WORLD BRIEFING: December 21, 2023
Israel - Gaza War
Hamas says that Palestinian groups have rejected the prospect of further hostage releases until Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza. The statement was released as talks in Cairo continue over reaching a new truce in the war. But Israel has repeatedly rejected a permanent ceasefire, with its national security minister saying ending the war before Hamas is defeated would constitute a "failure" - BBC
The UN Security Council is again due to a hold vote on "urgent humanitarian pauses" in Gaza after the previous vote was postponed on Wednesday
On Wednesday, the Hamas-run Gaza government said 20,000 people had been killed there since Israel launched its military campaign against the group
In new estimates released today, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global partnership, which includes WHO, said Gaza is facing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity,” with the risk of famine “increasing each day.” An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households are facing “catastrophic conditions”: experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident. On recent missions to north Gaza, WHO staff say that every single person they spoke to in Gaza is hungry. Wherever they went, including hospitals and emergency wards, people asked them for food. “We move around Gaza delivering medical supplies and people rush to our trucks hoping it’s food,” they said, calling it “an indicator of the desperation.”
Ukraine War
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has told foreign media that Ukraine next year plans to mobilize Ukrainian men between 25 and 60 who reside abroad. Umerov said those who fail to heed the mobilization call when summoned will face unspecified sanctions. Meanwhile, Defense Ministry spokesman Illarion Pavlyuk told the Babel website that Umerov only intended to send a message to Ukrainians abroad about the importance of their joining Kyiv's struggle to repel Russia's invasion, adding that specific mechanisms to recruit Ukrainian expats are not under discussion yet. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the Ukrainian military needs up to half a million people more - RFE/RL
China is profiting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led Russia to switch from the West to China for purchases of everything from cars to computer chips. Russia, in turn, has sold oil and natural gas to China at deep discounts - NYT
The Biden administration is quietly signaling new support for seizing more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets stashed in Western nations, and has begun urgent discussions with allies about using the funds to aid Ukraine’s war effort at a moment when financial support is waning, according to senior American and European officials. Until recently, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen had argued that without action by Congress, seizing the funds was “not something that is legally permissible in the United States.” There has also been concern among some top American officials that nations around the world would hesitate to keep their funds at the New York Federal Reserve, or in dollars, if the United States established a precedent for seizing the money. But the administration, in coordination with the Group of 7 industrial nations, has begun taking another look at whether it can use its existing authorities or if it should seek congressional action to use the funds. Support for such legislation has been building in Congress, giving the Biden administration optimism that it could be granted the necessary authority. The talks among finance ministers, central bankers, diplomats and lawyers have intensified in recent weeks, officials said, with the Biden administration pressing Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan to come up with a strategy by Feb. 24, the second anniversary of the invasion - NYT
Ukraine has already produced 50,000 first-person-view (FPV) drones in December, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said on Dec. 20. FPV drones are cheap to manufacture and can be precisely flown into targets. They have the capability of destroying much more expensive military equipment. He said in October that Ukraine aimed to massively scale up its production of drones to tens of thousands per month.
Elsewhere
A mass shooting in downtown Prague killed 10 people and injured about 30 others, and the person who opened fire also is dead, Czech police and the city's rescue service said Thursday - AP
Vote counting has begun following extended elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Polling began on Wednesday but continued into Thursday after some stations failed to open due to logistical issues. Dr Charles Sinkala has some analysis.
Chinese warships deployed in the Red Sea refused to assist Israeli cargo ships in Bab Al-Mandab and rejected their distress calls - AP