Up First from NPR - Israel's West Bank Raid, Ukraine's Offensive, Highland Park's Memories

Episode Date: July 4, 2023

A hospital team works around the clock while Israel pursues militants in a West Bank refugee camp. As Ukraine presses its counteroffensive, Russia says it repelled a drone attack on a big Moscow airport. And a Chicago suburb remembers the victims of a mass shooting at a July Fourth parade one year ago.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Up First is produced by Nina Kravinsky, Shelby Hawkins, Taylor Haney and Julie Depenbrock. Our editors are Michael Sullivan, Kevin Drew, Cheryl Corley, Alice Woelfle and Jan Johnson. Our technical director is Zac Coleman with engineering support from Stacey Abbott.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A hospital director in the West Bank says his medical teams have been working 36 hours straight. Israel is seeking militants in a refugee camp. We need peace for all Palestinian and Israeli people. I'm Steve Inskeep with Rob Schmitz, and this is Up First from NPR News. As Ukraine presses its counteroffensive, we get reports this morning of another attack inside Russia. Russian officials say they repelled an attempted drone attack on a big Moscow airport. Also, a suburb of Chicago remembers a mass shooting. The adults were like, how could this ever happen in Highland Park?

But the kids said, we expected this to happen. A community honors the victims of last year's gunfire at a 4th of July parade. 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. Residents of a refugee camp are spending this week in the midst of a military operation. Israel sent troops and drones into the camp at Jenin. It's in the

occupied West Bank. And for decades, that camp has been home to Palestinians displaced from Israel during its war of independence. Israel says the camp is also a base for militants, which is why Israeli troops opened fire in an operation that has so far left 10 Palestinians dead. You see? You can hear, I think, yes? NPR's Daniel Estrin recorded that call and joins us now from Tel Aviv. Daniel, that was a chilling tape there that we heard. Who are you speaking to there? That's a nurse in the Jenin government hospital. He gave me his first name, Nowras, and he says that everyone in the hospital has been hearing a lot of that lately,

Israeli army shooting, because the hospital is close to the camp where troops are operating. I spoke to the hospital director who says medical teams have not gone home for about 36 hours straight. They're treating people of all ages, mostly with tear gas inhalation wounds, but a lot of those with critical injuries are mostly young men, 15 to 25 years old, he said. They have come in with head, neck, chest wounds from bullets and also from Israel's drone airstrikes. And Israel has also destroyed many roads in the area. This is what the hospital director told me, Dr. Wissam Bakar. One road is open, but the difficulty in entrance to the camp for the ambulances, because the roads are all destroyed.

Now, the Israeli army does acknowledge that only one road is usable now for ambulances. The army says it destroyed many roads because they had intelligence that the roads were booby trapped. But we are hearing that medics are actually walking by foot into the camp to help. Wow. Besides the hospital, what about life inside the Jenin refugee camp? Because about 10 to 15,000 people live there, right? receiving people fleeing, even a nearby church opening its doors. The army operation has left a lot of infrastructure damaged. Most of the camp does not have water or electricity. And so residents were describing just really unbearable heat, no AC at home, no water to flush toilets. Now, the Palestinian Authority is angry at the U.S. because they're saying that the U.S. is not trying to stop Israel's incursion.

The State Department put out a statement calling for civilian lives to be protected, but basically saying the U.S. supports Israel protecting its people against terrorist groups. And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even attended the U.S. Embassy's 4th of July party and on stage praised the operation. That's a stark contrast between him at a 4th of July party and what's happening at the refugee camp. What's a stark contrast between him at a Fourth of July party and what's happening at the refugee camp. What's Israel's endgame here? Well, the army told me that the troops may need about one to three more days to go after explosive factories. And they do think that many militants fled the camp, which means that if they are still at large, they may carry

out reprisal attacks after all this is over. That could draw more calls from far right Israeli officials to hit back even harder. This has been already a very violent year, at least 130 Palestinians have been killed, about 24 people killed on the Israeli side. And you know what, many Israeli military experts are looking at this and saying, this operation cannot solve the deeper problems. West Bank settler violence against Palestinians, young Palestinians turning increasingly to weapons, no horizon for a better life for Palestinians under occupation. That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks for your reporting. You're welcome. Russia's invasion of Ukraine keeps coming home to Russia.

When the invasion started last year, it seemed that Russian territory was secure. It was protected by nuclear weapons, and Ukraine had no obvious way to strike back. But in recent months, armed groups have conducted operations on Russian soil. Russia's own mercenaries briefly raced toward Moscow. Drones attacked the Kremlin. And this morning, Russia says drones tried to attack a Moscow airport. For the latest NPRs, Greg Myhre joins us from the capital, Kiev. Welcome, Greg.

Hi, Rob. What do we know about what happened today? So Russia says the Venukova airport, just to the south of Moscow, came under an attempted drone attack early this morning. The defense ministry says that near the airport and surrounding areas, four drones were shot down. A fifth was intercepted and fell harmlessly. Incoming flights were temporarily diverted, but operations are back to normal. This is one of three big civilian airports that serve Moscow.

