Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have renewed their demands for a ceasefire deal, fearing that any hope for a hostage agreement may be lost amid escalating regional tensions following the Israeli assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and a top Hezbollah commander.
Families blocked main roads in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning, launching nationwide rallies as the war entered its 300th day and any hope for a ceasefire in Gaza felt more distant than ever.
“Every day is hell. It sometimes doesn't feel people in the government understand that,” Orly Gilboa, whose 19-year-old daughter Daniela was taken hostage on October 7, told The National from central Israel.
“Every day I'm trying to make [a deal] happen, from the moment I wake up to 3am when I go to sleep. For 10 months – and it's hard to say it has been 10 months – I have been trying to meet every decision maker, the Prime Minister, every minister, to emphasise they need to be brought home.”
On Tel Aviv's Ayalon motorway, the family of Matan Zangkauer said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must stop “torpedoing” any prospect of a deal.
“For 300 days, my son Matan and 114 other hostages best-knownhave been abandoned in Hamas tunnels because Netanyahu is delaying a deal again and again,” his mother Einav Zangauker said.
“We are a step away from a multi-front war, and we need a hostage deal that will bring our loved ones home.”
Both relatives and Israeli lawmakers who spoke to The National said they had “no sympathy” for Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh – but that the Tehran strike that killed him came at the “wrong time”.
Israel did not claim to be behind the attack that killed the main negotiator, but Iran and Hamas accused it of carrying it out.
“We were very close to a deal. Yesterday when I heard about Haniyeh, I was very scared. We don't know where we're going,” said Ms Gilboa.
“We know the region is watching Israel, we know they all want revenge. We don't know what it means for Israel. It's the not knowing that's very hard.”
On Thursday, a Hamas official said his group will start discussing the fate of the talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza after “a week or two”.
The assassination threatens to derail months-long efforts by mediators to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, where about 39,400 people have been killed and more than 90,000 wounded since October.
“The Gaza and hostage negotiations, after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, cannot now be put up for discussion or resumption before a week or two,” a member of the political leadership of Hamas told The National.
“Netanyahu does not want to complete the deal, and says that no one can discourage him from moving forward with the war,” he added.
Qatar and Egypt, which have acted as mediators in faltering ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could further jeopardise efforts to secure a truce in Gaza.
“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X.
The family of Ms Gilboa has previously released footage of her in Gaza in an attempt to pressure the government, but said they have not heard from any minister – and have had no update on their daughter for more than 100 days.
Israeli government ministers have vowed to stay in Gaza until Hamas is “dismantled” and hostages are returned – but relatives say the only way to get them home is through a deal.
"They are interested in revenge"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel will remain in the war-torn enclave “until we destroy them all, restore security, and return the hostages”, while Prime Minister Isaac Herzog said Israel “cannot claim victory” until each hostage – 115 of whom are still held in Gaza – have been returned.
Hamas, Iran and other regional proxies have all vowed retaliation for the Israeli strikes, with Hamas saying the killing of Mr Haniyeh would result in “major repercussions”.
The militant group has said any deal with Israel must begin with a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli attacks killed at least 12 people on Thursday morning, in Al Maghazi refugee camp and Khan Younis.
Lawmaker Ofer Cassif, a member of the Hadash party, said the government does not care for the well-being of Israeli hostages, and is worried about a “vicious” retaliation against Israel for what he described as a political assassination.
“The government is not interested in the well-being and lives of the Israeli hostages and even soldiers or citizens in general, let alone the well-being of Palestinians,” he told The National from Jerusalem.
“They are interested in revenge, in blood, in violence, and surviving as a government.”
Shlomi Berger, the father of an army observer taken hostage, said the relatives “very much hope” the killings will not sever relations with Hamas or hurt the negotiation process.
“If that happens, our gain from this action is minimal. We know that everyone is replaceable, and to assassinate one or two or more, it doesn't change the picture at all,” he told Israel's radio 103.
The government “simply doesn't understand the urgency” felt by hostage families, he added.
Mr Cassif, who was almost expelled from the Israeli parliament for his support of the ICJ genocide case against Israel, said “the only thing” Israel should have done in the wake of October 7 was to engage in hostage release negotiations.
“Just a tiny proportion of the hostages were released by military operations. Most of those who were released were released by negotiations and a deal. Most of the attempts to free hostages … failed, and caused deaths of Palestinians, hostages and soldiers,” he told The National.
“Everybody knows the only way to release the hostages is a deal which entails the withdrawal of troops from Gaza, rehabilitation of the strip and the release of hostages. But as I said before, the government is lead by zealots, by bigots.”
American-Israeli Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son is a hostage in Gaza, told The National that the 300-day anniversary is “a devastating failure on so many different levels to these cherished souls who are still languishing in Gaza".
"It’s very clear that there’s so much immense suffering in this region: the hostage families and the hostages and hundreds of thousands of innocent people suffering in Gaza. There’s a surplus of pain and anguish and it’s time for all of that to stop,” she added
Ms Goldberg-Polin, who has become one of the best known parents of a Gaza hostage, said there must be a hostage deal and more humanitarian aid into Gaza, which “would be the most efficient way to bringing some relief to this really embattled neck of the woods".
"I’m praying the leaders and people in power will look at the people they are representing, take their pulse and see that across the board we are all ready for this to end,” she said.
Thomas Helm contributed to this report
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How%20I%20connect%20with%20my%20kids%20when%20working%20or%20travelling
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SPECS
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Mountain%20Boy
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5