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An Israeli strike near the north-eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek shows Israel is willing to engage in brinkmanship to achieve its goal of pushing Hezbollah away from the border in the absence of a diplomatic solution.
The strike on Monday close to the city, which is a tourist destination famous for its ancient ruins, was the deepest Israeli attack on Lebanon since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Officially, the Israeli army said the strike was in response to Hezbollah's downing of a Hermes 450 drone over southern Lebanon. Such drones are expensive and vital for intelligence gathering, said retired Lebanese Brigadier General Nizar Abdel Kader.
This was the second time Hezbollah has announced shooting down an Elbit Hermes 450. In November, the group said it destroyed another Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile.
Israel is one of the largest operators of drones in the Middle East and it is also a net exporter of the technology. In eight years, Israel exported $4.6 billion worth of unmanned aerial vehicles to countries ranging from Britain to India and Uganda, according to Israeli media.
Elbit's Hermes drone system is used in many countries, including the Philippines, Switzerland, Thailand and Canada, as well as in the European Union.
“The shooting down of a Hermes drone is considered an important event, not only for military reasons but also for economic reasons,” a source close to Hezbollah told The National.
“This aircraft is the pride of the Israeli military industry and the backbone of the world of Israeli drones.”
Hezbollah’s downing of the drone presented a significant threat to Israel, which prizes its air superiority, according to head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, Riad Kahwaji.
The strike on Baalbek, which killed two members of Hezbollah, reportedly targeted "aerial defence" sites in retaliation for the downed Israeli drone, according to the Israeli military.
“It’s imperative for the Israelis to maintain complete air dominance that nobody can challenge,” Mr Kahwaji said. “For them, this audacious act by Hezbollah required retaliation – and it's an indication that Israel has no limits on its escalation against Hezbollah.”
Excuse for escalation?
According to Brig Gen Abdel Kader, the Baalbek strike was also a continuation of a slow escalation of what began as a border conflict and, over nearly five months, has flared into what he called “a stage of war.”
“It’s not just skirmishes across the border. The environment from December to now indicates that Israel is trying to step up the heat on the northern border,” Brig Gen Abdel Kader said.
The intensity of strikes, which have ventured deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory in recent weeks and culminated in the strike on Baalbek, is an attempt by Israel to increase pressure on Hezbollah and Lebanon – goading them to react in such a way that could “be used as a pretext by Israel to launch a full war on Lebanon”, he added.
Israeli troop movement from Gaza to the northern border is one such indication that Israel is preparing “for the next stage of the war” in the absence of Hezbollah’s willingness, he said, through diplomatic initiative, to withdraw from Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Mohannad Hage Ali, senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre, shared a similar assessment, and said the Israeli strategy places the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in a difficult position.
“Hezbollah is trapped between its desire not to drag Lebanon into a full war, on one hand, and Israel’s painful strikes and intent on spreading insecurity within the organisation and its community.”
Why Baalbek?
Bakr Abedalhaleem Alzekra, a 30-year-old folklore dancer, said he was at home when he felt the Israeli strike hit nearby.
“The small earthquake it caused when it landed caused one of my walls to split in two,” he said. Still, after the strike had registered, Mr Abedalhaleem Alzekra said he simply continued with his day. He knew better than to venture outdoors to find out what had happened, knowing the destroyed area would have been closed off by Hezbollah’s security teams.
“We’ve become accustomed to not knowing what’s really happening,” he said.
Situated in north-eastern Lebanon close to neighbouring Syria, Baalbek is known to be dominated by the secretive Iran-backed group. Mr Kahwaji, of the Dubai think tank, maintained that Baalbek’s proximity to Syria, where Hezbollah also operates with support from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was a primary reason for Israel’s strike on the area.
“Iran provides Hezbollah with some of its own indigenously built air defence systems that are deployed in Syria and, reportedly, now in Lebanon,” he said.
Russia, as well, has provided Hezbollah with some air defence systems, according to Mr Kahwaji.
A Lebanese security source indicated Israel may have struck the religiously mixed yet largely impoverished Baalbek to sew discord among its residents.
“It can serve as an implicit warning message from Israel,” the source said. “Not only does it put pressure on the traditional [elements] of the party but on all components of Lebanese society.”
Like much of Lebanon, Baalbek was heavily damaged during the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel, which lasted 33 days. That was 17 years ago. Since then, Lebanon has plunged deep into an economic crisis that is described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the modern world.
A renewed full-scale war with Israel would "be catastrophic for Lebanon's society and government", Brig Gen Abdel Kader said, with the state able to provide little in the way of support for its residents.
Mr Abedalhaleem Alzekra, the dancer whose house was merely 1,000 metres away from the site of the Israeli strike, said he is not affiliated with Hezbollah or any other militant group and holds no political affiliation.
But if war comes to Lebanon, “if I have to fight against Israel, I will not say no”, he told The National.
“I’m a Muslim. As a Muslim I see that they are killing the children of Gaza,” he said. “I would have no problem standing up to the Zionists to defend our land and our children here.”
“I don't fight for anyone’s benefit. But a person has to fight for their land."
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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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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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Barbie
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One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
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SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
((Disclaimer))
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
