US puts pressure on Israel with Gaza ceasefire resolution as Qatar talks continue Israel's spy chief was due to travel to Qatar on Friday for ceasefire negotiations while the U.S. planned to put a resolution calling for an immediate truce in Gaza to a vote of the U.N. Security Council, intensifying pressure on its ally. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday in Cairo he believed talks mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt could still reach a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel. Negotiations in Qatar centred on a truce of around six…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russian army announces new Donbass gains Moscow’s forces have liberated the village of Tonenkoye in Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday. Tonenkoye has seen intense combat over the past few weeks, following the taking of the key Donbass town of Avdeevka in mid-February. The village forms part of the Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line, located to the northwest of the town. Over the past 24-hour period, Ukrainian forces have lost over 320 soldiers, a tank, four other armored and up to seven unarmored vehicles, according to Moscow’s estimates. Earlier this week, the Russian military announced the…

Why Israel is so determined to launch an offensive in Rafah Israel is determined to launch a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, a plan that has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to the hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel can’t achieve its goal of “total victory” against Hamas without tackling Rafah. Israel has approved military plans for its offensive. But with 1.4 million Palestinians jammed into the town, Israel’s allies, including the U.S., have demanded greater care for civilians in its anticipated incursion. Most of…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine's capital Kyiv is under Russian missile attack, mayor says Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, early Thursday, injuring eight people and damaging residential buildings and industrial facilities, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. It was the first large missile attack on Kyiv in recent weeks. Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that air defence units were repelling the attack. He said missile debris fell in different parts of the city. "There are already eight injured as the result of the enemy's attack," Klitschko said. He said that debris from a downed Russian missile hit several…