Gaza

• Israel accused Hamas of firing rockets from "humanitarian zones" - effectively, using cowering civilians as human shields - especially in Al-Mawasi, where thousands of civilians obeying Israeli evacuation orders have fled and are packed into crowded shelters. If Hamas is launching rockets from the vicinity then it's putting everyone there at risk of return fire.
• UN SecGen Guterres invoked the UN's Article 99 to warn the UN Security Council (UNSC) of the risk of an immediate "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire. It's the first time in over 50 years that a SecGen has invoked Article 99; however, there's not much Guterres or the UNSC can do to force a ceasefire.

• This week the (apparently very busy) UNSC heard Guyana's complaints about Venezuela's recent steps towards annexing the western two-thirds of Guyanese territory. Today the UNSC will hold a closed session to discuss the issue.
• The U.S. announced it would partner with Guyana to conduct joint military flights that began yesterday as a demonstration of its "unwavering support" for Guyana's sovereignty. Venezuela called the flights a "provocation."
• The real provocation was last week's referendum that asked Venezuelan voters to agree with Pres. Maduro that the disputed territory is part of Venezuela, which Maduro is using as a justification for his subsequent moves to annex the territory. Now his government has ordered the arrest of several opposition politicians who he says sabotaged the referendum (in reality, turnout was low because voters are apathetic about Maduro).
• The map below shows the area Venezuela is trying to claim: it includes many of Guyana's recent rich offshore oil discoveries.

• The U.S. indicted two Russian hackers for carrying out a long-running, sophisticated campaign to spear phish American intelligence and defense personnel.
• The same hacker group - called "Cold River" reportedly also targeted British politicians and journalists, and the UK is also sanctioning the two individuals connected with it.

• A blast at an explosives depot in the Seychelles caused "massive damage" and injured almost 200 people. It sounds like it was an accident: Pres. Ramkalawan conceded that there have long been concerns about how weapons were stored at this depot.