Israel Says They Intend to Take Over Entire Gaza Strip Despite Pushback
"We intend to [take over Gaza], in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance.” - Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu
GetSmart Preview: 🐻The Tiny Dog Named Scout Who Chased Away a Bear
Newsbites
Chart of the week: The estimated percentage of 30-year-olds that are both married and homeowners has declined from over 50% in 1950-60s to under 15% today.
Over 1 million young people from more than 150 countries gathered last week for the Youths Jubilee in Rome. The week consisted of various events, including witnesses from young people, music performances, a time to ask questions to the pope, and prayer. During the last night, participants camped outside in Tor Vergata field in anticipation for the final Mass on Sunday morning, celebrated by Pope Leo (video). The pope addressed the crowd with these words, “My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible. A world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue."
More: The event is the largest gathering of young adults in the world this year.
Epstein: The House Oversight Committee issued multiple subpoenas this week in connection with the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein saga. The first subpoena was sent to the Justice Department to produce all documents and communications related to the investigation, trial, and death of Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. In addition, eight individuals were subpoenaed to appear before the House Committee for depositions including Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey and Robert Mueller (former FBI directors), and a number of former Attorneys General, including former Attorney Generals William Barr, Eric Holder, and Merrick Garland. The depositions, which involve participants answering questions under sworn testimony, will begin with William Barr on August 18 and conclude with Bill Clinton on October 14.
Ultra-processed food: The latest report from the CDC found that on average, 55% of total calories consumed by Americans come from ultra-processed foods. The percentage is even higher for youth ages 1-18 (62%) compared to adults age 19 and up (53%). The figures were derived from surveys conducted between Aug 2021 - Aug 2023. The top categories of ultra-processed foods were burgers/sandwiches, sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza, and sugary beverages.
More: While the percentage of caloric intake from ultra-processed foods remains high, the figures did decline a few percent compared to the 2017-2018 survey period.
President Trump fired the head statistician at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Erika McEntarfer, after the July monthly jobs report showed the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected (73,000 versus 118,000 expected). In addition, the report revised down the number of new jobs added in the months of May and June by about 90%. After its release, Trump claimed on his Truth Social that the jobs numbers were faked to make them look worse.
More: BLS produces the job estimates based on survey samples, so revisions occur each month as new data is collected. However, the revisions in May and June were particularly large and raised concerns of an economic recession.
Japan population bust: In 2024, there were 900,000 more deaths than births in Japan marking a crisis of population decline. It’s the steepest population drop since 1968 when surveys started from the government and the 16th consecutive year of population decline. The Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described it as a “quiet emergency” and promised more family friendly policies such as free childcare and more flexible work environments.
mRNA vaccine wind down: The Department of Health and Human Services announced a “coordinated wind-down” of the controversial mRNA vaccine development. RFK Jr. announced the closure of 22 mRNA projects and $500M of funding will be pulled. He cited data that the vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” He added that funding will shift to “safer, broader vaccine platforms.” Kennedy Jr. posted a video on X announcing the decision.
More: The two most popular mRNA vaccines for covid-19 were the Pfizer and Moderna shots.
A possible meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky is a “very good prospect,” President Trump said after the U.S. special envoy to Russia met with Putin on Wednesday. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed to a meeting “in the coming days,” although the inclusion of Zelensky and Ukraine for a three-way negotiation remains more uncertain. President Trump’s “deadline” to reach a ceasefire before the U.S. imposes aggressive sanctions on Russia is today (August 8).
Israel Says They Intend to Take Over Entire Gaza Strip Despite Pushback
Some context
Israel now controls and operates 75% of the Gaza strip. About 25% of the 26 mile strip remains under the control of Hamas, including the coastal region, central areas, and Gaza City.
As of Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “intends” to begin a new campaign offensive to take over the entire Gaza Strip.
The operation would likely take many months and the potential relocation of about 1 million Palestinians. President Trump declined to say whether he would support a full Israeli takeover saying, "I really can't say. It is going to be pretty much up to Israel."
The new campaign could push Israel’s defense forces into areas where Israeli hostages are being held by Hamas. This has elicited criticism from the families of hostages who say it will increase the risk of them being killed.
New aerial footage: Due to blocked access to journalists on the ground, media outlets have released new aerial footage showing apocalyptic scenes of the destruction of Gaza 22 months into the war (video).
An estimated 70% of all buildings and structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the war.
Just before his meeting with the Israel cabinet on Thursday with the goal to convince weary government officials to agree with the plan, Netanyahu sat down with Fox News and said the following:
"We intend to [take over Gaza], in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance,” he continued.
"We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body, we want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life” (video).
Divide in Israel
As Netanyahu faces a divide inside the government about taking over the strip, the majority of Israeli citizens would favor making a deal with Hamas instead. According to a survey conducted on Wednesday by the Times of Israel, 53% of Israelis do not support a full take-over.
Hamas continues to hold hostages
Meanwhile, Hamas continues to hold 50 Israeli hostages, 27 of whom Israel says they believe are already dead. Recently, Hamas released a video of an Israeli hostage who looks starved, digging his own grave (video). Israel continues to demand the release of all hostages and aims for a complete eradication of Hamas.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The News Memo to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.