Israeli Strikes Extend to Lebanon’s North |
The expanded targeting of Hezbollah militants in Lebanon yesterday hit the town of Aitou, killing at least twenty-one people and injuring eight, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Millions of Israelis also sheltered as Hezbollah launched retaliatory projectiles into Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement yesterday.
Israel’s military operations had previously concentrated on southern Lebanon near its border with Israel, with Israeli officials ordering the evacuation of residents to the north. The UN refugee agency said today that more than 25 percent of Lebanon is under Israeli evacuation orders since Israel began its incursion into southern Lebanon about two weeks ago. Lebanon’s public health minister said that at least 150 medical and rescue workers have been killed in the past three weeks in what one Lebanese official called a “systematic targeting” of health care. Israel’s military said it provides notices to residents before the strikes and accused Hezbollah of using “civilian infrastructure” to transport “operatives and ammunition.” Meanwhile, an Israeli strike overnight hit a central hospital complex in the Gaza Strip, where Israel says Hamas fighters were hiding, while another struck a school-turned-shelter, killing and injuring dozens. (Reuters, FT, NYT)
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“Membership or mere affiliation with Hezbollah is not a sufficient basis for determining an individual to be a lawful military target,” Human Rights Watch’s Ramzi Kaiss tells the Financial Times. “Medical personnel, including those assigned to Hezbollah-affiliated civil defense organizations, are protected under the laws of war. Intentionally directing an attack against medical units and ambulances would be a war crime.”
“The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) face a unique, unenviable quandary: whether to participate in a war that engulfs their homeland. The LAF’s absence on the front line could be interpreted by some Lebanese citizens as dereliction of duty. Meanwhile, participation would mean backing Hezbollah in the war, which could threaten the LAF’s own relationship with its benefactors in the West,” Anchal Vohra writes for Foreign Policy.
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Canada, India Expel Each Other’s Top Diplomats |
The tit-for-tat decision follows Canada’s assertion that the Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, were linked to the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. India denied the accusation, saying it withdrew its envoy from Canada. In return, India ousted six Canadian diplomats, also among them Canada’s high commissioner, who was Ottawa’s most senior remaining envoy in New Delhi. (Reuters, FT)
This In Brief by CFR expert Manjari Chatterjee Miller explains the Canada-India spat over Nijjar’s death.
Sri Lanka: Schools were closed in the capital, Colombo, and its suburbs yesterday as heavy rainfall unleashed floods across the island. The country’s disaster management center reported 240 houses have been damaged and nearly 7,000 people evacuated. Sri Lanka has been dealing with severe monsoon rains since May. (AP)
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North Korea Starts Demolition of Cross-Border Roads, Railways With South Korea |
The move is part of a larger effort to abandon reunification with South Korea, a goal that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced earlier this year. South Korea called the North’s actions to blow up the rail lines “deplorable” and “regressive behavior” and fired warning shots in response. (Reuters)
Japan: General elections for 465 lower house seats kick off today. Newly elected Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru called the snap election set for October 27 last week as he seeks a majority in the lower house. Critics have said the vote comes too soon after his taking office. (Nikkei, AP)
For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR expert Sheila A. Smith dives into what Ishiba’s win means for Japan.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Qatar to Host Rare Referendum on Prospect of Even-Rarer Voting |
Qatar: The country will hold a public referendum on a proposal that would reject the use of legislative elections, among other constitutional amendments. Voting in Qatar is not common practice; the last and first-ever election was in 2021 and sparked tribal tensions after some groups were deemed ineligible to vote. (Reuters) |
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Ukraine Denies Supplying Drones to Mali Rebel Groups |
The statement by Ukraine’s foreign ministry comes after international media reports over the weekend claimed that Tuareg fighters in Mali were using Ukrainian drones to fight against the Malian army and Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group. Mali cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in August over comments from a Ukrainian military spokesperson that implied Kyiv’s support for rebel groups. (Reuters, Le Monde)
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The International Criminal Court (ICC) will reopen an investigation into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the country’s North Kivu province, ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan said yesterday. Last May, the DRC requested an investigation into the systematic pillaging of its natural resources by the Rwandan military and rebel groups. (Reuters)
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR expert Michelle Gavin explains why lasting peace in the DRC remains elusive.
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Nearly Two-Thirds of EU Water Bodies Highly Polluted, Report Finds |
The report released today by the European Environment Agency also found that water scarcity affects one-fifth of European Union (EU) land and almost one-third of the bloc’s population each year. Increased water stress has in part been linked to the rising cost of fires, droughts, and floods. Meanwhile, the EU agreed yesterday on a climate stance for next month’s UN climate conference, with a heftier push for nuclear energy. (FT, Bloomberg)
Albania/Italy: Rome sent its first boat of “non-vulnerable” migrants—men coming from “safe countries”—rescued from the Mediterranean Sea to Albanian detention centers yesterday. The Italian government said “vulnerable” people, such as children, pregnant women, and the ill and disabled will be taken directly to Italy for processing. The plan has been applauded by EU leaders as an innovative solution to deter immigration, while human rights groups fear the move puts migrants at risk. (NYT)
For Think Global Health, CFR’s Abi McGowan looks at the human cost of crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
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Mexico’s Congress Passes Rules for Judicial Overhaul |
The lower house voted in overwhelming support yesterday for legislation that would iron out the details of the controversial court reform system of electing judges, which was added to Mexico’s constitution in September. The new policy is expected to be rolled out over the next three years. U.S. officials have voiced concern over the potential erosion of checks and balances in the country and possible changes to U.S.-Mexico trade relations. (Reuters, Bloomberg)
Argentina/Brazil: Argentine President Javier Milei has confirmed he’ll attend the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro next month, according to local news sources. Milei and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have not yet met due to ideological differences between the two governments. (Agenzia Nova)
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Trump Pushes Hush Money Case to Federal Court |
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team renewed their request yesterday to move his New York state trial case to federal court, claiming that the state charges encroached on Trump’s presidential authority. The new appeal comes after the New York district court rejected Trump’s request for a new ruling last month after the U.S. Supreme Court’s July decision that ruled former presidents cannot be prosecuted for official actions while in office. (Reuters, CNN)
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