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| A crowd stormed a food warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday. Eyad Baba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
‘An assault on their human dignity’
The U.N. denounced Israel’s attempt to control the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, with a senior official calling it part of “an assault on their human dignity.” Israel, which kept aid out of Gaza for more than two months, says its new system is meant to bypass Hamas.
The U.N. World Food Program, citing initial reports, said two people appeared to have died when crowds broke into a food warehouse in central Gaza last night. On Tuesday, when Israel’s new aid program began, dozens of people were injured in a similar rush on a distribution site.
Israel faces mounting anger from Europe over the war and growing pressure from the U.S. to reach a truce. European diplomats criticized both the aid program and Israel’s threats of another major ground invasion. “The disproportionate use of force and the deaths of civilians cannot be tolerated,” said Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, adding that aid “must never be politicized or militarized.”
“The new U.N. criticism came as no surprise,” said Patrick Kingsley, our Jerusalem bureau chief. “For weeks, the U.N. has warned that the new system — which replaces one run by U.N. agencies — may endanger Palestinians.”
“Israel says the new system makes it harder for Hamas to steal and hoard food,” Patrick added. “The U.N. warns it will put civilians at risk by forcing them to walk for miles to a handful of sites in Israeli-controlled areas — and possibly contribute to an Israeli plan to displace the population of northern Gaza.”
Talks: President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the White House was preparing a fresh proposal and that he “had some very good feelings about getting to a long-term cease-fire.”
Yemen: Israeli warplanes bombed the country’s main international airport in retaliation for Houthi missile attacks.
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| Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, right, greeting President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Berlin yesterday. Tobias Schwarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Germany promised more help for Ukraine
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday that Germany would step up its support for Ukraine by sending more military equipment and more funds for the domestic production of weapons, including long-range ones. The announcement came during a visit by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to Berlin.
The German Defense Ministry said the aid would include cooperation on weapons construction, air-defense systems and the financing of satellite communications. Its total value was put at roughly 5 billion euros.
Zelensky, who has traveled the world for years in search of arms for his country, said this week that Ukraine now needed about $30 billion in annual financing to fund its domestic production at full capacity.
In the U.S.: Trump yesterday criticized President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s attacks on Ukraine but did not suggest any potential consequences.
In Russia: A new statue of Joseph Stalin greets commuters in a Moscow subway station, part of the Kremlin’s attempt to rehabilitate the Soviet dictator.
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| Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifying before a Senate committee last week. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times |
The U.S. plans to revoke Chinese students’ visas
Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, announced last night that the Trump administration would work to “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students, including ones who have ties to the Chinese Communist Party or are studying in “critical fields.”
On Tuesday, he ordered a temporary halt to interviews abroad with people applying for student and exchange visas, as the State Department expands scrutiny of applicants’ social media posts. Foreign citizens with existing appointments should, in theory, still be able to attend them.
Trump said yesterday that Harvard University should admit fewer international students to make more room for Americans. He has been trying to coerce Harvard and other universities into restricting what can be said on campuses, with a focus on anti-Israel speech.
Analysis: Trump’s pressure campaign against universities reflects a constant in his worldview, my colleague Maggie Haberman writes: If he goes after someone or something, it is their fault, not his.
Related: A judge said that a law used to detain Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, was most likely unconstitutional and that deporting him would be “unprecedented.”
More from the U.S.:
| A panel of federal judges blocked Trump from imposing some of his steepest tariffs.Elon Musk said he was ending his work in the Trump administration to spend more time on his companies.More unaccompanied children fleeing hardship are coming face to face with federal immigration agents.A judge said the U.S. government should release a Russian scientist, saying there was “no factual or legal basis” for revoking her visa.Prosecutors detailed a plot by a criminal network to trade cocaine for Syrian weapons destined for Latin America. |
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Shi Yichen/Xinhua, via Getty Images |
| Space: China launched the robotic Tianwen-2 spacecraft today to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Haiti: The government has signed a contract with Erik Prince, the private military contractor, to take on criminal gangs. Science: SpaceX lost control of its Starship rocket during a test flight, adding to the spacecraft’s mixed record. Travel: New rules in Turkey will allow the authorities to fine passengers who unbuckle their seatbelts and stand up before a plane has come to a full stop. Cinema: A stunt double sued Kevin Costner over what she called an unscripted rape scene that did not include an intimacy coordinator. Trade: The Trump administration has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals. |
News From Europe
| France: Joël Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 299 people, most of them children, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Britain: The authorities confirmed charges, including rape, against the influencer Andrew Tate and his brother and said both would eventually be extradited from Romania. Switzerland: A landslide set off by a fracturing glacier caused widespread damage to an Alpine village, nine days after its 300 residents had been ordered to evacuate. Germany: Porsche manufactures exclusively in its home country, which leaves the company particularly vulnerable to Trump’s tariffs. Climate: A German court ruled that the country’s civil law could be used to hold companies accountable for the worldwide effects of their emissions. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Tennis: The defending champions, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz, have progressed to the third round of the French Open on Day 4. Here’s the latest. |
| Olympics: The 2028 Summer Games will test Los Angeles, which is still recovering from its devastating wildfires. Climbing: Kami Rita Sherpa scaled Mount Everest for the 31st time on Tuesday. We spoke to him about the mountain’s future. Sumo: The first grand champion from Japan in eight years was named, breaking Mongolian dominance of the sport’s top levels. |
| MORNING READ |
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| Meridith Kohut for The New York Times |
Fans of simulated combat have long re-enacted historical battles. More recently, they’ve gotten their inspiration from wars that are still being fought.
My colleague Thomas Gibbons-Neff reported from Oklahoma, where teams representing NATO and Russian forces — in what amounted to an alternate version of the Ukraine conflict — faced off for nearly two days with plastic pellet guns, blank ammunition, night-vision goggles and explosions. Read more here.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
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| Andreas Solaro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
| A farewell: Maria Grazia Chiuri created what is likely to be her final collection for Dior. She was the first woman to run the house. Don’t call it a comeback: What a woman learned when she went back to her old therapist. ‘X’ marks the spot: A public gardener in Vermont found a treasure chest in a local park. Going without: A writer gave up sex for a year. It was more difficult, and more rewarding, than she could have imagined. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Christopher Gregory-Rivera for The New York Times |
The world in 1,726 wondrous objects
A renovated wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with works from Africa, the Americas and Oceania, reopens this weekend after four years.
The 1,726 objects — majestic wood figures from Africa; mythical beings from Mexico; a Sistine-worthy ceiling of the South Seas from New Guinea — aren’t just beautiful. They represent the spiritual, political and emotional lives of people spread over five continents and eight millenniums. Take a look.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
Bake: Rice Krispies treats are good. This pistachio halvah version is transcendent.
