Thursday Briefing: What Israel has achieved in Gaza

Plus, a scam that fakes Elon Musk.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 15, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Israel's goals in Gaza and Ukraine's push into Russia. Plus: When what looks like Elon Musk isn't Elon Musk. American officials say Israel's continued bombings in Gaza are only increasing risks to civilians. Mahmoud Issa/Reuters Israel has achieved all it can in Gaza, U.S. military says The Israeli military has severely set back Hamas but will never be able to completely eliminate the group, according to senior American officials who say continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians. In many respects, Israel's military operation has done far more damage against Hamas than U.S. officials had predicted when the war began in October. Hamas and its leadership are greatly diminished, Israel has destroyed or seized supply routes from Egypt into Gaza, and about 14,000 combatants in Gaza have been killed or captured, the Israeli military said last month. But one of Israel's biggest remaining goals — the return of the roughly 115 living and dead hostages still held in Gaza — can be secured only through negotiations, and not through military force, according to current and former American and Israeli officials. Truce talks: Mediators, Israeli negotiators and officials from around the world are expected to meet in Qatar today for a high-stakes push to end the war in Gaza. Related: One of President Biden's most trusted national security advisers met with Lebanese officials in Beirut in a bid to avert a war between Hezbollah and Israel. Turkey's complex role in the Gaza war was on full display as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The Times spent several weeks with former hostages in Israel as they tried to rebuild their lives. Columbia University's president, Nemat Shafik, resigned after months of fury at her handling of protests over the Israel-Hamas war. Russian medics at a field hospital in the Kursk region on Sunday. Anatoliy Zhdanov/Kommersant Photo, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Ukraine pushed further into Russia Since its surprise incursion into Russia more than a week ago, Ukraine has advanced even deeper into Russian territory, saying that it has captured hundreds of soldiers. Russia has evacuated more than 130,000 people from nearby communities and declared a new state of emergency in one region. Moscow also began withdrawing some troops from Ukraine in an effort to repel Kyiv's offensive into western Russia, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. Taken collectively, Ukraine's actions have put Russia on the defensive anew. Ukraine appears intent on, for now, holding the Russian territory it controls. Volodymyr Zelensky, the country's president, yesterday discussed the possibility of establishing military administrations in areas seized by Ukrainian troops, and the interior minister said Ukraine was creating a "buffer zone" in western Russia to protect border towns and villages. What's next: Whether Ukraine can continue to conduct these raids depends on the number of troops it can commit to the fight. Its forces are stretched thin, and Kyiv has already sent experienced units, pulled from the front in eastern Ukraine, into the offensive. In Germany: The authorities issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022. 🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024 The presidential election is less than 90 days away. This is what we're watching. Vice President Kamala Harris speaking in Nevada last week. Erin Schaff/The New York Times Harris rose in key states New polls show Vice President Kamala Harris slightly ahead of or tied with former President Donald Trump in six of the seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The reversal in North Carolina is particularly stark: Trump held one of his largest leads there in May. Trump maintained a slim lead in Nevada. New voter registration data in two swing states adds to the evidence that Harris's candidacy has energized potential Democratic voters. In more good news for the Democrats, U.S. inflation fell below 3 percent in July, new data showed, most likely cementing the case for the Fed to cut rates at its mid-September meeting. That move that could lift economic sentiment in the U.S. under President Biden, ahead of the November election. Here's what else to know: Harris will outline her economic agenda in a speech tomorrow. It's expected to be a reboot of the Biden administration's. Under new federal rules, Trump's campaign has decided to outsource its voter canvassing efforts, a move that is likely to save the campaign money but may come with risks. Friends and political observers described Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as his coolheaded and ultracompetent counterpart. Biden and Nancy Pelosi, once close allies, have not spoken since she began her effort to push him out of the race. MORE TOP NEWS Arlette Bashizi/Reuters Health: The W.H.O. declared a current outbreak of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, in Africa a global health emergency. Thailand: The Constitutional Court ordered the dismissal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin days after it dissolved the main opposition, the progressive Move Forward Party. Sudan: Peace talks backed by the U.S. opened in Switzerland despite the absence of Sudan's military, one of the two main sides in the country's civil war. Trade: Overseers of the Panama Canal want to store more water after a drought forced them to limit shipping last year. Their plan could threaten farmers' livelihoods. U.S.: Eleven people have died at the Grand Canyon this year, raising concerns about hiker safety. Climate: Extreme heat is closing schools around the world for days or weeks at a time, threatening global education gains. New Zealand: A local charity accidentally gave out chunks of methamphetamine that were disguised as candy. London: Each day for nine straight days, a new Banksy artwork appeared somewhere in the city. For some, it became a treasure hunt of grand proportions. Business & Technology NASA: Officials are still deliberating on how to safely bring home two astronauts who had traveled to the International Space Station on Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft. Boeing: As the plane maker works to address quality control issues, its new chief starts at a disadvantage in competing with Airbus, its European rival. Health tech: Implants in the brain of a patient with A.L.S. were able to recognize words he tried to speak, and A.I. helped produce sounds that came close to matching his true voice. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: The Premier League returns this weekend. Our writers make their predictions for the season. Olympics: China's gold medal champions are now facing a darker side of their success: extreme fans. Doping: The Polish antidoping agency has been the target of a cyberattack, with "fake" test results of top level athletes being leaked. Boxing: French prosecutors have opened an investigation into a complaint made by the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif about online harassment over her gender. MORNING READ Radharc Images/Alamy Near the center of Stonehenge in England is the so-called Altar Stone, a six-ton, rectangular chunk of red sandstone. Legend holds that the wizard Merlin magically transported it there from Ireland. Using chemical analysis, researchers have now pinpointed the stone's source to the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland. To reach its current location, it would have had to travel at least 465 miles by land, or more than 620 miles if it came by sea. But how? Lives lived: Wally Amos, an indefatigable entrepreneur who turned a $25,000 loan into Famous Amos, one of the world's best-known names in baked goods, died at 88. CONVERSATION STARTERS Art gone bust: The artist Christoph Büchel has generated a buzz in Venice by turning an 18th-century palace into a fictional pawnshop. Going gray: Does stress turn your hair gray? This is what we know. Junk science: We're debunking the year's top health trends, like apple cider vinegar and pimple patches. ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times That's not Elon Musk. It's a scam. After Elon Musk endorsed an investment opportunity in a video, Steve Beauchamp drained his retirement account and sank it into the project. The problem was, it wasn't Musk in the video. And the money vanished. Thousands of deepfake videos of Musk have flooded the internet in recent months. They are cobbled together with A.I. from real interviews and have deceived scores of would-be investors. These eerily lifelike creations are expected to contribute to billions of dollars in fraud losses each year, according to estimates. "It's probably the biggest deepfake-driven scam ever," said Francesco Cavalli, a co-founder of a company that monitors and detects deepfakes. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Bryan Gardner for The New York Times Cook: Tikka marinade gives this plain white fish rich flavor and layered heat. Sip: Try an (actually good) nonalcoholic wine. Read: Nathan Newman's novel follows an Englishman looking for a package in an endearing small town. Style: Take inspiration from Copenhagen Fashion Week. Travel: Nicholas Kristof, the Opinion columnist, has advice for exploring the world. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. Have a great day. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018