Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Egypt has proposed the deployment of Arab troops into Gaza under UN supervision as part of a wider deal that provides for the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal enclave, a truce and Hamas releasing up to 50 of the estimated 240 hostages it is holding, Egyptian officials said on Wednesday.
News of the Egyptian proposal came one day after US President Joe Biden said, without elaborating, that he believed a hostage release deal with Hamas would happen.
“I've been talking with people involved every single day. I believe it's going to happen but I don't want to get into details,” Mr Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about an eventual agreement.
Asked if he had a message for the families of the hostages, who were captured on October 7 when Hamas went on a deadly rampage in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, he said: “Hang in there. We're coming.”
Nine US citizens and a permanent resident are thought to be among the hostages.
The Egyptian proposal was made during marathon meetings on Tuesday in Cairo between top officials from Egypt's General Directorate of Intelligence and counterparts from Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency.
However, the proposal was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the meeting wrapped up on Tuesday night, according to the officials.
They said that the US, whose representatives were briefed on the outcome of the meetings, had told the Egyptian negotiators to give them time to discuss the proposal with Mr Netanyahu.
Egypt, which borders Gaza and Israel, is known to be vehemently opposed to the deployment of multinational troops in Gaza as part of post-conflict arrangements in the coastal enclave. It is equally opposed to Israel maintaining a permanent military presence in Gaza.
The Egyptian proposal, according to the officials, is part of a larger deal that envisages Hamas militants freeing up to 50 hostages, mostly women, children and US citizens, in return for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails.
Hamas is also demanding a ceasefire and sufficient supplies of humanitarian aid.
The proposal also envisages a post-conflict political process and reconstruction.
There was no word from any of the parties involved in Tuesday's meetings on the negotiations and it was not clear how they are related to Qatar's efforts to broker a hostage deal. However, past rounds of negotiations are known to have involved Egypt, Qatar, the US, Israel and, indirectly, Hamas.
Mr Biden spoke with Mr Netanyahu on Tuesday, and the White House said the two “discussed at length continuing efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, including many children and a number of Americans”.
The US has repeatedly asked for a pause in the fighting to allow for the release of the hostages.
More than 11,000 people, including about 4,600 children, have been killed in Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza and the subsequent ground offensive, in which Israeli troops and tanks rolled through the heart of Gaza city.
Israeli minister Benny Gantz, who is in Mr Netanyahu's cabinet, told a news conference on Wednesday: “Even if we are required to pause fighting in order to return our hostages, there will be no stopping the combat and the war until we achieve our goals.”
Mr Gantz declined to give any details when asked to elaborate on what is hindering the hostage deal.
Any deal faces many obstacles.
It is unclear whether Hamas is currently able to compile an accurate list of hostages it holds since the war has caused communications and organisational problems in Gaza, a western diplomat told AFP.
Gathering the hostages for any simultaneous release, which Israel wants, would be logistically difficult without a ceasefire, said another source in the region with knowledge of the negotiations.
There had also been uncertainty over whether the military and political leadership of Hamas were in agreement on the issue.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
How to book
Call DHA on 800342
Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation text message
Present the SMS and your Emirates ID at the centre
DHA medical personnel will take a nasal swab
Check results within 48 hours on the DHA app under ‘Lab Results’ and then ‘Patient Services’
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.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
