First Thing: One month of violence and war in Israel and Gaza

As Israel marks one month since the Hamas attack that killed 1,400, the Israeli PM rules out a general ceasefire and looks toward the future of Gaza. Plus: online disinformation and climate reparations

Good morning.

One month after the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after the fighting ends.

When asked who should govern the territory that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians following the war with Hamas, Netanyahu offered the clearest indication yet of Israel’s plans, telling ABC news in an interview broadcast on Monday night that Israel would have control “for an indefinite period … because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have that security responsibility”.

While Netanyahu rejected calls for a general ceasefire, he said he would consider “tactical little pauses” in fighting to allow the entry of aid or the exit of hostages from the Gaza Strip.

One month ago, the plan drawn up by a handful of Hamas leaders was unknown to the men who would carry it out. Instructions for Operation al-Aqsa Flood, the most ambitious operation launched by Hamas since it took control of Gaza in 2007, were passed verbally to thousands of Hamas militants in an effort to deceive one of the most potent surveillance systems in the world.

UN-run shelters in Gaza are so crowded that it is impossible to count the people needing food, water, medicine and other basics as more fighting and bombardments continue to arrive.

As tensions spill out from Israel and Gaza to around the world, a Jewish man in California died after an altercation amid pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian street protests. His death is being investigated as a homicide.

Trump takes the stand in civil New York Trump Organization trial

Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday to angrily claim that the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were “worthless” and the trial was a political “witch-hunt”. The former president and several top Trump Organization executives – including his eldest sons – are accused of fraudulently inflating the value of the former president’s properties to secure better loans from banks.

With sometimes heated, sometimes meandering testimony, Trump’s time on the witness stand was akin to what might turn out to be his most expensive rally ever.

Meanwhile, the latest swing polls noted that if a presidential election were held today, Joe Biden would lose to Trump by a lot.

WeWork files for bankruptcy

WeWork, the firm formerly valued at $47bn, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in New Jersey, according to a statement from the company. The beleaguered company endured a 98% decline in its share price this year, leaving it with a market capitalization of less than $50m. It raised “substantial doubt” in August that it could continue to operate as it grappled with $2.9bn in net long-term debt and more than $13bn in long-term leases.

In other news …

Voters in Ohio heading to the polls to vote on a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution – the only abortion question on any state ballot this year.

The US supreme court will hear oral arguments today in a case which gun and domestic violence prevention groups are warning could be a matter of life and death for thousands of abuse victims and their families.

Amid rising threats against Arab and Muslim people across the US, an Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was hospitalized after being struck in a hit-and-run that authorities are investigating as a hate crime.

Stat of the day: More than 87% of people around the world believe that online disinformation has harmed their country’s politics

As the United Nations announced a plan to combat online disinformation, a global survey found that more than 85% of people are worried about the impact of online disinformation and 87% believe it has already harmed their country’s politics. “People are very concerned about disinformation, across every country and social category – age, education, rural or urban”, said Mathieu Gallard of Ipsos. “They are especially worried during elections – and they want all actors to fight it.”

Don’t miss this: the survivors of the collapse of Brazil’s Fundão tailings dam

When the Fundão tailings dam burst eight years ago in a Brazilian mining town, 60m cubic meters of iron ore waste and mud swept downriver, killing 19 people and crushing the homes of an estimated 600 people. Described as the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, its survivors are still struggling, awaiting justice under the shadow of the toxic mud that swept away life as they knew it.

“The collapse of a dam isn’t what you see on TV – the river of mud destroying things,” said resident Marino D’Ângelo Júnior. “A dam failure entails an infinity of invisible ruptures. The rupture of connections, family links, communities, histories, dreams.”

… or this: the campaign to save a child on death row

Paula Cooper was 15 years old when she murdered 77-year-old Ruth Pelke in her Indiana home. She was sentenced to death, and has since served 28 years in prison. Over time, the victim’s grandson, Bill Pelke, forgave Cooper – and joined the campaign to save her life.

Climate check: $111bn in climate reparations

A study published by the UK-based thinktank Common Wealth and the US-based Climate and Community Project has found that US and UK militaries owe at least $111bn in reparations to communities most harmed by their planet-heating pollution. Together, the two militaries have generated at least 430m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent since the 2015 United Nations Paris climate agreement – more than the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in the UK last year.

Last Thing: the rise of superhot chillis

Chilli peppers have become a global sensation, with the hottest one ever just announced. Smokin’ Ed Currie, the founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company, said he has found that three types of people are interested in superhot chillies: thrill-seekers, hipsters longing to find a fresh trend and addicts in recovery. “We tend to do silly, stupid things before we learn our lessons,” he said. “We’re real interested in that.”

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