Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The peacekeepers of Unifil's Spain contingent sit around a television, watching a Spanish language network cover the result of the Ecuadorean general election.
Outside, the Mediterranean Sea gently ebbs and flows, as some members of the roughly 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon run in the late afternoon sun at their headquarters in Naqoura, minutes from the heavily militarised Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel, two countries that are technically at war with each other.
The calm belies the grim reality. The day before, a stray Israeli missile landed on Unifil's headquarters, forcing peacekeepers to run to their bunkers, as the war in Gaza risks spilling into Lebanon. No one was injured and no material damage was done, but it highlights the risk of a so-called second-front opening up in the Israel-Gaza war.
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and its Lebanon-based Palestinian allies have engaged in repeated armed exchanges with Israel over the last week under their informal rules of engagement. And with Israel's expected ground invasion of Gaza looming, tensions are high in the region.
“It shows how volatile the situation is, how important it is for the parties to use restraint,” said Andrea Tenenti, Unifil's long-serving spokesman, said, referring to the heavy exchange of fire on Sunday.
It is up to Unifil to liaise with Israeli forces and the Lebanese Army, in a bid to defuse tensions. They do not deal with Hezbollah.
“The main concern is miscalculation. The risk of miscalculation is very much present, and we are trying to make sure there is no space for it,” Mr Tenenti told The National, from Naqoura.
Mr Tenenti, who normally commutes daily from Beirut but this past week has been staying in Naqoura, arrived in Lebanon in 2006.
It was that year that Hezbollah and Israel last engaged in a full-on, deadly war. Skirmishes are common, but the exchanges of fire of the last week between Israeli forces and factions based in Lebanon are the most serious flare-up along the border since, Mr Tenenti said.
“Now, it seems that despite what we're seeing on a daily basis, I don't think there is a real appetite for a wider conflict.
“But miscalculation is the key word at the moment. Miscalculation can trigger a wider conflict and change the situation in this region that has been stable for the last 17 years,” he said.
The road – which hugs the coastline – running towards the Blue Line next to Naqoura is now all but empty. The several 100 Lebanese civilian staff are now working from home, while Unifil has increased its security measures for the peacekeepers patrolling the Blue Line.
It is impossible to predict what could happen next, and if Hezbollah will raise the ante. As Mr Tententi said, it is difficult to know what could even constitute a miscalculation and usher in a new intensity.
“That's the difficult part to predict. Where is the miscalculation for both? No one will tell us,” he said.
“What could be the point when miscalculation will really be considered miscalculation, and of course, both sides, they have a different reading or miscalculation.
“So, until now, for the last eight days, despite these exchanges of fire, and both sides have been sending very strong warnings … through the dialogue that we are having, there is a feeling that no wants to escalate.”
The Lebanese authorities, while announcing their solidarity for the Palestinian people, have made it clear that a conflict would not be in the interest of Lebanon.
Entrenched in one of the worse economic crisis in modern history with one of the most powerful army's in the world on the other side of the border, Lebanon can ill afford a conflict. Hospitals are already in short supply, inflation is skyrocketing and basic essentials are in short supply.
Mr Tenenti praised the commitment of the Lebanese Army, even as their soldiers see their salaries slashed to a fraction of what they were worth before the 2019 economic crises.
The National visited the Unifil base on Monday in the late afternoon, on a day where unusually there had been no exchanges of fire.
“The situation in Unifil's area of operations in the south of Lebanon, today has been stable but volatile. The previous days the situation was very tense, there has been heavy exchanges of fire throughout the area of operations from sector east to sector west, and even a rocket hit the Naqoura headquarters here,” Mr Tenenti said.
“It's a sign that things can go out of control, and it's a sign that it's important for the mission to de-escalate the situation by communicating to both sides.”
After spending around two hours on the base, as The National was ready to leave, in the distance there was an unmistakable sound. One of bombs, rockets and explosions, as Hezbollah and Israel engaged in yet another round.
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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.”
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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
Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Circe by Madeline Miller
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
How to donate
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
