First Thing: Six people killed in Israeli strike on central Beirut as 1.2 million in Lebanon displaced by invasion

Lebanese health ministry says another seven were injured in attack on district of Bachoura. Plus, the hunger emergency in Haiti

Good morning.

Israeli airstrikes on a central Beirut medical centre have killed at least six people and wounded seven, Lebanese health officials said, adding that a further 46 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on the city in the previous 24 hours.

The Israeli strike hit a medical centre belonging to the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Organisation in the early hours of Thursday. The attack was the second airstrike on central Beirut this week.

In Gaza, more than 70 people were killed by Israeli attacks on Wednesday, Palestinian media and officials said, including in Israeli strikes on a school and an orphanage sheltering displaced people.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the IDF announced that eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in southern Lebanon, with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recording a condolences video to the families of Israeli soldiers.

How many have been displaced in Lebanon? The Lebanese caretaker environment minister, Nasser Yassin, said the number of people displaced in Lebanon had exceeded 1.2 million.

What is the US view of the escalating Middle East conflict? On Wednesday the president, Joe Biden, said he would not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites, as the US sought to temper Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday and contain a rapidly escalating regional conflict. Israel vowed to respond to Iran.

Special counsel reveals new details of Trump bid to overturn 2020 election

Donald Trump “resorted to crimes” in a failed bid to cling to power after losing the 2020 election, federal prosecutors said in a newly unsealed court filing that argues that the former president is not entitled to immunity from prosecution.

Prosecutors laid out details including an allegation that a White House staffer heard Trump tell family members that it did not matter if he won or lost the election, “you still have to fight like hell”.

The new filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump’s closest aides to paint a portrait of an “increasingly desperate” president who, while losing his grip on the White House, “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process”.

“So what?” the filing quotes Trump as telling an aide after being alerted that his vice-president, Mike Pence, was in potential danger after a crowd of violent supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6.

Here’s what the filing argues: “When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office.”

Here’s why the timing of Wednesday’s unsealing is important: The 165-page filing is probably the last opportunity for prosecutors to detail their case against Trump before the 5 November election given there will not be a trial beforehand.

Melania Trump passionately defends abortion rights in upcoming memoir

In an eagerly awaited memoir to be published a month from election day, Melania Trump declares she is a passionate supporter of a woman’s right to control her own body – including the right to abortion.

“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania writes, amid a campaign in which Donald Trump’s threats to women’s reproductive rights have played a central role.

Melania also says she disagreed with her husband on some aspects of immigration policy. “I believed in addressing [disagreements] privately rather than publicly challenging him,” she writes.

What does Melania Trump say about abortion? She says her beliefs about abortion rights spring from “a core set of principles”, at the heart of which sits “individual liberty” and “personal freedom”, on which there is “no room for negotiation”.

In other news …

Ukraine said its forces withdrew from the eastern city of Vuhledar, which had resisted Russian attacks since the full invasion in 2022.

A North Korean defector living in South Korea has been detained, after crashing a stolen bus near the border in a failed attempt to return home.

The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he would pay back more than £6,000 ($8,000) in gifts, including Taylor Swift tickets as the outrage over “freebies” deepens.

One of two doctors charged in the death of actor Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty, for conspiring to distribute ketamine.

Stat of the day: ‘Full-blown crisis’ as 5.4 million Haitians a day struggling to find enough food to eat, UN says

Half of all Haitians are struggling every day to find food, a UN report says, as gang violence and lawlessness are causing a “hunger emergency”. The UN World Food Programme and partners estimate 5.4 million people are regularly finding it hard to get enough food. A coalition of aid agencies are calling for immediate action to stop “devastating consequences”.

Don’t miss this: One year on, Palestinian families mourn their dead in Gaza and question what the future holds

Almost a year on from the Hamas attacks on Israel, more than 41,500 people in Gaza who were alive on 7 October – a warm, autumn morning – have been killed in the Israeli assault, health officials say. Most were civilians; 10,000 may be buried in rubble. A year later, those left alive mourn the dead and fear for the future.

Climate check: Biden visits North and South Carolina as Hurricane Helene death toll rises to 166

At least 166 people have died from Hurricane Helene, hundreds are still missing and more than 1 million people struggle with power as recovery efforts continued. President Biden toured the impacted area by helicopter. The head of Fema said Hurricane Helene was made worse by global heating.

Last Thing: Is New York City’s ‘champagne tap water’ about to go flat?

New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection says the city has “the champagne of tap water”. That’s because the water quality from the Catskills, pumped through the 85-mile Delaware aqueduct, is high enough to meet state guidelines without filtration. But the aqueduct is leaking, so for eight months its capacity will be diminished. Prosecco tap water, anyone?

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