Gaza

• The Israeli military said it reached the "heart of Gaza City," while Hamas's wartime death toll surpassed 10,000.
• Arab countries - led by Saudi Arabia - are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and lobbying the U.S. to push Israel to agree to one. Saudi is hosting a summit of Arab and Islamic countries (excluding Iran, of course) "in a few days" to rally behind the idea.
• PM Netanyahu has rejected calls for even a temporary ceasefire until Hamas releases all Israeli hostages - but he said he was open to the idea of "tactical little pauses - an hour here, an hour there" for humanitarian reasons.
• Netanyahu told media Israel could take "indefinite" responsibility for Gaza's security after its presumed military victory there. That idea sounds far too close to an occupation for Palestinians and their allies, and it rankles even moderates and friends of Israel: the White House said it would not be "the right thing to do."

• Pres. Zelensky promised an investigation into the ill-fated medal ceremony where 19 troops were killed by Russian fire and vowed to find out "who exactly violated the rules on the safety of people in the area accessible to enemy aerial reconnaissance" and punish them.

• The U.S. announced plans to build a $553 million port terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The move is seen as a counterweight to China, which lent Sri Lanka money to build Hambantota Port and other mega infrastructure projects it couldn't afford that have now become symbols for criticism of China's "debt trap diplomacy."
• Meanwhile, Australian PM Albanese's visit to China resulted in exactly the kind of rekindling Pres. Xi had hoped for after years of political and trade disputes.

• Pakistan said that most of the 1.7-2.0 million Afghans who were illegally living in Pakistan left voluntarily before Islamabad's Nov. 1 deadline.
• The official tally of returnees was only 200,000 - far short of "most" of 1.7-2.0 million. Perhaps Pakistan is conceding it won't be able to evict a meaningful share of the remaining undocumented Afghans and trying to save face by claiming they already left.
• Al Jazeera reported that many returnees are struggling to survive in Afghanistan and lack proper shelter, food, and water. The Taliban has set up some camps for them near the border, but the camps are ill-equipped to handle the influx of needy returnees.

• Congolese forces and UN peacekeepers launched a joint operation - Operation Springbok - against Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Goma and Sake. Operation Springbok aims to reinforce security around the two eastern cities like the Springbok scrums secured the ball in last month's Rugby World Cup.