Israeli Forces Press Toward Gaza City as Foreign Nationals Begin to Enter Egypt |
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) broke through the first line of defense (Times of Israel) set up by Palestinian militant group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesperson said yesterday. Senior Israeli commanders said they were working to secure the release of the more than two hundred Hamas-held hostages, while a top Hamas official said that, given the chance, the militant group would repeat attacks similar to those carried out on October 7 until Israel was destroyed.
At the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, several wounded Palestinians and hundreds of foreign nationals were allowed to depart Gaza (NYT) yesterday, with thousands more expected in the next few days. Hundreds of Americans were on a list of approved departures (NPR) issued by Gaza’s border authority overnight. At an event in Minneapolis yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden said there should be a “pause” in fighting in Gaza in order to get people out.
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“Israel must narrow its focus to Gaza and prioritize minimizing the military threat from Hamas. Eliminating Hamas’s military and political leadership and destroying the group’s arms caches and tunnel network are discrete and potentially achievable tasks,” Tufts University’s Michael A. Cohen, Christopher Preble, and Monica Duffy Toft write for Foreign Affairs.
“As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) approach Gaza City from the north and east, many U.S. military analysts are forecasting gruesome urban fighting and referencing the U.S. Army’s and Marine Corps’ brutal lessons from Iraq,” the Defense Innovation Board’s Joe Buccino writes for Foreign Policy. “While these analogies may offer insight into the grueling intricacies of urban warfare ahead, they fail to account for the additional complexities the Israelis are facing in Gaza.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Ukraine Hit by Worst Russian Shelling This Year, Calls for More Military Aid |
Ukraine is currently experiencing its most intense shelling (The Guardian) this year, with more than one hundred settlements hit over the last twenty-four hours. Writing in the Economist, Ukraine’s top military commander Valery Zaluzhny called for military technologies such as warplanes and increased electronic intelligence in order to move past the war’s current stage of “static and attritional fighting.”
UK: In the first clear international declaration on artificial intelligence (AI), governments from six continents pledged to support “internationally inclusive” research (WaPo) on advanced AI models and work toward safety measures through forums such as the Group of Seven and United Nations while at an AI conference hosted yesterday by the United Kingdom (UK).
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WSJ: U.S., China to Hold Nuclear Arms Control Talks |
Officials from both countries will hold informal talks on Monday designed at reducing the risk of miscalculation, the Wall Street Journal reported. They are the first such talks between the United States and China since the Barack Obama administration, and come as Washington seeks to deter a three-way arms race with Beijing and Moscow.
On this episode of Why It Matters, J. Andrés Gannon and Rupal N. Mehta explore the new nuclear age.
North Korea/Russia: North Korea sent one million artillery rounds (Bloomberg) to Russia for apparent use in Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country’s intelligence service said. That would be enough to supply Russia for about two months of shelling.
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Myanmar Rebels Seize Town on Border With China |
Myanmar’s ruling military junta said it lost control (AFP) of the town of Chinshwehaw after fighting with three ethnic armed groups since Friday. The armed groups say they have gained control of several military posts and strategic roads that link Myanmar with China, Myanmar’s biggest trade partner. A billion-dollar rail project is planned in the town as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
This Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland unpacks Myanmar’s troubled history.
India/Qatar: The families of eight Indians facing death sentences for espionage allegations in Qatar have pressed Indian diplomats to work to reverse the sentences, Nikkei reported. The case has strained bilateral ties.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Jordan Recalls Ambassador From Israel |
Jordan’s foreign minister announced yesterday that the decision was in protest of the “humanitarian catastrophe” (Reuters) and killing of innocent people in the Gaza Strip. He also said that Israel’s ambassador to Jordan would not be able to return to Amman after his temporary recall to Israel unless it ended the crisis. Israel said it regretted Jordan’s move and was focused on its war with Hamas.
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HRW Flags Targeted Arrests of Ugandan Environmental Defenders |
Ugandan activists routinely face arbitrary arrest, harassment, and threats for voicing concerns over a planned oil pipeline that will connect part of Tanzania and Uganda, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report. A senior researcher said the crackdown is stifling free expression about “one of the most controversial fossil fuel projects in the world.”
South Africa: The National Treasury said it will reduce spending (Bloomberg) and raise taxes, but also take on new borrowing to stabilize the country’s mounting debt. South Africa’s economy is projected to grow by only 0.8 percent this year and 1 percent in 2024.
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Canada Decides to Keep Immigration Targets Stable During Housing, Health-Care Crunch |
The Canadian government has raised its immigration targets in recent years, but said yesterday that it plans to maintain the current target (CBC) of welcoming five hundred thousand new permanent residents in 2026. The target aims to ease pressure on the housing and health-care industries. This Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham and CFR’s Diana Roy looks at Canada’s immigration policy.
Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva temporarily gave the military control of security (Reuters) at some of Brazil’s most important ports and airports amid a spike in deadly crime in Rio de Janeiro state.
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White House to Develop National Plan to Counter Islamophobia |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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