Tens of Thousands Flee as Israel Bombs Rafah; Biden Announces Pause to Weapons Shipments
On Thursday, the United Nations said that tens of thousands of people have fled Rafah in response to an Israeli call to evacuate part of the southern Gazan city. Israel has been bombarding the city. According to The New York Times and CNN, satellite imagery shows Israeli ground forces have penetrated a mile into the Palestinian enclave. Israeli forces have seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. According to The New York Times, there are fears that this incursion will turn into a full invasion. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. would withhold shipments of certain weapons, including artillery shells, to Israel if the country invades Rafah. The U.S. would continue to provide Israel with supplies for their Iron Dome missile defense system and weapons needed to respond to attacks like the ones launched by Iran in April. The President already halted the shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel last week. He also acknowledged that American munitions were used to kill Palestinian civilians.
Brazil Experiences Devastating Flooding
The southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul experienced its worst flood in 80 years, with over 105 people dead, 130 missing, and 164,000 people displaced from their homes. The river rose to over 16 feet this week, exceeding the previous high levels seen during a major flood in 1941. Nearly 67,000 people are living in shelters across the state, with the flood spreading to 417 of the state’s 497 cities. On Thursday, more heavy rain was forecasted, which could worsen the situation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged federal funds to help the rescue efforts, and the state government announced aid to pay for search crews, health services and housing for those whose homes were destroyed or damaged by floodwaters. Climate experts say that Brazil is suffering from the effects of El Niño, the cyclical climate phenomenon that can cause heavy rains in the south of Brazil while causing a drought in the Amazon. The effects of El Niño are made worse by climate change, deforestation, and haphazard urbanization.
New Details Emerge About Sudan Ethnic Cleansing
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch published a new report on the massacre of civilians in Darfur last summer, which is one of the worst atrocities of the Sudanese Civil War. According to the report, a genocide may have been committed, with the report containing allegations of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The report cites witnesses who describe living children being “piled up and shot” by the paramilitary Rapid Support Force as they tried to escape the regional capital of El Geneina last June. The report is the latest evidence that the RSF has been conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur ethnic against Massalit and non-Arab communities for a year. HRW has called on the United Nations and the African Union to impose sanctions on those responsible, including the leader of the RSF, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti.
Hottest April On Record
April 2024 was the hottest April on record, the latest of an 11-month streak of each month since June 2023 being ranked as the hottest on record. This April was 1.58 degrees Celsius warmer than the average April before industrialization and 0.67 degrees hotter than the average April between 1991 and 2020. The month was also the 13th consecutive month of record-breaking ocean temperatures.
