Western leaders spoke as one when they defended Israel's right to defend itself after the bloodiest day in its history, but with the war now in its sixth week, the initial military objective "eradicating Hamas" seems highly improbable without sacrificing civilian lives.

How to get to a ceasefire in Gaza? For Israelis, the answer is clear: Hamas has to release its hostages. For the Palestinian militant group, Israel has to let fuel and basic necessities in. It is up to the belligerents in a war where an estimated one third of buildings in the north of the Strip have either been destroyed or damaged, with even more in Gaza City itself.

Are we seeing a surge in anti-Semitic sentiment, or do we just live in an age where bigots have a bigger bullhorn? Here is what we do know: reported acts of hate against French Jews have soared since the Middle East erupted a month ago.

One month after the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, PM Binyamin Netanyahu talks about the prospect of a long war, a prospect that seems impossible. So what's the alternative?

"We obviously don’t agree on everything." That understatement comes courtesy of the US secretary of state. Now that Antony Blinken's weekend shuttling from Jordan and the West Bank to Iraq and Turkey is over, we can ask: what was it all about?

All eyes are on this Friday’s duelling narratives. Lebanon will see the first speech since October 7 by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the region, starting in Israel before Jordan and possibly Turkey. What does the US want? And what does Iran want?

From October 7 to November 1, the voices critical of Israel are growing louder by the day. A case in point is the Americas, after a day when Bolivia became the first nation to sever ties with Tel Aviv, while Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors. The Israelis may claim that Tuesday's bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp killed a senior Hamas commander, but was it worth the lives of dozens of civilians including women and children?

We've talked of how passions have run high here in France ever since the Middle East erupted. Every word from politicians gets scrutinised for signs of favouritism. Over in Russia, there's a clear-cut line, with the foreign ministry last week welcoming a Hamas delegation and the Kremlin blaming Israel's Gaza war on US imperialism – a throwback to the days when the Soviets championed the Palestinian cause. But has the messaging been too effective?

Israel's ground invasion is underway in Gaza. It's a move that flies in the face of a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire.

If you thought it was hard getting 27 nations to speak with one voice when it came to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, just follow the wrangling over the EU summit's wording of its call to spare lives in Gaza. It is easy to dismiss the semantic nuances between ceasefire, truce and lull, but it should matter.