Israel Approves Reopening Key Border Crossings

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s response to its attack on World Central Kitchen volunteers in Gaza, the European Union sending funds to Armenia, and Ukrainian forces targeting a Russian air base.

‘Specific, Concrete’ Steps for Gaza

Israel’s security cabinet approved the reopening of northern Gaza’s Erez crossing and the temporary use of the Ashdod port late Thursday—mere hours after a phone call in which U.S. President Joe Biden demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implement “specific, concrete” steps to alleviate the enclave’s humanitarian crisis. Israel also said it would increase the number of Jordanian aid shipments allowed to pass through the Kerem Shalom land crossing.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed these new measures on Friday but said they may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands. “The real test is results, and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days and the coming weeks,” Blinken said. He also called on Israel to bolster protections for aid workers and civilians.

On Monday, a series of Israeli drone strikes killed seven volunteers with World Central Kitchen, a Washington-based nonprofit that delivers meals to communities struck by humanitarian disasters. Foreign leaders, aid workers, and rights groups accused Israel of recklessly striking civilians. In response, Israel dismissed two senior officers and reprimanded three others on Friday for their roles in the strikes, the most senior being the head of Israel’s Southern Command.

According to Israeli military officials, the officers mishandled critical information that incorrectly identified the convoy’s aid trucks as cars transporting militants and violated the army’s rules of engagement, which say officers must have more than one reason for identifying someone as a target before they can launch an attack. An Israeli investigation determined that a colonel authorized Monday’s drone strikes based on one major’s incorrect observation from grainy drone-camera footage. Both the major and colonel were fired. Further punishment or possible prosecution is still to be determined.

“It’s a serious event that we are responsible for, and it shouldn’t have happened, and we will make sure that it won’t happen again,” Israeli spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. He declined to answer whether similar violations have occurred during the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Let’s be very clear. This is tragic, but it is not an anomaly,” said Scott Paul, the associate director for peace and security at Oxfam. “The killing of aid workers in Gaza has been systemic.” More than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed during the conflict thus far, the United Nations reported, and Israel continues to ban UNRWA employees from reaching northern Gaza, where famine is reportedly imminent and Palestinians have been surviving on an average of 245 calories a day since January. Biden warned on Thursday that U.S. policy toward Israel would change if the country does not adequately address Gaza’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

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What We’re Following

Armenia pivots west. The European Union announced a plan on Friday to allocate nearly $293 million to Armenia to support local businesses over the next four years as part of “a new and ambitious partnership agenda.” The funds would specifically target electrification and renewable energy projects to help pull Yerevan out of Russia’s orbit. Moscow owns much of Armenia’s energy infrastructure, but bilateral ties have soured in recent years as Russia has failed to help address Armenia’s conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“We welcome Armenia’s efforts in the direction of democracy, fighting corruption, and establishing the rule of law,” EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said on the sidelines of Friday’s summit, which also involved Blinken, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The move is Armenia’s latest bid to shift closer toward its Western neighbors. In February, Yerevan effectively suspended its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. It invited U.S. troops to train on Armenian soil last year, has financially supported Ukraine in its war against Russia, and hinted at applying for EU membership in the near future.

Russian air base attack. Ukrainian forces destroyed six Russian warplanes at Morozovsk air base in Rostov Oblast on Friday. Eight other aircraft were damaged in the attack, and around 20 service personnel were reportedly wounded or killed, security officials told the BBC. Morozovsk houses Su-27 and Su-34 aircraft, which are used on the front lines. “The operation is important to decrease Russian military potential,” a Ukrainian official told CNN.

Moscow did not confirm an attack on Morozovsk, but its Defense Ministry said Russian troops shot down 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly over Rostov. Kyiv has increased its drone attacks on Russian soil in recent weeks. On Tuesday, it targeted Russia’s third-largest oil refinery in an effort to curb Moscow’s revenue streams.

Diplomatic turmoil. Somalia gave Ethiopia’s ambassador 72 hours to leave the country in a warning on Thursday over Addis Ababa’s plan to recognize Somaliland, a breakaway region that Mogadishu does not see as a sovereign entity, in exchange for building a naval base there. Somalia also closed two Ethiopian consulates and recalled its own ambassador from Addis Ababa over the dispute. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the port deal as illegal in February and said Mogadishu would “defend itself” if Ethiopia built it anyway.

Meanwhile, Mexico granted former Ecuadorean Vice President Jorge Glas political asylum on Friday—one day after Ecuador designated Mexico’s ambassador persona non grata. Glas was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 on corruption charges and has been sheltering in Mexico’s embassy in Quito since December.

Thursday’s persona non grata designation followed Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador comparing violence during the run-up to Ecuador’s elections last year to Mexico’s own issues with assassinations. Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated last August, and a Mexican mayoral candidate was shot to death on Monday.

What in the World?

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday signed into law a referendum that was fiercely condemned by Guyana. What did the referendum affirm?

A. Venezuela’s decision to expel asylum-seekers to Guyana
B. Venezuela’s rights over Guyana’s Essequibo region
C. Venezuela’s decision to close its border with Guyana
D. Venezuela’s declaration of war against Guyana

Odds and Ends

Travelers to Venice, Italy, be warned. Single-day entry into the slowly sinking city will now cost 5 euros (or $5.42) on certain peak dates from April 25 to July 14, Venetian Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced on Thursday. The new fee is meant to curb overtourism in the popular lagoon city, which attracts an estimated 40,000 visitors per day. Residents, commuters, students, people under age 14, and tourists who stay overnight are exempt.

Venice is the first major city in the world to charge day-trippers. As such, Brugnaro likened his decision to the “bravery” of legendary Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who spent more than two decades traveling Asia in the 1200s.

And the Answer Is…

B. Venezuela’s rights over Guyana’s Essequibo region

Guyana is experiencing an oil exploration boom; in 2023, it was the world’s fastest-growing economy for the second year in a row, FP’s Catherine Osborn writes in Latin America Brief.

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