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Israel launched attacks against Gaza after two months of pause last week, in the middle of Ramadan. The renewed violence has killed 896 people, leaving families grieving during a period which is traditionally about prayer, reflection, spending time with family and fasting.
In the coming days, the spotting of the crescent moon will bring Eid Al Fitr, the festival which celebrates the end of the holy month. It is usually a time for visiting friends and family, prayer, eating together and giving gifts. But most in Gaza are struggling to find the joy required when destruction has ruined entire neighbourhoods.
But parents told The National they were determined to help their children enjoy the celebrations, in the hope of bringing some normality to their devastated lives. Weaving through markets, many of which stand upon rubble, they try to buy goods to make traditional sweets.
Noha Abu Hani, 47, has been displaced from Jabalia camp by the war and now lives in an Unwra camp. This Eid, for the first time in two years, she will bake.
“Before the war, Eid Al Fitr in Gaza was a time of cherished traditions,” Noha told The National. “One of the most beloved customs was baking ka’ak [a type of biscuit in the shape of a ring] and ma’moul [a date-filled biscuit], filling the streets in the last days of Ramadan with the sweet aroma of freshly baked treats. It was a time of joy, togetherness.”
But last year, joy was unimaginable, she says. “I was trapped in northern Gaza with my family of five. We couldn’t bake, couldn’t celebrate. There were no ingredients, no way to make anything."
Traders have raised prices, sparked by the resumption of an Israeli blockade on goods coming into the enclave on March 1, But Noha says she is grateful nonetheless to be able to buy a few small ingredients. She decided to bake, "not because it feels like Eid, not because it brings happiness, but to remind the children that life still exists, even in these ruins”.
In Gaza, Eid has become a day of contradictions between pain and resilience, between grief and the stubborn insistence on life. Some Gazans were able to return to their hometowns in the north of the enclave for the first time in months during the ceasefire which began on January 19.
This city may never experience joy again unless a miracle happens
Mohammed Al Sawarka
For Randa Abu Al Foul, 35, this Eid carries a glimmer of hope, despite the breakdown of the ceasefire. Unlike the past two Eids, she is no longer displaced in the south. She has returned to the north, to what remains of Gaza city.
“Yes, the war has resumed, and innocent lives continue to be lost, but many people are trying to push away the thoughts of death and war, to create an Eid atmosphere especially for the children.”
Randa, a mother of three sons and a daughter, did her best to uphold the traditions of Eid. “I took them to Al Rimal market and bought them Eid clothes, along with some chocolates and nuts."
“What makes me happy is that after leaving behind the life of displacement and returning to Gaza, I found that, despite the destruction, life still exists. The markets are open. People are wounded, grieving, but they are trying to live because they have no other choice.”
Randa’s home in Al Nasr neighbourhood was destroyed in the war. Now, she and her children live in Tel Al Hawa with her family. Her husband was injured in the war but she counts herself lucky.
Others, like Mohammed Al Sawarka, have lost more than their homes – more than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023. For the 44-year-old, Eid is a cruel reminder of losing three of his children in an Israeli air strike. Originally from Beit Lahia, he now lives in a tent in Jabalia Camp.
“We just want our lives to return to what they were before to celebrate Eid like we used to, far from the suffering of displacement and loss,” he told The National. “Every detail of our lives has become heartbreaking.”
“Eid is not for us. It is not for our children. I have two sons and three daughters, and I cannot even buy a single shirt for one of them. How can I think of new clothes or sweets when we barely have enough to eat?”
His voice heavy with grief, he continued, “Eid in Gaza is a nightmare. There are no celebrations because people are sick, displaced, struggling to survive. Everywhere we look, we see the scars of war destruction, death, piles of rubbish. This city may never experience joy again unless a miracle happens.”
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'Lost in Space'
Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen
Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins
Rating: 4/5
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
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
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
Company%20Profile
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
Indika
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Elvis
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Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections
6.30pm: Final Song
7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo
7.40pm: Dubai Icon
8.15pm: Dubai Legacy
8.50pm: Drafted
9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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U18 Age Group
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Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
