Up First from NPR - Israel-Gaza Latest, Poland Border Blockade, Georgia Map Ruling

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

The Israeli offensive in Gaza continues as new evacuation orders are issued. Around 1,000 trucks wait at the Ukraine-Poland border as a Polish truckers blockade protests the lack of shipping regulations. A Georgia judge rules in favor of newly drawn congressional maps that give republicans an advantage. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Susanna Capeluto, Michael Sullivan, Alice Woelfle and Miguel Macias. It was produced by Julie Depenbrock, Mansee Khurana and Chad Campbell. We get engineering support from Hannah Gluvna. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New airstrikes and more evacuation orders in Gaza. One of those strikes yesterday killed at least 21 people. Almost 2 million people have already been displaced. Israel says it seeks to destroy Hamas wherever it is. I'm Amy Martinez, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. There's a line of trucks 20 miles long at the border between Poland and Ukraine. A blockade by Polish truckers has drivers waiting weeks to deliver goods into Ukraine. How do relations between the two countries get so bad?

And a judge in Georgia has ruled that new congressional maps are legal under the Voting Rights Act. This is a win for Republicans at a time when control of Congress is on the line in 2024. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Now, Our Change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to Our Change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. Israel's offensive in Gaza continues with new airstrikes and more evacuation orders. Israel says it seeks to destroy Hamas wherever it is.

This in response to the October 7th attack that killed about 1,200 people. Hamas continues to hold more than 100 hostages in Gaza. Yesterday, an airstrike hit a home in the southern city of Rafah, killing at least 21 people, according to health officials and witnesses. This is the region of Gaza where Israeli officials have told Palestinians to go for safety, and the exchange of fire across Israel's northern border with Lebanon has heated up too, as well as fears of a widening war. And Paris, Carrie Khan is in Tel Aviv, and she's here with us to bring us up to date. Good morning, Carrie. Good morning, Michelle.

So I understand that Israel has ordered more evacuations in Gaza. What can you tell us about that? The war is not slowing down. Israel says it is engaging in intense combat with Hamas militants in northern and central Gaza. It continues to issue evacuation orders from those areas. Eighty-five percent of the population in Gaza now has been displaced. That's about two million people, Michelle. One Israeli-American hostage, a 70-year-old woman, died in Gaza, according to her family. President Biden sent condolences to her loved ones.

And what have you learned about this latest strike in the southern city of Rafah? A home was hit in a Rafah neighborhood by rocket fire. The casualty count is high, NPR is seeking comment from the military. NPR's producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, went to the Kuwaiti hospital where the injured and dead were taken after the strike. And he narrated to us what he saw. Michelle, I just want to warn listeners what he describes are disturbing images. The casualties and the wounded keep reaching the ER nonstop. The majority are children and small babies. One of them was a pregnant woman and she was begging the doctor to check on her baby inside of her belly. The doctor

told her my priority is you now not your baby. A woman with all of her face is just like covered It was a very chaotic scene there last night. I want to give you a quick update from earlier reporting about Israeli airstrikes. In a statement, Israeli military officials addressed two strikes that happened on December 24th. That killed more than 100 people, according to the Associated Press. The military said in a statement, quote, it regrets the harm to uninvolved individuals and is working to draw lessons from the incident. The death toll in Gaza, according to health officials there, now tops 21,000 Palestinians. So in recent days, the militant group Hezbollah in Israel have exchanged fire at targets across the border.

Is there concern that this is opening another front in this war? Yes, they've been firing at each other every day this week, including several times this morning. Former Defense Minister and a member of Israeli's war cabinet, Benny Gantz, sent this warning to Hezbollah. The situation on the northern border must change. war cabinet, Benny Gantz, sent this warning to Hezbollah. Gantz said, time for a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah is running out. It wants Hezbollah forces to retreat further north, farther away from the Israeli border. And if not, he said, Israel will act. Tens of thousands of Israelis that live close to the border, the northern border there, have been relocated. That is MPS Kerry Kahn in Tel Aviv. Kerry, thank you. You're welcome. Thousands of Israelis that live close to the border, the northern border there, have been relocated.

That is NPR's Carrie Conn in Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you. You're welcome. Polish truckers and transport business owners are blocking border traffic at the border between Poland and Ukraine. They are protesting the removal of limits on how many Ukrainian drivers and businesses can come to Poland and the EU. After more than a year of essentially free movement into Poland, Polish drivers are struggling to compete. And this protest is souring a once extremely supportive neighborly relationship between the two countries.

The new Polish prime minister is planning a trip to Kiev and says this blockade will be on the agenda. We're turning now to Alyssa Nadwerny, who is at one of these blocked border crossings. Good morning, Alyssa. Good morning, Michelle. So could you just start by telling us exactly where you are and what you've been seeing there? So I'm at the Dorohusk border crossing between Ukraine and Poland. It's one of a handful of border crossings that process these big trucks.

And protesters here are limiting the number of trucks that can cross an hour. It ranges from one to five, kind of depending on the day and the mood. There are some exceptions that we've been able to see. Military and humanitarian aid are getting to pass through, but the rest, they have to wait. And that means the line here of Ukrainian trucks is about a thousand at the moment. It's just as far as the eye can see, backed up more than 20 miles. And drivers wait weeks. Wow, 1,000 trucks waiting to cross. That's something.

So what specifically do these protesters want, the Polish protesters? What do they want? Well, before the war, there was a permit system for drivers. And Poland and Ukraine got equal numbers. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU suspended that permit system to help Ukraine keep the economy afloat. And the number of trucks shot up, of course, with most of those drivers being Ukrainian. And the Poles, they want that permit system back. So remember, Poland is Ukraine's main connection to Europe.

