JOHN YANG: Tonight on PBS News Weekend, amid mounting criticism at home and abroad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends plans to occupy Gaza City as the fastest way to end the war.

Then the challenges facing new college graduates as they struggle with the toughest job market in a decade.

And a charter school in Florida that weaves caring for farm animals into its curriculum, changing young lives.

WOMAN: We need to create students who are feeling confident to be outside getting their hands dirty, being hands on.

And middle school kids are at an age where I feel like they're not given a lot of trust.

So when you give them that trust, they just shine.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Good evening.

I'm John Yang.

In the face of mounting international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a military occupation of Gaza City.

At a news conference, Netanyahu lashed out at what he called a global campaign of lies and said Israel has no other choice but to keep fighting to defeat Hamas.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER: Our goal is not to occupy Gaza.

Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists.

The war can end tomorrow if Gaza, or rather if Hamas, lays down its arms and releases all the remaining hostages.

JOHN YANG: He spoke as the United Nations Security Council gathered at U.N. Headquarters for an emergency meeting on Gaza.

A humanitarian official warned that Israeli occupation would only make conditions in Gaza worse.

RAMESH RAJASINGHAM, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: I'm extremely concerned over the prolonged conflict, the reports of atrocities and further human toll that is likely to unfold following the government of Israel's decision to expand military operations in Gaza.

This marks a grave escalation in the conflict that has already inflicted unimaginable suffering.

JOHN YANG: While most of the diplomats criticized Netanyahu's occupation plans, the United States defended Israel, saying it has the right to decide what's best for its security.

Earlier, I spoke with Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent for The Economist.

I asked him why Netanyahu was taking this step now.

ANSHEL PFEFFER, The Economist: He hasn't really found a way to deliver what he promised to the Israeli people, which is total victory.

Hamas is still in control of parts of Gaza.

Hamas is still holding 50 Israeli hostages.

The war is ongoing.

Israel is getting heaps and heaps of international condemnation.

Many people are dying in the destruction in Gaza.

There are also Israeli soldiers being killed.

So there's so many things that are still happening.

This is the.

The latest plan that he's talking about.

JOHN YANG: How complex would this be, occupying Gaza City?

ANSHEL PFEFFER: It's hugely complicated.

First of all, there will be an attempt to get hundreds of thousands of people.

We're talking about an area in the first stage of Gaza City of at least 6, 700,000 people currently in Gaza City.

It's a very dense urban area.

You have hundreds of thousands of buildings.

And Hamas itself, its fighters are there in tunnels underground.

We know there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels.

So going in there with an army, fighting this guerrilla force, which will be on its home turf, ambushing the Israeli army, it's a hugely complex operation.

And that's the reason why the chief of staff of the Israeli army has been warning over and over again that he doesn't think this is a good idea.

JOHN YANG: It was 20 years ago that then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pulled out of Gaza.

How are the Israeli people reacting to the idea of going back in?

ANSHEL PFEFFER: Well, we're seeing now 60 to 70 percent in some polls, even higher than 70 percent of the Israeli public.

And this is the broad Israeli public.

Now, these numbers include a lot of right wingers, a lot of people who would have voted for the Netanyahu government nearly three years ago saying enough is enough, this war should end.

Israel should reach some kind of deal with Hamas which will allow for the release of the hostages.

Yes, Israel has pulverized Hamas and has pulverized Gaza, but it hasn't.

It hasn't achieved what the government has always said that the aims are, which is to finally destroy Hamas and release the hostages.

JOHN YANG: Talking about the hostages, is there concern about what might happen to the hostages if Israel goes in?

ANSHEL PFEFFER: Well, there's huge concern, both certainly among the hostages families, but also amongst the wider public and the army itself.

The generals of the IDF have said that they have warned the government that this next move that Netanyahu is planning will put the hostages who are still there alive, and there are at least 20 live hostages there, according to Israeli intelligence, that it will put their lives at danger once the army starts maneuvering in areas where Hamas are holding them in various hiding places.

JOHN YANG: You also mentioned the international condemnation.

Is that likely to have any effect?

ANSHEL PFEFFER: I think it is having an effect.

It's hard to say how much this is, any of this is real, how much of this is just talk by these governments.

But there certainly is a momentum towards more serious condemnation and perhaps towards actions coming from the Europeans.

They're not the main players here, obviously, that is the Trump administration.

But also from there, we're hearing that Trump and his envoy, Steve Witkoff, have been putting more pressure on Netanyahu.

