WORLD BRIEFING: April 5, 2024

U.S. President Biden threatened on Thursday to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses his concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, prompting Israel to commit to permitting more food and other supplies into the besieged enclave in hopes of placating him. During a tense 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mr. Biden for the first time leveraged U.S. aid to influence the conduct of the war against Hamas that has inflamed many Americans and others around the world. The announcement of additional aid routes hours later met some but not all of Mr. Biden’s demands. “President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” according to a White House summary of the call. “He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.” The statement was the sharpest the White House has issued on Israel’s conduct in the six months of its war against Hamas, underscoring the president’s growing frustration with Mr. Netanyahu and his anger over this week’s killing of seven aid workers by Israeli military forces. But while the president repeated his call for a negotiated deal that would result in an “immediate cease-fire” and the release of hostages taken by Hamas, White House officials stopped short of saying directly that he might limit U.S. arms supplies if not satisfied - NYT

Israel’s Shin Bet announced on Thursday that it had busted a mixed terror cell of Israeli-Arabs and Palestinians who had plotted to kill National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The terror cell was also targeting Ben Gurion Airport and government offices. A statement from the Shin Bet named seven Israeli-Arabs and four West Bank Palestinians involved in the plot. The cell planned to attack Ben Gvir in Kiryat Arba using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons - Jerusalem Post

GPS is being blocked across Israel in an attempt to disrupt incoming missiles and drones, as tensions rise with Iran. Iran has vowed to respond after a strike on its consulate building in Syria on Monday - which Israel was widely believed to be behind - killed 13 people, including a senior general. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also announced it was halting all leave for soldiers serving with combat units. It comes a day after reservists were called up to bolster air defence units. Israeli authorities seem to believe an Iranian response is imminent and could come as soon as Friday, which is Quds Day - or Jerusalem Day - the last Friday in the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan - BBC

Ukraine’s air force shot down all 13 drones used in Russia's overnight attack on the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk. One of the attacks targeted energy infrastructure in the Odesa region but air defences repelled the attacks, Ukraine’s military said. Local officials also reported explosions in an attack in the eastern city of Kharkiv, a regular target of Russian attacks, late on Thursday. The region’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said there were no casualties reported as of Friday morning - Reuters

Richard Branson has criticised companies still operating in Russia accusing them of sustaining Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Virgin founder told Sky News "too many companies continue to profit from doing business with or in Russia, whilst fuelling Putin's war machine". The comments come weeks after Sky News analysis revealed that British car makers appear to be trying to circumvent sanctions by selling hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of luxury vehicles to Russia indirectly via former Soviet states."For Europe's leaders, the stakes couldn't be any higher," he added. "European nations must come together now and forge a common security architecture that is robust enough to stand on its own feet and defend against the real threat they face."

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is facing calls from senior officials and lawmakers to justify her choice of candidate to staff a top new EU role, according to a letter seen by AFP on Thursday. A backlash has been growing in Brussels since von der Leyen appointed German EU lawmaker Markus Pieper for the position of "SME (small and medium enterprises) envoy" in January, with claims two female candidates were passed over despite being more qualified. The commission president faces suspicion that she named Pieper in exchange for the support of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for her re-election after the European Parliament elections set for June. In a letter addressed to von der Leyen dated March 27, four EU commissioners including the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell pointed to "questions about the transparency and impartiality of the nomination process". They called for the EU's College of Commissioners "to collectively discuss the answer to these allegations as well as the possible impact on the next steps in the recruitment process of Mr Markus Pieper as SME Envoy". Such a discussion, they said in the letter sent to all 27 members of the EU executive, should take place "at the earliest opportunity" - AFP

Italy is now quickly becoming Europe's growth engine. In the last quarter, the Italian economy grew by 0.6%, while the German economy shrunk by 0.3% in the same period. Beyond this short three-month snapshot, other figures for Europe's third-largest economy are impressive, too. “The Italian economy has grown by 3.8% since 2019," Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank, told DW. That is "twice as much as the French economy and five times more than the German economy."  In Germany, the prospects are indeed looking bleak. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts growth of 0.3% this year for Germany. Leading German experts are only expecting growth of 0.1%. Italy's economy, on the other hand, is expected to grow by 0.7% this year, according to the OECD. The Italian stock market is also benefiting from the optimistic mood. The FTSE MIB benchmark index, which is made up of 40 big companies, rose by around 28% last year, more than any other European stock market indices. And  Italy is on track for more growth - DW

The number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide is projected to double to 2.9 million a year by 2040, with annual deaths predicted to rise by 85%, according to the largest study of its kind. Prostate cancer is already a major cause of death and disability, and the most common form of male cancer in more than 100 countries. But with populations ageing and life expectancy rising globally, a new analysis forecasts a dramatic surge in cases and deaths over the next 15 years. Diagnoses are projected to increase from 1.4m a year in 2020 to 2.9m by 2040, which will mean about 330 men being told they have the disease every hour. The number of deaths worldwide is predicted to rise by 85% over the 20-year period, from 375,000 in 2020 to almost 700,000 by 2040. The true death toll will probably be higher, experts say, because of underdiagnosis and missing data in low- and middle-income countries. The findings were published in the Lancet - Guardian