Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Eighteen months into the war in Gaza, with the death toll from Israeli attacks mounting steadily, food, medicines and other essentials running low, and expanded ground operations forcing the population out of ever-larger areas, signs are emerging that society is near breaking point.
Any hope of relief rests on Israel and the militant group Hamas agreeing to terms for another ceasefire, but neither side appears willing to give ground on their demands.
More than 1,390 people have been killed since Israel ended two months of ceasefire with intense bombardment on March 18. More than three times that number have also been injured, Gaza health authorities said on Monday, raising the Palestinian death toll from the war to more than 50,750, with more than 115,450 injured. Nine out of 10 Gazans are displaced and effectively homeless, and no aid has entered the territory since Israel imposed a blockade on March 2. Desperation has reached new heights.
In the past two weeks there have been rare protests against Hamas, despite the group being known to crack down harshly on any signs of opposition since it gained control of the enclave in 2007. The family of one young protester, Uday Al Ruba'i, accused Hamas forces of kidnapping him on March 28 and torturing him after he took part in a protest against the group in Gaza city.
"They want to shoot me … some masked men came after my brother. They could be Al Qassam [Brigades], God knows. And I've been on the run since the morning," Mr Al Ruba'i, 22, said in a video message posted online, referring to the armed wing of Hamas.
Soon after, his brother Hussein posted a video statement while standing next to Mr Al Ruba'i's grave, vowing that the family would not hold any mourning ceremonies without exacting retribution. "They betrayed him, and killed him," he said.
The Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) condemned the "extrajudicial killing" and highlighted it as a symptom of a wider issue. "The ICHR views this crime as part of the deteriorating security chaos, the proliferation of weapons, and the absence of the rule of law in Gaza, posing a serious threat to public rights and freedoms," it said in a statement.
Days later a family in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza, said they had killed a Hamas police officer who opened fire during a stampede outside a flour storage site, killing one of their members. Hamas said its officer was killed by "criminals" and asserted that "Israel's attempts to break the internal front and spread chaos will not succeed".
"We will not allow any party to spread chaos in Gaza Strip or take the law into their hands," the group said in a statement.
Gazan political analyst Muhammad Shehada, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, accused Israel of being the root cause of the deterioration in security. "This is exactly why Israel has been reaching out to families and clans in Gaza and pitting them against each other; it's why they've been arming criminals and gangs, and recruiting collaborators and spies at gunpoint; to fully collapse Gaza as a society," he wrote on X.
Another Gazan analyst, Khalil Al Sayegh, said people saw putting pressure on Hamas to accept the truce terms demanded by Israel with the backing of the US – which helped to mediate the initial truce alongside Egypt and Qatar – as the only way to end their suffering.
"People are exhausted of the war and think and hope that if Hamas make a huge compromise and leave the government and dismantle, it'll end the genocide and end the unbearable pain they've been going through the past 18 years with war after war," Mr Al Sayegh told The National.
However, Gazans remain clear about which party is to blame for the misery, he said. "No one in Gaza is under the illusion that Israel is a friend, and that they're only rising against Hamas. They know that Israel is the enemy and is using Hamas to kill them and inflict suffering on them."
Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, said an uprising against Hamas could be a way to avoid a full Israeli occupation of Gaza.
"Occupation is the more probable scenario, unless the protesters reach 100,000 which would be a tipping point to convince Hamas to accept the Witkoff proposal," he said, referring to the truce terms endorsed by Steve Witkoff, the US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
He said Israel's increased military pressure was to force Hamas to not only free the remaining hostages it seized during the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, but to also lay down its arms and for its leaders to leave Gaza. However, he sees "no indication" that Hamas would agree to this.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
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Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
EA Sports FC 26
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