Palestinians inspect the destruction after an Israeli strike on a site where displaced people were living in Rafah on Monday. AP
Palestinians inspect the destruction after an Israeli strike on a site where displaced people were living in Rafah on Monday. AP
Palestinians inspect the destruction after an Israeli strike on a site where displaced people were living in Rafah on Monday. AP
Palestinians inspect the destruction after an Israeli strike on a site where displaced people were living in Rafah on Monday. AP

Qatar warns Rafah attack could hinder ceasefire talks amid global fury over deadly strike


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Qatar on Monday warned that Israel's deadly strikes on a camp for displaced civilians could hinder talks towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The Gulf nation said it was concerned the bombing, which killed at least 45 people, would "complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire”.

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, has been engaged in months of talks aimed at securing a truce between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.

The Israeli strikes represent a “dangerous violation of international law”, Qatar's Foreign Ministry warned.

Palestinians put out a fire at the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah. Reuters
Palestinians put out a fire at the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah. Reuters

It called on the international community to take immediate action to prevent Israel from “implementing its plans to forcibly displace [Palestinians] from the city, which has become a final refuge for hundreds of thousands”.

Discussions are set to resume on a 12-month ceasefire after an initial six-week truce in which Hamas will release about 20 of the estimated 130 hostages it still holds, along with an unspecified number of bodies of Israelis who died in captivity.

But talks have reached a stalemate after Israel sent troops to the southern Gaza city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.

Other Gulf nations strongly criticised the strike, reaffirming international warnings to Israel to refrain from the Rafah operation.

The UAE condemned Israel's attack on "displaced persons in Rafah", state news agency Wam reported on Monday.

The UAE "stressed the importance of committing to implement the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice demanding Israel's immediate halt to the operations in Rafah".

Saudi Arabia said it condemned “in the strongest terms the continued massacres committed by Israeli occupation forces”.

The kingdom's Foreign Ministry called on the international community “to intervene immediately to halt the massacres” committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp area housing displaced people in Rafah. AFP
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp area housing displaced people in Rafah. AFP

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry also decried the Israeli attack on the camp, saying it exposed Israel's “blatant war crimes and unprecedented genocide to the whole world”.

It also called for an “immediate and firm intervention by the international community”.

Egypt said the attack was a “deliberate bombardment by Israeli forces of displaced peoples' tents” in Rafah. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on Israel to “implement the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice concerning an immediate cessation of military operations” in Rafah.

Cairo condemned the strike as “a new flagrant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law”.

It deplored the “tragic event” and denounced the “targeting of defenceless civilians” and “a systematic policy aimed at widening the scope of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip to make it uninhabitable”.

Jordan also expressed its condemnation, accusing Israel of committing “ongoing war crimes”.

Amman said the bombardment in Rafah “defies the rulings of the International Court of Justice and constitutes a severe violation of international law and international humanitarian law”.

Other countries reacted with stronger statements, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying his country would “do everything possible to hold these barbarians and murderers accountable, who have nothing to do with humanity.”

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian Authority presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the attack a “heinous massacre” and a “challenge to all the resolutions of international legitimacy, particularly the lucid and candid ruling of the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to cease its military offensive against the city of Rafah”.

Anger in Europe

In Europe, countries that stood behind Israel in its initial response to the October 7 attack were quick to chastise it and demand an end to the Rafah operation.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” by Israel's latest attacks.

“These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” he said on X.

In Germany, Israel's largest supplier of arms outside the US, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ICJ ruling must be respected.

“International humanitarian law applies for all, also for Israel's conduct of the war,” Ms Baerbock said. “We do not support a major military operation in Rafah without a plan to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there.”

Seeking to limit further damage to its international standing, Israel’s chief military prosecutor said her country’s overnight strike on Rafah was “very grave” and was being investigated.

“The details of the incident are still under an investigation, which we are committed to conducting to the fullest extent,” said Maj Gen Yifat Tomer on Monday.

The military “regrets any harm to non-combatants during the war”, she added.

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.6-litre turbo

Transmission: six-speed automatic

Power: 165hp

Torque: 240Nm

Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)

On sale: Now

THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')

Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

RIVER%20SPIRIT
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeila%20Aboulela%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saqi%20Books%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BLACKBERRY
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jay%20Baruchel%2C%20Glenn%20Howerton%2C%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here
Gulf Men's League final

Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

Hydrogen: Market potential

Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.

"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.

Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.

The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

The biog

Name: Maitha Qambar

Age: 24

Emirate: Abu Dhabi

Education: Master’s Degree

Favourite hobby: Reading

She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Super 30

Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5

'Shakuntala Devi'

Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra

Director: Anu Menon

Rating: Three out of five stars

Who is Tim-Berners Lee?

Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.

Elvis
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Baz%20Luhrmann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Austin%20Butler%2C%20Tom%20Hanks%2C%20Olivia%20DeJonge%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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

Match info

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Liverpool v Porto, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

Updated: May 27, 2024, 2:35 PM`