So certainly on the humanitarian side of it.

So what you have here is basically Netanyahu being pulled in four different directions.

You have Trump, who's making some types of criticism, but also giving some kind of backing to Netanyahu.

You've got Israel's European allies who are much more becoming much more strident in their condemnation.

Then in Israel you've got the majority of the public opinion who are in favor of ending the war.

And on the right, on Netanyahu's base, you have criticism that he's not being determined enough.

So he's currently having to maneuver between these four different poles, two at home and two abroad.

And basically what we're seeing here is a play for time, because even though Netanyahu said, well, these are the orders that we've given to the army to go and capture Gaza City.

The order hasn't been to do it immediately.

The order has been prepare for that.

So I think Netanyahu is now saying, this is my plan.

I've given the army the orders to prepare for this.

But he hasn't yet given the go ahead.

And he's maneuvering and he's hoping that perhaps there'll be a better deal coming along with Hamas.

And Hamas have been very obstinate in the negotiations, so there haven't managed to reach a deal.

But maybe he hopes that these threats will do something, or maybe some of the other countries are involved, like Qatar or America will pressure Hamas to bring it to a place where Netanyahu feels he can make a deal.

But in the meanwhile, he doesn't have to make the big decision.

Everything we're hearing are more and more talk, more empty slogans.

And yes, I gave the orders, but you didn't actually give the order to go in.

You gave the order to prepare more options, more military options, in this case.

JOHN YANG: Anshel Pfeffer, the Economist, thank you very much.

ANSHEL PFEFFER: Thank you for having me, John.

JOHN YANG: In tonight's other news, European leaders are rallying behind Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin summit plan for this week in Alaska.

A statement from leaders of the E.U.

and six European nations emphasized the need for a lasting peace in Ukraine and stressed that no peace agreement is possible if Ukraine isn't involved.

On Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Vice President J.D.

Vance said President Trump is seeking the best solution for all involved.

J.D.

VANCE, U.S. Vice President: If you take where the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine is, we're going to try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and the Russians can live with, where they can live in relative peace, where the killing stops.

It's not going to make anybody super happy.

Both the Russians and the Ukrainians probably at the end of the day are going to be unhappy with it.

JOHN YANG: Vance went on to say he doesn't believe a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be productive and that Mr. Trump can bring the two countries together.

The National Weather Service is warning of the risk of wildfires in the west this week.

It says a mixture of high temperatures, gusty winds and low humidity is creating dangerous conditions, especially in the Southwest.

The agency says any fires that start have the potential to spread rapidly.

In much of Europe, record high temperatures are fueling wildfires from Spain to France, Italy to Greece.

Firefighters are battling blazes that in many places are forcing people to evacuate.

European officials say fires have burned the biggest area of the continent in nearly 20 years.

And the search is on for the culprits behind the great Labubu doll heist.

Authorities say four people broke into a Southern California toy store this past week and stole thousands of dollars worth of the popular collectibles.

An artist in Hong Kong created the toothy grinning monsters 10 years ago, but they've only recently become popular.

They sell for anywhere between 40 and $200 each.

The store's owner says some of the stolen dolls have been recovered, but many of the items taken by the Labubu bandits are still at large.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, recent college grads are facing the most challenging job market in years and a special school that's teaching the next generation about the importance of farm animals.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: New college graduates are facing one of the most challenging markets for entry level jobs in a decade.

In June, the most recent data available, the unemployment rate for recent grads was nearly 5 percent.

That's higher than the overall unemployment rate.

We asked recent graduates to tell us about their job searches.

JACK O'CONNOR: My hope after graduating college was to go straight into a full time job in reporting.

ANJOLEIGH SCHINDLER: My initial plans were to find a local job in a magazine.

I just wanted to find a job where I could write.

MICHAEL LAVIN: I had aspirations of working for the GSA, General Services Administration.

I was going into a third round interview with them around November, December, and that is when the federal hiring freeze took over.

ANJOLEIGH SCHINDLER: I would often be what I would consider ghosted by employers.

Wouldn't get any feedback at all, not even a rejection, just nothing.

JACK O'CONNER: I must have started applying for jobs in April, and I know I've sent 85 job applications since.

It's been really difficult.

ANJOLEIGH SCHINDLER: When I wasn't getting any feedback from my applications, was really dejected.

So it made me feel like I was unqualified for any job in journalism, like maybe I wasn't good enough.

MICHAEL LAVIN: The experience has definitely been discouraging.

