Middle East

Axios - Columbia University has started suspending students who are resisting leaving pro-Palestinian encampments.  They will be unable to finish the semester or graduate and are barred from entering campus buildings, including housing. 

AP News - Israeli officials are becoming increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court, the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities, could issue arrest warrants for the country’s leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war. Read more.

Time - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the 7-month-long war. Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas’ battalions there “with or without a deal." Israel and Hamas are negotiating a cease-fire agreement meant to free hostages and bring some relief to the Palestinians in the besieged enclave. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the questions. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas' battalions there — with a deal or without a deal, to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu said in a meeting with families of hostages held by militants in Gaza, according to a statement from his office.  Netanyahu has vowed to achieve “total victory” in the war and has faced pressure from his nationalist governing partners to launch an offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last major stronghold.