Gaza War Escalates, Pakistan Deportation Deadline, Trump Organization Trial

evacuate to the south.

I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.

When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, many people fled to the south, to Pakistan.

And now that country has set a deadline for many of them to leave by today.

Where can they find safety?

His father's business is accused of fraud.

Eric, Ivanka, and their father come next.

Stay with us.

We've got all the news you need to start your day.

Buildings of concrete and white stone spread out on the hillsides for miles around here.

Ramallah is part of the West Bank, a largely Palestinian area, and Palestinian activists

here have called for a general strike today.

They're protesting Israel's military campaign southwest of here in Gaza, which of course

is responding to the attack by Hamas.

Last evening, television screens here showed buildings blown apart in Gaza after an Israeli

airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp.

Rows of bodies wrapped in white cloth lined the street outside a nearby hospital afterward.

On CNN, Israeli Defense Force spokesperson Jonathan Conricus defended Israel's strike.

We were targeting an important military commander, therefore there could be no warning before.

We struck the target.

NPR's Greg Meyrie is following this from Tel Aviv.

Hey there, Greg.

him as one of the key Hamas figures in the October 7th Hamas slaughter in Israel.

The Israelis say Biari and dozens of other Hamas militants were in a tunnel network beneath

the Jabalia camp, and they assess that Biari and many of these others were killed.

Photos from the scene show these deep craters, and some analysts say this does point to the

possibility or even likelihood that the airstrikes hit tunnels and force them to collapse.

That's not in dispute.

But the group says that Biari, the Hamas commander, was not there at the time of the strike and

that Israel is intentionally killing Palestinian civilians.

According to the Interior Ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, Israeli fighter jets

unloaded at least six large bombs on the neighborhood.

It's a scene of utter devastation.

We see apartment blocks and homes just reduced to chunks of concrete.

Palestinians are calling it one of the deadliest Israeli attacks yet, though we do not have

reliable casualty figures.

that area so far as we know?

The Israeli troops have now reached the outskirts of Gaza City, the biggest city in the territory.

It seems they're trying to push the Hamas fighters to squeeze them into Gaza City and

then use airstrikes to hit them.

The Israelis are also talking a lot about the Hamas tunnel network, saying this is where

Hamas fighters are concentrated.

And as we've seen, Israel is prepared to use powerful bombs to penetrate the tunnels.

But human rights groups are saying it's not acceptable to bomb in this way when so many

civilians are present above ground.

The leading Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, said in a statement that, quote, not everything

is allowed in war, including war on Hamas.

Would you catch us up on another one, Greg?

A lot of people are stuck in Gaza who want out, including Americans.

Are they getting out now?

is the boundary with Egypt.

Now, these are foreign nationals who are trying to leave, have been trying to leave, and it

appears this could happen today, though the emphasis is on could.

The crossing has been used to allow some aid trucks into Gaza, but it has been closed for

anyone trying to leave Gaza.

There are several hundred U.S. passport holders who are among those stuck in Gaza and are

desperately trying to get out.

In addition, 81 people badly injured in Gaza will be allowed to go to Egypt to receive

medical treatment, according to Palestinian officials.

So there have been a number of false starts about the opening of the Rafah crossing, but

there is hope that it will open today.

And one last thing, communications are again down in Gaza.

This happened for about a day and a half over the weekend, made it extremely difficult,

for example, for ambulances to operate in the territory since nobody could contact them.

And today, phone and Internet service is again out in Gaza.

Greg, thanks so much.

will testify today in the New York civil case charging his family with fraud.

attorney general during this particular trial.

Eric Trump is scheduled for tomorrow, and the former president and his daughter, Ivanka

Trump, are set to testify next week.

So Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, why are they defendants here?

and the other defendants, including two of his older children, committed persistent and

repeated business fraud by lying again and again about the value of their assets.

An issue in this trial is whether there was a conspiracy to do this and how much, if anything,

the Trump's own New York state to right the wrong.

According to the charging documents, quote, the fraudulent scheme was integral to the

business of the Trump organization and required the participation of Mr.

Trump and his children.

Eric Trump is the main member of the Trump family running the company.

