WORLD BRIEFING: October 26, 2023
The parents of Palestinian children in Gaza, fearing they might be killed by Israeli air strikes and buried in ruble, write their children’s names on their limbs…just in case.
Israel - Gaza War
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says almost 6,500 people have been killed since 7 October. More than 1,400 were killed in the initial attacks on Israel by Hamas, and more than 200 people are still being held hostage in Gaza - BBC
Israel reportedly declined a visa request for the UN humanitarian relief coordinator, and considerations were made to expel other UN officials from the country. Following Secretary-General Guterres' remarks, there has been no further communication with the Israeli delegation. However, according to a UN spokesperson discussions between UN staff in Jerusalem and their Israeli counterparts remain productive. Conversations regarding visas are ongoing, and it's worth noting that UN humanitarian relief coordinator Martin Griffiths is currently in Geneva. It is anticipated that the recent disagreement will not lead to adverse actions taken by Israel against UN staff within the broader context of the ongoing conflict in the region - Israel 24 News
With so many bodies, Palestinians in Gaza are burying the unidentified dead in mass graves, with a number instead of a name, residents say. Now some families are using bracelets in the hope of finding their loved ones should they be killed. Other Palestinian families were also buying or making bracelets for their children or writing their names on their arms. Mass burials have been authorized by local Muslim clerics. Before burial, medics keep pictures and blood samples of the dead and give them numbers. The Israeli military has told people to leave the north of the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely-populated places in the world, and head south because it is safer. But air strikes have hit across the Hamas-ruled enclave - Reuters
Palestinian health officials said hospitals in the Gaza Strip could cease functioning as early as Wednesday evening due to a lack of fuel. Israel has banned fuel imports into the enclave on the premise that it will be used by Hamas. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has said that the flow of urgent humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing is insufficient.
But Biden also said that "their will be no return to status quo after the October 7 massacre, a two-state solution must come next…Israel has the right, and I would add a responsibility, to respond to the slaughter of their people. And we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists. That's a guarantee." Regarding the military operation in Gaza: “Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians. It's difficult." - Israel 24
Elsewhere
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., was sworn in as the 56th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon. His election ends three weeks of leaderless chaos in the House after conservatives ousted Kevin McCarthy - NBC News
Johnson is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, who publicly backed his bid Tuesday and suggested that other Republicans support him. Johnson played a central role in the effort for lawmakers to reject the Electoral College votes that secured Joe Biden’s win on Jan. 6, 2021, with The New York Times calling him “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections.” He refused to answer a question Tuesday night about 2020, saying “next question” as other Republican members booed at the reporter who asked it - Semafor
Johnson was asked if he supports more aid to Ukraine. “We all do. ... We are going to have conditions on that so we’re working through…We want accountability and we want objectives that are clear from the White House. But we’re going to have those discussions. It will be very productive," he said - NBC News
One civilian has been killed and at least 20 wounded in the latest Russian military attacks on Ukraine, officials announced on October 25, including a drone strike near a Ukrainian power plant. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected command posts of Russian troops in Ukraine's Donetsk region, his ministry said - RFE/RL
Ukraine has started the forced evacuation of around 1,000 children from areas near to the front line as Russia intensifies attacks. Parents have been told they must move their families to safety from 31 settlements in the southern Kherson and eastern Donetsk regions. Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Officials in the north-eastern Kharkiv region are also preparing to evacuate 275 children from 10 settlements. Ukraine has ordered such evacuations before when fighting has intensified. - BBC
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has grounded more than 300 flights in the past week due to the company's fragile finances. The national carrier has suffered huge losses over the past few decades. Abdullah Hafeez Khan, spokesman for the PIA, told RFE/RL on October 25 that 322 domestic and international flights had been grounded over the past week. The flight operations were affected by PIA's inability to pay for fuel and tools and make loan payments. The spokesman said the company's management is trying to restore international operations, with flights to Canada, Turkey, China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia taking priority - RFE/RL
Required reading…
The world is on fire. The United States must lead.
By Kay Bailey Hutchison
The world is on fire. We will react to every provocation, every horrendous act, every barbaric atrocity as civilized people would. But now is the time for the United States, the leader of the free world, to look at the big picture and determine what should be done to protect the security of its people and like-minded allies, beyond simply reacting to events.
Some may ask: What should the United States’ role be in addressing the chaos now evolving on two continents? My answer is that the United States is the only power that can keep the tensions from spreading to Asia and beyond, and unite freedom-loving countries to solve the issues that will deter bigger conflicts.
Read the full Atlantic Council analysis here