Gaza reconstruction stalled as attacks continue, analyst says

“To the person attempting to reduce the total decimation of Gaza to a simple, isolated ‘cause-and-effect’ equation: cause and effect is a long historical chain, not a single day in history. But if you want to look at physical effects, the reality is that dropping thousands of tons of explosives has permanently poisoned the soil, destroyed the coastal ecosystem, caused agonising suffering to innocent children and living sentient beings. No amount of clinical political logic can intellectualise away thought horrific reality or the long-term environmental damage to our planet.”

One of the stupidest war ever is why would you want to attack a State/Country that is more powerful that you?<br>That is like Taiwan attacking China or Hamas attacking Israel?<br>You&#39;d think Hamas has learned this when the Arabs were defeated by Israel in the 6 day war. 🤔🤔🤭🤭<br>I mean seriously, these guys (Hamas) just go and commit atrocities and didn&#39;t think that there&#39;s any repercussions? <br>With all the gains that Israel is making; I&#39;m surprised that Gaza hasn&#39;t been annexed - oh wait, you can&#39;t do that anymore it&#39;s against International Law 🤔🤔🤭🤭

Israel has decimated a beautiful country &amp; consistently continues. I don’t see them picking up pieces of human flesh from the bombings of—Quadcopter&#39;s, TANKS, IDF— unrecognisable bodies of dead children, families, Donkeys 🫏, Horses, and other animals, I recall seeing a cat 🐱 laying on its side struggling to breathe because most of it’s face had been blown off..a horse 🐎 laying awkwardly badly injured..still trying to hold on to what little life there was the sounds of its pain seared into my brain.<br>When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being, a friend, I feel a soul.<br>All these souls are sentient… children, families and animals. <br>The land is soaked in blood..dangerous chemicals leaching from the bombs soaking into the soil, extreme environmental conditions persist and will affect the planet’s ecosystem especially being so close to the ocean, for many, many decades to come!

I wanted to know a bit more about Sultan Barakat because of this highly interesting interview at Al Jazeera. This is what I found:
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<br>He is a professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (1. January 1952 – 12. July 2026) was Emir of Qatar from 1995 until his abdication in 2013. He was also prime minister of Qatar from 1995 to 1996.
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<br>&quot;Sheikh Hamad crossed into Gaza through Egypt, becoming the first Arab head of state to visit the enclave after Hamas assumed power in 2007. He announced approximately $400 million in funding for reconstruction projects, including housing developments, roads, hospitals and public infrastructure.
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<br>Those investments &quot;helped rebuild neighborhoods damaged during repeated Israeli military assaults and wars&quot; and &quot;established Qatar as one of Gaza’s principal reconstruction partners&quot;. The policies adopted during Sheikh Hamad’s reign laid the foundations for Qatar’s continuing role in Gaza, including its later mediation efforts and humanitarian assistance under his successor, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
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<br>That translated into sustained financial support to Hamas and political engagement with Hamas. While Doha provided political backing to Hamas and invested heavily in Gaza, it also hosted the largest American military installation in the Middle East, a cornerstone of Washington’s regional security strategy.
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<br>Earlier in Sheikh Hamad’s rule, Qatar also maintained limited official relations with Israel, including an Israeli trade office in Doha. Yet for many Palestinians, especially in Gaza, those contradictions are weighed against something more tangible: When reconstruction was desperately needed, Qatar financed it; When Gaza was politically isolated, Sheikh Hamad visited; When many governments sought distance from Hamas, Doha maintained dialogue.&quot;
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<br>Source: Remembering Sheikh Hamad: His Legacy in Palestine and the Middle East. The Palestine Chronicle July 12, 2026
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<br>Conclusion:
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<br>Looks to me that Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was behind Qatar`s political and financial support to Hamas. And that Sultan Barakat is just one of many well connected and very powerful people who continue that Qatar&#39;s support to Hamas also today together with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is the current Emir of Qatar.

Countries that don&#39;t have elections, are called non democratic, and that&#39;s probably true. But if the leadership does everything to invest in the country, develop its economy, works for the benefit of its population- health, education, employment etc- and there is an overall environment of contentment, then you don&#39;t actually need elections. To replace a functioning leadership with what...