WORLD BRIEFING: October 10, 2023
Israel says it has secured its border with Gaza, three days after Hamas broke through the barrier to launch a murderous assault that has left more than 900 people dead. No militants have crossed in the past day but the bodies of 1,500 have been recovered, the Israeli army says. Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip have continued overnight - the air force said 200 targets were hit - BBC
Israel says its aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip is one of the largest it has conducted on the besieged territory. Meanwhile, Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades threatens to execute one Israeli captive for every further unannounced Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza - ‘“Any targeting of innocent civilians without warning will be met regretfully by executing one of the captives in our custody, and we will be forced to broadcast this execution,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ Qassam Brigades. “We regret this decision, but we hold the Zionist enemy [Israel] and their leadership the responsibility for this,” he said. - Al Jazeera
A senior U.S. defense official said they are "working to assess what munitions are in the US inventory that can be made quickly available to Israel". She said that aircraft had already taken off with munitions and added that the Pentagon is in constant contact with counterparts in Israel. When asked if the US is worried they have used up ammunition supporting Ukraine, the official said they are able to support the armed forces there as well as Israel - BBC
Russia is campaigning for a return to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council – after being suspended just last year for invading Ukraine. The vote is expected to begin on Tuesday morning inside the UN General Assembly in New York, where delegates from all 193 member states sit and do business. The Human Rights Council is made up of 47 member states, distributed by geographic region and elected by fellow nations. On Tuesday, three countries will be vying for two seats for the Eastern European bloc: Russia is running against Albania and Bulgaria, reports CNN. Meanwhile, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya implied Russia's responsibility for strike on the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast on Oct. 5, while speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Oct. 9.
Experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) point out that the Kremlin will use Hamas’ attack on Israel to promote narratives about the decline in US and Western support and attention to Ukraine. The Kremlin intensified several information operations after the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, primarily accusing the West of neglecting conflicts in the Middle East in favor of supporting Ukraine. Experts say that these Kremlin narratives are aimed at Western audiences to drive a wedge in military support for Ukraine, attempt to demoralize Ukrainian society by claiming that Ukraine will lose international support, and also intend to reassure Russian domestic audiences that the international community will ignore Ukraine’s military efforts. The report also notes that several key sources in the Russian information space shifted the focus of their daily coverage to the situation in Israel on Oct. 7, which may affect the information environment around the war in Ukraine in the coming days or weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Ihor Tantsiura from the position of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces commander, replacing him with Anatolii Barhylevych -the former deputy chief of staff of the Ground Forces Command.
Western efforts to undermine the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine through a price cap on Russia’s all-important oil income are falling short. Hopes that Moscow could run out of cash for weapons and soldiers’ salaries are fading, industry insiders warn, as Russia sells its oil exports well above a $60-per-barrel price cap imposed by the G7+ nations, boosted by strong Chinese and Indian demand. Russia’s main crude blend, Urals, broke through the cap imposed by G7+ countries on the open market in June, and has since pushed above $80 per barrel last month. It is currently trading at around $75 a barrel - Politico
With thanks to Preeti Bali for her research support