Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Palestine
The mother of a young German woman believed to have been abducted in Israel and transported into Gaza has appealed for help as concern for her daughter mounts.
Shani Louk is feared dead after her family confirmed she attended a music festival near Kibbutz Re'im, where dozens of people are believed to have been killed or taken hostage by Hamas operatives.
"This morning my daughter, Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas," Ricarda Louk said in a video message shared by German media outlet Bild.
In the video, she holds up a photo of her daughter and later shares a photo of her passport.
“We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip. I ask you to send us any help or any news. Thank you very much.”
Israel's army has confirmed a "significant number" of people have been taken hostage by Hamas, which has been pummelled by Israeli air strikes since Saturday.
Shani Louk, who was attending a festival near the Gaza border, is widely suspected to have appeared in graphic video on social media, where Palestinian militants can be seen stepping on the body of a young woman in the back of a pick-up.
It is unclear if the woman in the video is alive.
Ms Louk's cousin told The Washington Post the missing woman's parents have watched the video and confirmed it was her.
Her boyfriend, a Brazilian, has also been confirmed missing, while other relatives told German media her credit card has been used in Gaza.
In a separate video, a woman identified as Noa Argamani, can be seen yelling "don't kill me" as she is driven toward Gaza on the back of a motorbike. An elderly woman was also seen being driven around Gaza in a golf cart.
'Tree-to-tree shooting'
This weekend has marked the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades.
Almost 1,000 people have been killed so far, with no sign of an end to the conflict.
Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it would provide details of the hostages later on Sunday and Israel has set up a command centre to trace all those who are missing.
A British-Israeli man has also been confirmed as missing after attending the music festival.
Jake Marlowe was working as part of a security team at the festival, his mother told Jewish News.
Mr Marlowe "called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over”, Lisa Harlowe told the outlet.
"Then, at about 5.30am, he texted to say, ‘signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you,' and that he loves me."
Israel's ambassador to Britain confirmed that British national was missing, but said it was not known whether he had been taken hostage.
Survivors of the attack on the festival have criticised the slow response from security forces.
"We were there for such a long time and no one was there. No army, no police. Nothing," Gilli Yoskovich told BBC News.
She said Hamas members were going tree-to-tree to shoot people.
"From two sides. I saw people were dying all around."
Several foreign workers are also believed to have been taken hostage.
Thailand confirmed two of its citizens were killed in the violence and at least 11 Thai workers are said to have been kidnapped.
Several Nepalis are also reported to be missing.
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Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
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4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
