WORLD BRIEFING: November 11, 2023
Israel - Hamas War
The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 11,078, according to the Hamas-led health ministry. Among the dead were 4,506 children, it said, according to Reuters.
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he’s worried each civilian killed in Gaza could generate future members of Hamas.
Indirectly encouraging extremism is something I’ve been warning about in on air interviews from here in the region, based on our work in Gaza several years ago. Cautious words not to be taken lightly…
Saudi Arabia on Saturday will host a joint Islamic-Arab summit. Initially, two separate events were to take place: the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit and the Arab League summit. According to the statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the meeting "will be held in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position." - i24
Israeli authorities continue to impose strict restrictions on Palestinians, banning them from entering Al Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem for Friday prayers for the fifth consecutive week. However, an official with the Waqf Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only 4,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were elderly, had managed to reach Al Aqsa Mosque to perform the Friday prayers. The official, who preferred not to be named, added that the mosque appeared to be empty due to strict Israeli control of the streets. Since early Friday morning, Israeli forces have been heavily deployed across occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the entrances leading to the mosque. Hundreds of Palestinians were forced to perform Friday prayers in the streets near the Old City area after being barred from entering Al Aqsa Mosque - TRT
“It is clear that status quo is untenable & we must do all we can to alleviate suffering of civilians. Member States with influence need to work harder than ever to bring the parties to a ceasefire, without further delay” - Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ukraine War
Ukraine will not leave a single meter of land - said the powerful head of Ukraine’s president's office Andrij Yermak. He rejected all myths about negotiations with the Russian Federation and territorial concessions for the sake of ending the war. There will be no Minsk-3. He also said that we have already passed 70% of the war, but the next 30% will be the most difficult - 1+1 TV
Ukraine evacuated another 160 citizens and 9 citizens of Moldova from the Gaza Strip during the night and the previous day, President Zelensky said. In total, 203 Ukrainians were evacuated to Egypt in the past week - mostly women and children. Some reportedly refused exit by local law enforcement officers because of their alleged involvement with Hamas. Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel told me there are well over 300 Ukrainians trapped in Gaza. Once there’s a sufficient number to move them out of Egypt a charter plane will bring them to Ukraine
Elsewhere
Britain's stagnating economy failed to grow in the July-to-September period but at least managed to avoid the start of a recession, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed
President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold their first face-to-face talks in a year next week, a meeting that analysts say could help stabilize a shaky relationship but probably won't change its trajectory. U.S.-China ties have long been mired in disagreements over trade, technology, security and human rights, but mistrust and friction have increased markedly in recent years and the Biden administration has re-framed the relationship as one that is fundamentally competitive. Biden and Xi will have "in-depth discussions" on Nov. 15 in the San Francisco Bay Area as leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies gather for an annual meeting in the city, a senior Biden administration official said - NPR
German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck has canceled his participation in next week's controversial Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon. The conference founder Paddy Cosgrave raised hackles last month with anti-Israel comments and criticism of what he saw as Israeli war crimes while calling for support of the Palestinians in Gaza. After stirring up a storm he apologized and resigned as Web Summit CEO but the venture he founded was left in a difficult situation.