Author: NY TIMES

Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on charges related to the conflict with Hamas, according to five Israeli and foreign officials.The Israeli and foreign officials also believe the court is weighing arrest warrants for leaders from Hamas.If the court proceeds, the Israeli officials could potentially be accused of preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and pursuing an excessively harsh response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, according to two of the five officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of…

As international diplomats converged in the Middle East on Sunday seeking a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, Israel wrestled with whether to go forward with a ground invasion of Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion in the enclave, according to Israeli officials and analysts.Israeli officials have said repeatedly that they plan to move into Rafah, but over the weekend, they made clear they were open to holding off if it meant they could secure the release of Israeli hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, said Sunday that while “entering Rafah is…

The World Central Kitchen said on Sunday that it would resume operations in Gaza with a local team of Palestinian aid workers, nearly a month after the Israeli military killed seven of the organization’s workers in targeted drone strikes on their convoy.Israeli military officials have said the attack was a “grave mistake” and cited a series of failures, including a breakdown in communication and violations of the military’s operating procedures.The Washington-based aid group said that it was still calling for an independent, international investigation into the April 1 attack and that it had received “no concrete assurances” that the Israeli…

What’s the future of Gaza?Development agencies and Middle Eastern businesses have been meeting to discuss the eventual reconstruction of Gaza and to develop plans for its long-term economic future. They seek to transform Gaza into a commercial hub centered on trade, tourism and innovation.But those plans are far removed from today’s dire reality. Israel has been bombarding the enclave for months. It is still weighing whether to invade Rafah, the southern city where more than a million displaced Gazans are sheltering.And there is no end to the war in sight, even though diplomacy continues. Yesterday President Biden spoke to Israel’s…

Several of the central bank’s policymakers said the council remained cautious and did not want to hastily ease monetary policy in case inflationary pressures had not fully subsided. Inflation in the services sector has held stubbornly at 4 percent for the past few months, and geopolitical risks, such as the conflict in the Middle East, could have sudden and large economic ramifications.Among Europe’s policymakers, there is still a debate about how many rate cuts there might be and how big. The I.M.F. recommended that the E.C.B. cut rates quarterly in quarter-point increments until September 2025, which would take the deposit…

Ukrainian officials have taken several steps in recent weeks to swell the ranks of an army depleted by more than two years of grueling combat. The government passed a new mobilization bill aimed at increasing troop numbers and has stepped up border patrols to catch draft dodgers.Now, officials are targeting men who have already left the country. This week the government announced that Ukrainian embassies had suspended issuing new passports and providing other consular services for military-age men living abroad.Men between the ages of 18 and 60 were prohibited from leaving the country after the start of Russia’s invasion in…

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is meeting officials in China this week as disputes over wars, trade, technology and security are testing the two countries’ efforts to stabilize the relationship.The United States is heading into an election year in which President Biden will face intense pressure to confront China’s authoritarian government and offer new protections for American businesses and workers from low-priced Chinese imports.China is courting foreign investment to help its sluggish economy. At the same time, its leader, Xi Jinping, has been bolstering national security and expanding China’s military footprint around Taiwan and the South China Sea in…

The Philharmonic, which Dudamel will lead more frequently next season before officially undertaking his duties, is already showing signs of his influence. And he collaborated seamlessly with the evening’s soloist, the violinist Hilary Hahn, the orchestra’s artist in residence.A musician of poise and rounded tone, Hahn proved in the Ginastera that she can make just about anything sound beautiful. In her interpretation, the piece shed its acrid angularity. She folded trills, stops and sweet harmonics into unbroken lines, and when she harmonized with herself, she utilized the plushness and patience familiar from her Bach recordings.The first movement’s six études were…

The entrance hall to the Galilee Medical Center in northern Israel is mostly empty and quiet. Roaring warplanes and the intermittent thunder of artillery have replaced the sounds of doctors, orderlies and patients at this major hospital closest to the border with Lebanon.Nearly all of the hospital’s staff members and patients have gone underground.Getting to the hospital’s nerve center these days involves navigating past 15-foot concrete barricades and multiple blast doors, then descending several floors into a labyrinthine subterranean complex.That is where thousands of patients and hospital workers have been for the past six months as strikes have intensified between…

BHP Group, the world’s largest mining company, has proposed a takeover of its rival Anglo American, in a deal that has the potential to shake up the industry at a time when demand for copper is soaring.BHP said on Thursday that it had approached Anglo with a bid valued at 31.1 billion pounds, or $39 billion, in what would be one of the most significant deals in the industry in years. If successful, the acquisition would create one of the world’s largest miners of copper at a time of growing global demand for the metal, which is essential to the…