WARSAW, Poland — Poland will use antipersonnel as well as anti-tank land mines to defend its eastern border against the growing threat from Russia, Poland’s deputy defense minister told The Associated Press on Friday as the country officially left an international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons.

The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatories from keeping or using antipersonnel mines, which can last for years and are known for having caused large-scale suffering among civilians in former conflict zones in countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Poland, which ratified the document in 2012 and completed the destruction of its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016, withdrew from the treaty on Friday and says it plans to renew manufacturing weapons.

“These mines are one of the most important elements of the defense structure we are constructing on the eastern flank of NATO, in Poland, on the border with Russia in the north and with Belarus in the east,” Paweł Zalewski, Poland’s deputy defense minister, said.

He said Poland needed to defend itself against Russia, a country which “has very aggressive intentions vis a vis its neighbors” and which itself never committed to the international land mine ban treaty.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearby countries have been reassessing their participation in the international treaty. Last year, Warsaw joined Finland, the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Ukraine to announce it would leave the treaty.

Russia is one of nearly three dozen countries that have never acceded to the Ottawa treaty, alongside the United States.

Zalewski said that Poland will begin domestic production of both antipersonnel and anti-tank land mines, adding that the government would cooperate with Polish producers. He said Poland was aiming for self-sufficiency.

Land mines are an explosive weapon that’s placed on or just under the ground and blows up when a person or a vehicle crosses over them. Anti-tank mines, which are designed not to be triggered by a person’s weight, are not forbidden by the Ottawa Convention.

Speaking on Thursday after attending a demonstration of Bluszcz, an unmanned vehicle designed to distribute anti-tank mines produced by Polish company Belma S.A. and a military research institute, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would “soon” have the ability to mine its eastern borders within 48 hours in case of a threat.

Given the length of the country’s eastern borders, he said, “a lot” of land mines will be needed.

Poland plans to prepare mine stockpiles as part of the so-called Eastern Shield, a system of enhanced fortifications Poland has been building on its borders with Belarus and Russia since 2024, Zalewski said.

But he said that Poland would only deploy the mines along its borders “when there is a realistic threat of Russian aggression.”

“We very much respect our territory and we don’t want to exclude it from day to day use for the Polish citizens,” Zalewski said.

Human rights groups have condemned moves to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that anti-personnel mines are too dangerous to civilians.

But Zalewski responded that the country is striking a balance by keeping the mines in reserve unless the country faces attack.

“We are not an aggressive country,” he said, “but we have to use all means to deter Russia.”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Brit cops were seen on the Sandringham Estate Thursday morning — on Andrew’s 66th birthday.

Six unmarked police cars and around eight plain clothed officers had arrived at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in eastern England earlier on Thursday.

One officer was seen carrying a police-issued laptop.

Thames Valley police — the force that patrols the area encompassing his former home, Royal Lodge — also carried out a search at a Berkshire property.

Last week, Andrew was reported to Thames Valley Police – the force that patrols the area encompassing his former home, Royal Lodge – over alleged misconduct in public office.

An anti-monarchy campaigner reported Andrew after it emerged the ex-royal had allegedly shared trade docs with Epstein.

Trade envoys must keep details about their trips confidential – even when they are no longer in post under the Official Secrets Act.

Thames Valley cops confirmed they were talking with prosecutors over whether to launch a criminal investigation.

Vince Cable, who served as Board of Trade president between 2010 and 2015, accused Andrew of having “ruthlessly exploited” the role of trade envoy, according to the Times of London.

Andrew was initially investigated over long-running claims by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre that she was made to have sex with him three times — starting when she was 17 — on orders from Epstein and his madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew was never charged and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

However, he paid millions of pounds to Giuffre in a civil settlement, while denying wrongdoing. He also lost his royal duties and titles over the scandal of his close friendship with Epstein and Maxwell.

LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children.

Meta’s CEO is expected to answer tough questions on Wednesday from attorneys representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.

Zuckerberg has testified in other trials and answered questions from Congress about youth safety on Meta’s platforms, and he apologized to families at that hearing whose lives had been upended by tragedies they believed were because of social media. This trial, though, marks the first time Zuckerberg will answer similar questions in front of a jury. and, again, bereaved parents are expected to be in the limited courtroom seats available to the public.

