The five things you need to know today:
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. War returns to Gaza.
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Putin gets a deal to protect his pipelines.
UNITED STATES. The judiciary will be a tougher adversary than the cartels.
PERU. Boluarte uses public outrage to tighten control.
SOUTH KOREA. Seoul is torn amid domestic and international realignment.
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ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Beginning again
War returns to Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday that strikes killing 400 in Gaza were "just the beginning" and hostage talks would "only take place under fire". Itamar Ben Gvir rejoined Netanyahu's cabinet. The White House confirmed support for Israel.
INTELLIGENCE. With the ceasefire over and US attacks increasing on the Houthis, who have fired their first missiles to Israel in two months (intercepted over Saudi Arabia), Donald Trump's promise to bring peace to the Middle East appears distant. Giving Netanyahu little incentive to curtail attacks on remaining Hamas positions, the fighting is likely to only subside once more hostages (and Gazans) are killed, or Netanyahu’s political future is more assured.
FOR BUSINESS. Netanyahu is in a face-off with the chief of Shin Bet and other senior officials. The return of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party to his coalition will only increase these tensions, particularly as the attorney general seeks to block Ben Gvir's reappointment to a ministerial role. The past is returning in other ways too. Support for Netanyahu’s Likud has returned to averages last seen in August. Almost three in four Israelis want him to resign.
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UKRAINE. RUSSIA. All hockey, no stick
Putin gets a deal to protect his pipelines.
Vladimir Putin agreed to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure Tuesday in a two-hour call Donald Trump described as "great". Kyiv said Putin wanted to "drag out" the war. Moscow said Trump agreed to resume bilateral ice hockey matches.
INTELLIGENCE. Kyiv initially proposed a similar energy ceasefire. Russian attacks on Ukrainian power have hurt