First Thing: Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza

Human Rights Watch says its evidence suggests Israel has committed a war crime against civilians. Plus, Mark Zuckerberg drops a cover of Get Low with T-Pain

Good morning.

Israel has been accused of crimes against humanity over its use of evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of civilians in Gaza, in a new report by Human Rights Watch.

The organization said it had collected evidence that indicated “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”. It called for the international criminal court to investigate Israel’s policy of forced displacement and recommended imposing sanctions, including ending arms sales.

The report was published against the backdrop of growing evidence that Israel is intensifying its efforts to divide the Gaza Strip in two with a buffer zone, and that it plans a prolonged military presence.

How much of Gaza’s population has been displaced? More than 90%, with many civilians forced to move multiple times.

What do the Geneva conventions say about displacement? That in occupied territories, civilians must be displaced only in exceptional circumstances – but Israel has used evacuation orders repeatedly.

Many Republicans baffled by Trump’s pick of ‘reckless’ Gaetz for attorney general

Donald Trump’s decision to nominate the far-right Republican congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general has caused turmoil within his own party, with some expressing doubts that the Senate will confirm the appointment.

Trump announced the rightwing firebrand Gaetz to act as the US’s chief law enforcement officer in the justice department, a role that includes stewarding the government’s legal positions on civil rights, abortion and other critical issues.

The announcement provoked pushback, including from within the Republican party. “I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” the Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told NBC News. “We need to have a serious attorney general. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.” The Republican congressman Max Miller of Ohio told Politico that Gaetz was “a reckless pick” with “a zero per cent shot”.

What’s Gaetz’s background? As a member of the Maga-aligned Freedom Caucus in the House, he led the successful charge to oust the former Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy from his role.

Why else might he be controversial? Though charges were never brought, he was investigated by the justice department in a sex-trafficking case involving children, and by the House ethics committee over allegations including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. He strongly denies wrongdoing.

Republicans secure House majority, giving them full control of Congress as well as the presidency

Republicans have clinched a majority in the US House of Representatives, handing them a governing trifecta that could allow Donald Trump to rule with little legislative opposition.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday evening that a victory in Arizona meant the Republicans had taken their 218th seat in the 435-member House, reaching the threshold for a majority in the lower chamber of Congress. The call was yet another a blow to Democrats’ hopes that their party could use the House to block parts of Trump’s agenda.

Republicans have suggested they will use their hold over the presidency, the Senate and the House to maximum effect from January, with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, telling Fox News last week that Trump “wants to be aggressive … He wants to go big”. The party will have only a slim majority in the House, especially as Trump has picked at least threeHouse Republicans to join his administration.

Who else has Trump selected for his cabinet from the House? Elise Stefanik, for UN ambassador; Mike Waltz for national security adviser; and, Gaetz for attorney general.

What does that mean for the Republican majority? Serving in a president’s cabinet means they will have to resign as representatives, and special elections will be held to replace them.

In other news …

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called on the Democratic party to demonstrate that it will “unrig this economy” in favor of ordinary Americans as the president-elect teams up with billionaires.

Iranian authorities said they would create a treatment clinic for women who defied the country’s mandatory hijab laws, prompting outrage from Iranian women and human rights groups.

Charles Manson admitted to additional murders in a newly discovered prison phone call, according to the preview of a new docu-series.

Stat of the day: Poorer nations need $1tn a year by 2030 in climate finance, top economists find

Poorer countries need $1tn a year in climate finance by 2030, a new study has found, while Cop29 leaders are negotiating over supplying this sum by 2035. Waiting until that deadline, the leading economists behind the research said, would damage vulnerable countries.

Don’t miss this: The rapid rise of Russia’s powerful darknet drug industry

Russia’s drug market is evolving: hand-to-hand deals are becoming a thing of the past, with kladmen (stash men) uploading locations for “dead drops”, which are unlocked when buyers make an online purchase. Max Daly explains how Russia’s markets have been taken over by a new wave of tech-smart organised crime groups, which use social media videos and encourage the public to mete out brutal punishments on disloyal kladmen.

Climate check: ‘Minimal progress’ made this year on curbing global heating

Earth is on track to heat by 2.7C by 2100, a report has found, far above the goal of 1.5C. This estimation – which would lead to profound human suffering – has not changed since 2021, with “minimal progress” made this year, according to the Climate Action Tracker project.

Last Thing: Mark Zuckerberg drops cover of Get Low with T-Pain

Here are 16 words I did not expect to write today: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has collaborated with T-Pain to release an acoustic cover of Get Low. Do with that information what you will.

Sign up

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected]