Category World News

As Israel continues to obstruct essential shelter and aid into the area, displaced Palestinians in Gaza are in further misery as a result of their ongoing bombardment, siege, and loss in the country’s genocidal war for more than two years.

After heavy winter rains slammed the area in recent days, flimsy tents were flooded and makeshift camps were covered in mud on Monday.

Since Israel’s war destroyed an estimated 80% of the buildings in Gaza, Palestinians in Gaza are now forced to take shelter in tents and other makeshift structures due to the harsh conditions.

Officials are advising people that prolonged weather also presents new risks for disease and illness, including the risk of floodwater contamination from overburdened and damaged sewage systems and the possibility of damaged buildings collapsing in the midst of heavy rain.

A partially destroyed wall collapsed onto a 30-year-old woman’s tent on Sunday in the Remal neighborhood of Gaza City in the middle of fierce winds, killing her, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Although officials have cautioned people against using tents to shelter in damaged buildings, they only offer moderate protection from the heavy rain and no real protection from flooding.

According to the authorities in Gaza, at least 15 people have died this month from hypothermia, including three babies, as a result of the rains and the soaring temperatures.

The infant’s death from the extreme cold was the latest one to come from Arkan Firas Musleh, two months old.

floodwater that has been contaminated

According to Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, a reporter from the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, where the majority of the buildings have been reduced to rubble by Israeli attacks, deep puddles and thick mud were created in some places by the heavy rains.

People are having trouble moving through those mud puddles, she said. These include sewage, trash, and water.

In response to reports of flooded tents being reported by residents, a team of municipal workers tried to pump sewage from the stale network.

She said that “family members are complaining that sewage water has been entering their tents.”

calls for aid delivery

Aid organizations have urged Israel to put pressure on it to lift restrictions on the country’s access to life-saving aid, which they claim are far below the amount required by the US-brokered ceasefire.

“More rain,” More human suffering, despair, and death are what commissioner-general of UNRWA, the top UN agency coordinating aid in Gaza, wrote on social media on Sunday.

More than two years of suffering are being made worse by the harsh winter weather. In ruins and flimsy, waterlogged tents, people in Gaza are surviving.

He continued, “This is unavoidable. There is nothing about this.” At the required scale, aid supplies are not permitted inside.

More attacks by Israel

Israeli attacks on Palestinians continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire that ended on October 10.

A medical source told Al Jazeera Arabic that three Palestinians were hurt on Monday when Israeli forces attacked the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.

According to witnesses, the attack took place in a location where Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement.

According to Al Jazeera Arabic, witnesses also reported an Israeli airstrike on the eastern regions of the Bureij camp in central Gaza, artillery shelling east of Rafah, and additional Israeli attacks east of Gaza City.

A preliminary truce, followed by steps toward a wider peace, was a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in September. In the first phase, there have been both the exchange of prisoners detained in Gaza and in Israeli jails, as well as the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. It still occupies the majority of the land, though.

However, Israeli attacks continue despite the fact that humanitarian aid has not arrived where promised.

I arrive at al-Shifa Hospital’s emergency room at 7:30 am and spend the entire 24-hour period there. There are constantly more patients coming in from heart attacks, hypothermia, chronic diseases that have suddenlygotten worse as a result of the lack of medical attention for traumatic injuries brought on by Israeli attacks.

Up to three doctors and four to six nurses work a regular shift, which is roughly a third of the emergency room’s staff before the war. I don’t get paid for this work, like many other medical professionals. Although the hospital cannot afford to pay us, some coworkers occasionally receive symbolic pay from organizations that support our efforts. No one is paid in installments.

Only three of the 29 al-Shifa departments are still in full swing. The majority of the structures in the once-sprawling medical complex have been destroyed or burned. Three of them have undergone partial restoration, and we work in them.

When my shift is over, I return to my bombed-out home, which has been replaced with tarpaulins rather than walls. Because I don’t bring any money back, we have no heating, electricity, or running water, and we struggle to get enough food.

Medical professionals in Gaza are confronted with this reality. The Gazan hospitals still resemble battlefronts despite more than two months since the ceasefire was in effect. Only the volunteerism and moral decency of countless medical professionals have allowed the sector to survive. It is barely functioning.

Patients stand in long lines in Gaza as doctors are working under enormous pressure, nurses are performing tasks beyond their capacity, and equipment shortages cause them to have their appointments delayed.

Hospital occupancy rates are at records, and some departments’ capacity has been frequently exceeded.

In a setting where almost everything is lacking, including essential medicines, ventilators, operating rooms, and even beds, medical teams are operating. Even a minor malfunction can halt the treatment of dozens of patients, adding to this a severe shortage of spare parts for malfunctioning medical equipment.

350, 000 people experience chronic illnesses, the majority of whom are unable to receive regular medical care. 42, 000 people in Gaza need long-term rehabilitation and/or multiple surgeries, which are inaccessible. Nearly 1,100 patients have died while awaiting medical clearance to leave for treatment out of the over 16, 000 patients.

