01/11/24 01/11/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> genocide -- this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows in convertible he conduct and related intention that justifies

a plausible claim of genocidal act. amy: is israel committing genocide in gaza? that is the russia today before the international justice in the hague which has begun to days of arguments and south africa's historic genocide case against israel. we will air excerpts and go to johannesburg and jerusalem for response. then exclusive to report by the guardian reveals how carbon emissions from israel's war on gaza will have an immense effect on the climate crisis. we will speak with reporter nina lakhani and hadeel khamis of the environment of quality authority. >> climate in palestine and predicted the change of climate is going to be unprecedented and negatively impacting the water security and food security.

it can exacerbate climate change and make it worse for future generations. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the international court of justice in the hague has begun hearing two days of arguments in south africa's historic genocide case against israel. south africa has accused israel of violating the 1948 u.n. genocide convention saying its three month assault on gaza is being conducted with the intent to bring about the destruction of palestinians as a group. south africa is outlining its case today. israildend itself on friday. during today's hearing, attorneys for the south african government laid out what they described as israel's genocidal intent. >> israel has a genocidal intent

against the palestinians in gaza. that is evident from the way in which israel's military attack is being conducted. israel's genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that the enemy is not just the military wing of hamas or hamas generally, but is embedded in the fabric of palestinian life in gaza. amy: we'll have more on the genocide hearing after headlines. an israeli airstrike struck an ambulance in central gaza wednesday killing two patients and four members of the palestine red crescent society. the aid group said, "our colleagues were intentionally targeted while inside an ambulance clearly marked with the red crescent emblem." another israeli attack near the entrance to al-aqsa martyrs hospital killed eight people and wounded over 30. on wednesday, the head of the world health organization tedros

adhanom ghebreyesus called on israel to allow more aid into gaza. >> delivering humanitarian aid in gaza continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges. in the bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortage, and intro communications make it impossible for the who and our partners to reach those in need. we have the supplies, the teams, and the plans in place. what we don't have is access. amy: five armed men wearing military uniforms have reportedly seized an oil tanker in the gulf of oman. this comes as tension has been soaring for weeks in the red sea. on wednesday, u.n. security council passed a resolution

calling for yemen's houthi forces to stop attacking ships in the red sea. the vote came a day after u.s. and british forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by the houthis who have vowed to continue attacks until israel halts its assault on gaza. former south carolina governor nikki haley and florida governor ron desantis squared off at a cnn-hosted debate in iowa ahead of the state's january 15 caucus. republican frontrunner donald trump, who has yet to participate in a primary debate, had been invited to attend but opted to take part in a fox news town hall instead. desantis criticized haley for supporting sending more money and arms to ukraine. >> she supports this $106 billion they're trying to get through congress. they sent tens of billions of dollars to pay salaries free crating government bureaucrats. they paid pensions for ukrainian retirees with your tax dollars? we have homeless veterans. we have all these problems. this is the u.n. way of thinking

that we are globalist and have unlimited resources to give. you can take the ambassador out of the united nations but you can't take the united nations out of the ambassador. amy: nikki haley question ron desantis about whether he was ready to run the country. >> the best way to tell about a candidate is to see how they run their campaign. he has long through 150 million dollars. i don't know how you do that. he has nothing to show for it. he has been more money on private planes that on commercials trying to get i went to vote for him. if you can't manage a campaign, how are you going to manage a country? amy: hours before the debate, former new jersey governor chris christie dropped out of the race. he was caught on a hot mic saying "she's going to get smoked," in an apparent reference to haley. christie also predicted desantis would drop out after iowa. in other trump news, closing arguments are scheduled for today in new york in the civil fraud case brought by new york

attorney general leticia james against donald trump. on wednesday, the judge in the case struck down a request for -- by trump to deliver his own closing statement because the former president's legal team refused to abide by the judge's restrictions not to turn his remarks into a campaign speech. on capitol hill, far right republicans are pushing back against newly elected house speaker mike johnson after he reached a bipartisan $1.59 trillion spending deal with democratic senate majority leader chuck schumer. on wednesday, a dozen members of the house freedom caucus joined democrats to block an unrelated bill to show their opposition to johnson's deal. meanwhile, a pair of house committees have voted to endorse a report recommending hunter biden, president biden's son, be held in contempt of congress. on wednesday, hunter biden made a surprise appearance at a house oversight committee meeting and offered to testify publicly but

