Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
UN officials will inspect the cargo of lorries carrying water, food and medical supplies before they are expected to start moving to Gaza on Friday, Egyptian security officials have said.
Two weeks of relentless bombing have killed more than 3,800 and displaced one million people in Gaza.
The Egyptian officials said the supplies, at Israel's request, would not include fuel. The inspection would take place in the no-man's land separating the Egyptian and the Gaza sides of the border crossing at Rafah, in northern Sinai, and the lorries were expected to start heading to Gaza on Friday.
Mark Negev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on CNN that Israel had agreed to allow aid to Gaza “in principle” but “we don't want to see Hamas stealing aid that's directed towards the civilian population. It's a real problem”.
Humanitarian groups told The National that a safe passage is vital to deliver the aid and the 20 lorries awaiting to enter Gaza are not enough to meet civilian needs.
“This is not enough to deal with the scale of needs in Gaza that resulted from almost two weeks of bombardment. The UN has said at least 100 lorries are needed every day,” the Norwegian Refugee Council's media adviser, Ahmed Bayram, said.
“People in Gaza are suffering from a siege upon a siege that could cost lives if not reversed immediately.”
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Wednesday that the organisation wanted to bring aid deliveries to Gaza back to 100 lorries a day, the level before the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called for a respite in the fighting to allow aid to enter the enclave.
“Every day that aid is not entering, the situation gets worse. With no fuel, no electricity, and dwindling medical supplies, people's suffering will increase by the minute with the continuing fighting,” Chris Hanger, the ICRC's spokesman said.
Every day that aid is not entering, the situation gets worse
Chris Hanger,
ICRC spokesperson
“The sooner aid and additional staff can enter Gaza, the better,” Mr Hanger said, adding that an ICRC convoy carrying 60 tons of aid, including urgently needed medical items, has been mobilised for Gaza.
The main issue is to ensure “safe humanitarian access to deliver the aid”.
The humanitarian groups spoke out as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian leaders that are likely to focus on aid to Gaza.
Egyptian officials also discussed the issue one day after US President Joe Biden spoke with the country's president, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, by phone while flying home from a brief visit to Israel.
Mr Biden told reporters that Mr El Sisi agreed to open the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza to allow about 20 lorries carrying humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave, where people are running short of food, water, fuel and other essentials as a result of the Israeli onslaught and its total blockade of the strip.
Mr Biden did not give a timeline for the opening, but US national security spokesperson John Kirby said it would occur in coming days following repairs to the road.
Mr Biden told reporters he was blunt with Israel about the need to facilitate aid to Gaza.
Mr Negev, the Israeli presidential adviser, said on CNN that Israel had agreed to allow aid to Gaza “in principle” but: “We don't want to see Hamas stealing aid that's directed towards the civilian population. It's a real problem.”
Egypt has consistently maintained that it had not closed the Rafah crossing since the October 7 incursion by Gaza militants into southern Israel where they killed at least 1,300 people, mostly civilians, and took scores of hostages back to Gaza.
The Gaza side of the crossing, according to Egyptian officials, was bombed at least four times by the Israelis, rendering it inoperable. The Egyptians have repaired it at least once.
But the crossing is in effect closed to Gaza's Palestinian civilians because Egypt does not want a mass movement of population fleeing the bombardment and the siege into Egypt.
Egypt argues that allowing them to come en masse into Egypt will contribute to the “liquidation” of the Palestinian cause and put Egypt's national security at risk.
It has, meanwhile, set up field hospitals on its side of the border and put hospitals in the nearby city of Al Arish and the Suez Canal city of Ismailia on high alert to receive wounded Palestinians. No wounded Palestinians have crossed into Egypt to date.
Notably, Mr Biden made no mention in his comments of the estimated 500-600 nationals, including US nationals, who are stranded in Gaza and are desperate to leave for Egypt en route home. Cairo had previously insisted that it would only allow foreign nationals to come to Egypt if it was allowed to send humanitarian aid to Gaza's 2.3 million people.
In Cairo, a statement from Mr El Sisi's office issued late on Wednesday said the Egyptian leader and Mr Biden have agreed to provide aid to Gaza “in a sustainable manner”. They were coordinating an aid effort with international organisations under UN supervision.
An estimated 100 lorries laden with humanitarian supplies have been lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing for a week, waiting for the green light to move into Gaza.
Stockpiles of supplies that arrived by air are being stored at Al Arish, 45 kilometres west of Rafah.
The aid comes from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and a host of other Gulf Arab nations. The UN World Food Programme and the Egyptian Red Crescent have contributed to the aid and are expected to jointly supervise the operation.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Company%20profile
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
