Towering piles of rubbish, widespread destruction and tents spread out as far as the eye could see greeted UN workers and medical teams as they arrived at Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis for the second stage of a polio vaccination campaign.
The scale of destruction after several Israeli assaults, and the squalid conditions thousands of Palestinians are living in, shocked even local Gazans such as Dr Fady Abed, from the US-based NGO MedGlobal. He was among those who travelled from the central areas of the enclave to carry out the southern phase of the campaign.
"I saw kids playing among piles of garbage taller than the bus we were in," Dr Abed told The National on Friday.
Several UN agencies launched the inoculation drive to curb the spread of the virus, which was eradicated in Palestine 25 years ago. As part of this campaign, an eight-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting is to take effect in areas where vaccine doses are being administered, to allow parents to visit medical centres and enable teams to reach displaced families.
The polio-related pause is the first cessation of hostilities since a week-long truce in December. That allowed for an exchange of hostages in the besieged enclave and Palestinian detainees in Israel, while also giving Gazans a chance to check whether their homes were still standing, even though it put their lives at risk.
The vaccination initiative, which started on Sunday, was launched in central Gaza. Teams moved to south on Thursday and are expected to either extend the vaccine drive in the area or travel north on Saturday, under an agreement with the Israeli army.
Fears over the spread of polio have increased since a child's leg became paralysed after he contracted the virus. The total destruction of wastewater sanitation centres and the complete halt of rubbish collection have exacerbated the problem, especially in southern areas such as Khan Younis and Al Mawasi, where 30,000 people are crowded into every square kilometre.
The UN estimated in July that about 330,000 tonnes of solid waste had been neither buried nor treated in Gaza. A UN official told The National that Israeli forces were blocking access to waste dump sites.
"There's nowhere for us to take the trash," said Louise Wateridge, of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). She added that people were using parts from old cars to fix sewerage pipes as Israel continues to block the entry of piping equipment and tools.
The arrival of vaccination teams at Khan Younis came after a 22-day Israeli operation in the area. The assault, which ended in August, left a trail of destruction and a video shared by Ms Wateridge showed every building had been damaged by Israeli bombardment and shelling.
Dr Abed noted that parents in the area remained fearful their children could be killed when the bombardment resumed at the end of the humanitarian pause, at 2pm local time. But the vast majority still chose to bring their children to vaccination centres.
More than 10,625 children have been killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, with the overall death toll in the enclave now more than 40,800. At least 10,000 people are missing.
The majority of Gazans, however, seemed eager to get their children vaccinated against polio, despite the risks. "I was astonished at their resilience," Dr Abed said.
Moamen Abu Daba, 29, told The National that a drone fired on him and seven of his family members as they travelled from Al Mawasi to the Saudi neighbourhood to check on their home during the pause. “Thankfully, the missile didn't hit us directly, but it landed nearby," he said. "It was as if the Israeli army was telling us to go back."
But Mr Abu Daba was not unscathed. "I got injured, along with three other men, including my cousin.”
Mr Abu Daba was treated at At Al Nasser hospital. He has nerve damage in his foot and a bone fracture after being struck by shrapnel. “It could have been much worse," he added. "My only goal was to reach our home, check on it, and tell my father that the hard work he poured into that house was still there."
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
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Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
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Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
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Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
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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
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
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- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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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
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