Israel Launches Ground Offensive in Southern Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s new ground offensive in southern Gaza, a Houthi attack on commercial shipping, and China’s maritime sovereignty accusations.

Mass Evacuations

Israel entered a “new phase” of its war against Hamas on Monday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, with a major ground offensive into southern Gaza. Heavy bombardments targeted the southern city of Khan Younis, and IDF leaflets directed civilians to evacuate south and west toward the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border. Khan Younis is a “dangerous combat zone,” Israeli officials warned, and the city’s central road to the north now “constitutes a battlefield.”

IDF troops dropped leaflets on Khan Younis on Monday with QR codes that dictate where Palestinians can go for safety. However, Israeli bombardments have disrupted Gaza’s telecommunications, and the majority of the area’s population no longer has access to internet or phone services. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continue to hit previously designated safe areas.

“Even in Rafah where people are being forced to flee the sound of airstrikes punctuates the day,” Thomas White, director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X. “People are pleading for advice on where to find safety. We have nothing to tell them.”

More than 15,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war thus far, with 70 percent of those women and children, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported. Around 1.8 million Palestinian civilians have been displaced since Oct. 7, and more than 41,000 people have been wounded. Israel blames Hamas for the high casualty count, accusing the group of purposefully constructing tunnels, weapons bases, and shelters near civilian areas. Hamas denies these allegations.

Israel’s new push into southern Gaza reflects past military operations, which first centered on eradicating Hamas from the north via a ground, air, and sea offensive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to advocate the complete destruction of Hamas, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suggesting this weekend that the war may continue for months to fully root out the militants’ stronghold in the Gaza Strip.

Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, went a step further, saying on Sunday that the IDF will destroy Hamas “in every place, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere.”

The renewed fighting followed the collapse of a weeklong cease-fire deal that freed more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners. Around 140 people remain in captivity in Gaza. Rights groups and world leaders have urged Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table to secure the release of more hostages and provide more unimpeded aid into Gaza. However, Gallant said Israel will only reestablish the truce if “Hamas fulfills the original agreement and returns the 15 women and two children it is still holding.” Hamas militants have made no moves thus far to fulfill this request.

Today’s Most Read

• What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War by Franz-Stefan Gady
• Does Democracy Really Die in Darkness? by Bronwen Everill
• Kissinger’s Great Game by Howard W. French

The World This Week

Tuesday, Dec. 5: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva concludes a three-day visit to Germany.

Qatar hosts the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Wednesday, Dec. 6: Newly elected lawmakers are sworn into the Netherlands’ parliament.

Wednesday, Dec. 6: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron arrives in Washington.

Thursday, Dec. 7: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosts a meeting with outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Friday, Dec. 8: Beijing concludes its EU-China summit.

Friday, Dec. 8, to Sunday, Dec. 10: G-7 interior ministers meet in Japan.

Sunday, Dec. 10: Egypt begins its three-day presidential election.

Hong Kong holds district council elections.

What We’re Following

Shipping attack. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted three commercial vessels with ballistic missiles in the Red Sea on Sunday, escalating already hostile Middle East tensions. All three ships were bulk carriers and linked to 14 different nations, with one flagged from the Bahamas and the other two flagged from Panama. The group’s spokesperson warned “all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target” if they try to navigate the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden “until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops.” The IDF said two of the commercial vessels hit by the Houthis had no connection to the state of Israel.

During the hourslong assault, a U.S. warship stationed in the Red Sea shot down three drones in self-defense, the U.S. military said. It said the attacks, “while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran,” adding that Washington “will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners.”

South China Sea. China accused a U.S. Navy ship on Monday of illegally entering waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed maritime atoll of the South China Sea, thereby violating Beijing’s territorial sovereignty and undermining “regional peace and stability.” The United States, on the other hand, said the USS Gabrielle Giffords combat ship was following maritime law when it crossed into what it deems international waters during a routine operation.

U.S. naval exercises are part of Washington’s efforts to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, U.S. officials said. The Second Thomas Shoal and larger South China Sea have been subject to numerous clashes between Chinese vessels and other nations that lay claim to the area, particularly the Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam also argue for sovereignty over the region.

Foreign agent. U.S. officials arrested a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia on Friday on charges that he has secretly worked as a Cuban government agent since 1981, Washington announced on Monday. Over the last 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha, who also served on the U.S. National Security Council from 1994 to 1995, has provided Havana with confidential state information, making his actions “one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

The 73-year-old Rocha faces at least three criminal charges, including conspiracy, illegally acting as a foreign agent, and illicitly obtaining a passport. He first appeared before a U.S. court in Miami on Monday.

More COP28 controversy. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, president of this year’s U.N. climate change summit in Dubai, is once again facing intense criticism, this time for falsely asserting that there is “no science” behind arguments that phasing out fossil fuels will decrease global warming. The remarks, which he made during a live online event on Nov. 21, directly contradict the overwhelming scientific consensus that limiting global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels requires an immediate reduction in fossil fuel use.

Jaber, who is also the CEO of the state-run oil company of the United Arab Emirates, was already in hot water over his refusal to step down from that position while serving as COP28 president despite concerns of a conflict of interest. Those concerns were amplified last week when reports emerged that Jaber and his team were planning to use COP28 to secure new oil deals for the UAE.

Odds and Ends

It’s a scandal at the heart of Greek culture. On Friday, authorities arrested a father-son duo for selling adulterated sunflower oil from Bulgaria as olive oil from the Greek port of Thessaloniki. The men allegedly used coloring agents to make the sunflower oil look like extra virgin olive oil, which has faced a particularly harsh market in recent months as hot weather damaged crop yields and sent olive oil prices skyrocketing. If you’re in the market for real olive oil, FP’s Allison Meakem personally recommends Al’Ard’s premium extra virgin olive oil—currently available for $22. For more gift ideas, check out FP’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide.