What The Hell America!

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at negotiations for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, China’s low-level attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue, and Ukraine accusing Russia of stalling peace talks.

Truce Proposal

Hamas said on Friday that it was still reviewing a U.S. proposal for a 60-day cease-fire with Israel—which Israel agreed to the day before—and added that it is consulting with other Palestinian factions.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at negotiations for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, China’s low-level attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue, and Ukraine accusing Russia of stalling peace talks.

Truce Proposal

Hamas said on Friday that it was still reviewing a U.S. proposal for a 60-day cease-fire with Israel—which Israel agreed to the day before—and added that it is consulting with other Palestinian factions.

Hamas initially said on Thursday that the proposal “fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people” and shows that Israel “fundamentally seeks to entrench the occupation and perpetuate policies of killing and starvation, even during what is supposed to be a period of temporary de-escalation.” However, the group did not outright reject the deal at that time and said its officials were “undertaking a thorough and responsible review” of it.

Although the details of the plan, put forward by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff with help from Egypt and Qatar, have not been made public, reports indicate that the cease-fire would last 60 days; Hamas would release 28 Israeli hostages (10 living and 18 deceased) during the first week in exchange for 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 Palestinians. There are 58 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

As soon as the truce went into effect, Israel would cease all military operations in Gaza and begin to allow more humanitarian aid into the territory. This assistance would be delivered via the United Nations, the Red Crescent, and other agreed-upon channels.

If further negotiations to secure a permanent cease-fire did not conclude within the 60 days, then the deal could be extended. Once a permanent truce is agreed on, Hamas would then be required to release the remaining 30 hostages.

However, according to Hamas, the U.S. proposal does not guarantee aid deliveries into Gaza, does not commit to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, and does not include language about what would happen after the initial 60 days expires. This is “far from what Hamas agreed to with the American mediator,” Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri told Houthi-owned Yemeni media outlet al-Masirah.

Recent cease-fire efforts have stalled as both sides refuse to concede major sticking points in the war. Namely, these include Israel demanding that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a governing force, and return all 58 hostages before the war ends. Meanwhile, Hamas refuses to give up its weapons and has argued that Israel must first pull its troops from Gaza and commit to ending the conflict.

At the same time, Gaza’s humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. On Friday, Israeli airstrikes killed 27 people, according to hospital officials. The United Nations’ humanitarian affairs agency also accused Israel of blocking all but a trickle of aid from entering Gaza, creating “the hungriest place on Earth” at a time when a controversial new aid distribution system—also backed by Washington—has wreaked havoc on southern Gaza.

Today’s Most Read

What We’re Following

Shangri-La attendance. The Shangri-La Dialogue kicked off in Singapore on Friday with one notable absence: Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun. Although Beijing has previously sent its top defense diplomat to the security conference, Dong sent a lower-level delegation in his place this year to discuss the country’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

This comes in stark contrast to the United States, which sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to give what experts expect will be the Pentagon’s most comprehensive public outline of U.S. defense priorities in the region since President Donald Trump began his second term in January.

But while many defense officials at Shangri-La are prioritizing tackling U.S.-China tensions and rising Indo-Pacific threats, European leaders warned the international community not to lose sight on efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

“If you consider that Russia could be allowed to take a part of the territory of Ukraine without any restriction, without any constraint, without any reaction of the global order, how would you phrase what would happen in Taiwan?” French President Emmanuel Macron asked, adding, “What would you do the day something happened in” the Philippines?

Unknown peace terms. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia on Friday of purposefully stalling peace negotiations by failing to share a promised memorandum outlining Moscow’s terms.

Both sides agreed to provide that information following a round of direct talks in Istanbul earlier this month, and Kyiv claims to have already submitted its terms to both Russia and the United States. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Moscow’s memorandum could not “be made public” and would instead be submitted during the next round of dialogue in Istanbul, scheduled for Monday. Both sides have agreed to attend the meeting in theory, but Sybiha has warned that Kyiv may only show up if Russia’s terms are provided beforehand.

“We are interested in seeing these meetings continue because we want the war to end this year,” Sybiha said, adding that Moscow “must accept an unconditional cease-fire” to allow broader negotiations to take place. Russia, however, appears to remain largely uninterested in an immediate truce, instead focusing on the so-called “root causes” of the war, such as Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.

New mediation body. Representatives from more than 30 countries convened in Hong Kong on Friday to establish a global mediation-based dispute resolution group. Called the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation, the body aims to provide “Chinese wisdom” to resolve conflicts between nations and “move beyond the zero-sum mindset of ‘you lose, and I win,’” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Beijing maintains that this is the first intergovernmental legal organization to focus on mediation and that it will be vital to help safeguard the principles of the U.N. Charter. But some experts worry that it could also further China’s global south ambitions. Beijing has long aimed to be a leader among developing nations, and with Trump’s trade war isolating Washington from the rest of the world, China is hoping to bolster its arbitration credentials and establish a reputation on par with the International Court of Justice.

Odds and Ends

Archaeologists in Guatemala have newly discovered a vast complex of pyramids, sanctuaries, and even a canal system belonging to the ancient Mayan people, Guatemala’s Culture Ministry announced on Thursday. Stretching across three areas near the sacred Mayan site of Uaxactún, the ruins are believed to be nearly 3,000 years old. “These sites form a previously unknown urban triangle whose existence we were unaware of until now,” the ministry said. “These new archeological discoveries constitute a testament of Mayan culture’s greatness, which today we are making known to the whole world.”