WORLD BRIEFING: November 30, 2023
Israel - Hamas War
The Israeli military says the six-day ceasefire in Gaza will continue in light of mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing hostages. It was extended for a day after Hamas gave Israel a list of woman and children hostages to be released on Thursday. On Wednesday evening 10 Israeli hostages - and four Thai citizens - returned to Israeli territory after the group's release from Gaza. Israel's prison service says it has freed a further 30 Palestinian prisoners - BBC
The Shin Bet announced that the two terrorists, who carried out the shooting attack at the entrance to Jerusalem Thursday morning, are brothers Murad and Ibrahim Namer, residents of East Jerusalem, aged 38 and 30 respectively. According to the announcement, the two are associated with Hamas and previously served prison terms for involvement in terrorist activities. Murad was imprisoned from 2010-2020, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, directed by residents of Gaza - Haaretz
Earlier, two boys aged 8 and 14 were shot dead during an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military hasn't commented on the two boys specifically, but says it killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander and arrested 17 others during an operation targeting a refugee camp - BBC
Ukraine War
The EU's 12th package of sanctions will gradually limit the trade in Russian diamonds. From January 1, 2024, a ban on "non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry" will be introduced. From March to September, a ban on the import of Russian diamonds cut or polished in third countries will be phased in - AFP
Elsewhere
In a profanity-laced outburst, Elon Musk has slammed advertisers that have left X, warning they will kill the social media platform. At an event in New York, he accused companies that have joined an ad boycott of the site formerly known as Twitter of trying to blackmail him. “Go [expletive] yourself," the billionaire said in an interview. Some firms have paused advertising on X amid concerns over antisemitism, including a post from Mr Musk himself. The Tesla and SpaceX boss apologised on Wednesday for that post, saying it might be the "dumbest" thing he has ever shared online - BBC
In a disastrous but predictable development for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the foreign ministers of 3 Baltic states - and separately Ukraine- have announced they will boycott the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council in Macedonia after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (aka Marlboro Man) was invited. He was denied entry to Poland to attend the previous ministerial OSCE summit in Łódź…
Former US Secretary of State and national security adviser Henry Kissinger, one of the most influential and controversial foreign policy figures of our time, died Wednesday at age 100. His policies and strategies under former Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford brought widespread praise and scorn that — for better or worse — changed the course of American history. Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize for helping arrange the end of US military involvement in the Vietnam War and is credited with secret diplomacy that helped Nixon open communist China to the US and the West. But he was also reviled by many over the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War and accused by critics of needlessly expanding the conflict. Kissinger escaped Nazi Germany in his youth and came to the US in 1938 before ultimately cementing his legacy in foreign policy in the 1970s - CNN