Russia is blaming Ukraine, calling it an act of terrorism. Ukraine isn't commenting. However, Ukrainian officials have spoken about how they're extending the range of their drones to reach Moscow, which is about 300 miles from Ukraine's border. So sticking with Russia here, are there signs of potential fallout from this recent internal rebellion by a mercenary leader there? Well, CIA Director William Byrne certainly thinks so. He gave a rare public speech in Britain over the weekend and said Russians are increasingly disenchanted with the war, and he believes the CIA can capitalize on this. Let's have a listen.

That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core, a human intelligence service. We're not letting it go to waste. So this is not something you hear often from a spy chief. He's openly saying that he thinks the Russians, some Russians in key positions, may be ready and willing to turn on the Russian government and work for the U.S.'s spies. In fact, the CIA has put out a video on the Telegram app telling Russians how they can contact the CIA securely. It's also the latest example of the U.S. intelligence community openly talking about what it's thinking and doing when it comes to Russia. Burns called it a, quote, novel and effective

strategy that has limited Russia's ability to create false narratives. That's fascinating. Let's turn to Ukraine's offensive. What's the latest on that front? Yeah, a top Ukrainian official said this morning that the past few days of the offensive have been, quote, particularly fruitful. This comes in a tweet from the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Alexei Danilov, and it's really the most upbeat assessment by a Ukrainian official we've heard in a while. Now, he didn't announce the capture of any additional territory, but he said Ukraine was achieving, quote, the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military

vehicles, and command posts. We can't independently verify it, not hearing it from other Ukrainian officials, but it would be in keeping with Ukraine's effort to weaken Russian forces before making a big push with the bulk of its forces. That's NPR's Greg Myrie in Kyiv. Greg, thank you. Sure thing, Rob. Today, Highland Park, Illinois, remembers the people who were killed and injured a year ago in a mass shooting. A gunman climbed onto a rooftop in that Chicago suburb and fired on a Fourth of July parade. Alex Degman of member station WBEZ joins us.

Hello, Alex. Hi, Rob. So Highland Park has held a July 4th parade for years, but last year residents saw something they never thought they would see. Remind us what occurred. Right. The parade had just begun when there were gunshots. A man with an assault weapon fired more than 80 rounds into the crowd, and it was chaos. Elected officials, first responders, and their families, they were all there at this parade, and they were scrambling to make sure that their families were safe first, and then immediately they had to shift their attention to the parade goers and the people marching in the parade. Mayor Nancy Rotering, who was at the parade, says she's talked to a lot of adults

since then who never thought a shooting would occur in their town, but children had a totally different response. Every single one of them said, we expected this to happen in Highland Park. The adults were like, how could this ever happen in Highland Park? But the kids said, we expected this to happen, and we expected it to happen in school. And instead, it happened on a parade route. When the shooting stopped, seven people had been killed, 48 people were injured. A hunt for the gunman lasted several hours and ended with police taking him into custody after a car chase. Oftentimes, children know far more than adults in these situations. Highland Park said there would be no parade this year.

What is happening today? Well, it's actually a day full of events, but officials plan the day today knowing that people are still healing. They're starting by commemorating the seven people who lost their lives and the many more who were injured. And there's also going to be what they're calling a community walk. It's going to be a walk along the parade route that was marred last year. There won't be floats or politicians or bands. There's also a community picnic. There's some live music at the high school. And instead of fireworks, there's going to be a 10 to 15-minute drone show

called We Are Highland Park. How are people feeling about security? Well, the people I've talked to are feeling pretty good. There are restrictions set up at some events. Some metal detectors are going to be at entrances to things like the remembrance ceremony and the community walk, and they've asked people not to line up as spectators for the walk. And there's also going to be more police. They'll be using helicopters, There's going to be drones. And you'll probably see more of them perched on rooftops, and there are going to be officers from other nearby towns. And it's interesting to note, Highland Park already had an assault weapons ban in place last year. But the Illinois State Legislature, after the shooting, enacted a statewide ban. And another piece of legislation

that they passed will allow for local police to use drones to patrol large events like this parade and festivals. So what is the latest with the alleged shooter? And I understand it's not just him facing charges here. Yeah, the accused gunman is Robert Cremo III. He was 21 at the time. He faces 117 charges, and that includes 21 for first degree murder. He's got a hearing in September, and we could see a trial date set then. His father, Robert Cremo Jr., faces seven counts of reckless conduct, and that's over the sponsorship of his son's firearm owner's ID card. Now, that's needed to own a gun here, but anybody under 21 has to have a sponsor to get a card,

and the suspect was 19 when he got his. And a lot of people are angry because police were called to the Cremo house multiple times. In one instance, a family member said that Cremo was threatening to kill everyone there, and authorities confiscated knives but said that there wasn't any sign of any guns there. And the Lake County State's attorney is alleging that the elder Cremo knew that his son might be troubled, but signed off on the FOID card anyway. Now, I should mention that those court dates are a ways off, but today is about remembering the victims of the shooting and just bringing the community back together. That's WBEZ's Alex Degman. Thank you, Alex. You're welcome.

And that's Up First for July 4th. I'm Rob Schmitz. And I'm Steve Inskeep with the Independence Day Reading of the Names. Everyone at attention now. Up First is produced by Nina Kravinsky, Shelby Hawkins, Taylor Haney, and Julie Deppenbrock. Our editors are Michael Sullivan, Kevin Drew, Cheryl Corley, Alice Wolfley, and Jan Johnson. Our technical director is Zach Coleman with engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Some of the names of America. Join us tomorrow.

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