Despite repeated Israeli airstrikes and ground forces attacks, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem has stated that his organization will continue to attack Israel until a ceasefire is reached.
For their ground-breaking contributions to machine learning, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton both received the Nobel Prize in physics in 2024.
The scientists were honored “for fundamental discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.
Hopfield, whose research was conducted at Princeton University in the United States, was recognized for developing an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data.
Hinton, a researcher at the University of Toronto, came up with a method that can independently discover properties in data, enabling it to identify particular elements in pictures.
The Nobel committee stated in a press release that “this year’s two Nobel Laureates in physics have developed methods that are the foundation of the world’s powerful machine learning.”
The laureates’ efforts have already had the greatest impact. Artificial neural networks are used in a wide range of fields, including creating new materials with particular properties, according to Ellen Moons, the Nobel Committee for Physics’ chair.
Such networks have also “become part of our daily lives, for instance in facial recognition and language translation”, she added.
However, the committee also noted the global concerns surrounding machine learning and artificial intelligence.
“Collectively, humans carry the responsibility for using this new technology in a safe and ethical way for the greatest benefit of humankind”, Moons added.
Hinton has already responded to these fears. He resigned from his position at Google so that he could discuss the risks of the technology he helped develop more freely.
He reiterated his doubts on Tuesday as he told the committee by phone that he was , “flabbergasted” by the award.
The researcher continued to be concerned about “a number of potentially negative consequences” of his machine learning work, particularly the possibility that things might start to spiral out of control.
Over the course of his many years of public service, Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has waged unwavering campaigns for peace and human rights both domestically and internationally. He turned 100 this month.
Now, as he nears the twilight of his life, we must take the time to reflect on one of his most courageous stances: his unwavering commitment to Palestinian dignity and self-determination.
In 1996, President Carter stood with us, the Palestinian people, as we voted for our leaders for the very first time. Carter argued that casting our ballots was still necessary because it was a chance to create a future that was rooted in peace and justice, despite the fact that the Oslo peace process had failed to produce the Palestinian state we had hoped for.
Despite the heavy shadows of occupation and displacement, his presence in Palestine during that first election heightened our hopes for a brighter tomorrow.
In 2003, as the separation wall began to snake across the West Bank, I met President Carter once again at The Carter Center’s first-ever Human Rights Defenders Forum in Atlanta, Georgia.
I explained to him the horrifying realities that Palestinians face in the West Bank city of Qalqilia, where there are 40 000 residents encircled by concrete and only allowed access to farms, hospitals, and the outside world. A single gate that occasionally closed for days before opening again at the will of Israeli soldiers. As I updated him on the situation in Palestine, I called it what it is: apartheid, the separation of two peoples based on ethnicity, with one dominating the other through systemic injustice. Carter listened, intently and without judgement.
When he returned to Palestine to observe the presidential elections in which I led the independent candidate against Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas, just two years later, in 2005, he had the opportunity to witness the reality for himself.
President Carter got firsthand accounts of how Israel was constructing walls, walls that annex settlements and water resources, and walls that divide Palestinians into enclaves, rather than establishing diplomatic relations. He also witnessed how the Israeli security service detained me after a meeting we had in Jerusalem, despite their instructions to stop me from speaking to Palestinian voters there. I believe that during this visit, it became clear to him that Israel was not attempting to negotiate peace but was instead attempting to consolidate control in a way that would prevent the establishment of a two-state solution.
In 2006, Carter published Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, a book that shook the American political landscape. In it, he laid out a simple truth: without Palestinian freedom and dignity, there could be no peace. He argued that Israel should not be viewed as a supporter of it, but as a person who is fervently committed to its survival. Yet, for daring to speak this truth, Carter was vilified. He was accused of being anti-Semitic and despised by many Americans, including his Democratic Party. But Carter never wavered. Not out of anger for Israel, but out of a strong belief in justice, he continued to speak the truth about the realities of Palestine.
He became aware that a just settlement with the Palestinians was the only way Israel could truly prosper. He acknowledged that the Palestinian people, who have endured years of brutal occupation since 1967 and have been subject to repeated displacement since 1948, are entitled to the same rights and dignity as everyone else. He later came to terms with the fact that he had been able to comprehend the reality of apartheid in Palestine from my 2003 account of the situation in Qalqilia.
Jimmy Carter’s position on Palestine is unique because he was once the most powerful person in the world, not to mention his moral courage. As US president, he tried to open the road to lasting peace. During his one-term presidency in 1977 and 1981, he was unable to secure Palestinian independence, but he resisted giving up. He has searched for every chance in the decades since he left office to bring about a just peace for Palestinians and all of the Middle Easterners.
