The Morning: The threat of more war

Plus, Donald Trump, wildfires and "The Matrix."

View in browser|nytimes.com August 1, 2024 Good morning. We're covering the intensifying violence across the Middle East — as well as Donald Trump, wildfires and "The Matrix." Pictures of Ismail Haniyeh at a rally in Tehran yesterday. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times Another round of violence By Vivian Nereim I cover the Middle East and am based in Saudi Arabia. This week was supposed to bring a rare moment of amity in the Middle East. Iran inaugurated a new president, and its regional rival, Saudi Arabia, dispatched a royal to Tehran with a jovial letter from its king, sending his best wishes. The United Arab Emirates, attacked by the Iranian-backed Houthis just two years ago, published photos of its smiling foreign minister shaking hands with Iranian officials. And a White House spokesman had said that a cease-fire deal in Gaza was "close." Instead, the region now seems to be even further away from peace. Yesterday, Iran and Hamas accused Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior leaders of Hamas, while he was in Tehran. (Haniyeh was Hamas's lead negotiator in cease-fire talks to end the Gaza war, which began with the Oct. 7 attacks.) The day before, Israel killed a leader of Hezbollah in Beirut after a rocket launched from Lebanon had killed 12 children in Israeli-occupied territory. Diplomats around the world are telling these parties to keep a lid on it. And the groups themselves say they do not want a wider regional war. Israel's defense minister repeated the message on Wednesday. Iran has said the same thing, and so has Hezbollah. (Hamas has said it wants a wider war, but it is depleted from nearly 10 months of conflict in Gaza.) Yet the violence persists, as each party claims its attacks are reactions to previous ones. That's why, in the span of a few months, Israeli bombs have hit Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen. It's why Hezbollah and Houthi fighters have repeatedly targeted Israel (and also ships passing through the Red Sea, disrupting global trade). It's why American airstrikes have pummeled Yemen for nearly seven months. The reality When I speak to sources in the Middle East, they often struggle to process this contradiction. To them, the calls for peace during what already looks like a regional war can sound strange. Bader Al-Saif, a historian at Kuwait University, lamented "the amount of denialism surrounding this basic fact." Pretending as if the actual conflict is yet to arrive, he said, risks "normalizing death, violence, fear, dispossession, hunger and lack of dignity across the Middle East." True, de-escalation may be wanted — and it may even be possible. Analysts say that Iran and Hezbollah, despite vengeful rhetoric, could keep their responses measured. Israeli assassinations abroad are nothing new, and some top Israeli generals believe a truce, not more war, would free captives still held by Hamas. Israel could seek to limit its response to any counterattack by Iran. Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday that he was still intent on reaching a cease-fire in Gaza. But recent events suggest that peace is not close. Hezbollah has been launching regular rocket attacks since Oct. 7. Israel continues a military campaign that has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry — even as its allies push for it to make a cease-fire deal. Haniyeh's assassination is a blow to Hamas, but it is unlikely to truly destabilize it. And Israeli strikes against a port controlled by the Houthi militia, which attacked Tel Aviv by drone last month, are likely to worsen Yemen's humanitarian crisis. A stalemate? After the Haniyeh strike, Qatari officials — who help moderate Gaza peace talks — threw up their hands. "How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" the Qatari prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, wrote on social media. Israel suggests that it, too, feels locked in a cycle of violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel faced threats "from everywhere" and said that he refused to "surrender" to voices telling him simply to "end the war." It's sensible for diplomats around the world to insist on peace and restraint. Combatants do often put their grudges aside; that's how wars end. But there's another possible future, too. In that scenario, enmities between Israel and its neighbors are growing only deeper. Officials and scholars I've spoken to say they worry that an entire generation could be radicalized by the current war. The events of this week won't help. More on the Middle East Israel said it killed the head of Hamas's armed wing last month in Gaza. He was believed to be a leader behind the Oct. 7 attacks. Iran held a funeral for Haniyeh. Haniyeh's killing was a humiliating security breach for Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has issued an order for a direct retaliatory strike against Israel in response. Some Palestinians in Gaza worried that Haniyeh's death could further stall hopes for a cease-fire. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas's leadership. Here's what we know about the top officials believed to be still alive. Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed two journalists from Al Jazeera. The network said their car had been marked as a press vehicle. THE LATEST NEWS Trump Interview Donald Trump  Akilah Townsend for The New York Times Donald Trump, in a contentious interview at a conference for Black journalists, questioned Kamala Harris's racial identity and suggested falsely that she only recently began to identify as Black. Harris, the daughter of an Indian American mother and Jamaican father, has consistently identified as Black in public life. She went to a historically Black college. Read a fact check. Trump repeatedly chided one of the reporters on the panel, Rachel Scott of ABC News, as "rude" and "nasty" for reading a list of his past comments about Black people. Watch a video recap. More on the 2024 Election The United Automobile Workers union endorsed Harris after initially withholding its support so it could assess her approach to manufacturing jobs and the war in Gaza. A group of pro-Palestinian activists are trying to derail Gov. Josh Shapiro's nomination as Harris's running mate. They see Shapiro, an observant Jew, as a face of support for Israel. Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, a contentious set of conservative policy proposals. But JD Vance's contribution to a book by the project's chief architect has made that complicated. International Outside a voting station in Venezuela.  Marian Carrasquero for The New York Times Partial results in Venezuela's election, analyzed by The Times, suggest an opposition candidate beat President Nicolás Maduro — who declared victory — by over 30 percentage points. Disinformation fed a far-right riot after a deadly stabbing of children in Britain. Guinea convicted a former president of crimes against humanity for overseeing a massacre at a pro-democracy rally in 2009. Africa has the world's youngest population — and many of its oldest leaders. Some citizens want them to follow President Biden's lead and step down. Climate Nearly 50 large wildfires are burning across the western U.S. The number threatens to overwhelm firefighting resources. One scientist wants to block the sun to cool the Earth. Many others think such a plan could result in unpredictable calamities. Officials in Iceland warned of a volcanic eruption in the coming days; it would be the country's eighth since 2021. "We're going through a volcanic crisis," one expert said. Flooding caused by a storm in northeastern Vermont destroyed and damaged dozens of homes. The state has experienced a string of severe floods since last summer. Other Big Stories The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but hinted that it might cut rates in September. South Carolina's top court ruled that death by electrocution and firing squad were legal forms of execution. Troops that work around large weapon blasts have the highest suicide rates in the U.S. military, a Pentagon report found. Boar's Head recalled seven million pounds of deli meat after a listeria outbreak killed two people. At Guantánamo Bay, the man accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks and two of his accomplices pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder charges. Opinions As we did yesterday, we are sharing entries from a project in which columnists write about one thing they think everyone else gets wrong. People hate on the D.M.V., but it's great, Tressie McMillan Cottom argues. Some people think what you preach matters more than what you do. It doesn't, David French argues. We should accept that we can all be hypocritical, Lydia Polgreen argues. Subscribe Today The Morning highlights a small portion of the journalism that The New York Times offers. To access all of it, become a subscriber with this introductory offer. MORNING READS In Idaho. Sasha Arutyunova for The New York Times Art of craft: This cowgirl's saddles are beautiful. If you'd like one, the wait list is around six years. Near death: After a couple were swept away while diving and spent days drifting at sea, they were rescued. Their first meal was a pastrami sandwich. Fast asleep: How much do you know about dreams? Take our quiz. Social Q's: "Can I confront the woman who stole my late sister's evening gowns?" Most clicked in July: See the 100 best books of the 21st century so far. Lives Lived: Alma Powell was a quiet force alongside her husband, Colin Powell, the military general, secretary of state and national security adviser. She played a crucial role in his decision not to run for president in 1996. She died at 86. OLYMPICS Katie Ledecky Chang W. Lee/The New York Times Swimming: Wins by Team USA's Katie Ledecky and France's Léon Marchand headlined a night worthy of Olympic lore. Soccer: The Canadian women's team, despite its steep penalty for using drones to spy on opponents, reached the quarterfinals with a win over Colombia. Basketball: The U.S. men's team advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating South Sudan. Tennis: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain lost to the American doubles specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. Read a recap. Still watching: For the first time in four decades, Russia, which is banned from the Games, isn't airing the competition. But Russians are finding ways to tune in, The Wall Street Journal reports. Dance lessons: A dressage rider explains how she and her horse, Jagerbomb, made it to the Olympics. Surfing: The competition is being held in the waters off Teahupo'o, Tahiti. Residents are still suffering the effects of a French nuclear test that poisoned the village in the 1970s. Today: Simone Biles goes for more gold. There's also golf, swimming and tennis. ARTS AND IDEAS Influencers in China. Sun Kissed Bucket List and World Nomac, via YouTube Travel vlogs from foreigners visiting China are finding large audiences on YouTube and Instagram. But they're even more popular in China, where the videos go viral and the creators are interviewed in state media. For China, the vlogs do more than encourage tourism: They counter what many see as an anti-China sentiment in the West. More on culture A scene from "The Matrix." Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma, via Getty Images "The Matrix" was released 25 years ago. One scene illustrates why the film — in our age of A.I. and fake news — is as relevant as ever. Colin Jost, a "Saturday Night Live" writer and Weekend Update anchor, will host the new game show "Pop Culture Jeopardy!" on Amazon Prime Video. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Pair the spicy flavors of mapo tofu with the creaminess of scrambled eggs. Stream the best in Black cinema. Eat at the 25 best restaurants in Los Angeles. See the cardboard beds Olympic athletes are sleeping on. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was inclemency. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, 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