world news
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
A United Arab Emirates humanitarian convoy set off from Al Arish on Sunday heading to Rafah. The convoy will be distributed as part of the UAE’s efforts to aid civilians in Gaza. This is called Gallant Knight 3, and it was “launched under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the UAE’s WAM news agency noted on Sunday.
This is one of a series of efforts in the works to support Gaza this week. It is important because it comes in the context of wider moves to try to end the conflict. For instance, there are talks in the region and also talks between Arab countries and China, about efforts to end the fighting. Humanitarian aid is likely one of the easiest ways to support Gaza without getting into the complexities of a ceasefire or other issues.
Arab News reported on Monday that “a 14th plane carrying aid from Saudi Arabia for Gaza on Sunday arrived at El-Arish International Airport in Egypt, the Saudi Press Agency reported.” This report noted that it consisted of two ambulances out of 20 scheduled to be sent from Saudi Arabia. This campaign comes under the auspices of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief.
The UAE convoy “comprises 13 trucks carrying a total of 272.5 tonnes of aid. These include 10 trucks carrying 16,800 food packages weighing 252 tonnes to support 84,000 people, and 3 trucks carrying 360 tents weighing 20.5 tonnes,” WAM reported. “The UAE is continuing its humanitarian aid drive to support the Palestinian people as part of Operation ‘Gallant Knight 3’ through the operation of an air bridge. To date, the air bridge facilitated 49 flights aimed at alleviating the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip during these dire circumstances.”Aid sets sail for Egypt to enter through Rafah crossing
France is also sending a large ship to Egypt. The Dixmude, an amphibious helicopter carrier, set sail for Egypt this week. VOA news said that France is also sending a flight. “A charter flight carrying more than 10 tons of medical supplies is also planned for the start of the week,” VOA reported. “France will also contribute to the European effort with medical equipment on board European flights on November 23 and 30,” the French presidential office said.
Meanwhile Russian state media said that “Another group of Russian citizens, evacuated from the Gaza Strip earlier, has been delivered to Russia,” TASS reported in Moscow. “A [Russian] Ministry of Emergency Situations Il-76 plane flying from Cairo landed in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. It delivered a group of 117 Russians, who previously evacuated through the Rafah checkpoint. During the flight, they were accompanied by Ministry medics and psychologists,” the TASS report said.
These are all important moves. Along with previous Jordanian air drops and the UAE’s decision to set up a field hospital, many countries are contributing to Gaza. As the conflict continues and aid needs become acute these efforts will take on more meaning.
Danny Ayalon, former Deputy Foreign Minister and Israeli Ambassador to Washington, called the recent pro-Palestinian protests on campuses “an Islamist agenda that did not start today.”
Ayalon stated, “They have already influenced the public opinion in Europe in their favor and are trying to replicate the process in the US. From this perspective, they are succeeding, and they are, in fact, trying to influence not only Biden and the government but also members of Congress. Currently, Trump is leading in at least five states. Everything is subject to the American electoral system.”
Ayalon continued, “There are two axes through which Americans have been operating from the beginning of the war until today: the strategic axis, strong support for Israel, Israel’s strength is a clear American interest, and not to expand the war, and on the other hand, Biden’s political interest. He wants quiet; he wants stability. He would, of course, prefer to see a breakthrough. If he could run these elections on an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, that would be his dream. It is not beneficial for Biden to encourage escalation of the fighting.”
The American influence on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Ayalon also noted that “From all the conduct of Hamas, the IDF controls 90 percent of Gaza, and they are negotiating as if they hold the upper hand. They think they have the advantage and need to hold out as long as possible until the American elections.”
“The prominent guiding line is the evident interests of Biden and the Democrats. There are about five key states where this conflict will be decided by the electoral system. In some states, like Michigan, there is a relatively large Arab Muslim concentration, and a small percentage one way or the other can shift the entire state from one side to the other. That’s exactly Biden’s dilemma,” Ayalon concluded.
Edited by Shani Romano for 103FM radio.
Udi Segal and Tal Shalev spoke this Wednesday morning on 103FM radio with Omer Lubaton Granot, an Israeli master’s student at Columbia University, who shared his feelings after the widespread pro-Palestinian protests on campus as a reaction to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“I’m okay, but outside, it’s chaotic like you wouldn’t believe,” he shared, “There are dozens, if not over a hundred, detainees. We are following directions. The students from the protest yesterday broke into the building and shattered windows.”
Despite the chaos, Granot recognized some good things that came out of the campus protests.
“It gave the university a reason to investigate matters they’ve avoided for a long time. There is a lot of criticism about maintaining freedom of expression because it is sacred here, but the students went too far. They closed the campus today. No one could enter.”Lubaton Granot continued, “It’s been disrupting the daily routine here for two weeks already. There are people with covered faces walking around here, waving terrorist flags, shouting ‘Zionists out,’ preventing Israelis from freely walking on campus.”
“At a certain point, we waited for the police to come and take assertive action against them. The president asked the police to stay on campus until May 17. There is a need for constant police presence even though they are not a mob, this is not London, and there are not 100,000 protesters here,” he noted.
“I read in several places, but not sure if it’s confirmed, that among [the protesters] there was a relative of a man who was convicted of terrorism and unrelated to the university. Among the protesters are all sorts of people who are professional provocateurs. But in the end, they are coordinated, inside and out.”
“These are the same organizations where many of their leaders are simply on the outside,” he concluded and said, “There is a sense of personal threat, and we keep looking over our shoulders. We’re careful where we speak Hebrew on campus. We are remaining cautious. Since the beginning of this whole thing, it’s been really scary.
Three missiles were sighted approximately 15 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Mokha, British security firm Ambrey said on Friday, and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that one vessel was damaged.
“The Master has reported two attacks. The first attack, the vessel experienced an explosion in close proximity to the vessel, which was felt by the crew on board,” UKMTO said in an advisory note.
“Subsequently, the second attack on the vessel, consisted of what is believed to be two missiles, which resulted in damage to the vessel,” UKMTO added.
Russian-linked ship attacked
The tanker, which was not identified by name, was en route from Pimorsk, Russia, to Vadinar, India, when it was attacked, Ambrey said in its advisory note.
“A Panama-flagged tanker, formerly UK-owned before its ownership changed in November 2023, was the closest vessel to the sighting,” Ambrey’s note said.
“At the time of writing, the vessel’s owner was Seychelles-registered and was engaged in Russia-linked trade,” Ambrey said of the tanker that was attacked.
The note said the vessel was transmitting an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal.
Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and have stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilize the wider Middle East.
The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping.
The Houthis since November have attacked more than four dozen ships, taking possession of one and sinking another. The barrage of assaults had eased in recent weeks amid US-led airstrikes and a sharp drop in commercial vessel voyages through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
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