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Case Study Houses

The Case Study Houses served as a blueprint and inspiration for Mid-Century homes in Southern California.

In 2013, ten Case Study House program residences were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Relevant Places

Bass House (Case Study House #20B)

Case Study House #1

Case Study House #10

Case Study House #16

Case Study House #28

Entenza House (Case Study House #9)

Stahl House (Case Study House #22)

Triad (Case Study House #23A)

Triad (Case Study House #23C)

West House (Case Study House #18)

Launched in 1945 by John Entenza’s  Arts + Architecture  magazine, the Case Study House program commissioned architects to study, plan, design, and ultimately construct houses in anticipation of renewed building in the postwar years.

While the Case Study House program did not achieve its initial goals for mass production and affordability, it was responsible for some of Los Angeles’ most iconic and internationally recognized modern residences, such as the  Eames House (Case Study House #8)  by Charles and Ray Eames and the Pierre Koenig-designed  Stahl House (Case Study House #22) , famously photographed by Julius Shulman.

After a decade-long effort, L.A. Conservancy’s Modern Committee succeeded in listing ten Case Study residences on the National Register of Historic Places.

About This Issue

With an emphasis on experimentation, and a goal of promoting good, modern, affordable design for single-family homes, the program helped to disseminate the midcentury modern aesthetic through its thirty-five published plans. Of these, twenty-five houses and one apartment building were built in California and Arizona.

The program offered an unparalleled opportunity for commissions and publicity for established architects including Richard Neutra, J. R. Davidson, Sumner Spaulding, and William Wurster. It helped raise the profile of then-lesser-known designers including Craig Ellwood, A. Quincy Jones, Edward Killingsworth, Ralph Rapson, Eero Saarinen, and Raphael Soriano.

Our Position

On November 21, 2013, the  Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee was awarded a Governor’s Historic Preservation Award to recognize its work in nominating eleven Case Study Houses to the National Register of Historic Places.

Through the efforts of the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee, eleven Case Study House residences in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura counties are now recognized as nationally historic. Ten are officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and an eleventh was deemed eligible for listing.

Few of the Case Study Houses currently have preservation protections, and some have been demolished or significantly altered. This proactive step recognizes the eleven nominated homes and raises greater awareness about the Case Study House program while providing a historic context for future designation of the remaining eligible properties.

On May 1, 2013, the State Historical Resources Commission voted to recommend listing of ten Case Study Houses in the National Register of Historic Places.  These ten residences with certifying recommendations were submitted to the National Park Service for final review and listing by the Keeper of the National Trust.  They were formally listed on July 24, 2013.

An eleventh nominated residence, Case Study House #23A, was not formally listed because of owner objection, but it received a determination of eligibility for listing in the National Register. All eleven residences will be considered historic resources and will enjoy the same protections under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Several Case Study Houses were not included in the nomination — if they’ve been altered or demolished, or for other reasons — but with this platform in place, it will be easier for other CSH homes to be nominated in the future.

Likewise, a few CSH houses, such as the  Eames House  (CSH #8), weren’t included because they’re already individually listed.

Case Study House residences included in nomination:

Los Angeles County

• Case Study House #1 , 10152 Toluca Lake Ave., Los Angeles
• Case Study House #9 , 205 Chautauqua Blvd., Los Angeles
• Case Study House #10 , 711 S. San Rafael Ave., Pasadena
• Case Study House #16 , 1811 Bel Air Rd., Los Angeles
• Case Study House #18 , 199 Chautauqua Blvd., Los Angeles
• Case Study House #20 , 2275 N. Santa Rosa Ave., Altadena
• Case Study House #21 , 9038 Wonderland Park Ave., Los Angeles
• Case Study House #22 , 1635 Woods Dr., Los Angeles

San Diego County 

• Case Study House #23A , 2342 Rue de Anne, La Jolla, San Diego (determined eligible)
• Case Study House #23C , 2339 Rue de Anne, La Jolla, San Diego

Ventura County

• Case Study House #28 , 91 Inverness Rd., Thousand Oaks

The Only Surviving Craig Ellwood Case Study House Asks $2.9M

Although he was an engineer by trade and had no formal architectural training, Ellwood had a passion for using industrial materials and construction techniques in residential architecture. His approach is exhibited in Case Study House #16, which is primarily constructed of steel, glass, and concrete.

Case Study House 16. Rodney Walker

Sponsored by Arts & Architecture Magazine, the Case Study House program in the United States – which ran from 1945 until 1966 – resulted in a number of innovative homes designed by some of the most prominent architects of the day.

Case Study House n. 16 (CSH#16), designed by Rodney Walker, was actually the architect’s own home , and was an unanticipated inclusion in the Case Study House program. It was also the third house to be built by Walker. The influence of RM Schindler, for whom Walker had previously worked, can clearly be seen throughout this mid-century modern house.

The most spacious of the program, at 2,000 square feet, Case Study House n. 16 boasted a truly stunning location in Beverly Hills , placed on a 3.5 acre mountain tract, with panoramic views of both the city and the ocean.

Differentiating itself from the others, the CSH n.16  incorporated several features that didn’t appear in any of the other homes within the program, such as a large sky-lit entrance hall, a sitting room within the master bedroom, and the provision of space for servants’ quarters. However, in common with other homes in the program, Case Study House n. 16 also had an ample outdoor area to complement its voluminous indoor space.

Despite some relatively formal features, the house was made of a simple, modular wooden construction system, with clearly defined zones for public and private use. Outside, the exterior was mostly built of combed plywood , with just the south side being constructed of brick and glass. A patio on the north side of Case Study House n. 16 was paved with brown-stained concrete blocks and enclosed by a solid redwood wall.

Meanwhile, the most private sections of the home, such as the outdoor dining and recreation areas, were thoughtfully screened from the road, adding a touch of seclusion for the residents.

Forming a cohesive link between the outdoor and indoor areas, the loggia provided access to any room in the house , along with a cantilever stairway up to the 1,000 square foot roof deck. Other clever features combined to link the external and internal parts of the residence together, too. For instance, just like the patio, the loggia was also paved with brown concrete blocks, and the patio itself extended into the living room , interrupted only by three stunning floor-to-ceiling glass panels. The interior walls were also finished in the same plywood as that used outside, and the ceiling was constructed from heat-absorbent glass with a greenish tinge, which flooded the loggia with a cool brilliance.

