The Israeli military said it issued about 60,000 reserve orders on Wednesday, before a planned offensive against Hamas in Gaza city.
In addition, 20,000 reservists already called up will receive a notice extending their current orders.
The moves followed “in-depth discussions on the extent of manpower required for the continuation of combat”, the military said.
The mobilisation comes after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the military's plans to seize Gaza city. It remains unclear when the operation will begin, but it could be a matter of days.
The offensive, announced this month, has heightened international condemnation of Israel and fuelled fears of another mass displacement of Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on August 9 that the military's expanded offensive would cover parts of Gaza city and central areas of the coastal strip.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in the city and it holds some of the last remnants of critical infrastructure.
Human rights groups and most of Israel's western allies have warned that the new offensive would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where most residents have been displaced, vast neighbourhoods lie in ruins, and communities are facing the threat of famine as a result of restrictions on the entry of aid.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the planned offensive “can only lead to disaster for both peoples and risks plunging the entire region into a cycle of permanent war”.
The German government said it “rejects the escalation” of Israel's campaign. Germany finds it “increasingly difficult to understand how these actions will lead to the freeing of all the hostages, or to a ceasefire,” government spokesman Steffen Meyer told reporters.
Mediators and Hamas both said this week that the militant group had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, though similar announcements have been made in the past that did not lead to a halt in fighting.
The group said its main proposed amendment to the latest plan is for Israeli troops to withdraw more than 800 metres from residential areas in Gaza.
Israel has yet to formally respond to the ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatar and Egypt. However, it has demanded the release of all 50 hostages held in the Palestinian territory at once, contrary to the current plan for a phased release, and dimming hopes of a last-ditch truce.
Qatar on Tuesday urged Israel to accept a truce to avert a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the strip.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will oppose a deal that does not include the “complete defeat of Hamas”.
More than 62,000 people have been killed during Israel's 22-month offensive in Gaza, according to the enclave's health ministry. It said that at least 269 people, including 112 children, have died of malnutrition-related causes during the conflict.
Israel says it wants to ensure there cannot be a repeat of the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, when militants from Gaza killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages in raids on southern Israel. The attack resulted in Israel's military offensive in Gaza as well as increasingly hostile policies against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
West Bank expansion
Israel gave final approval on Wednesday for a settlement project in the West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, further undermining hopes for a future Palestinian state.
Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations.
The international community overwhelmingly considers the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, cast the approval as a rebuke to western countries that have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in recent weeks.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” Mr Smotrich said. “Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
Mr Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over the West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip – territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state.
Israel’s expansion of settlements is part of an increasingly dire reality for West Bank Palestinians as the world’s attention focuses on the war in Gaza.
Palestinians in the West Bank have faced a marked increase in attacks by settlers, evictions, Israeli military operations and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement. There have also been several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
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.
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
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
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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.
The%20specs
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
