Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gaza's biggest hospital could take up to 20 years to rebuild fully after Israel’s fierce bombing of the complex during a two-week raid which killed more than 200 people, aid groups have told The National.
“The hospital’s main surgery building, its intensive care unit, and emergency, general surgery, and orthopaedic departments have all been destroyed,” Aseel Baidoun, Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map) Advocacy and Communication, told The National.
“This war is a war on hospitals and health care. We have 350 health workers killed, at a minimum, and 130 ambulances destroyed. Al Shifa is just the latest hospital to be attacked,” said Ms Baidoun, who estimated it could take up to 20 years to rebuild the facility fully.
“Israel is making human suffering and loss so deliberate, and using starvation as a weapon of war. We have the major hospitals out of service, leaving a population of 2.2 million people facing a plausible risk of genocide and on the brink of starvation.”
A doctor who left Al Shifa before the siege and returned to the remains of the complex told the organisation he had “never witnessed such levels of destruction”.
Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital on Monday after detaining hundreds of Palestinians and leaving a wasteland of ruined buildings in the surrounding areas.
The army said it had killed 200 Hamas “militants” and arrested 1,400 people, 900 of whom were taken for questioning.
Social media footage captured around the compound showed smoke rising from the remains of Gaza's largest hospital. The partial remains of hundreds of people were strewn across the complex.
AFP reported witnesses and doctors at the complex as saying that dozens of bodies appeared to have been crushed by Israeli tanks.
Hospital staff and authorities denied Hamas fighters were on-site but Israel claims it killed hundreds of militants who based themselves in the medical complex.
“Every attempt to evacuate patients trapped inside was also denied by the Israeli military," Ms Baidoun added.
Healthcare workers were detained and interrogated in the area of the hospital’s outpatient clinic, she said, while hospital patients were left with week-old dressings and maggot-infested wounds.
Palestinians in northern Gaza have almost nowhere to turn to for medical treatment, with only 200 hospital beds for a population of 350,000, according to Map figures.
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, William Schomburg, told The National that civilians were yet again paying the price for violence.
“We are extremely alarmed by the aftermath of an almost two-week-long military operation conducted by the Israeli forces at the Shifa Medical Complex.
“The largest hospital in the Gaza Strip is now lost and civilians are, yet again, the ones who pay the price. The healthcare system in Gaza has been devastated, what little remains is crumbling.”
For every hospital directly affected during hostilities, thousands of patients lose access to medical care. Families, children and the elderly can simply no longer receive adequate medical treatment, he explained.
“The ICRC has repeatedly urged all parties to protect civilians and the healthcare infrastructure of Gaza,” he said. “This protection is not only a legal obligation but a moral imperative to preserve human life in these terrible times.”
The World Health Organisation on Tuesday said the raid on Al Shifa had ripped the heart out of Gaza's healthcare system.
“We've had contact with the staff,” said WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris. “The directors told us that Al Shifa Hospital is gone, it's no longer able to function in any shape or form as a hospital.
“Destroying Al Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system.”
The WHO is set to send a mission on Tuesday to the site to see what it can do to save the lives of the remaining patients.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
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.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Company%20Profile
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The%20trailblazers
%3Cp%3ESixteen%20boys%20and%2015%20girls%20have%20gone%20on%20from%20Go-Pro%20Academy%20in%20Dubai%20to%20either%20professional%20contracts%20abroad%20or%20scholarships%20in%20the%20United%20States.%20Here%20are%20two%20of%20the%20most%20prominent.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeorgia%20Gibson%20(Newcastle%20United)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20reason%20the%20academy%20in%20Dubai%20first%20set%20up%20a%20girls%E2%80%99%20programme%20was%20to%20help%20Gibson%20reach%20her%20potential.%20Now%20she%20plays%20professionally%20for%20Newcastle%20United%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMackenzie%20Hunt%20(Everton)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAttended%20DESS%20in%20Dubai%2C%20before%20heading%20to%20the%20UK%20to%20join%20Everton%20full%20time%20as%20a%20teenager.%20He%20was%20on%20the%20bench%20for%20the%20first%20team%20as%20recently%20as%20their%20fixture%20against%20Brighton%20on%20February%2024.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
