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Israel Strikes Hamas in Qatar. Plus. . .
It’s Wednesday, September 10. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: The tragedy of Britney Spears; the canonization of “God’s influencer”; the anatomy of a viral lie about Gaza. And more.
But first: Israel’s strike on Hamas.
Around lunchtime on Tuesday, Israeli jets struck the offices of Hamas’s leadership in Qatar. According to the Israel Defense Forces, senior Hamas leaders—responsible for October 7 and other terror attacks on the Jewish state—were the targets. Hamas says five of its members were killed in the strike.
As smoke billowed across the Doha skyline, yet another set of assumptions about the Middle East had been shattered. One U.S. ally had attacked another. Qatar’s audacious attempt to have it both ways, hosting both a major U.S. military base and Hamas’s political leadership, had come unstuck.
So where does the strike leave the chances for an end to the Israel-Hamas war that will enter its third year next month? How does it affect Qatar’s regional status? Will Doha be forced to take a side in a divided region? And what might happen next? Jay Solomon, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, and Haviv Rettig Gur provide answers to these questions and more in a trio of offerings on today’s most important story.
Jay goes behind the scenes of the strike to shed light on the consequences of the strike. Click here for his report. Then read Hussein Aboubakr Mansour explain how yesterday’s attack is a watershed moment for the Middle East. And watch Haviv talk to The Free Press’s Rafaela Siewert just hours after the strike.
—The Editors
Reading scores for 12th-grade American students are at a three-decade low, according to test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (Melina Mara / The Washington Post via Getty Images)Poland said it shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace. “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” said Polish prime minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday. “The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.”
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that they will charge the alleged murderer of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska with a federal crime for committing an act resulting in death on a mass transportation system. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. Read Kat Rosenfield: “The Taboo That Killed Iryna Zarutska.”
Nepal’s prime minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, resigned yesterday as protests against a temporary ban on several social media sites grew increasingly violent. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent days, and 19 have been killed by the police so far.
After lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate gave Congress a copy of a bawdy birthday letter Trump sent to Epstein, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt again denied that the president ever wrote or signed it. Trump called it a “dead issue,” while Republicans in Congress are claiming they haven’t seen the letter.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) overreported job growth by an estimated 911,000—on the high end of expectations—for the year prior to this past March, according to a Labor Department report released yesterday. It’s a sign the economy is on shakier ground than was previously thought. “President Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump fired the BLS commissioner last month.
Lachlan Murdoch completed a deal, announced Monday, to secure control of the media empire his father Rupert built. The agreement ends a decades-long succession battle and means Murdoch-owned outlets, including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, will likely remain conservative in outlook.
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has agreed to hear a case challenging President Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in early November. The case will be a major test of both the legality of Trump’s flagship economic policy and the limits of presidential power.
Israel yesterday ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City ahead of a planned military occupation. The IDF dropped leaflets carrying the message, including instructions directing residents to a designated humanitarian zone south of the city.
Reading scores for 12th-grade American students are at a three-decade low, according to test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the first since the pandemic. Only a third of 12th graders tested have the necessary reading and math skills for college-level work. Read Erik Hoel’s Free Press essay: “I Taught My 3-Year-Old to Read ‘The Hobbit’. ”
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By Bari WeissIt’s Wednesday, September 10. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: The tragedy of Britney Spears; the canonization of “God’s influencer”; the anatomy of a viral lie about Gaza. And more.
But first: Israel’s strike on Hamas.
Around lunchtime on Tuesday, Israeli jets struck the offices of Hamas’s leadership in Qatar. According to the Israel Defense Forces, senior Hamas leaders—responsible for October 7 and other terror attacks on the Jewish state—were the targets. Hamas says five of its members were killed in the strike.
As smoke billowed across the Doha skyline, yet another set of assumptions about the Middle East had been shattered. One U.S. ally had attacked another. Qatar’s audacious attempt to have it both ways, hosting both a major U.S. military base and Hamas’s political leadership, had come unstuck.
So where does the strike leave the chances for an end to the Israel-Hamas war that will enter its third year next month? How does it affect Qatar’s regional status? Will Doha be forced to take a side in a divided region? And what might happen next? Jay Solomon, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, and Haviv Rettig Gur provide answers to these questions and more in a trio of offerings on today’s most important story.
Jay goes behind the scenes of the strike to shed light on the consequences of the strike. Click here for his report. Then read Hussein Aboubakr Mansour explain how yesterday’s attack is a watershed moment for the Middle East. And watch Haviv talk to The Free Press’s Rafaela Siewert just hours after the strike.
—The Editors
Reading scores for 12th-grade American students are at a three-decade low, according to test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (Melina Mara / The Washington Post via Getty Images)Poland said it shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace. “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” said Polish prime minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday. “The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.”
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that they will charge the alleged murderer of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska with a federal crime for committing an act resulting in death on a mass transportation system. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. Read Kat Rosenfield: “The Taboo That Killed Iryna Zarutska.”
Nepal’s prime minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, resigned yesterday as protests against a temporary ban on several social media sites grew increasingly violent. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent days, and 19 have been killed by the police so far.
After lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate gave Congress a copy of a bawdy birthday letter Trump sent to Epstein, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt again denied that the president ever wrote or signed it. Trump called it a “dead issue,” while Republicans in Congress are claiming they haven’t seen the letter.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) overreported job growth by an estimated 911,000—on the high end of expectations—for the year prior to this past March, according to a Labor Department report released yesterday. It’s a sign the economy is on shakier ground than was previously thought. “President Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump fired the BLS commissioner last month.
Lachlan Murdoch completed a deal, announced Monday, to secure control of the media empire his father Rupert built. The agreement ends a decades-long succession battle and means Murdoch-owned outlets, including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, will likely remain conservative in outlook.
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has agreed to hear a case challenging President Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in early November. The case will be a major test of both the legality of Trump’s flagship economic policy and the limits of presidential power.
Israel yesterday ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City ahead of a planned military occupation. The IDF dropped leaflets carrying the message, including instructions directing residents to a designated humanitarian zone south of the city.
Reading scores for 12th-grade American students are at a three-decade low, according to test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the first since the pandemic. Only a third of 12th graders tested have the necessary reading and math skills for college-level work. Read Erik Hoel’s Free Press essay: “I Taught My 3-Year-Old to Read ‘The Hobbit’. ”