ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Wednesday with, including the US Senate passing a $95 billion aid bill, the Iranian president's warning to Israel, and preparations by the Israeli army for an operation in Rafah.

TOP STORIES

• US Senate passes $95B aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

The US Senate approved a long-awaited $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden's said he will sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk on Wednesday.

"The need is urgent: for Ukraine, facing unrelenting bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran,” he said in a statement released shortly after the Senate passed the bill.

The bill includes more than $60.8 billion for Ukraine, $26.6 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies to counter China.

• Iran's Raisi says ‘nothing will be left' of Israel if it attacks again

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Tuesday that if Israel carries out another attack on Iranian territory, the situation “will be completely different” and there “will be nothing left of the Zionist regime.”

Addressing students and teachers in Lahore, Pakistan, Raisi said Iran “punished” Israel for its attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria, referring to a drone and missile attack earlier this month on Israel.

Raisi said if Israel again resorts to military action against Iran, “the situation will be completely different, and it's not known whether anything will be left of the regime,” referring to Israel.

• Israeli army preparing for Rafah ground offensive 'very soon'

The Israeli army is preparing to launch a military operation in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza "very soon," local media reported Tuesday.

According to the public broadcaster KAN, which cited unnamed Israeli military sources, the army is preparing for a ground operation in Rafah that would include "evacuating a significant number of residents."

"According to the army's plan, more than 1 million Palestinians in Rafah will be asked to evacuate the area to shelters recently established in the southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip," said the broadcaster's military correspondent Itay Blumental.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that the PKK/PYD/YPG terror group poses a threat to Iraq's stability, development and peace.

• The head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) commented Tuesday on attempts to dismantle the agency and said the real motive is political.

• Student protests against the Gaza war spread and intensified at US universities on Tuesday as demonstrators demanded that their institutions condemn the war and divest from Israeli firms in response.

• Israel is “stuck” in the Gaza Strip amid a 200-day deadly offensive, Hamas said on Tuesday.

• Cities in Gaza were destroyed more than German cities in WWII, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell highlighted on Tuesday.

• Jamaica decided to officially recognize the State of Palestine on Tuesday following deliberations in the Cabinet the previous day.

• A Turkish Navy ship arrived at the Port of Mogadishu on Tuesday following the signing of a defense and economic agreement between Somalia and Türkiye in February this year.

• The resignation of the Israeli military's intelligence chief this week could create a “domino effect” in which Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other senior officers will step down, a local newspaper said Tuesday

• The Israeli army shot and wounded three Palestinians on Tuesday during clashes in the occupied West Bank.

• More than 3,660 Palestinians are being held under administrative detention in Israeli prisons, the highest number since 1967, prisoners' rights groups said Tuesday.

• Qatar is still committed to mediating between Hamas and Israel to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, its Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

SPORTS

• Arsenal hammer Chelsea in Premier League London derby

Arsenal hammered Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday in an English Premier League London derby.

The Gunners took over the Premier League leadership with 77 points, followed by Liverpool with 74 points and one more match to play. Manchester City are third with 73 points and two more games to play.

• Polti Kometa's Lonardi wins Stage 3 of Tour of Türkiye

Giovanni Lonardi, the Italian rider from the Polti Kometa team, won Stage 3 of the 2024 Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye (TUR 2024) on Tuesday.

Bora–Hansgrohe's Danny Van Poppel crossed the finish line first but was disqualified for squeezing Lonardi into the barriers.

Lonardi took first in a time of 3 hours, 24 minutes, 57 seconds.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Global electric car sales to surge, expected to hit 17 million

Global electric car sales are set to remain robust in 2024, reaching around 17 million units by the end of this year, according to the latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday.

The new edition of the IEA's annual Global EV Outlook predicts that more than one in five cars sold worldwide this year are expected to be electric, with surging demand projected over the next decade set to remake the global auto industry and significantly reduce oil consumption for road transport.

• Turkish aviation sector grows with investments

Türkiye's aviation sector is growing with the investments made in the field after its rapid recovery post-pandemic.

Last year, global international passenger capacity fell 12% behind the pandemic year of 2019, and Turkish Airlines, on the other hand, continued to be one of the leading airlines in the sector with a 27% increase for the same period, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) compiled by Anadolu.​​​​​​​