In April 2024 an airstrike launched by Israel hit a three-car convoy in Gaza and killed seven innocent aid workers delivering food to starving children. It is one of countless ‘mistakes’ that the Israeli government have admitted to over the past few years.

The IDF’s own investigation into their own attack found the convoy was targeted in part because drone operators thought they saw someone entering a car with a rifle ‘but at the end of the day it was a bag’. Innocent victims included a Palestinian, three Brits, one Australian, one Pole and one Canadian-American.

Two years on, with much of the world’s attention now focused on Iran and Lebanon – for good reason – the situation in Gaza remains dire. A new report from the United Nations and the European Union says the cost of rebuilding the area destroyed by thousands and thousands of missiles will now reach over $70billion.

Over 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50% of hospitals are non-functional, nearly all schools destroyed or damaged, and the economy has contracted by 84% in Gaza. The report highlights a ‘catastrophic impact on human development’, which is estimated to have been set back by 77 years. Around 1.9 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60% of the population have lost their homes – so far.

This week Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ reportedly held talks with a Dubai-based logistics firm DP World over managing supply chains and infrastructure projects in Gaza – a company which in February replaced its former ceo Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem after he resigned due to ‘reputational concerns’ surrounding messages between him and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The company’s board must have decided that becoming involved in Gaza at this stage doesn’t bring with it a similar level of risk even as Israel continues to kill Palestinians in the midst of a supposed ceasefire. But the fact of the matter is that, for those interested in the bottom line, Gaza now represents little more than a brilliant investment opportunity.

Closer to home, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has been in Brussels this week, joining her Spanish and Slovenian counterparts in urging the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

They will assess Israel’s compliance with Article 2, which binds both parties to human rights obligations, in light of Israel’s new death-penalty law, escalating attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, and the invasion of Lebanon.

‘It’s completely unacceptable, and so we have asked for a suspension of the Israeli agreement, if not, then a suspension on the trade elements of the Israeli agreement,’ McEntee said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the long wait for the Occupied Territories Bill goes on…

And all that jazz

It’s known as the biggest small arts festival in the world, bringing people together through craic and culture. Now in its 20th year, Ballydehob Jazz Festival has grown in size and reputation every May Bank Holiday.

When the late John Fagan and friends started it in 2006, part of their mission was to jazz up the place, and save locals a journey to the Cork city jazz fest.

John stepped down from running it in 2010, but there’s no doubt he started something that’s now a permanent fixture in the Irish cultural calendar. A colourful affair people of all ages and backgrounds look forward to. Why is it so special? It’s run entirely by volunteers from the community. Apart from music in pubs and other venues, giant puppets and street circus shows put the spotlight on one of West Cork’s most artistic places.

And it’s that homegrown, wholesome atmosphere that attracts people from all over Ireland and beyond. It’s a big feat for a little village at the gateway to the Mizen. Hats off to all the volunteers and organisers, past and present. Or jazz hands even.