Tuesday briefing

Israel has rescued two hostages in a deadly operation

Israeli special operations forces freed two hostages in the Gaza city of Rafah, the army said, while Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in the city, Gaza's health ministry said.

The rescue sparked elation in Israel, where the fate of more than 100 people abducted in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 had become a national priority. But the raid fueled mourning and panic among the more than a million Palestinians who had gathered in Rafah.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israeli ground forces are preparing to invade Rafah to eliminate Hamas battalions there. The prospect of ground fighting in the city has raised global concerns about the risks to civilians seeking to flee.

The intensity and death toll of the operation made clear Netanyahu's determination to press ahead with the southern offensive despite criticism from the US and other allies.

The hostages, Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, both dual nationals of Israel and Argentina, were in good condition.

A survivor's story: Dareen al-Bayaa, 11, spoke in a video with The Times about her grief and recovery after losing many family members in an airstrike in Gaza.

One judge could schedule the first criminal trial of a former US president as soon as next month, raising the possibility that Trump will end up behind bars.

Another judge is expected to make a ruling that could jeopardize his family business. The judge overseeing Trump's civil fraud trial will determine whether Trump should be punished hundreds of millions of dollars and barred from the company he led for decades.

The second ruling would drain the former president's coffers, and the first could ultimately make him a criminal, sending America's already bitter politics into uncharted territory.

Many cases: Trump faces 91 felonies in four criminal cases, and he owes $83.3 million from a recent defamation case, separate from the upcoming fraud verdict.

Finland's new president faces an unexpected test

Finland's newly elected president, Alexander Stubb, seemed perfectly poised to resist Russian aggression as leader of the newest country in NATO. Instead, he will take office next month at a time when US politics, particularly Trump's comments on the campaign trail, have called into question the sustainability of the transatlantic alliance.

Trump's comments that he would allow Russia to do “anything they want” to make NATO countries “delinquent” are certainly not what Finland wanted to hear. The Scandinavian country's border with Russia is the longest in NATO.

Stubb remained calm and urged the Finns to view the disturbing comments as a reminder that Europe must develop its own defenses, without counting on Washington, no matter who ends up in the Oval Office.

In the U.S, Trump's comments have been a boon for Biden, who has faced unwanted questions about his age.

Solar panels are essential for a clean energy future, but they require a lot of space, which often means building in critical areas for wildlife.

The question of whether people can build the necessary solar infrastructure without harming nature is playing out in the grasslands of the American West, prime locations for solar farms and home to animals like pronghorn. Measures that could make farms safer for wildlife often go unused in the US due to a lack of regulation and research.

Lives lived: Kelvin Kiptum broke the world record for the marathon in Chicago last year. He died at age 24 in a car accident.

SPORTS NEWS

Africa Cup Final: A fairytale ending sealed glory for Ivory Coast.

Title Defining Games: What we have learned from The big football matches of Europe.

No deposits at the Slovak Love Bank

In Slovakia, the Love Bank, which has a vault where 7,000 people have kept souvenirs of their affection, will be closed this Valentine's Day.

The bank's medieval building in Banska Stiavnica almost burned down last March – apparently the result of an electrical fault rather than a runaway uprising.

But the vault and the lyrics of a 19th-century love poem certified by the World Record Academy as the longest in the world remain intact. The author of the poem wrote it for the woman he loved, who lived in the Love Bank building and unfortunately married someone else.

That's it for today's briefing. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us, and see you tomorrow. – Than

P.S Vivek Shankar will provide our coverage in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

You can reach Dan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.