First Thing: Netanhayu set to resist any US attempt to rein in Israel’s Gaza destruction

Joe Biden left in a bind as Israel tells US it needs ‘months’ to defeat Hamas. Plus, Ukraine stung after Hungary’s Viktor Orbán blocks EU war funding

Good morning.

Israeli tanks and planes on Friday intensified their bombardment of northern Gaza as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the territory’s south – with four people including two children killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Khan Younis early on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.

It came as US efforts to show it retains significant influence over the Israeli government were dealt a double blow on Thursday. The Israeli defence minister said it would take months to complete the task of rooting out Hamas, and a leaked US intelligence assessment revealed up to 45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions that Israel has dropped on Gaza since 7 October have been unguided “dumb bombs”.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, arrived in Israel to convey a message that its campaign needed to change – and preferably be wrapped up in weeks. But the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Neyanyahu, said he would not stop until Israel had achieved complete victory.

The two issues highlight questions about the nature of the control the US has over Israel’s political and military response to Hamas’s bloody attacks of 7 October. Until a few days ago, the preferred White House narrative has been this is a justified war of self-defence with an obtainable objective.

But that narrative is starting to fray at the edges, as suppressed differences emerge between the US and Israel, not just over methods, but objectives. The state department said it was “engaging in conversations” with Israel over the killing of the Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, over the “deeply disturbing” photographs of Palestinians stripped to their underwear, and the “concerning reports” in the Washington Post about the use of white phosphorus.

Meanwhile, The Israeli army said it had recovered and returned to Israel the body of the French-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano, 28, who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza by militants during the October 7 attacks.

What is the humanitarian death toll of Israel’s offensive so far? At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed and 50,897 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Thursday. The strikes followed Hamas’s attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with more than 200 others taken hostage.

What do Israelis think of Netanyahu’s actions? A poll of Israelis revealed widespread dissatisfaction with Netanyahu’s handling of US-Israel relations during the war. About 43% disapproved of Netanyahu’s treatment of Biden with 36% supporting, according to a Maariv/Jerusalem Post poll conducted this week.

How are diplomatic efforts playing out? France’s foreign minister will travel to Lebanon on Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts by Emmanuel Macron’s government to help contain the Middle East conflict. Fears of a widening war have been growing, with Iran-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and daily exchanges of fire along Israel’s border with Lebanon.

Cop28 president says his firm will keep investing in oil

The president of the Cop28 climate summit will continue with his oil company’s record investment in oil and gas production, despite coordinating a global deal to “transition away” from fossil fuels.

Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil and gas company, Adnoc, told the Guardian the company had to satisfy demand for fossil fuels.

“My approach is very simple: it is that we will continue to act as a responsible, reliable supplier of low-carbon energy, and the world will need the lowest-carbon barrels at the lowest cost,” he said, arguing that Adnoc’s hydrocarbons are lower carbon because they are extracted efficiently and with less leakage than other sources.

Al Jaber faced widespread consternation earlier this year over his dual role as head of Cop28 and of Adnoc, but he proved a popular Cop president. Developing countries at the summit said he was listening and responding to their concerns, while rich countries spoke well of his determination to forge a consensus deal.

What is Adnoc is planning to invest? $150bn over seven years in oil and gas, which Al Jaber said would maintain current production levels rather than increase output. He said Adnoc was forgoing much of its potential extraction.

What was the significance of the Cop deal? It marked the first time in 30 years of climate talks that a global resolution had been made addressing the future of all fossil fuels.

What have critics of the Cop deal said? Indigenous people, frontline communities and climate justice groups rebuked the deal as unfair, inequitable and business as usual.

Hungary blocks €50bn in EU aid for Ukraine hours after membership talks were approved

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has blocked a €50bn EU aid package for Ukraine, hours after leaders side-stepped his opposition to agree to open talks with Kyiv on joining the bloc.

A crunch summit in Brussels broke up after a day of wrangling as the Hungarian leader refused to green light funding to help Ukraine’s government over the next four years.

Posting on X/Twitter, Orbán wrote, “Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine.”

The blockage from Hungary – Russia’s closest ally in the EU – dealt a blow to Kyiv and its backers only hours after they had celebrated the bloc taking the symbolic step of agreeing to open membership talks.

Meanwhile, as the war in Ukraine grinds on but increasingly hits stalemate, Russia launched 14 drones at Ukraine overnight, all of which were shot down.

What does it mean for Kyiv? The row over €50bn financial aid comes at a dire time for Ukraine, with President Joe Biden also unable to get a $60bn package for Kyiv through Congress.

Why did Hungary allow negotiations for Ukrainian EU membership talks? In a move critics have described as a bribe, the European Commission unfroze about €10bn earmarked for Hungary, arguing the country had successfully completed judicial reforms.

What’s the latest with the Russia-Ukraine war? Vladimir Putin has said “there will only be peace in Ukraine when we achieve our aims,” as he appeared for his year-end press conference for the first time since he launched the invasion, seeking to project confidence in his war machine.

In other news …

Senator Elizabeth Warren issued a letter Thursday to Mark Zuckerberg, demanding information relating to allegations of suppression of pro-Palestine content on Meta platforms.

Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.

Congress passed a US defense policy bill on Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay rise for troops in more than two decades, authorizing $886bn for national defense programs while leaving behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for.

An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures, after the Chinese capital was hit by snowstorms in recent days.

Wall Street scaled a fresh all-time high on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled that it would cut borrowing costs next year, with the Dow Jones climbing 0.43% on the day to 37,248.31.

At least 38 people who survived an earthquake in Nepal have died after spending more than a month living in tents in freezing temperatures. Among the dead is a woman who gave birth two days after the earthquake struck the west of the country on 3 November.

Don’t miss this: ‘I fell off a 40ft cliff’’

My life has been ruled by epilepsy since I was a teenager, Angharad Elliott tells Heather Main. At 14, I suddenly started experiencing severe seizures as a result of a stroke I’d suffered at birth. Once, my family and I had gone on a short hike along the cliffs from Land’s End. My dad saw me suddenly drop off the side of the cliff. I’d had an epileptic fit and fell 40ft, my body ricocheting off the rocks below. My mum saw me from above, lying in a pool of water, a deep shade of crimson lapping around my ears.

… or this: ‘Should my boyfriend start clearing out his piles of books?’

Rupert is possessive about his books, Ari tells Georgina Lawton. He doesn’t want to get rid of any, ever, and he gets quite particular about people touching them or messing them up. He hates it if I fold down a corner of a page or do anything that may damage one of his books slightly. I think books should be able to put up with a bit of wear and tear, but he doesn’t agree. I want things around our home we both like. If we don’t enjoy a book, why keep it? I’d rather throw out or donate some books before we get more shelves.

Last Thing: The Dutch town that hosts ‘world’s largest Dickens festival’

Despite no known historical connection with the author, Deventer, in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands, now plays host to what is believed to be the world’s largest Charles Dickens festival. This weekend, 950 volunteers will fill the streets of the ancient Bergkwartier, performing street theatre and selling hot punch and Victorian treats. There are strict rules for actors and traders: no trainers, modern watches or mobile phones. The mayor of Deventer, Ron König, hopes visitors will have an enormous amount of fun but also take home a more profound message about inequality.

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