Patto Francia-Ucraina. Attacchi e morti a Kyiv, Belgorod e Nabatiyeh 🗞️ Rassegna del 16/02/2024

Israele

(AP) Israeli airstrikes killed 10 Lebanese civilians in a single day. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate

• The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese state media reported Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest in more than four months of cross-border exchanges.

• The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for Wednesday’s strikes, which hit in the city of Nabatiyeh and a village in southern Lebanon, just hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier.

• More Israeli strikes were reported in south Lebanon on Thursday and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the escalation.

(Reuters) Canada, Australia, NZ call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza ahead of Rafah assault

The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement released in response to reports about Israel's planned military operation in Rafah.

The statement urged Israel not to conduct the offensive, however it said any ceasefire could not be "one sided," and would require Hamas to disarm and immediately release all remaining hostages.

(Reuters) Top Israeli ministers reject Palestinian statehood as part of post war plan

• Top ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government rejected Palestinian statehood on Thursday following a Washington Post report that Israel's main ally the United States was advancing plans to establish a Palestinian state.

• The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the United States was working with some Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - with which Israel has long sought to establish diplomatic ties - on a post war plan for the region that would include a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

(Washington Post) U.S., Arab nations plan for postwar Gaza, timeline for Palestinian state

• The Biden administration and a small group of Middle East partners are rushing to complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, that could be announced as early as the next several weeks.

• The urgency of the effort is tied directly to a proposed pause in the fighting and release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas that is being negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

• An initial cease-fire, projected to be at least six weeks, would provide time to make the plan public, recruit additional support and take the initial steps toward its implementation, including the formation of an interim Palestinian government, according to U.S. and Arab officials. Planners hope a hostage agreement can be reached before the beginning of Ramadan, the month of Muslim fasting that begins March 10, lest it compound the deprivation and pressure-cooker atmosphere in Gaza.

Ucraina

(Reuters) Russia launches missile attacks on Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities

• 
  Russia launched new missile attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting infrastructure, damaging residential and commercial buildings, and injuring at least 11 people in different parts of the country, officials said.

• It was the second series of Russian missile attacks so far this month and air alerts lasted for more than two hours across the country.

• Russian forces targeted seven Ukrainian regions, including the capital Kyiv, and the cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv, the Ukrainian military said.

(Reuters) Six killed in Ukrainian missile strike on Russia's Belgorod - health ministry

• Six people including a child were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Thursday on Russia's southern city of Belgorod, the Russian health ministry said.

• The ministry said an additional 17 people, including four children, were injured and that a team of medical specialists from federal centres had been despatched to the city. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

• The governor of the neighbouring Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said a shopping mall, an outdoor sports facility and residential areas were hit. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems had shot down 14 Ukrainian missiles over the Belgorod region. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

(Reuters) Ukraine says it is withdrawing some troops in Avdiivka to more secure positions

• Ukraine is conducting a manoeuvre in some areas of the embattled town of Avdiivka to withdraw troops to "more advantageous positions" and in other places is trying to push out Russian troops, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said on Thursday.

• He said in televised comments that Ukraine had activated a backup logistics route into the town, but that supplies into Avdiivka and evacuations from it were "difficult".

Russia

(AP) Putin says Russia prefers Biden to Trump because he is ‘more experienced and predictable’

• President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia would prefer to see President Joe Biden win a second term, describing him as more experienced than Donald Trump

• Speaking in an interview with a correspondent from Russian state television, Putin declared that he will work with any U.S. leader who is elected, but noted that he would prefer Biden’s victory when asked who would be a better choice from the point of view of Russia.

• “Biden, he’s more experienced, more predictable, he’s a politician of the old formation,” Putin said. “But we will work with any U.S. leader whom the American people trust.”

Europa

(AP) France and Ukraine to sign a security agreement in Paris in the presence of President Zelenskyy

• French President Emmanuel Macron will sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in Paris as part of a trip that will also go through Germany, the French presidency said in a statement.

• It did not release specific details about the agreement, to be signed at the Elysee presidential palace.

• Macron said earlier this year that France was negotiating a bilateral deal on the model the one Ukraine recently agreed with the United Kingdom, which covers 10 years.

(AP) US secretary of state visits Albania, a key regional ally seeking European Union membership

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Albania on Thursday to reaffirm relations with a key partner in the Balkans and an ally in supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Blinken will meet with top officials and focus on the future of the Western Balkans as Albania and several neighbors seek to join the European Union, according to top U.S. officials. Washington has strongly supported Albania’s integration into the EU.

The U.S. has praised Albania’s leadership in the former war-torn region and its recent role on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. Albania is a NATO member and has regularly assigned small army units to international peacekeeping missions and NATO operations.

Politica internazionale

Nord America

(AP) Palestinians living in US will be shielded from deportation, the White House says

• The White House on Wednesday announced that Palestinians living in the U.S. will be shielded from deportation as the Israel-Hamas war continues, citing “significantly deteriorated” conditions on the ground in Gaza.

• Palestinians will be covered under what’s known as “deferred enforced departure,” an authority used at a president’s discretion. The directive signed by President Joe
• Biden effectively allows Palestinian immigrants who would otherwise have to leave the United States to stay without the threat of deportation. That protection will last 18 months, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, and will give Palestinians who qualify a “temporary safe haven.”

Medio Oriente

(AP) Russia and China clash with US and UK over attacks on Yemen rebels for strikes on Red Sea ships

• Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping.

• U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their “proportionate and legal action” against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense.