“Don’t let the Palestinian death toll rise in this harsh winter.” - The Guardian

In Friday's newspaper roundup, we review articles from international newspapers regarding the situation of Gaza residents during the winter; Appointment of a Russian diplomat as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Mine Clearance Affairs; In addition to the division within the ranks of the American Republican Party.

We begin our tour with an editorial in the British Guardian, entitled: “Do not let the number of Palestinian deaths increase in this harsh winter.” The newspaper talks about the continuation of killings in the Gaza Strip despite the announcement of the truce in October of last year, although at a lower rate than it was before the truce.

The newspaper asks: “What do we call a ceasefire when the shooting does not actually stop?”, indicating that the average number of Palestinian casualties has reached about four people per day since the ceasefire was announced. The Guardian refers to the attack launched by Israel on Thursday morning on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, saying that it was “the first targeting of a health facility since that - the truce -, but it is not an exceptional event.”

The newspaper criticizes the Israeli targeting of medical facilities and health care workers “without providing evidence” of the presence of fighters in the targeted sites, and also criticizes the Israeli description of civilian victims as “mere collateral damage” to targeting fighters. In addition, the newspaper highlights the deaths of Palestinians due to storms and extreme cold, explaining that Palestinians are exposed to “the danger of floods and the flow of sewage into tents, as well as the collapse of destroyed buildings on top of their residents.”

In light of these conditions, the Guardian notes that Israel is “obstructing the entry of 150,000 ready-to-use tents, along with other badly needed materials” in Gaza; “The sector really needs reconstruction.” The British newspaper notes that "Donald Trump's peace team, known for its closeness to Netanyahu, urged Israel to allow the entry of all humanitarian supplies, but the latter does not show any desire to use its actual influence to change this reality."

The Guardian believes that even with Netanyahu's absence, following Gadi Eisenkot's mandate to form a new government, "fundamental improvements are still unlikely" regarding the Gaza Strip. In light of what the newspaper considers to be an exceptional shift in international public opinion towards Israel, the Guardian believes that “governments today have a new opportunity to press for change regarding Gaza,” in reference to the United States and Europe, on which Israel depends for security, trade, and diplomacy.

The Guardian urges these countries to “take concrete action and provide financial support to humanitarian organizations working in Gaza,” stressing that “the time has come to exert maximum pressure to ensure that the Palestinians are able to survive this winter, and to ensure that they have a future worth living for.”

We move to the second stop of our tour, with the American newspaper “USA Today”, to review an article entitled “With the failure of the Ukrainian-Russian talks again, the United Nations undermines confidence,” by writer Sira Kulabdara. The author criticizes the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to appoint Russian diplomat Gleb Desiatnikov as Assistant Secretary-General for Mine Clearance and Police Affairs in the Department of Peace Operations. The author describes the decision as "contrary to moral logic and the most basic standards of operational security."

The newspaper sees a "paradox" in the fact that Desiatnikov, "who represents a government that owns millions of landmines that it uses to terrorize civilians," holds a prominent position in the field of global mine clearance. She says, "Attributing United Nations mine clearance efforts to Russia not only represents an insult to survivors of mine accidents and those working to clear mines, but also represents a clear and tangible operational danger." The newspaper adds that "granting a veteran diplomat in the Kremlin access to sensitive data for clearing mines in areas of active Russian aggression is a catastrophic security breach."

She reinforced her proposal by noting that the office headed by Desiatnikov allows him to view “geographic maps, surveys of mined areas, weak points in vital infrastructure, and demining corridors, especially in areas where Russian forces are active.” She wonders: “How can donor countries allocate millions of dollars to mine clearance efforts through United Nations funds, which are headed by the same country that is laying the mines?” Accordingly, the author calls on donor countries to "impose strict financial restrictions, by directing mine clearance funds directly through reliable non-governmental organizations and independent programs."

With an article entitled “A bitter exchange of accusations threatens to tear apart Republican ranks,” by writer Henry Olsen in the Washington Post, we conclude today’s tour. The writer talks about the internal conflict that the Republican Party is experiencing between populists and Democrats, following its loss in the midterm elections. He says, "As the struggle for control within the party intensifies ahead of the presidential election cycle, each party seeks to hold the other responsible for this failure."

The writer proposes to the party and its candidate, who will carry its banner in the 2028 elections, to “adopt an approach that combines the populist and conservative vision,” considering that the conflict “will eliminate any chance the party may have of getting out of this impasse.” While populists say that the war with Iran is the cause of the loss, while conservatives attribute the cause to customs duties, the writer believes that customs tariffs and war combined are among the causes of that loss. Henry Olsen explains that "customs tariffs imposed price pressures on importers, led to a decline in exports and disrupted supply chains, and the war with Iran had an increased impact on oil prices and the cost of energy in general."