Don Jr. has loosened his ties, spending time writing a book and speaking on the

conservative circuit.

And Ivanka has all but left the company, moving with her family to Florida.

What does that reveal about the second generation of Trump's?

Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump are all executive vice presidents who were involved in

running the company, commercial buildings, licensing, foreign deals.

And when then President Trump went to the White House in 2017, he turned over the day

to day running of the business to his two oldest sons, Don Jr.

and Eric. And we've seen in the trial that Don Jr.

and Eric Trump approved statements of financial condition.

Donald Trump Jr. was involved in commercial buildings like 40 Wall Street, which is one

of the big buildings that come up often in the trial.

The Trump's told one set of facts to their lenders about that building, that it was

worth a lot. And another set to taxing authorities to save on taxes.

and their father from ever running a business in New York again.

And Don Jr. and Eric would be among the individuals responsible for paying 250 million

back to the state if the judge rules in the AG's favor.

I should say Ivanka Trump is not a defendant.

She was a senior White House advisor to her father and left the company in early 2017.

So her actions took place too long ago to be part of this case.

But because this is a civil case, the judge could use that against them to draw what's

called an adverse inference about them.

Another co-defendant, the former CFO Allen Weisselberg, answered many questions when he

testified by saying, I don't recall.

So you might see some of that.

estate business in New York.

Eric Trump recently posted on social media about the New York attorney general, Letitia

James, saying this is the corruption my father and our family is fighting in New York.

The system is weaponized, broken and disgusting.

Donald Trump Jr. said on the conservative news network, this is a kangaroo court.

Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Today is the deadline set by the Pakistani government for all undocumented immigrants

to leave or face deportation.

decades, fleeing war after war after war in Afghanistan, and many who fled Taliban rule

following the U.S.

troop withdrawal just a couple of years ago.

In the last few months, tens of thousands of those Afghans have been arrested and

He joins me now from Kabul.

Why is the Pakistani government asking these people to leave the country?

overdue. They say they've done far more than any other country for Afghan refugees.

They've hosted millions who arrived over various waves of migrations since the 1970s.

And they argue that this is a burden they can no longer carry.

But this deportation drive also comes at a time when Pakistan's economy continues to sink

deeper and deeper into crisis.

And it comes amid concerns over a mounting number of suicide bombings and attacks in

Pakistan that have been blamed on Afghans.

So a lot of these refugees, they're being scapegoated as a result of that.

that they don't see a future in Pakistan if the country turns against them in that way.

Many have stayed home over the past few weeks out of fear that the police could arrest and

deport them. They didn't send their children to school.

Many parents have lost their jobs.

So it's obviously an extremely tough situation, but it's also a very tough decision for

them to leave. Many have been in Pakistan for decades and some were born in the country

but never received citizenship.

So they're heading to a country they have never been to really into an unknown future.

I mean, if these people have no home in Pakistan and they're going to go to Afghanistan,

can they handle them?

will be girls, young women among those returnees who are able to get some education in

Pakistan, but who will now be returning to a country where schools and universities are

closed for them. In terms of preparation, the Taliban-run government has announced that

they will create reception camps where refugees can stay for some time.

But so far, there is not a broader plan to reintegrate those people really into the

ago when Pakistan really seemed to be, you know, one of the Taliban-run government's

strongest advocates on the international stage.

One of the top concerns for Pakistan right now is the deteriorating security situation

in the country. And Pakistani authorities say that the Taliban-run government is at

least in part to blame.

They argue that many of the suicide bombers and attackers who've killed Pakistani

civilians and soldiers in recent months are based in Afghanistan and that the Taliban

isn't doing enough to detain them.

Rick, thank you. Thanks.

And that's Up First for Wednesday, November 1st.

Today's Up First was edited by Michael Sullivan, Krishnadev Kalamur, Alice Wolfley,

and Mohamed El-Bardisi.

It was produced by Julie Deppenbrock, Shelby Hawkins and Chad Campbell.

We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent and our technical director is Stacey

Abbott. Our team here in Ramallah includes Ziad Butch and Reena Advai.

You'll find a mix of local, national and international news, plus the best podcasts from

the NPR network.

Download the NPR app in your app store.