Israeli Bombs Pushing Towards Climate Devastation

Israeli bombs in Gaza are massacring Palestinians and pushing us towards climate devastation

By
Mediha Rasul
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In the ongoing Israeli onslaught, Gazans are being subjected to indiscriminate and persistent bombardment, with safe havens such as hospitals, schools and refugee camps all being targeted by Israeli forces resulting in more than 11,000 Palestinian civilians killed including more than 4,000 children. The Gaza Strip is a densely populated area, home to over 2.3 million Palestinians, 50% of whom are children. Gaza has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007. The denial of basic resources, including water, has left the 2 million-plus population, with an average of just 3 litres of water a day. 

Read More: Climate Oppression, Eco-Apartheid & Palestinian Occupation

In addition to the ongoing humanitarian disaster and genocide of the Palestinian population, Israel’s bombing of Gaza is pushing us towards a climate catastrophe. The vast amount of explosives and the emissions produced as a result risks pushing the Earth beyond planetary boundaries, causing irreversible environmental damage. With the support of major Western powers such as the US and the UK, Israel is committing war crimes and destroying the planet in the process. 

US Funding Genocide & Global Climate Devastation

The United States (US) continued and unequivocal support of Israel through diplomatic, military, and financial means, alongside rejecting calls for a ceasefire has enabled Israel to act with impunity. Artillery & machinery from US companies including Woodward Inc, and General Nucleonics are being used in the current and past attacks on Gaza. At the time of writing, Israel has dropped over 25,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza since October 7, 2023, equal to two nuclear bombs. With the number of children killed in Gaza in the past month surpassing annual child death tolls across all conflict zones as of 2019, the devastation of continued violence cannot be overstated. 

Israel’s use of white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip, illegal under Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980), has been extensively reported by Human Rights Watch. Under the Protocol, the use of incendiary weapons and devices on civilian populations is strictly prohibited. Despite the existence of these international conventions and laws, Israel continues to bomb the besieged strip while the civilians have nowhere to go. 

Every dollar the US spends on the military increases global GHG emissions while diverting financial resources, skills and attention away from addressing climate change.

Environmental Consequences 

Israel’s use of white phosphorus also represents an environmental concern, causing widespread contamination of soil, water, and air. The toxic pollution and contamination produced by missiles, bombs and white phosphorus cause long-term environmental harm, affecting local ecosystems and wildlife. For a population already suffering under occupation and complete blockade, the contamination of food supplies by white phosphorus and bombs is devastating, increasing food insecurity and vulnerability of the population.

The relentless bombing of Gaza is pushing the Earth beyond its planetary boundaries—the environmental limits beyond which the Earth is at risk of irreversible change and environmental degradation. 

The excessive bombing of Gaza has led to an increase in GHG emissions contributing to global warming and climate change. Widespread destruction caused by the bombings has reduced vegetation and biodiversity, disrupting the local ecosystems and contributing to the advancement of land system changes. The destruction of infrastructure further advances ecological thresholds, through the need to rebuild and intensive resource use, further increasing emissions. Similarly, the targeting of hospitals, schools and sanitation systems necessitates extensive rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of violence. These often require the extraction of resources, placing greater pressure on already scarce resources.  

Prioritizing War Over Climate Action

Despite persistent calls from the scientific and climate community for the urgent need for climate action, Western countries continue to support military operations fuelling climate crisis, instead of allocating funds to climate action. World militaries account for 6% of global GHG emissions, with the US military alone being the largest institutional source of GHG emissions. 

America’s $158 billion in bilateral assistance in the form of military aid and missile defence funding to Israel, showcases US complicity in Israel’s war crimes and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as well as projecting the nation’s focus on geopolitics as opposed to climate change and action. 

The Biden administration is knowingly investing US taxpayer money towards a genocidal apartheid regime when the promised $100 billion of annual climate finance funding to developing nations bearing the brunt of climate change remains unfulfilled.

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