Rafah border crossing: A limited number of wounded Palestinians are being allowed to leave Gaza and enter Egypt so they can receive proper medical treatment. Up to 500 foreign nationals also are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza and go to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. A limited cease-fire is in place at the border crossing, although the Israelis would not immediately confirm that the cease-fire was part of the deal to allow the Palestinians and foreigners to leave Gaza.
Refugee camp airstrike: According to the Israeli military, a Hamas commander who was a leader of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel has been killed in an airstrike against a Hamas command center. The Hamas leader is identified as Ibrahim Biari. The Hamas command center apparently was located within a refugee camp in northern Gaza that was hit by Israeli aircraft. Hamas says hundreds of people were killed or injured in the airstrike.
U.N. proposal: The U.S. has vetoed a draft resolution that was being considered by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the U.S. wants to allow more time for diplomacy to take place rather than impose a cease-fire. The proposed resolution also would have condemned the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas.
WeWork bankruptcy report: The Wall Street Journal reports that the shared workspace company WeWork is getting ready to file for bankruptcy protection. The Journal said that the filing could come next week. WeWork bills itself as the leading global provider of flexible work space. WeWork was founded in 2010 and at one time had a market value of $47 billion. It now has a market value of about $270 million.
Trump assails judge: Donald Trump is once again on the warpath against New York Judge Arthur Engoron. The judge is presiding at the civil trial of Trump, his children and his organization that would decide how much of a penalty they should pay for bank, insurance and tax fraud. In advance of testimony in the case by Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and daughter Ivanka, Trump last night posted on his social media site, “Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!” New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the case that seeks at least $250 million in damages for Trump’s fraudulent business practices.
Wind farm plans: The Danish wind farm company Orsted is dropping plans to build two wind farms for electric generation off the New Jersey coast. At the same time, it announced that a joint venture with Eversource is going to move forward that would build wind farms off the Connecticut and Rhode Island coasts. David Hardy, who is the CEO for U.S. operations at Orsted, said the company is disappointed to have to end the N. J. projects. He thanked N. J. Gov. Murphy and other officials who had supported the wind farms.
Cover photo courtesy Sandia Labs / Creative Commons
