Israeli soldiers during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday. AFP
Israeli soldiers during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday. AFP
Israeli soldiers during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday. AFP
Israeli soldiers during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday. AFP

Israeli strikes kill at least nine Palestinians in occupied West Bank


Aveen Karim
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza

At least nine people were killed in separate Israeli attacks on refugee camps in Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authorities said on Wednesday, as the Israeli army launched its biggest military operations there in years.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia and was returning to the West Bank "as a result of Israel's escalated aggression", the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported. Mr Abbas had arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the eviction of Palestinian residents from the areas in the north West Bank where the military was conducting its operations. “We need to deal with the [terror] threat exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians and any other step needed,” he said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Several hours after Mr Katz's comments, Wafa reported that Israeli forces had ordered Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp, near Tulkarm, to leave within four hours.

Mr Katz said Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank were working on dismantling an Iranian-backed terror network. “Iran is working to establish an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank, according to the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling weapons from Jordan,” he said.

The Israeli army announced early on Wednesday it was launching an anti-terror raid in the occupied West Bank. The military believes that a terror network responsible for planning an attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week is based in Tulkarm, Israeli media reported, citing military sources who said they expected the large-scale operation there to last several days.

Wednesday's offensive is the latest episode of violence in the West Bank amid a surge in recent weeks, with at least 660 people killed since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Helicopters, drones, tanks and bulldozers were sent into Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm early in the morning, sparking clashes with Palestinian fighters. Footage posted on social media and shared by Palestinian media showed Israeli bulldozers moving into the cities and destroying infrastructure.

Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours

Tulkarm, Jenin and Tuba locators in West Bank
Tulkarm, Jenin and Tuba locators in West Bank

Palestinian media reported heavy fighting in the cities and added that ambulances were prevented from getting to the injured. Israeli forces stormed Jenin and surrounded Jenin Government Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital during the clashes. Two Palestinian men were killed in the fighting while three others were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle.

The Israeli army said its "counterterrorism operation" in Jenin and Tulkarm was launched "from the air and ground, dismantling explosives planted under the roads and confiscating large quantities of weapons". In Far'a refugee camp, it said it had "eliminated four armed terrorists".

The Jenin refugee camp has been a target of Israeli military campaigns, particularly since the war broke out in Gaza. The Netanyahu government claims the camp is a stronghold of armed factions responsible for committing and plotting attacks against Israel.

Israeli military armoured vehicles including a bulldozer block a road during a raid on the Far'a refugee camp near Tubas on Wednesday. AFP
Israeli military armoured vehicles including a bulldozer block a road during a raid on the Far'a refugee camp near Tubas on Wednesday. AFP

Israeli strikes killed four people, including a 13 and a 17 year-old, in the Far'a refugee camp south of the city of Tubas. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said ambulances were not allowed to reach the camp to treat the wounded. Drone strikes on Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm also injured two people.

PRCS said Israeli forces stormed a medical point in Far'a refugee camp, detained the team and cut their communication off. In a video posted on X by the group, soldiers were seen lining their team members up against a wall.

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes south of Hebron on Wednesday, amid violence elsewhere in the West Bank. Settler attacks on the West Bank have increased since the war in Gaza began. The UN documented at least 1,250 incidents and 120 deaths as of August 12.

The latest flare-up of violence comes a day after five people were killed in a strike on Nur Shams camp and one person was shot dead by Israeli settlers in the village of Wadi Rahhal.

Israeli strikes on Gaza continued on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, according to Wafa. Five people were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, four in Jabalia camp in the north and three in the centre of the enclave. Two people were killed in the west of Gaza city and a journalist and his sister were killed in Nuseirat, central Gaza.

A “hostile aircraft” launched from Lebanon injured an Israeli soldier in northern Israel, the military said on Tuesday, without adding further information. One person was wounded in Lebanon after a suspected Israeli air strike targeted a pick-up truck on the same day.

'C'mon C'mon'

Director:Mike Mills

Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman

Rating: 4/5

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. 

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Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Long read

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

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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MATCH INFO

Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')

Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder

Started: October 2021

Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Industry: technology, logistics

Investors: A15 and self-funded 

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While you're here
Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

Results

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s

3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s

5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s

7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004

8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100

9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692

10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

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
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Updated: August 28, 2024, 2:01 PM`