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Evening Brief: Israel Opens Humanitarian Routes in Gaza, Malaysia to Mediate Thailand Cambodia Border Dispute

BY Guy D. McCardle

From humanitarian corridors in Gaza and peace talks in Malaysia, to a young cadet’s tragic death at Fort Knox and Elon Musk yanking the plug on Starlink mid-battle in Ukraine, it’s been a week that reminds us power, conflict, and consequence don’t always come in uniform. Welcome to your Sunday Evening Brief.

Supplies are dropped by air into Gaza. Image Credit: Omar Qattaa / Anadolu

Israel has agreed to open up new humanitarian routes into Gaza, bowing to mounting international pressure over the dire conditions inside the territory. These “secure humanitarian corridors,” backed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), are intended to let aid convoys—many of them operated by the United Nations—get through to deliver desperately needed food and medicine. Gaza has been teetering on the edge of famine, and reports of people dying from hunger and malnutrition have been piling up.

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In addition to the corridors, the IDF announced it would implement daily “humanitarian pauses” in areas packed with civilians. These pauses are expected to last about 10 hours a day in three key regions of Gaza. The goal is simple: let aid workers move around without being caught in the crossfire. To reinforce this effort, Israel has also started airdropping supplies—flour, sugar, canned goods—into the Strip. It’s a lifeline, but only a partial one.

The World Food Program welcomed the move, calling it a step in the right direction. Still, they were clear: none of this replaces the need for a full ceasefire. Aid can’t flow freely with jets in the sky and gunfire echoing in the streets. Netanyahu’s government insists the corridors show Israel’s willingness to address the humanitarian crisis, but they’re keeping the military campaign against Hamas going full steam.

Critics point out that Israel has been dragging its feet for weeks, with aid groups accusing it of unnecessary delays and roadblocks. This new policy marks a shift—but whether it’s a turning point or just a PR maneuver remains to be seen. For now, people on the ground in Gaza are hoping it’s enough to keep more lives from being lost to hunger.

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Malaysia Steps In: Thailand and Cambodia Finally Agree to Let a Neighbor Mediate Their Border Fight

After weeks of clashes and rising tensions, Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to let Malaysia mediate their border dispute. On July 27, 2025, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan confirmed that both countries had accepted his country’s offer to step in and help broker peace. That’s no small feat, considering Thailand had been dead set on handling the matter one-on-one—until now. Both sides made it clear they trust Malaysia and don’t want any other countries muscling into the talks.

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The leaders—Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai—are expected to land in Malaysia for face-to-face talks to hammer out a ceasefire and hopefully cool things off along the border. The backdrop to all this is grim: more than 30 people have been killed, most of them civilians, and over 200,000 have been forced to flee their homes. It’s the worst violence between the two countries in more than a decade.

Malaysia, currently leading ASEAN, has been pushing both countries to dial it down and follow the regional playbook for settling disputes. Hun Manet jumped on board early and supported Malaysia’s ceasefire plan, while Thailand hesitated, saying it preferred direct talks—until the bloodshed made that position hard to defend. With outside pressure mounting—from the U.S., the U.N., and just about everyone else—it seems both sides realized it was time to try something different.

What makes this especially significant is that it’s the first time both nations have agreed to let a third party get involved in this way. The meeting in Kuala Lumpur is now the region’s best shot at getting the violence under control. With Malaysia in the driver’s seat, the hope is that cooler heads will prevail—and fast.

 

ROTC Cadet from New Jersey Dies During Training at Fort Knox

A 22-year-old Army ROTC cadet, Neil Edara, tragically lost his life during a training exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Originally from Ridgewood, New Jersey, Edara was participating in Land Navigation Training when he suddenly became unresponsive. He was quickly given medical aid and airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Edara was attending Cadet Summer Training with the 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp—one of the Army’s key programs designed to evaluate and prepare future officers. He had joined the ROTC program at Rutgers University back in September 2021, showing a strong commitment to serving his country.

The exact cause of his death is still under investigation by the U.S. Army. In the meantime, a private memorial service is being planned to honor his life and service. His passing is a sobering reminder of the risks cadets face, even in training, as they prepare to lead soldiers in the future.

 

Elon Musk Pulled the Plug on Starlink Over Ukraine During Critical Counteroffensive

During one of Ukraine’s most important military pushes in the fall of 2022, Elon Musk made a call that sent shockwaves through both the battlefield and his own company. Musk ordered Starlink satellite coverage to be shut off over parts of Ukraine—specifically around Kherson and other Russian-occupied regions like parts of Donetsk—right as Ukrainian forces were launching a counteroffensive. This sudden blackout cut communications, disabled surveillance drones, and threw off artillery coordination, ultimately derailing an attempt to encircle Russian troops near Beryslav.

Reuters reports that Musk personally directed a senior engineer at SpaceX to flip the switch, killing service for more than 100 Starlink terminals in a high-stakes combat zone. The move reportedly caught Starlink staff off guard and dealt a heavy blow to Ukraine’s ability to operate in the field. Musk’s rationale? He feared a major Ukrainian breakthrough might trigger a nuclear reaction from Russia—something he apparently wasn’t alone in worrying about, as some U.S. officials had expressed similar concerns.

Publicly, Musk denied he ever shut anything down, claiming Starlink “will never turn off its terminals.” But behind the scenes, it happened. The timing of the blackout appears to line up with late September 2022, though how long the outage lasted remains unclear. Ukraine eventually reclaimed the territory, but the incident revealed something unsettling: one billionaire had the power to alter the course of a war with a single order. Whether you see that as bold, reckless, or something in between, it’s a reminder of how modern warfare now depends not just on generals and governments—but on tech moguls, too.

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