In the meantime, Israel continues to bomb civilians and prevent the delivery of crucial and life-saving medications, including those for dialysis, heart medications, antibiotics, insulin, and emergency care IV solutions.

Since the Israeli truce ended on October 10 and injured at least 411 people, there are at least 411. The number of people who have died as a result of Israel’s decision to omit drugs is up for guesswork.

Medical professionals who have already endured hell bear the burden of all these pressures, including the high patient count, the damaged medical infrastructure, and the lack of medicines.

According to Medical Aid for Palestinians, at least 1,722 of our colleagues perished in the genocide. Some people eluded Gaza when they had the chance. Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the hospital’s director, is one of the at least 80 of our colleagues who are still imprisoned in Israel.

Those of us who are still working are exhausted. We are still haunted by images of the horrors of the genocide: infants and children who have lost multiple limbs, elderly people who have severe internal injuries that cannot be operated on, and young people who have spinal or head injuries who are now entirely dependent on a caregiver and have access to medical supplies or medications.

In my pocket, among the tools and bandages, is where I carry my grief. One of my coworkers at al-Shifa Hospital who lost a child recently remarked, “Sometimes I treat a child who looks like my own son and I have to hide my tears.”

We are fighting against time and death, according to another coworker, and we don’t work in hospitals.

We are not just caregivers or employees in Gaza, as medical professionals. We are soldiers in a different kind of war, heroes without armor, and witnesses to tragedy. Despite putting our own suffering aside, some of us have lost loved ones, while others have lost homes. We can’t afford to let our patients down, but rather because we are fearless. There is an unwavering will despite the exhaustion, fear, and sorrow, and hearts filled with duty and humanity.

We’ll keep going, but we can’t do it alone. We require urgent assistance in order to re-equip operating rooms, re-stock medical supplies, and restore Gaza’s healthcare sector.

Gaza needs medicine, personnel, medical supplies, and a guarantee of the fundamental right to treatment, not more statements.

Let this article serve as a call to action right away, not a call for help. To resurrect Gaza’s healthcare system, lives must be saved. Israelis are important.

The new head of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency has warned that ambitious tech companies and their backers are gaining as much political power as nation-states.

In her first public speech as MI6 chief this month, Blaise Metreweli said, “our world is being remade” by new technology products in a way once only depicted in science fiction.

Speaking from the MI6 headquarters in London, she warned that technologies are “rewriting the reality of conflict as they converge to create science fiction-like tools”. She claimed that some social media platform algorithms could “become as powerful as states.”

Metreweli asserted that “the greatest wisdom of the 21st century” lies in in the hands of those who wield the most powerful technologies.

Just a handful of tech giants now control how information reaches the public, raising concerns that their owners could manipulate information and communications for their preferred political outcomes.

Two or three US companies dominate social media, according to Metreweli, and Elon Musk, the owner of X (as well as SpaceX and Tesla), also controls Starlink, a satellite communications network that is regarded as crucial for the Ukrainian military’s ongoing conflict with Russia.

Although Metreweli was primarily referring to political power and influence, monopolies also have enormous economic power.

Monopolies in other industries are also causing havoc. A rising price and pilot shortage in India’s airlines recently shook the industry, and Netflix’s proposed merger with Warner Bros has raised concerns that a streaming monopoly might hurt the creative and artistic industries and stymie consumer choice.

Which other monopolies are causing controversies?

Monopolies are not just an issue for the technology sector, they are disrupting other industries as well.

Warner Bros. and Netflix

Netflix and Warner Bros. split up on December 5 to buy Discovery in an $82.7 billion deal, which follows Paramount’s acquisition of Skydance Media earlier this year and Disney’s acquisition of a related studio, 21st Century Fox.

Experts and government officials have raised antitrust concerns about the planned acquisition, noting that the enlarged market share controlled by one group following such a merger could throw up problems.

Consumers appear to concur. On December 9, Netflix filed a lawsuit to stop the merger.

The lawsuit asserts that the Warner Bros deal would eliminate one of Netflix’s closest rivals – HBO Max – and give Netflix control over several major Warner Bros franchises, including Harry Potter, DC Comics and Game of Thrones.

A subscriber in a federal court in California filed a class action claim that this will lower competition, raise prices, and restrict the choice of content for US viewers.

Netflix has argued that the costs for consumers would be lower because Discovery Warner Bros services could be bundled with a Netflix subscription, and that social media video platforms like YouTube and TikTok should be included in any market survey, which would lessen its perceived market dominance.

IndiGo

On December 2, air travel across India was thrown into chaos when the country’s largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled thousands of flights, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers at airports across the country.

Because IndiGo, which operates roughly 2,200 flights per day, had failed to adhere to new pilot rest-and-duty regulations that the government introduced in 2024, passengers faced mass cancellations as a result of pilot shortages.

The airline continued to fail to meet the revised November 1 deadline despite having been granted temporary exemptions from the new regulations to keep it running. Former AirAsia CFO Vijay Gopalan blamed IndiGo’s “very, very lackadaisical, nonchalant attitude” in adapting to rule changes.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation watchdog, issued a letter to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on December 6 outlining regulatory action. According to the Reuters news agency, “You have broken your duty to make sure reliable operations are conducted in accordance with your obligations.”

