TANKS BACK IN KHAN YOUNIS: Palestinians are fleeing a new Israeli assault on the Gazan city of Khan Younis, per the Associated Press' WAFAA SHURAFA. Israeli tanks entered the eastern part of the city as the Israel Defense Forces warn that militants could regroup in now-cleared regions of the enclave. The new operation comes as the U.S., Qatar and Egypt issued a rare joint statement Thursday night urging Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and iron out continued disagreements over how to implement a ceasefire and release hostages. But it’s not clear that talks will actually get back on track, even with this nudge from Washington, Cairo and Doha. Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU said his country will send negotiators to Doha next Thursday, per Reuters. Hamas, however, has not committed to participating in next week’s talks. And even if the talks occur, a senior administration official acknowledged in a briefing to reporters Thursday night that there still exists daylight between Israel and Hamas, even as the three mediating countries express their willingness to offer a “bridging proposal” to smooth over unresolved issues. “It's not like the agreement is going to be ready to be signed on Thursday. There's still a significant amount of work to do,” said the official, who provided the briefing on the condition of being granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations. “But we do believe that what's left here really can be bridged. And there's really just no time to lose.” REVERSALS TOWARD RIYADH: The U.S. will resume offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, Reuters’ HUMEYRA PAMUK, PATRICIA ZENGERLE and STEVE HOLLAND report. The Biden administration’s move is a major reversal of policy. The ban on offensive weapons sales, announced three years ago, was designed to help wind down the ongoing Yemeni civil war, which saw extensive Saudi military involvement as Tehran and Riyadh squared off in a major bloody proxy conflict. The administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban and sales could resume as early as next week, Reuters reports. “The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours," a senior Biden administration official told Reuters. The official noted that Saudi airstrikes stopped after a U.N.-brokered truce with the Houthi rebels two years ago. DRONE WARS: Ukraine launched a large drone attack against Russia’s Lipetsk region early Friday morning, prompting local authorities to declare a state of emergency, our own ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH reports. The drone attacks on Russian territory come as Ukrainian officials have become more outspoken in recent days about its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. “Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done,” Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY told reporters after the strike. Despite the strikes against its own territory, Russia is still firing into Ukraine. A Russian missile strike on a supermarket and post office in eastern Ukraine killed at least 10 people and injured 35 others, sparking a search for survivors trapped under the rubble, according to Reuters. NEW SANCTIONS FOR BELARUS: The Treasury Department hit Belarus today with new sanctions, targeting individuals and entities that were found to have enabled Russia’s war in Ukraine. The sanctions come on the four-year anniversary of the country’s fraudulent 2020 presidential elections, which led opposition leader SVIATLANA TSIKHANOUSKAYA to flee the country into exile in Lithuania. The U.S., Canada, U.K. and European Union also threatened additional sanctions against Belarus in a joint statement Friday. The countries also called on Belarusian strongman ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO to free the nearly 1,400 political prisoners in the country. In a brief video address shared on X, Tsikhanouskaya reiterated her disappointment that no members of the Belarusian opposition were freed in last week’s historic prisoner swap. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of Washington’s national security scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we’re featuring FAREED YASSEEN, Iraq’s former ambassador to Washington and the country’s outgoing climate envoy. He told our DANIEL LIPPMAN that his favorite drink is a tea named the numi basra, a concoction of dried-lime pulp, steeped and sweetened with cardamom — sometimes with tea leaves. “Numi is the Arabic word for lime and basra is invoked because that is where merchants coming from India used to trade the lime for dates.” Yasseen said he drinks it for the taste, but some drinkers find it therapeutic and soothing. He gave detailed instructions on how to prepare it: “Dice the dried lime, removing the seeds as they give a bitter taste and steep these small chunks in hot water as you would tea leaves. Sweeten to taste, then enjoy either hot or chilled.” But if one is too exhausted after dealing with Middle Eastern politics all week and doesn’t want to make the tea, he said that the tea bags are sold under the label “dry desert lime” and distributed by Numi Tea, a California company founded by AHMAD RAHIM and REEM HASSANI, an Iraqi-American brother and sister team. “Full disclosure: Our families know each other, and Ahmad and Reem’s paternal grandmother and mine were neighbors and friends in Baghdad more than half a century ago,” Yasseen said in a text message. Sahteih, Ambassador! IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at mberg@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow us on X at @mattberg33 and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, @JGedeon1 and @mherszenhorn.
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