Powerful Arab nations’ moves toward a game-changing relationship with Israel came to a screeching halt with the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist rampage through southern Israel. Regional leaders are increasingly frustrated by Palestinian civilian casualties and with what they say is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to offer a political vision for the aftermath of the war.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud has said Gaza’s reconstruction will not begin until after a cease-fire is established and a plan for a Palestinian state is implemented. While Mr. Netanyahu has suggested the UAE and Saudi Arabia could play a role in the postwar governance of Palestinian territory, he has vowed to block the creation of an independent Palestine.

All the while, the mutual Saudi-Israel view of Iran as a destabilizing force continues to play into the complex regional dynamics. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly given orders to his air force to intercept missiles fired from Iran. Iranian missiles that targeted Israel last month flew over Saudi airspace. Regional analysts say Saudi Arabia’s intention is to maintain strong ties with the U.S. military, which is considered crucial until the crown prince secures his position as the country’s ruler to succeed his ailing father.

U.S. intelligence agencies are not doing enough to counter large-scale Chinese information operations in the U.S., a House committee investigating Beijing’s information warfare said in recent letters sent to senior intelligence officials.

House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer disclosed what he said were the agencies’ shortcomings in a 10-page letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, contending that China is waging “political warfare” against the U.S. and calling on spy agencies to increase their efforts against it.

Mr. Comer sent the letter following an April 16 committee hearing in which several witnesses described how China is conducting political warfare and influence activities known as “united front” work. Mr. Comer’s letter to Ms. Haines said U.S. spy agencies “must step up” in countering the Chinese activities.

China “is waging a non-kinetic war against the U.S. — and the U.S. is falling behind,” the Kentucky Republican wrote. An ODNI spokesman said the letter was received and the office is engaging with the committee.

The Liberian government is mounting a sustained campaign against corruption to win trust and new international investments, whether they come from the U.S. or China, Liberian President Joseph Boakai tells Threat Status in a wide-ranging exclusive interview.

The former U.S. colony finds itself caught in a tug-of-war over African markets between Washington and Beijing, with the continent emerging as a key proving ground in a global economic competition. Mr. Boakai says Liberia will not pick and choose between its American and Chinese friends when it comes to boosting an economy that is posting strong growth rates but remains among the poorest and least developed in the world.

“The traditional saying here is that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers,” the Liberian president says. “We hope that the big countries will understand that they have to coexist, that they will have to work along … to give us the chance to be able to do the things that we can do to provide sustainable life for our people. And I think sometimes they understand it.”

The director of the Navy’s surface warfare division offered that comparison Tuesday in an assessment of the U.S.-led mission to defend commercial ship traffic amid ongoing attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who say they have launched the attacks in solidarity with Hamas. Rear Adm. Fred Pyle told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a briefing on the Pentagon’s Operation Prosperity Guardian.

U.S. warships and international merchant vessels are facing a range of anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis. There have been at least 53 separate Houthi attacks on commercial vessels and at least one Houthi seizure of a merchant ship in the region since November 2023, according to U.S. officials, who say the Yemen-based militants have significant military aid from Iran.

By holding up the delivery of munitions to Israel, Mr. Biden has lent encouragement to Hamas leaders, whose goal is to follow the Nazi example by exterminating the only surviving and thriving Jewish community remaining in the Middle East, writes Threat Status opinion contributor Clifford D. May.

Hamas has vowed that the atrocities of Oct. 7 were merely a foretaste, writes Mr. May, who asserts that Hamas leaders understand that the more the Palestinians in Gaza suffer, the more Israelis will be blamed, punished and demonized by the international community.

In a column sharply critical of Mr. Biden’s approach, Mr. May asserts that “wars cannot be won on defense alone. Boxers don’t win fights just by blocking punches. ‘Deterrence by denial’ not coupled with ‘deterrence by punishment’ invites enemies to try, try again.”

“If Israelis must fight terrorists without American support, they will do so,” he writes. “They’ve done it before. Israel exists so that never again will Jews lack the means to stand up to those determined to slaughter their children.”

• May 15 — The Pernicious Impact of China’s Anti-Secession Law, Hudson Institute.

• May 15 — Panel Discussion and Reception on Nuclear Security Modernization, Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center: ANWA.

• May 16 — No Invasion Necessary: A Discussion of How China Can Employ a Coercion-Based Strategy to Take Taiwan Without a War, American Enterprise Institute.

• May 16 — Preserving and Strengthening Democracy in Latin America, Wilson Center.

• May 20 — Strategic Synergies: India-US Technology Cooperation, Hudson Institute.

• May 21 — A Conversation with Former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi: Reflections on Diplomacy and Peace, U.S. Institute of Peace.

• May 21 — Navigating Change in Russia’s Contested Neighborhood, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.