An Israeli student who had three of her family members killed and six others kidnapped by Hamas is calling for a peaceful political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying that “killing more Palestinians will not bring peace to Israel.”
Shira Havron, 28, said despite the violence and trauma inflicted by the militant group, her family's message is that “this war is horrific," and that only equal rights for everyone will guarantee peace.
“It is awful to see innocent civilians and children being killed in Gaza. Everyone deserves human rights. This killing of more Palestinians will never work. It has never worked,” Ms Havron told The National.
A total 11 members of her family initially went missing after October 7 when Hamas launched the ‘Al Aqsa Flood’ attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Ms Havron, who was on holiday in London that weekend, said she was able to stay in touch with her family members for some time, but soon lost contact.
Later, it was found that three members of her family including her uncle were murdered by Hamas. Six other relatives, including Ms Havron's cousin Adi Shoham, 38, Adi's husband Taal, and their two kids, Nave, 8, and Yahel, 3, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri, which lies only five kilometres from the Gaza border.
Five of the family members including Ms Shoham and her two kids returned on Sunday as part of the Qatar-negotiated truce and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. But Taal remains in Gaza.
“We got a gift,” Ms Havron said of her family’s safe release while dozens of hostages are still in Gaza, their fate unknown, as the war has resumed with grave intensity.
Gazans don't deserve to be killed
Israel announced it hit over 400 targets since the truce ended on Friday, which resulted in the killing of 200 people in Gaza.
Ms Havron said it is difficult for the family to celebrate while Taal is in Gaza. “There is no closure yet until he is back along with everyone else.”
She is caught in the midst of the gruelling emotional battle to bring home the hostages. She even travelled to Brussels to speak at rallies and meet EU parliamentarians to push for a speedy release of the hostages.
Ms Shoham says she is aware of the causes of Palestinian resistance but she condemns violence.
“I know what Hamas did. I know the Palestinian resistance and why they are doing it. But there is a difference between resistance and violence. What they did on October 7 was not resistance.”
In the same breath, she emphasised that civilians in Gaza, especially children, “should be the last ones to get killed in this war.”
“We do not want anyone in Gaza to endure this death and misery. As a family, it is important for me to say that we stand for peace.”
“What we want is a political and peaceful solution and not a military solution to the crisis. That is the only way forward.”
Mother worries for asthmatic son
Over the past week as guns fell silent, Hamas released 80 Israeli women, children and teenagers as part of a truce agreement in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Hamas also released 25 others including Thai workers.
But with the war resuming, the fate of more than 120 Israeli hostages is hanging in the balance, and families say they feel helpless.
Among those holding their breath is Maayan Sherman whose son Ron Sherman, 19, a soldier in the Israeli army, was taken hostage while he was sleeping at his base.
Ms Sherman said Ron has severe asthma and she fears he does not have access to his inhaler.
"I do not know how he will survive in a tunnel without his medication," Ms Sherman, a veterinary doctor, told The National.
As the Israel-Hamas truce deal involved women, children and the elderly, Ms Sherman said she did not even have the room to hope for his release.
"I know they will not release him as he is a soldier. He is a strong and positive person. I know he is good at dealing with any situation. That is my only strength," she said.
She explained that she feels helpless and unable to think. "I want this war to end and my son to come back. All we can do is protest and pressure the government to bring the hostages home."
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
Mission%3A%20Impossible%20-%20Dead%20Reckoning%20Part%20One
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Christopher%20McQuarrie%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tom%20Cruise%2C%20Hayley%20Atwell%2C%20Pom%20Klementieff%2C%20Simon%20Pegg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
