"We are in a tough war," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in early November, rejecting calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. "I promise to all citizens of Israel: We will get the job done. We will press ahead until victory."
Over the course of its ground offensive against the Islamist militant Hamas group, which had massacred more than 1,400 people in terror attacks in southern Israel a month ago, the Israeli military has cut the Gaza Strip in two halves and is now encircling Gaza City. House-to-house fighting is still limited to rather rural areas, but soon it is likely to spill over to the bombed out city.
"This is an operation for which Israeli troops are extremely well prepared," British military analyst Frank Ledwidge, of Portsmouth University, told DW. "They are more experienced in urban fighting than any other armed force in the world."
For years, the Israeli army has been training house-to-house fighting in a special facility in the Negev desert. Now, however, war has become a reality.
Urban combat 'extremely difficult'
The US, which supports Israel militarily as well as diplomatically and acts as an advisor to the Israeli government, cautions against exaggerated expectations. Fighting in an urban environment is "extremely difficult" and "goes at a slow pace," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told broadcaster ABC in October.
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.