The World Food Programme is calling for immediate action to prevent famine in the Gaza Strip, warning Palestinians across the besieged territory are losing hope of finding any food for their starving children. The aid agency said Tuesday it has nearly 100,000 tons of food ready for shipment from Egypt and Jordan — enough to feed a million Palestinians for four months — but that Israel has largely denied access to convoys. The situation is most dire in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army has blocked all aid access for a 25th consecutive day. This comes amid dire warnings from aid organizations over Israel’s decision to ban the U.N. relief agency UNRWA. On Tuesday, the U.N. humanitarian office called the policy “collective punishment” — a war crime — while UNICEF spokesperson James Elder warned of a complete collapse of Gaza’s humanitarian system.

James Elder: “You take away the healthcare workers, you take away the nutritional support, you take away the people who will provide the lifesaving supplies for a population that is physically, physically, absolutely on death’s door — and psychologically, of course, in uncharted territory — you take away these healthcare workers, you take away the nutritionists, then we will see many more children die.”

On Tuesday, Israel’s military once again bombed residential buildings in Beit Lahia, killing at least 19 Palestinians just hours after a separate attack killed at least 93 people, including 25 children. Beit Lahia has been declared a “disaster area” amid weeks of relentless Israeli bombings and military siege.

Meanwhile, a new report by the research group Forensic Architecture finds Israel is systematically committing crimes of persecution and destruction in Gaza, amounting to genocide. The group found Israel has destroyed over 83% of all plant life in Gaza, over 70% of agricultural land, nearly half of all groundwater wells and two-thirds of water tanks. Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, Israel has forced 35 to stop service at least once, targeted 31 in bombings and attacks, and violently invaded 10 hospitals. 

In Lebanon, residents of the city of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley rushed to flee their homes and businesses today after Israel’s military ordered them to leave the city and surrounding villages. The panicked forced displacement came after two days of stepped-up attacks by Israel killed at least 60 people in Baalbek. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 77 people across Lebanon. Among the dead are 10 people, mostly women and children, killed when Israel bombed a residential block in the town of Sarafand.

In the occupied West Bank, lawyers for Marwan Barghouti say the longtime Palestinian political prisoner was assaulted by Israeli guards as he was held in solitary confinement. The beating in early September reportedly left Barghouti with numerous injuries to his upper body and a bloody ear that later became infected due to medical neglect. Barghouthi’s lawyers say he was previously subjected to at least two other attacks by Israeli prison guards. Barghouti is the most high-profile Palestinian in Israeli detention, who many have described as the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela.” 

Diplomats from Norway said Tuesday they’re preparing a U.N. General Assembly resolution asking the International Court of Justice to rule on whether Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip violates international law. On Tuesday, U.S. envoy to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council that Israel must allow food, medicine and other supplies into all of Gaza.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield: “The United States has made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that one year into this conflict, Israel must address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, that the United States rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabaliya or anywhere else, and that Israel’s words must be matched by action on the ground.”

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour called on Security Council members to match their words with action, saying, “Stop this genocide, or forever remain silent.”

Riyad Mansour: “The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are at risk of imminent death, faced with the death penalty for refusing to leave their land.”

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have committed “staggering” levels of sexual violence, raping civilians and kidnapping women as sex slaves, which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. That’s according to a new report by a U.N. fact-finding mission. Sudan’s 18-month war between the RSF and Sudanese military has uprooted more than 14 million people — the world’s largest displacement crisis. U.N. experts are calling on the International Criminal Court to expand its jurisdiction and investigate possible war crimes committed beyond the region of Darfur. A previous U.N. mission said both the RSF and Sudanese army may be guilty of atrocities committed during the conflict. This is Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, speaking from Port Sudan.

Amy Pope: “The situation here is simply catastrophic. There’s no other way to put it. We’re seeing hunger, disease, sexual violence. They’re rampant. And for the people of Sudan, they’re telling us it’s really just a living nightmare.”

In Mozambique, opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane is calling on supporters to join him in another wave of protests in the capital Maputo following days of deadly clashes with police forces. Mozambique authorities have unleashed a brutal crackdown on protesters who’ve taken to the streets over allegations of fraud in the October 9 presidential and parliamentary elections, Mozambique’s debt crisis, corruption and other issues. Human Rights Watch reports Mozambique armed forces have killed at least 11 protesters, leaving dozens more injured.

Here in the United States, Kamala Harris has delivered the last major speech of her campaign for the presidency. On Tuesday, Harris rallied tens of thousands of supporters on the National Mall for a “closing argument” in which she called herself a “protector” of U.S. democracy and warned of the threat of a second Trump term.

