U.S. Strikes Iran-Backed Targets in Syria as Gaza Fighting Approaches Major Hospital |
The U.S. strikes in eastern Syria yesterday were in response (NYT) to near-daily attacks on U.S. forces in Iran and Syria since October 17. Israel also struck the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been firing missiles and rockets at targets in Israel. The clashes in Syria and on the Israel-Lebanon border underscore the risk of the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas spreading across the region. Meanwhile, battles inside Gaza have approached the entrance of Al-Shifa hospital, where Israel says Hamas has an operations center. A dispute over a potential fuel delivery has delayed fuel from reaching the hospital, where hundreds of people are trapped inside, the New York Times reported. The director of the World Health Organization said Al-Shifa “is not functioning as a hospital anymore.”
Speaking to ABC yesterday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said there are many indications that Hamas is using civilian areas to house weapons and fighters in violation of the laws of war, saying also that Washington did not want to see “firefights” in hospitals. In a separate interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it was too early to say (NYT) who could govern Gaza after the war, but that he has not seen an indication that the Palestinian Authority would be capable of doing so.
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“The latest exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran-backed groups appear to be a return to the status quo that preceded the de-escalatory understandings reached in Oman [earlier this year],” the International Crisis Group’s Brian Finucane, Lahib Higel, Naysan Rafati, and Ali Vaez write. “A miscalculation or a mishap could well lead to significant escalation.”
“The harsh reality of this combined urban and subterranean warfare means that civilians will get hurt, as was the case when U.S. and partner forces fought the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria,” Reichman University’s Daphné Richemond-Barak writes for Foreign Affairs. “Despite the difficulty of managing these risks, the destruction of Hamas’s network of tunnels and subterranean structures must remain a top priority for the Israeli military as this operation evolves.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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U.S., South Korea Update Bilateral Defense Pact |
The two countries formally updated their strategy (Nikkei) on deterring North Korea for the first time since 2013 at a meeting of top defense officials in Seoul today. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the deal committed the United States (AP) to mobilizing its full military capabilities, including nuclear ones, to defend South Korea in the case of a North Korean nuclear attack.
In this In Brief, CFR expert Scott A. Snyder unpacks how U.S.-South Korea nuclear cooperation can deter the North Korean nuclear threat.
Australia/Tuvalu: The island nation gave Australia the right to veto (Australian Financial Review) any security pact it would consider with other nations as part of a deal to resettle Tuvalu’s population in Australia due to climate concerns. Last year, the Solomon Islands signed a security agreement with China, sparking concerns in Australia that more such deals could follow.
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Myanmar Clashes Prompt Thousands to Flee Into India |
Thousands of people fled from Myanmar into neighboring India today among fresh clashes between ethnic minority insurgent groups and Myanmar’s security forces, Reuters reported. The attacks represent the biggest threat to Myanmar’s military junta since it took power in a 2021 coup.
Sri Lanka: President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced plans (Bloomberg) today to increase government pensions and government employee pay as the country faces its worst economic crisis in decades. Sri Lanka will host an election next year amid economic reforms required by its bailout arrangement with the International Monetary Fund.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Algeria’s President Replaces Prime Minister |
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune named Mohamed Labaoui (AP), a lawyer who had been serving as the head of his cabinet, as the country’s new prime minister after he dismissed the previous one on Saturday. The shake-up comes as Algeria prepares for a national election next year. |
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Kenya Hosts Negotiating Session for Global Plastics Treaty |
The meeting that kicks off today is part of a series of talks on global rules to curb plastic pollution. Nations will weigh in (AFP) for the first time on a draft agreement that was published in September.
This Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland evaluates the successes and failures of global climate change agreements.
Burkina Faso: A spokesperson for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for a probe (AFP) into reports that about one hundred civilians were killed in a massacre last week in a village in central-east Burkina Faso.
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UK Cabinet Reshuffle Brings Former PM Cameron Back as Foreign Secretary |
United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed former Prime Minister David Cameron (FT) as foreign secretary today. James Cleverly, who had been serving as foreign secretary, replaced Interior Minister Suella Braverman.
France: More than 182,000 people demonstrated against antisemitism (NYT) in Paris and cities across France yesterday, according to the country’s interior ministry. The marches were called by leaders of France’s legislature; in the past month, more than 1,240 antisemitic acts have been reported in the country.
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Mexico City Announces Water Restrictions Amid Drought |
The restrictions will reduce water pressure (AP) in twelve of the city’s boroughs for several months due to a drought that has severely depleted reservoirs, authorities announced. The limits on water use mark the most severe drought-induced water restrictions in Mexico City’s history.
Honduras: About ten thousand people protested against the government (Reuters) of President Xiomara Castro in Honduras’s capital, Tegucigalpa, after members of her ruling party used a committee vote to approve a new interim chief prosecutor without holding a full congressional vote.
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APEC Summit Begins in San Francisco Ahead of Planned Biden-Xi Meeting |
The United States is hosting (AP) the twenty-one-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference for the first time since 2011. White House aides said the summit will focus on making APEC economies more resilient in the face of climate change. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in person at the summit on Wednesday.
In this article, CFR expert Ian Johnson examines whether a Biden-Xi summit can ease U.S.-China tensions.
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