The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war is over 32,000. Among those killed in Gaza are 196 aid workers, including seven World Central Kitchen workers who died in an Israeli air strike last Monday.
GUANGZHOU, China—The U.S. and China committed to hold more talks about key threats to the global economy, including the risk of a glut of cheap China-made goods that the Biden administration warns will slam American companies.
Why it matters: That agreement is the immediate result of hours-long meetings between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her counterpart in China—a very minor step aimed at cooling tensions around overproduction concerns.
President Biden on Friday sent letters to the President of Egypt and the Emir of Qatar asking them to press Hamas to agree to a hostage deal that will lead to a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, a senior U.S. official said.
Why it matters: CIA director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo this weekend for talks with the head of Israel's Mossad and top Qatari and Egyptian officials in an effort to break the deadlock in negotiations to secure the release of hostages being held in Gaza.
President Biden laid out an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their call on Thursday: If Israel doesn't change course in Gaza, "we won't be able to support you," he said, according to three sources with knowledge of the call.
Why it matters: Biden didn't specify what a loss of U.S. support would entail and he didn't mention the possibility of stopping weapons shipments to Israel, the sources said. But it was the president's toughest call with Netanyahu since the Oct. 7 attacks — both in tone and in substance.
An internal investigation by the Israeli militaryconcluded that the strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza earlier this week that killed seven aid workers was "a serious violation" of the Israeli Defense Forces' rules and operating procedures, the IDF said Friday.
Why it matters: The swift investigation and the subsequent decision to take disciplinary steps against top officers shows that the IDF is taking the incident more seriously than previous cases, as Israel faces intensifying global scrutiny of its actions in Gaza.
McDonald's has agreed to buy all of its Israel franchises from local operator Alonyal Ltd., which includes 225 stores with more than 5,000 employees.
Why it matters: Alonyal last October sparked global boycotts against McDonald's, particularly in some Muslim-majority countries, after saying it would donate free meals to the Israeli military.
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday approved a resolution calling on countries to halt the transfer and sale of weapons to Israel.
Why it matters: The resolution, while non-binding, ratchets up international pressure on Israel amid rising concerns over the humanitarian toll of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
GUANGZHOU, China— Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told U.S. executives in southern China on Friday that it's neither "practical nor desirable" to cut off economic relations with the country — even as the Biden administration is moving to contain huge business threats from China.
Why it matters: Yellen is aiming to strike a balance between calling out China for "unfair practices" she said were hurting American firms — while highlighting the importance of maintaining U.S.-China economic ties.
CIA director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo this weekend for talks with Mossad's chief and top Qatari and Egyptian officials in an effort to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, two sources with direct knowledge told Axios.
Why it matters: The meeting will take place after President Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Thursday "to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home."
