In past wars against Hamas, Israel moved quickly to invade Gaza, seeking to degrade the militant group’s ability to fire rockets into the country. Now Israel’s stated aim is Hamas’s destruction. In the three weeks since the group killed 1,400 people in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces have staged several limited ground incursions into Gaza, the latest on Friday night. The stakes are high for Israel, from the lives of some 200 hostages to worries about triggering a regional war. While US President Joe Biden has expressed strong support for Israel’s professed goals, he’s advised delay of any full-scale invasion as he seeks to win release of the hostages and insure the flow of much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. The Pentagon is also scrambling to put defensive measures in place for US assets that may come under attack (Iran has warned of such escalation, and skirmishes between the two are increasing). At the same time, global outrage has been rising at the massive number of Palestinian casualties inflicted by Israel, with more than 7,000 dead—including thousands of children. As the Israel Defense Forces lay waste to large swathes of the Gaza Strip, Biden has urged Israel to consider America’s mistakes after the 9/11 attacks–and to have a clear plan for the aftermath. “Anything that could lower risks and collateral damage, while still attaining the goal of crippling Hamas, is worth consideration.” Marc Champion writes in Bloomberg Opinion. But Israel hasn’t expressed interest in following the advice of world leaders that it revive the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
The US economy is a bit of a phenom. Even in the face of more than a year of aggressive interest-rate hikes to stem inflation, the labor market continues to chug along, with GDP growing at an eye-popping 4.9% last quarter, the fastest pace in nearly two years. While Bloomberg Economics and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say that growth rate is unsustainable, investors remain amazed that something hasn’t broken yet. The last time US government bond yields climbed so far, so fast, the nation plunged into back-to-back recessions. But everyone who has predicted a downturn since early last year has been dead wrong. For now, the Federal Reserve will continue to feel the pressure to keep rates high to battle price surges. Matthew Yglesias writes in Bloomberg Opinion about how despite the sunny numbers, Biden has yet to get credit for his role in achieving them.
