Up First from NPR - Israel-Hamas Fighting Resumes, Ukraine Aid Holdup, DeSantis vs. Newsom Debate

Episode Date: December 1, 2023

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza resumed on Friday after a weeklong ceasefire. What does the return to war mean for civilians? The White House wants lawmakers to provide additional funds to Israel and Ukraine. House Republicans won't go along, unless they get a concession on their border policy. And Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis debated California Democrat Gavin Newsom. Up First was edited by Michael Sullivan, Kelsey Snell, Dana Farrington and HJ Mai. It was produced by Ana Perez, Ben Abrams and Julie Depenbrock. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors and Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Our Executive Producer is Erika Aguilar.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza today. The pause is over and they've resumed the attack. It's coming from all directions. What does the return to war sound like for civilians? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. The White House wants lawmakers to provide additional funds for Israel and Ukraine. House Republicans say they won't go along unless they get a concession on their border policies. This is really hard. This is really hard. I wish Republicans weren't forcing us into this position.

What do conservatives want? And Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis debated California Democrat Gavin Newsom. The televised matchup brought attention to both, but did American voters learn anything? 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. The truce between Hamas and Israel is over. Hello, Leila. It is true. The pause is over and they've resumed the attack. Shayma Ahmed sent me this voice note this morning. She's a 20-year-old computer engineering student in central Gaza. We woke up today to the sounds of gunfire, tank fire, gunfire. It's coming from all directions. Now, Israel says Hamas opened fire first with rockets. Each side then blames the other for

the collapse of a seven-day ceasefire. They are talking of renewing it, but as they talk, the new Israeli airstrikes have killed multiple family members, including children. NPR's Daniel Estrin is with us now from Tel Aviv. Hi, Daniel. Hi, Leila. So, you know, I was just listening to so much pain in those cries. Can you tell us what we were hearing there? Our producer Anas Baba recorded that in a hospital in southern Gaza. It's Fadwa Mekdad crying out for her five-year-old daughter, Juri, who died. And she said, my beloved, it was going to be your birthday. I was going to make you a cake. He filmed 12 bodies there

at the hospital wrapped in white body bags. He said they're members of four different families killed in an Israeli strike. Here is what Anas Baba also told me. They were expecting that this Friday is going to be like having the family reunion and to have like a good lunch. Because this is another bombardment, Daniel. This is another bombardment in Rafah City. It's very close to me. This is the second one. So people caught off guard.

I mean, how did the ceasefire break down? Well, there was a rocket fire from Gaza onto Israel just before the ceasefire was set to expire this morning. And both sides were accusing each other of a breakdown in talks to renew the ceasefire. Israel blamed Hamas for not agreeing to release the female hostages it was supposed to today. Hamas said Israel refused its offers to release elderly hostages and the bodies of hostages who had been killed. When the ceasefire broke down, our colleague Brian Mann was at a Tel Aviv square where there are supporters of hostages gathering. And he spoke to an Israeli, Yoav Shelhav, who personally knows two hostages still in Gaza. And he said Israel, he thinks, should prioritize their release

before renewing the military campaign against Hamas. I feel very bad about the whole issue. Our main concern is getting back not only these two guys, but everyone. I think this should be the first priority. And the issue with Hamas is important. It should be resolved, but it can be a second priority. This is my personal opinion. Qatar says it is mediating now between Israel and Hamas to return to a ceasefire, but that the bombing now in Gaza complicates those efforts.

Yeah, I mean, and the Secretary of State Antony Blinken just left Israel. Did his visit make any difference here? Blinken did call for Israel to announce specific safe zones where civilians in Gaza can go to and be safe from bombings. Israel says it did drop leaflets saying where people should evacuate. And this morning, the army posted an interactive map online with neighborhoods numbered for future evacuation if instructed. But Leila, this is a very complicated looking map online. Just navigating it on your phone is difficult. And if people in Gaza, they don't often have internet connection, just main street names are posted there. We don't know if Israel has already used this map to announce evacuation zones. We do know that there are already children and family members

dead this morning. NPR's Daniel Estrin. Thank you, Daniel. You're very welcome. President Biden insists Ukraine and Israel both need more money from Congress. That's what he says. But right now, a separate negotiation over border policy is holding all that up. Some House Republicans are insisting that they will not vote for Biden's latest Ukraine aid package unless it is attached to their preferred border security measures. NPR's Franco Ordonez has been covering this from Capitol Hill, and he joins us now. Hi, Franco. Hi, Lita. So immigration has been a difficult issue for Congress. What are they trying to achieve this time?

Yeah, I mean, these talks have been very different than they have in the past. I mean, for example, it's unlikely to include a path to citizenship or really any form of legalization for the undocumented, which has been a longtime goal for Democrats. The focus is instead on border security and specifically tightening the rules for asylum and making it harder for asylum seekers to stay in the country while their cases can be decided. Now, Senator Tom Tillis, he's helping lead the negotiations for Republicans. He told us yesterday that Democrats don't want, you know, to recognize that the numbers in Congress have changed. They have to understand that we rightfully will get something more conservative than some of the deals that I negotiated in the last Congress. It hasn't quite set in yet to some of my friends who are looking at this on this side of Capitol Hill,

that we actually have control over one of the chambers. Now, as negotiations move along, the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to hold a vote next week on some elements of this plan, but he really wants to force that along and he hopes that will do it. But it's really not expected to pass. They really need more time. What about Democrats in the White House? No path for citizenship, no legalization. It doesn't sound like something that will resonate with their supporters. Yeah, I mean, really, for sure. I mean, advocates have spoken out against these potential changes. They argue that it's going to remove key avenues for the most vulnerable to get to safety.