Internally, the living area could be used as one, large space, or divided up into smaller, more intimate areas by the clever use of sliding panels and hanging screens. The living area also featured built-in shelves for books and records, plus clever closed compartments for storing magazines, forming a useful library corner.

Another major feature of the living space was a 21-foot light shelf, carrying fluorescent tubes to illuminate the room . The study had a large, built-in lounge, plus a wardrobe, and was situated close to the bathroom, making it ideal for use as a guest bedroom when required. Rounding off the living area, the dining space had a nine-foot wide sliding glass panel, opening up on to a terrace, which also adjoined the kitchen.

The kitchen itself exuded a warmth in keeping with the rest of the house. Its worktops and cupboard doors were all laminated with a burn-proof, stain-proof clear plastic surface to protect the beautiful wood beneath, while south- and east-facing windows kept the room brightly lit throughout the day.

Finally, we turn to the bedrooms of this mid-century modern house, of which there were three (not forgetting the added potential of being able to use the study as a guest room). Bedroom number one was particularly spacious, with its own sitting area alongside nine feet of windows, facing the view to the south. The room was finished in bold-grained satinwood plywood. Bedroom number two was the children’s room, and it faced the west, with a view of eucalyptus trees and green hills. The third and final bedroom was intended to be used by servants or guests, and was situated away from the other two, with its own separate bathroom.

The pictures come form Case Study House Program,  a must have book for all mid-century modern and modernist enthusiastic.

The Case Study Houses Program: Richard Neutra’s Bailey House

The Case Study Houses Program: Craig Ellwood’s Case Study House 18

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AD Classics: Stahl House / Pierre Koenig

• Written by Andrew Kroll

• Architects: Pierre Koenig
• Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  1959
• Photographs Photographs: Flickr User: dalylab

Text description provided by the architects. The Case Study House Program produced some of the most iconic architectural projects of the 20th Century, but none more iconic than or as famous as the Stahl House, also known as Case Study House #22 by Pierre Koenig. The modern residence overlooks Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills. It was completed in 1959 for Buck Stahl and his family.

Buck Stahl had envisioned a modernist glass and steel constructed house that offered panoramic views of Los Angeles when he originally purchased the land for the house in 1954 for $13,500. Stahl had originally begun to excavate and take on the duties of architect and contractor; it was not until 1957 when Stahl hired Pierre Koenig to take over the design of the family’s residence.

The two-bedroom, 2,200 square foot residence is a true testament to modernist architecture and the Case Study House Program.  The program was set in place by John Entenza and sponsored by the Arts & Architecture magazine.  The aim of the program was to introduce modernist principles into residential architecture, not only to advance the aesthetic, but to introduce new ways of life both in a stylistic sense and one that represented the lifestyles of the modern age.

Pierre Koenig was able to hone in on the vision of Buck Stahl and transform that vision into a modernist icon.  The glass and steel construction is understandably the most identifiable trait of architectural modernism, but it is the way in which Koenig organized the spatial layout of the house taking the public and private aspects of the house into great consideration.  As much as architectural modernism is associated with the materials and methods of construction, the juxtaposition of program and organization are important design principles that evoke utilitarian characteristics.

The house is “L” shaped in that the private and public sectors are completely separated save for a single hallway that connects the two wings.  Compositionally adjacent is the swimming pool that one must cross in order to get into the house; it is not only a spatial division of public and private but its serves as the interstitial space that one must pass through in order to experience the panoramic views. 

The living space of the house is set back behind the pool and is the only part of the house that has a solid wall, which backs up to the carport and the street. The entire house is understood to be one large viewing box that captures amazing perspectives of the house, the landscape, and Los Angeles.

Oddly enough, the Stahl house was fairly unknown and unrecognized for its advancement of modern American residential architecture, until 1960 when Julius Shulman captured the pure architectural essence of the house.  It was the night shot of two women sitting in the living room overlooking the bright lights of the city of Los Angeles.

That photo put the Stahl House on the architectural radar as being an architectural gem hidden up in the Hollywood Hills.

The Stahl House is still one of the most visited and admired buildings today.  It has undergone many interior transformations, so you will not find the same iconic 1960s furniture, but the architecture, the view, and the experience still remain.  You can make reservations and a small fee with the Stahl family, and even get a tour with Buck Stahl’s wife, Carlotta, or better recognized as Mrs. Stahl.

This building is part of our Architecture City Guide: Los Angeles . Check all the other buildings on this guide right here.

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Salzman House / Case Study House nº 16

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About this building

Salzman House / Case Study House nº 16, designed by Craig Ellwood , is located at Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in 1952-1953.

If you want to learn more about the Salzman House / Case Study House nº 16, don't hesitate to check the full article ! Were you'll find a lot more information about it, including historical context, concept development, type of structure and materials used, and more.

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The Mid-Century Fairytale of LA’s Case Study Houses

Featured image credit: mbtrama

It’s not often that we get to witness experiments in architecture while they’re in motion. Yet, that’s exactly the experience case study houses offer. Arts & Architecture magazine challenged notable architects to create affordable homes to address the U.S.’s residential housing boom. With World War II finally coming to an end, millions of soldiers were returning home to start families or pick up where they’d left off. The need for new housing was crucial. Arts & Architecture funded the experiment which ran just over two decades from 1945 until 1966. While one of the homes was built in Northern California and another in Phoenix, Arizona, most were erected in the Southern California region. Today, we take a closer look at this innovative moment in California’s housing history. 

The Mid-Century Fairytale of Case Study Houses

It’s safe to say that the project piqued the public’s curiosity, drawing over 350,000 visitors to the initial six houses revealed in 1948. But Arts & Architecture did what it could to bring the case study houses to the Americans who couldn’t make the pilgrimage themselves. 