We must remember that he was one of the most significant truth-tellers of our time as he enters his 100th year and pay tributes pour in to his numerous humanitarian accomplishments. Carter resisted being silent about the cruelty the Palestinians were subjected to. That is a rare kind of courage, especially for a former US president, that should be recognised and remembered.
Carrying forward Jimmy Carter’s commitment to equal human rights for all people is the best way to honor him for his bravery and unwavering moral convictions.
The struggle for self-determination in Palestine is more moral than just political. As Carter always emphasised, the US has a special responsibility. Without the political and military support of the United States, Israel would not be able to carry on its brutal occupation and apartheid against Palestinians or carry out the genocide there.
Let us amplify Carter’s call for the US to stand up for peace and justice everywhere in the world as we reflect on his life and legacy. Let’s acknowledge the importance of respecting Palestinian people’s rights and dignity, as Carter did. Only then will we be able to honor his legacy and the values he so bravely uphold.
After numerous opposition candidates were prevented from running, Tunisia’s president Kais Saied won the election by a landslide, with a historically low turnout. Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith has been following the results.
Another senior Hezbollah commander was killed during an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital, according to Israeli forces.
Suhail Hussein Husseini, the head of Hezbollah’s headquarters, was killed as a result of Israeli fighter jets “targeting the Beirut area,” according to an Israeli army statement on X on Tuesday. In a number of attacks that have also resulted in the deaths of many civilians since Israel began to attack the Lebanese armed group’s chain of command last month.
The army said Husseini’s death was another significant strike on Hezbollah. He was involved in the distribution of smuggled weapons among various Hezbollah units and in the transfer of weapons between Iran and the organization, according to the report.
Husseini was also in charge of Hezbollah’s “most sensitive projects,” including planning attacks against Israel from Lebanon and Syria, according to the statement.
Since Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 last year led to the start of its ongoing conflict in Gaza, Israel has dealt significant blows to Hezbollah and its ally Hamas by assassinating their leaders and commanders.
Hassan Nasrallah’s long-term leader was killed by Israel’s airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs late last month, giving the organization its biggest blow in decades.
Over the past few months, Israeli forces have killed numerous senior Hezbollah officials.
Hezbollah leaders Ibrahim Qubaisi, Ibrahim Aqil, and Ahmed Wahbi were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Beirut suburbs last month. Over the summer, Israeli forces killed Fuad Shukr, Muhammed Nasser and Taleb Abdallah, also senior Hezbollah commanders.
Growing concern about a direct conflict between Israel and Iran, among others, is growing.
Since Hamas and its ally Hezbollah launched an assault on Gaza on October 8, 2013, Israel has been at war with them in Lebanon, which started firing at Israel across the border on October 8.
Israel’s stated intention last month was to allow the return of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians to their homes, shifting a large portion of its attention from Gaza to its northern border.
Last week, Israeli forces announced that they had begun ground incursions into Lebanon. It has continued to attack border towns and villages, as well as the densely populated southern Beirut suburbs.
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that its 146th Division had begun specialized, limited operations against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in southwest Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it had launched numerous missiles at Israel from Lebanon.
According to a statement released by the Iran-linked group in Beirut, the salvo was fired at a number of targets in northern Israel.
Israel began its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza a year ago.
In response to an attack by armed fighters from the Hamas, the armed wing of the Palestinians, Israel launched an assault on Gaza on October 7. Some 1, 140 people died during the attack and about 240 were taken into Gaza as captives.
Israel stepped up its vicious bombing campaign as a response to Gaza’s already crushing siege since 2007.
Over the past year, Israeli attacks have killed at least 41, 615 Palestinians living in Gaza, equal to 1 out of every 55 people living there.
The most children killed in a single conflict year in the past two decades is at least 16, 756 of which are children. More than 17, 000 children have lost one or both parents.
Israel has continued an arbitrary campaign that has sown terror in Gaza and killed entire multi-generational families despite international condemnations and pleas from international organizations and rights groups.
At least 97, 303 people are injured in Gaza – equal to one in 23 people.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly a quarter of the injured, an estimated 22, 500, have life-altering injuries that are not being met with rehabilitation needs. Severe limb injuries are the main driver for rehabilitation.
Because of Israel’s ongoing siege, according to UNRWA, each day 10 children lose one or both legs. Operations and amputations are carried out with little to no anesthesia.
In addition to the killed and injured, more than 10, 000 people are feared buried under the rubble.
Volunteers and civil defense workers rely on their bare hands to remove rubble and rescue those trapped beneath concrete because they have so few tools.
