This week’s edition of Friday Focus begins with a discussion of the forces that propelled a return to hostilities in Gaza. How is Israel likely to fight its campaign to remove Hamas as a military force in the refugee congested southern regions of the territory? Will Hamas consider more hostage releases in the future and on what terms? The second half of the program turns to the kick-off of COP 28 in the United Arab Emirates. Is COP, as the world’s supposedly leading climate confab, still relevant when each of its meetings seem purpose built to generate litanies of promises that never seem to materialize?