The Israel War and the Rafah Explosion: Netanyahu’s Confirmation of Responsibility and the Promise of a “Friendless Israel”

In the meantime, there are reports that Israel has been bombing the Rafah crossing region, damaging many of the roads, which makes it unclear how the aid will be distributed even if the Rafah crossing is opened.

After talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, President Biden announced an agreement to allow humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza. At most 20 trucks will enter Gaza in the coming days, and the U.N. will distribute the aid. Biden warned aid would stop if any of it goes to Hamas.

Biden also hopes to get more information about efforts to locate and free hostages taken during the attacks, a handful of whom are believed to be American citizens. Biden will be meeting with people who lost loved ones during the attacks, along with first responders.

Biden wants to get an update from Israeli military officials on their strategy and the pace of their operations when he meets with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, Kirby said. The trip comes as Israel prepares for a ground offensive in Gaza, and Biden wants to learn more about the objectives and plans for coming days and weeks, Kirby said.

“He’ll be asking some tough questions – he’ll be asking them as a friend, as a true friend of Israel but he’ll be asking some questions of them,” Kirby said.

Asked whether the United States was giving Israel the benefit of the doubt on that denial, Kirby said: “We certainly recognize that they feel very strongly that this was not caused by them.” Kirby said Biden directed his national security team to learn more about what happened.

The hospital explosion led Biden to talk to Netanyahu. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that Israel had “categorically and stridently denied” responsibility.

Abbas called for three days of mourning after he canceled his meeting with Biden. Biden said he would postpone the visit after he talked to King Abdullah.

The Gaza Strip Crisis After a World War II: A High-Frequency Diplomatic Breakdown for the U.S. Embassy

The explosion sparked protests across the region, including in the occupied West Bank, where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces overnight.

Biden was originally scheduled to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a stop in Amman.

But the trip became more fraught after an explosion at a busy Gaza hospital killed hundreds of people, shortly before Biden left Washington. Biden had originally planned to travel to Amman, Jordan to meet with three key leaders about humanitarian aid for Gaza. The part that was called off was part of the trip.

Biden visited war zones before, including a trip to Ukraine in February. That travel wasn’t revealed until the president was on the ground in Kyiv.

The White House is providing less public information about the trip than usual because of the risks of traveling to the region right now. During Blinken’s visit to Tel Aviv, sirens went off as a warning of new rocket attacks, and the secretary was moved to a bunker for about five minutes.

The first shipments of aid could arrive in the Gaza Strip by Friday, nearly two weeks after the start of a punishing Israeli bombardment campaign against Hamas.

The United Nations says trucks carrying 3,000 tons of water, medicine, and food are waiting for Egypt to approve their entry into the country.

It is unclear if any fuel would be included in the shipment. With Gaza’s main power plant unable to operate, aid groups say fuel is badly needed to power desalination and wastewater plants, along with hospital generators.

The up first show: an update on the U.S. refugee crisis in Gaza and the impact on the UN, UN, and the Middle East

As many as 600 U.S. citizens are thought to be trapped in Gaza, U.S. officials say, but it was unclear whether any people would be allowed out if the border opens on Friday.

Israeli officials say that about 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Palestinian health officials say that the death toll in Gaza has reached 3,478, along with more than 60 dead in the West Bank.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for an “immediate cease-fire” in order to facilitate Hamas’s release of the hostages and for Israel to allow unrestricted access to aid.

The diplomatic efforts to address the crisis are going to take place in the coming days, with British Prime Minister Rania Sunak and French President-electEmmanuel Macron set to arrive in Israel and Egypt respectively.

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The new speaker was rejected in a second vote. The GOP opposition to his nomination grew from 20 to 22.

How to protect your car: A study of catalytic converter theft in the United States after the van der Sloot-Michelson plea deal in Aruba

A new Federal Reserve survey shows that the net worth of American families increased by almost 40% between 2019 and 2022. It’s the biggest jump the agency has seen since the surveys began. The wealth gap between rich and poor also narrowed slightly. The gains could be tied to the government’s temporary COVID relief measures.

Natalee Holloway’s family finally knows what happened to her 18 years after the American teen disappeared on a high school graduation trip in Aruba. Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty to her death. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to tell Holloway’s mother, Beth, how her daughter died and where her body was stashed.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau says that the theft of catalytic converters has gone up. They’re located underneath cars and help them clean exhaust. Thieves target them because they’re made of expensive precious metals. It can cost a lot to replace one. Here’s how to protect your car:

Source: Up First briefing: Gaza aid deal; preventing catalytic converter theft

Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Mother’s Day in the Life of an Astrophysicist, Revealed by a Model of Diversity

When she lived in a rural town, she used TV as a way to escape. Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of her favorite shows. Her dad, also a Trekkie, pointed out the morals in each episode and taught her to value diversity. Barber writes about how this helped build the foundation for her sense of social justice as an astrophysicist of color.

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