The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cancelled a mission to Hungary to discuss antibribery measures, it says, citing the government’s failure to act on its previous recommendations.
There was no immediate response from the Hungarian government on Tuesday after what the OECD said in a statement was the first time such a high-level mission has been called off.
Scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, the meeting was scrapped over what the OECD described as the inability of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government to secure sufficient representation of ministers and senior officials for the event.
“The high-level mission decided on by the Working Group on Bribery in December 2023 was meant to address the Government of Hungary’s failure to make tangible progress in addressing long-standing recommendations,” the OECD said in a statement on Tuesday.
These related to what the OECD described as the Hungarian government’s lack of understanding of foreign bribery risk exposure, the absence of a strategy for detecting and investigating foreign bribery cases and the lack of legal clarity in relation to corporate responsibility for foreign bribery.
The OECD said some of its recommendations date back more than a decade.
“The Working Group also remains seriously concerned about Hungary’s low level of foreign bribery enforcement,” it said.
The OECD said it will implement additional measures for the Hungarian government to re-engage at an appropriate level and introduce a draft plan of proposed steps to address the shortcomings its working group has identified.
The European Union and the United States have long warned of alarming levels of politically linked corruption in Hungary and expressed worries over the state of its democracy and rule of law. Brussels has suspended billions in EU funding in a bid to push Orban to remedy these problems.
Protests erupted in Hungary in March after a recording was released by former government insider-turned-critic Peter Magyar, who claimed it proved top officials are corrupt.
United Nations agencies have called for an urgent increase in funding to deal with the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Lebanon as the Israeli military continues its offensive against Hezbollah.
UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a joint statement on Tuesday that the fighting, which has displaced hundreds of thousands in Lebanon, has “triggered a catastrophe”.
“We are preparing for the reality that the needs are increasing,” the agencies said. “We need additional funding, without conditionalities.”
Lebanese officials have said 1.2 million people have been affected by the conflict, in which Israel has conducted air attacks on Beirut and many other parts of Lebanon, as well as sending ground troops into the south.
“Around 1.2 million people have been affected, with a significant impact on vulnerable communities,” the statement cautioned. “Nearly 190,000 displaced individuals are currently sheltered in over 1,000 facilities, while hundreds of thousands more are seeking safety among family and friends.”
In addition, hundreds of thousands have crossed into Syria, the statement notes, further complicating the humanitarian response.
WFP personnel and volunteers unload food parcels and essential commodities at the southern Lebanese village of Qliyaa [Str via Getty Images]
The UN agencies say they are working to deliver vital support. WFP is meeting the needs of approximately 200,000 people daily with ready-to-eat food and cash.
UNICEF said it is delivering essential support to children and families, including primary healthcare, water and hygiene kits, mattresses and blankets, and psychosocial support services, in cooperation with the Lebanese government.
The agency has warned of a “lost generation” in Lebanon, saying 400,000 children have been displaced in the three weeks since major hostilities broke out.
Women and children
There is growing concern regarding the effects of Israeli attacks, which its military insists targets Hezbollah facilities, on civilians.
The human rights office on Tuesday reported that the majority of 22 people killed in a strike on the northern village of Aito on Monday were women and children, and called for a “prompt, independent and thorough investigation”.
“What we are hearing is that amongst the 22 people killed were 12 women and two children,” a spokesperson said, adding that this raises “real concerns with respect to … the laws of war and principles of distinction, proportion and proportionality”.
An official from the UN Refugee Agency said new Israeli evacuation orders to 20 villages in southern Lebanon meant that more than a quarter of the country was affected.
“People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she said.
Meanwhile, the fighting shows little sign of abating.
The Israeli army reported on Tuesday it launched 200 strikes across Lebanon in the past 24 hours as it expanded its attacks against Hezbollah.
In its latest round of military assistance to Israel, the United States will send its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system.
The US will also send soldiers to operate the system, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
It is unclear when the deployment will take place.
Here’s why the US is deploying the THAAD system in Israel now:
What is the THAAD system?
THAAD is an advanced missile defence system that uses a combination of radar and interceptors to thwart short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Its missiles have a range of 150 to 200km (93 to 124 miles), and the system is made by US defence and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
It can intercept missiles inside and outside Earth’s atmosphere during their final stage of flight, which begins when the detached warhead re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and ends upon detonation, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
How does the THAAD system work?
According to an April report by the Congressional Research Service, THAAD batteries usually are made up of 95 soldiers, six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors – eight for each launcher – one radar system, and a fire control and communications component.
The number of launchers and interceptors can vary.
THAADs do not carry an explosive warhead, which allows them to reach high altitudes quickly. Rather than exploding on impact with incoming ballistic missiles to neutralise them, THAAD interceptors use kinetic energy – the energy generated through its mass being in motion – to set off the missile.
What it cannot do is fend off smaller, simpler weapons such as drones used by groups including Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reported from Washington, DC. This is because the drones are small and do not approach from a high altitude.
(Al Jazeera)
How much does it cost?
One THAAD battery costs from $1bn to $1.8bn, according to Hanna.
How many THAAD batteries are there?
According to the Congressional Research Service report, the US army has deployed seven THAAD batteries, including to South Korea and Guam.
Does Israel already have THAAD batteries?
According to a statement published by the US Department of Defense on Sunday, the US previously deployed a THAAD battery to southern Israel in 2019 “for training and an integrated air defense exercise”.
However, this battery was taken back to the US after the exercise, Hanna said.
The statement added that the US deployed a THAAD battery in the Middle East “to defend American troops and interests in the region” after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, without specifying the country it was deployed to.
Israel’s air defences currently use three systems: The Iron Dome intercepts short-range missiles from 4 to 70km (2.5 to 43.5 miles), David’s Sling intercepts medium-range missiles from 40 to 300km (24.5 to 186 miles) and the Arrow System intercepts long-range missiles up to 2,400km (1,491 miles) away.