republicans refused. they have been insisting on questioning him in private. in other house news, republican lawmakers held their first impeachment hearing focused on secretary of homeland security alejandro mayorkas. in ecuador, police have arrested at least 333 people in a nationwide crackdown after president daniel noboa declared a state of emergency due to a surge in violence by drug cartels. during an interview wednesday, noboa said ecuador is now in a state of war. schools across ecuador will remain shut down until at least friday. authorities in south korea have confirmed the recent stabbing of opposition leader lee jae-myung was a politically motivated attack. lee jae-myung, who survived the assassination attempt, ran for president in 2022 and narrowly lost to conservative yoon suk-yeol. police said the attacker wanted

to prevent him from running for president again in 2027. this is busan police commissioner woo cheol-mun. >> the suspect stated he held a grudge that the victim was not properly punished and he wanted to prevent him from becoming president, to stop him from giving nominations to certain groups that have taken a majority of seats in the upcoming election. that is what he decided to kill the victim. amy: in health news, wastewater testing shows the u.s. is in its greatest covid-19 surge since omicron, making it the second-biggest surge of the pandemic. around 1500 people in the u.s. are still dying from covid every week. public health experts say two of the main reasons are waning immunity and not enough people accessing treatments and getting vaccinated. rates of infection are up globally as well. the world health organization reports 10,000 covid deaths were

recorded in december, while hospitalizations increased in dozens of countries. in spain, authorities have reissued face mask mandates in health facilities. >> it is a basic and minimum measure which we have learned from the pandemic, and that is when we have an upward trend, the first thing we need to do is protect the most vulnerable people. people who have some sort of infection that needs to be contained. the method that is most scientifically endorsed is the mask. amy: in ohio, republicans legislators voted wednesday to overturn republican governor mike dewine's veto of legislation that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and bar trans athletes from playing on school sports teams. three-fifths of the ohio senate must also vote to override dewine's veto for the bill to become law. the aclu of ohio slammed state republicans, saying, "this state-sponsored vendetta against

some of ohio's most vulnerable young people is beyond cruel." in related news, two transgender women vying for seats in the ohio house of representatives have been challenged for not disclosing their birth names on nominating petitions. both women said they were unaware of the rule but that they would have complied despite the harmful nature of the requirement. one of the women, arienne childrey, said of the rule, "having to use your deadname is horrible. it is an attack on who we are." vanessa joy, who is appealing the decision last week to disqualify her, also warned that transgender people should not be forced to share their deadnames due to safety concerns. here in new york, lawsuits filed by prisoners at the great meadow correctional facility accuse guards of abuse and torture. two men, 44-year old charles wright and 32-year-old eugene taylor, say they were brutally

beaten by guards who also took them to another facility where they waterboarded them. both men say they were falsely accused of disciplinary infractions after the event. a separate lawsuit, filed by 44 prisoners, says guards inflicted physical and psychological abuse on prisoners during an october lockdown, including violently attacking them. great meadow prison is located in comstock, about 200 miles north of new york city. in north carolina, ronnie long was awarded an historic $25 million settlement for his wrongful conviction and 44-year-long imprisonment. long is a black man. he was accused of raping a white woman by an all-white jury in 1976. he was exonerated and released in 2020 after a court ruled his due process rights were violated, citing "extreme and continuous police misconduct," which included concealing lab evidence that showed long was

not linked to the crime scene. ronnie long has put some funds from a previous settlement towards efforts to reform the criminal justice system. and the family of the late eddie bernice johnson, the trailblazing-black congressmember from texas, has blamed a dallas rehabilitation facility for her death and say they will file a lawsuit for medical neglect. her family says the spine infection that led to her death on december 31 developed following back surgery after staff at the baylor scott & white institute left her lying in her own feces. eddie bernice johnson was the first registered nurse elected to congress, where she served for three decades. on tuesday, loved ones and community members gathered for her funeral at concord church in dallas. among those who paid their respects were lawmakers who were inspired and guided by johnson. this is royce west, texas state senator.