The magazine regularly featured the completed homes in its pages, often supported by the keen eye of photographer Julius Shulman. Working in moody black-and-white, Shulman brought a classiness to his legendary shots of the forward-thinking domiciles. Furthermore, having specialized in architectural photography, Shulman fit naturally into the ambitious project. 

Of course, his photographs benefited from the otherworldly glamor of Southern California. Homes perched proudly atop Hollywood hilltops with the stars seeming to bow at their feet. Other times, the open promises of the Pacific Ocean lapped at the perimeter while palms kissed cloudless skies. 

In a world that had recently clawed itself out of the burned out crater of a devastating war, Arts & Architecture offered a “happily ever after” that was just sensible enough to believe. Soon, the case study houses became synonymous with the aesthetic of post-war Southern California. 

Seeking Protections for SoCal’s Case Study Houses

The completed case study houses haven’t always had an easy time over the resulting decades. Some owners remodeled homes beyond recognition. Others razed them altogether.  

But in 2013, the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee petitioned to include 11 of the homes in the national registry. These homes range throughout Southern California, from Ventura to San Diego, though most stand in the Greater Los Angeles area. 

Ultimately, the National Register of Historic Places accepted ten of these homes. The 11th would have made the list as well, but the private owner requested the home not appear on the official register. However, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has protected all 11 of these case study houses since July 24, 2013.

While the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee nominated whatever case study houses they could, some didn’t make the list. They excluded extensively remodeled properties. Yet, the successful inclusion of the 11 petitioned properties paved the way to potentially include remodeled properties in the future. Additionally, the committee neglected to nominate other well-known case study homes, such as the Eames house, simply because they already appeared on the register. 

Of the 11 homes submitted for registry, eight stand in Los Angeles County. Two more are located in San Diego County and another in Ventura County. Perhaps we’ll review those at a later date in our Los Angeles Home Spotlight column. But for today, we’re going to focus on the Los Angeles County offerings to the registry. 

Case Study House #1

10152 Toluca Lake Ave, Los Angeles

Architect: j.r. and greta davidson, year completed: 1948.

Don’t let the number system fool you. Case study house #1 was not the program’s first home to be constructed. Thus, we introduce the notoriously irrational numbering system of the case study program. Even the editor of Arts & Architecture admitted there’s little to no rhyme or reason to the numbers. 

J.R. Davidson, a force in the early days of California architecture, designed this home with the assistance of his wife, Greta. Efficiency was at the heart of the architecture as the Davidsons envisioned the busy lives of two working parents. Case study house #1 would allow working families more free time by keeping daily maintenance to a minimum. 

This case study abode also introduced a series of features that became hallmarks of the program including:

• Open floor plan
• Floor-to-ceiling windows
• Keeping corridors to a minimum
• Multi-purpose rooms
• Garden access from all primary rooms
• Standardized materials (ie. concrete, plywood, and industrial glass)

Case Study House #9

205 Chautauqua Blvd, Los Angeles

Architect: charles eames and eero saarinen, year completed: 1949.

Case study home #9 is popularly recognized as the Entenza House since it was built for Arts & Architecture ’s editor and publisher John Entenza. Designers Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen challenged themselves to offer a wealth of space with simple, minimalist construction. The home, built from a steel frame and covered in wood-paneling, overlooks the Pacific Ocean from a scenic hill in Pacific Palisades. 

Case Study House #10

711 S. San Rafael Ave, Pasadena

Architect: kemper nomland and kemper nomland, jr., year completed: 1947.

This tri-level structure would have existed regardless of the case study program. That’s because it wasn’t built in response to the program. Rather, it just happened to fit many of the ideals of the program including:

• Utilization of contemporary materials
• Employing modern building techniques
• Affordable to working class Americans
• Simple construction
• Economic use of materials
• Blending of indoor and outdoor features

So, how did this unrelated structure come to be case study house #10? Just two years into the case study program, Arts & Architecture were having trouble keeping a consistent pace. Without the completion of a new house on the horizon, they needed to find a way to keep the inertia. 

So, despite the fact that Kemper Nomland and son had already built the home without regard to the program, its symbiosis found it ripe for inclusion. The Nomlands used the home’s multi-level design to fit it to a Pasadena hillside. In 2017, it sold to comedian, actress, and Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig. 

Case Study House #16

1811 Bel Air Rd, Los Angeles

Architect: craig ellwood, year completed: 1953.

The designer of case study home #16 (although that number changes depending on who you ask) was one of the most prolific in the program. So, it may come as a surprise that Craig Ellwood actually had no formal design instruction. Rather, he learned what he knew through his contracting work. It was enough to place his homes not once, not twice, but three times in the case study program. 

Sadly, two of Ellwood’s designs have been remodeled beyond recognition. Thus, case study home #16 is the only remainder we have of his unique vision in relation to the program. Ellwood was noted for his propensity to use industrial materials and techniques for residential purposes. 

But, as this home illustrates, he also had a gift for blending interiors and exteriors. This Bel Air home blurs the lines between the inside and outside by stretching inner walls beyond the outer walls. 

Case Study House #18

199 Chautauqua Blvd, Los Angeles

Architect: rodney walker.

Pacific Palisades was a popular place for the case study program. Though it appears later on the list than home #8, home #18 (sometimes referred to as 18A) was the first to be completed in the area. Overlooking the tumultuous Pacific Ocean, the structure is built atop a cliff far away from the battering waves. It’s also positioned back from the cliff’s edge to reduce the roar of the sea. 

But perhaps the most notable feature of Rodney Walker’s contribution to the program is the fireplace. The floor-to-ceiling double-sided brick fireplace is shared by a living room on one side and an interior garden room on the other. Three neighboring homes, including the aforementioned #8, would join #18 in the case study program over the next few years. 

Case Study House #20

2275 N. Santa Rosa Ave, Altadena

Architect: conrad buff iii, calvin c. straub, and donald c. hensman, year completed: 1958.

While the majority of case study houses being built in the late 1950s employed steel, case study house #20 was crafted from a variety of natural woods. The design team from architectural firm Buff, Straub, and Hensman leveled a decaying estate in Altadena to bring their economical vision to life. The idea was to create a home for young parents who couldn’t afford more than the essentials. However, the home went to industrial designer Saul Bass and his biochemist wife Dr. Ruth Bass. 

