Monday Briefing: Israel escalates war against Hezbollah

October 21, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering Israeli strikes on Hezbollah-affiliated financial branches and life for U.S. voters in swing states.

Plus, the French town shaken by a rape trial.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday. Hussein Malla/Associated Press

Israel targeted Hezbollah-affiliated financial branches

The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon yesterday targeting branches of Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial association associated with Hezbollah.

The association operates as a lender and financial services provider for civilians in many areas of Lebanon, where the traditional banking sector is in shambles. Many of its branches are situated on the ground floors of residential buildings. Ahead of the strikes, an Israeli military spokesman said that the system was being “used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities.”

It was among several attacks on Gaza and Lebanon this weekend. Earlier, rescue workers in northern Gaza were searching for survivors after a major Israeli airstrike overnight killed at least 87 people, according to Palestinian officials. Israeli jets had also bombed a Hezbollah stronghold near the Lebanese capital over the weekend.

The death of Yahya Sinwar last week had raised some hopes that negotiations to end the war might gain new momentum. But the Israeli government, Hamas and its ally Hezbollah have all signaled that they will not back down. Attacks over the weekend suggest the violence might be ramping up.

Intelligence leak: On Friday, highly classified U.S. documents that described recent satellite images of Israeli military preparations for a potential strike on Iran began circulating on Telegram.

Possible assassination attempt: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, described a drone attack near his private residence as an attempt on his life by Hezbollah.

Shaaban al-Dalou: The 19-year-old wanted to escape Gaza and become a doctor. Video of him burning to death at a hospital has been viewed around the world.

A pile of campaign mailers from both the Harris and Trump teams.

Voters in swing states have premium seats for the fight over who will be the next president. Nic Antaya for The New York Times

Life on the swing-state battlefield

For the vast majority of voters, the presidential election is playing out at something of a distance. But as Election Day approaches, voters in just seven states are living on the campaign battlefield. They have been buried by television advertisements, text messages, internet pop-up banners, dinner-hour telephone calls and get-out-the-vote door-knocks.

Fewer than 20 percent of Americans eligible to vote this year live in those seven states, but those people wield disproportionate influence over the outcome. A lot of them are ready for it to be over.

Your questions: We asked Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent, this question from a reader. (Send us your questions here.)

Where do voters living in the nonswing states find the motivation to vote? The way I understand the U.S. system, their votes barely matter. And as a follow-up: Why don’t they protest more against this? — Marcel Schutte, the Netherlands

Lisa: Voters living in nonswing states are still casting ballots for a list of other statewide and local offices, so their votes do matter in those races. There’s also a sense of sending a political message. While New York or Texas is unlikely to change the outcome of the presidential race, shifts in party support in those states can impact the political mandate a new president has to lead. While fought in battleground states, presidential elections are national races and voters like to have their voices heard.

Scrapping the electoral college would require a constitutional amendment, which would face an extraordinarily — if not nearly impossible — bar to passage. With no clear way to change the system, most Americans focus on more pressing concerns, like the economy, immigration, abortion rights or even foreign policy.

More on the U.S. election

Americans head to the polls in less than three weeks.

At a Pennsylvania rally, Donald Trump descended to new levels of vulgarity, including calling Kamala Harris a “a shit vice president.”
Kamala Harris may be catching up to Trump on a key polling question.

No major-party presidential candidate has been accused of wrongdoing so many times, Peter Baker writes. Yet Trump has thrived in the face of these scandals.

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

A man in white shirt and dark pants sitting on a chair. He has a medal of sorts pinned to his chest.

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia left office on Sunday after a decade-long tenure. Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times

Indonesia’s president stepped down, leaving a mixed legacy

In his two terms as president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who stepped down yesterday, transformed his country, virtually eradicating extreme poverty in the sprawling archipelago. Millions of Indonesians say he was is only president to connect with ordinary people and deliver significant, concrete progress.

But many believe he also tried to bend the laws to install a political dynasty to keep his son in power, undercutting the very democracy that let him become the country’s first president who was not from the military or the long-established political elite.

MORE TOP NEWS

A dark street is illuminated by car headlights.

Walking on a street in Havana on Friday night after Cuba was hit by an island-wide blackout. Norlys Perez/Reuters

Cuba: Experts had been warning that the country’s electrical grid was on the verge of collapse. It went down twice in 24 hours.
Moldova: Voting began in the country’s presidential election, and on a constitutional referendum to leave Russia’s orbit and eventually join the E.U.
Weather: Hurricane Oscar made landfall in the Bahamas and is expected to bring heavy rain to Cuba.
Japan: A man was arrested after an attack on the headquarters of the governing Liberal Democratic Party.
Climate: Scientists are studying ancient Roman concrete to devise greener, more durable modern options.
France: The central and southern regions of the country were drying out after sudden downpours caused flash flooding.
New York City: A 37 percent rise in the number of young people accused in serious crimes has alarmed the police.
U.S.: The country’s homelessness crisis has pushed psychiatry to places it has not gone before — like sidewalk injections of antipsychotics.

Sports

Eddie Keogh/The FA, via Getty Images

England: Here’s the story of how the national team hired Thomas Tuchel.
Premier League: What does the table tell us about the season so far?
Formula One: Red Bull has faced scrutiny ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix after talks with the FIA over the design of its car.

MORNING READ

A long line of people marching down a road lined with trees and fields.

About 500 people marching this month in support of Gisèle Pelicot in Mazan, France. Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

The trial of the 51 men accused of raping and drugging Gisèle Pelicot has rattled France. But no place has been as shaken as Mazan, a small village in Provence, where Pelicot lived with her husband. “It’s at my home that this happened,” one resident said. “It feels a bit like it’s in our family.”

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The grandchildren speak: Three generations after the Holocaust, filmmakers, writers and artists are making new meaning from ancestral trauma.
Far away fans: The N.F.L. has played only one game in Ireland. But with watch parties and Guinness, the league has built a fan base there.
A Zumba teacher or an ‘anti-woke’ cleric: A particularly broad range of people are vying to be the next chancellor at Oxford.

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

ARTS AND IDEAS

Several boats floating in shallow water.

Boats stranded in shallow water in Aleixo Lake, west of the Brazilian city of Manaus. Michael Dantas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A glimpse into a future of droughts

Electricity cuts across an entire nation. A capital rationing water. A mayor encouraging people to shower together to save precious drops. The world’s largest river system, the Amazon, is drying up and upending lives and local economies.

The record-breaking drought, well into its second year, is punishing much of South America, and it provides an alarming glimpse into the future as the effects of climate change become more apparent. This is how the drought has hit nearly every country on the continent.

RECOMMENDATIONS

An overhead shot of a stack of pancakes with cooked apples and sour cream on top. A fork sticks into a bite of pancake and rests on the edge of the plate.

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times

Cook: Start off your week with these buttery, sautéed cardamom apples and maple-sour-cream pancakes.

Shop: Searching for a good pair of loafers? Start here.

Well: Eczema is a common skin condition that affects millions of people. Experts explain how to manage its symptoms at home.

Watch: In these five international movies, a vampire comes of age in Canada and a Chilean secretary dreams of life as a killer.

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

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

Lisa Lerer contributed to this newsletter.

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