>> what she made certain of is that issues concerning health care, accessible health care. we worked on those issues. higher education, education. building coalitions based on interests not based on the color of one's skin, gender, or political affiliation. she often told us, just because you speak loud don't mean you're going to be able to get anything done. life -- her life is a manifestation of that. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. south africa has accused israel of acts of genocide against palestinians and opening remarks today at a historic hearing at

the international court of justice in the hague. south africa demanded emergency suspension of israel's aerial and ground assault on gaza which is said was intended as bringing about destruction of the population of the territory. and a detailed 84 page document launching the case last year, south africa alleged israel has demonstrated intent. the international court of justice is hearing south africa's hearing today and will hit. -- will hear israel's response on friday. the justice minister addressed the court at the opening of the hearing. >> madame president, distinguished members of the court, it is an honor for me to stand in front of you on behalf of the republic of south africa on these exceptional cases. in extending our hands across to the people of palestine, we do so in full knowledge part of the

humidity that is at one. these were the words of our founding president nelson mandela. this is the spirit which south africa seceded to the convention. 1998. this is the spirit in which the approach the court as a conducting party to the convention. this is a commitment to the people of palestine and israelis alike. as previously mentioned, the violence and the destruction in palestine and israel did not begin october 7, 2023. the palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the last 76 years. nermeen: that was the justice minister addressing the court at the opening of the hearing. south africa lawyer was next. she began by citing israel's bombing campaign in gaza in her

opening argument. >> for the past 96 days, israel has subjected gaza to what has been described as one of the heaviest conventional bombing campaigns in the history of modern warfare. palestinians in gaza are being killed by israeli weaponry and bombs from air, land, and sea. they are also at immediate risk of death by starvation, dehydration, and disease as a result of the ongoing siege by israel, the destruction of palestinian towns, the insufficient aid being allowed through to the palestinian population, an impossibility of distributing this limited aid while bombs fall. this conduct renders essentials to life unattainable.

amy: she continued laying out what south africa says was a series of genocidal acts, including mass killing, displacement, denial of humanitarian aid, and more. she began on the mass killing of palestinians in gaza. >> the first genocidal act committed by israel is the mass killing of palestinians in gaza in violation of article 2a of the genocide convention. at the u.n. secretary-general explained five you -- five weeks ago, the killing is so extensive that nowhere is safe in gaza. as i stand before you today, 23,000 -- 23,002 hundred 10 palestinians have been killed by israeli forces during the sustained attacks over the last three months.

at least 70% of whom are believed to be women and children. some 7000 palestinians are still missing, presumed dead under the rubble. the palestinians in gaza subjected to relentless bombing wherever they go. they are killed in their homes, in places where they seek shelter, in hospitals, in schools, in mosques, in churches , and as they try to find food and water for the families. they have been killed if they fail to evacuate. in the places to which they have fled. and even while they attempted to flee along israeli-declared safe

routes. the level of killing is so extensive, that those whose bodies are found are varied in mass graves, often unidentified. in the first three weeks alone, following october 7, israel deployed 6000 bombs per week. at least 200 times it has deployed 2000 pound bombs in southern areas of palestine designated as safe. these bombs have also decimated the north, including refugee camps. 2000 pounds bombs are some of the biggest and most destructive bombs available. they are dropped by lethal fighter jets that are used to

strike targets on the ground by one of the world's most resourced armies. because she concluded by outlining the need for an emergency suspension of israel's assault on gaza. >> all of these acts individually and collectively form a calculated pattern of conduct by israel indicating a genocidal intent. this intent is evident from israel's conduct in specially targeting palestinians living in gaza, using weaponry that causes large-scale homicidal destruction, as well as targeting -- targeted sniping of civilians, designating safe zones for palestinians to seek refuge and and bombing.

