Netanyahu defends Gaza war strategy as aid crisis deepens
In this episode of W News, presented by Leigh-Ann Gerrans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubles down on his pledge to bring home all hostages 'living and dead,' as Gaza's controversial new aid group begins distributing food under scrutiny from the UN. We will also hear from with Dr. Jamal Nazzal, Fatah spokesperson, who insists the party has no ties to Hamas. We will unpack the confusion around a proposed ceasefire and hostage deal, and break down why aid remains a critical issue. Later in the show, we examine rising tensions between India and Pakistan over drone warfare, the aftermath of a shocking car-ramming incident during Liverpool FC's victory parade, and a new UK–Saudi partnership aimed at greening the Gulf. Plus, Tesco rolls out 'VAR referees' at self-checkouts in a high-tech bid to curb shoplifting.
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Arab News
29 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israel's Gaza war producing ‘staggering' carbon footprint
LONDON: The emissions caused by Israel's war on Gaza as well as estimated reconstruction costs are greater than the annual footprint of 100 individual countries, new research has found. The war caused more carbon emissions than the annual combined total of Costa Rica and Estonia in its first 15 months. The research, published by the Social Science Research Network, was shared exclusively with The Guardian. Destroying, clearing and rebuilding the Gaza Strip could produce 31 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), researchers from the UK and US found. There is no obligation for states to record military emissions to the UN's climate body, with researchers warning that the lack of accountability could lead to an underreporting of the global carbon footprint. The study's data, which also includes estimates of emissions relating to Hamas and Hezbollah activity, highlights the asymmetry between each side. Hamas's use of bunker fuel and rockets accounted for about 3,000 tCO2e, just 0.2 percent of the conflict's total carbon footprint. Israel's use of weapons, equipment, tanks and ordnance produced 50 percent of emissions, the study found. Researchers also included estimated emissions from Yemen's Houthi militia, which has traded strikes with Israel over the course of the war. Iran and Israel's tit-for-tat attacks, and the war in southern Lebanon, were also recorded. All military activity arising from the Gaza war produced the equivalent, in emissions, of charging 2.6 billion smartphones or running 84 gas power plants for a year. The figure includes the tC02e estimate — 557,359 — of the pre-war construction of Hamas's tunnel network and Israel's 'iron wall' barrier surrounding Gaza. The findings could eventually help calculate claims for reparations, The Guardian reported. More than 99 percent of the tCO2e generated between Oct. 7, 2023, and the temporary ceasefire in January this year was attributed to Israeli bombardment and the invasion of Gaza. US involvement in the emissions was also highlighted by researchers. They found that almost 30 percent of greenhouse gases generated in the same period came from regular resupply flights carrying military equipment to Israel from American stockpiles in Europe. Israel's destruction of Gaza has produced an estimated 60 million tonnes of toxic rubble that requires clearing, producing what researchers warned would be the biggest emissions toll of the conflict. Removing debris, rebuilding 436,000 destroyed apartments, roads, 700 schools, mosques and administrative sites will produce an estimated 29.4 million tCO2e. Zena Agha, analyst for Palestinian policy network Al-Shabaka, said: 'This report is a staggering and sobering reminder of the ecological and environmental cost of Israel's genocidal campaign … But this is also the US, UK and EU's war, all of which have provided seemingly limitless military resources to enable Israel to devastate the most densely populated place on the planet. 'This brings home the destabilizing (regional) impact of the Israeli settler state and its inseparability from the western military-industrial complex.' In producing the report, researchers used open-source information, media articles and data from independent groups, including UN agencies. Hadeel Ikhmais, head of the climate change office at the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority, said: 'Wars not only kill people but also release toxic chemicals, destroy infrastructure, pollute soil, air and water resources and accelerate climate and environmental disasters. 'War also destroys climate adaptation and hinders environmental management. Not counting carbon emissions is a black hole in accountability that allows governments to get away from their environmental crimes.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Minister Says 'We Will Build Jewish Israeli State' in West Bank
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank, a day after the government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, seen as a major obstacle to lasting peace, are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and Thursday's announcement drew sharp foreign criticism. "This is a decisive response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land -- and it is also a clear message to (French President Emmanuel) Macron and his associates: they will recognize a Palestinian state on paper -- but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground," Katz was quoted as saying Friday in a statement from his office. "The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper." Katz was speaking during a visit to the Sa-Nur settlement outpost in the northern West Bank. Sa-Nur was evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, promoted by then prime minister Ariel Sharon. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. During a visit to Singapore on Friday, French President Macron asserted that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity". An international conference meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is set to take place in June at the UN headquarters in New York. A diplomat in Paris close to preparations for the conference said it should pave the way for more countries to recognize a Palestinian state. Macron said in April that France could recognize a Palestinian state in June. Following Israel's announcement of the new settlements on Thursday, Britain called the move a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood, while UN chief Antonio Guterres's spokesman said it pushed efforts towards a two-state solution "in the wrong direction".
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Inside Gaza: 16,500 children killed, thousands more maimed
UNICEF's Rosalia Bollen gives a harrowing, firsthand account of the suffering children face in Gaza. In this deeply moving conversation with Riz Khan, she describes children mutilated by airstrikes, starving in tents, and dying due to the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system. From a blind five-year-old boy who says, 'My eyes went to heaven before I did,' to the staggering death toll, over 16,500 children killed, Bollen shares powerful, on-the-ground testimony from one of the world's most urgent humanitarian crises. Topics covered: Children living under constant bombardment, Starvation and famine-level malnutrition, Gaza's healthcare collapse and child mortality, The human cost behind the statistics, And why cynicism is not an option.
