Fdd's overnight brief

Israel

Israel said it sent ground troops back into the center and south of the Gaza Strip, expanding a military operation that began with airstrikes a day earlier that Palestinian authorities said killed hundreds of people. – Wall Street Journal

Cunio, like dozens of Israelis whose relatives are still in captivity, said she was shocked and terrified by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to restart the war. The massive airstrikes were followed Wednesday by further bombing and the deployment of Israeli ground forces into a strategic corridor dividing the Gaza Strip. – Washington Post

On Tuesday, after weeks of fruitless talks to extend the cease-fire, Israeli warplanes bombarded cities up and down the Gaza Strip, and the counting began again. More than 400 people were killed in the strikes, according to Gaza’s health ministry, whose figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. – New York Times

Thousands of Israelis gathered on Wednesday outside the Parliament building in Jerusalem to call for a renewed cease-fire deal in Gaza and to protest political moves by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including firing the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency. – New York Times

At least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign on the enclave, a Gaza health official said. – Reuters

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with the Houthis intensified, amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to punish Iran over its perceived support for the Yemeni militant group. – Reuters

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday there was still a bridge proposal that would extend the ceasefire” in Gaza but the opportunity for it was “closing fast.” – Reuters

Hamas said that talks with mediators were ongoing on Thursday to halt the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which resumed two days ago, and to push Israel to abide by the ceasefire deal. – Reuters

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Wednesday that medics were struggling to manage a sharp increase in casualties over the last 36 hours due to the resumption of ground operations by Israel in the Gaza Strip. – Reuters

A Bulgarian national working for the United Nations died on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, citing preliminary information. – Reuters

Hamas has allegedly told mediators that they are willing to accept any proposal to release Israeli hostages if it includes a resumption of a ceasefire, according to UK-based Qatari news organization Al-Araby Al-Jadeed’s report on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post

Seventeen Thai and Nepalese workers were killed in Kibbutz Alumim by Hamas invaders on October 7, even as not a single Israeli kibbutz resident was killed – though five security forces were – because there was no real plan to protect them. This is the point of clarification gathered from the IDF’s probe of the kibbutz on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post

Israeli tanks entered the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon, The Jerusalem Post has learned. This confirmation comes after Palestinian reports in the Gaza Strip of IDF tank sitings. – Jerusalem Post

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office informed cabinet members on Wednesday night that they would hold a vote the next day at 9:30 p.m on the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, which would mark the first time a government has dismissed the security agency’s chief. – Times of Israel

When US Senator John Fetterman said he loved the Israeli operation that sent exploding pagers to members of Hezbollah, he probably never expected that Israel would give him a beeper, too. – Times of Israel

Editorial: Bringing Ben-Gvir and his party back gives the government some much-needed breathing room. Was this Netanyahu’s calculation? There is no way to know for sure. Those inclined to defend him will say, of course not – he wouldn’t risk lives to preserve his government. Those less charitable will say, of course, it was. What is clear is that the timing does nothing to bolster national unity or reinforce the idea that this operation was unavoidable – both essential elements when launching a major military action. On October 7, no one questioned Netanyahu’s reasons for going to war. Now, many do – undermining the sense of national purpose and solidarity that was once so clear. – Jerusalem Post

Eric R. Mandel writes: Ending military aid to Israel could move from the fringes of American politics to the mainstream. For the Democratic party, it will be as a punishment for Israel’s occupation of the disputed territories. For Republicans, it will be perceived as essential cost savings so monies can be used at home. Regardless of the reason, now is the time for Israel to address this issue head-on before a future Republican isolationist or Progressive Democratic president takes the initiative first with a compliant Congress. – Jerusalem Post

Russia & Ukraine

Detention of civilians has emerged as one of Moscow’s preferred tools to consolidate its hold over the 20% of Ukrainian territory it controls. Anything perceived as resistance—from posting Ukrainian news on social media to refusing to collaborate with the occupation forces—can land civilians in custody, where they face squalid conditions and torture. – Wall Street Journal

President Trump raised the possibility that the U.S. would acquire Ukrainian power plants, including nuclear facilities, calling it the “best protection for that infrastructure,” as the White House tries to jump-start talks to halt the Ukraine-Russia war. – Wall Street Journal

President Trump insisted Russia would be the easier partner on the path to peace with Ukraine. But his Tuesday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin only underscored that the Kremlin is so far the bigger obstacle. – Wall Street Journal

Ukrainian and U.S. teams could meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss technicalities of partial ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after what he described as “very substantive” call with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. – Reuters

An airfield near a Russian strategic bomber base was on fire on Thursday after a major Ukrainian drone attack in southern Russia, according to Russian officials and state media. – Reuters

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, both sides said on Wednesday, following a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin in which the swap was discussed. – Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that a halt on energy strikes in the war with Russia could be established quickly, but warned Ukraine would respond in kind if Moscow violated the terms of the limited ceasefire. – Reuters

The White House said on Wednesday it has moved beyond the previously negotiated U.S.-Ukraine minerals and natural resources deal and is focused on peace between Ukraine and Russia. – Reuters

Russia launched a new barrage of drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, wounding at least 10 people, including four children, and damaging residential houses in the city of Kropyvnytskyi, officials said. – Reuters

Zhanna Nemtsova writes: Many of my non-Russian friends have wondered why Putin hasn’t cared about Russia’s high death toll in Ukraine. The answer is as simple as this: He doesn’t need to, as there is only state-controlled media, and he is not accountable to his citizens. Ignoring the domestic part of Putin’s power equation will only perpetuate his aggression outside Russia. Under current circumstances, the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine is urgent. But execution matters. If the Trump administration wants a good deal to end the war, it needs to pay attention to the details. – Politico

Alexander J. Motyl writes: Naturally, Putin claims to be the solution, and not the source, of Russia’s headlong surge into prehistory. He will continue the war because his political, and possibly physical, survival depends on the war’s continuance. Ironically, by staying on, Putin is increasing the likelihood of Russia’s defeat, Russian political culture’s encounter with a cataclysm and Russian fascism’s demise. – The Hill

Andrew C. Kuchins writes: Regarding Putin’s supposed designs on other European states, this fear fails to account for just how unique a position Ukraine occupies in Russia’s historical sense of national self-identity. No other place in Eurasia is remotely close in this regard. If Trump sells Ukraine down the river, as so many seem to think has already happened, his presidency will be deeply weakened, and his legacy as the consummate deal-maker will be shattered. But for now, there is a chance this can work out. We should all take a deep breath, cross our fingers, and pray for this outcome. – National Interest

Yemen

Just four months after President Trump issued an election eve promise never to embroil the U.S. in a distant forever war, he has ordered a series of major airstrikes against the Houthis and threatened their annihilation—moves experts caution could lead to months of open-ended conflict. – Wall Street Journal

The United States struck targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Wednesday, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported, the latest in a wave of strikes carried out in retaliation for attacks by the Iran-aligned group on shipping in the Red Sea. – Reuters

Dan Perry writes: Despite multiple warnings, the Houthis doubled down, proving they were undeterred by diplomatic pressure or limited retaliatory strikes. So the current escalation should have happened months ago, and it should go on until the Houthis relent— not until they pause or propose another bad-faith pause, but until they stop their aggression entirely. Anything short of that will invite more chaos, more destruction and more instability in a region that has endured too much. – The Hill

Burcu Ozcelik writes: While the fighting power and military arsenal of other Iran-backed proxies in the so-called axis of resistance, Hamas and Hezbollah, have been eroded significantly since the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Houthi movement has survived relatively unscathed. Since the cease-fire and hostage deal was announced between Israel and Hamas in January, the Houthis have been on standby as the de facto enforcers of the agreement, retaining the leverage to resume violence at a time of their own choosing. On March 11, the Houthis announced that the group will resume its attacks in the Red Sea as a response to Israel blocking humanitarian aid entering Gaza. This balance of asymmetrical power is what the United States seems to be targeting in a series of intense airstrikes that could extend into the coming weeks. – Foreign Policy