The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out.

A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit and said they are “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

One of Meta’s attorneys, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company is not disputing that KGM experienced mental health struggles, but rather that Instagram played a substantial factor in those struggles. He pointed to medical records that showed a turbulent home life, and both he and an attorney representing YouTube argue she turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles.

Zuckerberg’s testimony comes a week after that of Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta’s Instagram, who said in the courtroom that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. Mosseri maintained that Instagram works hard to protect young people using the service, and said it’s “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being.”

Much of Mosseri’s questioning from the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, centered on cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance — a topic that Lanier is sure to revisit with Zuckerberg. He is also expected to face questions about Instagram’s algorithm, the infinite nature of Meta’ feeds and other features the plaintiffs argue are designed to get users hooked.

Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began last week.

BERLIN — An injured seabird sought help by pecking at the door of an emergency room at a hospital in Germany until medical staff noticed it and called firefighters to help with its rescue.

The cormorant, a shiny black waterbird, had a triple fishing hook stuck in its beak when it made its presence known at the glass door of the Klinikum Links der Weser hospital in the northern city of Bremen on Sunday.

In a joint effort, medical staff and firefighters removed the fishhook and treated the wound, the Bremen firefighter department said in a statement. The bird was later released back into nature on the grounds of the hospital park.

“When an injured cormorant does approach humans, it is usually an animal in extreme distress that has lost its natural shyness,” the statement said.

A cormorant is a large bird with a long neck, wedge-shaped head and a distinctive sharp beak with a hooked tip. A fishhook in the bird’s beak would be extremely dangerous for the animal. Infections, pain and even starvation are possible, the firefighter department said.

BRUSSELS — European allies at NATO on Thursday brushed aside concerns that the United States has stepped back from its leadership role of the world’s biggest security organization, leaving them and Canada to do the lion’s share of defending Europe.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend Thursday’s gathering of defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. His no-show came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the last meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December.

It’s rare for members of a U.S. administration to miss a meeting of the organization’s top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, at the level of ministers, let alone two meetings in a row. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby was sent in Hegseth’s place.

“Sadly for him, he is missing a good party,” Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir told reporters. “Of course, it’s always better that the ministers attend here, but I would not describe it as a bad signal.”

“I’m not disappointed,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “Each of us has a full agenda. And one time the American defense minister is here, and one time not, so it’s his decision and his duties he has to fulfill.”

When asked what NATO’s purpose was in its infancy in 1949, NATO’s first secretary-general, the British general and diplomat Lord Hastings Ismay, was reputed to have replied: “To keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.”

Nowadays, Germany is stepping up. After Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, it vowed to spend 100 billion euros ($118 billion) to modernize its armed forces in coming years.

A big part of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s job is to keep the Americans in.

“They have to take care of the whole world. This is the United States,” Rutte told reporters before chairing the meeting. “I totally accept it, agree with it.”

“They have always consistently pleaded for Europe doing more, Canada doing more, taking more care of the defense of NATO territory, of course in conjunction with the United States,” he said.

That means more European spending on conventional weapons and defense, while the U.S. guarantees NATO’s nuclear deterrent.

But doubts linger, and surprises from the Trump administration cannot be ruled out. Allies still wonder whether more U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Europe.

“What for me is the most important is the no-surprise policy that has been agreed between the NATO secretary-general and the U.S.,” Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.

Publicly at least, the Trump administration is doing much less at NATO. A year ago, Hegseth warned that America’s security priorities lie elsewhere and that Europe would have to look after itself, and Ukraine in its battle against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Supplies of U.S. guns and money that were sent to Ukraine by the previous administration of President Joe Biden have dried up under Trump. European allies and Canada are obliged to buy weapons from the United States to donate now.

Western backers of Ukraine were also meeting at NATO on Thursday to drum up more military support. A scheme proudly championed by the Pentagon under Biden, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is now chaired by the U.K. and Germany.

