Morning Briefing: Dec. 30, 2023

By Merve Berker

Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Saturday, including the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the rising death toll of journalists, loud warnings by humanitarian organizations about the deteriorating situation in Gaza, US President Joe Biden bypassing Congress to send more arms to Israel, and reports about Russia-Ukraine war.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli assault kills 106 Gaza journalists in 84 days

The Israeli army has killed 106 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip in 84 days of continued intense attacks.

The Gaza Media Office said another journalist was killed in an attack by the Israeli army on the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip.

It indicated that a Al-Quds TV journalist was killed in the attack, bringing to 106 the number of journalists killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.

• 30 dead in Ukraine from Russian missile attacks: Interior minister

Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said Friday that 30 people were killed and 160 others injured in missile attacks by the Russian army.

Klimenko said on social media that civilians were killed and injured due to the missile attacks.

Search and rescue teams saved 58 civilians, including eight from under the debris across the country.

• Biden bypasses Congress again to send more arms to Israel

US President Joe Biden bypassed Congress for a second time this month to approve another emergency arms sale for Israel amid its ongoing war in the besieged Gaza Strip, his administration announced Friday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Congress that an emergency exists, requiring him to circumvent the traditional Congressional notification period for foreign military sales in order to approve the immediate sale of an estimated $147.5 million worth of M107 155mm artillery shells and related equipment.

That includes fuzes, primers, and charges. The State Department said the notification, which included Blinken's "detailed justification" was delivered Friday.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli army's ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has risen to 21,507, with 55,915 injured, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said on Friday.
• Israeli soldiers opened fire on Friday at an aid convoy as it was returning from Northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army, said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA.
  
• An airstrike targeted a convoy of Iran-backed groups within the ranks of the Syrian army in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-zor on Friday.
  
• Turkish intelligence neutralized a PKK/YPG terrorist group ringleader in northern Syria who was plotting attacks on nearby Turkish military units, security sources said on Friday.
  
• Israeli authorities barred Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for the 12th consecutive Friday.
  
• The Israeli army has killed a total of 308 Palestinians sheltering in UN facilities in Gaza since Oct. 7, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Friday.
  
• French police will deploy 90,000 police officers on New Year's Eve over a "high level of terror threat," the nation's interior minister said on Friday.
  
• The EU on Friday reiterated its stance of backing Kyiv "as long as needed" following a wave of Russian airstrikes overnight on Ukraine that killed dozens of people.
  
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Friday that 2023 was “the deadliest year on record” for Palestinians in the West Bank, with 504 people killed in the occupied territory.
  
• South Africa on Friday filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
  
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" about the spillover of the Gaza conflict, and urges all parties to exercise "maximum restraint" for regional peace, his spokesman said on Friday.
• Thousands of Yemeni people on Friday participated in mass rallies in support of Gaza facing an Israeli devastating onslaught.
  
• Austria said Friday that Bulgaria and Romania need to accept refugees from Afghanistan and Syria as a condition for entry into the Schengen Zone.
• China launched three experimental satellites into space Saturday from the Jiuquuan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, according to Chinese state-run Xinhua News.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Oil rises with positive demand signs in US driven by stocks draw, Middle East tension

Oil prices increased on Friday over strong demand signals in the US after a more-than-expected fall in the country’s crude oil stockpiles and the escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The international benchmark crude Brent traded at $77.53 per barrel at 10.15 a.m. local time (0715 GMT), a 0.49% increase from the closing price of $77.15 a barrel in the previous trading session on Thursday.

The American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), traded at the same time at $72.02 per barrel, up 0.35% from Thursday’s close of $71.77 per barrel.

• Türkiye successfully test-fires heavyweight torpedo AKYA

Türkiye announced on Friday that the test-firing of the national heavyweight torpedo AKYA with warhead has been carried out successfully.

AKYA, developed by Turkish defense giant Roketsan, was launched from the TCG Preveze submarine in the Eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday and it hit the target with full accuracy, the National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The fully indigenous, new-generation torpedo hit the target from a distance of 12,000 yards and sank it.

SPORTS

• Turkish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia postponed

The Turkish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia was postponed on Friday before the Fenerbahce vs. Galatasaray match kicked off.

In a statement, the Turkish Football Federation said that the match, earlier scheduled to be played on Friday at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh “was postponed due to some problems in the organization with the joint decision of the clubs” and the Turkish football body.

The governing body of Turkish football thanked the Saudi Football Federation and relevant institutions for their efforts for the organization of the Super Cup.

• Argentina to retire Messi's no. 10 shirt

Argentina National Football Team will retire Lionel Messi's no. 10 shirt, according to Spanish media.

"When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. This number 10 will be retired for life in his honor. It is the least we can do for him," the Argentine Football Association (AFA) President Claudio Tapia said, according to the sports news website, Sports.es.

Messi, who played for Barcelona for more than a decade, scored 672 goals in 778 appearances and is the Spanish club's all-time scorer.

• Turkish archer Mete Gazoz named best men's recurve archer for 2023

The Turkish Archery Federation announced Friday that Mete Gazoz was named as the best men's recurve archer for 2023 in a World Archery Federation's annual poll.

Gazoz, 24, won his third award after 2018 and 2021.

The Federation congratulated the Olympic and World Champion and thanked him for making his country proud.