Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive in Rafah "with or without" a truce with Hamas in Gaza.

The establishment of an independent, geographically and politically integrated Palestinian state is imperative for both regional and global peace, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has reiterated Türkiye's steadfast commitment to standing by the Palestinians amidst relentless Israeli strikes on the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Ankara will continue to exert all its efforts to ensure those responsible for the deaths of over 34,000 civilians in Gaza are brought to justice, Fidan said in a social media post late on April 29.

Efforts persist to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with the latter considering a proposed 40-day truce from Israel. The proposal entails the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the ceasefire, prompting Hamas to deliberate over its response. US President Joe Biden has engaged in discussions with leaders from Qatar and Egypt to facilitate peace talks.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have reportedly launched attacks on four ships in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, as per Reuters. The container ship MSC Orion was targeted with a drone in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, flagged by Portugal and owned by Zodiac Maritime, was en route from Portugal to Oman.

Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests that have upended college campuses across the United States, began suspending student demonstrators on Monday after they defied an ultimatum to disperse.

Hamas was studying Tuesday Israel's offer of a 40-day truce in the war in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of scores of hostages held since the Oct. 7 attacks.

Turkey is attempting the impossible by trying to reestablish a productive relationship with the US while declaring his unreserved support for Hamas, and Congress may be gearing up to push back. After suffering his greatest electoral defeat on March 31, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attempting to rebuild his image with Turkish voters. His first move instituting trade restrictions on Israel.

Several European member states are expected to recognise Palestinian statehood by the end of May, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday at the sidelines of a World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This part of the world has always been full of surprises. The most recent came on Friday afternoon when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the United States and Israel, and said he was calling off a planned visit to Washington.