But I don't know.

I like to take the mindset of I just got to keep plugging away, keep sending in applications, keep trying to revamp my resume.

JACK O'CONNOR: I think I'm a little too stubborn to switch career paths right now.

So I, you know, I'm going to keep at it, keep applying, and we'll just hope for the best, I suppose.

JOHN YANG: Christine Cruzvergara is the Chief Education Officer at Handshake, which is an online platform that connects young job seekers and employers.

Christine, we just heard from three young people.

You heard disappointment, you heard a little frustration.

How typical is that from what you hear?

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA, Chief Education Officer, Handshake: It's very common right now.

The job market is tough, it's competitive.

We've seen in our data that jobs are down 15 percent from last year, but applications are up 30 percent.

JOHN YANG: What makes it so tough?

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: Well, there are a number of different factors that make it difficult right now.

One would obviously be the overall economy, the second would be the government, and the third would be what's happening with AI, disrupting what entry level jobs look like right now.

JOHN YANG: Talk a little bit about the AI part of that.

We've heard some people say that AI is taking over the many of the tasks that entry level workers would normally do.

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: So employers are going to have new expectations around how you use AI, how it's integrated into your role, the amount of productivity you have.

I think that altogether is going to mean that the skill set for an entry level worker will change and evolve and it will look different.

So for someone trying to graduate and find work, right now, they're in the middle of a very messy process where employers are trying to figure out what they want and what that looks like.

JOHN YANG: We heard one of the young men talking about he wanted to become a reporter, thinking about shifting fields, but wanted to avoid that.

He said he was stubborn enough that he didn't want to do it.

What are some of the sorts of tough choices or hard decisions that young people are having to face now as they look for their first jobs?

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: We see in our data that over 40 percent are willing to actually explore other industries that perhaps do have more hiring right now.

For example, health care is still rising in terms of number of opportunities, and there aren't enough people who want to go into health care.

So some folks that have tech skills, for example, instead of working in a traditional tech industry, are thinking about, how might I do health tech, how can I pivot in that way?

So that's one type of difficult decision.

The second would be location.

Where do I want to live?

This generation, this class knows that it's extremely expensive to live in certain cities.

So the cost of living is factoring into their choices about where they choose to apply, what locations they want to live in.

I think a third piece is really considering what types of skills are they able to build and are they able to build it fast enough for what employers are looking for?

And employers are still figuring that out, so it could change from one year to another.

JOHN YANG: You mentioned health care is a place where there are a lot of opportunities.

Are there fields where that are sort of oversubscribed?

There are more people chasing after fewer jobs.

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: Well, I think what we've seen just in the past year or two is that big tech, for example, has certainly slowed down in their hiring.

The class of 2025 in particular, has been watching headlines for the better part of two years since seeing major layoffs happen.

It is also the industry that is adopting Gen AI the fastest.

And so they are the ones kind of on the forefront of experimenting with what that looks like.

How much headcount do you really need?

How much could be paired with technology?

What will the future of engineering teams look like?

So that is certainly an industry where we have seen some slowdown.

JOHN YANG: What's your advice for the members of the class of 25 who are still out there looking for their first jobs?

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: Well, I think first you have to find a support group, a support network that's going to keep you positive through the process.

It is tough, it is competitive, it is easy to feel rejected and dejected as you go through this process.

That can be your family, that can be your friends, it could be your coaches, it could be your peers.

Doesn't matter who, you just need to find someone.

I think the second piece is think about how you can upskill, so you have your degree.

Fantastic.

Are there other skills that you need to pair with that right now and take the advantage of all the online resources and all the free resources that are available to you and find ways to upskill yourself in the downtime while you are looking for a job?

And then lastly, remember that your first job is not your forever job.

So keep in mind that whatever that first job is, it's going to teach you some skills.

It's going to give you a chance to step up into the next thing.

But it doesn't have to be perfect.

And sometimes just releasing some of those expectations can help you find that next job a little faster.

JOHN YANG: Good advice.

From Christine Cruzvergara of Handshake, thank you very much.

CHRISTINE CRUZVERGARA: Thank you so much for having me.

JOHN YANG: And finally tonight, when classes begin this week at a special charter school in Florida, some of the lessons will be taught in barns and animal pens.

Colleen Bradford Krantz of PBS Iowa explains.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Instead of heading to a sports field or music room after class, many students at this public charter school in Dade City, Florida, spend their afternoons caring for farm animals.

