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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
(noun) armed fighting between countries or groups
In the Middle East, 2024 will go down as one of the most destructive years in modern history. Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced from their homes. Unimaginable numbers of lives have been shattered.
The carnage began in late 2023 after the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, with the Palestinian militants killing about 1,200 people and seizing 250 hostages. The guns have rarely been silent since.
Israel retaliated with a thunderous offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza that has killed more than 44,000 people and reduced the besieged strip to a wasteland.
After October 7, the militant movement Hizbollah then began firing towards Israel in solidarity with Hamas, as another front opened up on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Allied Iranian-backed militants, including Houthi rebels in Yemen and Shia militia in Iraq and Syria, have also launched missiles, rockets and drones at Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli forces and Jewish settlers stepped up their attacks and raids in the occupied West Bank.
As conflict continued to spiral, Iran and Israel exchanged direct fire for the first time in April. They repeated the act in October, with greater ferocity.
A month earlier, Israel had ramped up its offensive against Hizbollah. It assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah, launched air strikes across Lebanon and invaded the country’s south. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that he was changing “the balance of power in the region for years”.
A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect to end the Israel-Hizbollah war on November 27. But that still did not silence the guns. Each side accused the other of violating the truce. Israel continued to bomb southern Lebanon.
Hours after the ceasefire took effect, another war reignited, with a rebel offensive in Syria breaking a years-long stalemate. Within less than two weeks, dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, sparking hope and happiness — but also bringing yet more uncertainty.
