Israel won’t agree to a cease-fire, and how technology messes with our senses

On the Response to the Gaza Crisis: Israel, the United States and the Gazan Regime: Israeli Assistance in the Campaign for a Sustainable Solution of the PostGaza War

The shift in tone and substance was the result of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to administration officials.

He added, “This is something that we talk about with the Israelis on a daily basis.” He then noted that hospitals were not legitimate military targets just as Israel was warning that another major hospital in Gaza had to be emptied out before the next round of bombing.

Three days after Hamas terrorists slaughtered more than 1,400 people, President Biden assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that he supported his vow to “avenge this black day” and to turn Gaza “into a ruin” from the air and on the ground.

“I told him if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming,” Mr. Biden recalled saying during a call between the two leaders on Oct. 10.

The president has made changes in his message over the past three weeks. While he continues to declare unambiguous support for Israel, Mr. Biden and his top military and diplomatic officials have become more critical of Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

The president and his senior aides still cling to the hope that the new war between Israel and Hamas might eventually give way to a resumption of talks about normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and could even offer some leverage for a return to negotiations over a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine exist side by side. Mr. Netanyahu has long resisted such a move.

In the short term, American officials increasingly remind the Israelis that if Hamas terrorists are endangering civilians, it is necessary to tailor the operations to avoid nonmilitary casualties. Last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at the United Nations that “humanitarian pauses must be considered,” a move that Israel has rejected.

Israel has the right to defend itself but it must be done in a way that does not endanger people in Gaza or impair the flow of humanitarian aid into the area.

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, made his feelings known on Sunday after the Israeli military said that Hamas terrorists used a hospital in Gaza as a command center. Mr. Sullivan said on CBS that Hamas using civilians as human shields creates an added burden for the Israeli Defense Forces.

Israel refuses to a cease-fire; how tech messes with our senses: a briefing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

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Despite international calls for a humanitarian pause in Israel’s military operation against Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wont agree to a cease-fire. Israel has been bombing Gaza for 24 consecutive days in response to Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people in Israel. More than 8,300 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than a third of the victims are women and children.

Google began its defense in a complex monopoly trial yesterday in D.C. District Court. The CEO of the search engine company took the lead in defending deals where the company pays huge sums of money to companies to ensure that its search engine is the default on devices.

The block button can be used to fight online harassment. But should public officials be able to block their critics on social media? The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on this question today as they evaluate several lawsuits.

Source: Up First briefing: [Israel won’t agree to a cease-fire](https://lostobject.org/2023/10/13/heres-how-israelsiron-dome-stops-rocket-fire/); how tech messes with our senses

The Exorcist: The 50th Anniversary of TikTok and What We Can Learn about Mind-Body-Tech Connection from Sickle Cell Disease

Americans with sickle cell disease are one step closer to accessing a revolutionary treatment that uses a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. A committee of advisers to the FDA is expected to meet today to examine the scientific evidence for the treatment and the research into its long-term safety. The disease disproportionately affects people of African, Middle Eastern and Indian descent. The first clinical use of gene editing would likely be approved by the FDA.

Most of us are familiar with our five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. Interoception is a way of experiencing how our bodies are feeling.

Zomorodi speaks with neuroscientist Sahib Khalsa to learn how unplugging can help us better tune into our body’s signals. Plus, she explores what we can learn about the mind-body-tech connection from the “TikTok tics” outbreak — when thousands of teens developed Tourette-like symptoms after watching TikTok videos in 2021.

The Exorcist celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The film regularly tops “scariest movie” lists. The director insists that it’s not a horror movie, but one about faith.

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