Korean Peninsula

North Korea warned Japan against deploying long-range missiles in the Kyushu region in March 2026, saying such attack capability will “bring about constant escalation of tension” in Northeast Asia, state media KCNA said on Thursday. – Reuters

The Philippines and its allies are trying to expand the Squad grouping of nations to include India and South Korea to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region, the Philippines’ Armed Forces chief General Romeo S. Brawner said on Wednesday. – Reuters

South Korea’s Constitutional court said on Thursday it will deliver a decision on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment on March 24. – Reuters

South Asia

The public erasure of the six female officeholders was shocking but hardly surprising. This kind of unofficial substitution is commonplace in rural India, in exactly the places where small-time leadership positions have long been set aside for women. – New York Times

The leader of an armed group representing a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar was arrested in a raid in neighboring Bangladesh this week and charged under an antiterrorism law. – New York Times

Russia has surpassed the United Arab Emirates as India’s top naphtha supplier in the year to March 2025, as refiners capitalise on discounted cargoes, preliminary ship-tracking data showed, a trend buyers expect to persist for another year. – Reuters

Police in India’s northern state of Punjab detained hundreds of farmers and used bulldozers to tear down their temporary camps in a border area where they had protested for more than a year to demand better crop prices. – Reuters

India is resisting pleas by Bangladesh to resume issuing normal volumes of medical visas, citing staffing shortages amid worsening ties, six sources said, giving China rare space to expand similar offerings and build people-to-people ties. – Reuters

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday reopened their main border crossing after clashes between the security forces of both sides led to its closure for nearly a month, officials from the two governments said. – Reuters

US President Donald Trump said India will be hit by like-for-like duties from April 2, even as officials in New Delhi scurry to appease Washington by reducing trade barriers. – Bloomberg

Europe

Arms manufacturers from the U.S. and U.K. are set to be largely excluded from new European Union defense procurement loans unless their countries sign defense and security agreements with the bloc. – Wall Street Journal

Trump’s out-of-the-gate upheaval of transatlantic trade and security has sparked turmoil in Britain and Europe — but it’s been a tonic for Starmer. The austere former human rights lawyer has proved a surprisingly adept Trump handler, giving Starmer statesman stature abroad and a chance to reboot his rocky start at home — including pushing more painful economic changes. – Washington Post

European Union regulators on Wednesday ramped up their efforts to force Apple and Google to change key parts of their businesses, despite potential pushback from the Trump administration over the regulation of American tech companies. – New York Times

The protests against President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia had been growing in intensity and size when an unusual guest showed up in its capital this month to meet with the embattled European leader: Donald Trump Jr., the oldest son of President Trump. – New York Times

George Simion, the leader of Romania’s second-largest party, became the hard right’s candidate in a May presidential election re-run after an ally withdrew from the race on Wednesday, boosting his chances of making it into the run-off vote. – Reuters

France’s foreign minister is planning a two-day visit to China on March 27 and 28, the head of cognac lobby group BNIC said on Wednesday, repeating calls for an easing of trade tensions between the European Union and Beijing. – Reuters

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Moldovan police had violated diplomatic protocol by blocking entrances to its embassy in the capital of Moldova. – Reuters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will “lay the keel” for the first in the next generation of the UK’s nuclear-armed submarines, in a symbolic gesture as concerns grow about the nation’s reliance on the US to maintain its arsenal. – Bloomberg

The UK is planning to appoint more business figures to diplomatic roles as part of a new drive to diversify Britain’s trade and economic relationships. – Bloomberg

Katja Hoyer writes: The armies of France, Britain and the US draw much of their proud modern-day military cultures from the same history that causes feelings of guilt and anxiety in Germany’s collective psyche. They won’t work as role models for Germany, which will have to find its own path. Getting a bigger defense budget approved is nothing compared with what will have to come next to make Germany fight fit. The Bundeswehr doesn’t have a long-established military tradition of fighting for democracy and freedom. Merz will have to find a way to build one, and that requires a transformation that goes beyond politics and money. – Bloomberg

