WORLD BRIEFING: November 13, 2023

Israel-Gaza War

The death toll in Gaza has now reached 11,180, according to the Hamas government. Among the dead are 4,609 children and 3,100 women. An estimated 28,200 people have been injured.

The World Health Organization says Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City "is not functioning as a hospital any more.” There is "constant gunfire and bombings" in the area around the hospital which has "exacerbated the already critical circumstances.” Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 2,000 people are inside Al-Shifa, including patients, medical staff and displaced people - BBC

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan noted Israeli concerns that Hamas was using hospitals and other civilian infrastructure "for command and control, for weapons storage, [and] to house its fighters". Hamas denies this. "That being said... the United States does not want to see fire fights in hospitals, where innocent people, patients receiving medical care, are caught in the crossfire," he said. Mr Sullivan went on to talk about the role of the US in negotiating the release of hostages captured by Hamas, some of whom are US citizens. He said negotiations were "under way between Israel and Qatar, who is communicating with Hamas" and that the US is "very much involved in those discussions" - BBC

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Sunday evening urgently called for the protection of civilians in Gaza trapped in fighting, whether they are trying to evacuate or staying where they are. Hostilities taking place in heavily populated urban areas, including around hospitals, endanger the lives of the most vulnerable people, like medical staff, patients, the wounded, premature babies, people with disabilities, and the elderly. “An unbearable human tragedy is unfolding in front of our eyes. People call us day and night, saying they are afraid to open their door for fear of getting killed and pleading to help them reach safety,” said William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza. “As a humanitarian worker, I feel frustrated not to be able to respond to these calls, as our teams lack basic security conditions to move in North Gaza.

Emerging evidence reveals an intention by Hamas planners to strike a blow of historic proportions, in the expectation that their actions would compel an overwhelming Israeli response. Some terrorists carried enough food, ammunition and equipment to last several days, officials said, and bore instructions to continue deeper into Israel if the first wave of attacks succeeded, potentially striking larger Israeli cities. One unit carried reconnaissance information and maps suggesting an intention to continue the assault up to the border of the West Bank - Washington Post

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday refused to answer whether he would take responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7 attack on Israel, saying that there would be time for such “difficult” questions once the war is over. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Netanyahu acknowledged that it is “a question that needs to be asked,” but that the country for now needs to unite around the goal of defeating Hamas – the militant group that controls Gaza and launched the assault on Israel. “We’re going to answer all these questions,” the prime minister said, adding that, “Right now, I think what we have to do is unite the country for one purpose; to achieve victory.” “Let’s focus on victory – that’s my responsibility now.” Netanyahu has been criticized for failing to anticipate the deadliest attack on Israel since the country’s founding in 1948, when Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages last month, according to Israeli authorities - CNN

Ukraine War

  • A senior Ukrainian military officer with deep ties to the country’s intelligence services played a central role in the bombing of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines last year, according to officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other people knowledgeable about the details of the covert operation. The officer’s role provides the most direct evidence to date tying Ukraine’s military and security leadership to a controversial act of sabotage that has spawned multiple criminal investigations and that U.S. and Western officials have called a dangerous attack on Europe’s energy infrastructure. Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-oldcolonel who served in Ukraine’s special operations forces, was the “coordinator” of the Nord Stream operation, people familiar with his role said, managing logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines. On Sept. 26, 2022, three explosions caused massive leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The attack left only one of the four gas links in the network intact as winter approached - Washington Post

  • Ukraine said on November 12 that a blast triggered by "local resistance movements" in the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol the previous day killed Russian military officers. Meanwhile, the commander of Ukrainian forces in the east of the country said on November 12 that Russian troops are more active around Bakhmut, while authorities in the southern region of Kherson said Russian attacks had seriously damaged a well-known scientific library - RFE/RL

Elsewhere

  • Fighters from a paramilitary force and their allied Arab militias rampaged through a town in Sudan's war-ravaged region of Darfur, reportedly killing more than 800 people in a multiday attack, doctors and the U.N. said. The attack on Ardamata in West Darfur province earlier this month was the latest in a series of atrocities in Darfur that marked the monthslong war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF - NPR

Michael BociurkiwComment