Defence

Denmark said on Wednesday that it would for the first time acquire "long-range precision weapons", citing the need to deter Russia, as Moscow's ambassador to Copenhagen called the move "pure madness". Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference that the move was "a paradigm shift in Danish defence policy". "For the first time, Denmark is to build up military capacity in the form of long-range precision weapons," she told reporters.Frederiksen added that Russia would constitute a threat to Denmark and Europe "for years to come" and a decision was made to create a "credible deterrence".

The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza city on Tuesday 16 September slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory’s largest city that has seen block after block already destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war. Residents still in the city were warned they must leave and head south. The push marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite months of diplomacy. While the military wouldn’t offer a timeline for the offensive, Israeli media outlets suggested it could take months. Earlier in the day, according to Associated Press, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” while independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council announced that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, joining a rising international chorus of such accusations.