While the world watched Iran and Israel, what happened in Gaza?
As global attention turned to Israel and Iran, violence against Palestinians continued. In Gaza, people are still being bombed and starved. What does this moment reveal about who gets protected, and who is forgotten?
In this episode:
Diana Buttu, (@dianabuttu), Human rights lawyer and analyst
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat and Chloe K Li, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Kisaa Zehra, Mariana Navarrete, Melanie Marich Remas Alhawari, Khaled Soltan and guest host, Manuel Rápalo. It was edited by Kylene Kiang and Noor Wazwaz.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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In Spain, parents gather at school gates to remember Gaza's child victims
Granada, Spain – Sometimes there have been as few as two or three people, sometimes as many as 15. But no matter the number, every morning for the past few weeks at the Jose Hurtado primary school in the Spanish city of Granada, a group of parents have dropped off their kids, then silently gathered nearby behind two simple but powerful pro-Gaza banners: 'No more dead children' and 'Against Genocide.' 'It started when a fictional video, set in 2040, came through one of our parents' WhatsApp groups, about how Gaza was destroyed. And in it children ask their mums and dads – what did you do during the genocide?' Mar Domech, who helped the protest get started, told Al Jazeera. 'I began saying – instead of re-sending the video, let's actually do something, a bit like during the pandemic when people used to applaud hospital staff at eight every night. And the 15 minutes before the kids went into class and the 15 minutes just after suited the majority of us parents the best.' The protest format is simple. A single line of demonstrators hold up two long banners next to a tall school wall and make sure they keep out of the way of passers-by. There is no shouting or chanting. But that these are clearly school parents caring about children dying – many of them of the ages of their own children – gives their show of support extra resonance. The school's location on a busy arterial street near central Granada means their message reaches a wide audience. 'We don't want to upset anybody, but we just can't look away when so many children are dying and the laws need to be upheld,' said Domech. 'What's happening there is genocide and we have to oppose this, whoever the victims are.' After almost two years of Israeli attacks, Gaza is home to the highest number of child amputees per capita. More than 17,000 children have been killed. And according to Save the Children, more than 930,000 children in Gaza – nearly every single child – are now at risk of famine. The failure of more parents to join their show of solidarity is treated with a mixture of disappointment, resilience and not a little wry humour by the dozen or so 'regulars', like when they recall when two plainclothes police officers arrived to check their IDs. It just so happened that day only two pro-Palestine parents were present, but, as Domech recalled with a laugh, thanks to the police turning up, it seemed like the number of protesters had abruptly doubled. In any case, the limited response has done nothing to stop their determination to continue. One woman passes by most days and stops to take a photo to send to a friend in Palestine. Some of the cars or tourists on buses going up to the nearby medieval Alhambra monument honk and wave in support. The morale boosts are important, as well as the parents' conviction that even this relatively tiny but tenacious protest matters. 'I couldn't stand the idea of simply being an onlooker any more, what's going on is so atrocious,' said Alberto, another parent. 'I'm just pleased that we've kept going, too. I'm studying for civil service exams so time-wise I can be flexible, but it's not straightforward to do this every day when you're working or have other commitments. However, I think it's fundamental we do it.' Spain is among a small group of European nations that has consistently shown support for Palestine and criticised Israeli actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Together with Ireland and Norway, in May 2024, Spain recognised the Palestinian state and last year it expressed support for the genocide case against Israel submitted by South Africa in the International Court of Justice. After the European Union's latest report on Gaza was published this week, Spain was the one country that called directly for suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, while its foreign minister demanded an arms embargo. As for the Granada school gates protest, 'We'll go on with it once term restarts in September', said Domech, 'although hopefully that wouldn't be necessary'.
