Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is showing signs of openness toward a temporary cease-fire, saying over the weekend that Israel’s anticipated military offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah could be “delayed somewhat” if a deal is reached with Hamas.

His comments came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken told local television during a visit to Brazil on Sunday that the Biden administration wants “to see the conflict in Gaza end as soon as possible,” while ensuring that Hamas is never again able to carry out anything like the “unimaginably horrific” Oct. 7 attack it launched against Israel.

A related development Monday saw Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh say his government is resigning — a move signaling willingness by the Western-backed Palestinian leadership to accept a shake-up that could usher in reforms to revitalize the Palestinian Authority. This matters because the Biden administration has said it wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war is over.

The level of human participation in U.S. military operations is undergoing radical change, fueled by new artificial intelligence tools capable of replacing direct human action.  

The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Craig Martell tells The Washington Times that humans will always be accountable for the function of cutting-edge technology used by the military, but the nature of their contribution will evolve. His assessment capped a symposium that brought Silicon Valley and American defense officials together for a major brainstorming summit in Washington last week.

National Security Tech Reporter Ryan Lovelace covered the symposium, reporting on non-government groups involved in the AI overhaul of warfare. Among them is MIT Horizon, which is providing AI training for the U.S. military, producing a range of instruction to troops that will ideally prepare them within the first few hours to be conversant with colleagues or vendors about AI topics.

At least half of the Western military aid meant for Ukraine is slow to arrive, aggravating an already difficult shortage of artillery shells that’s forcing Ukrainian military units to ration ammunition — and pull back from some key frontline positions, all while Kyiv says some 31,000 of its troops have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion.

The supply bottlenecks are putting Ukrainian lives and territory at risk, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said at a forum marking the second anniversary of the invasion. The comments coincide with a range of other developments likely to impact the future of the conflict, including the cementing of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s 30-year hold on power. Over the weekend, the close ally of Mr. Putin oversaw parliamentary elections in which only candidates loyal to his authoritarian rule were allowed to compete.

Denmark and Sweden, meanwhile, have closed their investigations into the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines, saying there was deliberate sabotage but “not the sufficient grounds” to pursue a criminal case.

A week after she helped impeach Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is hoping for a job in a future Trump administration. The Georgia Republican, who has regularly berated Mr. Mayorkas from her perch on the House Homeland Security Committee, says she’d serve a Trump administration in “any capacity,” but she’s “particularly interested” in Homeland Security.

The U.S. cannot fall for the belief that peace in Ukraine is impossible and continued warfare is the only option, according to retired Lt. Gen. and former National Security Advisor Keith Kellogg, who argues that the Biden administration’s “leadership failures” are defining the war as it enters its third year. 

The administration has “so blindly clung to the goal of enabling Ukraine to achieve a decisive military defeat of Russia, made inexplicable given its slow-rolling of lethal aid, [that] the notion of entering peace talks with Mr. Putin has become synonymous with defeat,” Mr. Kellogg writes. He asserts that the U.S. should embrace negotiations with Russia, and do so “from a position of strength” by “enabling Ukraine to gain a significant tactical advantage on the battlefield and reestablishing credible U.S. deterrence.”