War and natural disasters ravaged an increasingly unsettled Middle East throughout 2023, further straining countries already hit by worsening economic conditions and affected by extreme weather fueled by climate change.
By the end of the year, a multitude of heads of nations gathered for the United Nations climate talks, COP28, in Dubai, the skyscraper-studded city-state in the United Arab Emirates. But that luxury contrasted against the raging war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the militant group’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Meanwhile, the aftermath of other conflicts and political uncertainty simmered across the wider Mideast.
