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Israeli forces carried out a “targeted raid” in the north of the Gaza Strip in the early hours this morning, as they stepped up preparations for a ground operation in the coastal enclave to topple the militant group Hamas.
The raid, which involved soldiers and tanks targeting Hamas infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch sites, was the biggest incursion yet by Israel’s army into the enclave since Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 Israelis.
The operation comes a day after Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “preparing a ground invasion” of the Gaza Strip in a televised address to the nation. But he did not provide any details on when it would take place.
The Israeli prime minister has been under domestic and international pressure over his war plans, with hardliners in his government demanding a more aggressive response to Hamas’s assault, even as other players urge Israel to delay the long-expected ground operation in Gaza.
The US has asked Israel to hold off so it can better deploy air defence systems to the region. There have also been calls to allow time to free more than 200 hostages that Islamist militants captured during their attack on Israel. Hamas has so far released four.
The US is also trying to reach a deal to allow foreign nationals trapped in Gaza to leave via the territory’s sole border crossing with Egypt.
US president Joe Biden told Netanyahu yesterday that he was looking for a “pathway for permanent peace” between Israelis and Palestinians at the end of the conflict, according to a White House account of a call between the two leaders. Catch up with the latest news on the Israel-Hamas war.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
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GDP: The US economy is expected to have expanded at its fastest pace in almost two years in the third quarter. Here’s more on what to expect from today’s gross domestic product data.
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Earnings: Amazon, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, UPS, Northrop Grumman, Honeywell, Altria, Hershey, Mastercard and Royal Caribbean report earnings before the opening bell. Intel, Chipotle and Ford report after the market closes.
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FTX trial: Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to begin testifying in his own defence later today in an unusual move by the 31 year old who is facing charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
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Congress: The House of Representatives convenes today with new Speaker and Donald Trump supporter Mike Johnson taking the gavel after he secured the backing of his Republican colleagues.
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US-China relations: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi arrives in Washington for two days of meetings, including with Joe Biden at the White House tomorrow.
Five more top stories
1. Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, more than doubled profits and booked record sales in the third quarter. In what has been dubbed “the year of efficiency” by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg as the company cuts costs, Meta recorded its highest quarterly sales figure since going public in 2012. The social media company also outlined new areas of investment for the year ahead.
2. The United Auto Workers and Ford reached a tentative deal last night that would raise union members’ wages 25 per cent over a four-year agreement. The union called Ford’s 16,600 workers on strike to return to work in advance of the vote by membership. But about 29,000 workers at Stellantis and General Motors remain on strike. Claire Bushey in Chicago reports on the details of the agreement.
3. Morgan Stanley has named Ted Pick as its new chief executive, replacing James Gorman, who will bow out on January 1 after leading the Wall Street bank for nearly 14 years. Gorman took over Morgan Stanley shortly after it almost failed during the 2008 financial crisis and transformed it into a wealth management behemoth.
4. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman made a profit of about $200mn from his high-profile bet against US 30-year Treasury bonds, according to people familiar with the trade. The $200mn profit helped Pershing Square’s $13bn flagship fund gain 11.6 per cent in the year to October 17, according to figures published by the firm. Here’s more on the billionaire’s latest lucrative trade.
5. President Joe Biden yesterday warned China not to engage in dangerous and unlawful activity towards the Philippines and warned that any attack on the US ally would trigger Washington’s mutual defence treaty with Manila.
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More on China-US relations: China and Colombia have upgraded their relationship to a “strategic partnership” in a sign that Washington’s principal ally in South America is orientating itself towards Beijing.
Today’s Big Read
In a packed theatre in Charleston, South Carolina this month Kamala Harris fired up several hundred students in defence of abortion and gay rights, gun control and climate legislation, and voting access. The latest in a series of speeches by the vice-president is critical to rallying the youth vote in favour of Joe Biden’s re-election. But it is also part of an effort by the Democratic party to relaunch the 59-year-old former prosecutor from California to a sceptical public.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
Turmoil in government bond markets has forced US companies to delay borrowing plans, making this the slowest October for debt issuance in more than a decade. Bankers say the sharp rise in Treasury yields, which rose above 5 per cent on the 10-year note this week for the first time since 2007, has fed through to higher corporate borrowing costs.
Take a break from the news
When you’re carrying your life around, you need to make a sizeable investment. Check out the men’s big bag guide from HTSI.
Additional contributions from Gary Jones and Benjamin Wilhelm
