First Thing: Israel to reopen Erez crossing into Gaza

Move to increase humanitarian aid came hours after Biden told Netanyahu that US support would depend on Israel taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers. Plus: Microsoft says China will interfere in US and other elections using AI

Good morning.

The office of the Israeli prime minister has said that the Erez crossing, which lies in northern Gaza and for years served as the only passenger terminal for people to move in and out of the territory, will be temporarily reopened in an effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid.

More aid will also be allowed through the port of Ashdod, which lies about 25 miles north of Gaza, and authorities will further allow “increased Jordanian aid through Kerem Shalom”, a border crossing in southern Israel.

Today’s announcement came just hours after Joe Biden called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu in a testy meeting that future US support for Israel would depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.

How did the US react to today’s announcement? Antony Blinken welcomed the steps, but remained cautious. The US secretary of state said: “These are positive developments but the real test is results.”

What’s going on at the UN regarding this conflict? The UN Human Rights Council was today debating whether to demand a halt in arms sales to Israel “to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”.

Microsoft says China will use AI to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India

A report by the Microsoft’s threat intelligence team said Chinese state-backed cyber groups would likely target high-profile elections in 2024 with artificial intelligence-generated content. China had already attempted an AI-generated disinformation campaign in the Taiwan presidential election in January – the first time Microsoft has seen a state-backed entity using AI-made content in a bid to influence a foreign election.

“While the impact of such content in swaying audiences remains low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos and audio will continue – and may prove effective down the line,” said Microsoft.

In other news …

Voting rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit against Alabama to block enforcement of a new law that criminalizes some kinds of voter assistance with absentee ballots.

A federal judge has ruled that a group of migrants who were sent to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, can sue the plane company that transported them.

Prostate cancer cases worldwide are projected to double to 2.9m a year by 2040, with annual deaths predicted to rise by 85%, a new study has found.

A federal judge has denied Donald Trump’s attempts to have his classified records case dismissed on the contention that the Presidential Records Act allowed him to transform them as personal property and possess them at his Mar-a-Lago club.

Stat of the day: China’s air pollution deaths projected to rise by up to 181,000 a year

Despite efforts to improve air quality before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, air pollution is still far worse in China than in many developed countries. About half of China’s cities failed to meet their own national standards in 2019 – let alone those from the World Health Organization. Despite the country’s comprehensive action plans, researchers have said that air pollution deaths in China will begin to rise soon without accelerated action.

“For China to even just tread water, it needs to reduce air pollution even more aggressively,” said Prof Michael Brauer from the University of British Columbia.

Don’t miss this: Republicans’ domination of Tennessee

In Tennessee, Republicans have accelerated their attacks on democratic norms, most recently expelling two Black Democratic lawmakers calling for gun reform from the state House of Representatives. They’ve maintained conservative domination in the state with gerrymandered districts, disenfranchised voters and an increasing sense of political despair – in many cases, insulating themselves from political consequences.

“The leadership in the state is not the old guard,” said Dr Sekou Franklin, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University. “They’re an extreme version of conservatives who believe that they have broad sovereignty to govern, in many respects irrespective of what goes on in the national government.”

… or this: the hyenas of Harar

In many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, hyenas are feared and denigrated.In the folklore of the Ethiopian highlands, people with the “evil eye” turn into hyenas at night and attack their neighbors. But in Harar, a walled city in eastern Ethiopia, hyenas are welcomed, acting as the city’s garbage-disposal system, entering at night through a series of “hyena doors” built into the walls and eating entrails dumped in the streets.

Climate check: US banks ‘sabotaging’ their own climate commitments by financing livestock

US banks are sabotaging their climate commitments to cut back on emissions by continuing to finance meat, dairy and feed corporations, a report has found. The report has linked more than 24m metric tonnes of CO2 – about equal to the annual emissions from 5m cars – to animal protein and feed company financing by what it calls the “big three” livestock lenders: Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

“Banks have committed to pathways to net zero, but they are ignoring a huge cow-shaped hole in their plans,” said Monique Mikhail at Friends of the Earth.

Last Thing: eating 30 plants a week

Adrienne Matei took on the 30-plants-a-week challenge, inspired by a 2018 study that found that those who eat a wide variety of plant foods have better gut health and that instead of the classic “five a day” goal people should strive to eat 30 plants a week. But could the challenge be easier for Adrienne than it seems, given that even a small quantity of the plant counts – and substances like coffee and tea technically go toward the tally?

Sign up

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com