Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel’s war in Gaza has dragged on for 19 months, but the past three days have shown just how relentless it remains.
Entire families have been wiped out in a wave of strikes attacking homes, schools, tents and more, despite a global outcry that has so far failed to pressure Israel into halting the war.
Among the most harrowing Israeli attacks was the bombing of Fahmi Al Jarjawi school in the Al Daraj neighbourhood of central Gaza city, where hundreds of displaced families had sought shelter.
“The school was supposed to be a place of safety. Instead, it was turned into an inferno,” Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence body, told The National. Medics announced the death of 40 people, mostly children and women.
The Israeli missile strike ignited a massive blaze that swept through the school building and the tents pitched inside its grounds. Civil defence teams battled for hours to extinguish the flames.
“We heard desperate cries for help from people trapped alive inside the blaze,” Mr Basal said. “But the fire was too intense. We couldn’t get to them.”
Hussein Muhaysin, a paramedic who rushed to the scene, was the first to rescue Ward Al Sheikh Khalil, a young girl pulled from the wreckage just before the flames reached her.
“She was moments away from death,” he told The National. “When we pulled her out, she was in shock, silent, trembling, unable to comprehend what had just happened.”
Little Ward survived. But her family did not.
“We couldn’t bring ourselves to tell her that her entire family was killed in the bombing,” said Mr Muhaysin. “Only her father survived, and he is now in critical condition,” he added.
“We see tragedy every day, but holding a child who has lost everything, who doesn’t even know yet, that’s a kind of pain no one can explain.”
Sudden death
In the northern town of Jabalia, the Abdel Rabbo family suffered a similar fate. At dawn on Monday, Israeli warplanes struck their home with a massive missile, killing 19 people, most of them women and children.
“It was sudden,” Moumen Abdel Rabbo, 28, a relative who rushed to the scene, said. “The house was completely flattened. Ambulances barely made it through to recover the wounded and the dead. Some bodies are still trapped under the rubble.”
They didn’t want anyone to escape
Suheir Al-Najjar
Even as family members tried to dig through debris, Israeli drones buzzed overhead, and surrounding areas continued to be shelled.
“How can we search for survivors under fire?” asked the relative. “These were civilians, mothers, toddlers, elderly people. This wasn’t a military target. It was our home.”
The Israeli army claimed that it was hitting Hamas targets in both areas. But images and footage of the attacks showed dozens of Palestinian women and children dead or injured.
Over the past three days, more than 75 people have been killed across various parts of the besieged territory, cut off from sufficient aid, leaving over two million people trapped between fire and famine.
Despite a global demand for an end to the war, amid rising calls for sanctions against Israel, the ceasefire negotiations have stalled for months.
Not a target
The negotiations resumed in Cairo on Monday, with mediators from Egypt, the US and Qatar presenting a slightly amended version of a previous proposal for a 70-day truce and the release of 10 Israeli hostages, according to sources close to the talks.
Of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, only about 20 are believed to be alive, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The sources told The National that a mid-level Israeli team of negotiators and a senior Hamas official were due in Cairo on Monday to join the mediators. They added that the US administration is using Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American, as an intermediary or go-between with Hamas.
According to the sources, the negotiations include talks on a "long-term" ceasefire that will commence during the 70-day truce. They were expected to also cover the departure from Gaza and into exile of senior officials from Hamas, as well as the group's ally, the Islamic Jihad.
On Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Israel's recent attacks on Gaza are taking a humanitarian toll on civilians that can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas.
"Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism," he told broadcaster WDR in a televised interview.
One of the most tragic killings in the past days was the story of Dr Alaa Al Najjar, a physician working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the south, who lost nine of her 10 children in a single Israeli air strike on their home while she was saving lives elsewhere.
“The Israeli army hit my uncle’s house with one missile that didn’t explode,” Suheir Al Najjar, a cousin, told the National. “Then came a second missile, which reduced the house to ashes.”
“There was no time between the two strikes. They didn’t want anyone to escape. It was a deliberate attempt to kill them all at once,” said Ms Al Najjar.
“My uncle and his wife are doctors. They have no links to armed groups. They spent the war treating the wounded, saving lives,” she said. “This was a family, not a target.”
Only the husband and one of the sons survived. Both remain in intensive care. The bodies of two of the nine children are still missing, buried beneath the rubble.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mobile phone packages comparison
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
CREW
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Company%20Profile
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Squads
Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.
India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
