| Gaza is in a humanitarian crisis, days into the war between Israel and Hamas. Power is out, and the enclave is completely under siege — cut off from food, fuel, water and electricity. The conflict has claimed a total of at least 2,500 Palestinian and Israeli lives.The crossing into Egypt has been hit at least three times. Morning Edition host Leila Fadel is in Jerusalem, where she’s been calling people in Gaza overnight. |
| Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images |
| 🎧 Fadel shares a conversation with NPR producer and Gaza resident Anas Baba on Up First. He says he left his job to evacuate his family but couldn’t find safety. „Where am I going to take them?” he says. „Where am I going to hide them?” Palestinians are worried they’ll be cut off from the world. One journalist tells Fadel, „Don’t forget us. We are innocent people.” 🎧 Wafaa Abuzayda was visiting her family in Gaza when the war broke out. She’s among hundreds of trapped Palestinian Americans. She says the hardest feeling is hiding her fear from her 1-year-old son, who doesn’t understand what’s happening. When asked to give a message to the U.S. government, she simply pleaded, „Please save us.” ➡️ In Israel, some of the worst violence from Hamas took place in small communal towns called kibbutzim. They’re uniquely Israeli and have a significant legacy there. Read about their history and what life is like now.🎧 Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Tel Aviv. NPR’s Michele Kelemen traveled with him. On Morning Edition, she says U.S. diplomacy is focused on supporting Israel, keeping the situation contained and preventing involvement from others in the region.➡️ In the U.S., President Biden assured leaders of American Jewish groups that he’s taken steps to boost security measures for Jewish communities. House Republicans nominated Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise to serve as the next House speaker yesterday. But he doesn’t have enough votes to be elected by the full House. 🎧 Rep. Jim Jordan lost the nomination and quickly supported Scalise. But NPR’s Deirdre Walsh says some of Jordan’s supporters aren’t budging. Republicans are worried they look unable to govern amid the violence in Israel and Gaza and a looming government shutdown. Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison has finished her testimony in his fraud trial. She painted Bankman-Fried as the mastermind behind an effort to steal billions from customers, investors and lenders. Here are five takeaways from her testimony — and why it matters. |
