The Atlantic Daily: Wars Don’t Occur in a Vacuum
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Israel and Hamas continued trading attacks over the weekend as the latest round of violence in Gaza entered its second week. Death tolls continued to rise, particularly for Palestinians, with dozens of children reportedly among the dead. President Biden expressed support for a cease-fire today during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.
To better understand what led to the current crisis, two of our contributing writers turn to history.
Don’t take the narrow view of what’s happening in Gaza. “The tragedy, upon other tragedies, is that the world seems to pay attention to Palestinians only when they use violence,” Shadi Hamid writes. “Nonviolent activism goes largely ignored.”
Palestinians are mostly on their own. “Some Palestinians may look to Iran as their last ally,” Kim Ghattas writes. “But for more than 40 years, the Islamic Republic has used the Palestinian cause for its own advancement.”
More: See photos of what’s happening on the ground, as curated by our senior editor Alan Taylor.
What to read if ... you’re vaccinated but still nervous about taking off your mask following the CDC’s new guidelines:
“What the CDC is now allowing—or perhaps even encouraging—fully vaccinated people to do are options, not obligations,” our staff writer Katherine J. Wu advised last week. “You control those ear straps.” Read Katie’s reaction to the news.
What to read if ... you heard the news that President Biden plans to send another 20 million vaccine doses abroad:
Experts told our assistant editor Christian Paz that “the world needs a Marshall Plan” and “not just a patchwork of disjointed solutions” to vaccinate the world’s 7 billion people.
Tonight’s Atlantic-approved activity:
Nomadland is “a popcorn picture for the damned—and so it spoke to me,” Caitlin Flanagan writes. Stream the award winner on Hulu.
Today’s break from the news:
Rich people are buying trips to space. Does that make them astronauts?
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.