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey announced that Britain would provide “an extra half a billion pounds ($682 million) in urgent air defense to Ukraine. This is Britain being a force for good in the world, building a new deal for European security within NATO.”

Sweden also intends to fund the purchase of more American weapons. The Netherlands will send more flight simulators to help Ukrainian fighter pilots train to fly F-16 jets.

The one “deliverable” from Thursday’s meeting was the announcement that NATO would launch Arctic Sentry, its response to U.S. security concerns in the high north, and an attempt to dissuade Trump from trying to seize Greenland.

It’s ostensibly aimed at countering Russian and Chinese activities or influence in the Arctic region.

But Arctic Sentry is essentially a rebranding exercise. National drills already underway in the region, like those run by Denmark and Norway, will be brought under the NATO umbrella and overseen by the organization’s military chief.

It is not a long-term NATO operation or mission.

Denmark, France, Germany will take part in the “military activities” happening under Arctic Sentry, but they have not said in what way. Finland and Sweden are likely to get involved. Belgium is considering what role it might play.

It remains unclear what role, if any, the United States will take.

“It can’t just be more from the United States,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said ahead of Thursday’s meeting. “We need capable allies that are ready and strong, that can bring assets to all of these areas of our collective security.”

Trump’s renewed threats last month to annex Greenland — a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark — have deeply shaken the rest of the alliance. NATO’s primary role is to defend the territory of its 32 member states, not to undermine it.

European allies and Canada hope that Arctic Sentry and ongoing talks between the Trump administration, Denmark and Greenland will allow NATO to move on from the dispute and focus on Europe’s real security priority, Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the Arctic security arrangement at least means that “we stop having some food fights over the Atlantic.”

“I think that the Greenland saga was not the best moment of NATO (over) the last 76 years,” he told reporters. “It was a crisis that was not needed.”

The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday.

The slow rise in the number of dead from the demonstrations adds to the overall tensions facing Iran both inside the country and abroad as it tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program.

A second round of talks remains up in the air as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case directly with US President Donald Trump to intensify his demands on Tehran in the negotiations.

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference,” Trump wrote afterward on his TruthSocial website.

“Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit. … That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible.”

Meanwhile, Iran at home faces still-simmering anger over its wide-ranging suppression of all dissent in the Islamic Republic.

That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin marking the traditional 40-day mourning for the loved ones.

Activists’ death toll slowly rises

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths.

The slow rise in the death toll has come as the agency slowly is able to crosscheck information as communication remains difficult with those inside of the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

The rise in the death toll comes as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program.

Diplomacy over Iran continues

Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani met Wednesday in Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Qatar hosts a major US military installation that Iran attacked in June, after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

Larijani also met with officials of the Palestinian Hamas militant group, and in Oman with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on Tuesday.

Larijani told Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network that Iran did not receive any specific proposal from the US in Oman, but acknowledged that there was an “exchange of messages.”

Qatar has been a key negotiator in the past with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.

Its state-run Qatar News Agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” without elaborating.

The US has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so.

Already, US forces have shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a US-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Trump told the news website Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” he said.

Concern over Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was “deeply appalled by credible reports detailing the brutal arrest, physical abuse and ongoing life‑threatening mistreatment” of 2023 Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

The committee that awards the prize said it had information Mohammadi had been beaten during her arrest in December and continued to be mistreated. It called for her immediate and unconditional release.

“She continues to be denied adequate, sustained medical follow‑up while being subjected to heavy interrogation and intimidation,” the committee said. “She has fainted several times, suffers from dangerously high blood pressure and has been prevented from accessing necessary follow‑up for suspected breast tumors.”

Iran just sentenced Mohammadi, 53, to over seven more years in prison. Supporters had warned for months before her arrest that she was at risk of being put back into prison after she received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Tropical Cyclone Gezani made landfall in Madagascar’s main port city, unleashing winds that collapsed houses and left at least nine people dead on the Indian Ocean island, authorities said Wednesday.

Wind speeds exceeded 195 kph (121 mph) and Madagascar’s weather service issued red alerts for several regions, warning of possible floods and landslides as Gezani moved across the largely poor country of 31 million people.