Case Study House #21

9038 Wonderland Park Ave, Los Angeles

Architect: pierre koenig, year completed: 1959.

Pierre Konig was a regular contributor to the case study program with his steel framed take on residential living. It was a trend that never quite caught on, but not for his lack of trying. One of the most notable case study houses, the Stahl House (#22 for those counting at home), was a result of Koenig’s lust for steel. 

Case study house #21 was dreamt up as a model for efficient modern living with the possibility of mass production. But it was originally distinguished by a surrounding moat. The home was accessible via walkways at the front entry and carport. Though this property was extensively remodeled over the decades, Koenig returned to it in the 1990s to attempt to aid in its return to its original vision. 

Case Study House #22

1635 Woods Dr, Los Angeles

Year completed: 1960.

Easily the most iconic of the case study homes on this list, case study house #22 is reserved for Koenig’s aforementioned Stahl House. It seems to float above the Greater Los Angeles area, kissing the interminable blue sky with the corners of its flat roof. To create this effect, Koenig employed the largest piece of glass available to commercial enterprises at the time. Furthermore, Koenig worked with the cliff’s edge site instead of against it to create a piece of LA history you can visit to this day. 

The Aftermath of the Case Study Program

While the case study program aimed to build 36 examples of modern living, builders never completed (or even started) several planned homes. For example, case study house #19 would have been erected in the San Francisco Bay area. On the other hand, home #27 wouldn’t have even been in California. It was marked to be constructed in Smoke Rise, New Jersey. 

The majority of LA’s remaining case study houses are private residences, yet two remain open to public tours. The Eames and Stahl Houses can be visited by scheduling a tour through their respective websites. 

Will we ever see another age of innovation like the case study houses commissioned by Arts & Architecture magazine? It’s hard to say, but we hope it doesn’t take us another war to get there. 

Seth Styles

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Craig Ellwood’s Bel Air Case Study House No. 16 goes up for sale

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From 1945 to 1966, Arts & Architecture magazine ran the Case Study House program, a radical experiment in American residential architecture which commissioned major architects to design and build efficient and affordable model homes to accommodate the postwar housing boom. Modest in size compared to its local counterparts, the 1,750-square-foot Case Study House No. 16 in Bel Air  has been put on the market for $2.9 million by Aaron Kirman, Dalton Gomez, and Weston Littlefield of Compass. 

The magazine commissioned over 30 homes during the program, designed by architects including Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eero Saarinen. Completed in 1953, the Case Study House No. 16 was one of three that engineer Craig Ellwood built for the program. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, it is the only intact example of his designs, as the No. 17 and 18 have both been drastically remodeled. While the home, a city landmark, had its floors replaced 50 years ago, the building is largely in its original condition. 

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is an archetypal example of midcentury modern architecture, with its modular steel and concrete construction, expansive walls of glass, fir siding, natural rock fireplace, and cantilevered roof. It sits perched atop a Bel Air hillside, offering broad views of the city while appearing as a floating glass pavilion from the street. A wall of frosted glass surrounds the home and provides a level of privacy for the otherwise completely transparent house. 

The home was listed on the N ational Register of Historic Places ( NRHP ) in July 2013 for its significant association with the Case Study House Program, the “innovative use of exposed steel structural framing,” and it’s “high level of integrity of design, materials, and workmanship” according to the 2013 NRHP registration form. This is the first time the home has been on the market in 50 years.

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A rare Case Study jewel sells amid Bel-Air’s mansions

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In a rare transaction, a Case Study House in Bel-Air has sold for nearly $3 million after its owner, who lived in the two-bedroom property since the late 1950s, recently died.

Rarer still is Case Study House No. 16 ’s condition: pristine. For 52 years, New York transplant Muriel Norton didn’t mar or bend any of the crisply set rectilinear lines in the steel, concrete and brick structure artfully clad in glass (Norton bought the property in 1967, most likely after having rented it the previous decade).

The 1953 home remains a light-infused modernist ornament — modest at 1,664 square feet — amid Bel-Air’s mash of mansions, stone walls and pillared gates.

Rarest of all, however, is the architect who designed the modular property for his former employer, Henry Salzman. The onetime Johnnie Burke was a Texas transplant who SoCal-reinvented himself as Craig Ellwood , snatching his new moniker from L.A.’s Lords & Elwood liquor store.

Dubbed the “Cary Grant of architecture” by a business associate, the bon vivant (“He could charm the birds off the trees,” said another associate) reportedly could not draft, draw or grasp structural engineering (he tried to catch up by taking UCLA engineering extension night classes).

Ellwood’s bent for self-promotion and his visionary style — the “less is more” essential clarity of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, fused with a jaunty L.A. aesthetic — made him dashingly famous.

Tooling around Hollywood in his red Ferrari with its VROOM license plate, the nattily dressed Ellwood was lauded by architects of the day; German modernist Konrad Wachsmann compared him to Picasso and Stravinsky.

His greatest sin, however, was failing to credit the adept architects and student draftsmen who largely realized the Ellwood brand. Those details are found in “California Modern,” a fascinating 2002 Ellwood biography by Neil Jackson.

Ellwood’s celebritized career included two other homes (now ruinously altered) for Arts & Architecture’s experimental Case Study House Program of the mid 1940s-60s, and was augmented by a second marriage to actress Gloria Henry. Ellwood married twice more, folded his firm in 1977 and retired to Italy to paint; he died in 1992.

If all that sounds like a madcap midcentury Netflix series outfitted with Mrs. Maisel-worthy costumes — you’re right, and you’re also out of luck. Television writer Kit Boss is already pitching a pilot script drawing from Ellwood’s life as detailed in Jackson’s book. Boss is a former journalist and sponsored No. 16’s Historic-Cultural Monument application, approved by the city in 2017.

Until Ellwood’s made-for-TV life hits your screen, a tour of his Bel-Air number will suffice; Compass agent Dalton Gomez recently gave an early morning showing. Along with Gomez, Aaron Kirman and Weston Littlefield of the Aaron Kirman Group at Compass hold the listing ; the sale is expected to close escrow by year’s end.

