GAZA STRIP // Israel and Hamas militants continued to trade fire on Sunday despite both sides expressing interest in a temporary ceasefire after 20 days of fighting.
The wrangling comes as the death toll reached 1,060 Palestinians, most of them civilians, who were killed by a combination of Israeli airstrikes, shelling and invading troops that have laid waste to vast swathes of the territory.
The Islamist group continued firing rockets at Israel despite saying it would accept a United Nations-crafted truce that would halt fighting for 24 hours, in part to offer Gaza’s residents respite for the upcoming Eid Al Fitr holiday.
There was no response from Israel on that announcement, although Israeli leaders announced a 24-hour humanitarian lull in fighting on Saturday. Hamas officials initially rejected that proposal, launching more rockets at Israel, which still has ground forces, including tanks, deployed inside the occupied Gaza Strip.
Speaking to CNN, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Hamas-fired rockets on Sunday were evidence that the group was “violating their own ceasefire”.
The premier pledged he “will take what ever action is necessary to protect our people” in a campaign of aerial assaults and ground incursions that has levelled entire Palestinian neighbours and killed entire families.
Mr Netanyahu said in a separate interview with US-television network CBS that Israel would dictate the terms of events in the battle with Hamas because it was “a ruthless terror organisation”.
Israel, along with the United States and Europe, classify Hamas as a terror group, although they have indirectly negotiated with it in previous ceasefire efforts, such as the Egyptian-backed truce that ended eight days of war in November 2012 between the group and Israel.
Israel’s military says militants in Gaza have fired 2,500 rockets since the war began on July 8, while it says 43 of its soldiers also have been killed in that fighting.
Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians in airstrikes on Sunday as part of a campaign that is being billed to destroy Gaza’s tunnels and Hamas’s rocket-launching capacity.
The continuation of hostilities followed a 12-hour humanitarian lull in fighting that allowed thousands of displaced Gazans to temporarily return to neighbourhoods that were decimated by Israeli attacks. What they found was vast destruction, with areas east of Gaza City, as well as in the northern village of Beit Hanoun, almost entirely flattened by Israeli airstrikes and artillery.
International efforts have increased to impose a durable ceasefire, but those efforts have stumbled because of conflicting demands between Israel and Hamas.
Israel demands that its troops be allowed to stay inside Gaza to finish destroyed a network of tunnels that militants have used to take cover for firing rockets and sneak into its territory to carry out attacks.
Hamas, along with many Palestinians, refuse anything less than a lifting of Israel’s Egyptian-backed blockade, which was first imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza seven years ago.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper cited dismay among Israeli officials about a ceasefire deal allegedly proposed by the US secretary of state, John Kerry.
It cited unnamed Israeli officials as being in a state of “shock” over the proposals because it did not cater to Israeli security demands — namely, halting Israel’s tunnel-destruction activities.
“We succeeded in foiling that document and now we are discussing other options,” the newspaper quoted an Israeli official as saying.
The US, along with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, would likely want Hamas’s Palestinian rival Fatah manage the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in any ceasefire agreement.
But Israeli calls for disarming Hamas would likely be vehemently opposed by the Islamist group, which formally calls for Israel’s destruction. Moreover, Hamas officials would likely not agree to any such disarmament as long as Israel continues to build settlements on the occupied territories of East Jerusalem and West Bank, which along with Gaza are wanted to form a Palestinian state.
The lack of a ceasefire agreement means that the conflict is likely to continue into the Eid holiday.
“We can’t feel any joy right now,” said Hamed Abul Atta, a Palestinian displaced by the fighting.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* with additional reporting by the Associated Press
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Company%20Profile
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Bob%20Marley%3A%20One%20Love
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Reinaldo%20Marcus%20Green%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20James%20Norton%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A02%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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