Palestinians woke up on Monday to news of the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza being reopened to allow in a limited amount of aid amid Israel’s continued bombing campaign in the Palestinian enclave. Any optimism, however, was quickly overshadowed by renewed threats of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah – the border area’s main city.
As many of Gaza’s 1.4 million displaced residents were sheltering in Rafah, where temperatures dropped to 10°C on Sunday night, retired Israeli general Benny Gantz, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-member war cabinet, told a conference of Jewish-American leaders that if the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza were not freed by the start of Ramadan, “the fighting will continue to the Rafah area”. Mr Netanyahu has brushed off the growing calls to halt his country’s military offensive, promising to “finish the job”.
Historically, Ramadan has often been a time of acute tension as Islam's third holiest site, Al Aqsa Mosque in Al Haram Al Sharif, remains under Israeli occupation and access to it is often impeded by Israeli forces. For Mr Gantz to use the start of the holy month as a military deadline is reckless. Unhelpfully, this has been accompanied by demands from Israel’s right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to restrict Muslim access to Al Aqsa during the holy month, something that could enflame an already highly volatile situation.
Such developments serve only to increase tensions. There must be a ceasefire or at least a halting of Israeli attacks, without condition. Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups should release the remaining Israeli hostages. The abductions of civilians on October 7 cannot be justified, and in addition to the injustice of kidnapping and holding non-combatants, the presence of these abductees offers little deterrence to an Israeli military that has proved itself willing to kill large numbers of Palestinians to free even a handful of hostages.
Keeping civilian hostages helps provide a pretext for Israel’s armed forces to persist with this calamitous war in Gaza. Israelis are understandably concerned about the hostages’ fate, whatever misgivings they may have about their political leaders or the direction their country is taking.
At the same time, large numbers of Palestinians have been taken by Israeli forces since October 7, leaving many families in the dark as to their condition and whereabouts. Worrying videos have already emerged of rows of Palestinian men – stripped, blindfolded and handcuffed – being watched over by Israeli troops in Gaza. Last week, prisoners’ rights groups said more than 7,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since the Hamas attacks in October, and on Sunday, the families of 62 Gaza residents detained during the war failed in a legal bid to get more information about their loved ones. Kidnapping Israelis is wrong, as is detaining Palestinians indefinitely without charge in the manner of Israel’s “administrative detention” system.
In the case of Rafah, an even bigger disaster awaits the large proportion of Gaza’s population seeking some kind of refuge there. Coupling the fates of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to demands for a ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal is increasingly looking like a tactic that could lead to even more suffering for Gazan civilians.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
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
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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 Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
