WORLD BRIEFING: December 28, 2023

Israel - Gaza War

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned residents across parts of central Gaza, including the Al-Bureij refugee camp, to urgently evacuate to shelters as its operations against Hamas continue to intensify amid ongoing humanitarian concerns, CNN reported. The warning came after the Hamas-run health ministry reported at least 50 people had been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday.

The IDF acknowledged “unintended harm” to civilians due to strikes in that part of Gaza on December 24. The strikes were against targets in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp and the Hamas-run ministry said about 70 people were killed - CNN

Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz warned time is running out to reach a diplomatic solution to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. There have been a series of tit-for-tat exchanges on Israel's northern border - CNN

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel next week to discuss the next steps in the war, an Israeli official told CNN. The expected trip comes after Israel's military chief and other leaders have said the war against Hamas is far from ending, despite diplomatic efforts. 

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says that 21,110 people have been killed, and 55,243 wounded in Gaza

Ukraine War

  • The President of Moldova Maia Sandu urged the world to continue helping Kyiv in fighting off Russian aggression. Military plans of Russian leader Vladimir Putin go beyond Ukraine, she added

  • Vsevolod Kniaziev, the former head of Ukraine's Supreme Court, was found guilty by a court in Kyiv of illegally accepting a gift after it was revealed he was renting an apartment in an elite neighborhood of Kyiv for Hr 1,000 ($26) a month, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) reported on Dec. 27.

  • The U.S. announced a $250 million military assistance package comprised of weapons and equipment for Ukraine, exhausting the last remaining funds the U.S. will provide until Congress approves the Biden administration’s funding requests, the U.S. State Department announced on Dec. 27.

  • A vessel en route to a port in Odesa Oblast hits a mine in the Black Sea. The Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier Vyssos exploded on a Russian mine in the Black Sea. The vessel was on its way to Izmail to pick up a cargo of grain.

  • The Russian army has changed the tactics of launching "Shaheds.” Now they are trying to direct the drones through residential areas. "During the attack [on the night of December 27], almost all Odesa residents recorded the drones flying right among residential areas. Where, in principle, stationary air defense systems cannot be deployed," said Natalia Gumenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Southern Defense Forces.

Elsewhere

  • China has been ramping up the pressure ahead of a pivotal presidential race in Taiwan, an island it has long seen as a renegade province. With just weeks to go, Beijing looms larger than ever before - on the ballot, and at Taiwan's borders. - BBC

Michael BociurkiwComment