 |
| Residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza fleeing their homes. Yousef Masoud for The New York Times |
Israel widens evacuation orders in southern Gaza
Confusion and fear gripped much of southern Gaza as Israel’s military ordered more residents to clear out, sending people into the streets in desperate search of shelter, two days after a weeklong cease-fire came to an end.
The Israeli military’s latest evacuation orders appeared to be setting the stage for a ground invasion in the south. They evoked similar orders the Israeli military gave before it invaded northern Gaza in late October, and Israeli officials said they were intended to move civilians out of harm’s way.
The list of areas ordered to clear out swelled to 34 yesterday from 19 the previous morning, all clustered southeast of the city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military marked each on a map of Gaza that divided the territory into nearly 2,400 “blocks,” advising residents to pay attention to Israeli announcements about whether their block was being evacuated.
Confusion: The evacuation announcements were prone to change with little notice, leaving many Gazans unsure about whether to flee and with little time to do so. Some families whose homes and shelters were not included in the initial evacuation areas said they had later received recorded calls ordering them to leave.
Toll: Over a period of “hours,” 316 people were killed in Israeli strikes, with more than 15,500 fatalities in total since Oct. 7, a spokesman for the Gazan health ministry said yesterday.
Related: In Ireland, a country with its own history of a seemingly intractable conflict, most people have profound sympathy for Palestinians.
 |
| In Hochdorf, Germany, a village of prefabricated homes houses 145 Ukrainian refugees. Lena Mucha for The New York Times |
Ukrainians in Germany face a wrenching choice
Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia are now wrestling with an agonizing choice: to return to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or to put down roots in their new home, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting.
Germany has been welcoming in its embrace of displaced Ukrainians, hosting 1.2 million currently. Those Ukrainians have the right to work and live anywhere in the country, and have access to the generous education, health care and social benefits available to ordinary Germans.
Though recently there has been some souring of public opinion toward increased immigration, and all political parties support tightening Germany’s borders, the taking-in of Ukrainians is considered a success. Recently, German leaders have even signaled a desire to offer the refugees a longer-term future in the country.
Quotable: “The heart says go back,” one refugee near Freiburg, Germany, said. “But I want the best future for my daughter.”
From the front lines: Ukrainian troops have taken positions on the east bank of the Dnipro River, posing a threat to Russia’s dominance of the region. Here is a look at the battlefield and the strategic implications.
 |
| The attack took place not far from the Eiffel Tower. Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters |
A deadly attack in Paris
A German tourist was killed and several other people were injured in central Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower, late Saturday when a man attacked them with a knife and a hammer, the French authorities said. The case has stirred fears of renewed Islamist terrorist attacks in a nation already on edge.
A suspect was arrested nearby shortly after the assault. The authorities said he had serious psychiatric disorders. He was known to French intelligence services for Islamist extremism and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State before the attack, they added.Continue reading the main story
THE LATEST NEWS Around the World
 |
| Lanao del Sur Provincial Government/EPA, via Shutterstock |
| The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion that killed at least four people and injured dozens of others at a Catholic service in the Philippines.Venezuela held a referendum to claim sovereignty over Essequibo, a large, oil-rich swath of neighboring Guyana.After watching 10 migrants die at sea, one man is trying to persuade young people in Senegal not to leave.The airport in Munich resumed limited operations after closing because of a record 17 inches, or 43 centimeters, of snowfall. |
| Japan’s government is moving to rein in parents who pick unusual names for their babies. |
Other Big Stories
 |
| Hokyoung Kim |
| The question of whether A.I. will elevate the world or destroy it has framed an ongoing debate among users, academics and those in the tech industry.In India, results from elections in four states showed gains for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party.China Evergrande may be on its last legs: A judge could force the property developer to liquidate and pay back creditors, who are owed tens of billions of dollars.In the U.S., a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers has resulted in an exhausted work force at risk of making dangerous mistakes. |
From Opinion
| When it comes to the significant threats of A.I., Maureen Dowd writes, we are totally at the mercy of Silicon Valley boys with their toys.Ross Douthat asks: With South Korea’s birthrate at just 0.7 births per woman, could that decline alone precipitate a crisis?Lydia Polgreen considers the ways childhood gender transition relates to other irreversible life decisions.Israel has rushed into a war with multiple contradictory goals, Thomas Friedman says.Agnes Callard teaches the humanities. She’s still not sure exactly what their value is. |
A Morning Read
 |
| Photo illustration by Derek Brahney |
Activists are trying to end anonymity for sperm and egg donors — a campaign that troubles some L.G.B.T.Q. parents, who fear that disclosure laws will open the door to recognizing biological donors in some way as parents, possibly granting them parental rights.
“It impacts both the social perception of the family and maybe how kids and parents see each other,” said Courtney Joslin, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.
| SPORTS NEWS |
Euro 2024: Your guide to the cities and stadiums in Germany.
On soccer: At Paris St.-Germain, a coach’s vision collides with a star’s power.
Mountaineering: Three climbers have solved the Himalayas’s “last great problem” — scaling Mount Jannu’s north face without fixed ropes or oxygen.
Tiger Woods returns: After changing professional golf, he is now trying to save it.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
The best movies of 2023
“Barbie” may have topped box office sales, but it didn’t make our critics’ list of 2023’s best cinema, in what they describe as a terrific year for film. Here are three standout movies from their picks. Read the full list.
| Martin Scorsese’s epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is about a spate of murders of members of the Osage Nation in the 1920s.“Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros” focuses on a dynasty of French chefs at their celebrated restaurant-hotel in the Loire.In “Past Lives,” a woman contemplates the lives she could have led — and the one she did. |
Continue reading the main story
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
 |
| Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui. |
Cook: Bake a simple, lemon-scented olive oil cake.
