WORLD BRIEFING: December 13, 2023
Israel - Hamas War
Israel pressed ahead Tuesday with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months. Ahead of a non-binding vote at the United Nations later Tuesday, Israel and the United States faced global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.
More than 17,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where United Nations agencies say there is no safe place to flee. With only a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching a small portion of Gaza, residents face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods.
Israel says 97 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. Qatar, which has played a key mediating role, says efforts to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but a willingness to discuss a cease-fire is fading - AP
Ukraine War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s high stakes visit to Washington to secure $61bn in funding g seems to have ended up in failure. The BBC’s Washington correspondent reported that Zelensky would have left with little to show: “It wasn't exactly a slap on the back and a half-hearted "good luck", but it might as well have been. Mr Zelensky may have travelled halfway around the world, but the odds that Ukraine gets more military support from the US haven't improved.”
During a joint news conference with President Zelensky, U.S. President Joe Biden vowed the United States will support Ukraine for “as long as we can.” The comment represented a subtle but noteworthy shift in public messaging from the president, who previously said the US will support the country in its defense against the Russian invasion for “as long as it takes.” - CNN
As I told ABC News last week, the blocking of the $61bn in supplemental funding for Ukraine represents an early Christmas gift for Russian President Putin and that recalcitrant lawmakers need to be prepared to be judged harshly by history. The funding - which almost equals the total amount given by the U.S. to Ukraine since Feb. 2022 was to have gone to military needs, budget support, humanitarian needs and energy
The Tuesday cyber attack on Ukraine mobile operator Kyivstar was being described as the most powerful in the country’s history. Kyivstar’s IT infrastructure had been partially destroyed and air raid alarm sirens in Dnipro, Sumy and Cherkasy were reportedly made inoperable. On a day President Zelensky was on Capitol Hill pleading for passage of a multi billion dollar supplemental bill
The war in Ukraine has devastated Russia’s pre-invasion military machine, with nearly 90% of its prewar army lost to death or injury, and thousands of battle tanks destroyed, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence assessment shared with Congress. The intelligence assessment, according to a congressional source, says that 315,000 Russian personnel have been killed or injured since the February 2022 invasion, or about 87% of Moscow’s prewar force of 360,000. Russia also has lost nearly two-thirds of its tank force, or 2,200 out of its 3,500 pre-invasion stock, the congressional source said.
Elsewhere
Intense negotiations at COP28 in Dubai have come to an end. The UAE presidency, apparently in a rush to conclude the summit, moved to approve the deal without opening the floor to final remarks. Usually, those who criticise elements of the deal will make their views known, even if ultimately voting in its support. While the fall of the gavel was swift, it wasn't without protest, as island nations representatives complained they were not in the room at that crucial moment. The summit's presidency dubbed the deal "historic" for the inclusion of language mentioning a "transition away from fossil fuels", namely coal, oil and gas, whose consumption emits planet-warming greenhouse gases. But, as climate editor Justin Rowlatt writes, the agreement is fundamentally weak, because it simply “call[s] on parties to contribute” to a series of actions to tackle climate change. For now, the extent of that contribution is up for each country to decide - BBC
Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. All the girls interviewed by the AP said they are held hostage by controlling husbands who rarely let them outside. Several said they were beaten and raped by traffickers and other men during the journey to Malaysia, and five said they were abused by their husbands. Half the girls are pregnant or already have babies, despite most saying they were not prepared for motherhood.