Transcript of North Gaza Siege, North Korean Troops in Russia, Pennsylvania Voters

Israel's military has spent three weeks laying siege to the northern part of Gaza.

The military says it means to stop Hamas from regrouping. It's cut off the flow of food, medicine, and water. What are the effects on the ground?

I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. The United States confirms at least 3,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia.

If they do deploy to fight against Ukraine, They're fair game.

They're fair targets. How is South Korea responding to this deployment?

We're in Pennsylvania this week listening to voters in a swing state. For me, moving to Pennsylvania, I was excited because I felt like my vote was going to count a little more here. Steve and I bring you more Voices from the State as we broadcast from Anthony's Italian Coffee and chocolate house in South Philadelphia. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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We have an assessment this morning of Israel's operations in Northern Gaza. Israeli forces have cut off food, water, and medicine for about 20 days. The military says it is thwarting efforts by Hamas militants to rebuild. Palestinian doctors and aid workers are among the hundreds killed in recent days.

Npr international correspondent Eia Batraoui, who has been reporting on Gaza from Dubai, is with us now. Aya, good morning.

Good morning, Michelle.

So, Aya, the Israeli military has conducted raids in Gaza over the past year of war. You've been talking to people in the north who say this operation feels different. What can you tell us about that?

Sure. So people in the north are telling me this feels like an attempt to permanently occupy the north of Gaza and ensure Palestinians can never return. Now, this area of Jebelia, where the siege is most intense, has been raided before, and people were able to return in the past. Now, the military says it has detained hundreds of militants in this operation, found rifles and rocket launchers, and that they've allowed some 20,000 people already, civilians, to evacuate Jebelia for Gaza City about two miles away. But civil defense crews, those rescuing people on the ground, say they've been fired at by Israeli drones. They fear some of their team members are now missing among the hundreds killed in the past three weeks in the north. Their one working fire truck was bombed yesterday. They say they're completely unable to work now in the north and reach people that are still calling them from under the rubble. Also, hospitals are running out of supplies. Have a listen to this voice memo from a nurse besieged in the Indonesian hospital in Chebelia, where patients are dying and food is running out. We're not using his name for his own safety.

We are so, so tired. We are so tired. We don't have water. We don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Now, there's another hospital in the north treating 160 wounded people at the moment. They also say they have about 30 patients dead in the hospital. There are videos there showing children that are burnt from head to toe, Michelle, wrapped in gauze, barely able to blink. And a World Health Organization team that reached the hospital this week says they were blocked by Israel from bringing blood bags, medical supplies, fuel, and even food to that hospital.

To that end, Eia, last week, the Biden administration warned it might have to stop armed shipments if Israel does not send more aid into Gaza. Has anything changed since then?

Well, for the first two weeks of October, Israel had blocked all food and basically all fuel supplies to some 400,000 people across all of North Gaza, not just Jebelia. Now, Israel denies it was intentionally starving people there. And they say more than 200 aid trucks have now gotten into North Gaza. But the World Food Program says it's not enough. And they say they're often denied Israeli permission to pick up the aid that's left just across the border. So it's not just about what comes into Gaza, it's whether aid workers are able to reach that aid and then get it into where people need it. And look, the backdrop to all of this is there are growing calls in Israel from prominent members of this current right-wing government to permanently expel Palestinians and build Jewish settlements in their place.

Yesterday, we learned that the Israeli military named six Al-Jazeera reporters in Gaza as militants. Now we know that journalists there have been killed doing their job, and independent access for reporters has been denied. What has been the response?

Well, yes, Israeli military says it produced what it calls intelligence information and documents found in Gaza proving that these 6 Al Jazeera reporters had ties with militant groups like Hamas, but Al Jazeera denies this. And one of the reporters there says it's an attempt to silence their work in North Gaza and preemptively justify their murder.

That is NPR's Aya Batali reporting from Dubai. Aya, thank you.

Thanks, Michelle.

The US says it has evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia, possibly to fight with them against Ukraine.

Ukraine and South Korea also say this. Russia and North Korea are denying this news, which, if true, would suggest an expansion of the war.

With me now is NPR's international correspondent, Anthony Kuhn, in Seoul, South Korea. Anthony, good morning.

Hey, Michelle.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US has evidence of North Korean troops in Russia. What evidence does it have?

He didn't say exactly what they've got. There's been all sorts of stuff in the media, from Some purported satellite pictures of Russian troop transports to videos of North Korean troops receiving Russian uniforms, but none of this has been confirmed. Now, South Korea's spy chief has said that about 3,000 North Korean troops are already being trained in Russia, with plans to increase to about 10,000 by December. Austin says that the US is not certain that these North Korean troops are necessarily going to fight in Ukraine, but if they did, it would be a very serious matter. If you think about it, Asian troops have just not been involved in a European conflict since World War I.

What is North Korea hoping to get in exchange for this deployment, if that is in fact what's happening?

