A popular centrist member of Israel’s three-man War Cabinet has threatened to resign from the government if it doesn’t adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza in the next three weeks. Benny Gantz' decision would leave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more reliant on far-right allies. His announcement Saturday escalates a divide within Israel’s leadership more than seven months into a war in which it has yet to accomplish its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages. Another War Cabinet member, Israel's defense minister, has said he would not remain in his post if Israel chooses to reoccupy Gaza.

A divisive mobilization law in Ukraine has come into force as Kyiv struggles to boost troop numbers after Russia launched a new offensive that some fear could close in on Ukraine’s second-largest city. The legislation, which was watered down from its original draft, will make it easier to identify every conscript in the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also signed separate laws Friday that allow prisoners to join the army and increase fines for draft dodgers fivefold. Thousands of Ukrainians have fled the country to escape the draft, and some risked their lives as they tried to swim across a river to neighboring Romania and Hungary.

Taliban officials say flash floods from heavy seasonal rains have killed at least 68 people in Afghanistan, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports. In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 people were reported dead. The province has also suffered significant financial losses after thousands of homes and properties were damaged and hundreds of hectares of agricultural land destroyed following Friday’s floods. Meanwhile, 18 people in the northern province of Farayab were killed and two others injured. Damages to property and land were also reported and over 300 animals were killed. Last week, the U.N. food agency said the exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people.

The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been ordered to remain behind bars. Fico is in serious but stable condition after surviving multiple gunshot wounds. A court spokesperson said Saturday prosecutors said they feared that if released the suspect could flee or carry out other crimes. Prosecutors told police not to publicly identify the man or release other details about the case, but unconfirmed media reports said he is a 71-year-old retiree known as an amateur poet who may have once worked as a mall security guard in the country’s southwest. A government minister says Fico’s condition is stable but he is still too ill to be transferred to the capital, Bratislava.