Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s ground invasion in Lebanon, the United Kingdom giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and the European Commission suing Hungary.
‘Wave of Displacement’
Israel ordered residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday to immediately evacuate, bringing the total number of towns in the area under such instructions to 70, including the provincial capital of Nabatieh. The Israeli military said its ground incursion, which began on Tuesday, aims to allow tens of thousands of people previously living in northern Israel who have been displaced by Hezbollah attacks to return safely to their homes.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s ground invasion in Lebanon, the United Kingdom giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and the European Commission suing Hungary.
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‘Wave of Displacement’
Israel ordered residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday to immediately evacuate, bringing the total number of towns in the area under such instructions to 70, including the provincial capital of Nabatieh. The Israeli military said its ground incursion, which began on Tuesday, aims to allow tens of thousands of people previously living in northern Israel who have been displaced by Hezbollah attacks to return safely to their homes.
Yet the fight to return displaced persons in one country has sparked mass displacement concerns in another. According to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced in his country by Israeli attacks. This has been the “largest wave of displacement in [Lebanon’s] history,” Mikati said this week. Around 100,000 people have crossed the Lebanese border into Syria—some of whom had initially fled to Lebanon to escape Syria’s devastating civil war.
Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and 9,300 others have been injured since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel last October, prompting the latter to respond in what soon became a near-daily exchange of cross-border attacks that has continued for the past year. Israel has dramatically escalated its campaign against Hezbollah of late, though, and Lebanese Public Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday that most of those deaths have occurred in recent weeks. On Thursday, the Lebanese army returned fire when Israeli strikes hit a military post in southern Lebanon, killing one solider. This was a rare counterattack for a state that has historically tried to avoid direct conflict with Israel in its fight against Hezbollah.
As Israel celebrated the Jewish high holy day of Rosh Hashanah on Thursday, its military also launched what it called a “precision” strike on a building in central Beirut that allegedly housed a Hezbollah-affiliated health center. This was the first time in the current conflict that an Israeli attack has hit close to the center of Lebanon’s capital. The Israeli military also said it killed 15 Hezbollah militants at a municipality building in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil. And it claimed to have killed Haidar al-Shahabiya, the Hezbollah commander responsible for an attack in July that killed a dozen children in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the day before.
Meanwhile, foreign leaders are waiting to see how Israel will respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Tuesday. Following a phone call with other G-7 leaders on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israel to avoid direct attacks on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, saying Israel has “a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion.” On Thursday, he said the White House is “discussing” possible Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil infrastructure, fears of which increased oil prices by more than 4 percent.
This tone differs from Washington’s approach in April, when Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take the win” after Israel successfully countered an Iranian missile and drone attack. Netanyahu, however, remains adamant that Israel must respond to Tehran’s latest operation. “We will stand by the rule we established: Whoever attacks, we will attack them,” he said. Iran’s attack this week was larger than the one in April and hit areas closer to Israel’s population centers.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned Israel and its allies on Thursday of what retaliation could look like for the region. “Our response will be solely directed at the aggressor,” it said. “Should any country render assistance to the aggressor, it shall likewise be deemed an accomplice and a legitimate target.”
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What We’re Following
Island dispute. The United Kingdom agreed on Thursday to give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. In exchange, London will receive a 99-year lease for a U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, the largest atoll in the island cluster. The base was originally leased to the United States in 1966 for 50 years, after which it was extended until 2036. It was used to launch long-range bomber aircraft during the United States’ wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has been the subject of decades of tense negotiations between London and Port Louis.
A treaty is still to be finalized, though both sides wish to complete it before Mauritius holds general elections in November. As part of the proposed deal, London would make annual payments to Mauritius for access to Diego Garcia and provide financial support for infrastructure investments. The island would also be required to “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians,” according to a joint British-Mauritian statement. Around 2,000 residents of Diego Garcia were exiled in the 1960s when the colony was first leased to Washington.
Hungary heads to court. Brussels stepped up legal action against Hungary on Thursday, accusing Budapest’s “sovereignty law” of violating fundamental rights. The legislation, put into effect in February, criminalizes people and organizations that accept foreign funds for political causes. Activists have denounced the policy as one that disproportionately targets dissidents, journalists, and those who criticize Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.
On Thursday, the European Commission referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice to determine whether the legislation violates EU laws protecting the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of association. A ruling is expected in the coming years.
Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said the commission’s decision was politically motivated at a time when Hungary and the EU have found themselves at odds, including on immigration policy and support for Ukraine.
Behind bars. A Singapore court sentenced former Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran to a year in prison on Thursday for accepting more than $300,000 worth of gifts from people with whom he had official business. This was Singapore’s first political corruption trial in nearly 50 years. It is unclear if Iswaran will appeal the decision.
Iswaran initially faced 35 criminal charges, including allegations of corruption, but pleaded guilty last week to only five: one count for obstructing justice and four for obtaining valuable items while acting as public servant, such as tickets to English Premier League soccer matches and London musicals as well as a ride on a private jet. The prosecution had sought for a maximum of seven months in prison, but Justice Vincent Hoong said such a sentencing would be “manifestly inadequate” given the gravity of Iswaran’s crimes. Iswaran was a cabinet member for 13 years.
Odds and Ends
It’s every reporter’s nightmare. The BBC had to cancel a prime-time interview with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday after presenter Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent her briefing notes to the British politician instead of to her team. “It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing,” said Kuenssberg, who had planned to ask Johnson about Brexit, COVID-19, and the Partygate scandal ahead of his memoir dropping next week.
The post Israel Orders Mass Evacuations Across Southern Lebanon appeared first on Foreign Policy.
