Good morning. This week brought the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack into Israel and the war in Gaza. The past 48 hours has seen a ceasefire deal many hope could bring a halt to the violence – though as one diplomat involved in the talks said: “The tragedy is that this could have all been agreed 20 months ago.”
This weekly round-up of essential reads begins with a sober view on the conflict from the Guardian’s global diplomatic editor. There’s also some lighter fare.
