Good morning.
Mass casualty incidents caused by the Israeli military offensive in southern Gaza are becoming normalised in the west and leading to a sense of fatalism inside Gaza itself, according to Sam Rose, the director of planning for the United Nations Palestinian relief agency, Unrwa.
He was speaking after an Unrwa school in Nuseirat was bombed by Israeli forces, killing at least 33 people, including 12 women and children.
“In previous conflicts, single incidents like this would cause shock and outrage and would be remembered forever,” he said. “Whereas it seems in this conflict it will be this one will be replaced by another in a few days’ time unless it all comes to an end. So, it almost becomes commonplace and mundane that these things are happening. We have normalised horror.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will address Congress on 24 July during a visit to Washington.
What did the US say about the bombing? The US has called on Israel to be transparent, after Palestinian medics and officials said women and children were among the dead. Israel claimed it was targeting Hamas and was unaware of civilian casualties.
What is the humanitarian cost of the war? After the Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in another 250 being taken hostage on 7 October, Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people, mostly women and children, destroyed 80% of Gaza’s buildings and led the strip to the brink of famine.
Who invited Netanyahu? The House speaker, Mike Johnson, Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Democratic lawmakers most critical of Netanyahu’s strategy are expected to be no-shows. Senator Bernie Sanders said: “Netanyahu is a war criminal. I certainly will not attend.”
Trump attacks judge and courts in first post-conviction rally
In his first campaign rally after being convicted of 34 felonies, the former president Donald Trump described having gone through a “rigged” trial with a “highly conflicted” judge despite there being “no crime”.
The court cases Trump faces have become a mainstay of his campaigning over the last year. He frequently tells his followers that the charges are a form of election interference designed to tamp down the Maga movement.
Trump spoke at a Turning Point Action event at the megachurch Dream City in sweltering Phoenix. He repeated his claims of a stolen election, saying the Democrats “used Covid to cheat” in 2020.
Did Trump’s conviction turn the dial on polling? Not dramatically. On 27 May, Trump was averaging 41.4% to Joe Biden’s 39.9%. Today it’s Trump on 41.1%, Biden 39.9%.
Outrage after New York governor halts congestion pricing
An 11th-hour decision to halt a plan to charge a fee for cars entering the heart of New York City has provoked outrage from environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers.
The city was planning to charge people driving below 60th Street Manhattan $15 a day in an effort to tackle air pollution, curb carbon emissions and boost funding for public transit. But the governor, Kathy Hochul, said the scheme would be indefinitely paused because of “too many unintended consequences”.
How would the scheme have affected New Yorkers? About half of New York City households do not have a car, with 85% of commuters to Manhattan using the city’s network of subways, trains and buses. It’s estimated that 1.5% of commuters under the plan would pay the $15 fee.
How did supporters react? With anger. “New York is America’s biggest city, with the lowest levels of car ownership and highest share of transit ridership – you’d expect to see congestion pricing there first,” said David Zipper, a senior fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative. “It’s deflating and it’s a slap in the face.”
In other news …
Netflix is facing a $170m lawsuit after the woman who identified herself as the inspiration behind the drama Baby Reindeer sued the streaming company.
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said it was “a mistake not to stay in France longer” and apologized, after leaving 80th anniversary D-day events early to do a TV interview.
A Russian nuclear-powered submarine – which will not be carrying nuclear weapons – will visit Havana next week amid rising tensions with the US over the war in Ukraine.
France will transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has announced.
Stat of the day: Secretive court system has awarded $114bn of public money to corporations, analysis finds
About $114bn of public money has been awarded to private investors in investor-state dispute settlement courts, according to a comprehensive analysis. The controversial arbitration system, which allows corporations to sue governments for compensation over decisions they argue affect their profits, is largely carried out behind closed doors.
Don’t miss this: Griffin Dunne on the darkness that overtook his gilded Hollywood upbringing
Griffin Dunne’s memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club, is full of tales about Martin Scorsese, Carrie Fisher and Madonna. But the killing in 1982 of his 22-year-old sister – and the subsequent trial – overshadows everything. He talks to Xan Brooks about revisiting the worst time of his life.
Climate check: Brutal heatwave signals sizzling summer ahead
A record-setting heatwave is cooking the south-western US, causing dangerous conditions earlier than normal. More than 34 million people were under heat alerts on Thursday afternoon in parts of Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California. Experts have warned this could be just the start of another record-smashing season with the potential to usurp 2023 as the world’s hottest year.
Last Thing: ‘What can I do about my housemates leaving dirty dishes for days?’
“They will cook dinner and leave the dishes for days, and it drives me mad,” a reader writes. The Guardian advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith responds with her tips – saying that sometimes anger only goes away once we let it boil.
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