Hamas today ruled out renewing the truce in and around Gaza and insisted the Islamist rulers of the Palestinian territory have a duty to respond to any attack by Israel.
"There is no possibility of renewing the truce which ends on December 19 (Friday). The Zionist enemy destroyed it," Fawzi Barhum said as violence flared around the Gaza Strip one day before the ceasefire was to expire.
"We at Hamas have the right to respond to any Zionist aggression against the Palestinian people. It's a national duty," he said, adding however that the Islamist movement would act "according to the situation on the ground."
Israel, which had hoped for an extension of the truce, also insisted it would respond when attacked.
"When the situation requires us to, we will act," said the defence minister Ehud Barak.
Mr Barak raised the spectre of a military intervention, but made it clear he saw no urgency.
"We are not afraid of launching a large-scale military operation in Gaza but there is no need to rush into it," he told journalists.
Israeli forces conducted five air strikes and killed one Palestinian after militants fired a barrage of rockets yesterday, following up with a further volley at dawn this morning.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce that was negotiated through Egyptian intermediaries as the Jewish state regards the Islamists as a terrorist outfit.
The Israeli government says it is up to Hamas to stop attacks often carried out by smaller Palestinian factions, while the Islamists insist Israel must lift its blockade of the impoverished territory.
Israel responded to a flare-up of violence that erupted in early November by tightening sanctions and closing its crossing points with Gaza, halting deliveries of humanitarian aid and other basic supplies.
Shortages caused by the closures have forced the United Nations to suspend its distribution of food assistance to about half of Gaza's 1.5 million population, the UN Works and Relief Agency said.
"Due to the ongoing crisis with irregular border access and the lack of wheat flour in Gaza, UNRWA has exhausted all stocks of flour in its warehouses," the agency said in a statement.
"Wheat supplies scheduled to arrive in Gaza the 9-10 December were unable to enter due to rocket fire, hence the mills have run out of flour and UNRWA has been forced to suspend food distribution," it said.
Rockets have rained down on southern Israel on an almost daily basis since November 4, and Israeli forces have killed 18 Palestinians in Gaza, almost all of them militants, in that period.
On Wednesday two people sustained shrapnel wounds and several cars were damaged when one of the rockets fired from Gaza exploded in the car park of a large supermarket in Sderot, an often-targeted Israeli city just outside the Palestinian enclave.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas plans to discuss the situation in Gaza at a meeting with George W Bush in Washington tomorrow.
Mr Abbas has called for a continuation of the truce, but his authority has been limited to the occupied West Bank since Hamas ousted his forces and seized control of the coastal enclave in June 2007.
The situation in Gaza, and the divisions between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party have further hobbled slow-moving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that were revived under US auspices in November 2007 after a seven-year hiatus.
*AFP
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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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