Daily News Brief

November 3, 2023

Top of the Agenda

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met today (AP) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to voice continued U.S. support for Israel’s war efforts while also pressing for concrete steps to reduce civilian casualties. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Washington seeks a “temporary, localized” pause in fighting. Blinken raised concerns about humanitarian aid, hostages, and Israel’s postwar strategy with Israeli officials before traveling on to Jordan.  

Blinken’s visit began as Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City and as Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, prepared to give his first public speech (NYT) since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Hezbollah attacked Israeli positions in northern Israel yesterday with drones and mortar fire, while its skirmishes with Israel near its border with Lebanon have drawn fears for weeks that the war could expand across the region.

Analysis

“As Israel begins large-scale ground operations in Gaza, it is crucial to recognize that it will be impossible to defeat Hamas quickly,” the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Assaf Orion writes for Foreign Affairs. “To achieve lasting results, moreover, a long war cannot rely exclusively on force. It must include diplomatic, informational, legal, and economic efforts, supported by both regional and international partners.”

“In [the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War], Iran was flush with oil wealth and could spend lavishly to rebuild Hezbollah after the war. Today, [Iran] has to tighten its belt and look to its own inflation-ravaged economy. Nasrallah can't expect the same assistance as before,” the Eurasia Group’s Gregory Brew posts.

Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.

Pacific Rim

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit tomorrow will be the first by an Australian leader to China in seven years. He will attend a trade fair (Reuters) and is expected to focus on economic ties to steady the bilateral relationship. In a visit to Washington last week, Albanese sought to reduce Australia’s reliance on China by boosting U.S. investment in its minerals sector.

For the Asia Unbound blog, Elena Collinson charts Australia’s fluctuating policy toward China. 

Japan: A drop in the value of the Japanese yen has led the country to scale back plans for a military buildup, totaling some $320 billion, aimed at helping to counter a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Reuters reported.

South and Central Asia

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed projects in agriculture and uranium (Reuters) with his Uzbek counterpart during his visit to the country yesterday. He is the first French leader to visit Uzbekistan since the 1990s.

China/Myanmar: A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry called for a halt to fighting (Bloomberg) near the country’s border with Myanmar, where a coalition of ethnic armed groups said they have seized several towns and some armored vehicles. 

Middle East and North Africa

A UN budget shortfall led to the reduction in aid for Lebanon, which is set to take place next year (AP) and will affect eighty-eight thousand families. A program for families to receive extra assistance during the winter for heightened fuel expenses will also be halted.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said yesterday that the new policy aims to boost tourism (Business Day). It comes after Kenya made a similar announcement on Monday that Africans will be able to visit the country visa-free beginning on December 31.

U.S./Africa: At a forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday, the African Union’s top trade official called on the United States (Reuters) to renew its African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade pact for at least ten years as its September 2025 expiration date approaches. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is attending the forum today and tomorrow.

Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his move was meant to “mirror” the position of the United States, which signed the treaty in 1996 but never ratified it. Russia’s de-ratification leaves the New START treaty (NYT) as the only major arms control deal between the two countries.

This In Brief by CFR’s Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow explores U.S. and Russian nuclear deployments across Europe. 

U.S./Russia: The United States yesterday announced new sanctions (Reuters) on hundreds of people and entities connected to Russia’s ongoing war effort in Ukraine. The new measures target current sanctions evasion, drone suppliers, and the development of a natural gas project in Siberia, among others.

Americas

President Joe Biden is expected to announce financial support (Reuters) for countries hosting migrants in the Western Hemisphere at today’s inaugural summit of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity.

Cuba: For the thirty-first consecutive year, a resolution condemning the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba passed at the UN General Assembly (AP). Yesterday’s vote saw 187 countries approve the resolution, while the United States and Israel opposed it, and Ukraine abstained.

This timeline traces U.S.-Cuba relations. 

United States

The bill passed the House of Representatives (WSJ) yesterday on a largely party-line vote. Twelve Democrats sided with Republicans in backing the bill, while many other Democrats voted it down for its provision to strip funds from the Internal Revenue Service. President Biden said he would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Friday Editor’s Pick

The Guardian details how Filipino domestic workers are becoming trapped by restrictive visas, forced to choose between enduring abusive workplaces or forgoing their legal status abroad.  

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