Al Jazeera
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Israel-Iran conflict exposed China's ‘limited leverage', say analysts
Through the 12 days of the recent Israel-Iran conflict, China moved quickly to position itself as a potential mediator and voice of reason amid a spiralling regional crisis. The day after Israel's unprovoked attack on Iran on June 13, Beijing reached out to both sides to express its desire for a mediated solution even as the country's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, condemned Israel's actions as a violation of international law. Chinese President Xi Jinping soon followed with calls for de-escalation, while at the United Nations Security Council, China joined Russia and Pakistan in calling for an 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire'. When Iran threatened to blockade the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes, Beijing was also quick to speak out. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead called for the 'international community to step up efforts to de-escalate conflicts and prevent regional turmoil from having a greater impact on global economic development'. Beijing's stance throughout the conflict remained true to its longstanding noninterference approach to foreign hostilities. But experts say it did little to help shore up its ambition of becoming an influential player in the Middle East, and instead exposed the limitations of its clout in the region. Why China was worried Unlike some countries, and the United States in particular, China traditionally approaches foreign policy 'through a lens of strategic pragmatism rather than ideological solidarity', said Evangeline Cheng, a research associate at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute. This approach means China will always focus on protecting its economic interests, of which it has many in the Middle East, Cheng told Al Jazeera. China has investments in Israel's burgeoning tech sector and its Belt and Road infrastructure project spans Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Critically, China relies on the Middle East for more than half of its crude oil imports, and it's the top consumer of Iranian oil. A protracted war would have disrupted its oil supplies, as would an Iranian blockade of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz – something threatened by Tehran's parliament during the conflict. 'War and security instability not only undermines Chinese investment and trade and business… but also the oil price and gas energy security in general,' said Alam Saleh, a senior Lecturer in Iranian Studies at the Australian National University. 'Therefore, China seeks stability, and it disagrees and opposes any kind of military solution for any type of conflict and confrontations, no matter with whom,' he said. John Gong, a professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told Al Jazeera that China's top concern through the conflict was to avoid 'skyrocketing oil prices' that would threaten its energy security. Flexing diplomatic muscle, protecting economic might Aware of China's friendly relations with Iran and Beijing's economic fears, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Beijing to keep Tehran from closing the Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire negotiations stumbled forward this week. It was a brief moment of acknowledgement of Beijing's influence, but experts say China's overall diplomatic influence remains limited. 'China's offer to mediate highlights its desire to be seen as a responsible global player, but its actual leverage remains limited,' Cheng said. 'Without military capabilities or deep political influence in the region, and with Israel wary of Beijing's ties to Iran, China's role is necessarily constrained.' To be sure, Beijing has demonstrated its ability to broker major diplomatic deals in the region. In 2023, it mediated the normalisation of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. While seen as a huge diplomatic win for China, experts say Beijing owed much of its success to fellow mediators, Oman and Iraq. China also mediated an agreement between Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, in July 2024, under which they committed to working together on Gaza's governance after the end of Israel's ongoing war on the enclave. But William Yang, a senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the odds were stacked against China from the beginning of the latest conflict due to Israel's wariness towards its relationship with Iran. In 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year 'strategic partnership', and Iran is an active participant in the Belt and Road project. Iran has also joined the Beijing-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and this year took part in China's 'Maritime Security Belt' naval exercises. Iran's 'resolute opposition to American hegemony' also aligns well with China's diplomatic interests more broadly, compared with Israel's close ties to the US, Yang said. China's dilemma It's a scenario that could be repeated in the future, he said. 'This case also reinforces the dilemma that China faces: while it wants to be viewed as a great power that is capable of mediating in major global conflicts, its close relationship with specific parties in some of the ongoing conflicts diminishes Beijing's ability to play such a role,' Yang said. For now, Beijing will continue to rely on the US as a security guarantor in the region, he added. 'It's clear that China will continue to focus on deepening economic engagement with countries in the Middle East while taking advantage of the US presence in the region, which remains the primary security guarantor for regional countries,' Yang said. 'On the other hand, the US involvement in the conflict, including changing the course of the war by bombing Iranian nuclear sites, creates the condition for China to take the moral high ground in the diplomatic sphere and present itself as the more restrained, calm and responsible major power,' he said.
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In this episode of Centre Stage, our guest is Dr Gabor Mate, a retired physician, author and Holocaust survivor who has written extensively on trauma and child development, as well as Israel and Palestine. Mate talks about the colonial foundations of Zionism, how living under it has traumatised Palestinians and the ways mainstream media distorts the realities on the ground in Gaza. Phil Lavelle is a TV news correspondent at Al Jazeera.