priming palestinians in gaza of basic needs -- food, water, health care, fuel sanitation, and communications. destroying social infrastructure , homes, schools, mosques, churches, hospitals. and killing, seriously injuring, and even large numbers of children orphaned. genocides are never declared in advance. but this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts. in the gambian case, this court

did not hesitate to impose provisional measures in relation to allegations that myanmar was committing genocidal acts against the rohingya within the brookline state. before the court today, sadly, even more stark and like the gambian case, deserve and demand this court's intervention. every day there is irreparable loss of life, property, dignity, and humanity for the palestinian people. our newsfeeds show graphic images of suffering that has become unbearable to watch. nothing will stop the suffering except in order from this court. without an indication of provisional measures, the atrocities will continue with the israeli defense force

indicating it intends pursuing this course of action for at least a year. nermeen: the south african lawyer, followed by an attorney who outlined what south africa said was clear evidence of genocide to -- genocidal intent by israel. >> intentional failure of the government of israel to condemn, prevent, and punish genocidal excitement constitutes in itself a grave violation of the geneva convention. an article i of the convention, israel confirmed genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war is a crime.

this failure to prevent, condemn, has served to normalize genocidal rhetoric and extreme danger for palestinians within israeli society. as has been set from the likud party, the governments own attorney shares his views that palestinians in gaza must be destroyed. "you go anywhere and they tell you to destroy them. in the kibbutz, they tell you to destroy them. my friends at the state attorney's office who fought on me with political office in debate, it is clear to me we need to destroy all gazans." "destroy all gazans." israel is aware of its destruction of palestinian life and infrastructure. despite this, it has intensified

its military activity in gaza. amy: excerpts from south africa's arguments that the historic hearing at the international criminal court of justice in the hague accusing israel of acts of genocide. when we come back, we go to johannesburg and jerusalem for response. ♪ [music break]

amy: "brand new day" by the south african singer miriam makeba. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we are joined now by two guests to discuss south africa's historic genocide case against israel at the international court of justice in the hague. today marked the first hearing out of two days of arguments, with south africa outlining its case that israel violated the 1948 u.n. genocide convention saying its three month assault on gaza is being conducted with the intent to bring about the destruction of palestinians as a group.

amy: in jerusalem, maha abdallah is a palestinian genocide scholar. a graduate teaching assistant and a phd researcher at the faculty of law at the university of antwerp. and joining us from johannesburg, south africa, kaajal ramjathan-keogh, a south african human rights lawyer. directs the africa program of the international commission of jurists, which is dedicated to defending human rights and the rule of law worldwide. we welcome you both to democracy now! let's begin in south africa with kaajal ramjathan-keogh. if you could talk about the significance of today's hearing that finished just before we went to air, what is the international court of justice? how unusual is it to bring a kind of case like this? if you could take it from there. >> hi, everybody. talk about the hearing in

international court of justice, the international court of justice is a world court which adjudicates issues and cases between states. it is different from the in that way where the icj -- the icc would prosecute individuals on international criminal concerns, the international court of justice only deals with issues between state parties. this is the reason why south africa has filed this case before the international court of justice. it was a pretty remarkable hearing. you have said already about the historical significance of this hearing. there have been previous cases at the international court of justice dealing with genocide, but those previous cases have not attracted as much attention and interest as this particular case.

nermeen: could you explain how often it has been the case that a case has been brought to the icj by a country that is not one of the parties involved in the conflict? one thinks most recently of the case of russia and ukraine, which ukraine brought were in fact diverse genocide case that was heard at the international court of justice which had to do with the genocide of bosnians and the use of you -- yugoslavian war. >> the court can deal with any issues. issues of genocide of course -- there have been many cases of genocide brought before the court. in this together case, both south africa and israel are members of the u.n. and both signed on to the genocide convention. as a result of their membership of the u.n. and signature of the

genocide convention, have responsibilities under this convention. this is the reason which established south africans grounds for filing the case. there have been other cases brought against member states who are not -- you have not signed the genocide convention. those cases are more difficult. it is more difficult to try and enforce any finding or establish a jurisdiction of the court in order to look into the cases but the court may still make a luminary findings, may make other findings which are and can be very useful in trying to protect individuals who are being affected by genocide and actions connected to genocide. nermeen: if you could begin by explaining the decision, as everyone has said, was likely to take years on the case itself on

