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First Thing: Scramble to shore up ceasefire as Israel hits Gaza with deadly strikes

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IDF says attack followed Hamas killing of two soldiers, but both sides say they are committed to ceasefire. Plus, No Kings protesters on their hopes for resistance movement against Trump
IDF says attack followed Hamas killing of two soldiers, but both sides say they are committed to ceasefire. Plus, No Kings protesters on their hopes for resistance movement against Trump
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Good morning.
Israel launched waves of lethal airstrikes yesterday and cut off all aid into Gaza “until further notice” after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire.
Two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the Hamas attack. Palestinian officials said at least 28 people died in the retaliatory airstrikes. Israeli fire also killed three people near the ceasefire line on Monday, medics said.
A senior Egyptian official said “round-the-clock” contacts were under way in an effort to de-escalate the situation as regional powers scrambled to shore up the ceasefire. Hopes rose that a complete collapse could be avoided after Hamas and the Israeli military issued statements that said they were committed to the agreement.

What is the US doing to help maintain the ceasefire? Senior US officials, possibly including the vice-president, JD Vance, are expected to arrive in Israel in the coming days for what observers said was a clear effort to hold the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the deal signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this month.Trump suggests carving up Ukraine’s Donbas region to end war after meeting Zelenskyy
Donald Trump has suggested the best way to end the war in Ukraine would be to “cut up” the country’s Donbas region in a way that would leave most of it under Russian control, after reportedly pushing his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a White House meeting to give up swaths of territory.
“Let it be cut the way it is,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One yesterday.

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