Good morning. We’re covering the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City. Also:
Plus, remembering Robert Redford.
Understanding Israel’s military push into Gaza City
The Israeli military yesterday announced a long-expected advance into Gaza City, defying warnings from some of its closest allies and putting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in danger. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has described the assault as an attempt to rout Hamas from one of its last strongholds in Gaza. But many are skeptical: Israel’s own military chief of staff largely opposed the move, instead urging a cease-fire deal with Hamas to free the remaining hostages held in the enclave. Aid groups have warned the Israeli incursion will be devastating for the Palestinians still in Gaza City, who have already lived through nearly two years of hunger, fear and bombardment. Some have left, but many others say they do not know where and how they could flee. The offensive seemed poised to further isolate Israel internationally. The Israeli government faces increasingly sharp accusations of war crimes from human rights groups, which Israel has denied. Yesterday, a U.N. commission investigating the war in Gaza said that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. It’s unclear how long the Israeli operation might last. We’ve collected four pieces of Times journalism to help you understand the big picture. Netanyahu has framed the Gaza City invasion as the measure that will finally defeat Hamas, but he’s made that argument before. The invasion of Gaza City, my colleague Patrick Kingsley wrote, “risks ending the same way as all his previous efforts: in a strategic dead-end: with Hamas still holding on by its fingertips, Israeli hostages still in Hamas’s grip, and Palestinian civilians trapped in a dystopian nightmare.”
For Gazans, the displacement feels permanent Nearly all of the residents in Gaza City have been displaced from their homes or shelters at least once during the war. Many now say fleeing again is worse than staying. “We know if we leave, we will never return,” said one professor. Some cannot afford to evacuate; others point out that the rest of Gaza is not safe, either. In early September, the military issued an evacuation order telling all residents to move to southern Gaza. Since then, roughly 350,000 people have fled the city. The New York Times freelance photographer Saher Alghorra, who was born in Gaza City, took photos of the trek. Despite the high price for Gazans, Hamas is digging in Tens of thousands of Gazans have been killed in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza, according to local health officials. But Hamas has refused to surrender or free the remaining hostages. Palestinian analysts say Hamas’s leaders believe that if they hold out long enough, they can compel Israel to reach an agreement that does not require the group to give in.
Many Israelis oppose Netanyahu’s offensive About two-thirds of Israelis say they would prefer a negotiated deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and an end to the war. Critics of Netanyahu say he has prolonged the war to keep himself in power by mollifying the far-right members of his governing coalition. Many Israelis fear that the remaining hostages will be killed in the ground offensive. Trump’s second state visit to the U.K.
President Trump and his wife, Melania, will begin a state visit to Britain today, hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Trump leaves behind a politically divided country, convulsed by the death of his ally Charlie Kirk, to step into a brief fairy tale of pomp and pageantry. Trump is the only elected leader to be accorded a second British state visit. It shows the lengths to which Britain is willing to go to stay on his good side. In the video above, Mark Landler, our London bureau chief, describes what Britain hopes to get in return. Here’s what else to know. Interested in providing feedback on this newsletter? Take our short survey here.
Some of the N.F.L.’s biggest current and former stars, including Tom Brady, will compete next year in a somewhat surprising location, where soccer is king: Saudi Arabia. The expansion is mutually beneficial. The N.F.L. has been looking for new markets, while Saudi Arabia has been trying to diversify its economy by hosting boxing, soccer and tennis matches. Read more.
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Remembering an idol and an activistFor decades, Robert Redford, who died yesterday at 89, was one of Hollywood’s preferred leading men. He went on to direct hit movies that often helped America make sense of itself. Away from Hollywood, he championed environmental causes and created the Sundance independent film festival that nurtured the dreams of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay. Some may have seen him only as a sun-kissed matinee idol, but he often took risks by exploring serious topics like grief and political corruption, my colleague Brooks Barnes writes. Check out memorable snapshots from Redford’s life and career, or watch one of these 15 movies to remember the star as he was. Our film critic Manohla Dargis examined the breadth of Redford’s film work.
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