Financial Times - Various Authors / Hamas accepts hostage-for-prisoner swap proposal
 

• Hamas has said it has broadly accepted a proposal to free dozens of Israeli hostages and secure a temporary ceasefire in the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza. 

• Israel responded on Monday by saying the proposal fell “far from Israel’s necessary requirements” and vowed to press ahead with its military offensive in Rafah, the southern Gazan city where more than 1mn people have sought sanctuary. 

• But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government would dispatch mediators for further talks “to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel”. 

• Hamas announced it had accepted the proposed hostage release in a statement quoting Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian militant group’s Doha-based political leader, saying he had informed officials from Qatar and Egypt, which have been mediating between the warring parties alongside the US.

   

The Washington Post - Abigail Hauslohner / For Biden, a tough call looms on whether Israel violated laws in Gaza
 

• The Biden administration is expected to notify Congress this week whether it believes Israel has violated U.S. or international law in Gaza, a determination with significant moral and political stakes for President Biden. 

• The forthcoming report, portions of which are expected to be made public after its transmission to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, arrives at a difficult time for U.S.-Israeli relations, as President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tangle over Israel’s defiance of Washington’s warnings about its conduct of a war and blockade that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and triggered the onset of famine. 

• A finding by the administration that Israel has violated U.S. or international law will almost certainly amplify calls for a suspension of American military aid, and is sure to anger conservatives who have railed against American criticisms of the Jewish state, as well as centrist political donors and many voters as Biden mounts a difficult reelection bid. 

• Yet to conclude otherwise, amid the conflict’s enormous civilian toll, would risk a backlash from liberals.

  
  Related article: Politico - Joe Stanley-Smith / UN denounces ‘onslaught of violence against women’ by Israel, notes mass graves in Gaza

SCMP - Ralph Jennings / China’s belt and road, once a hotspot for European investment, is getting the cold shoulder
 

• Though some multinational companies from Europe still see promise in projects aligned with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, acting on that potential is more difficult than it was 10 years ago thanks to deep geopolitical complications and fundamental differences of opinion on how best to build infrastructure. 

• Duisport, the German operator of Europe’s largest inland hub for water and land shipping, has invested US$30 million in a cross-border railway hub in Chongqing, an important logistics node for the initiative – China’s global strategy to enhance regional connectivity through infrastructure. 

• “China is one of the fields where we see growth potential,” said Duisport Chief Executive Officer Markus Bangen, citing a 15 per cent surge in container traffic related to the country for his company over the past decade. 

• Other headline projects include railways, airports and power plants, with firms in France, the Netherlands and the UK pitching in at various levels. Some more indirect aid involved letting China invest in European infrastructure that links up with belt and road projects.

   

Bloomberg - William Horobin, Samy Adghirni and Li Liu / Xi Urges Macron to Help China to Avoid a ‘New Cold War’
 

• Chinese President Xi Jinping called on France to help fend off a “new Cold War” as the European Union increasingly aligns with US concerns over security risks and trade tensions. 

• He told French President Emmanuel Macron the two nations should uphold mutual benefits, and jointly oppose decoupling and the disruption of supply chains, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing comments made during talks between the two leaders on Monday. 

• Xi is in Paris on a state visit before heading to Serbia and Hungary in his first trip to the bloc in five years. He is hoping to convince Europeans that Beijing offers an economic opportunity despite warnings from officials in Washington about the risks. 

• The EU and China have found themselves at odds on multiple fronts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and international commerce. Distrust toward Beijing in Brussels is growing, shown by a recent flurry of arrests of alleged Chinese spies and a salvo of trade probes. And China’s declaration of a “no limits” friendship with Moscow has helped Russia weather unprecedented sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.

Our opinion articles for today:

Foreign Affairs - Mariana Mazzucato and Sarah Doyle / Biden’s Incomplete Industrial Policy
Foreign Policy - Andrei Lungu / Washington Keeps Choosing the Wrong Moment to Challenge China