Wednesday briefing: Israel plans a long-term role in Gaza

Israel plans a long-term role in Gaza

As Israel’s military campaign against Hamas entered its second month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an indication of Israel’s plan for the war’s aftermath. He said Israel will have to monitor the security of the Gaza Strip once the fighting is over to prevent future attacks.

Netanyahu gave few details about the plan, but said in an interview with ABC News that he believed Israel would have overall security responsibility for Gaza “indefinitely.” If his plan is implemented, it appears that there will be no full reoccupation of Gaza – a move the US and others have warned against.

Israel has said its goal is to destroy Hamas, but Netanyahu did not say who should run the enclave after Hamas is gone. It remains unclear whether the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank, could play a role in the area’s governance.

In Israel, there appeared to be broad political support for Netanyahu’s position. Military analysts have said the country faces a difficult choice between reoccupying Gaza or withdrawing, warning that the civilian suffering caused by the airstrikes and ground invasion could lead to the rise of a new group promoting violent resistance against Israel .

The initial loans were largely part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which launched in 2013 to finance development projects and strengthen ties in more than 150 countries. But now China’s state-owned banks, which provided most infrastructure loans, have scaled back new lending, and bailout loans to low- and middle-income countries have soared.

Background: Many Chinese loans from the Belt and Road Initiative have been used to build expensive projects that have failed to stimulate economic growth and saddled countries with debts they can no longer repay.

A mixed report: The International Monetary Fund has raised its growth forecasts for China for this year and 2024, but warned of risks to the Chinese economy from the financial and real estate sectors.

Ukraine investigates deaths during medal ceremony

A Russian missile attack on a group of soldiers gathered to receive medals has sparked rare criticism of Ukraine’s armed forces. Nineteen soldiers were killed in the attack on the ceremony held on Friday. Soldiers and Ukraine’s civilian leadership say the rally in plain sight was reckless and a preventable tragedy.

The ceremony, critics said, was straight out of a Soviet-era military manual, with soldiers standing at attention in front of a table of medals and removing their helmets. Many of the victims appeared to have died from head injuries.

Response: The Ukrainian government is investigating the deaths and the brigade commander has been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

Individual, Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating a bizarre explosion during a birthday celebration that killed an aide to Ukraine’s top military commander. Ukrainian officials said the aide had received a box of six grenades as a birthday present and that his son had accidentally pulled the ring of a grenade.

When you die, what do you want to happen to your remains? The answer for some: shoot them into space.

For these people, that wish could be the culmination of a lifelong fascination with space exploration. Or a space funeral could be a sign of acceptance of the idea that a void ultimately awaits us.

Is Homer Simpson a good father now?

In a recent episode of “The Simpsons,” now in its 35th season, Homer suggested he would give up one of his signature feats: strangling his son Bart. The move seemed to acknowledge that one of the oldest recurring gags in the popular cartoon series was a clear form of animated child abuse.

In the episode, Homer meets a neighbor who compliments his handshake. ‘Do you see Marge? Strangling the boy paid off,” Homer tells his wife. “Just kidding. I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.”

In recent years, Matt Groening, the show’s creator, has taken steps to revamp its humor. In 2020, Hank Azaria said he would no longer portray the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, an Indian supermarket owner. Viewers of Indian descent have criticized the character as nothing more than a racist caricature.

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