Blinken leaves the region empty-handed: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended three days of shuttle diplomacy in the region no closer to a consensus about the best way forward in Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, which has now killed at least 10k Palestinians, nearly half of them children. The Arab world continues to demand an immediate, unconditional ceasefire, Israel is refusing to dial back its bombing campaign or postpone its ground offensive, Hamas still has its hostages, and its allies in Lebanon, Tehran and Sanaa are still threatening to take the conflict regional. A final stop-over in Ankara yesterday for talks with the Turkish foreign minister doesn’t appear to have achieved much, either. It’s now over to CIA Director William Burns, who will this week visit Israel, Qatar and Egypt to push for the release of the hostages.

“Humanitarian pauses” have become “tactical pauses”: Biden yesterday discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implementing “tactical pauses” to allow civilians to flee the fighting and aid to be delivered, the White House said last night. Washington will “continue to advocate for temporary localized pauses” and is “actively discussing” the idea with Israeli officials, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Israel did not publish a readout of the conversation.

The response wasn’t encouraging:Israel may stop the bombing “for an hour here, an hour there” depending on the circumstances, Netanyahu said in a televised interview with ABC News following his conversation with Biden (watch, runtime: 9:09).

Should Israel defeat Hamas, the occupation forces could be back on the ground in Gaza full-time:“Israel will for an indefinite period” have overall security responsibility for Gaza following the war “because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu said in the interview (watch, runtime: 0:30).

WHAT THE WORLD IS SAYING-

  • Eight countries have now curbed diplomatic ties with Israel: The South African government has recalled its ambassador to Israel due to what the country’s minister in the presidency said were breaches of international law and “genocidal” airstrikes. Eight countries have now either cut or downgraded ties with Israel, including Jordan which recalled its ambassador last week.
  • “Enough is enough. This must stop now”: The heads of 18 UN agencies and NGOs have signed a letter calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of hostages.
  • UN reiterates genocide warning: “What’s happening in Gaza now must be analyzed critically as genocide,” the UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, said yesterday. ‘Racial or ethnic or religious groups are causing mass harm … and creating living conditions that might lead to the destruction of the group in total.”

ON THE GROUND- Israeli forces have begun to advance into Gaza City, having completely surrounded the urban center a few days ago. There remains little on-the-ground reporting about the course of the fighting, and neither the IDF or Hamas have released updated casualty figures.

  • The death toll: The death toll from Israeli strikes in Gaza has risen to at least 10,022, including 4,104 children, Gaza’s Health Ministry said yesterday.
  • Aid continues to trickle into Gaza:Fifty trucks of aid crossed Rafah into Gaza yesterday, Al Qahera News reported yesterday (watch, runtime: 0:40). This is just 10% of the 500 trucks that entered the strip every day prior to the war.
  • The “deadliest” war in history for UN aid workers: That’s according to the Guardian, which reported yesterday that at least 88 workers at the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) have died in Israeli airstrikes during the month-long war. The UN said yesterday that another fivehad been killed over the previous 24 hours.
  • Evacuation of foreigners resumes: Tens of foreign nationals left Gaza yesterday after border authorities reopened the Rafah crossing following a two-day suspension, Reuters reported, citing three Egyptian security sources. Hamas had prevented foreign nationals from leaving the territory after Israel began blocking wounded Gazans from receiving treatment in Egypt. Canadians are among those being allowed to leave today, Canada’s CBC reports.
  • A few more Palestinians were allowed through:Another 17 injured Palestinians were allowed to cross the border into Egypt for medical treatment yesterday, the Egyptian Health Ministry said last night.
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