The October 7 Hamas terror raids and the Israeli military's retaliation in the Gaza Strip are pushing the Middle East to brace for a broader conflict.
Officials in Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have vowed to destroy Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces have stationed troops, tanks and artillery outside the walls of the Gaza Strip in preparation for a land incursion.
Skirmishes between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the IDF in northern Israel are raising fears that the conflict in Gaza could spread to another front.
Hamas and Hezbollah — which are both listed as terrorist organizations by the US, EU and several other governments — are known to be adept at asymmetrical warfare. Here is a look at the military capabilities of Hamas, Hezbollah and the IDF.
Hamas: Gaza tunnels
Hamas was established at the beginning of the first intifada in 1987, when thousands of Palestinians protested Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was a Palestinian cleric affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood political movement.
Over the years, Hamas has developed a military infrastructure and increased its strength, advancing its capabilities in terms of range and weaponry.
It has also excavated a sophisticated system of tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip, as well as parts of Israel and Egypt. These tunnels are designed to conceal and cover militants, making it difficult for the IDF to track and locate them. Hamas can execute surprise attacks on the Israeli army in the case of a ground incursion.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.