Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The US on Wednesday said the negotiating process for a ceasefire in Gaza has been “pretty frustrating”, as disagreements continue over the exchange of Palestinian detainees for hostages.
A senior US administration official said that under the deal, about 800 Palestinian detainees, including roughly 100 serving life sentences in Israeli jails, would be released in exchange for about 100 hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.
“The Israelis have come forward to meet the terms as best they can and Hamas, frankly, on this issue – we've had a pretty frustrating process,” the official told journalists on a call.
Still, the official said that there is “90 per cent agreement” between the sides on the deal. For months, the US, alongside Qatar and Egypt, has been mediating an end to the war, sparked on October 7 when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people.
More than 40,800 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing war, and more than 94,000 injured.
Another major sticking point in the talks is the Salah Al Din area, also known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to keep Israeli forces in the border region between Gaza and Egypt, arguing it is the key supply route Hamas uses to smuggle weapons into Gaza – a charge both the militant group and Egypt deny.
“Bring me anyone who will actually show us … that they can actually prevent the recurrence” of smuggling, Mr Netanyahu said. “I don’t see that happening right now, and until that happens, we’re there.”
The US official said that although the agreement – a text composed of 18 paragraphs – does not stipulate the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Salah Al Din in the first part of the three-phased process, it would not be in Israel's security interest to remain there.
“I have seen some Israeli ministers say this deal somehow would sacrifice Israel's security. That is just fundamentally, totally untrue,” according to the official.
President Joe Biden's administration has said Israel must completely withdraw from Gaza when the war ends, and Egypt is deeply opposed to a long-term Israeli military presence along the enclave's border, saying it is a breach of a decades-old agreement.
On Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said a “bridging proposal” put forth by the US last month to span the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas in the ceasefire and hostage release deal also included the Israeli withdrawal from the corridor.
The deaths of six hostages at the weekend, the US official said on Wednesday, has affected negotiations.
“It's tragic and awful, it's affecting all of us,” the official said, adding that Hamas has included a provision for the exit from Gaza of wounded militants for treatment.
The agreement also includes the entry of 600 aid lorries per day, including 50 carrying fuel, as well as the clearing of rubble, the rehabilitation of hospitals, and rebuilding of critical infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage, communication and roads in all areas of Gaza.
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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