And there's no question that these have been difficult discussions for the Democrats. I mean, Senator Dick Durbin told us yesterday he's very worried about an outcry from progressives. And here's Senator Chris Murphy talking about some of the challenges just yesterday. This is really hard. This is really hard. I wish Republicans weren't forcing us into this position. I mean, the dynamics have changed. I mean, the border crisis is not just a border issue anymore. Big cities like Chicago and York are scrambling to accommodate busloads of arriving migrants. And you have Democratic mayors, Democratic mayors and Democratic governors calling on Biden to do more on the border.

Now, the White House, they say they're taking action. But it's also beating the drum about the crisis in Ukraine and the dangers of Vladimir Putin. Just yesterday, the White House warned that they probably have only until the end of the year before they run out of money to support Ukraine. So how is it that we got here? I mean, Ukraine has had strong bipartisan support for so long. Why such a dramatic change among Republicans all of a sudden? Yeah, I mean, some of it has to do with the declining U.S. support for the war as it's dragged on. You also have a new speaker in the House who's much more aligned with the hard right. And that faction has increasingly been calling for an end to Ukraine

funding. The new speaker, that's Mike Johnson, he's made it very clear to negotiators just this week that the House will not support a Ukraine deal unless there are specific changes to the border, significant changes. And while some have suggested Johnson could surely look to Democrats to get help to get the deal across the finish line, as Republicans tell us, that's just a recipe for Johnson losing his speakership job. NPR's Franco Ordonez. Thanks, Franco. Thank you. Georgia last night played host to an unusual debate between one governor, who's also a presidential candidate, and another governor who people think could be one. Yeah, it was between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,

who's running for the Republican presidential nomination, and California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. Fox News billed this as a red state, blue state debate, which was not subtle at all. There was a background of blue for Newsom and a background of red for DeSantis. The debate was hosted by Sean Hannity. Here now to fill us in is NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Hi, Domenico.

Good morning, Leila. Good morning. So tell us what happened and why did it even happen in the first place? Well, you know, these are two guys who really like the spotlight a lot. But it was DeSantis who really had a lot more on the line here because he's the one actually running for president right now. That's a point Newsom made early and often. There are profound differences tonight, and I look forward to engaging them.

But there's one thing in closing that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024. Newsom was happy to needle DeSantis over and over again during this debate. Conservatives and some Democrats have needled Newsom in essentially accusing him of running a shadow campaign. Newsom tried to make clear over and over again that that's not the case, defending President Biden often during this debate. But Newsom has thrust himself into the conversation for the presidency. And if he's not angling to run this cycle, which he stresses he's not, he certainly appears to be doing so, positioning himself at least for 2028.

And you said there seemed to be more on the line for DeSantis here. How did he handle the debate? You know, I think his people feel really good about it. It was certainly a friendly environment for him. The topics benefited his point of view, talking about people moving out of California because of high taxes, immigration, violent crime, homelessness. You get the idea. And the California liberal reputation is going to be a hurdle for Newsom if he does decide to run at some point. You know, DeSantis stressed that Biden wants to replicate the California model for the nation. Newsom was quick to counter, charging that Florida's tax system hurts working people, that DeSantis bullies the marginalized, and that women's reproductive rights are under assault because of Florida's six-week abortion ban. Here's how DeSantis shot

back. You know he's lying to you about all these other facts and figures, about all this other stuff. He's just throwing stuff out to see what sticks against the wall. This is a slick, slippery politician. You know, DeSantis went after Newsom on the debate about books and schools, even the cleanliness, you could say, of California cities in pretty provocative ways. He brought on stage what appeared to be a page from a graphic novel with partially blacked out images showing sexual acts that he's claiming is in California schools, as well as a map of, frankly, well, poop that he said is from an app depicting parts of San Francisco.

Okay, he's really pulling out all the stops there. Do you think any of what he did helped him get what he needed out of this debate, which is to get a boost in the Republican primary? Yeah, I'm not sure it did. You know, time's really running out for DeSantis. He's trailing former President Trump by a lot. There's only 44 days to the Iowa caucuses where he needs to do really well. It's tough for him because Newsom seemed not only to want to defend California,

but also try to tank DeSantis' campaign. When are you going to drop out and at least give Nikki Haley a shot to take down Donald Trump in this nomination? She laid you out. Oh, it's tough to debate a man with nothing to lose. In the end, neither of them may be elected president 2024, but this could be a preview of the next presidential cycle. NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Thanks, Domenico. You're welcome. And that's Up First for Friday, December 1st. I'm Laila Folden. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Today's Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Dana Farrington,

Michael Sullivan, and H.J. Maughan. Produced by Ana Pettis, Ben Abrams, and Julie Deppenbrock. We get engineering support. That sounds so supportive. Support from Phil Edfors and Arthur Laurent. Our technical director, also very supportive, is Stacey Abbott. Our executive producer, even more supportive, is Erika Aguilar. And don't forget, Up First airs on Saturday, too. Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. It'll be here in this feed or wherever you get your podcasts.