Ukraine cuts off Russian gas from Europe

THE WAR NEWSLETTER — JAN 2 2025

Today’s email brings you news from Israel and Ukraine.

1 - ISRAEL

1 thing to know

IDF kills Hamas police chief and deputy in Gaza humanitarian zone strike

The context 

Israel conducted an airstrike on January 2, 2025, in the al-Mawasi area of Gaza, killing Hamas police chief Mahmoud Salah and his deputy Hussam Shahwan. The strike occurred in an IDF-designated humanitarian zone west of Khan Younis.

While Hamas reported 11 casualties, the IDF confirmed only Shahwan's death, identifying him as Hamas's head of internal security who they accused of violating Gazan civilians' human rights and planning attacks against Israeli forces.

More from the region

• Progress appears possible in hostage negotiations, with Netanyahu authorizing a new delegation to travel to Qatar for talks tomorrow

• Biden administration has reportedly prepared contingency plans for potential strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities if Tehran moves toward developing nuclear weapons before Trump's inauguration

• Syrian media reported an Israeli airstrike near Aleppo targeting defense facilities

• Hamas has increased rocket fire at Israel over the past week, including attacks on border towns and Jerusalem

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TECH SPOTLIGHT: HIWS

The High-Impulse Weapon System (HIWS), also known as the Samouraï, is a unique shoulder-fired weapon developed by French company Lacroix Pyro-Technologies in 2000. It's essentially a portable 76mm cannon - it fires a baseball-sized projectile from shoulder. The weapon uses clever engineering to make this possible: when fired, the entire barrel slides back about 2 feet, using dampening technology called "Dynasoft" to absorb the massive recoil.

What it’s used for

Unlike typical rocket launchers, the HIWS produces no dangerous backblast, meaning it can be fired from inside buildings or vehicles. The weapon weighs about 17 pounds and can launch its 3.3-pound projectiles up to 700 yards when fired at high angles.

Despite showing promise in demonstrations, the weapon seems to be in its prototype phase.

2 - UKRAINE

1 thing to know

Ukraine has stopped the flow of Russian gas to the rest of Europe though a pipeline on Ukrainian soil.

The context

For the last 60 years, many European countries have been dependent on natural gas supplied by Russia, much of which was delivered through a pipeline across Ukraine.

At the start of the new year, Ukraine did not renew agreements with Russia and Russian gas companies after threatening to do so months earlier, and who have confirmed fuel is no longer running through the pipeline. Ukraine is set to lose roughly $1 billion annually in transit fees, and the Russian energy company an estimated $5 billion.

Much of the European Union has shifted it's dependence on Russian fuel to instead be supplied by Qatar, the US, or Scandinavian companies, but some areas are already seeing cuts in hot water and and heating supplies.

More from the region

• Russia failed its military objective in 2024 to seize all of Donetsk Oblast, but still continues to make territorial gains in the region

• US President Joe Biden announced another $2.5 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine 

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