Madagascar, battered by another deadly cyclone less than two weeks earlier, is especially vulnerable to cyclones blowing in off the Indian Ocean.

The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said at least nine people died as buildings collapsed and at least 19 people were injured as Gezani made landfall late Tuesday in the eastern city of Toamasina.

Toamasna, the island’s main port with around 300,000 residents, bore the brunt of the cyclone and sustained severe damage, residents told The Associated Press.

Madagascar President Michael Randrianirina, who took power in a military coup in October, visited Toamasina to survey damage and meet residents, according to videos posted on the Facebook page of the president’s office. The videos showed flooded neighborhoods, homes and shops with windows blown out and roofs blown off, and trees and other debris strewn across the streets.

“It’s devastation. Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted. It looks like a catastrophic landscape,” Toamasina resident Michel, who gave only his first name, said over the phone.

Power has been cut off in Toamasina since Tuesday.

Gezani moved across Madagascar from east to west on Wednesday, weakening to a tropical storm as it moved inland, according to the national weather service.

The storm passed around 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo, which is one of the regions under a red alert warning for possible flooding.

On Jan. 31, Tropical Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people in Madagascar and displaced more than 85,000, according to the risk and disaster management agency.

Cyclone season in Madagascar is from around November to March and brings recurring weather disasters for one of the world’s poorest countries, which barely has time to recover before another hits.

Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island, has been impacted by more than a dozen tropical storms or cyclones since 2020. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction say they cause an estimated $85 million worth of damage to infrastructure each year that impedes the nation’s development.

Forecasts showed Gezani was expected to move into the Mozambique channel between Madagascar and Africa’s east coast on Thursday and warned it might strengthen into a tropical cyclone again and turn back toward Madagascar’s southwest coast next week.

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AP Africa news:

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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn, racing on a badly injured left knee, crashed early in the Olympic downhill on Sunday and was taken off the course by a helicopter after the 41-year-old American received medical attention on the snow for long, anguished minutes.

Vonn lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight and was spun around in the air. She was heard screaming out after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel before she was strapped to a gurney and flown away by a helicopter, possibly ending the skier’s storied career. Her condition was not immediately known, with the U.S. Ski Team saying simply she would be evaluated.

Breezy Johnson, Vonn’s teammate, won gold and became only the second American woman to win the Olympic downhill after Vonn did it 16 years ago. The 30-year-old Johnson held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day for Team USA.

Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds on the course. Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course she knows so well and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.

Vonn’s crash was “tragic, but it’s ski racing,” said Johan Eliasch, president of the Internationl Ski and Snowboard Federation.

“I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport,” he said, “because this race has been the talk of the games and it’s put our sport in the best possible light.”

All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She had returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a remarkable decision given her age but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee, too. Many wondered how she would fare as she sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings and was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.

Still, no one counted her out even then. In truth, she has skied through injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events she’d planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.

“It’s definitely weird,” she said then, “going from the hospital bed to the start gate.”

Cortina has always had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins. She is called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course that had always suited Vonn. She tested out the knee twice in downill training runs over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny conditions.

“This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”

After the crash, the celebration for the medalists was held and fellow skiers thought about Vonn’s legacy.

“She has been my idol since I started watching ski racing,” said Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. “We still have a World Cup to do after Olympics … I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly shows up on the start gate, but the crash didn’t look good.”

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AP Olympics:

WASHINGTON — With the last remaining Israeli hostage finally returned home, the real work of rebuilding Gaza is now beginning, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee exclusively told The Post.

“It’s just now really starting to take hold. Things will start moving much more rapidly now that the hostages are back,” he said. “Quite frankly, the Israelis were in no mood to start building a new life for people in Gaza until Hamas was finally held responsible for the last of the hostages.”

Israel on Jan. 26 recovered Israeli police officer Ran Gvili’s body, which Hamas had taken to Gaza after killing him on Oct. 7, 2023. With that final return, Huckabee said, Gaza is entering a new and daunting phase: the slow, incremental resurrection of a territory left in “absolute ruins” after years of war.

