Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
It has been a day since Hassan Rizawi, 35, fled with his family as heavy Israeli bombardment hit the southern Lebanese village of Aita Al Jabal, about 20km from the border. They have not slept.
“It was all around us,” he says of the shelling. The family left their home on Monday afternoon before it was damaged by strikes. They carried none of their belongings with them on their journey to the north.
“The children were terrified,” Mr Rizawi tells The National, pointing to his two nieces on his lap. Ten hours later, the family arrived safely in Beirut and are waiting to be accommodated at a school in the Dekwaneh neighbourhood, which is hosting hundreds of other displaced people.
“We know nothing. We have nowhere else to go, we’re just waiting,” he says. The government, which is already grappling with a steep economic crisis, has not provided any assistance, he said.
Like Mr Rizawi, thousands have fled Israel's intensive air assault on Lebanon, which has killed at least 558 people, including women and children, and wounded thousands. Israel’s aerial bombardment campaign, the most violent since 2006, comes as Israel shifts its focus to its northern front. It follows an unprecedented week of violence in Lebanon, including strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and a wave of explosions, sparking fears of a potential Israeli ground invasion.
On Monday, Lebanon's government opened schools and colleges to shelter displaced people. But Ihab Masri, a Syrian citizen, is still unsure if he and his family will be admitted because they are not Lebanese. Mr Masri fled the Syrian village of Deraa at the start of the civil war in 2011.
More than 10 years later, the father of four is once again fleeing under heavy shelling, but this time from south Lebanon. “It’s the same trauma all over again, the war in Syria was awful, this is awful,” he told The National.
He is anxiously searching for officials to speak to, hoping to find out if the school has room for them. “We’re not sure if they’re going to accept us. We heard they might not, but we have nowhere else to go,” he said. “If they don’t give us a room, we’ll sleep in the street.”
The Israeli army claims it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon. Two staff members of the UN's refugee agency were among the 558 people killed in Lebanon on Monday, the organisation’s chief confirmed on Tuesday.
“Israeli air strikes in Lebanon are now relentlessly claiming hundreds of civilian lives,” Filippo Grandi said on X.
“And I am very saddened to confirm that two UNHCR colleagues were also killed yesterday.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since October 8, when the Lebanese group opened a northern front in support of its Palestinian ally, Hamas. It has stated that it will continue its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders gathering in New York that “Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
More from our Neighbourhood series:
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Read more about the coronavirus
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
