Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is due to arrive in Washington on Sunday to discuss the war in Gaza and the increasing risk of a direct confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Mr Gallant will meet Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials in Washington.
The discussions “are particularly important and impactful at this time,” Mr Gallant said as he departed Israel. “We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in additional areas.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after the Hamas-led attack of October 7 triggered a retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip.
In the months since, Israel and Hezbollah have conducted countless cross-border exchanges of fire, but both sides have ramped up rhetoric and the intensity of strikes in recent weeks, fuelling fears that war is imminent. Last week Hezbollah published drone footage of Israel's military base at Haifa.
Hezbollah has targeted Israeli towns and military sites, while Israel has struck deep into Lebanese territory, all while the Biden administration has tried in vain to forge a ceasefire in Gaza and a reduction in tension along the Israel-Lebanon border.
US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon last week in a bid to forestall a “greater war” in the Middle East.
Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah claimed a drone attack on Beit Hillel, northern Israel, while Israeli air strikes hit Kafr Kila and Taybeh, two villages in southern Lebanon.
Mr Gallant's trip to Washington, which his office said came at Mr Austin's invitation, comes at a moment of tension between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said the US is slowing weapons shipments to its ally Israel, angering the White House.
Washington says it only ever paused one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, over concerns they would be used in Rafah without sufficient regard to civilian life. Billions of dollars in weaponry, missile defence systems, bombs and other materiel has continued to flow into Israel otherwise.
Mr Netanyahu repeated the claim on Sunday, but suggested the issue might soon be resolved.
“In light of what I have heard over the past 24 hours, I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future,” Mr Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.
Mr Netanyahu is set to deliver an address to Congress next month, a move that has angered the White House as President Joe Biden struggles to contain growing anger from Democrats over his handling of the war and almost unfettered support of Israel.
Mr Gallant is a member of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party but the two have had public disagreements in recent months, with the defence chief saying Israel needs to put forward a clear plan for postwar Gaza that will not leave Israel in charge, a demand echoed by the White House.
“The United States is our most important and central ally. Our ties are crucial and perhaps more important than ever, at this time,” Mr Gallant said before take-off.
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More coverage from the Future Forum
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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