Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage: UN

Palestinian residents search the rubble of a family home destroyed in Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 18 June 2024
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Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage: UN

  • Latest assessment adds to concerns about humanitarian crisis and environmental costs of war

GENEVA: The conflict in Gaza has created unprecedented soil, water, and air pollution in the region, destroying sanitation systems and leaving tonnes of debris from explosive devices, a UN report on the environmental impact of the war said on Tuesday.

The war between Israel and Hamas has swiftly reversed limited progress in improving the region’s water desalination and wastewater treatment facilities, restoring the Wadi Gaza coastal wetland, and investments in solar power installations, according to a preliminary assessment from the UN Environment Programme, or UNEP.
Explosive weapons have generated some 39 million tonnes of debris, the report said.

FASTFACT

UNEP is mandated to assist countries with pollution mitigation and control in areas affected by armed conflict or terrorism.

Each square meter of the Gaza Strip is now littered with more than 107 kg of debris. The report said that is more than five times the debris generated during the battle for Mosul, Iraq, in 2017.
“All of this is deeply harming people’s health, food security, and Gaza’s resilience,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
Gaza’s environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7. The UN assessment adds to concerns about the unfolding humanitarian crisis and the environmental costs of war, with Ukraine also recording widespread ecological damage over the past two years.
“Understanding the environmental impacts of war is a grand challenge of our time,” said Eoghan Darbyshire, a senior researcher at the UK-based nonprofit Conflict and Environment Observatory.
“The impacts will not only be felt locally where the fighting is taking place but may be displaced or even felt at the global scale via greenhouse gas emissions.”
The UN assessment stems from a December 2023 request from the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority for UNEP to take stock of environmental damages. UNEP is mandated to assist countries with pollution mitigation and control in areas affected by armed conflict or terrorism.
Due to security concerns and access restrictions, the UN used remote sensing surveys, data from Palestinian technical entities, and damage assessments from the World Bank in their report.
Ground measurements, however, would be critical to understanding the extent of soil and water pollution, Darbyshire said.
The report found that the water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are almost entirely defunct, with Gaza’s five wastewater treatment plants shut down. Israel’s long-term occupation had already posed major environmental challenges in the Palestinian territories about water quality and availability, according to a 2020 report by the UN Development Program.
Over 92 percent of water in the Gaza Strip was then deemed unfit for human consumption.
The Gaza Strip had one of the highest densities of rooftop solar panels in the world, with the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies estimating 2023 some 12,400 rooftop solar systems.
But Israel has since destroyed a large proportion of Gaza’s burgeoning solar infrastructure, and broken panels can leak lead and heavy metal contaminants into the soil.
Since a week-long truce in November, repeated attempts to arrange a ceasefire have failed.
Looking at the scale of environmental destruction, “it is my opinion that large areas of Gaza will not be recovered to a safe state within a generation, even with limitless finance and will,” said Darbyshire.

 


Equality in the world hindered by lack of connectivity warns telecoms boss

Updated 9 sec ago
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Equality in the world hindered by lack of connectivity warns telecoms boss

  • Connectivity has become one of the most important ingredients for progress

DUBAI: A massive 5.5 billion people have been connected around the world through such projects as the Edison Alliance, but half as many remain unconnected, Hatem Dowidar, group CEO at e&, told the World Governments Summit on Tuesday.

Dowidar said it was important to ensure this gap was addressed before it led to further economic divide in the future.

He gave the example of two students, one in an advanced economy with access to personalized artificial intelligence programs for education and the ability to collaborate globally with his peers, and another in a less wealthy nation, who had to walk for hours to reach school and had access to only the “very basic training and teaching equipment.”

He said: “These two have to compete in the future … It’s really unfair. And if we don’t do anything today to bridge that divide, it will become a bigger problem in the future.”

Connectivity has become one of the most important ingredients for progress, Dowidar said, adding: “We need to all work together, whether it’s governments, businesses (or) organizations.”

Today with the advancement of AI, this becomes even more critical as “we can really help a lot of the global south with solutions that improve education, healthcare and economic activity.”

Dowidar said there were signs of improvements in technology that would help increase connectivity, such as satellite technology, which was becoming more accessible.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO, Vodafone, said: “For society, connectivity today is essential … There cannot be any real development without connectivity. In Vodafone, we operate in 17 different countries across Europe and Africa, and our mission statement is very simple: We connect everyone wherever they are.”

Della Valle said her company’s most recent evolution — one they are most proud of — has been adding satellite connectivity to their networks.

“I think this is a great opportunity to connect those areas of the world which are most remote. Out of the 2.5 billion people who have no access to the internet, there are around 300 million who are nowhere near any form of connectivity, and satellite can get us there,” Vodafone’s CEO said two weeks ago she made the first mobile space video call in the world using a normal smartphone.

“We are now going to commercially launch the service later this year, and I think it’s a great opportunity to bring connectivity to the most remote areas of the planet,” she said.