“This isn’t going to be an event; it’s going to be a process,” he said. “People will begin to move out of areas that are really dangerous — the red zones — into the green zones. Housing is being constructed. Utilities will be restored.”

Materials and now flowing into the territory with the first steps involving the installation of pre-fabricated homes “so people can start a new life and maybe have a future in Gaza,” he said.

“People will be able to access not just housing, but utilities that work — rebuilding a society pretty much from the rubble of a war that never should have lasted this long,” he said.

“Rebuilding from scratch”

Huckabee cautioned that the rebuild won’t be an overnight fix; the extent of the destruction could stretch out the timeline — especially depending on global commitment and funding.

“We’re talking years,” Huckabee said. “It could be two, three years. It could be 10 years. A lot of it depends on how many nations actually step up.”

Oversight of Gaza’s reconstruction will fall to a technocratic governing committee tasked with the gritty, real-world work of restoring Gaza’s infrastructure.

“This is the heavy lifting,” Huckabee said. “Electricity. Water. Sewer. Roads. Cell towers. Internet. These are not political appointees looking for an office and a badge — these are people with real skills who know how to make things work.”

Most of the technocrats, he said, will come from Arab and Muslim states in the region, chosen for technical expertise rather than politics.

“If you’re rebuilding a society from scratch, you need people who actually know how to run things,” Huckabee said. “You need people who can build sewer systems, water systems, power grids, communications networks.”

The committee falls under President Trump’s international “Board of Peace,” which Huckabee said is focused more on the funding and enforcement of standards. To date, the board’s members include 25 member states — but European Union countries have so far refused to sign on.

“I find it interesting that some of the nations that criticized Israel the most — saying they weren’t doing enough humanitarian work — you’d be hard pressed to find them doing the heavy lifting right now,” Huckabee said. “A lot of them have talked. They haven’t walked.”

A central responsibility of the group will be ensuring Hamas or other extremist networks do not infiltrate the reconstruction effort — whether through aid groups, contractors, or payrolls.

“You’ve got to make sure the people getting paychecks and doing the rebuilding don’t have ties to terrorists,” he said. “Israel has been through too much to be careless about that.”

Beyond rebuilding streets and buildings, Huckabee said Gaza must undergo a deeper transformation — including a complete overhaul of an education system he said has fueled hatred for decades.

“Education will be restored to something that no longer incites children to hate Jews or want to kill them,” he said. “That’s been part of the curriculum in Gaza for over 20 years. That’s got to stop. And it’s going to stop.”

A brighter future

Looking ahead, Huckabee pointed to Jared Kushner’s ambitious vision of transforming Gaza’s Mediterranean coastline into a thriving economic and tourism hub — a future he said investors are beginning to take more seriously as stability improves.

“People have scoffed at that vision,” Huckabee said. “But we’re in a very different place than we were a month ago. A year from now, we’re going to be in a much better place.”

He argued Gaza’s collapse was not inevitable — saying it could have become a Middle Eastern success story decades ago if not for Hamas’ grip on power.

“Gaza could have been Singapore,” Huckabee said. “Instead, they turned it into Haiti.”

To underscore the scale of Hamas’ militarization, he described Gaza as small in size but hollowed out by terror infrastructure beneath the surface.

“All of Gaza is about the size of Las Vegas,” Huckabee said. “And underneath it is a tunnel system larger than the London Underground — more than 500 miles — not to get kids to school or people to hospitals, but to shelter terror activity and hide hostages.”

Much of that underground tunnel system was destroyed in the war — along with most everything that sat above it outside of Gaza City, making the rebuild process exceedingly daunting.

“We’re rebuilding a society pretty much from the rubble of a war that never should have lasted this long,” Huckabee said, placing full responsibility for the war’s length on Hamas dragging out the conflict.

“I hope people never forget why this lasted this long,” he said. “It lasted this long because Hamas refused to let the hostages go. They held on and held on — killing people, torturing people, raping hostages, starving hostages.”

But with the war’s end and hostages now home, Huckabee said Gaza’s rebuild is finally moving in the right direction.

“It’s a gargantuan undertaking,” he said. “But we are in a better place than we were a week ago, two weeks ago, a month ago — and it’s moving forward.”