There are no flights in and out of Ukraine. The Black Sea is mined. So this land border is essential. Last night, Leszek Staszek was manning the blockade. He's a Polish business holder holding up Ukrainian drivers. And he's been here at night in the cold for months. He says this is a fight for his existence.

He owns a small company with his son. They have five trucks. And business has really suffered, he says. He says Ukrainian drivers, they drive around like they're members of the EU, like us. And they take away our bread. They take away our work. He says waiting for weeks at a border crossing, that's just the job of a trucker. And he's done that plenty,

he says, in his decades of being a driver himself. So what are the Ukrainian drivers telling you? Well, you know, the ones at the front of the line have been here for almost two weeks, and many of them can't believe that this is happening right now while Ukraine is at war. Imports to Ukraine are way down, and that impacts taxes and ultimately the war effort, because everything is connected. We talked with a man, maybe Yaroslav, waiting to cross. He's a Ukrainian truck driver. He's got a load of furniture. And he's been here at this border for 14 days, running out of water, food and money. He's saying, if the polls are striking, don't let us come into Poland. But why are you not letting me go home?

You know, other drivers told us similar sentiments. One said, go block the parliament in Warsaw. Leave us here at the border out of it. Of course, protesters actually did that back in the spring, Michelle, and it didn't work. So they started the protest here. Well, is there a strategy for bringing this to an end? Well, Poland does have a new government, so there's a chance they're going to work with Ukrainian officials in the EU to figure out a compromise

to try and keep both sides happy. Protesters are telling us they're going to be here for the long haul, and Ukrainian truckers are saying we're actually going to keep coming back despite the wait. That is Alyssa Nadwani. She's at the border between Poland and Ukraine. Thanks, Alyssa. You bet.

A federal judge has approved Georgia's newly revised political maps. Republican lawmakers drew new districts for Congress and the state legislature after the judge found the old ones illegally diluted the power of black voters. But the civil rights and religious groups who sued over the maps say the new ones still violate the Voting Rights Act. WABE Sam Greenglass has been following this story for us from Atlanta. Sam, good morning. Hey, Michelle. So first, would you just, would you mind just reminding us of how we got here? This fall, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ordered Georgia's Republican-controlled legislature to create one new majority Black congressional district. Now, many people thought that meant Democrats would gain a seat in Congress, like

what happened next door in Alabama, where the courts ordered that map redrawn. But instead, Republicans have managed to preserve their 9-5 advantage in Congress by dismantling a Democratic voting coalition district in suburban Atlanta. This was a district where Black, Latino, and Asian American voters together formed a majority, and now they are split up. So I imagine that Democrats are frustrated by this ruling, to put it mildly. Yeah, Democrats say they are deeply disappointed and called it a missed opportunity. And for many of them, this fight has been very personal. At the state capitol earlier this month, state representative Teddy Reese talked about his grandmother, who was born three decades before the Voting Rights Act.

And she said to me, son, I clean floors on my hands and my knees so that you could stand on the House floor of the state capital. But that is not possible if our people have not given opportunity to elect those that look like them. We were not ordered back here by Judge Jones to maintain the status quo. We were ordered here to change Georgia's map so that they reflect the inevitable shift in Georgia's population. A population, Michelle, that is diversifying and making Georgia elections more competitive. But the judge disagreed. I take it that he said that Republicans did the job of adding a black congressional district. That's right. Judge Jones, an Obama

appointee, concluded that lawmakers followed his order. Now, as for whether multiracial coalition districts are protected by the Voting Rights Act, Jones declined to weigh in. He said this case only ever considered Black voters and any other questions should be argued in another case. Republicans, they cheered that decision and said the judge affirmed what they have been saying all along, that their new maps comply with the Voting Rights Act. So before we let you go, Sam, describe how the fight in Georgia fits in with all these other redistricting cases in the courts right now. This is a moment when conservatives are testing the bounds of the Voting Rights Act. I talked

with Northwestern University law professor Michael King, and he says conservatives see an opportunity to narrow the act at a time when it really should be read more expansively, like to protect these multiracial districts, such as the one that's been dismantled in Georgia. I think we're in a moment of change for the Voting Rights Act and for race in American politics, we're seeing an increasingly multiracial democracy that the voting rights law that we have wasn't really built to handle very well. But more immediately, which party controls the next? Congress is on the line and with margins so thin, Michelle, the shape of every district matters. That is WABE Sam Greenglass. Sam, thank margins so thin, Michelle, the shape of every district matters. That is WABE Sam Greenglass. Sam, thank you.

Thanks, Michelle. One more thing before we go. In Maine, the Secretary of State says former President Donald Trump is not qualified to appear on the state's primary ballot next year. The decision is based on his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The ruling cites the so-called insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, disqualifying those who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States from holding office. It was originally written post-Civil War to prevent Confederate rebels from holding elected office. Colorado and Michigan have also ruled on this issue, and there are similar cases still pending in other states. The Trump campaign called the decision, quote, atrocious and said it would appeal. Meanwhile, in California, in the latest of these challenges, the secretary of state declined

to remove former President Trump from the state's Republican primary ballot. We'll have more on this story on our radio show, Morning Edition, and at npr.org. And that's Up First for Friday, December 29th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Amy Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Susana Capilouto, Michael Sullivan, Alice Wolfley, and Miguel Macias. It was produced by Julie Deppenbrock, Manzi Grana, and Chad Campbell.

We get engineering support from Hannah Glovna, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. As always, join us again on Monday. But one final note, we'd like to bid a fond farewell to an essential part of the Up First team behind the scenes, producer Lisa Wiener. Today is her last day, and we are going to miss her dearly. Thank you, Lisa, for all you've done for our listeners and for us.

And you can catch Up First tomorrow, too, with host Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon. We hope you have a great weekend.