A NUMBER of events over the past week — principally the terrible floods in Spain, the Budget announcement at Westminster, the US presidential election, and the outcome of the Tory leadership contest — have provided the opportunity for Britain’s mass media to maintain almost a blanket of silence over Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and its invasion and bombing of Lebanon.

Of course, it is genuinely human to be shocked at the horrific images from Valencia and to feel compassion for the victims. The loss of life is truly dreadful and should be a reminder that urgent measures are needed to limit further global warming and to mitigate the effects of the warming that has already occurred.

But are not the lives and homes of non-Europeans in Palestine and Lebanon just as valuable — especially as they are suffering from a disaster which has been deliberately caused by Israel’s government and military?