Humanitarian Pause in Gaza

Israel is instituting a limited “humanitarian pause” in Gaza in order to allow aid to enter, per a Sunday announcement. The pause will take place for a few hours a day in three areas of Gaza, with 120 aid trucks entering the strip Monday to be distributed by the United Nations.

The UN’s World Food Program said in a statement it has enough food stockpiled to feed all of Gaza for about three months, and would immediately begin to do so.

“There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event Sunday. “We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza - otherwise, there would be no Gazans.”

Houthis Will Attack Any Ship Which Does Business With Israel

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has announced it will target any ships that do business with Israel, regardless of its nationality or ownership. This so-called fourth phase of operations will begin immediately.

In a statement, the group said it has “decided to escalate their military support operations and begin implementing the fourth phase of the naval blockade” against Israel.

It added, “all ships belonging to any company that deals with the ports of the Israeli enemy, regardless of the nationality of that company, and in any location within the reach of our armed forces.”

Economist Interview with Ukraine’s Military Chief

The head of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, spoke to The Economist in a recent interview, warning that he believes the war is reaching a deadlock.

“There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough,” by Russia, he said. “Just like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate.”

Zaluzhny said he has studied trench warfare from WWI, noting “that is exactly where we are because, just like then, the level of our technological development today has put both us and our enemies in a stupor.”

“The simple fact is that we see everything the enemy is doing and they see everything we are doing. In order for us to break this deadlock, we need something new, like the gunpowder which the Chinese invented and which we are still using to kill each other,” he added.

“The biggest risk of an attritional trench war is that it can drag on for years and wear down the Ukrainian state,” he said. “We need to look for this solution, we need to find this gunpowder, quickly master it and use it for a speedy victory. Because sooner or later, we are going to find that we simply don’t have enough people to fight.”

Ceasefire Between Thailand and Cambodia

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a ceasefire starting at midnight Monday, officials from both countries have said. Discussions took place in Malaysia and were organized by Malaysian and American officials. Chinese diplomats attended the discussions as observers, Malaysia said.

Both nations have said they intend to hold to the ceasefire, but both have also noted that the conditions on the ground and actions by the other would dictate whether or not fighting resumes.

The US, which pushed for a rapid peace deal, has threatened increased tariffs by 01 August if fighting did not case. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was involved in pushing for the ceasefire, speaking with top officials in both countries over the weekend.

“Both President Trump and I remain engaged with our respective counterparts for each country and are monitoring the situation very closely,” he said late Sunday. “We want this conflict to end as soon as possible.”

Tariff Updates: China, EU

Negotiators from the United States and China are meeting in Stockholm, Sweden today to discuss trade and tariffs. A deadline of 12 August is in place for the two parties to reach an agreement, after a preliminary deal was reached in June.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has reported that tariffs are expected to be put on hold for another 90 days during the discussions, in order to buy more time for negotiations. The outlet wrote, “Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday.” This has not been confirmed by the US or China.

Meanwhile, the US and European Union agreed to a 15% baseline tariff on most EU products over the weekend. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with US President Donald Trump in Scotland to finalize the deal.

"15% is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get,” she said.

Update: Potential Sale of Ports by CK Hutchison

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison said Monday that it is in discussions to add a Chinese “major strategic investor” to a proposed sale of its port business, which is being required by authorities in China. The investor, multiple sources haves said, is China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation.

"The company has stated on several occasions that it will not proceed with any transaction that does not have the approval of all relevant authorities," CK Hutchison said in a statement.

Chinese authorities have threatened to block the deal if a Chinese firm does not have equal ownership with BlackRock and MSC, who initiated the deal with CKH.

France to Recognize a Palestinian State

France’s President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that his country will recognize Palestine as a state, making it the largest Western power to recognize it. Over 140 countries currently recognize a Palestinian state, but most larger Western nations do not.

″Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,’' President Macron wrote in a statement. ″Peace is possible.’'

The decision will be formalized at the UN General Assembly in September, President Macron said. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” he added.

Hussein Al Sheikh, the Palestinian Authority’s Vice President, said “this position reflects France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination.’'

‘’We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision,’' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘’Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.’'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media, “this reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.”

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Iran, Britain, France, Germany Discuss Nuclear Program

Iranian authorities said nuclear discussions with Britain, France, and Germany were “serious, frank and detailed” today. The meetings took place in Istanbul, and are the first since the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Discussions between the four nations were held at Iran’s consulate and lasted about four hours.

Afterwards, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, "while seriously criticizing their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism. It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."

Discussions focused on the expiration of a 2015 nuclear deal between the countries, which expires 18 October. The three European nations have until 30 days before this deadline to trigger the snapback mechanism and keep sanctions live.

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Russia: Meeting of Presidents Would be Last Stage

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian Presidents could only happen as a last step to finalize a peace deal.

"A summit meeting can and should put the final point on a settlement and cement the modalities and agreements worked out by experts. It is impossible to do it the other way round," Peskov told media. "Is it possible to go through such a complex process in 30 days? Well, obviously, it is unlikely."

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told media there was a chance of such a meeting. "Now, in talks with us, they have begun to discuss it,” he said. “This is already progress towards some kind of meeting format.”

A third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine this week, lasting only 40 minutes and not leading to any breakthroughs.

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Clashes Between Thailand, Cambodia Accelerate

Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged artillery fire Friday, as fighting along border areas worsens. At least 16 have been killed, while tens of thousands of civilians flee. Each side blames the other for starting the conflict. About 12 locations have seen fighting, after 6 were noted on Thursday.

Alongside artillery fire, various rockets, airstrikes, drone usage, and small arms fire have been noted.

Land borders have been closed by both parties, and both have urged their citizens to leave the other nation.

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