Israeli Strike Kills Hezbollah Commander

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s fight against Hezbollah, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization, and the French prime minister’s surprise resignation.

Israel’s Other Front

Hezbollah accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of targeting a top commander in southern Lebanon on Monday. Wissam al-Tawil, who led Hezbollah’s Radwan unit, was killed in the Lebanese village of Khirbet Selm, about nine miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. At least seven other Hezbollah members were killed this weekend in a series of Israeli strikes targeting Radwan infrastructure, the IDF said on Sunday. Hezbollah’s Radwan unit is an elite special operations force known for its efforts to infiltrate Israel.

Members of the international community, including France and the United States, have been seeking a diplomatic solution that would see Hezbollah move its Radwan forces north of the Litani River and therefore farther from the Israeli border, a key Israeli demand. However, IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi said Israel would launch “another war” against Hezbollah if dialogue and targeted strikes aren’t enough to push back the Radwan unit and restore security to Israel’s northern border.

Already, an Israeli fighter jet has carried out a “series of strikes” against Hezbollah infrastructure on Monday, according to an IDF statement, following one of the group’s largest assaults against Israel in months: an attack on the Northern Air Control Unit, an IDF base on Mount Meron, on Saturday. “We are fighting an axis, not a single enemy,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the Wall Street Journal, accusing Iran, which funds both Hamas and Hezbollah, of “building up military power around Israel.”

“This is a conflict that could easily metastasize,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned during his fourth diplomatic trip to the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Blinken held talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday before flying to Israel to discuss current war efforts, the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza, rising tensions in the West Bank, and escalating attacks along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Meanwhile, Israel began the next phase of its war against Hamas on Monday. According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, Israel aims to use fewer ground troops and airstrikes as part of a less intense fighting strategy. The announcement follows a significant IDF victory in northern Gaza over the weekend, where Israeli forces said they successfully dismantled Hamas infrastructure and will now mainly focus on strengthening Israel’s border defenses.

In central and southern Gaza, though, Palestinian authorities accused Israel of continuing heavy bombardments. Around 249 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported, and locals said on Monday that the Israeli army had dropped leaflets warning residents of al-Moghani in central Gaza to evacuate. More than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began three months ago.

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The World This Week

Tuesday, Jan. 9: Bhutan holds the second round of its parliamentary elections.

Tuesday, Jan. 9, to Wednesday, Jan. 10: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visits Egypt and Lebanon

Wednesday, Jan. 10: The European Union begins discussions on a military mission in the Red Sea.

The NATO-Ukraine Council holds an extraordinary meeting.

Thursday, Jan. 11: South Korea’s central bank determines its interest rate.

The International Court of Justice begins a two-day hearing against Israel over Palestinian genocide accusations.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo begins a two-day visit to China.

St. Martin holds general elections.

Friday, Jan. 12: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Thai begins a three-day trip to India.

Saturday, Jan. 13: Taiwan holds general elections.

Sunday, Jan. 14: Comoros holds presidential elections.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark formally abdicates the throne.

Guatemala inaugurates Bernardo Arévalo as its new president.

What We’re Following

Sick leave. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is facing criticism after failing to inform top White House officials, including President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, of his three-day hospitalization last week following complications from an elective surgery. Austin had a planned procedure on Dec. 22, went home the following day, and returned to the hospital on Jan. 1 after experiencing severe pain, at which point he was admitted to intensive care.

White House staff only learned of Austin’s hospitalization on Thursday, and the Pentagon informed the public the following day. One defense official told Politico that Austin’s aides had informed their office that the secretary was working from home for the week. In a statement on Saturday, Austin took full responsibility for the failed disclosure and promised to do better. “I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed,” Austin said.

Biden spoke with Austin on Saturday, and his office said the president maintains “complete trust and confidence” in the defense secretary. However, Sen. Roger Wicker, the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the incident erodes trust in the administration and demanded a briefing on the incident.

Job posting alert. French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne unexpectedly resigned on Monday—mere months before the European Parliament is set to hold elections and Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics. No replacement has been named yet, but Education Minister Gabriel Attal and Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu have been floated as possible successors. If either of them takes office, then they would be the youngest prime minister in France’s history.

Hints of a cabinet reshuffle have been rumored for weeks after France’s far right narrowly passed stricter immigration laws in the Legislative Assembly, exposing disunity among President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist majority. Macron aims to boost public support amid the rise of far-right leader Marine Le Pen as well as widespread discontent over France’s failed pension proposals.

Foreign interference. Beijing accused the United Kingdom’s MI6 intelligence agency on Monday of using a foreigner to spy on China. The individual, identified solely by the surname Huang, has been charged with traveling to China under MI6 instructions to collect intelligence via a consulting agency. Huang was accused of providing MI6 with 14 state secrets and three pieces of intelligence. The suspect has since been detained as part of Beijing’s ongoing efforts to crack down on alleged foreign espionage campaigns.

In other efforts to censure perceived foreign threats, China sanctioned five U.S. arms manufacturers on Sunday over weapons sales to Taiwan, accusing them of harming China’s “sovereignty and security interests.” Taiwan is set to hold elections on Saturday, and Beijing has actively worked to undermine incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen in favor of opposition leader Hou Yu-ih of the China-friendly Kuomintang party.

An all-but-certain result. Incumbent Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won her fourth straight term on Sunday in an election day marred by low voter turnout of around 40 percent. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the country’s main opposition group, boycotted the election, calling it a sham. More than 10,000 activists were arrested and at least 16 people killed at an opposition rally in October 2023 that accused Hasina of jailing political dissidents.

With Hasina’s Awami League winning around 222 of the nation’s 298 parliamentary seats, regional experts fear that Bangladesh may be veering toward a de facto one-party state. Despite the United States and EU pressuring Bangladesh to hold a free and fair vote, “bad blood between Dhaka and the West—and especially Washington—will certainly linger post-election,” FP’s Michael Kugelman wrote in South Asia Brief.

Odds and Ends

Parks Canada has a vital warning for local drivers: Don’t let moose lick your tires. The charming antlered creatures need a lot of sodium to survive—and in the winter, one of the easiest places for them to find salt is on the roads, where salt is used for de-icing, and on cars. But such highway excursions aren’t safe for animals—or people. Thus, the government agency is trying to discourage drivers who see moose from stopping and letting the animals lick their cars, as it can cause the moose to lose their fear of vehicles. It may sound silly, but a 4,000-pound vehicle colliding with an 800-pound moose on a highway is anything but. “It’s OK to laugh at it, as long as people drive responsibly and do what’s best for the wildlife,” Parks Canada spokesperson Tracy McKay said.