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Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.
Episodes
Friday Feb 02, 2024
Friday Feb 02, 2024
The Israel-Gaza conflict is evolving into a complex web, transcending the borders of the region to the international community. The week started with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, making a historic ruling, ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide against Gazans and allow vital aid into the Palestinian enclave.
Meanwhile, another UN organisation took a hit, with the largest humanitarian entity operating in Gaza, UNRWA, seeing nine countries either withdrawing or planning on withdrawing their funding. This is expected to affect two million Palestinians who rely on the organisation for assistance.
Things further escalated when three US soldiers at a small military base on the Jordan-Syrian borders were killed in a drone strike that US President Joe Biden blamed on Iran-backed militants. A day later, the Syrian defence ministry said several Iranian advisers were killed in Damascus by Israel.
In this week’s episode of Beyond The Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at how all these issues tie in together, what each means for the region and the world, and what are their implications.