More than 42 million tons of debris, which is also rife with unexploded bombs, have been dropped on Gaza, according to experts, which means it will take years to clear.
Israel has attacked almost all of Gaza’s hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Over the past year, at least 114 hospitals and clinics have been rendered inoperative, leaving many patients without access to essential medical services.
The Gaza Media Office reports that at least 131 ambulances were hit and damaged, and that 34 hospitals and 80 health centers have been disabled. 162 health facilities were also hit by Israeli forces.
According to several experts, attacking hospitals, particularly those that care for critically ill patients and newborns, may constitute a war crime under international law.
Israeli attacks on hospitals, and the continual bombardment of Gaza, have killed at least 986 medical workers including 165 doctors, 260 nurses, 184 health associates, 76 pharmacists and 300 management and support staff.
Among frontline workers, at least 85 civil defence workers have been killed.
The Israeli army has laid siege to several of Gaza’s hospitals, imprisoning hundreds of people.
At Khan Younis’ Nasser Medical Complex in April 2024, 300 bodies of young men, women, and children were discovered.
Another mass grave was discovered in Beit Lahiya’s grounds the same month.
In May, the Gaza Media Office announced another mass grave had been unearthed at al-Shifa Hospital, with some of the bodies decapitated. Body bodies were discovered on beds at the reception and emergency department, over the heads of sick and injured people, and buried alive, according to Motasem Salah, the director of the Gaza Emergency Operations Centre.
In the past year, three quarters (75 percent) of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been infected with contagious diseases due to a lack of sanitation, open sewage and inadequate access to hygiene.
At least 350, 000 chronically ill patients who require urgent care are now at risk of losing their lives due to Israel’s refusal to provide medical supplies.
At least 15, 000 people who are injured or chronically ill need to travel outside of Gaza for treatment, while at least 10, 000 cancer patients are unable to continue receiving the necessary care.
In an international armed conflict, intentionally starving a population is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
According to an investigation conducted by Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines, Israel has consistently denied the hungry public humanitarian aid and water. Aid organizations and the US have been widely known and documented, according to Stacy Gilbert, a former US State Department official who spoke to Al Jazeera.
At least 2.15 million people, or 96 percent of Gaza’s population, are facing severe lack of food. One in five Palestinians, or about 495, 000 people, are facing starvation according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
According to Anera, a nonprofit organisation, in March 2024, 95 percent of Gaza’s population had been without access to clean water for months.
Across Gaza, only 1.5 to 1.8 litres (51 to 61 oz) of water per day is available to each person. The WHO daily recommended allowance of clean water is 100 litres (26 gallons) per person.
In September, OCHA stated all three water connection points coming from Israel were partially functional, and two out of the three desalination plants work intermittently.
The people of Gaza have to resort to using salty water to wash their clothes and take baths in the sea.
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 130 journalists, almost all Palestinian, have been killed since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Media Office, 175 people have been killed, which is on average four journalists have been killed each week since October 7.
At least 250 children and 80 women are among the more than 10,000 Palestinians who are being held in Israeli prisons in agonizing conditions.
Many are held without charge. At least 3, 332 Palestinians are held under administrative detention, without charge or trial.
More than 42 million tons of debris, which is also rife with unexploded bombs, have been dropped on Gaza, according to experts, which means it will take years to clear.
Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s media office, cost $33 billion in direct damages.
According to OCHA, as of January, 60 percent of residential homes and 80 percent of all commercial facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
Gaza’s Media Office estimates that 150, 000 homes have been completely destroyed, along with more than 3, 000km of electricity networks.
With so many homes destroyed, hundreds of Gaza’s schools have been turned into shelters leaving at least 625, 000 of Gaza’s children without education.
Israel has completely destroyed 123 schools and universities in the past year, causing damage to at least 335 others.
At least 11, 500 students and 750 teachers and educational staff have been killed.
In the past year, at least 206 archaeological and heritage sites have also been destroyed.
At least 611 mosques have been completely destroyed by Israeli attacks, and 214 others have suffered minor damage.
An Israeli airstrike caused extensive damage to the Great Omari Mosque in Gaza on December 8. Its 747-year-old library, once home to rare manuscripts including old copies of the Quran, was left in ruins.
Israeli attacks have damaged and hit all three of Gaza’s churches.
The Church of Saint Porphyrius, a fifth-century church and one of the oldest places of worship in Gaza, was attacked on October 17, 2023 and then again on July 30.
Israeli forces have destroyed at least 34 sports facilities, stadiums and gyms.
As of August, at least 410 athletes, sports officials or coaches had been killed in the war, according to the Palestine Football Association.
Of these, 297 were footballers, including 84 children who harboured dreams of playing for Palestine.