Tuesday Briefing: Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Kill Hundreds

Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds in Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon killed nearly 500, including dozens of women and children, and injured more than 1,000 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said. It was the deadliest day of Israeli attacks there since at least 2006, when Israel last fought a war with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group. Follow live updates.

The strikes were Israel’s latest attempt to break Hezbollah’s resolve. They followed clandestine operations last week that blew up the wireless devices of Hezbollah members and killed at least 37 people. The Israeli military said that its air force had struck about 1,600 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon yesterday, adding that it would continue to do so. Here’s a map of the strikes.

So far, Israel has failed to force Hezbollah to pull back from the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah launched its own barrage at Israel yesterday, most of which was intercepted by Israel’s antimissile defense system. Hezbollah leaders have said they will continue their attacks until Israel and Hamas agree to a cease-fire in Gaza.

Evacuations: Thousands of Lebanese families have been displaced, some of whose cars and vehicles were struck as they tried to flee, according to Lebanon’s health minister. Israeli strikes also hit ambulances and fire trucks as they raced to respond.

Gaza: Israeli forces struck a school building where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in central Gaza, killing a couple and their daughter and wounding several other people, according to Palestinian officials.

U.S. response: The Pentagon announced it would send dozens of U.S. troops to the Middle East to protect the thousands of Americans stationed there.

New poll results are the best for Trump in weeks

The latest New York Times/Siena College polls of Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina find Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in all three states. It’s further evidence that in a sharply divided nation, the 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be one of the tightest in history.

“We’re getting to the point in the election cycle where we’re starting to get a lot of polls — enough that it will occasionally start to feel as if the polls are swinging from left to right and back, every day,” writes our chief political analyst, Nate Cohn. “This is one of those days.”

If Trump wins those states, he won’t need many more. But in one sign of how these contests remain up for grabs, about 15 percent of voters in these states described themselves as undecided or not definitely decided. Read more of Nate’s analysis of Trump’s best poll results in weeks.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, will come with what he calls a victory plan for Biden to examine. Key European leaders are pushing hard for Biden to allow him to use longer-range weapons supplied by NATO countries to hit farther inside Russia. Biden has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to do so, careful not to escalate the war and risk a direct conflict between Moscow and the NATO alliance.

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Tourism’s next battlefront: running water

As a prolonged heat wave scorched Greece in mid-June, residents in the small island of Sifnos faced a reality they long expected and feared: Their taps ran dry. For 10 days, homes and vacation rentals lacked fresh running water.

Water scarcity is becoming the next battleground in overtourism, as residents in popular vacation destinations grapple with the impact of climate change and compete with tourists to get their share of a dwindling supply. The situation is particularly alarming on the Greek islands, many of which do not have the infrastructure to absorb tens of thousands of tourists.

But governments dependent on tourism dollars are fearful of deterring visitors, making them reluctant to impose restrictions on hotels and restaurants. In Sicily, for example, the local authorities have admitted to prioritizing water supply to hotels. Earlier this year in Barcelona, only residents, not tourists, faced water restrictions.