Good morning. We’re covering the latest in the Israel-Hamas war and Donald Trump’s testimony at his fraud trial. |
Plus, a beginner’s guide to looking at the universe. |
 | | Gazan health officials said the death toll there had exceeded 10,000.Yousef Masoud for The New York Times |
|
Israel cuts the Gaza Strip in two |
Israel’s military said yesterday that it had encircled Gaza City, effectively splitting the Gaza Strip in half. Israel said the move would make it harder for Hamas to retain control of the area. |
Israel has described Gaza City, in the northern part of the enclave, as a center for Hamas’s military operations. “It’s close-quarters urban warfare,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. “A lot of infantry working there.” |
The extent of the fighting was unclear because of a communication blackout late Sunday in Gaza, but phone and internet connectivity appeared to be gradually returning yesterday. Israel said it had struck 450 targets overnight Sunday in Gaza. |
As Israel’s military pushed ahead, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Turkey on the final stop of a Middle East tour. Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration was working “very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” adding, “I think you’ll see in the days ahead that that assistance can expand in significant ways.” |
During the trip, Blinken repeatedly warned Iran against using its proxies to widen the conflict between Israel and Hamas. |
 | | Donald Trump in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday.Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times |
|
Trump testifies at his fraud trial |
While Trump’s testimony appeared to undercut his efforts to distance himself from the valuing of properties, he also testified at times that he had not intervened. He sought to minimize the financial statements’ importance, saying that the bankers he used paid very little attention to them. |
Courtroom clash: The trial’s outcome will be decided by Justice Arthur Engoron, who chided Trump several times yesterday, asking him to keep his remarks short and telling him, “This is not a political rally.” Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination to challenge President Biden in next year’s election. |
 | | The shift underlines China’s reluctance to bail out its debt-burdened property market.Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times |
|
China has a new economic plan |
China’s political leaders, under pressure to support the country’s fragile recovery, are slowly steering the economy on a new course. In the past, they relied on real estate and local debt to drive growth. But now they’re investing more heavily in manufacturing, particularly in fast-growing industries like electric cars and semiconductors, and increasing borrowing by the central government. |
Analysis: China’s investment push might stir more growth in the coming months, partly offsetting troubles in the housing sector. But more borrowing by the central government, as a replacement for local borrowing, will do little to defuse the long-term drag on growth caused by accumulating debt. |
 | | A police officer checked the room where a journalist, Juan Jumalon, was fatally shot.Calamba Municipal Police Station, via Associated Press |
|
 | | Kherson’s residents have endured weeks of random violence since Russian troops fled.Emile Ducke for The New York Times |
|
- Ukrainian forces have secured a sliver of land on the Russian-held bank of Kherson, and the gains could push Russian artillery farther away from the city.
- Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate, went on a hunger strike after prison authorities denied her medical treatment, her family said.
- The Vatican said Pope Francis, 86, has a slight cold that prompted him to hand out a speech instead of reading it to a group of visiting European rabbis.
|
 | | Illustration by Daniel Zvereff, Photo by NASA |
|
The James Webb telescope is a giant leap in the history of stargazing. Since transmitting its first data in late 2021, it has revealed light where we saw darkness, forever changing our view of the cosmos. In our beginner’s guide to looking at the universe, we explored some of the telescope’s most stunning discoveries. |
 | | An Afghan player celebrating his team’s victory against Sri Lanka last month in the Cricket World Cup.Atul Loke for The New York Times |
|
Afghanistan’s cricket stars |
The members of Afghanistan’s cricket team have become unlikely heroes of the Cricket World Cup, which is underway in India. They have defeated England, the defending world champions, and some of the team’s stars are so popular that entire stadium sections roar their names. |
The team’s status stands in contrast to that of the nation’s government, which has become a pariah state since the Taliban’s takeover two years ago. The Taliban regime is not recognized internationally, so the team plays under the banner and anthem of the republic that was toppled in 2021. So far, the bizarreness of the circumstances has been drowned out by the team’s success. |
 | | Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. |
|
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Jonathan |
|
