Can Gaza's humanitarian corridors provide a route out for civilians?

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Pressure on Israel for humanitarian corridors to puncture the siege of Gaza has been accompanied by parallel calls for people to be given the option of fleeing a potential ground invasion targeting Hamas.

The Palestinian territory had its electricity supply cut off on Monday and access to humanitarian aid convoys was made impossible by air strikes at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

As Egypt was negotiating with Israel over safe corridors through which to send aid, questions loomed over the implications for Gaza's two million residents who may seek to flee the onslaught.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pleaded for "immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access" for civilians in Gaza, as "there is no time to lose". But stopped short at calling for an evacuation of civilians, in a press briefing in New York on Wednesday.

Israel’s pounding of the territory has killed 900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.

At least 200,000 Palestinians have been internally displaced, according to the UN.

More than 2,300 Palestinians were killed in Israel's last ground invasion of Gaza in 2014. The risk of this happening again has prompted calls for the “evacuation” of Gazans. Some voices point out civilians have fled the Syrian and Ukraine wars in recent years as a reaction to the outbreak of fighting.

"Why has the UN Secretary General not called for two million civilians to be evacuated from a war zone? If these civilians are not evacuated things will soon become catastrophic," said Chris Gunness, a former spokesman for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

“Gaza is unique in the annals of contemporary warfare in that it’s the only conflict zone that is surrounded by a fence, so that people cannot flee,” he told The National.

A “humanitarian convoy of evacuations” is the “utmost priority” and should be negotiated with involvement from the UN or the regional group of actors, he said.

Temporary displacement to neighbouring Egypt is the "obvious" choice, as it is unlikely that Israel will allow anybody out of Gaza.

A return would then be agreed between the two parties after a ceasefire.

"Traditionally there would be a period of calm, a ceasefire, and an agreement for people to return," said Mr Gunness.

It is understood that the UK is working with Egyptian authorities to enable British and dual nationals to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

“We have been speaking with Egypt about maintaining the land crossing from Gaza into Egypt," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told media on Tuesday.

This follows pleas from Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf to the foreign secretary to push for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians trapped in Gaza, which include his wife's family.

The US is trying to negotiate safe passage of US citizens in Gaza, according to CNN.

But many fear an evacuation would lead to a permanent depopulation of Gaza, a move that would be opposed by many, not least by Gazans themselves and Palestinian leaders.

“Some Israeli extremist politicians have openly called for the “transfer” of Palestinians out of the Palestinian territories so as to perpetuate Israeli control – so Palestinian fears are understandable,” said Prof Rex Brynen, a political scientist at McGill University in Canada.

Gazans fear another round of permanent displacement, which has cornered them there in the first place.

“Gaza largely consists of people whose families fled past Israeli military operations, only to see their properties seized, their villages deliberately destroyed, and who were barred from returning on pain of being shot dead as “infiltrators”, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A Hamas officer guards the Palestinian side of the Erez checkpoint in the northern Gaza Strip, last year. EPA

“Indeed the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of 1948, is core to Palestinian identity and existential fears,” he said.

An outflow of refugees into Egypt would threaten existing Arab-Israeli peace agreements, including 1978 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel.

These gave autonomy for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and ensured that Egypt would not see refugee settlements on its territory in the Sinai desert.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi appeared to allude to this when he spoke to the media in Cairo on Tuesday, following the Israeli military's comments. "Egypt will not allow the liquidation of the Palestinian question at the expense of other parties,” he said.

Forcing Gazans to flee there would could see an unravelling of the 45-year agreement. “Netanyahu’s stated is aim is for Palestinians to cross into Egypt, and that’s a very big red line for the Egyptians," Ghanem Nuseibeh, a London-based security expert told The National.

“For the first time there has been a divergence between Egypt’s national security interests and Israel’s intentions. The security cooperation between Egypt and Israel will come under serious threat, and Jordan will follow suit" he said.

While you're here

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The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe

Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads

Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike

They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users

Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance

They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians

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MATCH INFO

Quarter-finals

Saturday (all times UAE)

England v Australia, 11.15am
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Sunday

Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm

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It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Scores

Day 2

New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227

New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining

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Tips to avoid getting scammed

1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday

2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment

3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone

4) Try not to close the sale at night

5) Don't be rushed into a sale

6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour

Euro 2020

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Wales, Turkey

Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland

Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria,
Georgia/Kosovo/Belarus/North Macedonia

Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia

Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden,
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal,
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary

A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language

2018: Formal work begins
November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
November 2024: All 127 volumes completed

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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Fixtures:

Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final

Table:

1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10

2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8

3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6

4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4

5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2

'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse