Wednesday briefing: What Iran’s attack on Israel means for the Middle East

In today's newsletter: Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran will pay" for launching almost 200 ballistic missiles across Israel, in sharp escalation of conflict

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Iran launched a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening in retaliation for a series of attacks against its proxies. Officials in Tehran cited the assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders - including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on Friday - and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

US election | JD Vance refused to say whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and sidestepped questions over whether he would certify a Trump loss this autumn, bringing out sharp attacks by his Democratic opponent, Tim Walz, during the vice-presidential debate last night.

Surveillance | UK government ministers have been warned not to resurrect Conservative plans to tackle welfare fraud by launching mass algorithmic surveillance of bank accounts. Rights and privacy groups fear the government is poised to deliver a snooper's charter" using automation and possibly AI to crack down on benefit cheating and mistakes that cost 10bn a year.

UK news | A 14-year-old girl was left with potentially life-changing injuries while a 16-year-old boy was in hospital after a substance - believed to be acidic - was thrown at them by a male who approached them on the street outside their London school, police have said.

Lucy Letby | A senior doctor said he was ashamed" he failed to stop the nurse Lucy Letby from harming babies and that police should have been contacted a year earlier. John Gibbs told a public inquiry that doctors received very firm pushback" from senior nurses when they raised growing suspicions about Letby in early 2016.

Space | A comet that has not been seen from Earth since Neanderthals were alive has reappeared in the sky, with astronomers saying it might be visible to the naked eye.