WORLD BRIEFING: December 5, 2023
Israel - Hamas War
Top UN officials are warning of an "apocalyptic" situation in Gaza with "no place safe to go" for civilians as the deepening humanitarian crisis sparks international concern. Israel is expanding ground operations to the entire territory to "eliminate" Hamas and has told Palestinians to flee large swaths of southern Gaza, where many had previously sought refuge. But the war-torn region is in the midst of a near-total internet blackout as the last major telecommunications operator said services are completely cut off. This means many Palestinians are unable to communicate with one another or call for help while evacuating, and emergency workers can't coordinate their responses - CNN
In a rare punitive move against Israel, the State Department said Tuesday it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the step after warning Israel last week that President Joe Biden’s administration would be taking action over the attacks. Blinken did not announce individual visa bans, but department spokesman Matthew Miller said the bans would be implemented starting Tuesday and would cover “dozens” of settlers and their families, with more to come if the settler violence continued. He wouldn’t give a number and refused to identify any of those targeted due to confidentiality reasons - AP
Ukraine War
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that President Volodymyr Zelensky will address U.S. senators by video on Dec. 5 as efforts intensify to secure a $105 billion aid package.
Elsewhere
Peru’s constitutional court ordered an immediate humanitarian release Tuesday for imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, 85, who was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the death squad slayings of 25 Peruvians in the 1990s. The court ruled in favor of a 2017 pardon that had granted the former leader a release on humanitarian grounds but that later was annulled.
Republican senator Tommy Tuberville dropped his blockade of most military promotions, which he started in February to protest a Pentagon policy helping service members access abortions