After a serpentine drive up Bel-Air Road, a wall of translucent panels that shield bedrooms appears at a crest’s bend; as dusk falls, the home appears as a luminous hilltop lantern. To the right, a low brick wall delineates the entry from the carport. More frosted panels are placed further back.

The foyer and various other walls are lined with grooved vertical Douglas fir that matches exterior siding. To the right is the boxy kitchen with white-enameled steel cabinets, its far counter overlooking the dining room. Joined, the rooms are a tidy package, save for a window’s hulking view of an adjacent three-story, six-bedroom manse listed for nearly $7 million (which includes renderings for a proposed 12,000-square-foot replacement).

Given such surroundings, the Ellwood home “is a bit of a white elephant for that pocket,” said Kirman, whose last Case Study House sale, finessed with Gomez, was in February: No. 21 for $3.26 million .

Straight ahead and to the right, the foyer opens to the vast living room, its glass walls fitted with Steelbilt sliding doors that, when opened, emit an ear-splitting screech. “They need some work,” said Gomez, opening a door framing a west-facing vista of far hills. The south elevation boasts a similar view; there, a steel pergola painted burgundy (a color used throughout) extends from the home’s fascia.

The space is made deceptively larger by wall dividers that appear to float. The panels halt a foot or more from the ceiling, allowing for open space; their black-painted bases further the illusion that there’s no floor or ceiling connection. The home’s wide overhangs also augment the space.

The living room’s Palos Verdes stone-clad fireplace continues through the glass, creating a second outdoor patio hearth anchored by three ancient eucalyptuses. A squat brick wall is fixed with climbing bars “that also act as a minimalist sculpture,” states the National Register of Historic Places registration for the home.

Besides No. 16, Ellwood created other standouts, including Malibu’s 1957 Hunt House, designed with Jerrold Lomax, as well as Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design.

Completed in 1976, the Art Center’s “bridge building” traverses an Arroyo Seco canyon. Though described as Ellwood’s swan song, his associate James Tyler, a former adjunct professor at USC School of Architecture, is now credited as the building’s principal designer.

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Real Estate, Design, Architecture and Lifestyle

Case Study House #16 Designed by Rodney Walker – Completed by Craig Walker, Ojai

August 11, 2014 by Josiah Hamilton

This contemporary home was originally designed by Rodney Walker and completed in 2006 by his son Craig, with a brilliant sensitive reinterpretation incorporating today’s technological and green resources. The home was constructed just outside of Ojai and takes full advantage of the dramatic mountain views with a seamless indoor/outdoor transition. According to the current listing, the home was “constructed by the architect’s son using original drawings for arts and architecture case study house #16.

Contact Josiah Hamilton at 805.284.8835 / [email protected] to set up a showing or for more information on this property.

Rodney Walker was a midcentury modern designer and builder who specialized in residential architecture in the Southern California area. He never became a licensed Architect, in fact, when he was offered an honorary degree he politely refused. Walker seems to have identified himself as a designer and found creativity as a builder. He contributed three designs to Arts & Architecture magazine’s Case Study House program during the late 1940s. Many of his homes were photographed by Julius Shulman for Arts & Architecture magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Architectural Record, Sunset Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Home magazine.

This property is currently listed at $1,429,000 with Coldwell Banker of Ojai.

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The Eames House, also known as Case Study House No. 8, is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was designed and constructed in 1949 by husband-and-wife Charles and Ray Eames to serve as their home and studio. They lived in their home until their deaths: Charles in 1978 and Ray, ten years to the day, in 1988.

Charles described the house as unselfconscious . There is a sense of that “way-it-should-be-ness”. Charles and Ray designed a house specifically to meet their needs, but they were those universal needs that we all share as humans. They believed in the honest use of materials and straightforward connections. The details WERE the product!

And then by nestling the house into the hillside, rather than imposing it on the site, they realized their original intent: for the house in nature to serve as a re-orientor. The scent, the sound of birds, the shadow of the trees against the structure whether inside or out, the openness of the site—all the elements join seamlessly.

Charles said, “Just as a good host tries to anticipate the needs of his guest, so a good architect or a designer or a city planner tries to anticipate the needs of those who will live in or use the thing being designed.”

Come visit and explore how the house exemplifies many of the themes of the Eameses’ work: from furniture to exhibitions, the guest/host relationship, the iterative process that leads to meeting the need, the importance of the direct experience, the relation with nature, the life in work and work in life, the importance of details, and more. Together the structure, collections, and landscape tell the story of the couple’s approach to life and work.

The Eames House consists of two glass and steel rectangular boxes: one is a residence; one, a working studio, exploring process, materiality and color.

The Eameses looked at life as being an act of design. The residence is filled with the “stuff” of their living: the stuff that tells the story of their lives, interests and loves.

The Eames House structure and its contents are often the focus of attention, but the landscape is critical to their understanding. As Charles said, “Eventually everything connects”.

Help us share the Eameses’ joy and rigor with future visitors, so they may have a direct experience of Charles and Ray’s approach to life and work.

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Case study definition

Case study, a term which some of you may know from the "Case Study of Vanitas" anime and manga, is a thorough examination of a particular subject, such as a person, group, location, occasion, establishment, phenomena, etc. They are most frequently utilized in research of business, medicine, education and social behaviour. There are a different types of case studies that researchers might use:

• Collective case studies

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Case studies are usually much more sophisticated and professional than regular essays and courseworks, as they require a lot of verified data, are research-oriented and not necessarily designed to be read by the general public.

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• Keep your audience in mind. Exactly who are your stakeholder(s)? If writing a case study on coffee roasters, it's probably gonna be suppliers, landlords, investors, customers, etc.

• Indicate the best solution(s) and how they should be implemented. Make sure your suggestions are grounded in pertinent theories and useful resources, as well as being realistic, practical, and attainable.

