Gaza

• Israeli troops entered Gaza overnight again and conducted another "targeted raid" ahead of an imminent invasion.
• The UN's agency for Palestinian refugees said 57 of its staff have died in Israeli airstrikes in the last 10 days and warned that "soon many more will die" when Israel invades in earnest.
• An errant drone strike (or perhaps two) hit the Egyptian Red Sea town of Taba, wounding six. It appeared to come from "the Red Sea area," which means it was probably fired by Iran-linked Houthi militants in Yemen aiming for Israel.
• Meanwhile, U.S. jets carried out "self-defense" airstrikes targeting Iranian proxies in eastern Syria. At least 21 U.S. troops have been injured in recent Iran-linked attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.
• Israel estimated that over half the 220+ hostages Hamas is harboring in Gaza are not Israeli nationals. The largest contingent - 52 of the hostages - are Thai nationals working in Israel. Thais are also the largest contingent among the 150,000 migrant laborers working in Israel: around 30,000 are Thai.
• A Hamas official responded to calls to release all the hostages with a blunt refusal: he said Hamas will only free the rest when there's a "calm environment," i.e. a ceasefire. Israel is preparing for an invasion and unlikely to agree to a ceasefire anytime soon.
• Separately, Qatar sentenced eight former Indian Naval officers to death for unspecified offenses that analysts believe are related to spying for Israel. Qatar is home to 800,000 Indians and generally has good relations with their government, which is appealing the sentences.

• U.S. intelligence reported that Russia is ordering its troops into the line of fire with "human-wave tactics" in its effort to defend the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka - and executing those who refuse to be cannon fodder.

• A Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to a U.S. B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea on Tuesday: within 10 feet of it.
• The timing of this intercept is inconvenient for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is meeting with Pres. Biden in DC today. Biden will likely mention the Chinese pilot's "poor airmanship."
• Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack, aged 68. Chinese media celebrated Li as an "outstanding leader of party and state" who "firmly supported the leadership of the Central Committee with Xi as the core." That's slightly misleading: Li spent most of his premiership trying to soften Pres. Xi's less reasonable policy choices and Xi sidelined him for it back in March.

• The Taliban released Matiullah Wesa, a male activist who was arrested seven months ago for campaigning for women's rights. Hundreds of other activists are still in Taliban prisons - and that's not counting the millions of Afghan women who are effectively under house arrest due to the Taliban's repressive laws.

• Exxon announced another "significant discovery" in the Stabroek block: this one - at the Lancetfish-2 well - has an estimated "20 meters of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir" and "81 meters of additional hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone." I have no idea how that converts to potential barrels of oil, but both Exxon and Guyana seem to think it's a big deal.
• Venezuela must be less excited about the new find: like the other discoveries offshore Guyana, this one is located in an area Venezuela disputes.
• Separately, Venezuela's opposition declared ex-lawmaker Maria Corina Machado the winner of its presidential primary. Pres. Maduro's government has already declared the vote invalid.