the merits -- whatever provisional measures that south africa is calling for in the interim? >> essentially what south africa is calling for is a cease-fire in gaza. they set this out in a number of ways. they are asking for the blockade in gaza to cease immediately. they are asking for the seizure of the bombings and the actions which are causing the killing of palestinians, destruction other homes, expulsion, displacement, blockade on food, water, medical assistance. as well as the preventing palestinian -- destroying health services which are crucial for the survival of pregnant women and babies. these are all listed as genocidal actions in the suit. there's a range of actions which they're calling for an immediate

cease and these are the provisional measures which south africa seeks at the current time. amy: maha abdallah, can you explain this going to the international criminal court of justice and how people are responding in israel and ella stein? -- and palestine? >> thank you for having me. this is a historic moment for the palestinian people and the pursuit of justice and accountability, decades after the settler colonial regime that has fragmented the palestinians without accountability and near-total impunity stuff the fact israel today stands on trial is very important. we recognize the possibilities and the different scenarios. the fact israel is on trial for

the crime of genocide is also significant because as the application of the south africa before the international court of justice states, the crime of genocide the alleged genocidal acts by the state of israel are part of a continuum. they do not happen in a vacuum. there part of the ongoing nakba. for that there needs to be accountability. as for the reaction, unfortunately, i've not been able to enter access with my people. i know most of us palestinians, whether in palestine or exile, we have been waiting for this moment and all eyes have been on the icj, the hague today and we have been taking about the palestinians in gaza and how they perceive the current hearing session more than 90 days after complete devastation -- more than 90 days after significant and extreme and

severe loss and pain inflicted on the palestinians for the purpose of the destruction of a group. we think of palestinians in exile who have been mentioned by the south african ambassador in his introductory remarks when he spoke about the deliberate denial of the palestinian people's right to self-determination, which includes the right of return for palestinians in refugee camps across the neighboring country. nermeen: let me turn -- thank you for that. let me turn to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who spoke one day before the hearing at the international court of justice in the hague, responding to the hearing. >> i want to make a few points absolutely clear. israel has no intention of her millie occupying gaza or displacing it civilian population. israel is fighting hamas

terrorists, not the palestinian population. we are doing so in folk eyes with international law. the idf is doing its utmost to minimize civilian casualties while hamas is doing its at most to maximize that by using palestinian civilians as human shields. the idf urges palestinian civilians to leave by disseminating leaflets, making phone calls, providing safe passage corridors while hamas prevents palestinians from leaving at gunpoint and often with gunfire. our goal is to rid gaza of hamas terrorists and free our hostages. was this is achieved, hamas will be -- nermeen: that was benjamin netanyahu. if you could respond to what he said regarding the case that is now ongoing at the international court of justice? >> i think this is a baseless

statement. the statement over the last 13 weeks, even prior to october 7, has been genocidal in intent. have showcased how israeli political and military leaders have specific intent aiming for the destruction of the palestinian people using means and methods through the policies, laws, orders. the fact there has been an regime's bus for 75 years along with the occupation for 56 years , a blockade and closure on the gaza strip and the incarceration of entire people -- these are all precursors and drivers of genocide. the genocidal statements we have been hearing for 13 weeks now cannot simply be put aside or disregarded by a simple statement the net before the

hearing session starts at the icj. -- night before the hearing session starts at the icj. nermeen: what do you hope will come out of this knowing the decision may take several years but there could be these provisional measures that are put in place even though they are not in fact enforceable -- the cortes not have the capacity to enforce the measures. >> the most and foremost important thing to come out of this, from this is for the court order israel to stop its aggression, stop its hostilities, stop its military operations against gaza. this is particularly important considering the severity, scale, and gravity of the situation in the gaza strip but also the failure of the international system, the international community to order israel to put

an end to this genocidal aggression against the palestinians. the actual decision of whether it is genocide or not the court will take years but for the moment, what is mostly important is the need to stop this genocidal aggression, to protect whatever is possible of palestinian lives and dignity and rights. amy: kaajal ramjathan-keogh, i wanted to ask you about hamas. it is a nonstate player here. how does it fit into this decision? also, because there isn't enforcement, what is the role particularly of the united states since it sits on the u.n. security council, which is related to the international court of justice as a u.n. body?

