A version of this column originally ran in Le Devoir on March 4, 2024. Translated from the French by Elettra Pauletto. What is the purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization these days? Since the end of the Cold War, which was brought about more than 35 years ago by the reformist policies of Russian premier Mikhail Gorbachev and not by the colorful rhetoric of President Ronald Reagan, this question has not yet been sufficiently debated in the United States. Before Vladimir Putin delivered his “preventive” attack against want-to-be NATO member Ukraine, the organization was in great ..read more

Six months into its assault on Gaza, the Israeli military announced a “decline in the forces” in southern Gaza “for tactical reasons,” but emphasized that a “significant force” would remain active in the Gaza Strip.1234 The World Health Organization called Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, “an empty shell with human graves” and “completely non-functional” in the wake of Israel’s weekslong siege.5 Israeli air strikes killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, after which ships bearing 240 metric tons of aid returned to Cyprus, and more than 30 Democratic representati ..read more

In the West Bank, Israel annexed 2,400 acres of land in the single largest seizure of Palestinian territory since the Oslo Accords; Bezalel Smotrich, the minister of finance, announced the seizure the day before Land Day, which commemorated the 48th anniversary of the killing of six unarmed Palestinians during a protest against the annexation of nearly 5,000 acres of land.12 World Court judges have ruled that famine is setting in in Gaza, where 12 people drowned as they attempted to swim to retrieve supplies from an American aerial aid drop that landed partially in the sea; at least 19 were re ..read more

On World Water Day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was “deliberately causing thirst” in Gaza, where only 1 in 5 households has access to safe drinking water, while the World Food Programme warned that famine was imminent along the northern part of the Gaza Strip.1234 “We have the food ready to go in, we just can’t get in,” said the program’s executive director.5 Israel informed the United Nations that it would bar the issuance of food rations to northern Gaza by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and the United States Congress passed a measure that would cut all U.S ..read more

In Khan Younis, Gazan medical staff told the BBC that they were blindfolded, forced to strip and kneel for hours, doused with cold water, and beaten by Israeli soldiers after the army raided the hospital where they worked.1 The Israeli military announced that it would move displaced Palestinians to “humanitarian islands” in the middle of Gaza should it begin an assault on Rafah; President Joe Biden has designated an attack on Rafah a “red line” that Israel should not cross. “We’ll go there,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also said that New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s cal ..read more

“Extreme hunger” is proliferating in Gaza as the region has reportedly reached the highest proportion of food deprivation in the world; Physicians for Human Rights Israel called the starvation “a moral stain that will stay with us for generations.”123 “There’s no red line [where] I’m going to cut off all weapons [to Israel],” said President Biden; “But there’s red lines that if [Netanyahu] crosses them,” he added, without finishing his sentence; the U.S. has delivered more than 100 military sales to Israel since October 7.45 The U.S. military announced that it will build a floating pier off th ..read more

At least 112 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops southwest of Gaza City as they waited for food and supplies.1 Israeli tanks reportedly drove over the wounded, adding to the death toll, and injured people were transported to hospitals on donkey carts because ambulances were unable to reach the site.23 Initially, Israel claimed that the dead were killed in a stampede to get food; military officials later said the army shot at Palestinians because they felt “threatened.”456 Local elections in Israel saw gains for Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s f ..read more

The United States cast the sole vote against a United Nations security council resolution that would have endorsed a ceasefire in Gaza; the dissension was sufficient to veto the action, and represented the third instance of the Biden Administration’s rejection of a cessation of hostilities.1 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his intent to order the ground invasion of Rafah, and said that even the return of the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity would not deter him. “We’ll do it anyway,” he said.2 The UN’s World Food Programme announced that it would halt all deliveries of ..read more

A version of this column originally ran in Le Devoir on February 5, 2024. Translated from the French by Elettra Pauletto. There is a fashionable fear spreading among American intellectuals who want to appear devoted to democracy – especially after Donald Trump’s victories in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. This fear, which has reached near-hysterical levels in recent weeks, is based on the idea that Trump, even if he wins the next election by democratic rules, will try to seize dictatorial power upon returning to the White House. Presented by a bipartisan coalition of liberals and c ..read more

The Israeli military temporarily released a Palestinian prisoner bound in zip-tie handcuffs to tell the thousands sheltering in a Khan Younis hospital to evacuate before the facility would be bombed; among the refugees was the prisoner’s mother, and Israeli forces shot him fatally after he delivered the message.123 “We don’t expect Gazans really to be able to return to their homes until this mission is completed,” said Matt Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State.4 President Joe Biden phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and conditioned his support of Israel’s air s ..read more