Israel-Palestine Conflict
In the week following the deadly October 7 Attacks by Hamas against Israel the Israeli government has conducted a complete siege of Gaza. The Israeli government has blocked Gazans from access to water, food, or fuel. Amnesty International has condemned these actions as ‘illegal and inhumane.’
The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said that the total siege is “prohibited under international humanitarian law.” The Israeli army has ordered 1.1 million people in north Gaza to flee to the southern part of the territory on Oct. 13.
Air strikes continued to pound northern Gaza as civilians began to flee. Doctors Without Borders has called the order to evacuate “an attack on medical care and humanity” as Gaza’s health care system is overwhelmed.
Children were reportedly among the dead as airstrikes hit fleeing Palestinians on Gaza’s ‘safe route.’ This comes as Israeli forces are amassing near the border before an anticipated Israeli ground invasion.
Saudi Arabia is freezing its plan to normalise ties with Israel amidst the violence. MBS, Saudi’s de-facto ruler and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had their first phone call together since a China-brokered peace deal was struck in March.
Israeli forces have used White Phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon according to Human Rights Watch. White Phosphorus is a toxic chemical weapon which causes severe burns. The use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations is restricted under international law.
Violence broke out in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the days since Oct.7 where Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians in the past week. An attack carried out by Israeli settlers in the West Bank killed at least three Palestinians.
Exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon intensified this week. Seven journalists, including a Reuters videographer, were killed in Israeli shelling in south Lebanon.
Syria says that Israeli airstrikes have hit the airports in Damascus and Aleppo on Oct. 13, rendering them out of service. This comes after militants in Syria fired at Israel on Oct. 10.
U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Tel Aviv meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his war cabinet on Oct. 12,. Blinken called this week’s events a “moment for moral clarity” as he condemned Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians.
Blinken also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmous Abbas in Jordan on Oct. 13. Abbas made clear his objections to ‘forced displacement’ in Gaza, and called for humanitarian corridors to be opened.
Unrest and violence spread beyond the Middle East this week as the FBI warned of calls for “Day of Jihad” online on Friday. An employee at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed in front of a supermarket on Oct. 13, a 53-year-old man is in custody.
A stabbing at a school in France killed one teacher, and injured three others on Oct. 13. Authorities have linked the attack to ‘Islamic Extremism.’ The French Interior Ministry raised its preparedness to the highest level after the attack.
Pro-Palestine protests are facing restrictions and outright bans in European countries such as the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. In Paris, police fired teargas as demonstrators as they called French President Macron an “accomplice” in “Israeli murder.”
War in Ukraine
Russia launched a new offensive in Eastern Ukraine, focused on the city of Avdiivka, on Oct. 12. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his troops were ‘holding their ground’ in the city.
The Governor of Russia’s Khanty-Mansiysk region is under investigation for comments made about the War in Ukraine. The official, Natalyia Kamarova, reportedly said that Russia had ‘no need’ for the war in Ukraine.
Three people, including a young child were killed when debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone fell in homes in Russia’s Belgorod region on Oct 12, according to TASS, a Russian state media organisation, on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced it will suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on Oct. 12. This is as a result of the ROC incorporating sports councils from occupied Ukrainian territories ahead of the Paris Olympics next year.
Niger Crisis
French troops began their withdrawal from Niger on Oct. 11. French President Emmanuel Macron decided to withdraw the country’s military and diplomatic presence in Niger at the request of the ruling junta.
Niger has been under military rule since July, when the country’s top brass suspended the constitution, and announced it had taken power on national television. The U.S. State Department officially recognized the coup on Oct. 10.
Australia Referendum
This week Australians voted no in the historic Voice to Parliament referendum, which would have created an advisory body, enshrined in the constitution for Indigenous people in the country.
The creation of the proposed advisory board was based on recommendations made in a 2017 meeting of Indigenous leaders from across the country. There was a divide between inner city residents, who mainly voted ‘yes,’ against suburban voters, who mainly voted against the referendum.
New Zealand Election
Voters in New Zealand elected Christopher Luxon, leader of the centre-right New Zealand National Party in the national election on Oct. 14. This change in leadership marks an end to six years of Labour Party rule.
The Labour Party, which was defined by the leadership of Jacinda Ardern was shocked when she unexpectedly stepped down in January of this year. Chris Hipkins filled her role as Prime Minister.
Te Pāti Māori, a party representing the country’s indigenous Māori people, made gains in this week’s election, with 2.6% of the overall vote. Luxon’s National Party got 39% of the vote, while Labour and the Greens got 27% and 11%, respectively, according to Elections New Zealand.
UK War Crimes Inquiry
A public inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by British troops in Afghanistan began on Oct. 9. A bombshell investigation by BBC Panorama, released in July of this year, detailed the suspicious killings of 54 Afghan detainees by the UK’s elite SAS units in a span of six months.
The investigation will focus on the killings of 33 people, including eight children, by British special forces. The inquiry, ordered last year, will also scrutinise investigations by the Royal Military Police conducted into the matter previously.
Argentina Wildfires
Wildfires broke out in Argentina’s Cordoba province on Oct. 11 leading to evacuations. Videos show a ‘wall of flames’ approaching villages in central Argentina.
A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the fires. He was setting a fire in order to make coffee.
The blaze is currently being battled by almost one thousand firefighters. Julián M. López, the Minister of Government and Security for Cordoba province has asked for residents to “strictly comply with instructions from the fire department and other authorities” on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Poles head to the Polls
Poland’s 600,000 registered voters will head to the polls in the country’s Parliamentary Election on Oct. 15. The opposition has portrayed these elections as the most important in Poland’s democratic history.
The ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) is aiming for an unprecedented third term. The party has overseen what critics have labelled democratic backsliding in the country, including concerns over the independence of media organisations.
This election cycle has exposed extreme political polarisation in the country over various issues such as immigration and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Voters will have no shortage of choices to make as five political entities have a chance of crossing the threshold for votes to get a seat in the Sejm, Poland’s parliament.
Poland has been rocked by the recent cash-for-visa scandal, in which officials from the ruling PiS party allegedly allowed people to pay for visas to enter the country, which has tarnished the party’s supposed anti-migration stance.
One of the key issues for voters going into this race is inflation, which while falling, continues to be an issue for Poles in their everyday lives. The two key players are the PiS party, led by Jarosław Kaczyńki, and the centrist Civic Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk.