What we’re reading: Israel strikes Gaza, States sue over Trump administration suspending food benefits and more

By Megan Esparza, Staff Writer

Published Oct 29, 2025

A partisan standoff over health care and spending is threatening to trigger the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Israel strikes Gaza after accusing Hamas of ceasefire violations

Israeli settlers take pictures of foreign activists and farmers while they attempt to disrupt the harvest of olive groves by Palestinian farmers, in the West Bank town of Silwad, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (AP)

Israel launched airstrikes across Gaza on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Israel accused Hamas of violating a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that had been in place since Oct. 10.

According to BBC, at least 26 people were reported killed in Gaza City, in the Bureij refugee camp and Khan Younis. As tensions quickly escalated, Hamas denied breaking the deal.

The strikes put civilians directly at risk and show the ongoing instability in Gaza, while raising urgent questions for international diplomacy. U.S. and other foreign mediators now face pressure to prevent the situation from turning into bigger conflict.

States sue over Trump administration suspending food benefits during shutdown

A customer walks past an EBT payment sign posted on the front window of a grocery store in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (AP)

An alliance of 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 28, 2025, against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Trump administration, accusing them of unlawfully suspending payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown, despite approximately $6 billion in contingency funds being available.

The lawsuit says withholding the aid violates the Constitution and the Food and Nutrition Act. According to Reuters, more than 41 million Americans depend on the program and could face the first-ever payment lapse in its 60-year history.

The states are asking a federal judge to force the USDA to utilize emergency funds so benefits go forward for November.

Shutdown stretches and the Senate again fails to pass spending legislation

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, speaks next to Democratic Senators during a news conference about SNAP benefits, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP)

The U.S. government shutdown stretches as the Senate once again denied the request to pass a Republican-backed funding bill for the 13 time, leaving vital agencies unfunded.

According to The Guardian, the United States Senate Democrats rejected the bill over its exclusion of health-care provisions and opposition to funding cuts. Both parties continue to blame each other for prolonging the stalemate.

The stalemate brings upon doubt on programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), whose emergency reserves could run out by Nov. 1, leaving thousands of essential workers not receiving paychecks despite reporting to work.