Can Gaza be rebuilt?

+ excavating the Himalayas with a microscope US Edition - Today's top story: Rebuilding Gaza was seen as a 'Herculean' task before Oct. 7; six months of bombing has led to crises that will long outlive the war [View in browser]( US Edition | 8 April 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Biden steps up pressure on Israel]( - [Coastal wetlands can't keep up when sea levels rise]( - [Why college athletes aren’t paid]( Lead story The residents of the Gaza Strip have now endured a full six months of bombardment, siege and displacement at the hands of the Israeli military. The human cost has been devastating: more than 33,000 killed, a further 1.9 million displaced and more than a million living in famine conditions. But these are not just problems for the now. The scale of destruction will set back any ambitions that Palestinians in Gaza – and the international community – may have had about turning the enclave into anything approaching a functioning society. Dima Nazzal, research director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems, [lays out the challenge]( facing those confronted with rebuilding a war-shattered Gaza. She explains how each separate problem – health, hunger, education, housing – impacts and exacerbates the others. It is, Nazzal writes, a condition of “cascading crises.” Nazzal adds: “And as hard as it is to look beyond the daily horrors of warfare in Gaza, there will be a time when the world starts to turn to recovery and reconstruction. The concern is that the cascading crises will amplify the human costs of this conflict for years to come.” [ [Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( ] Matt Williams Senior International Editor Palestinians look for survivors after a Israeli strike in Gaza on Oct. 31, 2023. AP Photo/Doaa AlBaz [Rebuilding Gaza was seen as a ‘Herculean’ task before Oct. 7; six months of bombing has led to crises that will long outlive the war]( Dima Nazzal, Georgia Institute of Technology The Palestinian enclave faces an interconnected series of crises that will amplify the human costs of conflict even when the bombing ends. Politics + Society - [Biden steps up pressure on Israel − using the key levers available against an ally with strong domestic support]( Jordan Tama, American University School of International Service Israel has historically made statements and taken actions to placate US anger without always following through. But will Biden’s threat to put conditions on aid force Israel to behave differently? Education - [College athletes still are not allowed to be paid by universities − here’s why]( Cyntrice Thomas, University of Florida College athletes have made substantial progress in being able to get paid for the use of their name, image and likeness − except in one realm. Environment + Energy - [Coastal wetlands can’t keep pace with sea-level rise, and infrastructure is leaving them nowhere to go]( Randall W. Parkinson, Florida International University A coastal scientist explains why marshes, mangroves and other wetlands can’t keep up with the effects of climate change, and how human infrastructure is making it harder for them to survive. Science + Technology - [US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names]( Hao Peng, Northwestern University This bias in science journalism seems not to be due only to pragmatic concerns about time zones or the language spoken in the country where the scientist is based. - [Dali hit Key Bridge with the force of 66 heavy trucks at highway speed]( Amanda Bao, Rochester Institute of Technology A civil engineer lays out the physics behind Dali’s crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge pier. - [Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains]( Adi Foord, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Now out in space for more than two years, the James Webb Space Telescope is a stunningly sophisticated instrument. Health + Medicine - [Fetal personhood rulings could nullify a pregnant patient’s wishes for end-of-life care]( Jessica L. Waters, American University; Madelyn Adams, American University Laws such as Alabama’s controversial ruling that gives personhood rights to frozen embryos will have ripple effects on how advance directives are interpreted by doctors and the courts. Ethics + Religion - [A dramatic schism over social issues? The United Methodist Church has been here before – but this time, America’s religious landscape is far different]( Christopher H. Evans, Boston University The United Methodist Church will hold its General Conference, delayed several years by the pandemic, in April 2024. The meeting comes amid a dramatic divide over LGBTQ+ rights. Arts + Culture - [Happier, more connected neighborhoods start right in the front yard]( Conrad Kickert, University at Buffalo; Kelly Gregg, University at Buffalo A new study shows how front yards can serve as windows into the inner lives of their residents – and their feelings about their home, neighborhood and city. Trending on site - [Why the Chiefs and Royals couldn’t convince Kansas City voters to foot the bill for their stadiums]( - [What causes earthquakes in the Northeast, like the magnitude 4.8 that shook New Jersey? A geoscientist explains]( - [A natural deception: 3 marketing myths the supplement industry wants you to swallow]( Reader Comments 💬 “Some clarity on the comment that a DNA service found 41,000 living [relatives] of slaves is important. That’s actually not many living descendents compared to what I’ve seen on DNA sites. Mine alone has 60,000 known connections, most of whom are so distantly related as to render the information almost useless, as the article also points out.” – Rajean Gallagher on the story, [DNA says you’re related to a Viking, a medieval German Jew or a 1700s enslaved African? What a genetic match really means]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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