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he war in Gaza has hardened positions in the Middle East and around the globe. But two men, an Israeli and a Palestinian, say that after that war began in 2023, they became like brothers. It is a brotherhood born out of trauma and one recounted in their forthcoming book, The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.

Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon lived parallel lives. Both ran travel agencies and believed that travel and education could bring societies closer together. They first met a decade ago over tea in Jerusalem, where Abu Sarah, a Palestinian, was born, and they stayed in touch over the years on Facebook.

The Hamas-led attack on Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023, changed everything.

Inon's parents, Bilha and Yakovi Inon, were among the more than 1,100 people killed in that attack. Militants killed them at their home in Netiv HaAsara, near Israel's border with Gaza.

Inon was in northern Israel that day. In the aftermath, he says it was Abu Sarah who reached out and saved him "from falling down into the trauma, into the pain, drowning in this ocean of sorrow and agony."

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A U.S.-sanctioned Chinese tanker tested President Trump’s new blockade on travel through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, passing through the trading corridor to the Gulf of Oman.

Under Trump’s blockade, which began on Monday morning, the U.S. military says it is blocking Iranian ports and stopping vessels that paid tolls to Iran.

Rich Starry, a medium-range tanker, traveled through the strait on Monday afternoon, making it through the waterway on a second attempt, according to shipping data from Kpler. The ship is carrying around 250,000 barrels of methanol, Reuters reported.

The ship flies under the Malawi flag, but the African country has stated that it has no official registration for ships. The vessel has a Chinese crew on board, according to Reuters.

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The pro-Israel advocacy group J Street is now calling for an end to "direct" US military support to Israel, per a new policy document published on Monday. 

The group had previously backed Washington's continued provision of defensive weapons systems, such as the replenishment of Israel's Iron Dome, at no cost to Israelis. 

Now, it says the US "should continue to sell" short-range air and ballistic missile defence capabilities to Israel, but Israel should use its own money to pay for them. 

"Israel faces real security challenges that require a significant defense investment. With a per capita GDP comparable to leading US allies such as the United Kingdom, France and Japan, as well as an annual defense budget of over $45 billion, it has the financial means to address these challenges," J Street said. 

"It does not require almost $4 billion per year in US financial subsidies to purchase weapons," it added.

"Continuing this assistance is both unnecessary and politically counterproductive, creating avoidable tensions in US domestic politics and in the bilateral relationship."

The way the current military aid package operates is that the US provides Israel with American taxpayer funds, and those funds are put into US weapons companies to acquire equipment.

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Peter Magyar, Hungary’s newly elected opposition leader, said Monday that Ukraine alone must determine the conditions of any peace settlement with Russia, while also opposing Kyiv’s accelerated path toward European Union membership.

“No one should tell Ukraine under what conditions it must enter peace or sign a peace treaty,” Magyar said in remarks to reporters. “We cannot ask any country to give up its territory. If they do, they would be considered traitors.”

Magyar acknowledged Ukraine as the victim of the conflict but struck a cautious tone on his own potential role in diplomacy. Asked whether he would engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said he would answer a phone call but would not initiate contact.

“If Vladimir Putin calls me, I will pick up the phone,” Magyar said. “I will not call him myself, but if we do talk, I can tell him to please stop the killing now, after four years.” He added that he did not expect his words to carry decisive influence with the Russian leader but expressed hope that Putin would ultimately be compelled to end the war regardless.

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Wrapped in bloodied bandages, Aline ⁠Saeed, ⁠seven, barely survived the Israeli strike on her ⁠home in south Lebanon last week. She was there to bury her father as hopes of a truce ​spread across the region, but a new strike killed her infant sister and other relatives.

The strike on the Saeed family home in the village of Srifa took ‌place on Wednesday, the first day of a ‌U.S.-Iran ceasefire https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ that many in Lebanon hoped would apply to their country, too. Instead, Israeli strikes killed more than 350 across Lebanon and left ⁠the Saeed family with ⁠four more relatives to bury.

"They said it was a ceasefire. Like all these people, we ​went up to the village. We went to the casket to read the prayers and walk home... suddenly we felt like a storm was landing right on us," said Nasser Saeed, Aline's 64-year-old grandfather, who also survived.

On Sunday, he joined other relatives in the southern port city of Tyre to pick up the bodies wrapped in green cloth. ​One of them, a fraction the size of the rest, contained his granddaughter Taleen, Aline's sister.

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The UK Royal Navy may be forced to request military support from France to intercept Russian vessels in British waters as the fleet struggles to meet operational commitments, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, April 12.

Senior naval planners at Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth have reportedly concluded that UK forces “need help” from Paris to conduct boarding operations and provide “overwatch” for sanctioned tankers. The revelation comes despite an official denial from the UK Ministry of Defence, which stated on Saturday night that “UK waters remain protected and monitored 24/7.”

The capability gap was highlighted by reports that the UK currently has only one submarine and two frigates available for immediate operations. Last week, the Kremlin sent three submarines into northern UK waters to potentially sabotage undersea cables while HMS Dragon, Britain’s only available destroyer, was deployed to the Mediterranean.

In a further display of defiance, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich recently escorted a pair of “shadow fleet” ships through the English Channel, despite UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s earlier vows to seize such vessels.

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