The response of the United States to the Gaza humanitarian crisis and the Israeli Defense Force to civilian attacks in the presence of a terrorist enemy: Israel’s response to Hamas

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza resulted in the shift in tone and substance according to administration officials.

He said that they talk about this with Israelis on a daily basis. He noted that hospitals are not legitimate military targets since Israel said that another major hospital in Gaza had to be emptied out before the next round of bombing.

The PM of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was assured by President Biden that he supported his vow to turn Gaza into a wreck and avenge the deaths of more than 1,400 people.

Mr. Biden said he had told the leader that if the US experienced what Israel was going through, it would be swift, decisive and overwhelming.

The message that the president sent when Israel was mourning has shifted significantly in the past three weeks. While he continues to declare unambiguous support for Israel, Mr. Biden and his top military and diplomatic officials have become more critical of Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

The president and his senior aides still cling to the hope that the new war between Israel and Hamas might eventually give way to a resumption of talks about normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and could even offer some leverage for a return to negotiations over a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine exist side by side. Mr. Netanyahu has long resisted such a move.

But in the short run, American officials have grown more strident in reminding the Israelis that even if Hamas terrorists are deliberately intermingling with civilians, operations must be tailored to avoid nonmilitary casualties. Last week the Secretary of State said that there should behumanitarian pauses, a move that Israel has rejected.

“While Israel has the right — indeed, the obligation — to defend itself, the way it does so matters,” Mr. Blinken said, adding that “it means food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza and to the people who need them.”

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said on Sunday that the hospital in Gaza was being used by Hamas to launch attacks. Mr. Sullivan said on CBS that the use of civilians as human shields by Hamas adds to the burden of the Israeli Defense Force.

Up First Briefing: Israel won’t agree to a cease-fire; how tech messes with our senses (An update on Israel’s military operation against Gaza)

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Despite international calls for a humanitarian pause to Israel’s military operation against Gaza, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not agree to a cease-fire. Israel has been bombing Gaza in response to Hamas’s attacks in Israel. More than 8,300 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than a third of the victims are women and children.

A trial involving a monopoly was underway in the D.C. District Court. In order for the search engine to be the default on devices, it pays billions of dollars yearly to companies to make that happen.

The block button is a valuable tool to battle online harassment. It’s a question of if public officials should be allowed to block their critics on social media. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision about this today.

Source: Up First briefing: Israel won’t agree to a cease-fire; how tech messes with our senses

How to Unplugg Your Mind to Learn How to Feel: The Exorcist’s 50th Birthday & Why It Is Not a Horror Movie

Americans with sickle cell disease are one step closer to accessing a revolutionary treatment that uses a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. A committee of advisers to the FDA is expected to meet today to examine the scientific evidence for the treatment and the research into its long-term safety. Middle Eastern and Indian people have a disproportionately high incidence of the disease. If the FDA approves the therapy it would be the first use of gene editing in humans.

Most of us are familiar with our five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. Interoception, a lesser-known sense, involves noticing and responding to how our bodies are feeling — often subconsciously.

Zomorodi speaks with neuroscientist Sahib Khalsa to learn how unplugging can help us better tune into our body’s signals. She discusses how the mind-body-tech connection from the “TikTok tics” outbreak can be learned.

The Exorcist is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. The film regularly tops “scariest movie” lists. The director insisted that the movie was not a horror movie but one about faith.