For most of its early history, Israel was dominated by left-leaning, secular politicians. But today, the right is in power. Its politicians represent a movement that uses a religious framework to define Israel and its borders, and that has aggressively resisted a two-state solution with Palestinians. And its government – led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — is waging a war in Gaza which, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, has killed over 30,000 people, many of them children. The government launched the war in response to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led attack that, according to Israeli authorities, killed over 1,200 Israelis with an additional 250 being taken hostage.This is not the first time that tension has erupted into violence. But the dominance of right-wing thinkers in Israeli politics is pivotal to how the war has unfolded. On today's episode: the story of Israel's rightward shift.
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Just a week after 100,000 Michigan voters chose uncommitted on their Democratic ballots, hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country made a similar statement on Super Tuesday.
There is a "really grim irony" to the U.S. supplying both the bombs that are dropping on Gaza and now the food parcels that are dropping there, according to one aid expert.
The report, which fell short of a full U.N. investigation, said rape likely occurred at at least three sites on Oct. 7. Some hostages held in Gaza were also subject to sexual violence, the team found.
The death toll in Gaza reached 30,000 this past week, as airstrikes continued and the U.S. conducted its first aid drop while Israel continues to consider a proposed cease-fire deal.
Spotty internet and cell services, blackouts and the destruction of infrastructure in Gaza during Israel's war with Hamas have hampered aid and medical services and keeping in touch with loved ones.
Israel has long raised money from individual supporters living overseas through a tool called diaspora bonds. This financing tool is part patriotic gift and part investment. Today, we look at how diaspora bonds work and how Israel is making use of them for its war effort.
Gaza's health ministry announced Thursday that 30,035 Palestinians have been killed in the war. A close look at how the ministry counts those killed reveals a system buckling under the weight of war.
The first in a two-part special series featuring conversations between Embedded host Kelly McEvers and NPR reporters who have been on the ground during the current conflict in Gaza. In the first episode, NPR's Daniel Estrin talks about the challenges of reporting on the Israel-Hamas war and the work of his colleague Anas Baba from inside Gaza.
Negotiators have been trying to reach a deal on a temporary cease-fire to to move hostages held in Gaza out of the territory. President Biden says he's optimistic the cease-fire could begin in a week.
As talks over a cease-fire in Gaza continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his cabinet was reviewing military plans for Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.
In the past week, the number of people displaced in Gaza reached 1.7 million, Egypt fears a border crisis in the Sinai Peninsula and negotiators began work toward a potential pause in the fighting.
Egypt's empty Sinai Peninsula would offer safety for Palestinian civilians. But Egypt fears refugees might never be allowed back, citing the painful history of earlier Israeli-Palestinian wars.
lsrael is sending a delegation to Paris Friday to meet with officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt to discuss the latest outlines of a potential deal for a pause in the fighting in Gaza.
China's charting its own course, distancing itself from the U.S. in the Middle East, refusing to condemn the Houthis and looking to capitalize on ties with regional players to help solve the crisis.
