Melbourne — Australian police said Monday they are hunting for three suspects over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, designating it a terrorist act. Mask-wearing attackers set the Adass Israel Synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday, police said, gutting much of the building. Some congregants were inside the single-story building at the time but no serious injuries were reported.

The fire sparked international condemnation, including from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Police have “three suspects in that matter, who we are pursuing,” Victorian police chief commissioner Shane Patton told a news conference.

Investigations over the weekend had made “significant progress,” Patton said, declining to provide further details of the operation.

Officials from the federal and state police, as well as Australia’s intelligence agency, met on Monday and concluded that the fire was “likely a terrorist incident,” the police chief said.

“Based on that, I am very confident that we now have had an attack, a terrorist attack on that synagogue,” Patton said.

Australia’s reaction to antisemitism “on the rise”

Counterterrorism police have joined the probe. Under Australian law, a terrorist act is one that causes death, injury or serious property damage to advance a political, religious or ideological cause and is aimed at intimidating the public or a government.

The official designation unlocks help from other federal agencies for the investigation, said Australian National University terrorism researcher Michael Zekulin.

“Basically you get additional resources that you might not otherwise get,” he told AFP.

There was no information to suggest further attacks were likely and Australia’s terror threat assessment remained at the level of “probable,” said Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has denounced the synagogue attack as an “outrage,” announced the creation of a federal police taskforce targeting antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is a major threat and antisemitism has been on the rise,” Albanese told a news conference, citing the synagogue blaze and recent vandalism.

The taskforce will be made up of federal police to be deployed across the country as needed, officials said. They will focus on threats, violence and hatred towards the Jewish community and parliamentarians.

The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and the Palestinian people in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.

In January, Australian lawmakers ushered in a series of new laws in a bid to get to grips with a spike in antisemitic acts, including banning the performance of the Nazi salute in public and the display or sale of Nazi hate symbols such as the swastika. The new laws also made the act of glorifying or praising acts of terrorism a criminal offense. 

Australia’s Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said at the time  that the laws sent “a clear message: there is no place in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust and terrorist acts.”

Israeli, Australian leaders “respectfully disagree” on definition of antisemitism

Netanyahu attacked the Australian government’s stance in the run-up to the fire.

“This heinous act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from the Australian Labor government,” he said after the attack, declaring that “anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism.”

Australia voted last week in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution that demanded the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

New Zealand, Britain, and Canada were among 157 countries that voted for the resolution, with eight against, including the U.S.

Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus rejected Netanyahu’s accusation.

“He’s absolutely wrong. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Netanyahu,” Dreyfus told national broadcaster ABC on Monday. “Australia remains a close friend of Israel, as we have been since the Labor government recognized the State of Israel when it was created by the United Nations. Now that remains the position.”

President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.-made and supplied missiles deeper into Russia — a major policy shift announced over the weekend after months of intense lobbying by Kyiv — has drawn a furious response from Moscow. While there was no immediate reaction directly from the man who launched the nearly three-year war on his neighboring nation, lawmakers aligned with President Vladimir Putin in Russia said Monday that the move was unacceptable and warned it could lead to a third world war.

Mr. Biden authorized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use American-made missiles with a range of almost 200 miles, known as ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russian territory than the Ukrainians have to date. 

So far, Ukraine’s attacks beyond the immediate border region inside Russia have been limited to non-U.S. — and much less potent—  weapons such as explosive drones. ATACMS are far more destructive and harder to shoot down as they head for their programmed targets.

Zelenskyy’s government had been pushing Washington for permission to use the missiles for long-range attacks for some time but the Biden administration had been reluctant given concerns about potentially escalating the war.

Over the weekend, however, the calculus apparently changed. The decision came almost 1,000 days into the full-scale war in Ukraine, and with Mr. Biden about two months away from handing over the White House keys to President-elect Trump, who’s seen as far less supportive of Ukraine’s ambitions of hanging onto all of its Russian-occupied territory.

It also came as Russia hit Ukraine with a devastating missile attack, highlighting Ukraine’s desperate desire for the ability to target Russian weapons systems deeper inside the country before they’re launched, which Zelenskyy has stressed for more than a year.

Many of the Russian rockets launched Sunday targeted energy infrastructure but a ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions also struck a residential part of the northern city of Sumy, killing 11 people, including two children, and leaving more than 80 others wounded. Fresh strikes hit apartment buildings in the southern city of Odesa on Monday, killing at least eight people including a child, regional authorities said.

Residents in Sumy were targeted as they slept, and Ukrainian officials called the Sunday missile and drone salvo one of the largest Russian attacks since the start of the war.

With the change in policy from the outgoing administration in Washington, Ukrainian forces will be able to retaliate harder, reaching further into Russia than ever before. Ukrainian forces have launched drone attacks into Russian territory, including targeting Moscow, for months, but with limited effect.

Zelenskyy welcomed the change in U.S. policy, saying “strikes are not made with words… The missiles will speak for themselves.” 

But Ukraine’s war-time leader also appeared to acknowledge the change in tack in Washington that Trump’s second swearing-in will bring, with a far greater emphasis expected on striking a negotiated truce than on defending Ukraine’s sovereign territory from unilateral annexation by Russia.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, adding that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means.”

In Moscow, meanwhile, senior lawmaker Leonid Slutsky slammed Mr. Biden, accusing him of deciding “to end his presidential term and go down in history as ‘Bloody Joe’.”  

Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, meanwhile, told Russia’s state-run Tass news agency that Biden’s decision represented “a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war.”

The official newspaper of the Russian state, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, warned “the madmen who are drawing NATO into a direct conflict with our country may soon be in great pain.”

Putin had personally warned against the eventuality previously, issuing a warning in September that U.S. permission for Ukraine to fire American-supplied long-range missiles at his country, “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, are parties to the war in Ukraine.”

