There was a palpable sense of crisis in the Gaza Strip today. Thousands of residents raced to flee their homes in the hours after Israeli officials called for more than a million civilians to evacuate south in just 24 hours, ahead of a potential ground invasion.
And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel took the unusual step of delivering a televised address on the Jewish Sabbath to say that the campaign against Hamas, which over the weekend carried out the worst terrorist attack in the country in 50 years, is just beginning.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said that airstrikes had killed at least 70 Palestinians who had been trying to flee the northern part of the territory, and the U.N. warned that Israel’s evacuation order would lead to “devastating consequences.” The organization said that its priority was negotiating with Israel to allow the opening of a humanitarian channel for deliveries of essential aid, including water.
The U.S. is also trying to broker safe passage out of Gaza and into Egypt for American citizens and other foreigners. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to at least seven Middle Eastern countries in four days to shore up support for Israel and to persuade Arab countries to limit their criticism.
House Republicans nominate Jim Jordan for speaker
Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, received his party’s nomination for speaker of the House. By a vote of 124 to 81, he turned back a challenge from Representative Austin Scott of Georgia, a little-known conservative.
Still, Jordan’s quest for the speakership faces serious challenges. Several mainstream Republicans said they would not support him — a sign that the bitter party infighting that has broken out in recent days may continue to paralyze the House.
How a senator became central to Egypt’s spy efforts
During a cozy dinner at a steakhouse in 2019, Nadine Arslanian — who soon after married the powerful…
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