Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
At least 18 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded in Israeli air strikes across Gaza, Wafa news agency reported on Friday.
Medical sources said two people died and 12 were injured in an overnight strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Several were wounded when tanks opened fire on sites in the two camps of Al Moghazi and Bureij.
A man was killed and others were injured in an air raid in Deir Al Balah in central Gaza.
Eight people died and several were wounded in an air strike on a house in Al Zeitoun district, in Gaza city.
The injured were taken to Al Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as Al Maamadani hospital, Wafa reported.
Emergency teams recovered the bodies of three children and their mother from under the rubble two days after their house was by Israeli warplanes in Nuseirat.
In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, three people were killed when an Israeli army drone attacked a location in the neighborhood of Fakhari, east of the city. The three were transported to the Gaza European Hospital.
Local sources said that the Israeli military bombed buildings in Al Saudi neighbourhood, in the southern city of Rafah.
Israeli tanks also fired on eastern areas of Khan Younis in the central Gaza Strip, while artillery fire has hit northern areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
At least 37,431 Palestinians have been killed and 85,653 injured in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7, according to the update by the enclave's Health Ministry on Thursday.
The Israeli army said on Friday that two soldiers were killed and three reserve soldiers severely wounded during fighting in central Gaza.
The latest round of bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas was sparked by an unprecedented October 7 attack by the Palestinian militants on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, although the Israeli army says 41 are dead.
Aid situation
In addition to the high civilian death toll, Israel's closure of Gaza's border crossings has slowed down aid deliveries, causing severe shortages of fuel, food, and water.
The US military reattached a temporary aid pier to a Gaza beach and humanitarian deliveries have resumed.
“US Central Command personnel re-anchored and re-established the temporary pier to the Gaza beach yesterday,” Pentagon spokesman Maj Gen Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday.
“Israeli engineers provided all the necessary support to ensure the safe emplacement of the pier on the beach.”
The pier was removed to prevent damage from rough sea conditions last week.
Maj Gen Ryder said that since it was reattached overnight, more than 656 tonnes of aid were delivered to a marshalling yard in Gaza.
The pier, which cost the US at least $230 million, was meant to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza through the UN’s World Food Programme but has faced setbacks.
Israel-Lebanon tension
As air strikes on the Gaza Strip continue, tension has been flaring along the Israeli-Lebanese border, where clashes have intensified.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel against escalating tension with Lebanon, as fears of a wider regional war grew, after Hezbollah militants fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel.
During a meeting with top Israeli officials in Washington, Mr Blinken "underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation in Lebanon and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes," the State Department said.
The Lebanon-Israel border has witnessed almost daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel’s military, which have left more than 400 people dead in Lebanon since October 8.
Most of the fatalities have been fighters but they also include more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed over the past eight months.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated following last week’s killing by Israel of Hezbollah’s most senior commander.
The group retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets towards northern Israel.
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENomad%20Homes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHelen%20Chen%2C%20Damien%20Drap%2C%20and%20Dan%20Piehler%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20and%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20PropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2444m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Acrew%20Capital%2C%2001%20Advisors%2C%20HighSage%20Ventures%2C%20Abstract%20Ventures%2C%20Partech%2C%20Precursor%20Ventures%2C%20Potluck%20Ventures%2C%20Knollwood%20and%20several%20undisclosed%20hedge%20funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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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
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
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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
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Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