It's called the Academy at the Farm, and its mission is to give these young students a stellar education and a new understanding about how agriculture impacts their everyday lives.

Robin Carter is one of the teachers here.

ROBIN CARTER, Agriculture Teacher, Academy at the Farm: A lot of kids automatically have the idea that agriculture is just playing with animals all day or feeding animals or having pets or something like that.

And we want them to expand their horizons and have the knowledge that agriculture is actually giving us life.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): This hands on experience is woven into the science curriculum and the goal is that by the time these students leave here after 8th grade, they head into the world as more informed consumers and with lifelong memories of a unique school experience.

ROBIN CARTER: When I came here 10 years ago, academics and high expectations were the things that were drawing kids.

Today there are people that absolutely want to come to our school because of our agriculture program.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Recently retired school director Ray Polk encouraged the expansion of the academy's ag program.

He was raised nearby on what used to be a 6,000 acre cattle ranch.

RAY POLK, Former Director, Academy at the Farm: I felt like kids needed to know where their food comes from.

Less and less kids are educated with that.

And I found that kids thought that, you know, their hamburger came from McDonald's.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Polk says not only do these kids learn where that hamburger actually came from, he also says working with these animals has a profound impact on their behavior.

RAY POLK: It's an interesting phenomena to me when you can take kids that are having, are struggling or having trouble and you can take them over to the barn for 15 minutes and it can change the whole day.

You can go hand them a baby goat and their life changes.

It's almost like magic.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): And despite the popularity of these animals, Polk says the school has never lost sight of its core job.

RAY POLK: The state doesn't test whether the kids know how a pig has piglets.

What they test on is their math, reading.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Making sure every aspect of the agriculture program is academically sound falls to Robyn Carter.

ROBIN CARTER: Drinking this fancy juice, you have to do it with your pinky up, okay?

I integrate a lot of this Florida science standards into the elementary agriculture lessons that I do.

So that's how I try to support the elementary school teachers.

I talk a lot about what it means to be a scientist.

I talk a lot about what it means to research something and not just believe everything you hear, but to actually go to a good source to get your information from.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): She says as critically important as those skills are, working in agriculture also teaches a few things no classroom is likely to match, like how to be resilient when unexpected challenges arise.

ROBIN CARTER: In education, sometimes the expectations is everything is done perfect all the time.

And in agriculture, that's not how life goes.

You could have a project or a crop or animal that suddenly passes away or suddenly dies, or there's a hurricane or something happens and you have to be able to roll with the punches.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Some of the students spend extra time practicing to show their animals at fairs.

These public events help boost community support for the academy.

And the kids benefit from working side by side with their classmates.

Robin's husband Tim manages the barns here.

He says that a shared sense of responsibility is something these young kids learn to embrace.

TIM CARTER, Barn Manager, Academy at the Farm: After school, if you have animal here, it's got to be fed, it's got to be taken care of.

And on the weekends they're responsible for feeding and any changes.

Most of the kids that we get, we're very lucky.

They don't grumble about the work at all.

And these projects are also family projects.

You know, a 10 year old can't drive themselves here on a Saturday to feed their animals.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Christiana Williams is a former student at the academy and she still keeps pigs on site and helps younger children with their projects.

CHRISTIANA WILLIAMS, Former Student, Academy at the Farm: So the really nice thing about this is everything is hands on.

When I first started, I told the Carters that I would never ever get a vaccination to a pig.

It freaked me out.

I didn't like needles, I didn't like anything like that.

Flash forward a couple months later, I was giving almost all of the injections at the barn.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): 11-year-old Connor Groover sees everything he's learning as preparation for life.

CONNOR GROOVER, Student, Academy at the Farm: Having to stay responsible to feed them and like being responsible with my money.

Having to pay for their foods and their all their equipment stuff.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): Experiences like these are confirmation to Robin Carter that bringing agriculture into the classroom can change lives at an early age.

ROBIN CARTER: We need to create students who are feeling confident at an early age to be outside getting their hands dirty, being hands on.

They know that they want to do it the right way, and they don't want to lose the privilege of being able to do these fun activities.

And middle school kids are at an age where I feel like they're not given a lot of trust.

So when you give them that trust, they just shine.

COLLEEN BRADFORD KRANTZ (voice-over): For PBS News Weekend, I'm Colleen Bradford Krantz in Dade City, Florida.

JOHN YANG: And that is PBS News Weekend for this Sunday.

John I'm John Yang.

For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us.

Have a good week.