Good morning. Here’s the latest:
More news is below. But first, we explain the state of Gaza.
The hunger
For nearly two years, people in Gaza have faced death by airstrikes, tanks and bullets. Now, many are facing a slower, quieter end: They are dying from starvation. It’s a crisis that Gaza’s few remaining functional hospitals can’t treat. “There is no one in Gaza now outside the scope of famine, not even myself,” Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, who leads the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, told my colleagues. “I am speaking to you as a health official, but I, too, am searching for flour to feed my family.” As Gaza faces a looming famine, its social order is breaking down. Looting is rampant. Chaos surrounds the enclave’s few aid delivery sites. Israeli troops have opened fire on civilians waiting for food, again and again. The United Nations says that more than 1,000 people trying to get food have been killed since May. After 21 months of devastating war in Gaza, it can be difficult to discern when conditions there have meaningfully shifted. But Times correspondents are clear: Gaza is descending into anarchy. It’s a crisis that appears unlikely to abate soon, as Israel and the U.S. said yesterday that they would withdraw from cease-fire talks with Hamas. Below, we explain what is happening. An ongoing crisisHunger in Gaza is not new. Israel’s blockade — its ability to control what is allowed into the enclave — has been a source of tension for nearly two decades. Throughout the war, international aid agencies have accused Israel of not allowing enough food into Gaza. Israel says Hamas diverts supplies for its own purposes and aid groups mismanage shipments. The Times has been unable to verify Israel’s claims that Hamas is diverting large amounts of aid to itself. The claims are difficult to confirm because Israel does not allow foreign journalists into Gaza unaccompanied. And Gaza-based journalists are themselves struggling to find food. But our reporters have heard from Gazans in recent weeks that they are at risk of starving to death.
The past few months have pushed Gaza to a new level of distress. The World Food Program, part of the United Nations, said this week that the crisis in Gaza had reached “astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row.” The war has decimated Gaza, but the hunger crisis has grown worse for a few reasons:
An untenable situationNow, Gaza faces anarchy. Gazans have been forced repeatedly from their homes and are unable to work without a functioning economy. They are dependent on the limited aid entering the enclave to survive. And in the daily fight for food and water, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick — are losing, doctors say. Mohammed Almadhoun, who works for the nonprofit Medical Aid for Palestinians, shared images of the emaciated rib cages of boys he’d treated. “On their luckiest day, they just have dry bread and tea,” he said. This was avoidable. Experts have warned for a year and a half that “Israel’s failure to plan for a power transition in Gaza” would make it harder to deliver aid, Patrick Kingsley, our bureau chief in Jerusalem, said. And without a plan for who should take over, it’s unlikely the crisis will abate soon, Shira Efron, an expert on aid systems in Gaza, told Patrick. Israel and Hamas had been locked in negotiations without a breakthrough in sight. As American and Israeli representatives now step back from the talks, more than two million people in Gaza will continue to search for food — and hope it doesn’t run out. More on Gaza
It was a surreal scene at a construction site at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington yesterday as President Trump and Jerome Powell stood next to each other in hard hats. Trump’s visit appeared to be part of his campaign against Powell, the chair of the central bank, whom Trump has attacked for his unwillingness to lower interest rates. Recently, Trump’s attacks on the Fed have targeted the construction project, which has run over budget. Yesterday, Trump went so far as to suggest that the project’s cost may be fraudulently inflated. Powell, however, stood his ground and fact-checked Trump in front of the cameras. Trump vs. Powell
Trump’s relationship with Powell has been rocky, but his criticisms have escalated this year, in both pace and intensity. Since April, Trump has publicly insulted Powell or called for his resignation more than 40 times.
Read about some of the other attacks — and our analysis of how their relationship has soured.
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This question comes from a recent edition of the newsletter. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link will be free.) After the death of Ozzy Osbourne, which famous rapper visited a vigil in Birmingham, England — the singer’s hometown — and poured tequila in his honor?
The problem with naming sports teams the Redskins or the Indians isn’t in the wording. It’s in the choice to use a human group as a mascot at all, John McWhorter writes. Here is a column by David Brooks on ambition. Everything The Times offers. All in one subscription. Morning readers: Save on unlimited access to The Times with this introductory offer.
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