Israel Ramps Up Counteroffensive & NASA’s Major Discovery
October 12, 2023
Getting Grisly In Gaza
The Israel-Palestine conflict continues. After an offensive by Hamas over the weekend, Israel’s response has rolled into high gear with airstrikes on Gaza. As of writing, the Hamas raids and missile strikes have killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel and injured about 2,700 more. On the other side, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed some 1,100 people and injured 5,300.
After ordering a “full siege” of Gaza and saying that the IDF is “fighting human animals” earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Wednesday that he’s “released all restraints” on IDF forces. “They will regret this moment – Gaza will never return to what it was,” he declared.
His comments have raised humanitarian concerns for the millions of civilians living in Gaza, who are unable to leave the area as all three of its border crossings have been closed since the weekend. Fuel for generators has already started to run out after power was cut to the area, airstrikes have damaged medical facilities, and the U.N. predicts that Palestinians will soon face a “severe shortage of drinking water.” The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that the siege of Gaza “is prohibited under international humanitarian law.”
The U.S. has made its unwavering support for Israel clear, sending ships and fighter jets to the Mediterranean. “We will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack,” President Biden said in a speech on Tuesday. In a meeting on Wednesday, he strengthened that commitment, noting that the weekend’s attack was “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”
While the White House is avoiding calling for any sort of restraint from Israel – Biden’s response to the conflict has avoided the word “ceasefire” – a few Democratic lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders, are calling for the U.S. to pump the brakes. “The United States has rightly offered solidarity and support to Israel in responding to Hamas’ attack. But we must also insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza and work to secure U.N. humanitarian access,” Sanders said on Wednesday. “Let us not forget that half of the 2 million people in Gaza are children. Children and innocent people do not deserve to be punished for the acts of Hamas.”
Want To Know More?
- U.S. Envoy to NATO Says Aid to Israel Won’t Come at Ukraine’s Expense (NYT, $)
- Democrats’ long-simmering Israel tensions reignite over Squad’s comments on Hamas (Axios)
- Blinken to visit Israel this week (Politico)
- US and allies warn militant group Hezbollah against escalating Hamas-Israel conflict (CNN)
Some Good News
- World’s largest offshore windfarm project starts powering UK grid (Guardian)
- Laphonza Butler’s ascent to the Senate is a key moment for Black LGBTQ representation, advocates say (CNN)
Thar Blows Another Pipeline
- On Sunday night, a Finnish pipeline operator noticed a drop in pressure in one of its pipelines. On Tuesday, Finnish officials declared that damage to the pipeline and a nearby communications cable “could not have occurred by accident” and appeared to be the result of a “deliberate … external act.”
- On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would discuss the damage on Thursday, adding that the bloc would mount a “determined” response if they find that the damage was the result of “a deliberate attack on NATO-critical infrastructure.”
- Finnish media has said that a total of five vessels had passed close to the pipeline prior to the incident, including one freighter registered in Panama an oil tanker from Russia. Others have pointed out that a Russian hydrographic survey vessel had visited the area three times this year, though a Kremlin spokesman said he did “not have any technical information, and do[es] not know if our special services have any such information” about the incident.
Salvaging The Situation In San Salvador
- On Wednesday, El Salvador sent over 4,000 security forces into the outskirts of its capital, San Salvador. The surge is part of an effort to clean up gang violence in the country, a campaign that President Nayib Bukele has been using emergency powers to combat since March 2022. He is likely to request an extension to those powers soon.
- The emergency powers allow law enforcement to not disclose the reasons for arresting people and can block individuals from accessing an attorney. While the anti-gang campaign has succeeded in improving public safety, critics say that the emergency powers have led to thousands of innocent people being locked up by law enforcement.
Additional World News
- The U.S. declares the ousting of Niger’s president a coup and suspends military aid and training (Politico)
- France reports dozens of antisemitic acts since Hamas attack (Reuters)
- Sir Keir Starmer says he is a house building Yimby (BBC)
- Dozens of flights are canceled after a fire rips through a parking garage at London’s Luton Airport (ABC)
- How to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza (CNN)
- Russia fails to return to UN rights body after losing vote (Reuters)
- Israeli diplomat draws ‘clear link’ to Iran in Hamas attacks (Politico)
“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” – George Orwell
It’s The Sca-least We Could Do
- Yesterday, House Republicans met behind closed doors to discuss who would be the next Speaker of the House, and they emerged with a name – sort of. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana came out with the most votes in the meeting, but a fair few of his colleagues weren’t ready to shout their support for him quite yet.
- Rep. Jim Jordan, behind whom former President Trump had thrown his weight, was the other name being considered. It’s not yet clear when the House will hold a speaker vote, but with McCarthy being ousted, the looming government shutdown, and a significant issue happening in the Middle East, one hopes it will be soon.
Let Me Expel It Out For You
- A group of House Republicans did manage to agree on one thing yesterday – New York Representative George Santos has got to go. New York House Republicans Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, Nick Langworthy, and Brandon Williams are co-sponsoring a resolution to expel the embattled and oft-mocked fraudster.
- The news comes a day after Santos was handed a 23-count indictment by federal prosecutors accusing him of fraud, embezzlement, and more. Removing Santos would require a two-thirds vote of the entire House, which LaLota seemed confident could happen. “If they want to be judge, jury, and arbitrator of the whole God damn thing let them do it,” Santos said of the resolution.
Additional USA Reads
- Texas executes man who questioned evidence in deadly carjacking of elderly woman (NPR)
- Ex-Ohio State wrestlers say Jim Jordan unfit for speakership for ignoring sexual abuse scandal (Guardian)
- A transgender student, her crusading mom — and an English teacher caught in the middle (NBC)
- Kari Lake announces Arizona Senate run (CBS)
- Three female doctors sue L.A. County, alleging it ignored complaints about an abusive boss at Harbor-UCLA hospital (NBC)
- Abortion rights and marijuana questions expected to drive Ohioans to polls as early voting begins (AP)
- Morgan State University plans to build a wall around campus after shooting during homecoming week (ABC)
A Celestial Time Capsule
- Seven years ago, NASA launched a mission to take samples from Bennu, an asteroid that likely formed just a few million years after Earth. A small spacecraft named OSIRIS-REx made the multi-billion-mile journey to and from Bennu, taking measurements from the asteroid’s orbit before heading down to the surface and taking physical samples of the space rock.
- Three weeks ago, those samples were gently dropped back down to Earth (somewhere in Utah) and collected by NASA for preliminary analysis. On Wednesday, after making sure that none of the rocks were contaminated in transport, NASA held a public reveal of some of the samples, sharing some early findings with the public.
- NASA researchers found carbon molecules, clay minerals with water molecules locked into their structure, and even some organic matter. From this point, NASA will survey the rest of the samples (they’ve only analyzed a small portion of OSIRIS-REx’s total payload at the moment), before releasing a sample catalog of their data for other researchers from which they can propose studies and request samples.
Additional Reads
- 104-year-old woman dies days after jumping from plane to break record for oldest skydiver (USA Today)
- Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel, explained (Vox)
- 11 high school students arrested over massive brawl in middle of school day (ABC)
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners show the beauty — and precarity — of nature (NPR)
- What We Know About the Effects of Remote Work (NYT, $)
- This US couple bought a house in France for $36,000 and it completely changed their lives (CNN)
- Afterglow of cataclysmic collision between two planets seen for first time (Guardian)