Well, North Korea would like to certainly generate revenue and make friends through its weapons exports. The US and South Korea believe North Korea has shipped a lot of artillery shells and short-range missiles to Russia, possibly with engineers to help the Russians use them. Consider that North Korean troops have had no significant combat experience since the end of the Korean War in 1953, and they'd like them to get some. If North Koreans are going to fight and die in Ukraine, I think North Korea would like Russia to repay their sacrifice with some military aid. North Korea has gotten help from Russia with military satellites It's unclear if they're willing to give any more.

Now, you might argue that 10,000 North Korean troops is actually not very many when compared to the hundreds of thousands Russia has in Ukraine. So is it reasonable to say that this might be a political statement?

I think so. Analysts tell me that North Korea wants to show Russia that it's a loyal ally. North Korea wants to show the US that it needs to keep North Korea on its agenda despite elections in the Middle East. Also, Ukraine has a message to send, which is that it needs aid. I spoke to retired South Korean Navy Captain Yun Sook June, and he pointed out that South Korea has said it might respond by sending weapons to Ukraine, which is what Keeve wanted to hear.

Here's what he said.

. South Korea is saying, We will now stand on the US side and sell offensive weapons to Ukraine, and that helps Ukraine, he said. I think that's ultimately what Ukraine wanted to get from President Zelenskyy he's disclosure that North Korea is sending troops troops. So he's saying it's in Kyiv's interest to play up military cooperation between Pyongya and Moscow.

Now, Russia has warned South Korea not to get involved in the conflict. How might they respond to that?

Well, South Korea says it will not sit idly by while North Korea sends troops, but they haven't said exactly what they'll do. Frankly, they're in a tough spot. President Eun Song-Yol has taken a hard line on North Korea. While he could send troops or weapons, they don't want Russia to give North Korea more substantial help, so they are likely to proceed very cautiously in reacting.

That is NPR's international correspondent, Anthony Kuhn in Seoul, South Korea. Anthony, thank you.

Thanks, Michelle.

On this Thursday morning, we are live from South Philadelphia at Anthony's Italian Coffee and Chocolate House. Say hi, everybody.

And on NPR, we've been hearing voters all week in this swing state. People have talked with us about everything from the economy to the character of the candidates.

And Steve, I've also heard a lot of people talk about some hot button issues like abortion rights.

Oh, absolutely, especially among women and younger people like some students we met at the University of Pennsylvania here in Philadelphia. Darcy Elliott and Ixal Ramirez are master students, both from out of state, so both had a choice of whether to register to vote here.

For me, moving to Pennsylvania, I was excited because I felt like my vote was going to count a little more here.

You have registered here in Pennsylvania then?

Yeah. The right to my body is super important, and I'm pro-choice. I also care about immigration. My past research and stuff has been in like immigration and refugees. Moving here, I did switch because Pennsylvania is a swing state, and I think you see that in the neighborhoods in terms of people showing who they're going to vote for.

Both of them are voting for Kamala Harris. Freshman Victoria Hill is from Arizona, where there is a ballot measure on abortion, so she made a different strategic choice.

For me, I actually really looked into the polls in Pennsylvania and Arizona because I have amazing opportunity to vote in two extremely important swing states in this election. I ultimately decided to vote in Arizona because I think abortion is really on the ticket there. I'm actually really, really excited for this election. Steve, we've heard a lot of quotes like that since the Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. But are there ways in which other social issues might be working in Trump's favor?

Well, Republicans are banking on that. They've raised transgender issues which resonate with Trump supporters like Ben Wallace, who's a fracking company manager we met in Western Pennsylvania.

I'm just going to say what I want to say. Fundamentally, I believe there's two genders. There's men and women. And I don't believe that young men should be bludgeoning young girls in women's sports. And I think that that is an example of where certain factions of the Democratic Party have become completely delusional.

Now, Michelle, as you know, there's some history Republican-led legislatures have passed laws across the country about boys and girls sports or gender-affirming care. Donald Trump spoke of protecting the LGBTQ community from violence back in 2016, but more recently, his campaign has spent millions on an ad on this issue, and a lot of voters we met have seen it, including Trenton Hook, who is a landscaper in Middletown.

I've seen one of the commercials, and I understand a lot of commercials and propaganda and everything. It's meant to persuade a certain viewpoint, but I also know with her standpoint, she did something to help with the inmates that are getting their transitions paid for.

This ad talks about a federal rule that prison inmates are allowed medical care, including transgender care, the same as people outside of prison. The law was affirmed in 2018 during the Trump administration. Harris said the next year that she approved, and that is what this ad is based on. It's become rather big in Pennsylvania.

Thanks, Steve. That's just some of the reporting from Pennsylvania that we have working on all week, and we'll hear more today. That's up first for Thursday, October 24th. I'm Michelle Martin.

And I'm Stephen Scheepp. For your next listen, Consider. Consider this from NPR News. Is emo music still relevant? The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says yes, and is finally giving the genre its due. Listen to Consider This from NPR News.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Hannah Block, Rylan Barton, H. J. Mai, Lisa Thompson, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Paige Waterhouse, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Hannah Glovna and Neil Teevalt, and our technical director is Zack Coleman. And a special thanks to everybody at Anthony's Italian Coffee and Chocolate House for hosting us here in South Philadelphia. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow. Got to go get some chocolate?

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