Gaza

• Israel targeted a top Hamas commander in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, creating an enormous impact crater and lots of rubble. Hamas said "hundreds" were injured in the blast, but that could be exaggerated.
• Egypt accepted around 500 people fleeing Gaza through the border crossing at Rafah - but restricted entrance to foreign nationals, aid workers, and the wounded: Pres. Sisi's government remains firmly opposed to accepting Palestinian refugees.
• Several South American countries raised diplomatic objections to Israel's war in Gaza: Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv, and Bolivia fully severed diplomatic ties with Israel.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. went in the other direction diplomatically: its Senate approved Jack Lew to fill the vacant ambassador's office in Israel.
• Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen confirmed that they fired missiles towards southern Israel in recent weeks (I believe U.S. Navy ships and Israeli defenses intercepted all of them except perhaps two that landed in Egypt). The Houthi's acknowledgment is significant because it was the first clear confirmation that Iran - via its proxies - is already involved in the Israel-Gaza war.

Ukraine

• Russia detained two of its own soldiers who were accused of killing nine people - including two children - last week in the Russian-occupied city of Volnovakha (southeastern Ukraine).
• The Volnovakha killings were particularly appalling and widely reported in Ukrainian media, so the Kremlin would have struggled to deny or ignore the accusations and was indirectly forced to acknowledge them. Plus, by detaining those accused, Russia can look like it's taking the accusations seriously even if it doesn't actually follow through with prosecuting the offenders (critics think it won't).

Azerbaijan

• Armenian PM Pashinyan said his government had aligned with Azerbaijan's on "three main principles of peace and normalisation of relations" prerequisite to a peace deal they hope to sign "in the coming months."
• I believe those "three main principles" relate to assuring both countries reliable transit and infrastructure links in the future; Armenia also suggested it's open to the idea of buying Azerbaijani gas in the future.

Other News

• Australia dropped out of the bidding to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole bidder and near-certain winner. Saudi's World Cup preparations are sure to attract the same sportswashing criticisms Qatar's did last year.