Indian PM Narendra Modi expressed deep shock at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. While expressing condolences and hoping for the speedy recovery of the injured, Modi remarked that civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. The Indian PM said that those involved should be held responsible.
India is expected to conclude a deal for 31 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with the US by February 2024. As per defence sources, deliveries for the UAVs will begin in February 2027. The deal between the two countries is on track, and India is waiting for the Letter of Offer and Acceptance from the US.
The US vetoed Brazil’s UN Security Council draft resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions of people in Gaza. The resolution was put to vote by Sergio Franca Danese, Brazilian Ambassador to the UN. While the US was the only vote against the resolution, 12 members voted in favour, while Russia and the UK abstained. The US remarked that the resolution did not do enough to underscore Israel’s right to self-defence.
US President Joe Biden’s administration eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry on Wednesday in response to an agreement between the government and opposition parties for the 2024 election. The US Treasury Department granted a new general licence allowing OPEC member Venezuela, which has been subject to crippling sanctions since 2019, to produce and sell oil to its preferred markets without limitation for the next six months.
On Wednesday, the US announced fresh sanctions on 10 Hamas leaders and financial facilitators, including a Qatar-based operative with close ties to Iran. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, “The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was pushing for sanctions on Israel, including an oil embargo, as the Iranian Foreign Ministry reported. According to the statement, Amirabdollahian met with OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha and “called for immediate sanctions against the Zionist regime (Israel), as well as a complete embargo on oil imports.” The Iranian minister also advocated setting up a special tribunal under the supervision of the OIC to hold Israel’s leadership accountable for “war crimes” committed in Gaza.
The US said on Wednesday that it had seized 17 website domains used by North Korean IT workers, primarily located in Russia and China, engaged in a scheme to defraud businesses, evade sanctions, and generate revenue for the regime’s nuclear weapons programme.
The Philippines has no military engagements with Taiwan, and it does not see future engagements with the island, the country’s armed forces chief Romeo Brawner said on Thursday. He added that the military is ready for any eventuality but has not monitored reports on any intended attacks on Taiwan.