Israel agreed to a proposal to help cease-fire talks, the U.S. said
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a “bridging proposal” aimed at closing the gap between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire deal for Gaza.
A spokesman for Netanyahu confirmed that the prime minister had told Blinken that Israel had agreed to the proposal, which U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators presented last week. Blinken discussed the proposal during a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Hamas officials did not immediately comment, but they have called the proposal slanted toward Israel.
What’s next: Negotiations on a cease-fire deal are expected to resume this week in Egypt. Blinken said that the talks represent “probably the best, maybe the last” chance to bring the hostages home and “put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”
On the ground:
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The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.
Ukraine aims to cut off Russian troops
The Ukrainian military has in recent days bombed three bridges in the Kursk region of Russia and may be close to surrounding Russian troops defending the area, military analysts said.
The attacks on the bridges — the only route for retreat or resupply in the area between the Seym River and the border with Ukraine — add another challenge to a Russian Army caught off guard by Ukraine’s incursion, which has been underway now for two weeks. It is unclear how many Russian soldiers remain in the area.
Analysis: President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping to use captured Russian territory as leverage in future peace talks, but it’s a risky bet. Russians who know President Vladimir Putin expect him to lash out in response, believing that his military has the upper hand.
Groups of Mennonites, seeking inexpensive land far from modern life, are carving out new colonies in the Amazon. They are also raising fears that they are adding to the deforestation of a rainforest already under threat from cattle ranching and illegal gold mining.
Lives lived: Phil Donahue, the American television talk show host who invited audiences to weigh in on a range of topics, from international relations to safe-sex orgies, died at 88.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
A good hate-watch
You hate that show. Why are you still watching it? It’s like taking a vacation with someone you can’t stand just so you can complain about them later.
Like it or not, hate-watching is now part of the cultural conversation and arguably of contemporary life. We start watching a show because it looks appealing, but often we keep watching because we want to complain about it.
My colleague Alissa Wilkinson, who has hate-watched “The Gilded Age,” “Tiny Pretty Things,” “The Morning Show,” “And Just Like That …” and, of course, “Emily in Paris,” explains why we can’t get enough of these TV shows.
That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Justin
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Read More: Tuesday Briefing: U.S. Said Israel Agreed to Cease-Fire Proposal
