Tuesday Briefing: Israel Sends Troops Into Lebanon

Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon

The Israeli military announced early this morning that it had begun a “limited” invasion of southern Lebanon. The military said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in villages close to the border that “pose an immediate threat” to communities in northern Israel, officials said.

The invasion force consisted of small groups of commandos, accompanied by air cover as well as artillery shells fired from Israel. The plan could yet evolve into a larger invasion; thousands of additional troops have been deployed in northern Israel in recent days, leading to speculation about a broader and more prolonged operation.

The ground operation followed intense Israeli strikes across Lebanon over the past two weeks that have killed hundreds of people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, including 95 yesterday. Israel is trying to force a conclusion to a yearlong war with Hezbollah that started in parallel with the war with Hamas in Gaza. Hezbollah has been firing toward Israeli positions in solidarity with Hamas. Both groups are backed by Iran.

Harris and Trump focused on hurricane devastation

Both Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris turned their attention to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene yesterday, as large swaths of the South continued to reel from the devastating storm. The death toll from the hurricane has risen to more than 100 people across six states.

Trump thanked local leaders and emergency workers in Georgia, promising “complete solidarity” with those suffering in the storm’s aftermath. A White House official said that Harris, who received briefings from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, planned to visit the devastated region as soon as it could be done without disrupting emergency operations.

Britain shut down its last coal plant

Britain shut down its last coal-burning power station, becoming the first among the world’s major industrialized economies to wean itself off coal. The move is all the more symbolic because the nation was the first to burn tremendous amounts during the Industrial Revolution, launching a global addiction to coal.

The British government aims to generate all its electricity from sources other than fossil fuels by 2030. Oil and gas account for the majority of the country’s power supply, though renewables make up 40 percent of its electricity generation.

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CONVERSATION STARTERS

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• Little house of horrors: At the Spruce House in Finland, macabre jokes about the end of the world are built into a comfortable island cabin.

• The ultimate celebrity photographer: Kevin Mazur has thrived by gaining the trust of the world’s biggest stars. His motto: “Why wouldn’t you want to make people look good?”

ARTS AND IDEAS

Creating beauty behind bars

Italy is the world’s leading luxury fashion manufacturer, largely thanks to its craftspeople. But the country is lacking a new generation trained in artisanal fabrication skills.

Cooperativa Alice, a Milan nonprofit, has a solution: sewing workshops that train inmates and former prisoners in Italian sartorial craft. The training can be a pathway to a career in the fashion industry, which is desperately short of skilled workers, and a degree of emancipation, even while incarcerated.

“It does us good to hear ‘Well done, ladies,’” an inmate said. “It helps me live.”