Vice President Kamala Harris: “Those who came before us, the patriots at Normandy and Selma, Seneca Falls and Stonewall, on farmlands and factory floors, they did not struggle, sacrifice and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms. They didn’t do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant.”

Harris spoke from the Ellipse, the same venue where on January 6, 2021, Trump incited a mob of supporters to attack the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Harris’s campaign said 75,000 people attended Tuesday night’s event — significantly larger than Trump’s rally ahead of the insurrection.

Donald Trump spent much of Tuesday seeking to control fallout from his racist Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday in which far-right so-called comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.” The New York Times described the rally as a “closing carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism.” On Tuesday, Trump called it a “lovefest.”

Donald Trump: “There’s never been an event so beautiful. It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved.”

Trump’s former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — who endorsed Trump at the Republican National Convention after unsuccessfully challenging him for the nomination — criticized the Trump campaign for its attacks on Puerto Ricans and warned its “overly masculine” message was turning off women voters. Haley spoke on Fox News.

Nikki Haley: “They need to go and tell Puerto Ricans how much, you know, they do value them. They need to tell Latinos that. But they also need to look at how they’re talking about women. I mean, this bromance and this masculinity stuff, I mean, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable.”

Meanwhile, President Biden has clarified his remarks condemning the racist comments made at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. On Tuesday, Biden told Voto Latino, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” Trump’s backers seized on the remarks, comparing them to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 comment calling Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables.” On social media, President Biden wrote, “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say.” 

A group of 82 U.S. Nobel Prize winners have signed an open letter endorsing Kamala Harris for president, arguing a Trump presidency would “jeopardize any advancements in our standards of living, slow the progress of science and technology and impede our responses to climate change.”

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 religious leaders across the U.S. have offered a joint endorsement of Harris. Rev. Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said, “Harris will provide us the opportunity to preserve our democracy and rule of law as we continue the people’s fight to create a just, humane, and equitable society.” She added, “A vote for Kamala Harris is not an endorsement of US funding for the war [on Gaza].” 

Meanwhile, Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders has released a video urging supporters to vote for Harris in what he called “the most consequential election in our lifetimes.” Sanders cited Harris’s positions on reproductive rights, wealth inequality and the climate crisis.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: “And some of you are saying, 'How can I vote for Kamala Harris if she is supporting this terrible war?' And that is a very fair question. And let me give you my best answer. And that is that even on this issue, Donald Trump and his right-wing friends are worse.”

President Trump’s former top political adviser Steve Bannon was released from a federal prison Tuesday after completing a four-month sentence on charges of contempt of Congress. In 2022, a jury found Bannon guilty of defying congressional subpoenas related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Shortly after his release, Bannon held a press conference in New York City, where he was interrupted by the comic Rob Potylo, who disguised himself as a MAGA supporter.

Rob Potylo: “Steve, Robby Roadsteamer here. I’m wondering: When’s the next insurrection? And can we storm the Burger King after this?”

Bannon still faces criminal charges in New York for allegedly defrauding donors to an anti-immigrant nonprofit called We Build the Wall out of more than $15 million and laundering the proceeds. That trial is set to begin on December 9.

At least 51 people have been killed in regions across southern and eastern Spain, including the region of Valencia, after torrential rains triggered devastating floods, leaving entire roads and towns under water. Officials said the death toll is likely to grow as search and rescue efforts continue. More than a month’s worth of rain fell in less than 24 hours in some areas of southern and eastern Spain, with authorities saying this is one of the worst natural disasters to hit Spain in recent years.

In India, air pollution around the national capital Delhi has soared to 30 times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit. Officials blame the worsening climate crisis, paired with vehicle emissions and widespread crop stubble burning in neighboring states.

Sukhram: “There is so much pollution in Delhi that we cannot even breathe properly. I have been ill for four days due to pollution. There is breathlessness and continuous coughing.”

More than one-third of the world’s trees may be facing mass extinction due to deforestation and global heating from human activity. The findings were announced Monday at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, known as COP16, which is underway in Cali, Colombia. This is the first comprehensive assessment on the status of tree species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, which warns that more than 16,000 of the 47,000 tree species analyzed in the report are at risk of going extinct — threatening thousands of other species of plants, animals and fungi that rely on forest ecosystems to survive. IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar said in a statement, “Trees are the barometer of life. … Can you imagine a planet without trees? We, humans, are capable to reverse this and save these trees that we depend on, so the task that we have is huge.”