Blinken, Nasrallah Address Israel-Hamas War

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at competing U.S. and Hezbollah remarks on the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s latest drone strike against Ukraine, and a Japan-Philippines defense summit.

A stark split-screen moment occurred on Friday, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon delivering highly anticipated remarks on the Israel-Hamas war at the same time.

Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, Blinken called on Israel to agree to temporary, local pauses in its military operations to allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip and facilitate efforts to free the more than 200 hostages still being held by Hamas.

Blinken did not push for a full cease-fire despite other world leaders and human rights advocates calling for one as the death toll in Gaza surpasses 9,000 people. However, he did emphasize the “need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians,” and he said that how Israel conducts the war matters.

At the same time, just a few hundred miles north of where Blinken was speaking, large crowds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut to hear Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah deliver his first public speech on the conflict since the war began. Speaking via video from an undisclosed location in Lebanon, Nasrallah praised Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack as a “blessed operation” and said subsequent deaths in Gaza and the West Bank were “worthy sacrifices” for their part in establishing a historic, new type of war. He asserted Hezbollah’s role in current “resistance” efforts against Israel but made a point to say that Hamas carried out its Oct. 7 assault on its own, with “absolute secrecy.”

Nasrallah also criticized U.S. support for Israel, saying that the U.S. military deployments to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the wake of the attack prove that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are reliant on foreign allies and therefore weaker than they claim to be.

Since war broke out last month, Hezbollah—an Iranian-backed Islamist group—has launched rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones into Israeli territory, killing and injuring IDF soldiers; Israel has responded in kind, killing dozens of Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. On Friday, Nasrallah reiterated Hezbollah’s support for Hamas but stopped short of committing his group to becoming more deeply involved in the war. Yet he indicated that could change if the conflict continues.

Back in Israel, Netanyahu issued a televised statement shortly after Blinken’s remarks in which the Israeli leader remained defiant on his government’s position toward Gaza. “I made clear that we are continuing full force and that Israel refuses a temporary cease-fire, which does not include the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

• The Storm of Dissent Brewing in the State Department by Robbie Gramer
• Ehud Barak on Israel’s Next Steps by Ravi Agrawal
• Why the Global South Is Accusing America of Hypocrisy by Oliver Stuenkel

Massive drone strike. On Friday, Russia launched its largest drone attack against Ukraine in weeks. Kyiv said Ukraine’s air force shot down 24 out of 40 Shahed drones and one cruise missile targeting the major cities of Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Lviv, among others. Critical infrastructure and residential homes were hit in the strike. No casualties were reported.

Kyiv denounced Moscow’s latest assault as it braces for its second harsh winter since the war began, fearing Russian strikes against the Ukrainian energy system. “We realize that as winter approaches, Russian terrorists will try to do more damage,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday. His warning came two days after Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, said the war is reaching a deadlock and that “there will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.”

Joining forces. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida flew to the Philippines on Friday to kick off a two-day summit in Manila. While there, he will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before traveling to Malaysia to speak with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Tokyo hopes to finalize military equipment negotiations with Manila in an effort to bolster defense cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Force posturing has increased tensions in the Indo-Pacific in recent weeks as China takes assertive actions in contested areas of the South China Sea. The Philippines, in particular, has had run-ins with Chinese vessels in waters near the Scarborough Shoal. Japan hopes to boost the Philippines’ maritime capabilities by providing a coastal surveillance system through a grant, making Manila the first nation to benefit from Japan’s newly created security assistance program.

Freedom of travel. In a growing trend across the continent, Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced on Thursday that Kigali will no longer require travel visas for Africans who want to enter the country. Kagame hopes the move will boost intracontinental tourism at a time when 60 percent of Africa’s tourists come from outside the continent.

Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles have already waived visa requirements for Africans. And on Monday, Kenya signaled that it would also cancel similar travel visas by Dec. 31. The moves mark the continent’s latest efforts in a yearslong campaign to strengthen Africa’s trade and tourism revenue, complementing the launch of an African passport in 2016 and the African Continental Free Trade Area in 2019.

Which South American country severed diplomatic ties with Israel on Tuesday due to its “aggressive and disproportionate” war in Gaza?

A. Brazil
B. Ecuador
C. Chile
D. Bolivia

T-Swift fever is more than a global phenomenon; it’s an economic strategy—and it’s in style. World leaders from five nations, including Chile and Canada, have asked pop star Taylor Swift to bring her Eras tour to their necks of the woods to boost domestic GDP beyond their wildest dreams. Financial analysts expect the so-called T-Swift Lift to help Britain shake off its economic woes when the singer goes to the United Kingdom in June. If other fearless leaders want in, they should speak now.

D. Bolivia

Western countries risk losing credibility among the nations of the global south if their hypocrisy on the Israel-Hamas war is not contained or reversed, Oliver Stuenkel writes.

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