Gaza war planning, Bolsonaro house arrest and fighting in western Sudan

Off Leash update 6 August GAZA •Israel is considering a plan to expand the war in Gaza and occupy the entire Gaza Strip - including the 25% it doesn't currently control. The cabinet will vote on the proposal tomorrow. •Prime Minister Netanyahu's far-right supporters love the idea, and - with ceasefire negotiations stalled and his fragile coalition at risk of fracture - Netanyahu seems to be warming to it, too. •However, some senior military figures - reportedly including Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir - have voiced dissent over fears that a full occupation would endanger the remaining ~20 living hostages and bog the IDF down for years. They prefer a more gradual approach: perhaps encircling Gaza City and other population centers first, and then selectively launching operations from there.

BRAZIL •On Monday, Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered former president - and Moraes's nemesis - Jair Bolsonaro into house arrest for violating a social media ban imposed during his ongoing trial on charges of plotting a coup, which Bolsonaro denies. •Other Brazilian officials - including Moraes's fellow Supreme Court justices - were apparently surprised by the order and worry that it will complicate ongoing trade talks with the U.S., given Pres. Trump's support for Bolsonaro and vocal opposition against the charges against the former president.

SUDAN •Sudan's civil war has slowly shifted west since the Sudanese Army retook control of Khartoum in March. The army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are now battling over Kordofan, which lies between Darfur (largely under RSF control) and central Sudan (largely under army control). •Human rights groups say civilians in Kordofan are suffering the consequences of being at the crossroads of the war, and civilians in El Fasher - the only part of Darfur the army controls - are starving en masse under the RSF's siege of the city. •Neither side is gaining much traction, and the conflict looks likely to grind on.