View in browser   PRESENTED BY WELLS FARGO   Axios AM By Mike Allen · Dec 10, 2023 👋 Hello, Sunday! Erica Pandey is at the helm. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,375 words ... 5½ mins. Edited by Donica Phifer.     1 big thing: Most-wanted man in Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar speaks during a protest in Gaza City in April. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images Israel's military operation against Hamas is now focused on capturing or killing the most wanted person in Gaza: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid. Why it matters: After more than two months of battering the terror group's positions, Israeli officials believe that eliminating Sinwar and his close associates would accelerate Hamas' military collapse — and an end to the war that began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. During the past week, the Israeli Defense Forces expanded the ground operation into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, while continuing attacks on several areas in northern Gaza. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the IDF's chief of staff, said yesterday that many Hamas militants are surrendering in northern Gaza, which he described as a sign of the group's military collapse. Also yesterday, a video aired on Israeli television channels purporting to show dozens of Palestinian men surrendering to IDF soldiers in northern Gaza. IDF officials claimed some of the men were Hamas militants, while others were civilians. Axios could not independently verify the video's authenticity. Israeli intelligence believes Sinwar escaped from Gaza City early in the war and has been hiding in Hamas tunnels under the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the IDF surrounded Sinwar's house in Khan Younis, but the Hamas leader wasn't there. "He can run and hide, but we will get him," Netanyahu said. A senior Israeli defense official said the goal of the operation in Khan Younis is to capture Sinwar — dead or alive. "We need to take him out of the game," the official said. "This is the goal, and it is possible. Hamas battalions' morale is weakening. We will break them with or without eliminating Sinwar. But if we kill him, it will happen much faster." Between the lines: Israeli officials won't say it publicly, but they believe eliminating Sinwar not only could help end the war — it could also help restore confidence in Netanyahu, whom many Israelis blame for being unprepared for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Behind the scenes: Israeli officials said Sinwar, 61, planned the deadly Oct. 7 attack with a small group of close associates, including Mohammed Deif, who is the commander of Hamas' military wing, and Marwan Issa, Deif's deputy. Israeli and Arab officials said Sinwar has been in control of Hamas' operations — including its recent hostage negotiations — from the group's tunnels in Gaza. The Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera TV networks have aired interviews with several Palestinians in Gaza who criticized Hamas — and Sinwar specifically — over the dire situation in Gaza. Keep reading: How Sinwar came to power.         2. 🎓 Penn's president resigns Magill testifies before the House Education Committee on Tuesday. Photo: Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned yesterday following her widely criticized congressional testimony on antisemitism, Axios' Sareen Habeshian and Dan Primack write. She faced significant backlash for not explicitly stating that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's code of conduct. Shortly after Magill's resignation, Scott Bok resigned as chairman of Penn's board of trustees, according to an internal email obtained by Axios. 🔎 Behind the scenes: Pressure had been building for Magill to resign even after she walked back her testimony. The board of Penn's Wharton business school sent lettersrequesting her resignation after a donor withdrew a gift worth around $100 million. A petition calling for Magill's removal got over 23,000 signatures. "Worn down by months of relentless external attacks, she was not herself last Tuesday. Over prepared and over lawyered given the hostile forum and high stakes, she provided a legalistic answer to a moral question, and that was wrong," Bok said of Magill. "It made for a dreadful 30-second sound bite in what was more than five hours of testimony." What to watch: The other two university presidents who testified — Harvard's Claudine Gay and MIT's Sally Kornbluth — are also under pressure to step down, as universities continue to grapple with student protests, and antisemitic and anti-Arab abuses on campuses. Share this story.         3. ✈️ Charted: The Big Five Data: Airlines for America. Graphic: Erin Davis and Rahul Mukherjee/Axios. Alaska Airlines' proposed merger with Hawaiian Airlines would be the latest in a decades-long run of industry consolidation that's left travelers with just five major carriers. Today's five biggest airlines — Delta, American, United, Alaska and Southwest — have gobbled up 42 others since 1960, Axios' Erin Davis, Rahul Mukherjee and Jacob Knutson report from an analysis of Airlines for America data. 