Gaza

• Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said Hamas and Israel are "approaching a truce agreement" for a temporary (reportedly five-day) ceasefire via Qatari mediation.
• Haniyeh blamed Israel for stalling the talks and said all Hamas brigades were "always united" on the agreement terms.

• Iran-backed Houthi rebels released a video of their fighters dropping from a helicopter onto the Galaxy Leader cargo ship they hijacked on Sunday. The ship and its crew are being held in Hodeidah.
• Two other ships managed by the same operating companies as the Galaxy Leader diverted their course to avoid Houthi-controlled areas.

• North Korea is reportedly preparing a third attempt to launch a spy satellite (its first two tries earlier this year failed). Pyongyang is desperate to get eyes in the sky to monitor U.S. and South Korean troop movements.
• South Korea warned its belligerent neighbor against the launch and threatened to intensify surveillance along their shared border if the North proceeds with it.
• South Korea is planning to launch its own spy satellite - the first one it developed domestically - on Nov. 30.

• Former Katanga governor Moïse Katumbi formally launched his campaign to challenge Pres. Tshisekedi in DRC's Dec. 20 presidential election.
• Katumbi seems to be the strongest of a crowded pool of opposition candidates, and he's calling on weaker candidates to drop out of the race and unite behind him.

• The Economist warned that Chad could be the next Sahelian country to face a coup: its inexperienced president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, is jeopardizing his rule by outwardly backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fighting against government troops in next-door Sudan, risking reprisals.