Reuters World News Summary

The comments from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said he would not agree to setting up a military government in the enclave, reflect growing unease in the security establishment at the lack of direction from Netanyahu over who will be left to run Gaza when the fighting stops. Zelenskiy visits Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv as Russian pressure mounts in east Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday to boost morale and reinforce troops in the region where Russian forces are trying to press their new offensive beyond border areas.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

US House votes to force weapons shipments to Israel, rebuking Biden

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with Hamas. The Israel Security Assistance Support Act was approved 224 to 187, largely along party lines. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure.

Slovak PM Fico in serious but stable condition, can speak a little, says ally

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a serious but stable condition and is able to speak a little, the country's president-elect said on Thursday, a day after an assassination attempt that sent shock waves across Europe. The shooting was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years, and has drawn international condemnation. Political analysts and lawmakers say it has exposed an increasingly febrile and polarised political climate both in Slovakia and across Europe.

Israel moves into north Gaza Hamas stronghold, pounds Rafah without advancing

Israel's tanks pushed into the heart of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Thursday, facing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs from militants concentrated there, while in the south, its forces pounded Rafah without advancing, Palestinian residents and militants said. The slow progress of Israel's offensive, more than seven months after it was prompted by Hamas' deadly cross-border raid, highlighted the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aim of eradicating the militant group.

Israeli hostage to UN: We can't normalize this unprecedented terror

Shoshan Haran, her daughter and two grandchildren were taken hostage by Hamas militants in Israel on Oct. 7. On Thursday, Haran recalled the effects of 50 days in captivity on her three-year-old granddaughter when they were finally released. "Three weeks after we were released, Yahel only whispers, too afraid to make a noise. She hid from everyone, too afraid to go outside. She wet the bed and had nightmares, too afraid she may be captured again," Haran told an informal U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, convened by the United States.

Brazil flooding forces plan for 'tent cities' to house the displaced

Brazil's southernmost state is planning at least four "tent cities" to accommodate some 8,000 people currently in improvised shelters due to the historic floods that have devastated the region. Heavy rains since the end of April caused record floods that killed at least 151 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and left more than 100 still missing, according to state officials.

Panama weighs more checkpoints in treacherous jungle increasingly crossed by migrants

Panama's next government is considering erecting new checkpoints along a stretch of thick jungle on its southern border that has become a treacherous part of the journey for growing masses of U.S.-bound migrants, the incoming security chief said on Thursday. The additional checkpoints, where deportation orders could be issued to migrants, appear to be part of President-elect Jose Raul Mulino's campaign pledge to close the so-called Darien Gap, even though he has yet to announce a detailed plan.

Top NATO commander says Russian troop numbers insufficient for Kharkiv breakthrough

NATO's top commander said on Thursday he did not believe Russia's military has deployed enough troops to make a strategic breakthrough in the region around Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. General Christopher Cavoli, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, said he was confident Ukrainian forces would hold their lines in the region.

Israeli cabinet rifts over Gaza break out into the open

Israeli government splits over the war in Gaza broke open this week, after the Defence Minister publicly demanded a clear strategy from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as troops returned to battle Hamas fighters in areas thought to have been cleared months ago. The comments from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said he would not agree to setting up a military government in the enclave, reflect growing unease in the security establishment at the lack of direction from Netanyahu over who will be left to run Gaza when the fighting stops.

Zelenskiy visits Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv as Russian pressure mounts in east

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday to boost morale and reinforce troops in the region where Russian forces are trying to press their new offensive beyond border areas. Moscow has made inroads of at least several kilometres into the north of Kharkiv region since Friday, forcing Kyiv's outmanned troops to try to hold the line on a new front as Russia mounts more pressure on the front in the east.

Putin and Xi pledge a new era and condemn the United States

China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday pledged a "new era" of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States, which they cast as an aggressive Cold War hegemon sowing chaos across the world. Xi greeted Putin on a red carpet outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where they were hailed by marching People's Liberation Army soldiers, a 21-gun salute on Tiananmen Square and children waving the flags of China and Russia.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)