Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at mounting pressure for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal, escalating border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, and Iran holding nuclear talks with European powers.
Stalled Negotiations
Israel is considering “alternative options” to cease-fire talks with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, though he did not elaborate on what those alternatives might be. The apparent shift in focus comes mere hours after Israel and the United States recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar in a move that sheds doubt on the efficacy of ongoing truce talks amid a worsening hunger crisis in Gaza.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at mounting pressure for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal, escalating border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, and Iran holding nuclear talks with European powers.
Stalled Negotiations
Israel is considering “alternative options” to cease-fire talks with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, though he did not elaborate on what those alternatives might be. The apparent shift in focus comes mere hours after Israel and the United States recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar in a move that sheds doubt on the efficacy of ongoing truce talks amid a worsening hunger crisis in Gaza.
“Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal,” Netanyahu said on Friday, as his government faces increasing pressure from hostages’ families to bring their loved ones home. Around 50 captives remain in Gaza, of whom less than half are believed to still be alive. The current deal under discussion would implement an initial 60-day cease-fire, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 others in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners.
“Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal,” U.S. President Donald Trump said after a phone call with Netanyahu on Friday. “I think they want to die, and it’s very bad. It got to a point where you have to finish the job.” He added that he believes Hamas will never want to release the remaining hostages because it would mean the loss of their “bargaining chip” in truce talks.
Hamas denounced Israel’s and the United States’ decision to leave negotiations early, though senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said the Israeli delegation is expected to return to Qatar early next week to resume dialogue.
Friday’s halted cease-fire progress adds to mounting global pressure to stop Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll from malnutrition continues to rise. At least 113 people have died from hunger in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday, and more than 1,000 others have been killed while trying to access food.
“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a statement on Thursday ahead of an emergency call on Friday with other European powers to discuss the aid crisis. “While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.”
This week, foreign ministers from 28 countries as well as more than 100 rights organizations issued separate joint statements calling for an end to the war and for Israel to lift restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza, citing threats of imminent starvation across the territory. And on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state beginning in September. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” Macron said.
Israel has denounced these letters of warning as well as France’s bold diplomatic measure. “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,” Netanyahu said of Macron’s announcement. “A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it.”
Still, foreign pressure to alleviate Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has forced Israel to take initial steps. On Friday, Israeli officials confirmed that they will coordinate with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to deploy aid drops into Gaza in the coming days.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
Escalating border clashes. Thailand has rejected third-party mediation efforts in its conflict with Cambodia, two Thai officials told Reuters on Friday. Instead, Bangkok said it prefers direct bilateral negotiations to reduce military hostilities along their shared 510-mile border.
Armed attacks continued for a second day on Friday, marking a rare moment of open warfare in the long-simmering diplomatic dispute, which flared up in late May with a border skirmish that killed one Cambodian soldier. “The situation has intensified and could develop into war,” acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said. The Thai Army claims to have killed nearly 100 Cambodian soldiers near the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and thousands of people have been displaced on both sides since the fighting began.
The United States, China, and Malaysia—the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—have offered to facilitate dialogue, and Japan has urged both sides to exercise “maximum restraint.” But Thailand appears determined to continue its current trajectory. “We appreciate [the offer] and we don’t want to rule out having a third country to help, but right now, we believe that bilateral mechanisms have not been exhausted,” Thai Vice Foreign Minister Russ Jalichandra said.
Still, a cease-fire deal remains elusive. According to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thailand and Cambodia initially agreed to a truce proposal on Thursday, but Bangkok later reversed its decision. Thailand has not commented on these claims, and on Friday, Cambodia called for another cease-fire.
Threat of sanctions. Iranian officials held in-person nuclear talks with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Istanbul on Friday for the first time since Israel and the United States launched airstrikes last month targeting Tehran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Iran described the roughly four-hour session as “serious, frank, and detailed” but rejected suggestions that it should agree to extend United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which ratified the 2015 nuclear deal and offers some sanctions relief for Iran. The resolution is set to expire in October.
The so-called E3 group of European nations hoped to use Friday’s conversation to pressure Iran to return to the negotiating table with the United States and allow the U.N.-run International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resume inspections in the country. Tehran suspended cooperation with the IAEA earlier this month over the U.S. and Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, Iran aimed to structure Friday’s talks to remove the threat of “snapback sanctions,” which the E3 threatened to impose on Tehran if no progress toward a deal is made by the end of August.
Earlier this week, Iranian representatives met with their counterparts from China and Russia to discuss Europe’s warnings. Tehran maintains that it solely uses its uranium enrichment program for civilian purposes, not to build a nuclear weapon. The United States and Israel deny this claim.
Countering Chinese influence. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first foreign leader on Friday to visit the Maldives since President Mohamed Muizzu took office in 2023. Over the next two days, Modi and Muizzu will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties between their two countries by holding free trade talks; finalizing a bilateral investment deal; and working to deepen cooperation in tourism, health care, and housing. On Friday, Modi also announced that India is extending a $565 million credit line to the Maldives to boost the island nation’s infrastructure development.
New Delhi is hoping to capitalize on Modi’s trip to help counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific. Muizzu was elected on a platform advocating for an end to the Maldives’ “India first” policy and for closer ties with Beijing. And since taking power, Muizzu has tried to reduce dependency on New Delhi. But given the Maldives’ strategic location in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi is anxious to improve relations.
What in the World?
Which country brokered the talks that resulted in a declaration of principles to end the fighting between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels on Saturday?
A. China
B. Saudi Arabia
C. Qatar
D. South Africa
Odds and Ends
An effort by Canada’s Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to crack down on fare theft by rebranding its fare inspectors is being met with mockery and giggles. Meet the newly renamed Provincial Offences Officers, aka POO. Canadian authorities announced the title change last Friday to deter free riders, who cost the TTC around 140 million Canadian dollars (or roughly $102 million) a year. Surprising no one, social media users are having a field day with the new name. But the TTC is not having it. “We thank the snickering, puerile 12-year-old boys who dominate the internet for their insights,” the TTC Media Relations team posted on X, adding that the POO designation existed in Ontario legislation long before the TTC chose to use it.
And the Answer Is…
C. Qatar
Despite the declaration, serious doubts remain over the prospect of lasting peace in Congo, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes in Africa Brief.
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Great Job Alexandra Sharp & the Team @ World Brief – Foreign Policy Source link for sharing this story.
