Explosions were heard in Damascus on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmad al-Sharaa, at the presidential palace. The blasts were reportedly caused by explosive devices. The French president’s office said he was safe and his trip was continuing. Eighteen people, including four police officers, were wounded in the incident, according to Syrian media.

A member of Washington state’s Human Rights Commission resigned followed the release of video taken at a meeting last year in which he suggested during debate over an antisemitism resolution that Jewish people were “always crying” and raised concerns that the resolution’s passage would be “an open door for them to now continue to demand.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry is hosting officials from dozens of countries and between 15 to 20 million mourners at former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ongoing six-day funeral, including representatives from India, China and Turkey.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles at two commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, a senior U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal.  One of the targeted vessels appeared to be a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, which reported an engine room fire but said all crew were safe.

A woman who dated Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner alleged he sexually assaulted her when they dated in 2021, an account the outlet reported was supported by her correspondence and other interviews. The woman, Jenny Racicot, said Platner came into her home uninvited while intoxicated and forced himself on her despite her repeated rejections. 

In a video statement, Platner denied the accusation outright but said he’s “mindful of the political reality it will inflict” and is therefore “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating [Sen.] Susan Collins (R-ME).”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said both Israel and Lebanon see the agreement signed between Jerusalem, Beirut and Washington earlier this month as “superseding” the first clause of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which calls for the end of hostilities on all fronts. “Whether or not the United States does, you’ll have to ask an administration spokesman,” he said at an event on Monday with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem announced at a press conference in Gaza on Monday that the terror group’s Emergency Committee — the administrative body that governs the enclave — is dissolving and that its civil servants, who will remain in their roles, stand ready to work under the new technocratic government established by the Board of Peace. The BoP said its assessment of the announcement “will be guided by actions, not promises” and called for a “genuine transfer of authority” and for Hamas to disarm.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly opposed the U.S.’ sale of jet engines and possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to Ankara; Netanyahu told Fox News on Monday that such sales to a “regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood” would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority.”

The Israeli leader had also privately urged Trump on Friday to hold off on the sale ahead of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, Axios reported on Monday.

The Orthodox Union announced on Monday that it filed an amicus brief in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a Supreme Court case regarding religious freedom and public funding set to be heard this fall. The brief argues that an adverse ruling could force religious schools and synagogues to choose between their faith and programs they rely on daily, including security grants that help protect Jewish institutions from antisemitic violence.

London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation on Monday into antisemitic abuse at a Pride parade after videos circulated online showing Jewish participants being harassed at Saturday’s event. The footage shows attendees carrying rainbow flags incorporating the Star of David being confronted by individuals shouting, “Go back to your Zionist homeland,” “F*** you, Jew” and “How many babies did you kill?”

The Israeli-inspired cafe Tatte is opening its first location in New York’s Flatiron District.