WORLD BRIEFING: January 21, 2024
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected the idea of creating a Palestinian state. His comments came hours after a phone call with US President Joe Biden after which the US leader indicated Mr Netanyahu may still accept the idea. Mr Netanyahu's remarks appeared to deepen a public divide with the US - BBC
Four senior IDF officials told the New York Times that a prolonged campaign aimed at toppling Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip will likely cost the lives of the Israeli hostages. According to the officials, the two main goals of the war in the Gaza Strip, the release of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas, are at odds with each other.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza from over three months of war between Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers has soared past 25,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. At least 178 bodies were brought to Gaza's hospitals in 24 hours along with nearly 300 wounded people, according to Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra. Women and children are the main victims in the Israel-Hamas war, according to the United Nations - AP
The Iranian Nour News, which is believed to be close to Tehran's intelligence apparatus, identified two of the dead in Damascus as Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh, the intelligence deputy of the guard's expeditionary Quds Force in Syria, and his deputy, who goes by the nom de guerre Hajj Gholam. The guard later issued a statement identifying the dead as Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi and Saeed Karimi. It gave no ranks for them - AP
An explosion has occurred at a gas export terminal near the city of St Petersburg in Russia, officials say. The blast caused a large fire, state-owned RIA Novosti news agency said. It said the fire had been contained, and there were no reports of injuries. The cause of the fire is not known, but local media have reported that drones had been seen in the area. Both Russia and Ukraine have used drones in the current conflict. Ukraine usually does not admit such attacks - BBC
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media reporting the drone attack on an oil terminal near St. Petersburg Russia is a special operation of Ukraine security services (SBU). Reports that the site is where the fuel supplied to Russian troops is refined
In December 2023, Russia’s oil export revenues amounted to $14.4 billion, which is the lowest value since last June, according to the monthly report of the International Energy Agency. Compared to November, the revenues dipped by $1.4 – while showing a $0.4-billion growth compared to December 2022. The observed slump occurred despite Russia having upped its oil exports by almost 500,000 barrels per day to 7.8 million barrels per day, which is the highest volume since last March. In particular, crude oil exports grew by 240,000 barrels, and oil product flow increased by 260,000 barrels. A decrease in revenues against the backdrop of increased exports is the result of growing Russian oil price discounts and shrinking benchmark oil prices - The Insider
For the first time since gaining independence, Belarus has included a clause about nuclear weapons in its military doctrine. According to state-owned news agency BELTA, Minister of Defense Viktor Khrenin has presented the government a draft of the updated document, which envisages the possibility of Belarus using Russian nuclear weapons deployed on its territory - The Insider
President Joe Biden’s top aides bluntly told lawmakers that if Congress fails to authorize additional military aid for Ukraine in the coming days, Russia could win the war in a matter of weeks — months at best, according to two people familiar with the meeting. National security adviser Jake Sullivan and the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the lawmakers that Ukraine will run out of certain air defense and artillery capabilities in the coming weeks, according to the people familiar with the meeting - NBC
