Major fighting in the devastated area was put on hold by a truce supported by the United States in October 2025, but Israeli military raids, which it claimed were intended to forestall attacks by Hamas and other Gaza militants, continued.

In a statement released late on Saturday, the military claimed to have killed Sharif Al-Hasnat, a prominent Hamas fighter, in the city of Deir Al-Balah. It stated that he was in charge of restoring the “underground infrastructure” of Hamas.

Israel is accused by Hamas of breaking the truce and impeding attempts to carry out U.S. President Donald Trump’s more comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, which also calls for Israeli withdrawals and Hamas disarming.

According to Gazan health officials, over 1,280 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the truce went into force in October of last year, while the Israeli military claims four Israeli soldiers have died.

Drones, balloons, and kites have reportedly been launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to Israel. According to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, it warned Hamas after conducting a situation assessment on Sunday that it would step up its operations in Gaza and force people to leave regions if the missiles didn’t stop right away.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, wrote on X that children launch the kites “in search of their innocent childhood amid the rubble,” rejecting Israel’s warning.

Violence at West Bank

According to police and the Israeli military, an Israeli male was stabbed and injured in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by a suspect who is thought to be a Palestinian guy.

The military released security camera footage that showed a man waiting by a car next to a major highway close to Jericho before stabbing the Israeli man as he got close to his parked automobile.

Israeli soldiers were looking for the culprit, who escaped on foot, according to the IDF.

Islam Ajjouri, a 14-year-old kid, was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, according to health officials in the West Bank.
The Israeli military declared that it was investigating the event.

As allies from Japan to India reevaluate how much they can rely on Washington, Donald Trump’s olive branch to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at the expense of a longstanding ally comes at a critical juncture for U.S. security ties in Asia.

According to government officials and security experts, the U.S. president’s sudden decision last week to reduce military drills with South Korea, which he characterised as hostile to Pyongyang, has heightened concerns that Trump’s unpredictability could strain alliances that have long preserved peace in the region.

India is becoming less assured of its position in Washington’s strategic calculations, Taiwan is cautiously observing an impending summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Japan is concerned that it too may find itself in Trump’s cross-hairs as it begins difficult security negotiations.According to Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst with political risk consultancy Eurasia Group and a former U.S. diplomat in China and Japan, the move will undoubtedly fuel rising scepticism in the area regarding U.S. security pledges.

When questioned about such worries, a White House official stated that Trump has been irritated by the inability of U.S. allies to back his fight with Iran and made it clear that many of them must pay more on their own defence. The person also stated that Washington is still dedicated to cooperating with Seoul.

According to a person briefed on negotiations between U.S. and South Korean officials, Trump is keen to resume talks with North Korea and gain a victory on the international scene while being embroiled in an unpopular battle with Iran.VERY DIFFICULT FOR TOKYO

However, senior Japanese politician and former defence minister Itsunori Onodera warned that Trump’s push to see Kim, which has so far elicited a chilly response from Pyongyang, might backfire and give nuclear-armed North Korea more confidence.

He stated last Thursday on a Fuji TV news program that such a possibility is “extremely troubling” for Tokyo. Earlier that day, Pyongyang launched a barrage of ballistic missiles off its east coast in defiance of Trump’s advances, setting off alarms in neighbouring South Korea and Japan.

As Tokyo begins negotiations with Washington over how much it should contribute to the expense of hosting U.S. forces—America’s largest overseas deployment—Japanese officials are more concerned about Trump’s strategy.

According to a senior Japanese government official who asked to remain anonymous because to the delicate nature of the situation, Japan is preparing for the possibility that Trump could suddenly demand a large raise that would be politically tough to accept.

According to commentators, Trump may potentially use the planned military drills between the United States and Japan in October as leverage. Washington and Tokyo officials warned that although they did not anticipate a reduction in the exercises, Trump might alter his mind at any time.

Due to the diversion of American resources and manpower to the war with Iran, the Keen Sword exercises may already be smaller than their 2024 edition.

Concerns about the erosion of U.S. deterrence against China have been raised by this change, which recently saw the USS George Washington, America’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier in Asia, head for the Middle East to relieve the troubled USS Abraham Lincoln.

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby stated that Washington prioritises collaborating with partners to guarantee combat readiness along the so-called first island chain, which stretches from Japan through the Philippines, during a visit to Asia this month.

XI, TAIWAN, AND TRUMP

Taiwan, the democratically run island that Beijing claims, is the place where worries about China’s increasing military coercion are most acute.

In an effort to preserve cordial ties and a precarious trade agreement with China’s Xi, Trump has delayed approving a $14 billion package of arms sales to Taipei.

Taipei insiders said they anticipate that Washington will at the very least divide the military sales into smaller halves in order to try and avoid upsetting Beijing too much as Trump gets ready for his most recent round of summitry with Xi in Washington next month.

There is a difference between Trump’s rhetoric and real U.S. action, according to Domingo Yang of Taiwan’s defence ministry’s think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research. Yang notes that U.S. information cooperation, training, and patrols with Taiwan continue to be significant.

The United States said that its “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific” was demonstrated on Friday when a U.S. Navy aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait.

According to security specialists, Trump’s recent actions have also undermined confidence in India, where the United States runs the risk of wasting years of work to bring New Delhi closer as a counterweight to China and Russia.

It also follows the Pentagon’s June decision to change the name of its military headquarters in Asia from Indo-Pacific Command to Pacific Command, which some analysts interpret as a message that Washington no longer views India as strategically significant.

Any such change was rejected by the Pentagon. However, New Delhi was already irritated by Trump’s high tariffs on Indian exports and his frequent assertions that he had mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. According to two Indian individuals with knowledge of the situation, officials are now “very, very cautious” about agreeing to long-term military arrangements with Washington.According to Pearl Pandya, senior analyst at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a conflict monitoring organization, “the most recent decision only serves to reinforce President Trump’s transactional view of foreign affairs and serves as a reminder that disagreements over specific policies, even among allies, can carry costs for the broader bilateral relationship.”

– A wavering dollar teetered near multi-month lows on Monday in a market unsettled by the U.S. Treasury’s ​promise to buy back more long bonds, while traders awaited details of sanctions on Iran and on policy ‌speeches this week in the U.S. and Japan.

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.2% in early trade, to C$1.3798 per dollar, after trade talks with the U.S. collapsed and Washington imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, with Canada retaliating in kind.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars traded just shy of three-month highs at $0.7171 and $0.5979 ​respectively.

The euro was comfortably above $1.16 at $1.1685 while the yen kept to the strong side of 159 per dollar.

Friday data showing ​the strongest U.S. services growth in nearly two years in August held off dollar sellers in steady early ⁠trade.

The dollar logged its largest weekly drop against bitcoin in nearly three-and-a-half years on Sunday and it’s been sliding sharply on gold over revived fears the ​currency will suffer if the U.S. tries to hold down yields.

Long-end yields have been climbing globally on a combination of a solid economic ​growth outlook, rising inflation expectations and nerves about ballooning sovereign debts.

Last week, after 30-year yields hit almost two-decade highs, the U.S. Treasury announced it would double buybacks at the long end to $4 billion per operation.
The size is paltry in a market worth $32 trillion but the interventionist signal spooked traders and hit the dollar.

“The ​U.S. Treasury’s attempts to artificially hold down long-term bond yields appears to be reigniting the $US debasement trade,” said Shane Oliver, head ​of investment strategy at Australian financial services firm AMP.

The mood was keeping Australian dollar above 71 cents, he said.
Sterling was firm at $1.3650 in morning trade ‌and the ⁠yuan , which notched an eighth straight weekly rise last week, hovered near a 3/1-2 year high at 6.7222 per dollar.

SANCTIONS AND WARSH

Later on Monday, at 1800 GMT, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to hold a press conference after threatening “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, with markets focused on whether he will target China.

Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of new U.S. sanctions as a sign of ​desperation.

Market participants will also be ​hoping for some clarity on ⁠the outlook for U.S. interest rates when Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

He is also sure to face questions about Treasury’s buybacks.

“Any comments on the balance sheet, ​duration supply, or term premium could move the long end more than the data itself. That ​said, given Warsh’s ⁠typically restrained style, we aren’t holding our breath,” said BNY strategist Geoff Yu.

A Thursday appearance by Bank of Japan deputy governor Ryozo Himino will also be closely watched as a prelude to next month’s policy meeting. In particular, investors will be looking to see if he pushes back ⁠on a ​shift in market pricing to see a faster pace of hikes.

“Himino may signal ​the BOJ is moving closer to another interest rate hike,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso.

“However, any hawkish comments are likely to exert only modest downward ​pressure on USD/JPY. Developments in the U.S. bond market area are a more important driver of USD/JPY.”