Hipkins was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2008 and led the country's Covid-19 plans in 2020. Before becoming prime minister, he held the positions of minister of education, minister of police, minister of the public service, and speaker of the house.
On Wednesday, the German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his country would send tanks to Ukraine, citing "close coordination" with its allies. Washington also declared that 31 Abrams M1 tanks would be sent to Ukraine.
Thursday's Israeli incursion in the occupied West Bank resulted in the most significant single death toll in years of conflict, which prompted the cross-border shooting.