News Wrap: Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrike on a tent camp killed at least 19

In our news wrap Tuesday, Palestinians say an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more, Israel’s military said the American activist killed in the West Bank last week was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by IDF fire, voters in Missouri will have a chance to weigh in on abortion rights this November and Tropical Storm Francine is gaining strength.

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Geoff Bennett: We start today’s other headlines in the Middle East.
Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp early today killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more. The attack hit Al-Mawasi on Gaza’s southern coast, which Israel had designated as a humanitarian zone. The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants who had set up a command center in the area.

Locals sifted through the ruins today. Scraps of what appear to be tents, clothing, and entire cars were buried in the sand surrounded by massive craters. One survivor says the strike came while his family was sleeping and killed one of his daughters.

Raed Mummar, Survivor (through interpreter): It happened at about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning. My daughter was martyred. My wife and my other daughter were injured. We were all buried in the sand. I got out and started looking for my family. I saw body parts of the neighbors in my tent.

Geoff Bennett: Also today, Israel released footage of a tunnel in Gaza where it says Hamas recently killed six hostages.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: But they were here in this tunnel in horrific conditions, where there is no air to breathe, where you cannot stand.

Geoff Bennett: In the video, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari shows a small passageway more than 60 feet underground where he says the hostages were held. He says the entrance was located above ground in a child’s bedroom in Rafah.

The discovery of the hostages’ body sparked mass protests in Israel, with demonstrators calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas.

Separately, Israel’s military said today that the American activist who was killed in the West Bank last week was likely shot, in their words, indirectly and unintentionally. Witnesses say Aysenur Eygi was struck in the head by an IDF fire shortly after an anti-settlement protest.

Israel expressed its regrets and said its troops were aiming at someone else. Today, during a visit to the U.K., Secretary of State Antony Blinken called her killing unprovoked and unjustified.

Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State: No one, no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to the rules of engagement.

Geoff Bennett: In a statement today, Eygi’s family called the killing a deliberate, targeted, and precise attack by the military against an unarmed civilian. They also called on U.S. leaders to order an independent investigation into the shooting.

Voters in Missouri will have a chance to weigh in on abortion rights this November. The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution is expected to widely undo Missouri’s 2022 near-total abortion ban if it passes. A group of Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents had sued to stop the ballot question. Missouri is one of more than half-a-dozen states with abortion measures on the ballot this fall.

Tropical Storm Francine is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour as of this morning. The storm is heading northeast along the Texas coast and is expected to build into a hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned residents to be ready for storm conditions.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX): Now, we all know that the current predicted pathway of the storm continues to edge more toward Louisiana. Even though that’s the case, these heavy rains,as well as the tornadoes that could come from the storm, still are a possibility.

Geoff Bennett: Abbott also said that Texas has sent trucks and firefighters to California to help authorities there battle wildfires.
Extremely hot weather has fanned the flames, leaving behind a scorched landscape in San Bernardino County. The Line Fire has burned more than 40 square miles and forced around 6,000 people to evacuate. Firefighters hope cooler temperatures tonight will give them a chance to rein in the fire. Blazes are also burning in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada.

American households saw their incomes rebound to roughly pre-pandemic levels last year. That’s according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The median household income adjusted for inflation rose 4 percent in 2023 to around $80,000. That’s the first increase since 2019 and roughly in line with that year’s figure. The number of Americans living in poverty also fell slightly by less than 1 percent.

And for the first time in two decades, men saw a larger increase in median incomes than women did.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 100 points on the day. The Nasdaq added more than 140 points to close above 17000. The S&P 500 rose for a second straight day.