Good morning. It's Thursday, Oct. 12, and we're covering the fallout from the weekend attack in Israel, the launch of a unique asteroid mission, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
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Israel-Gaza War Intensifies |
The last operational power plant in Gaza went offline yesterday, running out of fuel after Israel fully closed the two entry points into the area, prohibiting the transport of food, fuel, water, and more. The lockdown followed a surprise assault by Hamas over the weekend and the subsequent taking of hostages back into Gaza. See ongoing updates here.
The death toll in Israel, primarily from the initial attack and almost entirely civilians, has risen to at least 1,200. At least 22 Americans were reported to been among those killed. At least 1,100 Palestinians—including children, though sources vary on exact figures—have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel.
The fate of an estimated 150 hostages taken into Gaza remains unknown. Hamas officials threatened to execute hostages in response to unannounced airstrikes (no reports of such acts have surfaced as of this writing). Some number of Americans are believed to be among the hostages.
Reports of atrocities from Hamas' initial Saturday attack continue to mount as Israeli forces sweep through small towns near the Gaza border, most notably in the kibbutz villages of Kfar Aza and Be'eri.
Meanwhile, intense Israeli airstrikes have forced hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents to flee their homes. Egypt has thus far rejected the idea of an evacuation corridor across its border with Gaza.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prominent opposition figure Benny Gantz agreed to form an emergency unity government. The partnership will expire when the current war ends.
Analysts say the prospect of a ground invasion of Gaza by Israel appears increasingly likely. See visuals of the situation in Gaza here. |
NASA is set to launch its Psyche spacecraft this morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a new mission aiming to study a metal-rich asteroid believed to be the ancient core of a protoplanet. View the 10:15 am ET livestream here (weather permitting).
The 16 Psyche asteroid (see rendering), located over 2 billion miles from Earth in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is composed primarily of iron and nickel rather than the ice or rock comprising most asteroids. Theorists speculate the 173-mile-wide, potato-shaped object is the core of an early-solar system planet that could provide more direct insights into the Earth's unobservable core.
The van-sized spacecraft will deploy highly efficient solar-powered ion propulsion technology—where electromagnetic fields charge xenon ions to generate thrust—to reach the asteroid's orbit in 2029 and will spend 26 months capturing images, measuring magnetic fields, and more.
Separately, NASA revealed rock samples harvested from the asteroid Bennu yesterday. |
Exxon Mobil Corp. has agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5B in an all-stock deal, or $253 per share, making it the largest oil-and-gas merger in more than 20 years since Exxon bought Mobil for $75B in 1999.
The deal allows Exxon Mobil to expand its footprint in the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil field in the US, which spans West Texas and southeastern New Mexico (see overview). With Pioneer being the Permian's largest well operator, the combined entity would have 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the Permian and double Exxon Mobil's daily production to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent. The daily figure will rise to 2 million barrels by 2027. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024 once it receives regulatory approval.
The move comes three months after Exxon Mobil, which had a record profit of $56B in 2022, bought pipeline operator Denbury for $4.9B to harness its carbon capture capabilities (see 101). |
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