Fumata bianca in EU per le nomine; alta tensione tra Israele e Libano🗞️Rassegna del 28/06/2024

Israele

(New York Times) Israel Orders Evacuations as Strikes Pound Gaza City

• Israel ordered people in part of eastern Gaza City to evacuate on Thursday as Palestinian officials and residents reported heavy strikes and multiple casualties. People in the area described a frantic effort to get out as explosions sounded around them.
• The Israeli military said that it could not immediately comment on the strikes, which Palestinian officials said hit the Shajaiye neighborhood, an already heavily damaged area that was the focus of intense fighting early in the war. Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, reported that the military was conducting a ground operation to root out Hamas based on intelligence that the armed group had begun to restore control in the neighborhood.
• A witness with a human rights organization said that there were Israeli tanks on the outskirts of the neighborhood.
• The operation, if confirmed, would be the latest instance of Israeli forces returning to parts of Gaza that they had previously left, especially in the north of the enclave, as Hamas regroups amid the anarchy that the nine-month war has unleashed. The fighting has dragged on even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will soon move to a less intense phase, and as frustration grows within Israel and globally over what critics say is Mr. Netanyahu’s failure to advance a plan for how Gaza should be governed after Hamas.

(Associated Press) 21 children are set to exit Gaza in first medical evacuation since early May

• Twenty-one critically ill children were set to exit Gaza on Thursday in the first medical evacuation since the territory’s sole travel crossing was shut down in early May, Palestinian officials said.
• The nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza’s health sector and forced most of its hospitals to shut down. Health officials say thousands of people need medical treatment abroad, including hundreds of urgent cases.
• The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only one available for people to travel in or out, shut down after Israeli forces captured it during their operation in the city early last month. Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the crossing until the Gaza side is returned to Palestinian control.
• Six of the children were transferred to the Nasser Hospital from Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City earlier this week. Five have malignant cases of cancer and one suffers from metabolic syndrome. That evacuation was organized by the World Health Organization, which could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ucraina

(Associated Press) Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits front-line troops under pressure from Russia’s onslaught in eastern areas

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Wednesday visited troops in the eastern Donetsk region who have weathered fierce Russian ground and air assaults in recent months.
• The Kremlin’s army has escalated its efforts to dislodge exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian forces holding eastern and northeastern areas. It aims to capture more land during spring and summer as muddy fields have dried out, allowing heavy military equipment to roll into key positions across the countryside.
• Civilians have also felt the force of Russia’s onslaught. Ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit, Russian forces dropped a powerful glide bomb on the Donetsk city of Selydove, causing extensive damage to 37 homes, six multi-story buildings and administrative infrastructure, regional authorities said Wednesday. They reported no injuries.
• Over the previous 24 hours, the Russian military shelled 20 Donetsk region settlements, killing one person and injuring at least nine, regional head Vadym Filashkin said.
• About 250 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Donetsk region since Tuesday, officials said. Zelenskyy also discussed with local officials the public drinking water supply, social issues, evacuation plans and the rebuilding of local homes, he said.

Europa

Polonia:

(REUTERS) Poland's Orlen warned three gas companies it could seize Gazprom payments - sources

• Poland's biggest energy company Orlen, opens new tab warned gas companies in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria that it could seize their payments for imports from Russia's Gazprom, opens new tab, sources familiar with the matter said.
• The warnings, in letters sent over a month ago, are linked to claims for losses Poland incurred after being cut off from Russian supplies in 2022, two sources with knowledge of the letters told Reuters. Poland was cut off for not paying in roubles as Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
• The warning spurred Budapest to issue a decree in May, one source said, effectively preventing payments by state-owned energy conglomerate MVM CEEnergy to Gazprom from being seized, arguing it would put the country's energy supply at risk.
• The European gas market has faced uncertainty over supplies from Russia after Austria's OMV warned last month of the suspension of supplies from Russia's Gazprom following a foreign court ruling, without identifying the case.
• Last year, Poland's Europol Gaz filed a $1.45 billion claim against Russia's Gazprom for overdue payments and lost revenue from gas transmission services after 2022. Orlen is the sole owner of Europol Gaz, which operates the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline linking Russia and Europe.

Georgia:

(REUTERS) Georgian parliament gives initial approval to sweeping curbs on LGBT rights

• Georgia's parliament on Thursday gave its initial approval to a set of bills containing sweeping curbs on LGBT rights, including bans on the "propaganda" of same-sex relationships and gender reassignment surgery.
• The package, which was proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and which could outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBT rainbow flag, was approved by a majority of deputies. It must pass two more readings before becoming law.
• Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili said earlier this month that lawmakers would only vote on the bills' second and third readings during the autumn parliamentary session, in the immediate run-up to a general election scheduled for Oct. 26.
• He has said the bills are necessary to control "LGBT propaganda" which he said was "altering traditional relations".
• The legislation would also ban non-heterosexual people from adopting children and prevent people from changing their gender on ID documents. Public gatherings promoting same-sex relationships would not be allowed either.

Politica internazionale

America Latina

Bolivia:

(REUTERS) Bolivia coup attempt fails after military assault on presidential palace

• Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday evening and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the government and called for international support.
• Earlier in the day, military units led by General Juan Jose Zuniga, recently stripped of his military command, had gathered in the central Plaza Murillo square, home to the presidential palace and Congress. A Reuters witness saw an armored vehicle ram a door of the presidential palace and soldiers rush in. A few hours later, a Reuters witness saw soldiers withdraw from the square and police take control of the plaza. Bolivian authorities arrested Zuniga and took him away, though their destination was unclear.
• Tensions have been building in Bolivia ahead of general elections in 2025, with leftist ex-President Evo Morales planning to run against former ally Arce, creating a major rift in the ruling socialist party and wider political uncertainty. Many do not want a return of Morales, who governed from 2006-2019 when he was ousted amid widespread protests and replaced by an interim conservative government. Arce then won election in 2020.
• Zuniga said recently that Morales should not be able to return as president and threatened to block him if he attempted to, which led Arce to remove Zuniga from his post.
• Ahead of the attack on the presidential palace, Zuniga had addressed reporters in the square and cited growing anger in the landlocked country, which has been battling an economic slump with depleted central bank reserves and pressure on the boliviano currency as gas exports have dried up.