Palestinians and Israelis reflect on a tragic year

Good morning. Here’s what we’re covering today:

• Palestinians and Israelis on the ground told our reporters about life during the unspeakable violence of the last year.
• How San Francisco became a launching pad for the most powerful women in politics.
• 13 L.A. places that’ll induce nightmares any time of year, rated by spookiness.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

One year ago today, the world changed in ways we are still grappling to understand.

To mark one year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the war in Gaza, a Times reporter and special correspondent talked to Israelis and Palestinians on the ground who reflected on the state of their lives and that of their respective societies.

In their own words, they chronicled a tragic day and devastating year. Here are a few examples of what they said:

• “I would give anything — money, property, job — to have my family safe and alive. I lost my very dearest ones, and nothing can ever bring them back again.” — Wael Ayesh of Gaza City
  Ayesh’s wife and three of his sons, ages 2 to 14, were killed in a bombing, and their bodies lay under rubble for 35 days.
• “My cousin was murdered, and another relative is a hostage. Everything is a problem within a problem, like a snake swallowing itself.” — Oren Levy in Tel Aviv
• “I used to live in a house, but now we live in a tent. I used to go to school, but now I just try to help my dad with his work fixing mobile phones. Just like our home, my life is now a heap of black ashes.” — Abdul al-Ziz Omran, 14, of Khan Yunis, Gaza

Anwar Atef Badwan with her children, Khaled and Sahara, in a damaged government school in Gaza. They have been displaced 11 times.

(Bilal Shbair / For The Times)

The anniversary will be marked in Los Angeles. College campuses are bracing for possible protests. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other top leaders are scheduled to attend a memorial event for Oct. 7 victims, one of several events planned by leading Jewish groups.

The Times will have reporters around the region capturing the day.

Meanwhile, here are stories — some wrenching, some eye-opening — from our foreign/national desk that offer a view of the last year and the lives that continue to be destroyed.

Israelis and Palestinians chronicle a devastating day and tragic year: A year after the Oct. 7 attack that spurred the Gaza war, Israelis and Palestinians reflect, in their own words.

Inside an Israeli lab, workers pore over the mangled bodies of the dead: A forensic investigator in Tel Aviv works on “reassembling and reconnecting” the remains of victims of Hamas militants, trying to understand the causes of death and the underlying cruelty.

The scale of death overwhelms the living: In Israel, a quest to identify unrecognizable bodies. In Gaza, bodies are piled and some stored in ice cream trucks as power fails.

Two strangers — a Palestinian and an Israeli — tell the story of a region’s pain: This moment in the Israel-Hamas war can be glimpsed in the fate of two fathers, strangers who share misfortunes brought on by larger powers and are now left to find their way.

A Palestinian boy’s death in the West Bank signals wider unrest: Violence surges in the West Bank as Israel increases raids to root out militants. Palestinians say the military is using the war as an excuse to crack down.

“I was crying, screaming, praying, terrified.” A Gaza resident reports on life under siege: Since Israel’s siege and bombing campaign on Gaza started after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the humanitarian situation on the ground has become disastrous.

In Gaza, she sits by her belongings, waiting for her home to be bombed:
Where to go? It’s a question Palestinians ask over and over in Gaza as Israel ramps up bombardment after the Hamas truce collapsed.

Israel’s religious right has a clear plan for Gaza. “We are occupying, deporting and settling”: Religious Zionists, most believing in a divine right to govern, now have outsize influence in Israel. The war in the Gaza Strip is energizing their settlement push.

This 5-year-old from Gaza is learning to live with one leg and untold loss: In Qatar’s capital, a compound housing Palestinian medical evacuees from Gaza is a living catalog of what war does to the human body.

Today’s top stories

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

(Charlie Neibergall; Sam Morris / Associated Press)

Election 2024

• This is how San Francisco became a launching pad for the most powerful women in politics.
• Native Americans in Arizona could swing the election. Activists are pushing them to vote.
• JD Vance’s non-answer returns the focus to election denial.
• In the heart of Appalachia, a distant cousin of Vance leads an opposing “authentic hillbilly” movement.
• Here’s your guide to the presidential candidates’ views on foreign policy.
• Walz says he’ll “own up” when he misspeaks as the Democratic ticket steps up media interviews.

Climate & Environment

• During a visit to South L.A., the head of the Environmental Protection Agency vowed to address environmental injustices in Watts.
• The Tijuana River smells so bad, the CDC is coming to investigate.
• Bird flu deaths mount among California dairy cows.
• Some forms of air pollution may prolong postpartum depression, researchers say.

Hurricane Helene

• Mexican immigrant families are plagued by grief and questions after plant workers were swept away by Helene.
• Helene’s powerful storm surge killed 12 near Tampa. They didn’t have to die.
• Harris pledged ongoing federal support as she visited North Carolina to survey Helene’s aftermath.

What else is going on

• The grace period for student loan payments is over. Here’s what you need to know.
• “Joker: Folie à Deux” flops at the box office, with brutal audience reviews.
• Lincoln Riley still thinks USC can be “a really good team” despite a loss to Minnesota.
• A magnitude 4 earthquake rattled Southern California, the strongest in a series of modest quakes to hit Ontario in the last month.

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Commentary and opinions

• Mark Z. Barabak: Cool weather and hot races are forecast for November.
• Robin Abcarian: Trump and Vance are angry about fact-checking at the debates. Here’s what voters think.
• Jackie Calmes: Jack Smith’s filing shows that Trump is already starring in a Jan. 6 sequel.
• Guest opinion: After a year of reporting on the Israel-Hamas war, here’s what I know.
• Editorial Board: No on Proposition 34. Revenge measures have no place on California’s ballot.

This morning’s must reads

The Samoa Peninsula in Eureka, Calif.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

We ranked the top 10 best places to retire in California for most people. Would you live here? The Los Angeles Times’ California retirement rankings take four main factors into account: climate, health, recreation and affordability. See the best and worst places to retire.

Other must reads

• The fate of magic mushrooms in California is unclear. Some wellness businesses are using them anyway.
• Cut the palm trees and Hollywood sign. For the 2028 Olympics, what’s the real L.A.?

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

(Patrick Hruby / Los Angeles TImes)

Going out

• 👻 13 L.A. places that’ll induce nightmares any time of year, rated by spookiness.
• ⛰️ This pristine L.A. mountain wonderland is finally reopening. Here’s how to hike it.
• 🍷 Paso Robles goes chic: 17 new things to do in the postcard-worthy town this fall.

Staying in

• 📚 5 mysteries to read this fall.
• 🥗 Here’s a recipe for spiked pumpkin spice coffee.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times staff photographer Gina Ferazzi. The crowd at Dodger Stadium erupts along with Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani after he hit a three-run homer to tie the game against the San Diego Padres in the second inning during Saturday’s Game 1 of the NLDS at Dodgers Stadium.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

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