Israel invades southern Gaza
The Israeli military has begun an invasion of southern Gaza, according to an analysis of satellite imagery, evidence of a long-awaited operation that could decide the fate of its war with Hamas and create more peril for Palestinian civilians.
The images showed dozens of armored vehicles in the area and berms erected to fortify their positions, and activities that closely resemble earlier Israeli operations in the north. The imagery also showed tracks and clearings, most likely from bulldozers. The Israeli military declined to comment, but its generals have said in recent days that its forces were operating all over the Gaza Strip, without clarifying what that meant.
Their move sets the stage for what is likely to be the decisive battle of the war: a showdown in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south, where Israeli officials believe Hamas’s military and political leadership has sought shelter since fleeing from the north.
Context: The war has prompted the largest displacement of Palestinians since the wars that surrounded the creation of Israel in 1948. Some 1.8 million people, or more than 80 percent of the population, have been displaced.
Next steps: The Israeli government says it does not want to resettle some of its citizens in Gaza, as it did between 1967 and 2005. But it has also ruled out handing the enclave to the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and controlled Gaza before being ousted in 2007 by Hamas.
Oct. 7 attacks: Israel has accused Hamas of committing acts of sexual violence against large numbers of women. Here’s what we know.
Funding deadline for Ukraine looms
The White House warned congressional leaders that the U.S. would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by year’s end, severely jeopardizing Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against Russia if lawmakers fail to approve emergency military aid soon. It was the Biden administration’s latest bid to pressure Republicans to support more aid for Ukraine.
The urgent warning comes at a critical time in the war, as Ukraine struggles to push back Russian troops in a counteroffensive that has largely stalled. Vladimir Putin has continued to send a steady stream of Russian forces into the conflict, willing to endure high casualties amid signs of flagging resolve from Kyiv’s Western allies.
The White House plea fell on deaf ears in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, said Democrats had not done enough to earn the support of his members to send more money to Ukraine.
On the battlefield: Convicts have helped Russia wage war in Ukraine. Times reporters studied 197 freed from one prison, and found that most were killed or seriously wounded.
Evan Gershkovich: Yesterday was the 250th day that the American reporter for The Wall Street Journal has been in custody in Moscow on an espionage charge that he, his newspaper and the U.S. government have vehemently deny.
Tensions flare at COP28
Speaking in a panel discussion, Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who is leading this year’s U.N. climate summit, claimed there was “no science” behind the idea that fossil fuels must be phased out to limit global temperature rise. The discussion took place two weeks ago, but only came to light on Sunday when his comments were reported by The Guardian.
His remarks set off a firestorm at the climate talks known as COP28, and he was criticized by figures such as former Vice President Al Gore. Speaking yesterday, a defiant Al Jaber suggested he did not say what he can be heard saying on the video. And he indicated that anyone who claimed otherwise was trying to undermine his leadership of COP28.
Targets: Climate experts have said that nations must cut the emissions from fossil fuels by 43 percent by the end of this decade, compared to 2019 levels, if the world has any hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a view to ultimately ending their use altogether. Al Jaber has decried this analysis as “alarmist.”
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Word of the year
Every year, Oxford University Press, the world’s second-oldest academic press, selects a word that captures the ethos of the previous 12 months. “Rizz” — from charisma — is its pick for 2023.
The word is slang from Gen Z, or maybe even Gen Alpha, for “style, charm or attractiveness.” It emerged out of internet and gaming culture, and it went viral in June, after the actor Tom Holland said in an interview: “I have no rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz.”
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