Israel notes 'significant gaps' after cease-fire talks with US, Qatar, Egypt but says constructive Israel said “significant gaps” remain after cease-fire talks Sunday with the United States, Qatar and Egypt but called them constructive and said they would continue in the week ahead, a tentative sign of progress on a potential agreement that could see Israel pause military operations against Hamas in exchange for the release of remaining hostages. The U.S. announced its first military deaths in the region since the war began and blamed Iran-backed militants for the drone strike in Jordan that killed three American service members amid…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia's drones, missiles target Ukraine's critical infrastructure, Ukraine says Russia launched drone and missile attacks targeting civilian and critical infrastructure across wide areas of Ukraine, Kyiv's Air Force said on Sunday. Preliminary information did not show any casualties in the attacks, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app. Russia and Ukraine have increased their air attacks on each other's territory in recent months, targeting critical military, energy and transport infrastructure. The air force said Russia attacked the central Poltava region with two ballistic missiles fired from the Iskander ballistic missile system, and three surface-to-air missiles over…

Embattled UN agency warns its aid operation in Gaza is 'collapsing' over a wave of funding cuts The head of the main U.N. aid agency in the war-battered Gaza Strip warned late Saturday that its work is collapsing after nine countries decided to cut funding over allegations that several agency employees had participated in the deadly Hamas attack against Israel four months ago. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said he was shocked such decisions were taken as “famine looms” in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. “Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment,” he…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE US to change strategy on Ukraine – WaPo The US is working on a new strategy for Ukraine that would mark a departure from the failed forward push of 2023 and instead focus on frontline defense, the Washington Post has reported. The supposed adjustments come in response to Kiev’s failed counteroffensive last year, the newspaper added. In an article on Friday, the newspaper quoted a senior White House official explaining that “it will be difficult for [Ukrainian forces] to try to mount the same kind of major push on all fronts that they tried to do last year.”…