Kyiv utilizza gli ATACAMS per la prima volta 🗞️ Rassegna del 26/04/2024

Israele

(Reuters) US, 17 other countries urge Hamas to release hostages, end Gaza crisis

• The 18 countries all have citizens held by Hamas six months after the Palestinian militant group launched its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people. Hamas is believed to still be holding 129 hostages out of the 253 it took on Oct. 7.
• Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Hamas would not be influenced by the statement and said the United States needs to force Israel to end its aggression.
• The idea for the joint statement arose about two weeks ago when White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with a group of family members of Gaza hostages

(REUTERS) Israel intensifies strikes on Rafah ahead of threatened invasion

• Israel stepped up airstrikes on Rafah overnight after saying it would evacuate civilians from the southern Gazan city and launch an all-out assault despite allies' warnings this could cause mass casualties.
• Medics in the besieged Palestinian enclave reported five Israeli airstrikes on Rafah early on Thursday that hit at least three houses, killing at least six people including a local journalist.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet was meeting "to discuss how to destroy the last vestiges, the last quarter of Hamas' battalions, in Rafah and elsewhere," government spokesperson David Mencer said.
• He declined to say when or whether the classified forum might give a green light for a ground operation in Rafah.

(Associated Press) Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established

• A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
• The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of talks for a cease-fire in Gaza. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction.
• But it’s unlikely Israel would consider such a scenario. It has vowed to crush Hamas following the deadly Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the war, and its current leadership is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
• Speaking to the AP in Istanbul, Al-Hayya said Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by the rival Fatah faction, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank. He said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions,” along Israel’s pre-1967 borders. If that happens, he said, the group’s military wing would dissolve.

Ucraina

(BBC) Ukraine war: Kyiv uses longer-range US missiles for first time

• More American weaponry is expected to be sent imminently, after President Joe Biden signed off on Wednesday a new package of economic and military support for Ukraine worth $61bn (£49bn).
• The longer-range ATACMS give Ukraine the ability to strike deeper into Russian-held areas; particularly bases, storage facilities and logistics hubs. (...) They were used for the first time last week to strike a Russian airfield in occupied Crimea, US media reported, and then in an attack on Russian troops in the occupied port city of Berdyansk overnight on Tuesday.
• Ukrainian forces have suffered from a shortage of ammunition and air defence systems in recent months and officials have blamed delays in military aid from the US and other Western allies for the loss of lives and territory.

Russia

(REUTERS) Kremlin says U.S. long-range missiles sent to Ukraine will not change war's outcome

• The Kremlin said on Thursday that deliveries of U.S. long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine would not change the outcome of the war but would create more problems for Ukraine itself.
• The United States in recent weeks secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine, which has so far used them twice, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
• The missiles were used for the first time on April 17 against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "The U.S. is directly involved in this conflict. They are following the path of increasing the operating range of the weapon systems they supply."

(MEDUZA) Russia vetoes U.N. resolution calling for no nuclear weapons in space

• Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution calling on nations to refrain from deploying nuclear weapons in space. Thirteen out of the 15 Security Council member states supported the resolution, drafted by the U.S. and Japan, while China abstained from voting.
• The document stated that using nuclear weapons in space could have serious consequences and urged against the development of weapons of mass destruction intended for placement in Earth’s orbit. It also called on countries to prevent “an arms race in outer space.”
• Before the vote, Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya said that the resolution was aimed at deepening divisions among U.N. Security Council members. Russia and China proposed an amendment calling on countries to permanently prevent “the placement of [all] weapons in outer space.” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova later stated that Russia vetoed the resolution because “the fundamental amendments proposed [by Russia] were ignored.”
• According to U.S. media reports, the U.S. authorities fear that Russia is preparing to deploy nuclear weapons in space. The Kremlin has dismissed these reports as a ploy by the White House.

Europa

Francia:

(AP News) Macron outlines his vision for Europe to become an assertive global power as war in Ukraine rages on

• French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday that Europe could “die” if it fails to build its own robust defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, or if it fails to undertake major trade and economic reforms to compete with China and the U.S.
• Macron urged Europeans to become more ambitious in a fast-changing world to face the challenges of war, fierce trade competition, energy scarcity, climate change and increasing authoritarianism.
• France has been a firm supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, and Macron has often clashed with other Western leaders as he has insisted that Europe must stand by the country at any cost. The French president alarmed European leaders by saying recently that sending Western troops into Ukraine to shore up its defences shouldn’t be ruled out.
• Strong armies, a European rapid intervention program and force, tanks, a missile shield and other weapons, produced in Europe, will need the support of “a joint diplomatic force that will speak with one voice and build bridges with Africa and Latin America,” the French leader said. (...) “Only then will Europe show that it’s not a United States’ lap dog, and that it also knows how to talk to other regions of the world,” he said.
• “Europe must become capable of defending its interests, with its allies by our side whenever they are willing, and alone if necessary,” Macron said.

Politica internazionale

America Latina

Haiti:

(Associated Press) Ariel Henry resigns as prime minister of Haiti, paving the way for a new government to take power

• Ariel Henry resigned Thursday as prime minister of Haiti, leaving the way clear for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been wracked by gang violence that killed or injured more than 2,500 people from January to March.
• Henry presented his resignation in a letter signed in Los Angeles, dated April 24, and released on Thursday by his office on the same day that a council tasked with choosing a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti was sworn in.
• Addressing a crowded and sweaty room in the prime minister’s office, Boisvert said that Haiti’s crisis had gone on too long and that the country now found itself at a crossroads. The members of the transitional council stood behind him, and before him, the country’s top police and military officials as well as ambassadors and well-known politicians.
• The nine-member council, of which seven have voting powers, is also expected to help set the agenda of a new Cabinet. It will also appoint a provisional electoral commission, a requirement before elections can take place, and establish a national security council.
• Smith Augustin, a voting member of the council, said that it was unclear if the council would decide to keep Boisvert on as interim prime minister or choose another. He said it would be discussed in the coming days. “The crisis is unsustainable,” he said.

Medio Oriente

Pakistan:

(AP News) Pakistan and Iran vow to enhance efforts at a ‘united front’ against Afghanistan-based militants

• Neighbors Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday pledged to enhance efforts at a “united front” against Afghanistan-based militants, saying their presence poses a serious threat to regional and global security.
• Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, mostly blamed on Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban and insurgents who also target security forces in Iran.
• In recent years, Pakistan has urged Tehran to take stern action against Pakistani insurgents living inside Iran near the border. They often target security forces in Baluchistan, the scene of low-level insurgency by separatists for more than two decades.
• The countries also agreed to expand trade and economic cooperation, pledging to set up new border markets, new border crossings and economic free trade zones.

Asia e Pacifico

Cina: 

(REUTERS) China must stop aiding Russia if it seeks good relations with West, NATO says

• China must stop supporting Russia's war in Ukraine if it wants to enjoy good relations with the West, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, warning Beijing in unusually harsh words it cannot have it both ways.
• During a visit to Berlin, the chief of the Western military alliance said Beijing's help was vital to Moscow's war effort as it was propping up Russia's war economy by sharing high-end technology like semiconductors.
• "Last year, Russia imported 90% of its microelectronics from China, used to produce missiles, tanks and aircraft. China is also working to provide Russia with improved satellite capabilities and imaging," Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg cautioned Western allies against becoming as dependent on China as they had been on Russia.
• China-Russian trade hit a record of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, Chinese customs data shows. Chinese shipments to Russia jumped 46.9% in 2023 while imports from Russia rose 13%.