Good morning.
A UN commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and accused senior Israeli officials including Benjamin Netanyahu of inciting it.
The United Nations independent international commission of inquiry (COI), which does not speak on behalf of the UN and has been criticised strongly by Israel, cited the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic in the territory to support its genocide finding.
“Genocide is occurring in Gaza,” said the commission’s head, Navi Pillay. “The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
What did it conclude? That Israel has committed the following acts with intent to destroy the Palestinians, in whole or in part: killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians; and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
What’s the latest in Gaza? Israel on Tuesday launched its long-threatened ground offensive into the densely packed streets of Gaza City. The IDF said it believes 40% of the estimated 1 million population of Gaza City and its outskirts have so far left after Israeli evacuation orders. Israel told those remaining to flee southwards.
This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog here.
JD Vance threatens crackdown on ‘far-left’ groups after Charlie Kirk shooting
JD Vance has threatened a government clampdown on “far-left” groups who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s killing and political violence against their opponents.
Vance guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast on Monday, speaking to high-profile members of the Trump administration and some of Kirk’s longtime allies, including Tucker Carlson and the Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
The vice-president said the administration would “work to dismantle the institutions that promote violence and terrorism in our own country”.
Miller, meanwhile, said it would use resources at “the Department of Justice, [Department of] Homeland Security and throughout this government” to do so.
What do we know about the shooter’s political motivations? They remain unclear. Bullet casings found with the shooter’s gun were inscribed with references to video games and online culture.
Trump official confirmed to Fed board but court rejects Lisa Cook removal bid
Senate Republicans voted on Monday to confirm a senior Trump official to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors as the White House raced to tighten the president’s grip over the central bank before its policy meeting on Tuesday.
As Fed policymakers prepared to convene for their September decision on interest rates, the Senate voted 48 to 47 to confirm Stephen Miran – already chair of Donald Trump’s council of economic advisers – as a governor. It is the first time in the modern Fed’s history that a sitting member of the executive branch will also work at the bank’s top levels.
The vote concluded just as a US appeals court declined the Trump administration’s request to fire another member of the board of governors, Lisa Cook, before the two-day policy meeting begins, meaning Cook may remain in her position during the meeting.
What is likely to come from the meeting? The Fed is expected to cut interest rates.
In other news …
Donald Trump has filed a $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing it of spreading “spreading false and defamatory content” about him after it published articles about a birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein.
The US carried out a strike on a second Venezuelan boat, Donald Trump said, killing three people who he claimed were transporting drugs.
Divers have retrieved a batch of objects from the Titanic’s sister ship, which sank off the coast of Greece in 1916.
Stat of the day: Mississippi’s Black infant mortality rate is almost three times higher than that of white infants
Like in other US states, Black people in Mississippi face higher levels of infant mortality: in 2024, the infant mortality rate among white people was 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 15.2 among Black people. Despite the state recently declaring a public health emergency over its surging infant mortality rate, the Trump administration’s overhaul of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has forced it to stop gathering critical data on pregnancy.
Don’t miss this: To understand how AI will reconfigure humanity, try this German fairytale
You might know a variation of the German fairytale The Fisherman and His Wife. In it, a man catches a talking fish which can grant any wish, and his wife demands increasingly excessive things, until she finally asks to be God. This enrages the elements and she loses everything, with the moral of the story being: don’t wish for what you’re not entitled to. The Austrian novelist and poet Clemens J Setz writes how the fable resonates in our age of AI, as we go through life with a machine in our pocket that can do almost anything for us – but at what cost?
Climate check: Up to 185,000 Queensland homes could be at ‘very high risk’ if global heating continues unchecked
Up to 185,000 homes in the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland would be considered at “very high risk” of natural disaster if global heating continues unrestrained to 3C, according to research. Many of this number would also become uninsurable. Heating across Australia has already reached 1.5C.
Last Thing: Mentions of the A24 film studio up 65% in dating app profiles
The dating app Feeld has revealed a 65% rise on profiles mentioning the film studio A24 over the past 12 months. Interestingly, despite Feeld being an app with a disproportionate number of women, non-binary people, bisexuals and pansexuals, it found that the majority of those alluding to the studio are straight, cis men aged 26-30.
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