Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a week of violence between Israel and Palestine, new U.S.-India defense and tech agreements, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s first day on trial.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has been rocked by a disturbing escalation in violence by Israeli forces, settlers, and Palestinian militants in the past week that has many worried the conflict is moving into a new phase. This included two Israeli settler attacks on West Bank villages on Thursday that injured at least six Palestinians and set fire to a Palestinian school.

Attacks and operations on all sides are becoming bigger, more militarized, and deadlier, with the type of weaponry being deployed now not seen since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. This week alone, at least 10 Palestinians and four Israelis were killed—bringing the total number of people killed this year to at least 155 Palestinians and 23 Israelis. “The current situation is unprecedented,” Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf during her visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, “and we will not remain silent amid the Israeli escalation.”

Fighting first erupted on Monday when an Israeli raid aimed at arresting two suspected Palestinian militants turned deadly in the West Bank city of Jenin, which has long been a central flash point of tensions. The raid quickly spiraled into one of the most intense rounds of fighting in years: Reports indicate Palestinian militants set off a roadside bomb to push back Israeli forces. Under fire, Israel then deployed Apache combat helicopters to open fire and extricate troops, an extremely rare move. Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and injured more than 90 others. Eight Israeli troops were also injured in the clash.

The following day, Hamas militants killed four Israelis at a restaurant in the West Bank settlement of Eli in response to Monday’s raid. Four other Israelis were injured in the attack. In response, around 400 armed Israeli settlers led a deadly rampage through the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya on Wednesday, killing one Palestinian and injuring 12 others. That same day, Israeli military forces killed three people in a rare drone strike near Jenin while targeting a “terrorist cell” inside a suspicious vehicle. It was the first such drone strike in the West Bank since 2006, another sign that Israeli military maneuvers are intensifying.

This all comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government is taking steps likely to further inflame the situation. On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved a resolution expediting the process for approving West Bank settlement construction despite the fact that these settlements are illegal under international law. And on Wednesday, Netanyahu announced a move to fast-track the establishment of 1,000 new Israeli housing units in Eli, just 24 hours after Hamas militants killed four Israelis there. “Our answer to terrorism is to strike at it forcefully and build up our country,” Netanyahu said in a statement with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

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You’ve got a friend in me. Day two of U.S. President Joe Biden’s talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi resulted in a series of sweeping new agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. Much of their discussions centered on military advancement, with the two leaders signing deals that allow the joint production of jet-fighter engines in India, grant the U.S. Navy access to Indian shipyards for repairs, and provide U.S.-made MQ-9B drones to India as part of their “next generation defense partnership.” India also agreed to join Washington’s Artemis Accords and work with NASA to conduct a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.

Alongside defense agreements, Washington and New Delhi announced new efforts to collaborate on supply chains, with a focus on diversification and technology advancement. The world’s two largest democracies also agreed to advance joint telecommunication capabilities and expand artificial intelligence research—all in an effort to combat China’s growing global influence.

Gavel him in. Queue the Law and Order theme song, because the former leader of Latin America’s largest democracy began a long-awaited trial on Thursday. Ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stands accused of making false election claims after insisting to dozens of foreign diplomats that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud. Seven judges will determine the legality of Bolsonaro’s actions, with deliberations expected to take days or even months. If found guilty, the far-right leader could be barred from running for public office for eight years.

This case is the first of 16 electoral charges filed against Bolsonaro, which also include leaning on the federal police to protect his sons, spreading disinformation from the presidential office, and inciting a Jan. 8 riot in Brasília, the capital.

It’s getting hot in here. Chinese residents are rushing to raise the air conditioning. Beijing on Thursday recorded its hottest June day since record-keeping began in 1961. With thermometers hitting almost 108 degrees Fahrenheit, authorities are worried China’s heat wave will only get worse.

Extreme temperatures are nothing new for China; beginning in April, a record-breaking heat wave spread across the country. But climate change has only exacerbated their deadliness. Last month, a World Weather Attribution study found that climate change made heat waves 30 times more likely in Asia. And earlier on Thursday, Chinese officials issued an orange alert, the second-most severe weather warning, until Saturday in anticipation of more 100+-degree weather.

Talk about taking an extended vacation: Guest Ankush Dutta booked a room at New Delhi’s five-star luxury Roseate House hotel on May 30, 2019, for one day. Fast forward 603 nights—and $70,000 in unpaid bills—and Dutta was still there. Local police are now investigating the man’s nearly two-year allegedly fraudulent stay as well as several employees who potentially conspired with Dutta to manipulate the hotel’s database, which tracks guests’ stays and financial accounts. Maybe the hotel just had really good room service?