Matthew Blackburn and Patricia Marins write: While it may be painful and distasteful, the way out of European fear and hesitancy is diplomacy and compromise. This means reestablishing direct contact with Moscow. Europe’s leaders owe their electorates an overdue reality check on the Ukraine war. Bluffs and empty threats must not be allowed to close the current narrow opening for a diplomatic end to this war. – National Interest

The Americas

The Trump administration is considering a plan to extend Chevron’s license to pump oil in Venezuela and impose financial penalties on other countries that do business with the South American nation, according to people familiar with the discussions. – Wall Street Journal

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit Vietnam next week, bringing with him a business delegation including executives from planemaker Embraer and food giant JBS that are both in talks for possible deals in the Southeast Asian country, sources said. – Reuters

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s business empire is in the crosshairs after CK Hutchison Holdings chose to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc., apparently angering Beijing. – Associated Press

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is close to naming Germán Ávila, the head of the country’s state-run banking group, as his next finance minister, according to a person familiar with the decision. – Bloomberg

United States

The Trump administration is crafting plans to reorganize the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had been dismantled by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a memo detailing the plans. – Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is framing a legal fight over flights deporting alleged gang members as a constitutional showdown pitting the vast power of the executive branch against a judiciary determined to thwart it. – Wall Street Journal

U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a long-anticipated executive order on Thursday that aims to shut down the Department of Education, acting on a key campaign pledge, according to a White House summary seen by Reuters. – Reuters

U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents raided a well-known Dominican community in a nod to a new policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to deport millions of people who have entered the United States illegally. The arrests have angered Puerto Rican officials and civil leaders who have created programs to help the island’s undocumented immigrants, many of whom are from the Dominican Republic. – Associated Press

A security official at the U.S. Institute of Peace said the DOGE team on Monday evening surreptitiously gained entry to the facility, the most aggressive known attempt by the Trump administration to enter an organization. – Politico

Brian Katulis writes: The moves the Trump team is making on US national security institutions will inevitably have an impact on America’s engagement with the Middle East and other parts of the world. In a real sense, as the United States is eliminating many of its soft power capabilities, it is also dialing the hard power tools up to 11, using military strikes in Yemen and other parts of the region. But by unilaterally disarming itself in diplomacy, it opens the space for adversaries and competitors like Iran, China, and Russia to shape the narratives and influence political trends across the region. The risk to America’s national security institutions stemming from the Trump administration’s actions resembles turning down the treble on a speaker while cranking the bass all the way up — the result might be a blowout. – Middle East Institute

Lora Kelley writes: “Everyone is calling it the”—Donald Trump paused while speaking to a crowd at a rally the day before his inauguration. “I don’t want to say this,” he insisted. “It’s too braggadocious, but we’ll say it anyway—the Trump effect.” He went on to describe how the stock market was booming and bitcoin prices were surging, and then boasted about a domestic-infrastructure investment from Apple, much of which had already been planned before the November election. – The Atlantic

Defense

The Trump administration is evaluating plans for the Pentagon to take control of a buffer zone along a sprawling stretch of the southern border and empower active-duty U.S. troops to temporarily hold migrants who cross into the United States illegally, according to five U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations. – Washington Post

The top two Republican lawmakers who lead the Pentagon’s oversight committees in the U.S. Congress issued a rare, joint statement on Wednesday expressing alarm about a potential shake-up in U.S. military commands by the Trump administration. – Reuters

A South Korean shipbuilder this week purchased a stake in the Australian company that owns one of the major U.S. naval shipyards. Hanwha purchased a 9.9 percent stake in Austal, which owns the Austal USA yard in Mobile, Ala., that builds the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships, Expeditionary Fast Transports, new T-AGOS(X) ocean surveillance ships and modular components for submarines. – USNI News

The Navy plans to send a second warship to patrol the waters off the U.S. by the end of this week after a destroyer was deployed on Saturday as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and the border, a U.S. official confirmed to Military.com on Wednesday. – Military.com