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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 1 - UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTES TO DEMAND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN GAZA
The UN General Assembly has voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, in a rebuke to the United States which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the UN’s Security Council. A majority of 153 nations voted for the ceasefire resolution in the General Assembly’s emergency special session yesterday, while 10 voted against and 23 abstained (including the UK). CNN
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 2 - BIDEN SAYS NETANYAHU MUST CHANGE, ISRAEL LOSING GLOBAL SUPPORT
US President Joe Biden said yesterday that Israel is losing support over its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza and that Benjamin Netanyahu should change, exposing a new rift in relations with the Israeli prime minister. Mr Biden's remarks, made to donors to his 2024 re-election campaign, were his most critical to date of Mr Netanyahu's handling of Israel's war in Gaza. Israel's retaliation against the Hamas attacks of October 7th have now killed 18,000 Palestinians. Reuters
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 3 - ISRAELI MILITARY BEGINS PUMPING SEAWATER INTO HAMAS TUNNELS, REPORT SAYS
Israel has begun pumping seawater into subterranean Hamas tunnels in a bid to flush out the militants, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations, reported that the move to flood the tunnels with water from the Mediterranean Sea has already begun. It was earlier reported that this move by the Israeli military was “under consideration”. The Independent
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 4 - HARSH WEATHER ADDS TO HARDSHIPS FOR PALESTINIANS DISPLACED BY WAR
Worsening weather conditions and intensifying Israeli attacks are exacerbating the already difficult living conditions of thousands of displaced Palestinians crowded into shelters in southern Gaza. Strong winds, torrential rain, and flooding are hitting displaced people living in tents, adding to concerns about the spread of disease in overcrowded shelters lacking proper sewage facilities. Al Jazeera
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 5 - UAE INAUGURATES DESALINATION PLANT NEAR RAFAH TO SEND CLEAN WATER TO GAZA
Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, yesterday inaugurated the first of three desalination plants the UAE is building on the Mediterranean coast on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border to send clean water into Gaza. With hardly any fuel or electricity, water treatment plants in Gaza are all but out of action. The National
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 6 - ISRAELI FORCES BOMB UNRWA SCHOOL IN GAZA'S BEIT HANOUN
Video footage posted by a Israeli Channel 13 reporter on X appears to show Israeli forces bombing an UNRWA school in Gaza's Beit Hanoun yesterday. It is still unclear if anyone was killed in the bombing in northern Gaza, however thousands of Palestinians have been sheltering in UNRWA schools since the start of the war. MEE
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 7 - IDF DRONE STRIKE KILLS 4 PALESTINIANS
An Israeli drone strike killed four Palestinians who had reportedly hurled explosive devices toward Israel Defense Forces troops carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday. The Times of Israel
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 8 - ISRAEL SAYS 19 GAZA HOSTAGES DEAD IN ABSENTIA
Israel declared 19 of 135 people still in Gaza captivity dead in absentia yesterday, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. Reuters
The Israel Defense Forces announced that eight Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday fighting in Gaza, bringing the death toll in its ground offensive against the Hamas to 113. The Times of Israel
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 9 - JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH II CALLS FROM MADRID FOR INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE ON ISRAEL
Jordan’s King Abdullah II met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid yesterday and told him that international pressure must be exerted on Israel to stop its operations in Gaza. The National
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS 10 - NEARLY A FIFTH OF GAZA'S BUILDINGS DESTROYED OR DAMAGED
Nearly 40,000 buildings, or about 18 per cent, of all pre-conflict structures have been damaged or destroyed in Gaza since the conflict began on October 7th, a UN assessment showed yesterday. MEMO
COUNTRIES REACH ‘HISTORIC’ COP28 DEAL TO TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS
Countries have reached a “historic” agreement at the COP28 climate summit to transition away from all fossil fuels to reach net zero emissions globally by 2050. Within minutes of opening a UN plenary session in Dubai this morning, COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber brought down the gavel on the agreement with no objections from any of the almost 200 countries present. “We have language on fossil fuels in our final agreement for the first time ever,” said Mr Jaber. Dubbed the UAE Consensus, it “calls on parties to contribute” to take actions including “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”. The FT
IRAN-RUSSIA WORK ON NEW INTERSTATE AGREEMENT
The Russian foreign ministry yesterday said that Iran and Russia will hasten work on a “major new interstate agreement." During a call held by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the two “agreed to expedite the work on completing the coordination of a new grand interstate treaty, which has reached a high degree of readiness,” according to the Kremlin. The Cradle
AUSTRALIA SAYS IT WILL BEGIN TRADE TALKS WITH UAE IN 2024
Australia will start negotiating a trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next year, Trade Minister Don Farrell said today, as it seeks to diversify its exports and move away from reliance on China. Reuters
12 noon, House of Commons, Prime Minister's Questions
3pm, Room 16, Palace of Westminster, Human Rights (Joint Committee) Daesh Inquiry session
4.30pm, House of Commons, Westminster Hall, debate on "UK military action in Iraq and declassified documents from 1998"
after 4pm (time tbc), House of Lords, question on "The position of OPEC states and the lobbying of fossil fuel companies, at the Dubai COP28 in regard to limiting the global temperature increase by 2050"
X Jens Stoltenberg@jensstoltenberg An honour to speak with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General @jasemalbudaiwi@GCCSG during my visit to Riyadh – the 1st visit to Saudi Arabia by a #NATO Secretary General. Dialogue with partners is deeply important to NATO, and we value our relationship with the #GCC.