For now, IndiGo has been exempted from capping the weekly number of landings between midnight and early morning until February 10. In order to find out the cause of the flight disruptions, the government has ordered a high-level investigation.

In India, IndiGo and Air India jointly control 92 percent of the market, which raises concerns about the absence of competition.

The recent crisis, in particular, has highlighted the risk of overreliance on a single carrier, with IndiGo controlling 65 percent of the market share.

This month, it was revealed that Indians are experiencing steep increases in their airfares as a result of the absence of competition, effectively excluding a sizable portion of the population from air travel.

India saw a 43% increase in domestic airfares in the first half of 2024, the second-highest increase in the Asia Pacific and West Asia regions after Vietnam, according to a study released in November of last year by Airports Council International (ACI), a global trade association representing more than 2, 000 airports in more than 180 countries.

Why should monopolies be restricted?

Monopolies develop when one company overtakes another due to innovation or limited resources, creating barriers for rivals. They frequently face criticism for limiting choice and raising prices, but they occasionally deliver goods and services that fragmented competition could not support.

Still, there are a number of reasons that many economists warn against allowing monopolies to emerge.

Monopolies can stifle innovation and weaken competition, which could undermine a nation’s economic activity. Additionally, monopolies can cause price distortion. Dominant firms may limit supplies in order to keep prices artificially high, squeezing consumers.

Anything that raises the cost of goods should cause people to be concerned, according to Max Lawson, director of policy and advocacy for Oxfam.

Finally, monopolies stifle business. One group having control over infrastructure, data, or supply chains allows that group to favour itself or other preferred firms by raising the barrier to entry for new firms or potential competitors.

Economically, this might lead to fewer jobs, less innovation, and greater wealth inequality. In addition, it can be used to smother opinions, social media, or even political alternatives.

Guy Standing, an economist and research associate at SOAS University, said, “They]monopolies] can gain economies of scale, where the unit price of production]goes] down and then raise the price for consumers … as there’s no competition left”.

He noted that private monopolies “reap vast wealth and benefits for their shareholders at the expense of consumers, which furthers income inequality” across a range of different industries.

Have monopolies previously been a major problem?

US economic history is awash with examples of monopoly power. Through “predatory pricing,” John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil deliberately undercutting competitors’ prices to cause them to go out of business before later raising prices, crushed rivals in the late 1800s.

About 90% of US oil refining was being handled by Standard Oil in the 1890s.

At roughly the same time, railroad monopolies distorted regional economies by using discriminatory freight rates, favouring certain regions and industries while undercutting firms that challenged their dominance.

These modern technology monopolies echoe. Google, for instance, dominates online marketing and effectively shapes online markets by analyzing user behavior to determine what users see and how politicians and politicians interact with audiences.

Elsewhere, Amazon leverages its e-commerce and logistics power to undercut rivals. It consolidates its market position by using its extensive logistics network, warehousing, and data-driven pricing to compete with competitors for lower prices and faster delivery.

According to Lawson, “in the last 30 years, we’ve seen an extreme concentration of market power]in the tech sector] that has] increased income inequality and made economies more inefficient.”

SOAS University’s Standing echoed that sentiment: “Modern economies have evolved so that monopolies are increasingly present across all sectors of activity”.

“This is particularly true of information services. Elon Musk, a plutocrat, and others who use their wealth to buy politicians are now able to influence the political direction of the services they offer, such as the social media platform X, he continued.

How can governments combat monopolies?

Antitrust laws refer to legal measures that stop anticompetitive practices and are used by governments to combat monopolies. As evidenced by the 2011 dissolution of AT&amp, T, a US telecom company, domineering companies are given the authority to split up into smaller groups by antitrust laws.

At its height, in the 1980s, AT&amp, T oversaw many regional service providers, covering almost all telephone networks in the US, limiting choice and inflating prices. Regulators reduced their size, thereby boosting competition and ultimately lowering costs.

The US Department of Justice has two significant antitrust lawsuits against Google going on. In 2021, Google said it would overhaul its global advertising business and agreed to pay a $268m fine as part of an antitrust settlement with French watchdogs.

Regulators may also impose fines for unfair pricing and work to lower new entrants’ access to markets by promoting transparency and open standards. For instance, the European Commission imposed a ban on Apple in March 2025 for using a device to connect to other businesses and forbidding the tech giant from disclosing alternatives at the expense of consumers.

Regulators have gone beyond fines to mandate interoperability and fair practices under laws like the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). In order to give smaller businesses a fairer chance to compete, the DMA mandates that dominant platforms share data, allow rivals to connect with their systems, and disclose transparent advertising and ranking practices.

Authorities can stop monopolies from stifling innovation and concentrating excessive market power, which could give them political power, as the UK’s intelligence chief recently warned, by combining legal action, economic oversight, and structural reform with economic oversight.

Lawson said he believes that “to regulate super-powerful corporate titans, you can cut them down to size, either break them up into smaller private firms or nationalise them”.