Tuesday Briefing: U.S. said Israel agreed to cease-fire proposal

August 20, 2024

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering U.S. talks in Israel on a cease-fire for Gaza and opening night at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

Plus, the Mennonites making the Amazon their home.

Antony Blinken and Isaac Herzog, wearing suits, stand in front of their country’s flags, shaking hands.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken with President Isaac Herzog of Israel yesterday. Pool photo by Kevin Mohatt

Israel agreed to a proposal to help cease-fire talks, the U.S. said

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a “bridging proposal” aimed at closing the gap between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire deal for Gaza.

A spokesman for Netanyahu confirmed that the prime minister had told Blinken that Israel had agreed to the proposal, which U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators presented last week. Blinken discussed the proposal during a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Hamas officials did not immediately comment, but they have called the proposal slanted toward Israel.

What’s next: Negotiations on a cease-fire deal are expected to resume this week in Egypt. Blinken said that the talks represent “probably the best, maybe the last” chance to bring the hostages home and “put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

On the ground:

Israel said it had carried out strikes across central and southern Gaza. Palestinian officials said the strikes had killed 25 people since Sunday.
Hamas’s military wing and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for what they said was a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv late Sunday.

🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024

The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.

Hillary Clinton at the Democratic convention in 2016, waving and smiling at a crowd.

Hillary Clinton onstage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Clinton and Biden kick off the Democratic convention

The Democratic National Convention will open in the coming hours in Chicago, as polls show Vice President Kamala Harris gaining ground. President Biden is expected to speak, but before that, Hillary Clinton will take the stage.

Clinton’s 2016 defeat to Donald Trump was a loss that some Democrats believed was in part a sign of Americans’ unwillingness to elect a woman. Now, as Harris seeks to break that same barrier, Clinton will be seen as handing her the baton. Follow our live coverage of opening night here.

Here’s what else to know:

The next few days should signal how Harris intends to define her candidacy. Here are six things to watch for.

Biden and his aides have spent days reworking his original address, which he expected to give as the Democratic nominee, for a new moment.
Roughly 1,000 protesters gathered to march toward the United Center, where the convention was set to begin around 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Trump shared social media posts suggesting that Taylor Swift had endorsed him. They were generated by artificial intelligence.

Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers.

Stay up-to-date: Live coverage| Poll tracker | The Run-Up podcast | On Politics newsletter

An overhead view of a bridge over a river with a section missing.

A satellite image after a Ukrainian strike on a bridge over the Seym River on Saturday. 2024 Planet Labs Inc., via Reuters

Ukraine aims to cut off Russian troops

The Ukrainian military has in recent days bombed three bridges in the Kursk region of Russia and may be close to surrounding Russian troops defending the area, military analysts said.

The attacks on the bridges — the only route for retreat or resupply in the area between the Seym River and the border with Ukraine — add another challenge to a Russian Army caught off guard by Ukraine’s incursion, which has been underway now for two weeks. It is unclear how many Russian soldiers remain in the area.

Analysis: President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping to use captured Russian territory as leverage in future peace talks, but it’s a risky bet. Russians who know President Vladimir Putin expect him to lash out in response, believing that his military has the upper hand.

MORE TOP NEWS

A mpox treatment center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Guerchom Ndebo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Philippines: Health officials reported a first case this year of mpox, but did not say whether the patient was infected with the newer, more dangerous strain of the virus.
Italy: One person was killed and six people were missing after a yacht sank during a violent storm off the coast of Sicily.
Business: The Canadian store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard wants to buy the Japanese company that operates 7-Eleven.
Trade: Alarmed by a possible hike in tariffs on Chinese goods if Donald Trump is elected, some U.S. companies are stockpiling parts and delaying expansions.
Kuwait: The government has responded to a fire that killed 49 migrant workers by evicting migrants and leaving them in fear of deportation.
Kenya: Witnesses in the manslaughter trial of an evangelical pastor have testified that he ordered his followers to starve their children in order to meet Jesus.
New York: George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York with a penchant for lying, pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud.

Sports

Two soccer players fight for control of the ball.

Dominic Solanke of Tottenham, left, and Victor Kristiansen of Leicester. Michael Regan/Getty Images

Premier League: Leicester faced off against Tottenham in a match that ended in a tie. Here’s our full coverage.
Soccer: Lionel Messi has been left off of Argentina’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers after sustaining an injury in the Copa America final.
Formula 1: The Athletic’s writers review their 2024 season predictions at the halfway point.

MORNING READ

Two people ride in a horse and buggy on a dirt road as three men watch.

Mennonites near Loreto, Peru. Marco Garro for The New York Times

Groups of Mennonites, seeking inexpensive land far from modern life, are carving out new colonies in the Amazon. They are also raising fears that they are adding to the deforestation of a rainforest already under threat from cattle ranching and illegal gold mining.

Lives lived: Phil Donahue, the American television talk show host who invited audiences to weigh in on a range of topics, from international relations to safe-sex orgies, died at 88.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Zero horse power: The last horse-drawn carriage operator in Brussels went electric. He says business has been good since the switch.
Fussy eaters: A growing number of parents are skipping spoon-feeding their babies and trying solid foods in a process called “baby-led weaning.”
A different workout: Psychologists say that just a few simple steps can help strengthen your happiness muscle.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

An illustration shows a woman, her eyes flickering with flames, gazing into a screen that is being propped up by eight tiny people in business attire.

Cristina Daura

A good hate-watch

You hate that show. Why are you still watching it? It’s like taking a vacation with someone you can’t stand just so you can complain about them later.

Like it or not, hate-watching is now part of the cultural conversation and arguably of contemporary life. We start watching a show because it looks appealing, but often we keep watching because we want to complain about it.

My colleague Alissa Wilkinson, who has hate-watched “The Gilded Age,” “Tiny Pretty Things,” “The Morning Show,” “And Just Like That …” and, of course, “Emily in Paris,” explains why we can’t get enough of these TV shows.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A dish of shrimp with roasted zucchini, yogurt and dill.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

Cook: The shrimp are marinated in a blend of lemon zest and za’atar in this colorful sheet-pan dish.

Watch: With “Alien: Romulus" now out in theaters, our critic ranked every film in the sci-fi horror franchise.

Read: In “Imminent,” the man who ran the Pentagon’s secret U.F.O. investigation shares some of what he knows.

Organize: We have tips on developing a proper filing system for your documents.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Justin

P.S. The Opinions, an audio show from our Opinion section, is now available on podcast platforms.

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