Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected the 15-point Gaza peace plan backed by US President Donald Trump, telling his cabinet, "Israel rejects the 15-point document," and vowing no withdrawal until Hamas is fully disarmed, according to NBC News. The rejection lands as Israeli forces have steadily expanded their footprint beyond the original ceasefire line. That boundary initially placed roughly 50–53 percent of Gaza under Israeli control; satellite imagery and Israeli media reporting cited by Roya News show the line shifting westward through the spring via a secondary "orange line," pushing Israeli-held territory toward 64 percent. However, figures vary by source and date. Netanyahu's demand for "genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament" before any pullback, as reported by NPR, sets a precondition Hamas is unlikely to meet up front, complicating a roadmap that envisioned withdrawal and disarmament proceeding in parallel. The stance also carries domestic logic: Netanyahu's coalition trails in…
Russia Strikes Odesa and Kharkiv. Ukraine strikes Belgorod.
Russia struck Odesa overnight into Sunday in a massed missile attack, and Ukraine's Air Force said none of the incoming missiles were intercepted. The Air Force reported the region was hit with Iskander, Onyx, Zircon and Kh-31P missiles, without specifying an exact number. Glavcom reported the strikes also involved more than 30 drones and hit power substations, cutting electricity in several districts. Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, reported residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged citywide; a Telegram channel citing local sources put the toll at eight injured, with a four-story residential building and nearby cars on fire in the city center. Kharkiv was hit separately overnight. A drone struck a 10-story residential building in the city's Saltivka district, killing two people, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, who posted preliminary details on his official channel. Casualty figures were still being clarified…
Congo Frees M23 Prisoners Then Ceasefire Cracks
The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the transfer of 15 detainees from Congolese government custody to the AFC/M23 rebel alliance on August 6–7, the first confirmed exchange under the Doha Mechanism signed in September 2025. The convoy left government-held Beni and crossed into Uganda before reaching Rutshuru Territory. This routing reflects how little direct road access remains between the two sides amid continued fighting in North Kivu. The swap was narrow. Africanews reported none of the 15 released were senior commanders or death-row inmates, and a wider exchange covering several hundred detainees has already missed one deadline this year. Qatar's Foreign Ministry welcomed the handover as a confidence-building measure, but the low-risk profile of those freed suggests that both sides are still withholding their more consequential cards. The goodwill was short-lived. Per the Critical Threats Project's Congo War Security Review, M23 expelled a Congolese government representative from the…
US Sells 5,250 Interceptors to Gulf States
The United States has approved the sale of 5,250 Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, Reuters reported on August 7, as Washington replenishes Gulf stockpiles drained by five months of war between Israel, the US and Iran. The country breakdown and delivery schedule remain undisclosed. The approval follows $25.8 billion in expedited sales to the same four states plus Israel that Secretary of State Marco Rubio cleared in May under an emergency waiver of congressional review. The number is an approval, not a delivery date. Building a single Patriot interceptor takes two to three years from contract award, according to defense manufacturing expert Jerry McGinn. A CSIS analysis from July 27 put current US Patriot stocks under 1,000, down from about 2,330 before the war, and THAAD stocks at roughly 250, down from 452. The bottleneck is specific. A Department…
Myanmar Diplomacy Tests ASEAN’s Power Over War
Myanmar's civil war is entering a cautious diplomatic phase, though the shift stops well short of a peace process. What is under way is a test of whether the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, can convert renewed contact with Myanmar's military-backed government into real leverage, or whether the engagement instead restores the government's international standing without corresponding changes on the ground. The answer will depend on whether the contacts produce humanitarian access, reduced attacks on civilians and a credible seat at the table for resistance groups, or whether they simply hand Myanmar's military rulers renewed legitimacy while the fighting continues. Reuters reported that the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union, or SCEF, an anti-junta coordination structure linked to the National Unity Government and several ethnic armed organizations, has said it is committed to pursuing a political settlement. A SCEF statement named the Karen National…
Ukrainian Drones Hit Two Russian Oil Refineries
Ukrainian drones struck two Russian oil refineries overnight into August 8, sparking fires in Krasnodar and Samara regions as Russia and Ukraine exchanged large-scale attacks, according to Bloomberg and Ukrainian outlets. A fire broke out at Russia's Ilsky refinery after falling debris from a downed drone struck the facility, injuring five people, regional authorities said. Russia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 397 Ukrainian drones overnight. Separately, explosions were reported around 2 a.m. in Syzran, Samara Oblast, followed by a large fire at the Syzran refinery, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing monitoring channel Exilenova+. The fire was still burning as of Saturday morning; Russian authorities have released no casualty or damage figures. This is at least the eleventh reported strike on the plant since late 2025, with the facility previously forced to fully halt processing after strikes in May and July damaged its main refining units. The strikes extend Ukraine's monthslong campaign…
