The Guardian

Israelis gather to commemorate the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack in which 1,200 people were killed. This live blog is closed
Deborah Cole is Berlin correspondent for the Guardian
Germany marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October attacks with sombre commemorations across the country and official flags pulled to half mast.
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In two years there have been many versions of a ‘day after’ plan for Gaza and many obstacles to overcome
George Mitchell, the great US advocate for the Northern Ireland peace agreement, described diplomacy as 700 days of failure and one of success. In Gaza, tragically, there have been 730 days of failure and none of success. Indeed, the destruction, the death toll and the spillover of the conflict into other countries is a monument to shame diplomacy and what remains of international law. Arguably, it is the profession’s lowest point since 1939.
Some will claim failure is inevitable since this conflict is now so embedded and impervious to compromise that it can only be settled at the barrel of the gun, in essence through the repression or erasure of one side.
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Allies of President Nicolás Maduro vow to resist any military intervention but experts suspect Venezuela’s leaders were rattled by Trump’s decision to bomb Iran
The mayor of Caracas had come to one of her city’s busiest tube stations wearing a camouflage T-shirt declaring herself a card-carrying combatant – and with a message to match.
“They think they’re the owners of the world,” Carmen Meléndez complained of the Trump administration and its pressure campaign against Venezuela’s government. “But if they dare [to invade] we’ll be waiting for them here.”
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Negotiators have gathered in Egypt to discuss the US president’s 20-point plan. Is an end to the war finally in sight?
On the face of it, Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan looked far from promising. It was created with a notable lack of Palestinian input, at a time when Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was mounting a ferocious attack on Gaza City. And there was criticism that the plan lacked detail.
Yet now negotiators are gathering in Cairo and there is real momentum behind the talks. The Guardian diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, tells Nosheen Iqbal: “There’s a big prize there for Israel because they could get the release of all the remaining hostages. It’s whether they’re willing to pay the price that will be asked for that to happen.”
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This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest reports here:
Gaza flotilla members allege beatings and insults in Israeli detention
Israel and Hamas begin indirect talks as hopes rise of ending Gaza war
Iran signalled its support for Trump’s Gaza plan, with the country’s foreign ministry saying it supports any initiative that brings an end to the genocide of Palestinian people.
Iran’s foreign ministry wrote in a post on X:
Taking into account the dangerous dimensions and aspects of this proposal, and while reiterating its warning about the repeated breaches and obstructionism by the Zionist regime in fulfilling its promises, especially in light of its expansionist and racist plans, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers any decision in this regard to be within the authority of the Palestinian people and resistance.
It welcomes any decision by them that guarantees halting the genocide of Palestinians, the withdrawal of the occupying Zionist army from Gaza, respect for the Palesti..

Hamas’s acceptance of key conditions of deal galvanises momentum but large gaps remain between camps
Israel and Hamas have begun indirect talks in Egypt on a US ceasefire proposal amid cautious optimism that the nearly two-year war in Gaza may be nearing its end, despite deep divisions between the two sides.
Negotiations will focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The three issues constitute the first phase of a 20-point plan presented by the US president, Donald Trump, last week that aims to end the war.
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Presidents spoke on a video call as expert speculates that Haiti could be an area where the two leaders can cooperate
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has urged Donald Trump to scrap tariffs on his country’s imports and sanctions against its officials, as the two men held what the Brazilian presidency called a “friendly” video call, swapping phone numbers after months of friction.
Ties between the US and Brazil have nosedived as a result of Trump’s campaign to pressure Brazilian authorities into abandoning the coup trial of his far-right ally, Jair Bolsonaro.
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US state department spokesperson says officials unable to shop ‘while Iranian people endure poverty’
Iranian officials at the UN summit this week won’t be able to shop in New York after the US government barred them from purchasing everything from bulk household goods to expensive watches.
The restrictions on the visiting Iranians were described by a state department spokesman as “maximum pressure”.
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Having exhausted a failed policy of appeasement, the US president may at last be ready to put pressure on Moscow
The judgment of a man who fails to distinguish between aggressor and victim when describing the Russia-Ukraine war is not worthy of respect. Unfortunately, when that man is the US president, his opinion cannot be ignored.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump asserted that Vladimir Putin had “all the cards” and urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make peace in terms that resembled surrender. This week, Mr Trump declared that Kyiv might achieve total victory, liberating all territory currently under Russian occupation.
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Ukrainian president tells world leaders that combination of drone technology and AI would end in catastrophe
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to global leaders to intervene to prevent Russia from leading the world through “the most destructive arms race in human history”, warning that the combination of drone technology and artificial intelligence would end in catastrophe.
Speaking to the UN general assembly, the Ukrainian president tried to galvanise not just the west but also China. His chilling account of how Russia is using technology to change the face of war was the opposite of Donald Trump’s claim that Russia’s military may only be a paper tiger.
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