Gaza

• Hamas said a massive blast killed at least 500 Palestinians seeking treatment and / or shelter at one of the hospitals it runs in Gaza City yesterday.
• Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike; Israel said (and U.S. intel seems to agree) an errant Hamas rocket struck the hospital; Israel also said Hamas's casualty count was overinflated..
• Whatever the cause of the carnage, this hospital blast is stirring fresh anger amongst Palestinians and their sympathizers. Protests erupted across the Arab world, including in Libya, Iraq, and Egypt.
• Arab leaders are reacting to it too: Jordan's King Abdullah uninvited Pres. Biden from this week's planned visit where Biden was supposed to sit down with Pres. Sisi of Egypt and Palestinian PM Abbas. Abdullah says the summit can only take place after all involved agree its purpose is to end the "war and massacres against Palestinians."
• Biden is already in Israel and will still meet with PM Netanyahu; he'll just skip the Amman visit afterwards. Biden pledged to ask "tough" questions of the Israeli leader - but "he'll be asking them as a friend," per U.S. officials.

China

• China's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter: 4.9% year on year instead of the 4.5% forecast. Part of the boost was from stronger retail sales.
• Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department expanded its export controls on sensitive technologies like advanced computer chips to keep China from getting its hands on components it can use for military applications.

Venezuela

• Pres. Maduro and Venezuela's opposition signed a deal committing to holding elections - to be overseen by international observers from the EU, UN, and elsewhere - in the latter half of 2024.
• The agreement fell short of securing the electoral guarantees the opposition had hoped for: in particular, opposition candidates are still barred from running. The opposition is skeptical that Maduro will even follow through on holding elections.
• As a result, this deal is unlikely to be enough for the U.S. to lift sanctions on Venezuela - but it's a start.

Azerbaijan

• Armenian president Pashinian told the EU Parliament that his country is ready to sign a final peace deal ceding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan by the end of 2023 - assuming the longstanding foes continue to agree on border and transport conditions for a deal.

Other News

• The Turkish company that supplies electricity to Guinea-Bissau cut power to the capital of Bissau over $17 million in overdue payments. Guinea-Bissau's utilities company promised to pay $15 million of it within 15 days.