Reuters World News - Gaza departures, back to the Taliban and Arab American votes in key states

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

Limited evacuations from Gaza have been agreed as fighting intensifies. Israel said its fighter jets killed a Hamas commander in a strike on a densely populated refugee camp. The Biden administration's support of Israel’s offensive lands him in trouble with Arab American voters in key states. Plus thousands of Afghans forced back into Taliban rule and the where the illegal wildlife goes in California. Listen to our special episode on Hamas' tunnels here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the first departure is set to begin from Gaza. Israel defends a deadly airstrike on a crowded Gaza refugee camp. A striking moment in Congress... As Arab-American support for Democrats in key 2024 states plummets. And we travel to California zoos to find out what happens after authorities confiscate an illegal tiger. It's Wednesday, November 1st. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Kim Vinal in London.

And I'm Christopher Waljester in Chicago. A number of foreigners and critically wounded are set to leave the Gaza Strip as fighting intensifies and conditions for civilians worsens. Under a Qatari-mediated deal, foreign passport holders and some critically injured people are being allowed to leave. through the Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. A convoy of ambulances queuing at the border before being led across to transfer the most seriously injured. The deal followed another day of bloodshed in Gaza in which an Israeli airstrike killed about 50 people in a refugee camp,

according to Palestinian health officials. Israel said the attack killed a senior Hamas commander and other combatants. As people searched through the rubble looking for survival, international pressure grows on Israel over the offensive into Gaza. Bolivia has cut international ties in protest at the number of civilian casualties. At the White House, spokesman John Kirby repeated calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting. There has to be credible support on both sides here. As Israel's self-named second phase of the war continues, the Israeli military says 11 of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday.

It's the biggest one-day loss for the armed forces since the start of the offensive. The international calls for a ceasefire have led to striking moments like this one from America's capital. I would ask that you respect our witnesses and our committee members and allow the American people to hear their testimony. We will pause until the room is cleared. A row of hands covered in what looks like blood are held up behind U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken as he testifies or tries to during a Senate hearing. Protesters repeatedly interrupted to condemn the U.S. support for Israel as it continues to pound Gaza.

With the death toll among Palestinians mounting, President Biden's support among Arab Americans is plummeting. White House reporter Andrea Shalal is covering the political fallout. There's a new poll out by the Arab American Institute that shows the depth of this frustration. So for the first time since they've been doing this poll, since 1997, it's the first time that a majority of Arab Americans haven't identified as Democrats. Biden's support has dropped crazily from like 59% in 2020 to just 17% now. The takeaway from this poll is that people are upset. people have lost their confidence in this presidency, but there also seems to be a generational

divide where young people generally share this views. How worried should Democrats be? Arab Americans are a large percentage of a population in a critical state like Michigan, also northern Ohio, key sections of Pennsylvania, around Pittsburgh. These are areas that could be at play that maybe haven't been at play. elections are won in the margins. And so we are talking about areas where one, two, three percentage point difference in the vote can win or lose you the electoral college vote. But the likely alternative is the guy who ran on banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Would they actually vote for Trump?

I don't know. You know, even if they don't vote for Biden, even if they just abstain from voting for Biden that could make a big difference when you're telling votes at the end of the day. And we saw that a little bit when Ralph Nader ran and peeled off votes that potentially could have helped Al Gore. Gunfire in the occupied West Bank city of Janine as Israeli forces carry out a raid. Israel has been clamping down on the other Palestinian enclave since the October 7th Hamas attack. At least 120 Palestinians have been killed there. Tesla has won the first U.S. trial over allegations that its autopilot driver assistance

feature led to a death. The verdict in a California state court is a major victory for the automaker as it faces several similar lawsuits across the country. Over in Manhattan Federal Court, the defense has rested in Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal fraud trial. The FD. The Ft. The ex-founder ended his defense by testifying that he felt regret for not looking into an $8 billion debt to his hedge fund before the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed. He faces 110 years in prison if he's convicted. North Korea is poised to close as many as a dozen embassies. Offices in Spain, Hong Kong and across Africa, according to media reports and analysts. South Korea says this is a sign that the North is struggling to make more.

money overseas because of international sanctions. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady today, but investors will be keen to monitor Chair Jerome Powell's comments for clues about its future plans. In Asia, manufacturers faced worsening pressure in October, with factory activity in China slipping back into decline. On the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, families wait in traffic, with belongings piled high on trucks and vans. They are among 1.3 million people who will be sent back to Taliban rule.

Pakistan ordered foreigners without legal documents to leave last month, and the deadline to leave is today. We're helpless, says this man, as he carries a child. We have nothing in our homeland, no home, nowhere to go. The expulsion threat came after suicide bombings this year, which the government, without providing evidence, said involved Afghans. Islamabad also says undocumented migrants have drained the country's resources for decades. Ariba Shahid is in Karachi.

How do the Afghans affected feel about returning to Afghanistan? So while some of these people have been living here for decades, there are some people here that are here temporarily waiting for their visas or their asylum cases to be processed for other countries. Those people are really concerned about their safety and they fear returning. There are people that have spent their whole lives here, grown up here, which even date back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and only know Pakistan as their home. They're scared of returning starting from zero all over again. They're only allowed to take around 50,000 rupees, which is less than $200 approximately.

So starting fresh with just that amount is also very difficult. Southern California is known as an epicenter for wildlife trafficking. And the big question is, once you confiscate a tiger, then what? As our LA Bureau Chief Mary Milliken reports, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now teaming up with zoos and aquariums to ensure that the animals find the care they need. Often the animals and birds that are trafficked illegally are traveling in her. horrendous conditions. And as Dr. Jake Owens, the director of conservation at the LA Zoo says, they're in luggage, suitcase, that they're maybe wrapped up in cellophane or in little tubes like toilet paper rolls. They're packed into those, maybe that their mouths taped shut so that they

can't make noise. They have no food. They have no water for the duration of that flight. So what this confiscation network does, it allows them to pass the wildlife off quickly. and get expert veterinary care for some very, very traumatized animals. So where do these animals end up? Often, these animals that come in are babies, cubs or hatchlings. And so they are very, very delicate. Most of these animals are going to remain in the zoo's aquariums and rescue centers. And one of the reasons is they can ensure that.

their health there, they can breed them. Many of these animals and birds are endangered species. And so it is important to create the conditions whereby they can breed and reproduce. That's it for today's episode. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player or download the Reuters app.