WORLD BRIEFING: November 16, 2023
Israel-Hamas War
A journalist trapped inside Gaza's largest hospital told AFP on Wednesday that Israeli troops had withdrawn from the building after invading it overnight, but the Israeli artillery are still maintaining positions at the gates of the medical complex.
All water wells and sewage pumps in Rafah in southern Gaza have stopped working because of a lack of fuel, Thomas White, chief of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said today. The desalination plant in Khan Younis has also stopped working as fuel ran out, he said in a post on X, adding the plant supplies drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. Some 6,000 gallons of fuel entered Gaza today, he wrote earlier on X. But he said none of that can be used for water because of Israeli restrictions - NBC
Thousands of Jews and allies of the Jewish community gathered Tuesday at the "March for Israel" rally in Washington, DC. The march is believed to be the largest pro-Israel gathering in the US since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The demonstrators denounced antisemitism and many speakers expressed sympathy for innocent Palestinians suffering during the conflict. "The simple human truth is that you don't have to choose. You can abhor the suffering of Palestinian families and the suffering of Israeli families like mine," said Alana Zeitchik, adding six members of her family remain held hostage. Also on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said a deal to free some 200 hostages is "going to happen" as officials say they are nearing an agreement - CNN
Benjamin Netanyahu’s credibility with the Israeli public has taken a significant hit since October 7, with less than 4 percent of Jewish Israelis reporting that they trust the prime minister as the most reliable source of information regarding the war against Hamas, according to a new survey by Bar Ilan University - Haaretz
UN Security Council backed a resolution calling for "extended humanitarian pauses" in Gaza has passed with 12 members voting for it, and three abstaining - the US, UK and Russia. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, says the resolution is "disconnected from reality and meaningless". US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, says she is "horrified that a few members of this Council still cannot bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terrorist attack that Hamas carried out against Israel". Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, welcomed the resolution. It "sent a rare and powerful message to Israel, Hamas and other armed groups that compliance with international humanitarian law is non-negotiable", he said - BBC
South Africa has referred Israel’s government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its actions in the Gaza conflict, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday. “As South Africa we have accordingly, together with many other countries in the world, saw fit to refer this whole Israeli government action to the International Criminal Court. We have put through a referral because we believe that war crimes are being committed there,” President Ramaphosa said.He did not disclose the other countries involved in referring Israel to the ICC - BBC
Ukraine War
A political analyst told RFE/RL that Volodymyr Zelenskiy is "tempted" to try to hold a presidential election because as a wartime leader with a high trust level he would have a good chance of winning a second term.
Ukraine declared an air-raid alert for its entire territory for the second consecutive day on November 15 after the air force warned of a threat of air strikes when MiG-31K warplanes were detected to have taken off from Russian territory. Meanwhile, at least one person was killed when the Ukrainian city of Selydove in the eastern region of Donetsk was shelled by Russian forces overnight, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said - RFE/RL
Elsewhere
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down together on Wednesday just outside of San Francisco, where Asian leaders gathered for an annual summit. Biden said afterwards that the meeting included “some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had.” He added that they will “keep the lines of communication open” and Xi is “willing to pick up the phone” — no small thing in the world of high-risk, high-stakes diplomacy between Washington and Beijing. Biden left the meeting with commitments on key issues. Xi agreed to help curb the production of the illicit fentanyl that is a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States. In addition, Biden and Xi reached an agreement to resume military-to-military communications. That means Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will speak with his Chinese counterpart once someone is named to the job, the official said. Similar engagements will take place up and down the military chain of command - AP
A leading western journalist who has long been considered one of Germany’s top independent experts on Russia received at least €600,000 (£522,000) in undisclosed offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, leaked files have revealed. Hubert Seipel, an award-winning film-maker and author, was paid money in instalments, which documents suggest was to support his work on two books he wrote that chart Putin’s rise to power and offer portrayals described by many as sympathetic to the Russian president. The case is one of the first linking an influential western journalist with significant payments in what could be seen by some as attempts by pro-Putin actors to secure positive coverage in the international media - Guardian
Britain's controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda was struck down by the UK's highest court, dealing a potentially fatal blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship policy on migration and setting up an anticipated revolt from the right wing of his Conservative party. In the House of Commons Wednesday, Sunak vowed to explore other options to stop boats of migrants from reaching UK shores.
France has issued international arrest warrants for Syrian leader Bashar Assad and three other Syrian nationals over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in 2013.
San Francisco municipal leaders rallied around two Czech public television journalists who were robbed at gunpoint Sunday evening in North Beach neighborhood. Local news stations offered to donate equipment; Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin proposed dinner and a guided walking tour; and local news stations tried to donate equipment, to replace more than $18,000 in stolen gear. The TV crew also got an exclusive interview with Mayor London Breed, during which they kept the conversation focused on APEC.
Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — who works as an editor for Radio Free Europe, funded by the U.S. government — has been detained in Russia for almost a month, charged with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent.” Kurmasheva was detained on Oct 18, becoming the second U.S. journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March. She is being held in a detention center, awaiting a trial that could sentence her to up to five years in prison - AP