But Putin himself has dramatically raised the stakes in the war since then, by overseeing the deployment of at least 11,000 North Korean troops to fight alongside Russian forces. They’ve joined the battle in Russia’s western Kursk region, a significant portion of which Ukrainian troops occupied earlier this year in a surprise offensive.

According to John Sullivan, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia under both Trump and Mr. Biden, it may have been that move by Putin — “really solidifying this as a global conflict with troops from North Korea fighting in Europe” — that proved to be “the last straw” for the current U.S. president.

“It’s been one escalation after another by Putin and, in my opinion, it was about time that the United States gave the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves more completely,” Sullivan said Monday on CBS Mornings.

The parameters of the permission granted to Ukraine for the use of the ATACMS haven’t been confirmed, but according to reports, they include — and may be limited to — Ukraine using the missiles to attack Russian defensive positions in Kursk.

James Nixey, who heads the Russia and Eurasia program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, said in an analysis Monday that the change in policy from Washington was “not a game changer,” especially if it included a limitation on where Ukraine can use the ATACMS.

“The relaxation of range limits for Ukraine’s usage of US ATACMS follows the overall pattern of America’s approach to this war: to make sure Ukraine cannot inflict significant damage on Russia… but to allow small increases in hardware provision and their usage over extended periods of time,” he said. “If it is true that the authorization for usage extends only to the Kursk region (and is therefore primarily directed at North Korean troops); then, again, this fits the pattern, and means the overall effects on the war will be negligible.”

The Kremlin has accused United States President Joe Biden of escalating the war in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles supplied by Washington to strike targets inside Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said any US decision to allow Ukraine to fire American missiles deep into Russia would mean the US was directly involved in the conflict.

“If such a decision was indeed formulated and brought to the Kyiv regime, then this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of US involvement in this conflict,” Peskov said, adding that President Vladimir Putin had made Russia’s position clear in September.

Ukraine has long sought authorisation from Washington to use the powerful Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials as ATACMS, to hit military installations – and in particular airfields – inside Russia.

Quoting several US officials, The New York Times and the Reuters news agency on Sunday reported Biden had accepted Ukraine’s request. The change in US policy means the weapons can be used 300km (186 miles) deep within Russian territory, putting an estimated 245 military and paramilitary targets within their range, including 16 air bases.

On September 12, Putin said Western approval for such a step would mean “the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine” because NATO military infrastructure and personnel would have to be involved in the targeting and firing of the missiles.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue adding fuel to the fire and continue to provoke tension around this conflict,” Peskov said.

Putin has yet to comment on the latest development.

At least two Russian legislators also warned that the US move risks another world war.

“I have a great hope that [Donald] Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War III which is not in anybody’s interest,” said Maria Butina, a member of President Vladimir Putin’s party who was previously convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia within the US.

In an interview with Russia’s state news agency TASS, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house’s international affairs committee, described Biden’s decision as “unprecedented” while also warning of a possible global conflict. Dzhabarov said such an action would receive a swift response.

Taiwan’s defence chief has warned that a Chinese “blockade” would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade after Beijing held military exercises to encircle the self-governed island.

Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo made his comments on Wednesday as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued exercises near the democratically-ruled island after last week carrying out war games that included a simulated blockade.

“If you really want to carry out a so-called blockade, which according to international law is to prohibit all aircraft and ships entering the area, then according to United Nations resolutions it is regarded as a form of war,” Koo said in remarks to reporters at parliament.

“I want to stress that drills and exercises are totally different from a blockade, as would be the impact on the international community,” Koo added.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has said it reserves the right to use force to bring it under its control, with the PLA regularly holding drills – including simulating blockading key ports and assaulting maritime and ground targets – around the island.

Taiwan, also known by its official name the Republic of China, has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China and rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Beijing also asserts jurisdiction over the entirety of the Taiwan Strait, a 180km-wide (110-mile) waterway separating mainland China from Taiwan.

Taiwan and other members of the international community reject Beijing’s claim, with the United States, Japan and several European countries asserting its status as an international waterway.

The US navy, in particular, regularly sails through the strait to maintain freedom of navigation rights.

Koo, who noted that one-fifth of global freight passes through the strait, said that the international community “could not sit by and just watch” if China were to impose a blockade.

Taiwan’s defence ministry announced earlier on Wednesday that Chinese aircraft carriers, led by the Liaoning carrier, travelled north through the waterway after passing through waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas islands.

During the previous 24 hours, Taiwan’s military detected 15 Chinese military aircraft and six navy vessels in the skies and waters around the island, the defence ministry said.

“The Liaoning is passing through the Taiwan Strait now, sailing north along the west of the median line and we are closely monitoring it,” Koo said.

Taiwan has reported almost daily Chinese military drills around the island for the past five years, but activity has intensified since April’s election of outspoken President William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has labelled a “dangerous separatist”.

On October 14, Beijing launched large-scale military drills – code-named “Joint Sword-2024B” and involving the army, navy, air force and rocket force – in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan.

Beijing said the drills, which came soon after Lai delivered his National Day speech on October 10, were issued as a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called this week for troops to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media reported on Saturday, just days after Beijing staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan.

Xi made his comments while visiting a brigade of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force on Thursday, according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Xi said the military should “comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities”, CCTV reported.

Soldiers must “enhance their strategic deterrent and combat capability”, Xi said.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has stepped up its shows of force around the self-ruled island in recent years.

On Monday, Beijing had deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan — its fourth round of large-scale war games around the democratic island in just over two years.

China’s communist leaders have insisted they will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

Xi on Thursday said the Chinese military must “strongly safeguard the country’s strategic security and core interests”, according to the CCTV report.

The dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to a civil war in which the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to the island in 1949.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since then.