Israel intensified pressure on Palestinians to leave Gaza city on Wednesday as troops advanced towards its centre.
The Israeli military said an "evacuation of Gaza city is inevitable" as it encouraged residents to flee south. It claimed there were "vast empty areas" in places such as Al Mawasi that already house many displaced Palestinians.
"Every family that relocates to the south will receive the most generous humanitarian aid, which is currently being worked on," said army spokesman Avichay Adraee. Israel is blamed by the UN for causing a famine in Gaza by denying entry to aid lorries.
Israeli troops "have begun efforts to bring in tents, prepare areas for establishing humanitarian aid distribution complexes, lay water pipelines and more", Mr Adraee said.
Gaza authorities said on Wednesday 10 more people had starved to death in the strip, including two children, raising the death toll of Israel's war to 62,895.
Defying international outcry, Israel is pursuing plans to seize Gaza city and remove Hamas from power in the strip. Arab countries have repeatedly warned against attempts to empty Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants.
Residents of the city said tanks entered the Ebad-Alrahman neighbourhood and began shelling houses late on Tuesday. "If no truce is reached, we will see the tanks outside our homes," former construction worker Saad Abed, 60, told Reuters.
The Israeli army said troops were "engaged in combat" on the outskirts of the city. It said they found a weapons storage site where Hamas had planned attacks on Israeli soldiers.
Their operations on the fringes of Gaza city "enable the expansion of operations deeper into the area", the military said.
Gaza officials also raised the death toll to 22 from an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital on Monday, after two more people died of their injuries. Five journalists were killed in the attack, which was widely condemned.
One of the dead was photographer Mariam Dagga, whose 13-year-old son Ghaith paid tribute by saying she was his "whole life". The teenager lives in the UAE having left Gaza in the early months of the war.
“There is nothing in this world that can ever replace Mama, her tenderness, her care, or her constant concern for me in every part of my life," he told The National.
Israel has shown no sign it will agree to a 60-day truce proposed by Egypt and Qatar in a last-ditch effort to stop the latest offensive. Steve Witkoff, a White House envoy who has been involved in ceasefire negotiations, said the US merely expects the Gaza war to be settled "before the end of this year".
He told Fox News the US was putting together a "very comprehensive plan" for post-war Gaza. The White House did not give details.
Samir Hulileh, a Palestinian businessman who has been approached as a possible interim governor of Gaza, criticised what he said were Israeli efforts to frighten Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, after troops raided a currency exchange on Tuesday.
“Of course, a money changer could be doing something wrong, but to tackle the problem properly you don’t destabilise the market. You don’t raid violently, injuring and killing people,” he said.
Dozens were injured in the raid in Ramallah. In another Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday, troops lay siege to the area for nine hours, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon, meanwhile, told The National that sustained military pressure was the only way to ensure Hamas is excluded from any future role in Gaza.
“I saw the statements of many leaders speaking about the future of Gaza and they say that Hamas will not be part of that,” Mr Danon said. “We will deliver that.”
Questioning alternative approaches, he added: “Who is going to convince Hamas to disarm? I think the pressure we are putting now is the only way to make sure that Hamas will not be part of the game.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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