The Economist.

Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The

Economist. As a reminder, if you subscribe to the economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day.

If you're already an economist subscriber, visit Economist.com slash Espresso,

or visit our Espresso app to start listening.

Here's today's free edition. This is the World and Brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, said that the country's war cabinet

had, quote,

unanimously decided to continue its operation in Raffa, a city in southern Gaza.

Earlier Israel told more than 100,000 people in the area to evacuate to what it declared a humanitarian zone nearby.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it had approved a ceasefire deal for Gaza proposed by Egypt and Qatar and that the ball is now in Israel's court.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said that the proposal was quote

far from meeting Israel's core demands but that negotiations would continue.

The UN urged the government of Israel and the leadership of Hamas to reach an agreement.

She Jing Ping met Emmanuel Macron, France's president and Ursula von der Leyen,

the head of the European Commission in Paris

as he kicked off a two-day state visit to France.

Mr. She called China's ties with France, quote, a model for the international community.

Mr Macron urged the Chinese leader to offer fair rules for all, quote, to ease trade tensions and ensure a balanced relationship between Europe and China.

Columbia University in New York said it would cancel its main commencement ceremony scheduled for May 15th

following weeks of pro-Palestinian student protests.

...