FRONTLINES OF WAR AND NATURE WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR IN 2024

The year 2024 will be a critical one.

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The future of Gaza and the West Bank may hinge in part on whether Donald Trump returns to the White House - as may the outcome of the war in Ukraine. China will be locked in a race against time as its population ages. And the natural world will reach a new series of tipping points. As well as gloomy forecasts, there are some reasons for cautious optimism.

Gaza conflict could spread to the West Bank

The fifth and bloodiest Gaza war has not shown any sign of slowing or stopping. What "the day after" in Gaza will look like is unclear.

Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out allowing control of Gaza to revert to the West Bank's corrupt Palestinian Authority, which is in any case deeply unpopular with the Palestinian public. Israel's far-right coalition government is unstable, but Netanyahu is determined to stay in office.

The fighting could spread to occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where Hamas has active cells and higher levels of popular support. The risk of escalation between Israel and the formidable Iran-backed Shia faction Hezbollah to the north in Lebanon remains high. Bethan McKernan, Jerusalem correspondent

Crisis points for the natural world

Alongside increasingly alarming warnings about the state of Earth's climate, the natural world is reaching a new series of crisis points. Wildlife populations have plunged by an average of almost 70% since 1970. Climate tipping points are approaching and our planet is on course to breach the 1.5C climate threshold by 2027.

Humans are driving the largest loss of life since the time of the dinosaurs, and governments have repeatedly failed to take action, never meeting a single UN target on biodiversity loss.