Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Wassim Rady, seven, rushes through the doors of the only ice cream vendor still operating in southern Gaza.
He runs past a long queue of customers to the fridge, where he presses his face to its cold, condensation-covered glass panel to inspect the many colours and flavours.
“Uncle, vanilla and chocolate please,” Wassim tells the ice cream seller, shortly before his parents remind him to join the queue.
After more than a month of shelling by Israel, much of the “normal” existence that the more than two million residents of the besieged Palestinian enclave had become accustomed to has been erased.
Israel has cut Gaza’s electricity, fuel and clean water supplies and is only allowing a fraction of humanitarian aid and food to enter the enclave through Egypt’s Rafah border crossing.
However, one ice cream seller is making sure Palestinians in the southern part of Gaza can still experience a little joy amid the gloom.
Nedal Al Nefisi, the owner of the shop, says he understands why many of his regular customers are staying away in the circumstances.
“But there are many others who are looking for an opportunity to smile,” he tells The National.
Customers queuing outside the shop can hear the sounds of bombings and see the remains of missile-hit homes reduced to rubble.
But in the few minutes it takes them to finish their ice cream, they can afford to put aside their trauma and panic.
“It has been so long since I had ice cream,” says young Wassim, between spoonfuls of ice cream.
“I used to have this almost every day. I’ve been asking my father for it and I am so happy the shop is open. It’s like before the war.”
Life must go on, says Wassim's father Tamer, 30.
"It may seem strange to find ice cream in these circumstances, especially when there is no electricity and people are being killed,” he says.
“People feel self-conscious to be here for ice cream while others can’t find a bite of bread, or have lost loved ones or their homes. But people want to feel normal.”
Tamer says he had to leave his home in Gaza city earlier this week, along with his parents, siblings and their families.
The UN’s humanitarian agency Ocha said only 650 lorries carrying food, medicines, health supplies, bottled water and hygiene products had been allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt since October 21.
Before the war started, an average of 500 aid lorries entered Gaza every working day.
This has reduced the average food intake of a Palestinian in Gaza to only two pieces of bread a day, said the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, the UNRWA.
‘It’s about the smiles’
Much of the besieged enclave sits in darkness after the fuel needed to power hospitals, bakeries and essentials ran out.
For Ismail Al Bouek, who is in his 50s, it came as a surprise to find the ice cream parlour open.
While it may appear not to make much sense to find an ice cream store open at a time when essential foods are in short supply across the enclave, Mr Al Bouek says “to find something to eat, and for only two shekels ($0.52), is remarkable”.
Mr Al Nefisi is able to keep his shop running thanks to solar panels.
“It’s a good reminder for everyone that this too shall pass and that we, as Palestinians, always find a way to adjust and we survive,” he says, adding that people always come to his shop to charge their phones and batteries.
As his supplies run low, and acutely aware of the grave risk of keeping his shop open, Mr Al Nefisi says he will sell ice cream for as long as he can.
Since the armed wing of Hamas carried out a bloody incursion into south Israel on October 7, leaving about 1,400 dead and taking more than 200 captives, Israel has waged a war on Gaza that has killed more than 10,000 people, about half of them children, said the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
‘Easing their panic’
As her young son gulps spoonfuls of pink and yellow ice cream, Um Hazem, who was forced to flee her home in the eastern part of Khan Younis, tells The National she tries to come to the shop as often as possible.
“It helps my children overcome the constant panic and horror they are living through and the death and devastation they are witnessing,” she says.
Um Hazem says as children are denied a normal life, “the least we can do is walk long distances and observe the marks of the war, risking so much in the process, just to eat ice cream”.
“Their smiles are worth it,” she says.
“We took ice cream for granted before but today, it’s a reminder that there is a life out there, that there is a chance that this will end and that we can go back to our plans and dreams, and make it out of this genocide,” she says.
Mr Al Bouek says “frankly, this place is a comforting sight. Something from before the war still exists, despite the destruction of all aspects of life. This place represents hope for survival”.
This story has been published in collaboration with Egab.
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• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
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Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
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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
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
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Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
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Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Torque: 859Nm
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The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
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You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
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