Israel faces a growing risk of damaging its peace with neighboring Egypt as its military pushes the offensive against Hamas further south in the Gaza Strip. Already, the two sides are in a dispute over a narrow strip of land between Egypt and Gaza.
Egyptian professor of modern history Mohamed Afifi said in a January 14, 2024 interview on Ten TV (Egypt) that he considers Iran to be an enemy of Egypt. He said that since the times of the ancient Persian Empire, Iran had aspirations to control the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and the trade routes to Europe through the invasion of Egypt.
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Cairo warned Jerusalem on January 22 that an Israeli operation along Egypt’s border with Gaza would present a “serious threat” to Egypt-Israel relations and cross a “red line.” The Egyptian government made the threat in response to reports that Israel may be preparing a military operation to secure the 8.7-mile land route — an area known as the Philadelphi Corridor — and destroy the network of illicit Hamas tunnels that connect Egypt and Gaza.
Can we stop things falling apart? 2024 begins with wars burning in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine and peacemaking in crisis. Worldwide, diplomatic efforts to end fighting are failing. More leaders are pursuing their ends militarily. More believe they can get away with it.
Data Cutoff: January 10, 2024, at 10 a.m.
Key Takeaway: IS affiliates across sub-Saharan Africa have claimed attacks as part of the new IS global campaign and could attempt to carry out high-visibility attacks against civilians and religious sites in their areas of operation to maximize the propaganda value of the campaign. IS central media is branding the campaign as supportive of the Palestinian cause in response to the Israel-Hamas war and is also encouraging lone-wolf attacks against civilians in the West.
An estimated 82 percent of the record 149 million Africans facing acute food insecurity are in conflict-affected countries underscoring that conflict continues to be the primary driver of Africa’s food crisis.
Russia has pioneered a model of disinformation to gain political influence in Africa that is now being replicated by other actors across the continent.
Disinformation is the intentional dissemination of false information with the intent of advancing a political objective. Africa has been the increasingly frequent target of such campaigns. In recent years, dozens of carefully designed campaigns have pumped millions of intentionally false and misleading posts into Africa’s online social spaces. The ensuing confusion in deciphering fact from fiction has had a corrosive effect on social trust, critical thinking, and citizens’ ability to engage in politics fairly—the lifeblood of a functioning democracy.
Oversight, accountability, and governance of the security sector are essential ingredients to a capable and effective force, mitigating infractions and contributing to a learning environment that improves future practices.
La nouvelle stratégie de l’Iran consiste à renforcer son influence simultanément dans différentes régions, à l’image de son appui financier, logistique et militaire croissant au Hamas et au Polisario, élargissant ainsi sa capacité à contester les intérêts des États Unis d’Amérique (USA) et des autres pays occidentaux.
Conflict and climate change remain the driving forces behind displacement as the number of internally displaced persons reach 71.1 million across the globe.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 300 million people will need humanitarian assistance due to conflicts, climate change, and other drivers by next year.