Israel Secures Gaza Border in South, Masses Troops for Potential Offensive |
Israeli forces regained effective control over the country’s south (AP) and its border with Gaza from Palestinian Hamas militants, the Israeli military said yesterday. Israeli troops are now gathering (NYT) near the border ahead of a potential ground invasion of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’s weekend attack that killed more than 1,200 Israeli citizens. In a speech yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the attack (White House) as “pure, unadulterated evil” and said Israel had a “right” and “duty” to respond, while drawing a distinction between terrorists and people who uphold the laws of war.
Hamas and Israeli forces have traded strikes since Saturday’s attack, while clashes along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria have spurred fears of a broader regional conflict. Heavy Israeli bombardments have now killed more than one thousand people in Gaza. Humanitarian groups have called for the creation of aid corridors into the Gaza Strip as hospitals are overrun and supplies are dwindling. Israel has blocked aid from entering the region. Americans are among the estimated 150 hostages being held in Gaza, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to discuss hostage negotiations when he arrives in Israel on Thursday.
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“While there must be a military component to Israel’s response to its security challenge, including reconstituting Israel’s ability to defend itself from attacks and targeted strikes on terrorists in Gaza, there is no solely military answer. A diplomatic element will need to be introduced into the equation, including a credible Israeli plan for bringing about a viable Palestinian state,” CFR President Emeritus Richard Haass writes for Project Syndicate.
“What has ended, for anyone who cares to admit it, is the illusion that the United States can extricate itself from a region that has dominated the American national security agenda for the past half century,” the Brookings Institution’s Suzanne Maloney writes for Foreign Affairs.
Check out the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Zelenskyy Joins NATO Meeting on Ukraine, Mideast |
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ASEAN Develops Lenient AI Guidelines Despite EU Recommendations |
Draft guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) governance being circulated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) takes a more lax approach than those by the European Union (EU), Reuters reported. While EU officials encouraged ASEAN to follow their more stringent regulatory approach on visits to Asian countries earlier this year, the draft ASEAN guidelines give countries broad authority to determine how they will address censorship, misinformation, and hate speech.
China/Australia: Journalist Cheng Lei arrived home in Australia (ABC) after having been detained in China for more than three years on charges of “supplying state secrets overseas,” which she denied. Beijing said that she was released after having served her sentence.
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Earthquake Hits Western Afghanistan Days After Previous Earthquake |
The 6.3-magnitude quake early this morning has injured more than one hundred people (BBC), health officials said. Just days ago, another major earthquake killed more than one thousand people in the country.
India: The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi greenlit the potential prosecution of Booker prizewinning novelist Arundhati Roy regarding comments she made in 2010 about the Kashmir region, unnamed sources told The Hindu. In recent years, she has become one of the most high-profile critics (AFP) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Syria Boycotts ICJ Hearing on Accusations of ‘Institutionalized’ Torture |
Canada and the Netherlands are accusing Syria (AP) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of “institutionalized” torture against its people and request for orders that it cease such torture immediately.
This article by Zachary Laub explores Syria’s descent into horror.
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Washington Declares Niger Takeover a Coup, Maintains Its Troop Presence |
The U.S. government skirted the term for months after the July takeover, as its designation requires that the United States halt all economic and military aid to Niger. While Washington is suspending non-humanitarian aid, it is maintaining some one thousand military personnel (NYT) stationed at two bases in the country. Counterterrorism training in Niger has been suspended.
Mali/Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin held his third phone call (Reuters) in less than two months with Mali’s leader yesterday. The Russian private military company Wagner Group has supported the Malian regime after it took power in a 2020 coup.
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Argentina’s Peso Falls in Value Amid Pro-Dollarization Rhetoric of Presidential Frontrunner |
The Argentine peso’s unofficial exchange rate, which reflects the market value of the currency, fell at least 17 percent (NYT) between Monday and Tuesday. Argentine banking associations issued a statement yesterday calling on presidential candidates to “show responsibility” after frontrunner Javier Milei said on Monday that the peso was “worth less than excrement.” He has pledged to dollarize Argentina’s economy.
In this Backgrounder, CFR’s Diana Roy looks at Argentina’s struggle for economic stability.
Canada/India: Canadian diplomats have remained in India despite New Delhi’s demands that they withdraw by yesterday amid strained relations over the June killing of a Sikh leader in Canada. The two countries are in talks over the fate of the diplomats, the Financial Times reported.
In this In Brief, CFR expert Manjari Chatterjee Miller breaks down current Canada-India tensions.
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House Republicans to Vote Behind Closed Doors on Speaker Nominee |
Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) are the two official candidates (NBC) to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) going into today’s meeting. Republicans have yet to determine who they back before the nomination goes to the entire floor for a vote. |
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