WORLD BRIEFING: October 14, 2023
Israel-Gaza War
Israel has warned 1.1m Palestinians living in north Gaza to evacuate south, and thousands have been fleeing by vehicle or on foot. UN chief António Guterres said the call for a mass evacuation was extremely hazardous and he urged humanitarian access. Israel has also denied its military recovered bodies of missing Israelis in a ground raid on Gaza on Friday - contradicting earlier reports
More than 1,300 people were killed in Israel last weekend when Hamas fighters crossed the border to attack civilians and soldiers
Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Israel's bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip launched in the aftermath, Palestinian authorities say
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf, whose parents-in-law are trapped in the Gaza Strip amid intense Israeli air attacks, has called for a humanitarian corridor to allow vital supplies into the besieged enclave and people to leave.
The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, has denounced Israel’s move and said a siege is “prohibited under international law”.
The U.S. intelligence community compiled two separate reports, based partly on Israeli assessments, that warned of a significantly higher risk for violence to break out in the weeks prior to Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, CNN reported Friday, citing unnamed sources. An intel report from Sept. 28, provided to the Biden administration, reportedly claimed that Hamas was preparing to increase rocket launches across the Gaza-Israel border. A second assessment on Oct. 5 by the CIA confirmed the increased probability of conflict with Hamas, and the next day, the U.S. received similar reports from Israel, CNN reported. However, the U.S. was unaware of the technical details of the strike, and officials in both the U.S. and Israel only expected a minor strike that the Iron Dome would be able to protect against, CNN reported. A top-ranking official from a Middle Eastern ally told CNN their country raised the alarm to the U.S. and Israel numerous times “but they never listened.” The Office of Director of National Intelligence, the CIA, and the White House did not comment to CNN - The Daily Beast
Elsewhere
Australian voters have voted ‘No’ in an historic referendum on Indigenous recognition and representation. Voters were asked to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the nation’s First Peoples. Yes advocates said it would’ve been a modest yet profound change allowing Indigenous Australians to take their 'rightful place' in their own country. But No campaigners say the Voice to Parliament racially divides the country and have questioned how it would operate. Campaigning in Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged voters to be on the 'right side of history'. A majority of voters must vote Yes, in a majority of Australia’s six states, for the reform to pass - BBC
New Zealand election won by centre-right opposition as Labour PM Chris Hipkins concedes
Russia appears to have launched a “renewed offensive” against Ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country as the war inches closer to entering its second winter, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday. But Russian troops haven’t made much progress, Kirby said, adding that the new attacks are “not a surprise.” “The Russian military appears to be using human wave tactics where they throw masses of poorly trained soldiers right into the battlefield without proper equipment, and apparently without proper training and preparation,” he said. The announcement comes on the fourth day of Russia’s intense offensive on the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, though its forces have made little headway, CNN reported on Friday. Russian forces have launched hundreds of attacks on Kyiv’s troops in the city using tanks and armored personnel carriers - Politico
French prosecutors are investigating the potential poisoning of former Russian state TV journalist turned Kremlin critic Marina Ovsyannikova after she was suddenly taken ill in Paris this week. Ovsyannikova reportedly called for help on Thursday afternoon “because she had collapsed outside her home in the 6th arrondissement and feared poisoning,” a spokesperson with the Paris Criminal Court said. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into the incident and police were reportedly examining her apartment as part of the probe - Politico
"Sea Baby" marine drones were used in recent attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin and cruise missile carrier Buyan, an unnamed source told the Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske on Oct. 13. The unnamed source told Hromadske that Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) worked together with the navy to pull off the attacks. Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Oct. 12 that Pavel Derzhavin was damaged in an explosion, although he did not provide further details. This is not the first time Sea Baby drones have been used to strike Russian military targets. In July, Sea Baby drones were used by the SBU to strike the Kerch bridge.
With thanks to Preeti Bali for her research support