> the south african legal team set out clearly the position of hamas in this particular matter. what they said in their submissions was that the international court of justice is there to adjudicate cases between states. hamas is not a state and therefore hamas is not part of the application. no claims have been brought against hamas and no case can be brought against hamas at this particular tribunal. there were other tribunals in which -- crimes against hamas can be brought, but this is not the appropriate tribunal for that particular issue. that deals with the issue of hamas. talking about the u.n. and their involvement in this case, the u.n., longtime friends with israel. in the event there is a final

decision made by the court and the court makes findings on genocide and genocidal intent against israel, of course there's no immediate obligation on israel to act on these findings and we don't expect israel to comply with these findings which will then lead to the matter been presented to the u.n. security council to try to enforce the compliance. at that point, the u.s. being a permanent member of the security council, they could use their veto power to block any actions against israel. so that would be a very serious challenge related to compliance of any finding of the court. nermeen: apart from the u.n. security council, the person who leads the international court of justice come of the 15 judges, the president is an american, joan donoghue, the vice

president is a russian. a sensibly, the judges are supposed to be impartial, but in the most recent case/with russia and ukraine, the only countries to abstain from the vote, which was otherwise 30 people voted for russia withdrawing from ukraine, the provisional measure china and russia were the only two who did not. if you could say in terms of precedents, do judges more or less make decisions that coincide with the policies of their countries or is it the case this is an exception? >> judges are supposed to be independent. we expect judges to be independent. judicial independence is the cornerstone of democracy. we require it to support us to

claim our rights and claim our democracy. it is a hugely important means of protection. we have seen previously at the icj come in the ukraine and russia case, both the russian and the chinese judges offer dissenting opinions. i would very much hope the american judge, the president of the court, does feel and obligation to be independent -- properly independent in this matter. there is no guarantee of this. there is very little which can be done in the event of the american judge consenting, making findings which are not in line with the majority of the court. and this is essentially the problem of the international court of justice in that it can

take on a relatively political slant in the decisions which it issues. amy: their terms are up. the american, she has had a number of positions at the state department before, joan donoghue. up in february. so they could be up before this decision is released. is that right? >> i am not aware of when her term is up so i can't really comment on that. the fact she is sitting on the issue of provisional measures means she will have some impact on what happens as the court makes findings on provisional measures. if the court decides to go into the merits of the case and proceeds with the matter, then she will no longer sit on the case going forward -- but we don't know who will replace her. that is an unknown. but it is not guaranteed there won't be u.s. influence on the

case going forward. nermeen: as we wrap up, if you can give us your final thoughts, your assessment of what the situation is right now in gaza, what you hope will come out of this. >> as i mentioned, i hope following the hearing sessions and on the basis that preceded by the very same court where it has issued provisional measures within days or weeks time on let's say similar cases but not entirely alike that the court will order the state of israel to stop its aggression, stop its military operations against the gaza strip and its people. the gaza strip, as we have seen the large scale extraction -- destruction, relentless

bombardment and killings that are taking place, the catastrophe is so immense were unable to comprehend between the starvation, dehydration, lack of medical facilities and ability to medical supplies, to the most basic necessities for life and dignity and survival even, together with the fact is is under total siege and blockade since october 7. the mass displacement and forcible displacement and transfer of more than 1.9 million palestinians into areas that are also being targeted and bombed by israel and its military. all of these require immediate action. immediate action that should not have taken place today or yesterday but three months ago. we don't have time.

palestinians in the gaza strip and the entirety of palestine, we don't have the privilege of time. this is why the court proceeding -- the proceedings before the court as rightly stated by south african units application, they are of extreme urgency. the court must respond to the urgent situation. against the backdrop of the failure of the international system and international justice mechanisms as well as the complicity come the open complicity and support emboldening israel's action and atrocities and intensification of these violations and great breaches and international crimes been committed against the palestinian people. amy: maha abdallah, thank you for an with his, palestinian genocide scholar. and kaajal ramjathan-keogh, south african human rights lawyer.