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Middle East Crisis Hamas Resists Israel’s Latest Cease-Fire Offer

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• Israeli military vehicles on the border with Gaza. Atef Safadi/EPA, via Shutterstock
• Demonstrators in Tel Aviv demanding the return of hostages on the day that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and President Isaac Herzog of Israel were meeting. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
• Displaced Palestinians next to a placard thanking pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses in the United States. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• A funeral for an Israeli soldier in Ashdod, Israel. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
• Walking past the rubble of a destroyed building in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Follow live news updates on the crisis in the Middle East .

Hamas says its position is ‘negative’ on Israel’s offer but signals willingness to keep talking.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Wednesday that Hamas leaders could save Palestinian lives by accepting a proposed deal under which they would free 33 hostages in exchange for a six-week cease-fire and the liberation of many Palestinian prisoners.

“We are determined to get a cease-fire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas,” Mr. Blinken said at the start of a meeting in Tel Aviv with Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel. “There is a proposal on the table, and as we’ve said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now, and the time is now long past due to bring the hostages home to their families.”

But on Wednesday night, a spokesman for Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said in an interview on Lebanese television, “Our position on the current negotiating paper is negative.”

The Hamas press office later clarified Mr. Hamdan’s comments, saying that while Hamas’s leaders would not accept the current Israeli proposals without changes, they were willing to keep negotiating. “The negative position does not mean negotiations have stopped,” the press office said. “There is a back and forth issue.”

Mr. Blinken’s comments were part of a concerted campaign by President Biden and his top aides to press Hamas leaders to accept the six-week halt in fighting and possibly lay the foundation for a longer-term cease-fire.

Mr. Blinken made similar comments to reporters the previous evening outside a humanitarian aid warehouse in Zarqa, Jordan. Earlier this week, Mr. Biden urged the leaders of Qatar and Egypt to push Hamas to accept the terms, after Israel agreed to lower the required number of hostages released in the initial round to 33 from 40.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has said he supports the latest proposed deal, but at the same time he has vowed to carry out a major ground offensive in the city of Rafah “with or without a deal.” Israeli officials say their objective is to eliminate four battalions of Hamas fighters in Rafah.

Mr. Hamdan, the Hamas spokesman, said in his comments on Al Manar television, “If the enemy carries out the Rafah operation, negotiations will stop.”

Biden administration officials are opposed to a major ground assault in Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge during the war.

Mr. Blinken discussed the hostage and cease-fire deal on the table in a nearly three-hour meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to a summary from the State Department. He also spoke about efforts to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and the U.S. government’s “clear position” on Rafah, the summary said.

Israeli officials said a new crossing into northern Gaza, near the Erez kibbutz, had just opened to allow aid deliveries, and that 30 trucks with goods from Jordan had rolled through the crossing earlier on Wednesday. The opening was promised weeks ago, but the Israeli military said it had to build inspection facilities and pave roads on both sides of the border before the crossing could be used by aid trucks.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.

— Edward Wong traveling in the Middle East with the U.S. secretary of state

Israel has softened some demands in cease-fire negotiations, officials say.

After a monthslong standoff, Israel is softening some of its demands in negotiations over a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held there.

As part of its latest proposal, Israel would allow displaced Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza, according to two Israeli officials, which is a sharp reversal on an issue that has been a sticking point in the talks.

For weeks, Israel has demanded that it be allowed to impose significant restrictions on Palestinians going back to the north because of worries that Hamas could take advantage of a large-scale return to strengthen itself. Now, Israel has consented to Palestinian civilians’ going back en masse during the first phase of an agreement, according to the officials, whose account was confirmed by a non-Israeli official familiar with the talks.

One of the Israeli officials said those returning to the north would be subject to no inspections or limitations, while the second said there would be nearly no restrictions, without elaborating. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the proposal.

It was not clear whether Hamas would accept the most recent Israeli proposal, which is part of negotiations that the two sides are conducting indirectly through mediators from Egypt and Qatar. As of Wednesday afternoon, the group hadn’t officially issued a response.

The cease-fire talks were a focus of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken as he visited Israel on Wednesday. “There is a proposal on the table, and as we’ve said, no delays, no excuses,” Mr. Blinken said before meeting with President Isaac Herzog. He later discussed the talks and other issues in a nearly three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamas has long demanded that any deal include a permanent end to the war, which has forced most of Gaza’s more than two million people to flee their homes. The Israeli offer, according to one of the Israeli officials, doesn’t include language that refers explicitly to an end to the fighting.

Hanging over the negotiations is Israel’s threat to invade Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where roughly a million civilians are sheltering, along with what Israel says are thousands of Hamas fighters. But even as it vows to carry out its plan for a ground invasion there, in defiance of pleas from world leaders and humanitarian groups, it is showing some willingness to make concessions in talks to stop the fighting and free hostages.

On Monday, The New York Times reported that, as part of its proposal, Israel had reduced the number of hostages Hamas would need to release in the initial phase of a deal. For months, it had been insisting on the release of 40 hostages, but in the new offer, the Israeli government said it would agree to 33.

That change was prompted in part by the fact that Israel now believes that some of the 40 have died in captivity , one of the officials said.

As details of Israel’s latest offer have emerged, Mr. Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from his right-wing coalition partners to reject compromise. If they withdraw from the government over a deal, Israel could head to early elections, threatening Mr. Netanyahu’s political future.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-line member of the coalition, has said that if Mr. Netanyahu gives up on invading Rafah immediately, a government under his leadership doesn’t have “the right to exist.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu said an invasion of Rafah would take place, without saying when.

“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” he said in a meeting with the families of hostages, according to a statement from his office. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — with or without a deal — in order to achieve the total victory.”

If Israel and Hamas strike an agreement, it would be the first cease-fire since late November, when a short-lived pause in the fighting allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas and its allies captured roughly 240 Israelis and foreigners in their attack on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to go to war in Gaza. More than 130 hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza, but some are thought to have died.

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Adam Rasgon reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli settlers attacked aid trucks headed to Gaza, Jordan says.

Israeli settlers attacked several aid trucks on the way from Jordan to Gaza around dawn on Wednesday, including some that were headed for the newly opened border crossing on the north edge of the Gaza Strip, Jordan’s foreign ministry said.

The ministry said that the settlers dumped some of the aid onto the street . It condemned the Israeli government’s failure to protect the aid as a violation of its legal obligation to safeguard the flow of food and other humanitarian necessities to the devastated Palestinian enclave, and said the attack undermined Israel’s claim that it was working to allow more aid into Gaza.

