Israel withdraws some troops
The Israeli army announced that it withdrew a division of ground troops from southern Gaza yesterday. The move raised questions about its plans as the war reached the six-month mark – Israeli media reported that the withdrawal meant there were no Israeli troops actively maneuvering in southern Gaza.
It was unclear what the latest troop withdrawal meant for the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. Israel has significantly reduced the number of troops it has on the ground in recent months. Only a fraction of the soldiers he had deployed to the region earlier in the war remain.
Israel has routed Hamas in much of Gaza and the fighting appears to have slowed. However, the conflict is abated by Israel’s reluctance to either hold on to the territory it has seized or hand over control to an alternative Palestinian leadership.
The withdrawal came as international mediators were set to meet in Cairo to resume negotiations for a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages held in the enclave. At the same time, concerns have grown that Iran will retaliate for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed senior commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
Mexico cuts ties with Ecuador
Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador on Friday after Ecuadorean police arrested an Ecuadorian politician, Jorge Glass, who had been granted political asylum at the Mexican embassy in Quito, the capital. The next day, Nicaragua also announced it was suspending diplomatic relations with Ecuador, calling the arrest a “neofascist political brutality.”
That arrest, which Mexico described as a “violation” of its sovereignty, capped days of rising tensions between the countries. Ecuador considers Glass, a former vice president, a fugitive, and said its police force was acting on an arrest warrant against him.
Glass: He was convicted of bribery in two separate cases and fled to the embassy after facing more embezzlement charges.
30 years after the Rwandan genocide
Rwanda marked the 30th anniversary of the devastating genocide in the central African country, a 100-day rampage in which extremists from the Hutu ethnic majority killed 800,000 people – most of them Tutsi, a minority group.
The day-long tribute included a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the final resting place for the remains of more than 250,000 victims. “Rwanda has been completely humiliated by the scale of our loss and the lessons we have learned are etched in blood,” President Paul Kagame, who led Tutsi rebels during the genocide, said yesterday.
Context: Rwanda has made impressive gains in maternal mortality, poverty, education and access to health. But ethnic divisions persist under Kagame, an iron-fisted president who has ruled the country since the genocide. He is running for re-election this year and is expected to win another seven-year term.
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Today’s total eclipse
Today, a total solar eclipse will move across North America. The path of totality—the strip where the moon will completely obscure the sun—begins in Mazatlán, Mexico. It crosses more than a dozen US states, from Texas to Maine, and ends in Newfoundland, Canada.
Millions plan to watch the few minutes when the moon completely blocks the sun and darkness swallows the light. (At least, they hope: Anxiety builds with cloudy forecasts.)
Some enthusiasts booked hotel rooms years in advance and many took time off work to witness the awe-inspiring event. “It’s a reminder to everyone, on the same day, that life can be magical,” wrote my colleague Elizabeth Dias.