next up an exclusive report in the guardian revealing how carbon emissions from israel's war on gaza will have an immense effect on the climate crisis. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "al safi'h" by issa boulos. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: in an exclusive story this week, the guardian's climate justice reporter nina lakhani revealed that "the planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations." the report is based on new work by researchers in the u.s. and the u.k., and they say even this impact is likely an under-estimate. the analysis includes carbon emissions from fuel for aircraft, tanks and other vehicles, as well as emissions from making and exploding bombs, artillery, and rockets. it also showed that u.s. cargo planes flying military supplies to israel accounted for nearly half of all of the carbon

emissions. amy: for more, we are joined in new york by nina lakhani, senior climate justice reporter for the guardian. her story is headlined "emissions from israel's war in gaza have 'immense' effect on climate catastrophe." also with us in bethlehem is hadeel ikhmais, who is featured in the report and is the head of the climate change office at the palestinian environmental quality authority. their office is based in ramallah. we welcome you both to democracy now! >> the researchers in the u.k. and u.s., the first attempt to calculate the carbon impact on the war in gaza. they cite information about or is hard to come by because governments don't believe -- for the first 60 days, they looked at the publicly available

information that could collaborate, including hamas rockets, the air missions, the ground attacks. what they calculated is a conservative estimate of the carbon dioxide emissions just in the first 60 days. what they also did is a looked at -- a snapshot of the occupation. they looked at the carbon impact of the hamas tunnels which have been constructed since 2007, israel's iron wall, and provided an estimate of the reconstruction costs. the conservative estimate is 100,000 buildings have been destroyed in gaza so far and the amount carbon dioxide that will be generated through the reconstruction of those buildings is -- if that is

allowed to go ahead and the coming years. nermeen: hadeel ikhmais, you told her, among all the problems of palestine in the coming decades, climate change is the most immediate and certain. this has been amplified by the occupation and war on gaza since october 7. if you could lay out, what were the climate crisis that gaza was confronted with, palestine was confronted with that has now been exacerbated by the psalmist three month long war? >> before even become a party in 2016, we've done a lot of studies find climate deniers. [indiscernible]

regarding the heatwave, the drought comes the high temperature, dryness in the rainy season. and the fluctuations in rainfall and temperatures and increasing heat and warm periods and colder -- all of this will make the transformation from securing the water and food security. because palestine is an agricultural country which relies on the agriculture sector as first income. these fluctuations and climate deniers will negatively impact

the basic needs of -- [indiscernible] will exacerbate the problem by making it difficult for palestinians to adapt and be vulnerable to these changes. the water resources -- amy: i what to ask you about the impact that comes from israel's just direction of renewable energy projects in gaza. can you explain what they are?

>> we have been working through the last 10 years on finding dirty security and water resources from -- wastewater treatment, renewable energy, solar panels in order to find other resources. [indiscernible] most were destroyed from the last bombardment. [indiscernible]

most of the solar panels were destructed. the financial arm -- we don't know the exact damage of this facility. there is lack of communication between the technical team. we don't know how much is the real damage to the facilities. reports from different organizations, who, unicef, mostly damage because of the airstrikes in different places regarding two water facilities, pipelines, energy, desalination units. all of them were partially or

completely destructed by airstrikes. all of these things make it very challenging against combating climate change. woody the infrastructure to be able -- we need the infrastructure to be able to have water, energy security and the health sector that is been targeted by targeting the hospitals and the main facilities for treatment. amy: i want to bring nina in and ask you, we just talked about the international court of justice advocate that -- case that has been brought before them today. your recent article on israel's intent to fled gaza tunnels was cited by south africa in their case today. we just have a minute. can you talk about this? >> it has been cited as evidence

of the collective punishment. there is no life without water and food. any targeting of water and food resources, supplies is evidence of genocidal intent. just that work and also the work were talking about here regarding the climate impact, it shows in the situation the human suffering, environmental destruction, and the long-term climate impact are all related. the carbon emissions may seem small compared to the global admissions, but they will have a direct impact and indirect impact on palestine, israel, and all of us globally. i think the carbon analysis report this something that has not been thought about. this one's immediate environmental destruction

regarding the targeting of water and food supplies has to be -- impacts on the global climate. something we should be thinking about. amy: we have to leave it there, nina lakhani and hadeel ikhmais.