Israel’s troops reached the heart of Khan Younis early this week, as the focus of its relentless war on Hamas shifted to the south of Gaza.
The horror of life in the city is captured by Belal Khaled’s arresting cover photograph for this week’s Guardian Weekly magazine. Peter Beaumont reports from the region amid bleak scenes and growing despair.
As many question when will it all end, opinion writer Jonathan Freedland argues that if Israel is hoping to slay the Hamas monster, its lethal bombardment of Gaza may well, in fact, be feeding it.
The Cop28 climate summit this week agreed to a deal that, for the first time, calls on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels. We’ll have more analysis and reflection on what this means in next week’s edition. For now, Jonathan Watts reminds us what is at stake if the 1.5C target for global heating is missed.
And Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, tells Patrick Greenfield why he thinks fears that green policies that lead to reduced living standards are driving the rise of the far right across the world.
Our 2023 Christmas appeal has launched, helping charities that support refugees to rebuild their lives in safety. It’s the timeliest of appeals, given the controversies surrounding the Rwanda bill in the UK, and also alongside an investigation revealing more than a thousand unmarked graves along migration routes in the EU.
With the holiday season fast approaching there’s a lovely rumination by the Observer’s Miranda Saywer on the joy and power of writing letters, an increasingly overlooked skill in today’s world of instant messaging and social media.
Finally, as the year nears its end, our entire Culture section is devoted to the best books of 2023. Whether it’s fiction, food, politics or people, you’ll find great reading to keep you or a loved one happily engrossed into the new year.
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