'The United States has told Qatar that it should expel Hamas if the group continues to reject a cease-fire with Israel... Qatari officials have advised Hamas officials that they should devise a backup plan for residency should they need to leave.' washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

An April heat wave offered a glimpse of the misery summer will bring to Gaza: makeshift tents will feel like 'living in a greenhouse', dehydration will cause heat-related illnesses, and festering sewage and trash will attract mosquitoes and mice. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Reality is indistinguishable from satire

'We don't know for certain if arrest warrants are imminent,' says one Israeli official. 'What is certain is that Netanyahu thinks they are—and he's in a panic.' economist.com/middle-east-an…

For five-plus years the EU insisted there would be no significant aid to Lebanon without serious political reform, and Lebanese politicians refused to make any reforms and gambled that the EU would eventually blink. You'll never guess who won the standoff apnews.com/article/lebano…

The Pentagon is shifting fighter jets, drones and other assets from the UAE to Qatar because the former told America it would no longer allow its territory to be used for strikes against targets in Iraq and Yemen. wsj.com/politics/natio…

Should be clear by now that these kinds of statements from the Hamas leadership abroad don't mean much. What matters, from their side, is how Sinwar decides to respond (and he hasn't done so yet); everything else is just mood music. nytimes.com/2024/05/02/wor…

'The report said that even if Israel were to allow five times as much construction material into Gaza after this war as it did after the war in 2021 — 'the most optimistic scenario' — rebuilding all of the destroyed homes would still take until 2040.' nytimes.com/2024/05/02/wor…

'Saudi Arabia has stepped up the arrest of citizens for social-media posts related to the Gaza war... a media figure who said Israel should never be forgiven has been arrested, as has an individual calling for a boycott of American fast food restaurants.' bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

'Whether or not the ICC warrants materialize, they have already had an effect... impossible to detach them from the postponement of any move to start the Rafah operation and Netanyahu's sudden willingness to accept an Egyptian proposal for a hostage deal.' haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

'The same deal has been on the table for at least three months. The main obstacle remains. Hamas is looking for the surest way to a full and prolonged cease-fire that will ensure its continued rule. The Israeli government refuses.' haaretz.com/israel-news/20…