Gaza latest: Bibi unfazed, ceasefire goes nowhere, India in it

​Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 17, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 17, 2023.
MENAHEM KAHANA/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli envoy Ron Dermer is in Washington this week for talks about when and how Israel might end its assault on the Gaza strip. International calls for a ceasefire continue to grow, and even the US – Israel’s staunchest ally – has gently warned Israel about the risks of an endless quagmire.

Still, Dermer’s boss, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, seems unfazed, visiting IDF troops in Gaza earlier this week and pledging to continue the assault on Gaza until “victory.”

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, he said that means “destroying” Hamas and “deradicalizing the whole of Palestinian society.” How that will be achieved is, of course, an open question. So far, Israel’s response to the October 7th Hamas massacre has killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza and displaced nearly 2 million.

Crickets for Cairo: Both Israel and Hamas had little to say about a recent Egyptian ceasefire proposal that envisioned Hamas releasing hostages, Israel withdrawing from Gaza, and a new government for the Palestinian territories. Hamas says it’s not interested in “temporary” truces.

Regional tremors continue: An Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday killed a senior Iranian military figure who reportedly oversaw weapons shipments to Hezbollah, and the US struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq in retaliation for a drone strike on US troops.

India jumps in: In a sign of the widening global impact of the Gaza war, India has sent warships to the Red Sea to protect vessels carrying cargo to and from the subcontinent.

The move came a day after a drone, allegedly from Iran, struck a tanker off the Indian coast. Iran-backed Houthi rebels, meanwhile, have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for weeks in solidarity with Hamas, prompting the US to lead an international maritime security coalition in the region.

India, in contrast to much of the “Global South”, has signaled support for Israel. New Delhi has deepened ties with the Jewish state under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, whom rights groups have accused of discriminating against India’s Muslim minority at home.

More from GZERO Media

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on July 8, 2025.
Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

At first glance, Russia has coped well under the weight of Ukraine-related Western sanctions, but clouds are starting to circle on Moscow.

Riot police officers fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during anti-government protests dubbed “Saba Saba People’s March,” in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, Kenya, on July 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Suleiman Mbatiah

Kenya’s president orders police to shoot at protesters, European nuclear powers expand umbrella, and US President Donald Trump goes after Brazil.

Hezbollah beat on their chests as a sign of mourning during a mass rally to mark Ashoura, commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration’s envoy to Lebanon, Tom Barrack, received a stunning proposal from the Lebanese government– a plan to disarm Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Shia militia group that has dominated Lebanon’s politics and fought two major wars with Israel over the past 20 years.