African Union: Sudan war is world’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’

Updated 55 min 14 sec ago
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African Union: Sudan war is world’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’

  • The Sudanese army has been at war since April 2023 with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
  • The Sudanese army controls the east and north of the country while RSF holds most of Darfur region

ADDIS ABABA: African Union officials on Tuesday branded Sudan’s civil war the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world” and warned it was leaving hundreds of thousands of children malnourished.
The Sudanese army has been at war since April 2023 with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a conflict that has displaced around 12 million people, according to the AU and the International Rescue Committee.
It “has hampered access to humanitarian relief, led to shortage of food and aggravated hunger,” Mohamed Ibn Chambas, chairman of an AU panel on Sudan, said Tuesday on X.
“Children and women are continually abused, and the elderly and sick lack medical assistance,” he added.
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”
A senior AU official for child welfare, Wilson Almeida Adao, said in a separate X post that hospital admissions for malnutrition rose by 44 percent in 2024, with over 431,000 children receiving treatment.
“We witness reports of grave violations, including attacks on schools and hospitals, forced recruitment of child soldiers, and the denial of humanitarian access,” he said.
The Sudanese army controls the east and north of the country while the RSF holds most of the stricken Darfur region, where the United Nations on Monday accused it of blocking aid.
For the AU, “only inter-Sudanese political dialogue, not the military option, can end this war,” said Chambas.


Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

Updated 51 min 34 sec ago
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Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

  • Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere

DUBAI: Syria Arab Republic’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip “is a serious crime that will ultimately fail.”
Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.
In an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa, an Islamist whose militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham was once an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, said Trump’s proposal would not succeed.
“I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half,” he said.
Sharaa, declared president for a transitional phase after his group’s fighters led the overthrow of Bashar Assad, said it would be neither “wise nor morally or politically right” for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.
“Over 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land,” he added.
Egypt, Jordan and other Arab nations have strongly opposed any attempt to push Palestinians over the border.
They fear any mass movement across the border would further undermine prospects for a “two-state solution” – creating a state of Palestine next to Israel – and leave Arab nations dealing with the consequences.


Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

Updated 11 February 2025
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Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

  • Kurdish-run camps and prisons hold about 56,000 people, many with alleged or perceived links to Daesh
  • Al-Hol is northeast Syria’s largest camp, with more than 40,000 detainees from 47 countries, living in dire conditions

QAMISHLI, Syria: Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration aims to empty camps in the country’s northeast of thousands of displaced Syrians and Iraqis, including suspected relatives of Daesh group fighters, by the end of the year, an official said.
“The autonomous administration is working to empty the camps” of Syrians and Iraqis “in 2025... in coordination with the United Nations,” Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish administration, said late Monday.
Kurdish-run camps and prisons hold about 56,000 people, many with alleged or perceived links to Daesh, more than five years after the group’s territorial defeat in Syria.
The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spearheaded the military campaign that ousted the jihadists from their last scraps of Syrian territory.
Al-Hol is northeast Syria’s largest camp, with more than 40,000 detainees from 47 countries, living in dire conditions.
According to 2024 figures, there were more than 20,000 Iraqis and 16,000 Syrians in Al-Hol.
An Iraqi security source said that about 12,000 Iraqis had left Al-Hol camp since 2021, while around 17,000 remain.
Last month, the Kurdish administration said it would facilitate the voluntary return of residents of Al-Hol and other camps to their areas of origin.
Ahmed said some Iraqis had already departed Al-Hol, while “for Syrians, the decision is still being studied.”
The “return and exit mechanism” is being coordinated with the UN refugee agency and other organizations, he said, noting the “very large number” of people affected.
No solution has been found for other foreign nationals.
Ahmed said the presence of other foreigners in Al-Hol “is an international matter linked to the countries that have oversight in Al-Hol camp and also the fighters” imprisoned by the SDF.
Some countries have repatriated nationals from Al-Hol, but most “have not carried out any withdrawal,” he added.
The push comes amid talks between Syria’s new authorities and the SDF over the group’s future, and as clashes rage in the north between the force and pro-Ankara factions.
Ahmed said the initiative was launched “after the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad” in December, noting that Syria is now “heading toward reconstruction.”
The official denied recent US aid cuts were the reason for the push, adding that UN-affiliated and local organizations were still providing support and the administration was “continuing to provide services to the camps.”
Human Rights Watch has warned that recent US aid suspensions could worsen “life-threatening conditions” in camps in Syria’s northeast.


UN chief: Renewed hostilities in Gaza must be avoided at all costs

Updated 11 February 2025
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UN chief: Renewed hostilities in Gaza must be avoided at all costs

  • Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice
  • It claimed Israeli violated ceasefire agreement in Gaza, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict

GENEVA: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Hamas to continue with the planned release of hostages on Tuesday, a day after the Palestinian militant group announced its intention to halt the exchange.

“We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy,” he said in a statement.

Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it called Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict.

Hamas was to release more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians held in Israeli detention as had happened over the past three weeks. An Israeli delegation returned from Doha for talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, amid growing doubts over the Egyptian and Qatari-brokered process to end the war in Gaza.

“Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume negotiations in Doha for the second phase,” Guterres added.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump must remember that the only way to bring home Israeli prisoners is to respect the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.