Asked about the attack, the Israeli military said in a statement that overnight, Israeli civilians had “caused damage” to aid on several trucks from Jordan “secured” by Israeli forces.

Details about the attack, including where it happened and how much aid was dumped or damaged, were not immediately released by the Israeli military or the Jordanian foreign ministry, though both said the trucks ultimately managed to reach Gaza.

Honenu, a right-wing legal aid group that often represents Israeli extremists accused of violent crimes against Palestinians, said that four people had been arrested for blocking aid trucks near Ma’ale Adumim, one of the largest Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The trucks were part of two convoys, one of which was headed for the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, the Jordanian foreign ministry said. The other convoy was the first to enter northern Gaza through the Erez crossing, according to the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, who called the attack “despicable” on social media and called for global condemnation and international sanctions against Israel.

Israel agreed to open the Erez crossing on Wednesday, after some of its closest allies, including the United States, pressured it to allow more aid into Gaza in the aftermath of the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers in April. For months beforehand, United Nations officials and aid organizations had been pleading with Israel to open the crossing to allow aid to move directly into northern Gaza, in hopes of averting famine.

Honenu said on Wednesday that it had provided legal counsel to the four arrested individuals, and that they had been released after being issued a restraining order requiring them to stay away from aid convoys and not participate in illicit gatherings.

Israeli civilians have repeatedly blocked the passage of aid trucks — sometimes as Israeli security forces stand by — with many demanding that no aid reach Palestinians in Gaza until hostages held in the enclave are released.

The U.S. secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, who has been on another wartime tour of the Middle East, was in Jordan on Tuesday at the warehouse where medical and food aid was being loaded onto the convoy heading to the Erez crossing. He praised Israel’s opening of the crossing as “real and important progress,” adding that “more still needs to be done.” On Wednesday, during a visit to Israel, Mr. Blinken included the Kerem Shalom crossing among his stops.

— Anushka Patil and Johnatan Reiss

Blinken’s visit to the Kerem Shalom crossing puts aid for Gaza front and center.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited an inspection checkpoint at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Israel on Wednesday, part of an effort to prioritize the issue of humanitarian aid for Gaza during his Middle East tour.

Under pressure from President Biden after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers , Israel announced last month that it would open more avenues for aid to enter Gaza . Israel has since expedited the flow of aid into Gaza amid intense international scrutiny, though humanitarian organizations say more is urgently needed to alleviate the severe hunger that is gripping the enclave.

Here’s a look at where things stand .

Border Crossings

Israel imposes stringent checks on incoming aid to keep out anything that might help Hamas, which it has pledged to eliminate. Since the start of the war, most of the aid for Gaza has been transiting through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Israel opened the crossing at Kerem Shalom in December after pressure from the United States to speed up the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, Israeli protesters have regularly gathered at the crossing, trying to block aid convoys from entering the enclave in the hopes of raising the pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.

The Rafah and Kerem Shalom checkpoints both touch southern Gaza. Aid officials pleaded with Israel for months to add additional entry points — especially in the north, where the risk of famine was deemed greatest by the United Nations.

Under pressure, Israel said last month that it would reopen the Erez border crossing into northern Gaza and that shipments bound for the enclave would be accepted at the Israeli port of Ashdod. On Wednesday, Israel said that the first aid trucks, 30 in total, had passed through the crossing after being inspected.

But the Erez crossing, which was primarily used for pedestrian traffic before the war, was badly damaged during the Hamas-led raid on Israel in October. As international officials and humanitarian agencies looked for signs that Israel was making good on its pledges, Israel said it would be opening another crossing into northern Gaza — not Erez.

Other Efforts

U.S. Army engineers also are working to construct a floating pier off the coast of Gaza. The pier — which Mr. Blinken said Tuesday would be operational in about one week — could help relief workers deliver as many as two million meals a day.

And the Jordanian military and government have in recent weeks increased the amount of aid arriving in overland convoys, which travel from Jordan through the West Bank and across part of Israel before reaching the southern Gaza border crossings. The Jordanian military carries out its own inspections. Government trucks are inspected by Israel.

Situation on the Ground

There are widespread food shortages in Gaza, and the United Nations has warned that a famine is looming . Aid groups and United Nations officials have accused Israel of systematically limiting aid delivery. Israel denies the assertion, blaming the shortages on logistical failures by aid groups, and has recently increased the number of trucks entering the strip.

In recent weeks, Israel’s efforts to increase the flow of aid have been acknowledged by the Biden administration and international aid officials. More aid trucks also appeared to be reaching Gaza, especially in the north.

On Wednesday, Mr. Blinken discussed how aid delivery has improved when he met with Mr. Netanyahu and “reiterated the importance of accelerating and sustaining that improvement,” according to the State Department.

— Cassandra Vinograd

‘Thank you, American universities’: Gazans express gratitude for campus protesters.

Thousands of miles away from the campus protests that have divided Americans, some displaced Palestinians are expressing solidarity with the antiwar demonstrators and gratitude for their efforts.

Messages of support were written on some tents in the southern city of Rafah, where roughly a million displaced people have sought shelter from the Israeli bombardment and ground fighting that Gazan health officials say have killed more than 34,000 people.

“Thank you, American universities,” read one message captured on video by the Reuters news agency. “Thank you, students in solidarity with Gaza your message has reached” us, read another nearby.

Tensions have risen at campuses across the United States, with police in riot gear arresting dozens of people at Columbia University on Tuesday night and officers across the country clashing with pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had erected encampments and seized academic buildings at other institutions. The protesters have been calling for universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel, and some have vowed not to back down.

The protests have come at a particularly fearful time in Rafah, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowing to launch a ground invasion of the city to root out Hamas battalions there despite glimmers of hope for a temporary cease-fire.

Palestinians “are very happy that there are still people standing with us,” said Mohammed al-Baradei, a 24-year-old recent graduate from the dentistry program at Al-Azhar University who spoke by phone from Rafah.

