Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Families are facing starvation in northern Gaza, with aid flows to the enclave sharply curtailed by Israeli military operations, local authorities and residents have told The National.
Israel maintains full control of Gaza's borders as it continues to pursue militant group Hamas in a war that health authorities in the territory say has killed about 43,400 people since October last year.
Aid workers and UN officials say conditions are dire, with almost the entire population displaced and thousands of Gazans going hungry. Israel's government insists that no limit has been imposed on aid shipments, and said 47 lorryloads of supplies entered the north on Sunday.
“If the military operations don’t end soon, we’ll face starvation,” said Mohammed Azmi, 27, who has been staying in a rented house with 10 members of his family since fleeing his home in the northern city of Jabalia.
Mr Azmi told The National that he last received an aid package in September, and that it had mostly contained canned food. “We try to make bread with the flour we have stored, but if that runs out, we’ll literally have nothing to eat,” he added.
“Vegetables used to come from farms in Beit Lahia in the north, but with the recent military operations, nothing arrives.”
Israel began a siege on northern Gaza a month ago, with the stated aim of eradicating the operational infrastructure of Hamas. Residents have been ordered to leave the area and head south, but many have refused for fear of being prevented from returning.
On October 13, Washington gave Israel 30 days to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and threatened to slow weapons shipments.
Gaza government spokesman Ismael Thawabta said the lack of food has become a “severe issue” throughout the enclave, and has spread from the north to central and southern areas.
A few lorryloads of aid have entered the territory, he added, but the supplies were far from sufficient to meet people's needs.
Before the war, about 600 lorries a day delivered aid to Gaza. Now, Mr Thawabta said, that number has dropped to about 10, and they mostly carry goods such as clothes and fabric rather than essential supplies. The population needs about 1,000 lorryloads of aid a day, he added.
As a result of the shortages, residents have been forced to survive on about a quarter of a meal each day, Mr Thawabta said. “There is also a shortage of medicine and water. The situation is increasingly difficult and worsening each day.
“Tonnes of aid await entry into Gaza, but the Israeli occupation has closed borders, including the Rafah and Karam Abu Salem crossings.”
Hospitals have been hit hard by the shortages and violence. On Thursday last week, Israel struck Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, injuring several staff members and damaging recently delivered life-saving supplies.
Israel has accused Hamas of using the medical centre as a base of operations. The militant group and health officials have denied the allegations.
“The Israeli occupation seems intent on collapsing the health sector in northern Gaza,” said Mr Thawabta. “Most hospitals there are no longer operational, with only one surgical doctor available. There is a critical shortage of medical staff, supplies and equipment in the area.
“Despite appeals for additional medical crews, no assistance has arrived, and many injured citizens have died from inadequate treatment.”
Hadeel Hassan, 30, who is staying in Gaza city, said she last received aid in September. She fled her home in Al Saftawi three weeks ago, and was supposed to receive an aid package last month. However, she said, Israel's siege of Jabalia meant that she got nothing.
“My little girl needs eggs and vegetables, but I can’t afford them. This affects her health,” Ms Hassan told The National. “My one-year-old also needs nappies.”
Previously, she said, she had received these essentials from aid deliveries. Now, she has to buy everything – even water for washing. “Since I left my area in Al Saftawi, I haven’t received anything.”
“The situation is catastrophic, especially regarding food aid, as there is still severe shortage due to restrictions imposed on the entry of aid to Gaza,” Inas Hamdan, Gaza's acting public information officer, told The National on Wednesday. Ms Hamdan warned that the enforcement of Israel's ban on UNRWA operations would have “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israel on Monday announced that it would sever ties with the UN agency after recent laws passed in the Knesset that prohibited its operations in areas under Israeli control and bar Israeli officials from co-ordinating with UNRWA staff. The agency's operations in Israel will also be banned under the law, starting from January.
“The lives of two million people in Gaza and more than 200,000 refugees in the West Bank would be at risk. UNRWA provides health and education services and distributes food and essential aid to displaced people in Gaza,” Ms Hamdan said.
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SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
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14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
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14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Results
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126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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Naga
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Royal Birkdale Golf Course
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
Plastic tipping points
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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Explained
The burning issue
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War on waste
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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