{
  "id": 12133231,
  "title": "Making a Killing: Who profits from slaughter in Gaza and Yemen?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/making-a-killing-who-profits-from-slaughter-in-gaza-and-yemen",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-05T10:52:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/making-killing-who-profits-slaughter-gaza-and-yemen"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In \"Making a Killing: How the West Profits from Slaughter in Gaza and Yemen,\" investigative group Shadow World Investigations, co-authored by Andrew Feinstein, Ruth Rohde, and Jack Cinamon, expose the staggering profits made from the conflicts in Gaza and Yemen. The book traces the $50 billion in profit from these wars and reveals the corruption at the heart of the military-industrial complex, which is its lifeblood. The project began in 2017, initially focusing on Yemen, but was expanded to include Gaza after the genocide started in 2023. The book features the voices of Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq and Yemen-based Mwatana for Human Rights founders Radhya al-Mutawakel and Abdulrasheed al-Faqih. Alnaouq, whose entire family was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, aims to uncover who profited from his family's murder. The authors detail how Western arms have enabled the war in Yemen, even after UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged to continue supporting Saudi Arabia. The relationship between Western powers and Saudi Arabia is rife with bribery and illegality, as seen in the Al-Yamamah arms deal between Saudi Arabia and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, allegedly worth up to £6 billion, with BAE Systems, the UK's largest weapons company, allegedly paying bribes and lavish gifts. Despite the high costs, arms deals account for 40% of corruption cases, facilitated by opaque deals and a revolving door between government officials and arms lobbyists. The authors argue that the blood-soaked cash circulates through corrupt politicians, lobby groups, and think tanks, ultimately undermining foreign policy for personal profit. They contend that the arms trade is the backbone of state power under US hegemony, with Israel and Saudi Arabia representing strategic poles of maintaining US power in the Middle East. The book reveals how foreign policy often takes place outside democratic contestation, with decisions made in corporate suites unaffected by public protests.",
  "summary": "Making a Killing: Who profits from slaughter in Gaza and Yemen? Submitted by Fleur Hargreaves on Thu, 10/01/2026 - 17:23 New book by Andrew Feinstein traces $50bn in profit from the genocide in Gaza BAE Systems' stand at the Defence and Security Equipment International fair at the ExCeL centre, in east London, on 9 September 2025 (AFP/Adrian Dennis) Off “The global trade in weapons is a business…",
  "key_points": [
    "$50 billion in profit from conflicts in Gaza and Yemen",
    "Western arms enable war in Yemen despite UK's pledge",
    "Arms trade is backbone of state power under US hegemony"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}