“The special thing is that this is happening in America and that people there are still aware and the awareness is growing every day for the Palestinian cause,” he added.

Akram al-Satri, a 47-year-old freelance journalist sheltering in Rafah, said Gazans were “watching with hope and gratitude the student movement in the United States.”

“For us this is a glimmer of hope on a national level,” he added in a voice message on Wednesday.

Bisan Owda, a 25-year-old Palestinian who has been documenting the war on social media, said in a video posted to her more than 4.5 million Instagram followers that the campus protests had brought her a new sense of possibility.

“I’ve lived my whole life in Gaza Strip and I’ve never felt hope like now,” said Ms. Owda.

Nader Ibrahim contributed reporting and video production from London.

— Hiba Yazbek reporting from Jerusalem

Colombia’s president says the country will sever ties with Israel, calling its government ‘genocidal.’

Colombia will sever diplomatic ties with Israel over its prosecution of the war in Gaza, President Gustavo Petro announced in Bogotá on Wednesday, describing the Israeli government as “genocidal.”

His announcement came in a speech in Colombia’s capital city in front of cheering crowds that had gathered for International Workers’ Day.

“The times of genocide, of the extermination of an entire people cannot come before our eyes, before our passivity,” Mr. Petro said. “If Palestine dies, humanity dies.”

Colombia is the second South American nation to break off relations with Israel after Bolivia, which cut ties in November over its strikes in Gaza. On the day that Bolivia made its announcement, Colombia and Chile both said that they were recalling their ambassadors to Israel, and Honduras followed suit within days. Belize also cut diplomatic ties with Israel that month.

The Israeli government denounced Mr. Petro’s move on Wednesday.

“History will remember that Gustavo Petro chose to stand at the side of the most abominable monsters known to man, who burned babies, killed children, raped woman and abducted innocent civilians,” Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X . “Israel and Colombia always enjoyed warm ties. Even an antisemitic and hateful president will not change that.’’

Mr. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist leader and a critic of U.S. drug policy toward his country, had threatened to cut ties with Israel in March if it did not comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. And he called on other countries to do the same. In response to that threat, Mr. Katz wrote on X that Mr. Petro’s “support for Hamas murderers” who carried out massacres and committed sex crimes against Israelis was shameful.

“Israel will continue to protect its citizens and will not yield to any pressure or threats,” he added.

In February Mr. Petro suspended Colombia’s purchase of Israeli weapons in February after Israeli forces opened fire while a crowd was gathered near a convoy of trucks carrying desperately needed aid to Gaza City, part of a chaotic scene in which scores of people were killed and injured, according to Gazan health officials and the Israeli military.

“Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu,” Mr. Petro wrote on X at the time, comparing the events to the Holocaust “even if the world powers do not like to acknowledge it.”

“The world must block Netanyahu,” he added.

— Genevieve Glatsky reporting from Bogotá, Colombia

Netanyahu’s pledge to invade Rafah could undermine efforts to reach a cease-fire deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel once again pledged on Tuesday to launch a ground invasion into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, a move that could undermine efforts to negotiate a cease-fire agreement after seven months of war in the Palestinian enclave.

The United States, Qatar and several countries have been pushing to get a cease-fire deal, with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visiting the region and expectations rising that Hamas and Israel might be edging closer to an agreement.

But with Hamas arguing that any agreement should include an end to the war, and with right-wing politicians in Israel threatening to leave the government coalition if the long-planned incursion into Rafah is delayed, Mr. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would reserve the right to keep fighting.

“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” he said in a meeting with the families of hostages held in Gaza, according to a statement from his office. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.”

Israeli officials have said repeatedly that they plan to move into Rafah, but over the weekend, they made clear they were open to holding off if it meant they could secure the release of hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. One official also suggested that Israel was using the threat of an imminent military maneuver to press the armed group into a hostage deal.

In anticipation of an offensive, some families in Rafah have been moving north into areas of Gaza that had already been attacked by Israeli forces, but on Tuesday, the scale of the evacuation remained unclear. As of last week, more than one million Gazans, many of them previously displaced from other parts of the territory by Israeli bombardment, were still sheltering in the city in makeshift tents.

American officials and other allies have been pressing Israel to either avoid an assault on Rafah or develop specific plans to adequately minimize civilian casualties.

On Tuesday, Mr. Blinken met with officials in Jordan to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, and to press for peace and an increase in humanitarian aid. There was no immediate reaction from the State Department to Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain spoke to Mr. Netanyahu on Tuesday, his office said in a statement. The British leader “continued to push for an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in and hostages out” and said that Britain’s focus was on de-escalation, it said.

For weeks, cease-fire talks had been at a standstill. But Israeli officials have said that negotiators have reduced the number of hostages they want Hamas to release during the first phase of a truce, opening up the possibility that the stalled negotiations could be revived.

A senior Hamas official said on social media on Monday that the group was studying a new Israeli proposal.

A Hamas delegation met with officials in Egypt’s intelligence service on Monday, according to a senior Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about sensitive discussions between Hamas and Egypt.

Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.

— Damien Cave

A father in Rafah whose family survived an airstrike asks, ‘What should we do?’

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel repeats his vow to launch a ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza and Israeli airstrikes continue to pummel the city, it is a particularly fearful time for displaced families sheltering there.

“What should we do? Where will we go?” said Mohammed Abu Youssef, who spoke on Wednesday in video shot by the Reuters news agency about how he and his children had narrowly survived an airstrike. “I am waiting for a tent so I can leave,” he added as he burst into tears.

Mr. Abu Youssef said his family had recently fled to Al-Shaboura neighborhood in Rafah, seeking safety. He suffered a head injury in the strike, he said, and his brother-in-law, who was sheltering with him, lost two children. Several other relatives were also wounded, he said.

Roughly a million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in Rafah from the Israeli bombardment and ground fighting that health officials say have killed more than 34,000 people across Gaza. Israel has said that the purpose of the planned invasion is to root out Hamas fighters there.

Mr. Abu Youssef said he was now left grappling with the uncertainty of again trying to find a place where his family could be safe. Some displaced families in Rafah have already been moving north into areas of Gaza that were combat zones earlier in the war.

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