Israel’s Deir al-Balah Assault, Bedouin Evacuation, Belgian Oysters

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun dedicates its front page to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s declaration that he would stay on as leader, despite calls for him to resign after a major election defeat. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in Japan’s upper house in parliamentary elections Sunday, after already ceding its control in the lower house in October. Voters have become disillusioned with Ishiba, losing faith in his ability to handle key issues including inflation and trade negotiations with the U.S.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israel launches first ground assault on central Gaza city, after dozens killed during aid distribution. Israeli forces have launched an early morning ground and air assault on Deir al-Balah, marking its first ground offensive in the city located in central Gaza since the start of the war against Hamas. The operation has prompted fresh waves of displacement in the area currently packed with thousands of people who had previously arrived from Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. This comes after at least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food on Sunday in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry said, marking the enclave’s deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in more than 21 months of war.

• Major Russian aerial attack on Kyiv ahead of high-level talks on Ukraine support. At least two people were killed after Russia launched a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes on Kyiv in an overnight attack on Monday. With 426 drones and 24 missiles unleashed by Moscow overnight across Ukraine, this marks one of Russia’s largest aerial assaults on the country in recent months. The UK and Germany are set to lead a meeting to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans that involve European nations sending American weapons to Ukraine via NATO.

• Syrian authorities start evacuating Bedouin families from Sweida. The Syrian government started evacuating Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida on Monday, after a ceasefire announced over the weekend put an end to the clashes between Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters that have left more than 1,100 dead in a week. Syrian media reported that 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. For more on Syria’s outburst of violence, check this Kayhan-London analysis translated from Persian by Worldcrunch.

• Iran to resume nuclear talks with three European powers. Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom will hold fresh nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday, the country’s state media outlets reported, following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Tehran. This will mark the first talks since the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago.

• Ecuador extradites drug lord “Fito” to the U.S. The powerful Ecuadorean drug kingpin Adolfo Macías Villamar known as “Fito” was extradited to the U.S. late Sunday, a month after he was recaptured following a 2024 escape from a maximum security penitentiary. The leader of Los Choneros gang is the first Ecuadoran extradition since President Daniel Noboa launched a “war” on criminal gangs. Macías will appear in a U.S. federal court on Monday to face charges of drug and arms trafficking. Read more on Noboa in this Clarín piece translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: Noboa, Bukele, Boric: A New Latin American Model Of “Can-Do” Leaders — Or Just Strongmen In Sheep’s Clothing? 

• At least 18 dead after torrential rain hit South Korea, toll rises in Vietnam capsized tourist boat. Torrential rains that lashed South Korea have killed at least 18 people and left nine others missing, authorities reported, as weather conditions started to ease on Monday. A storm was also to blame for the deaths of at least 35 people after a tourist boat capsized on Saturday in Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist destination in northern Vietnam.

• News Quiz! A project in Belgium is attempting to reintroduce rare flat oysters in a bid to restore North Sea biodiversity using what?

A. A century-old shipwreck
B. White wine bottles
C. A Manneken Pis replica
D. Waffle batter
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

300 billion

Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced the country began construction on what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam, able to produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. The dam, labeled the “project of the century” by Qiang, will cost an estimated $170 billion in an attempt to boost economic growth, with investment bank Citi stating the GDP boost could reach $16.7 billion annually. NGOs have criticized the project, warning it will inflict irreversible environmental damage on the Tibetan Plateau.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇾🇪 As the Houthis turn politics into perpetual warfare and view the state as spoils, the international community, and UN specifically, must decide whether to treat them as legitimate actors or confront them as extremists threatening Yemen’s fragile sovereignty.
— DARAJ

🇮🇷 In the 15th arrondissement of Paris, exiled opponents of Iran’s ruling regime are tightening their guard, fearing reprisals against loved ones still in Iran.
— LE FIGARO

💃 Professional tango dancers for hire in Buenos Aires are giving clients — mostly foreign women and retirees — a chance to experience Argentina’s signature dance.
— CLARÍN

📣 VERBATIM

“I once again ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war.”

– Pope Leo XIV called for peace in Gaza during his traditional Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence outside Rome, on Sunday. Along with calling for an end to the conflict, the Pope criticized the “indiscriminate use of force.” The plea came days after an Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza, which was sheltering nearly 600 displaced people.