thank you.

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INSKEEP: And before we let you go, we have an update on the Olympics.

BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey, everyone. This is NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan, coming at you from the Olympic Games in Paris. And actually, to be accurate, I'm not in Paris, I'm at the Palace of Versailles, which is just outside the city, where the magnificent grounds here have been partly transformed into a venue for equestrian events. No big deal, just Versailles. It's pretty amazing. As of Wednesday morning, Team USA is in the lead in the medal count with 26 overall medals - only four so far are gold, which is behind several other countries, including Japan and China. But one of those four golds was the U.S. women's gymnastics team reclaiming the throne in the team all around final. They'd had to settle for silver at the Last Olympics in Tokyo after Simone Biles had to drop out in the middle of the competition.

But last night, they were back on top with Biles looking as amazing as ever. Today, I'm excited to watch the swimmer Katie Ledecky take on her signature event, which is the women's 1,500 meter freestyle. And just to give you a sense of her dominance in this event, she holds 23 of the 24 fastest times ever recorded, which is crazy. In basketball, team USA will have a rematch with South Sudan, who was the mega underdog who came so close to sneaking out a W over team USA during an exhibition game earlier this month, so I'm excited to see if LeBron James and his collection of all stars can get right this time around.

And personally, I'm also so excited to see the men's gymnastics individual all around final. So the U.S. men's team captured America's heart the other night with their bronze medal win in the team final. Now there will be two Americans in the individual event today. They're Frederick Richard and Paul Juda, each of them trying to become the first American man to medal in this event in more than a decade. And one last thing to note after all the worries about the pollution in the river Seine - officials cleared the way this morning for the triathlons to take place today with the river swim and all. So that's all from Paris. Talk to you all later. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.