Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the terms of the latest Gaza cease-fire proposal, a flurry of European diplomacy for Ukraine, and Spain’s efforts to combat raging wildfires.
Mounting Pressure
All eyes are on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Hamas said it accepted a proposal from regional mediators for a Gaza cease-fire deal—putting the ball squarely in Israel’s court.
While the full terms of the deal have not yet been made public, initial reporting suggests that the proposal, which was put forward by Egypt and Qatar, would see both parties agree to a 60-day cease-fire in which Israeli forces would retreat to a buffer zone that extends 800 meters (or 875 yards) into Gaza.
During the 60-day cease-fire, the proposal would see Israel free around 1,700 imprisoned Palestinians, around 200 of whom are facing life sentences, according to The Associated Press. In turn, Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased hostages. Israel has said that there are still 50 hostages in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Under the proposal, Israel would also have to allow 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza each day. That could bring some relief to the beleaguered territory, where aid groups have long accused Israel of weaponizing humanitarian relief and blocking crucial aid, driving what the United Nations has described as “catastrophic hunger.” Israel maintains that its restrictions are aimed at preventing the aid from going to Hamas.
During the 60-day period, both parties would also determine terms for a permanent truce, the freedom of the remaining hostages, and the future of Israel’s military campaign. The deal would include “a pathway to a comprehensive agreement to end the war,” said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari.
On Tuesday, Ansari told reporters in Doha that the proposed deal is “98 percent” similar to an earlier plan presented by Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, in June. Witkoff’s proposal was previously accepted by Israel but not Hamas, which said it wanted additional provisions to “ensure an end to the war.”
“It is within the confines of the Witkoff plan. … It’s a continuation of that process,” Ansari said. “Obviously, it’s in the details where the devil lies.”
While Netanyahu has faced growing pressure in recent months —both domestically and internationally—over the military campaign and humanitarian situation in Gaza, it remains unclear how he will respond. Netanyahu has repeatedly demanded the release of all 50 hostages and has said that his goal is to eliminate Hamas entirely. In recent weeks, he has also outlined plans for a military takeover of Gaza.
The proposed deal was criticized by some far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition. Moshe Saadeh, a lawmaker in Netanyahu’s Likud party, told Israeli media that the proposal would “strengthen Hamas” in the end.
“Going for a partial deal is a moral folly and a difficult strategic error,” he said.
Israel has said that it will issue its response by Friday.
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What We’re Following
Backing Ukraine. Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s flurry of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders, many questions remain unanswered. Still, Kyiv’s allies are trying to chart a path forward.
Nearly three dozen world leaders who make up the informal “coalition of the willing,” a group of countries that are committed to backing Ukraine against Russia, met virtually on Tuesday to debrief Trump’s Monday talks with Zelensky and several European leaders as well as to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv.
“It was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” read a statement from the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who co-chaired the virtual meeting.
On Wednesday, NATO military leaders are also expected to convene over Ukraine’s future security. Their meeting comes after Trump said on Tuesday that he had ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine to serve as peacekeepers as part of a future peace deal, though he suggested that Washington could provide support in other ways, including with airpower.
Drawing closer. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in India on Tuesday, just one day after Beijing’s top diplomat said that the two countries should reach a “correct strategic understanding” and see each other as partners, not rivals. Modi and Wang discussed the two countries’ contested border in the Himalayan mountains. Afterward, in a post on X, Modi commended how “relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities.”
Modi and Wang’s Tuesday meeting is the latest sign of the two countries’ deepening ties, particularly as New Delhi’s relationship with Washington fractures over punishing new U.S. tariffs. More diplomacy will soon follow, too; Modi is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a largely China-led regional grouping.
Brutal blazes. Spain has deployed an additional 500 soldiers to battle the devastating wildfires that have been raging in the country, raising the total number of military personnel assisting in firefighting efforts to about 4,000. The soldiers will reinforce the ranks of thousands of firefighters who have been working to tackle the wildfires.
Madrid is grappling with one of the country’s worst fire seasons in decades, a situation that scientists say was exacerbated by climate change, which makes heat and dryness more frequent and intense. This year’s fires have killed at least four people and ripped through around 1,475 square miles, according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System.
Odds and Ends
Sweden is giving a new meaning to holy roller. A 113-year-old church in Sweden hit the road Tuesday on a 3-mile journey east. Sweden’s 672-ton wooden Kiruna Church was hoisted onto beams to start its two-day roll across town to a new city center. The event included much fanfare, including a blessing from the church’s vicar, musical performances from Sweden’s 2025 Eurovision entry, and an appearance by the Swedish king. This is the latest move in a multidecade-long operation to relocate an entire Arctic town and its population in response to ground subsidence from the world’s largest underground iron ore mine. —Claire Schnatterbeck