Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
After rejecting the latest Gaza ceasefire proposals by Egyptian mediators, Israel has presented its own plan, sources briefed on the matter told The National.
Hamas found the latest Israeli proposals so unacceptable that it has refused to respond, even when the terms were conveyed through mediators. Previously, the Egyptians were proposing a 50-day humanitarian truce, with Hamas releasing at least five hostages, including a dual US-Israel national, before the end of the first seven days. Hamas agreed to that proposal.
One new demand made by Israel is for Hamas to show its goodwill by releasing a dual US-Israel soldier it is holding captive before a deal is reached, said the sources.
Israel is also proposing that Hamas release 10 Israeli soldiers on the first day of a 40-day truce, they added. In return, Israel will free from its prisons 120 Palestinians serving life sentences along with 1,111 others, according to the proposals. Israel is also demanding that Hamas hand over the remains of 16 deceased hostages in exchange for the remains of 160 Palestinians.
While Israel set the duration of the truce at 40 days, it said negotiations based on "new principles" should begin on the second day, the sources stated. This, they explained, reflected Israel's refusal to negotiate the second stage of an agreement brokered in January by US, Egyptian, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and which included a seven-week ceasefire.
On Saturday, the sources said talks were under way between mediators and Israeli and Hamas negotiators on a set of modifications introduced by Cairo to its earlier blueprint. They said the discussions were taking place in Qatar and Egypt.
A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo later on Saturday, they added.
"They are not new proposals. They are changes in the earlier proposals that touch on the number of hostages to be freed by Hamas and that of the Palestinians to be released in return," said one source.
The Gaza truce expired on March 1, but Gaza remained relatively quiet until March 18, when Israel resumed air strikes and later ground operations. The second-stage negotiations, according to the agreement, should have started in early February and produced a deal on releasing the remaining hostages – about 58, of whom only 24 are alive – as well as an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Moreover, Israel continues to demand that Hamas disarms and its leaders leave Gaza and go into exile, conditions already rejected by Hamas.
"Israel has told the Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it has new plans on the ground in Gaza which it will not give up, something that has led to the freezing of negotiations," said one of the sources. "It has also angered Egypt by designating a new corridor in Gaza that separates Rafah and Khan Younis" in the southern part of Gaza.
The sources said Egyptian mediators also had reason to believe that Israel is currently fuelling divisions among Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, including encouragement of anti-Hamas protest there.
Hundreds of people were seen chanting slogans across the territory in recent weeks, calling for the end of the war and for Hamas's rule to end. Placards hoisted by demonstrators read “Stop the war”, “We refuse to die”, and “The blood of our children is not cheap”.
Social media campaigners and tribal leaders had urged residents to join the protests, which have divided Gaza’s population. While some support the demonstrations as a call to end the war, others oppose them, arguing that they could fuel internal discord.
Hamas officials characterised the widespread protests in Gaza, calling for an end to the war and the group's removal from power as an Israeli attempt to put pressure on it to disarm. However, demonstrators told The National they were protesting against the continuation of the war, which has devastated their lives.
Hamas, which led a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war, has controlled the enclave since 2006, and held no elections since then, partially due to a falling out with Fatah, the party that leads the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people and left most of the enclave's buildings destroyed.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will create another corridor across Gaza's south as it laid out plans to seize more of the enclave's territory.
The Israeli leader said the military operation in Gaza had “shifted gears” and is now “seizing territory”, including a new route he called the Morag corridor, thought to be named after a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis in the south. Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
The sources said US special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in the region next week, visiting Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They did not give a precise date for his arrival.
The latest Egyptian modifications, according to the sources, envisage that the first seven to 10 days of the 50-day truce see the initial release of three living hostages as part of a timeline in which a total of 10 hostages could be freed. Negotiations on an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war should begin during the first week of the truce, they added.
Separately, negotiations are taking place between Egypt and Israel on the withdrawal of the latter's military from the narrow strip that runs the length of the Egyptian-Gaza border on the Palestinian side. Israel captured the area, called the Philadelphi Corridor, in May last year.
Israel's action was strongly condemned by Egypt, which saw it as a breach of their 1979 peace treaty and subsequent accords. However, Israel insists it needs to have its forces there to deny Hamas the opportunity to rebuild its military capabilities with arms smuggled through underground tunnels from Egypt. Cairo insists that it has destroyed the tunnels nearly a decade ago.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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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
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Barbie
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One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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
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• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Japan
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Canada
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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.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