Hanna said the THAAD and Iron Dome systems can work together to protect from a higher altitude and minimise damage from a longer distance.
Why is the US sending the system to Israel now?
“In the last Iranian attack, Iran improvised something we had never seen before,” military analyst Elijah Magnier said, referring to Iran’s attack on Israel on October 1 when it fired nearly 200 missiles on major cities and towns.
Iran launched the missiles “into three corridors, or three locations, making it impossible for any interceptor to bound them all”, Magnier said.
Iranian state media said Fattah hypersonic ballistic missiles were used for the first time, a claim Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify.
Fattah, unveiled in 2023, is a missile the US has never come up against, and Washington wants to “test” whether THAAD can intercept it, Magnier said.
On Sunday, a statement said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorised the deployment of a THAAD system to Israel to help boost the country’s air defences.
“This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel … from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” the statement added.
Why are US soldiers coming with it?
“The [THAAD] systems are so complex that it requires a crew of 94 to operate – a trained crew of 94 – and these will be US soldiers,” Hanna reported from Washington, DC.
Magnier explained that the US forces are accompanying the THAAD system because they are trained to operate it and there is no time to train the Israeli army.
While it is uncertain when the THAAD will arrive in Israel, “once the THAAD arrives, any time would be good for Israel to launch the attack and Iran’s reaction would not be imminent,” Magnier said.
He added that the soldiers might return to the US if Iran launches an attack on Israel.
A THAAD interceptor is launched in Kodiak, Alaska [File: Handout/Leah Garton/Missile Defense Agency via Reuters]
Could Israel receive more THAAD batteries in the future?
The is unlikely, Hanna said.
This is because the THAAD covers a wide area and one battery is enough for Israel’s size, especially given the assumption that the missiles will hit Israel from Iran only, he explained.
Additionally, the THAAD is a limited resource for the US, and manufacturing more batteries takes time, Hanna said, likening the complex manufacturing process to that of a jet airliner.
However, interceptor missiles are easier to replenish.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, including in Jabalia in the north where the Israeli military launched an offensive 11 days ago.
At least 55 people were killed in the past 24 hours in the enclave, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday, with at least 12 bodies recovered after an Israeli attack near al-Faluja in the besieged Jabalia refugee camp.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, said seven of those killed belonged to the al-Sayed family. He said their bodies were buried in their family home.
The other five bodies were recovered from the streets of the neighbourhood, said Basal.
Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee areas north of Gaza City [Omar al-Qattaa/AFP]
In a separate incident, Israeli forces attacked the Birkat Abu Rashid area of the camp, killing at least three people and wounding several others, according to Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif, reporting from the scene.
In the aftermath of the air attack, rescuers were seen frantically helping survivors exit from a heavily damaged building, with one man carrying an injured child.
Residents told Al Jazeera that troops are planting explosives-filled barrels into the ground in al-Faluja to destroy buildings and homes.
‘Unimaginable loss’
Over the past year, Israeli troops have repeatedly returned to the Jabalia refugee camp, which dates back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
The attack on Jabalia follows Israeli orders to fully evacuate northern Gaza, including Gaza City. An estimated 400,000 Palestinians remain in the north, according to United Nations estimates.
The UN’s human rights office said on Tuesday the Israeli military appeared to be “cutting off North Gaza completely from the rest of the Gaza Strip”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, “Amid intense ongoing hostilities and evacuation orders in northern Gaza, families are facing unimaginable fear, loss of loved ones, confusion, and exhaustion. People must be able to flee safely, without facing further danger.”
Fighting elsewhere
An Israeli air attack destroyed several homes on al-Sinaa street in the west of Gaza City early on Tuesday, with two bodies recovered, according to the civil defence.
A search continues for 12 other people believed to have been in the houses at the time, it said.
Meanwhile, in central Gaza, four Palestinians were killed when a house was struck in the Nuseirat camp belonging to the al-Salhi family, the civil defence said.
Relatives of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack grieve during their funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
In southern Gaza, at least 10 people from a family were killed and many others wounded in Bani Suheila in eastern Khan Younis following an Israeli air raid on a house.
“The killing machine hasn’t stopped at all. All night long, heavy artillery and air strikes were carried out in the southern part of the Strip,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“They thought they were being protected and safe, but not any more. This has deepened the shattered sense of safety for everyone in eastern Khan Younis,” Mahmoud said.
In a separate attack, six people of a family were killed in Khan Younis’s al-Fukhari district.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Israel will consider the “opinions” of the United States, but ultimately will act against an Iranian missile attack in accordance with its own “national interests.”
In retaliation for earlier this year’s attacks on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian leader Abbas Nilforoushan, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Iran launched about 200 missiles at Israel on October 1.
“We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest”, Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday.
The statement came after unnamed US officials reportedly claimed that Netanyahu had stated that any counterstrike would only be conducted on military installations and not on nuclear or energy facilities, suggesting a more limited attack to stop a full-fledged war.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the assurance was given in conversations between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Yoav Gallant, an anonymous US official, and last week in a call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden.
The plan “was met with relief in Washington”, The Washington Post reported.
Israel has increased its offensive in Lebanon and expanded its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 42, 000 people, since the conflict broke out in Gaza more than a year ago.
A nuclear attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, which would escalate the conflict and entice the US, would not be in Biden’s favor.
In response to rising tensions with Iran, the Pentagon recently announced that the US is sending an advanced anti-missile system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), to Israel.
Israel pledged to retaliate for the Iranian missile attack, with Gallant saying the response would be “deadly, precise, and surprising”.
Oil prices have been frightened of an Israeli strike on Iranian oilfields because it could increase global energy prices.
