WORLD BRIEFING: November 10, 2023
Israel-Hamas War
Israel has agreed to begin four-hour “pauses” in military operations in northern Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to get in and innocent civilians to safely get out, the Biden administration’s National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday. Israel will give a three-hour warning before each daily pause, starting from Thursday, he said. “Israel has an obligation to fully comply with international law and we believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have an opportunity to reach safer areas away from the act of fighting,” Kirby added. Israel has steadfastly refused to consider a ceasefire as long as Hamas still holds hostages from their surprise attacks in Israel on Oct. 7 - AP
Some 80,000 people fled northern Gaza through an evacuation corridor Thursday, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement on social media. The numbers announced by COGAT would mark a rise in evacuations compared to the previous day, when 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza, according to Israel Defense Forces figures. CNN cannot independently verify the evacuation totals. The IDF has opened evacuation corridors several times this week for periods of several hours — a pattern it seemed to formalize Thursday, when the White House announced Israel had agreed to continue with daily four-hour pauses of military operations in parts of northern Gaza. An IDF spokesperson reiterated Thursday that there is no ceasefire in the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that could only come with the release of all Hamas hostages - CNN
The Biden administration has received stark warnings from American diplomats in the Arab world that its strong support for Israel’s destructive and deadly military campaign in Gaza “is losing us Arab publics for a generation,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by CNN. “We are losing badly on the messaging battlespace,” reads a Wednesday cable from the US Embassy in Oman, citing conversations with “a wide range of trusted and sober-minded contacts.” “We are losing badly on the messaging battlespace,” reads a Wednesday cable from the US Embassy in Oman, citing conversations with “a wide range of trusted and sober-minded contacts.” The robust US support for Israel’s actions is being seen, the cable warns, “as material and moral culpability in what they consider to be possible war crimes.” Another cable obtained by CNN from the American embassy in Cairo relayed back to Washington the commentary in a state-run Egyptian newspaper that “President Biden’s cruelty and disregard for Palestinians exceeded all previous US presidents.” - CNN
The Israeli military has limited time to carry out its operations in Gaza before anger among Arabs in the region and frustration in the United States and other countries over the spiraling civilian death toll constrain Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas, U.S. officials said this week. As senior Biden administration officials push Israel to do more to minimize civilian casualties, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that he was worried each civilian killed in Gaza could generate future members of Hamas. General Brown did not call for a cease-fire. But when asked by reporters traveling with him to Tokyo if he was worried that high civilian casualty numbers would generate future Hamas militants, he replied, “Yes, very much so.” - NYT
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…
Reuters, AP, CNN and the New York Times have denied any prior knowledge of the 7 October attacks, after an Israeli minister accused Gaza-based freelancers for these outlets of "participating" in the attack. The NYT rejected "unsupported accusations" in a statement - BBC
Palestinian Red Crescent officials in the occupied West Bank were able to get in touch with their director of ambulance and emergency centres in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Msbeh, who gave an update on the increasingly perilous situation in Gaza City’s al-Quds Hospital. Abu Msbeh said that the hospital had around 24 hours until fuel for its generator ran out, which would lead to “a total shutdown of all hospital services”. He said that internet communications had been cut in the area for two days and that roads around the hospital were cut for the fourth day in a row. “[In the coming hours] very difficult decisions will have to be taken as to whether to continue working at the hospital or evacuate everyone to areas that may be more dangerous,” Abu Msbeh said - Al Jazeera
War in Ukraine
Polish truckers are blocking border crossings with Ukraine to protest an EU deal that allows easy access for much cheaper Ukrainian drivers into the bloc. This follows a Polish ban of Ukrainian grain imports to protect farmers from an influx of cheap produce from its war-torn neighbor. Unlike the grain blockade, which was imposed by the Polish government, the trucker protests aren't sanctioned by Warsaw.
Polish truckers on strike have blocked about 1,700 trucks from passing through the Polish-Ukrainian border at three different checkpoints, said Andrii Demchenko, a spokesperson of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, at a Ukrinform press conference on Nov. 9 - Kyiv Independent
A Russian missile Wednesday night struck a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier as it was entering Odesa port. The pilot was killed and three other crew members, all Filipino citizens, were injured. A port worker was also wounded. The ship was transporting iron ore to China - Ukraine officials
Ukrainian journalists have been asking parliamentarians and the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada why a ban on reporters entering the grounds of the legislature - instituted at the start of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine- is still on the books. Only one channel, a government-linked media outlet, is allowed to stream sessions and some committee meetings. It’s alleged that much of the footage is aired late at night when people are sleeping. The speaker’s office and parliamentarians - many of whom were shown arriving in luxury vehicles - door-stopped by RFE/RL’s Skhemy investigative show indicated that there’s little chance of the ban being lifted any time soon, citing security and other reasons. Watch the full report here:
Regarding the above - with tens of billions of post-war aid dollars set to flow into Ukraine, western donors should insist on an immediate return of media access to the Verkhovna Rada. Without media able to perform their work, there can be no transparency and full accountability.
Elsewhere
A series of close calls on runways across the United States has gotten the attention of aviation experts — and a key Senate committee that oversees the industry. Safety experts and union leaders told a Senate Commerce subcommittee Thursday that a shortage of air traffic controllers is leading to fatigue and distraction, likely contributing to a growing list of close calls at major airports this year. The aviation safety system is "showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore," said Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Safety Transportation Board, which is charged with investigating near collisions and other safety incidents - NPR
In a global survey, Ukraine emerged as the second most generous country in the world after Indonesia. Ukraine was also Charities Aid Foundation's World Giving Index 2023’s biggest riser. The finding is significant as in past years volunteerism was not seen as a major trait in the region, especially immediately after the breakup of the Soviet Union
Required reading…
Historic progress: Ukraine receives green light for EU membership talks
The European Commission has this week recommended opening EU membership negotiations with Ukraine. The recommendation, which featured in the Commission’s annual enlargement report, was accompanied by a number of conditions regarding further progress on issues including minority rights and the fight against corruption. The stage is now set for official confirmation when EU leaders gather in December.
The European Commission’s decision was welcomed in Kyiv as a major milestone in Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toasted the news as “a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member.” Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry posted that the country was now returning to its European roots.
The start of accession negotiations does not mean Ukraine is now guaranteed EU membership, of course. On the contrary, a long road lies ahead marked by numerous bureaucratic obstacles and demands regarding Ukraine’s continued adoption of EU norms. Nevertheless, this week’s green light for membership talks represents genuinely historic progress at a time when Ukrainians are fighting to defend their independence and their right to choose a European future.
Read the full Atlantic Council Ukraine Alert analysis here