👀 What to watch: Alaska's merger proposal comes as regulators are honing in on airlines. The Justice Department is suing to prevent a planned $3.8 billion merger between low-cost rivals JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. Earlier this year, the DOJ won a separate case to break up the "Northeast Alliance" partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue. Read on.         A MESSAGE FROM WELLS FARGO Homeownership is a team effort      “Most people would rather own a home than rent one,” says Marcia Griffin, CEO of the nonprofit HomeFree-USA. “But guidance is key.” A solution: HomeFree-USA and Wells Fargo are helping make homeownership more accessible for all. Get details on “Get Your Money Right.”     4. 🛢️ New climate fear Data: Mapbox, NOAA, EPA. Map: Jared Whalen/Axios Sea-level rise due to climate change is threatening America's hazardous waste management infrastructure along the coastlines, Axios' Jared Whalen and Andrew Freedman write from a recent EPA report. Why it matters: 1.6 million tons of hazardous waste are stored at facilities that would be put at risk if sea levels rose by five or more feet compared to 2000 levels. If emissions aren't significantly reduced in the next few decades, U.S. coastlines could see sea levels increase another 3.5 to 7 feet by the end of this century, according to a comprehensive NOAA analysis. Go deeper.         5. 🧬 Gene-editing breakthrough Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios   The FDA on Friday took a big step toward ending the most common inherited blood disorder by approving a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease — a debilitating sickness that affects an estimated 100,000 Americans, mostly of African descent. Why it matters: It's the first FDA-approved therapy using the CRISPR gene-editing system, a kind of genetic scissors whose discovery won a Nobel Prize in 2020, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes. The new treatments edit genes directly in a patient's body and expand the kinds of diseases and conditions researchers can target to other blood disorders, certain cancers and infectious diseases. 🥊 Reality check: The treatments are both grueling and could cost millions of dollars, raising questions about equity and access. Patients first have to undergo extensive chemotherapy to rid their bodies of the defective cells and make way for reengineered ones — a process that may not be appropriate for older or frail patients. There's also the risk of "off target" edits that zero in on the wrong genetic sequence and could increase the risk of developing cancer. Go deeper.         6. 🐦 Musk brings back Alex Jones Via X   Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' five-year Twitter ban is over. His account was reinstated after Elon Musk put the decision to a vote in a poll on the platform. Why it matters: The decision comes as the platform loses big-ticket advertisers who pulled their business after Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on Twitter. Musk later apologized for the post. Zoom out: Alex Jones was booted from Twitter for abusive behavior. He is most notorious for repeated false claims that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax. When asked last November if he would let Jones back onto the platform, Musk refused. He also tweeted: "I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame."         7. 🎤 Stat du jour: Swift's billion-dollar tour Swift takes the stage in Buenos Aires on Nov. 9. Photo: Marcelo Endelli/TAS23 via Getty Images Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, AP reports from Pollstar year-end charts. 4.35 million tickets sold across 60 tour dates, bringing in $1.04 billion. 💰 Swift also raked in about $200 million in merch sales. Her blockbuster film adaptation of the tour, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," has reportedly sold $250 million in tickets, making it the highest-grossing concert film of all time.         8. 🏈 Pic to go: Heisman winner  Daniels takes a selfie with his Heisman last night in Manhattan. Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman trophy — the biggest honor in college football — with 4,946 yards of offense and 50 touchdowns this season. Daniels is the second consecutive transfer to win the award, and the fifth in seven years, ESPN reports. Flashback: Daniels is the third LSU player to win the award. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow landed it in 2019. Go deeper: How college football's transfer portal went into overdrive.         A MESSAGE FROM WELLS FARGO The Bank of Doing     Wells Fargo is helping to make housing more attainable, create more sustainable communities, fund education for brighter futures and empower small businesses. Here’s how: Wells Fargo puts people and communities first. See how doing gets it done.