Morning Briefing: July 27, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including the Israeli army storming the Handala aid ship en route to Gaza, with 21 people onboard; at least eight Cambodian civilians and five soldiers killed in cross-border fighting with Thailand; and Ukraine claiming a Russian Su-27UB fighter jet destroyed at airfield in the Krasnodar region.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli army storms Handala ship en route to Gaza, with 21 people onboard

A Gaza-bound aid ship carrying 21 civilians issued a distress call after Israeli forces began approaching the vessel, according to the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza.

“Occupation forces are heading toward Handala… the ship issues a distress call,” it wrote on X.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the aid voyage, said earlier the vessel was approximately 70 nautical miles off Gaza’s coast.

• At least 13 Cambodians, including 5 soldiers, killed in clashes with Thailand

At least eight Cambodian civilians and five soldiers were killed in cross-border fighting with Thailand, the Cambodian Defense Ministry said.

Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata told a news conference in Phnom Penh that 21 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) personnel and at least 50 civilians were also injured during heavy cross-border artillery fire, which began Thursday, the Khmer Times reported.

A total of 35,829 Cambodian civilians have been displaced from high-risk areas in Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Pursat provinces.

• Kyiv claims Russian Su-27UB fighter jet destroyed at airfield in Krasnodar region

Ukraine claimed that a Russian Su-27UB training and combat fighter jet was destroyed in a fire at the Armavir airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region.

A statement on Telegram said Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) indicated that the aircraft, which is primarily used to train cadets at the Krasnodar Aviation School, caught fire at the military facility.

It did not provide details on the cause of the fire but described it as part of growing internal resistance to Russian leadership.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israel will implement a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip beginning early Sunday that will last until the evening.
• Senior Israeli army officers have acknowledged that there is no evidence that Hamas systematically stole humanitarian aid delivered by the United Nations during the war against Gaza.
• At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in a new wave of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, medics said.
• US President Donald Trump said Cambodia and Thailand agreed to promptly start ceasefire negotiations after three days of a deadly armed conflict.
• The leaders of the UK, France and Germany, known as the E3, have agreed that sanctions on Iran will be reinstated at the end of August unless Tehran returns to diplomatic negotiations and cooperates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear program.
• Australia announced it signed a long-term treaty with the UK to strengthen collaboration under the AUKUS (Australia, UK and US) nuclear submarine partnership.
• More than 3,800 NASA employees, more than 20% of the agency’s civil servant workforce, have applied to resign under a federal buyout program, as the space agency faces major budget cuts and leadership uncertainty.
• All opposition lawmakers and a mayor have survived a “recall vote” in Taiwan, according to the Central Election Commission.
• Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq rejected recent US claims that the Palestinian resistance group has stolen humanitarian aid in Gaza.
• A judge in the US state of Massachusetts ruled to keep a nationwide injunction in place that blocks President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, according to media reports.
• The US and Qatar are days from finalizing an agreement for the transfer of a Boeing 747-8 aircraft to the Pentagon that is intended for future use as Air Force One, according to communication reviewed by The Washington Post.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Fitch affirms Türkiye’s credit rating at ‘BB-,’ maintains stable outlook

Fitch Ratings affirmed Türkiye’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating at “BB-” and maintained its outlook as “stable.”

Fitch said the rating reflects weaknesses and strengths in the country’s credit profile. It cited Türkiye’s “low government debt, record of sustaining access to external financing, resilient banking sector and high GDP per capita relative to the ‘BB’ peer group median” as key strengths.

The agency noted that its base case is for policies to remain “fairly tight through 2026,” while some easing is anticipated ahead of the 2028 elections. Fitch emphasized, however, that it does not expect “a return to highly negative real rates.”

SPORTS

• F1 icon Hamilton denounces child deaths in Gaza, calls for ceasefire

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton denounced the deaths of children caused by hunger and malnutrition following months of Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and a few aid distribution centers that have also been subjected to inhumane attacks.

In a social media story ahead of this weekend’s race in Belgium, Hamilton shared a UNICEF post that noted “more than 100 children were killed in intensified strikes in Gaza during the first week of July, according to reports. The killing of children has continued every day since. Ceasefire now.”

“We can no longer stay silent,” Hamilton stated in a social media post.

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