US ally Egypt is seeking guarantees from Washington that Israel will not attack exiled Hamas leaders again, sources told The National on Wednesday.
Egypt's request comes after Israel's strike on Tuesday aimed at top Hamas leaders in Qatar, which is another close Washington ally and home to the largest US military base in the Middle East.
There has been no response yet from Washington on the Egyptian request but, according to the sources, Egypt's plea stands a good chance of receiving a positive response from President Donald Trump's administration.
The White House said on Tuesday night that Mr Trump did not agree with Israel's decision to strike Hamas's exiled leaders in Qatar.
“I'm not thrilled about the whole situation,” Mr Trump told reporters separately.
“We want the [Israeli] hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.”
Hamas said six people were killed in the strikes, including the group's chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayah's son and aide. However, its senior leaders have survived. The sources said several Hamas leaders may have been wounded in the attack, but none seriously.
Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, a Nato member and close US ally, have in recent days discussed ways to best provide protection for Hamas's exiled leaders against possible attacks by Israel, the sources said. These discussions were prompted by intelligence reaching the three nations that Israel planned to attack senior Hamas figures in and outside Gaza as part of its war goal to wipe out the group.
As part of the talks, Egypt was considering providing a home for three or four of the group's top leaders who are involved in indirect negotiations with Israel to end the Gaza war, sources told The National.
Among the names floated for possible relocation to Cairo are senior officials Zaher Jabareen, Nazar Awadallah and Hossam Badran.
“The intention is to safeguard the negotiations at a time when Israel is sending a clear message to everyone that no one in the Arab world can stop it from doing what it pleases,” said one of the sources.
“Israel is telling everyone that there's no ceiling to what it could do.”
Egypt, Qatar and the US, have been trying without success to broker a ceasefire in Gaza since the last one collapsed in March. It was the second pause in the war that began in October 2023.
“The Gaza negotiations have been frozen,” an official who has been directly involved in the negotiations said on Wednesday. “There is no prospect at present for their resumption.”
The latest proposal for ending the war came from Mr Trump. His plan calls for Hamas to release all hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be alive and about 28 are bodies being held in Gaza – on the first day of a truce.
He also wants Hamas to surrender its arms and network of underground tunnels as well as halt the recruitment of new fighters, according to the sources.
Hamas says it will not give up its arms before Israel withdraws from Gaza, where more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Moreover, Israel's strike in Qatar on Tuesday has taken place amid growing tension between Egypt and Israel, Middle East neighbours bound by a US-sponsored peace treaty signed in 1979.
Egypt's condemnation of the attack showed a marked toughening of the anti-Israel rhetoric that has intensified in recent months.
This is mostly due to Cairo's belief that Israeli policies in Gaza are designed in large part to force the enclave's estimated two million residents to seek refuge in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, his ministers and pro-government media have recently taken to using the term “genocide” to describe Israel's war on Gaza. They have also accused Israel of deliberately starving Palestinians in the enclave.
“The perpetrators of this criminal act must be held accountable,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters on Tuesday night after the Qatar attack. “The arrogance of power will not bring about security to the region or to Israel itself.”
Several pro-government talk show hosts have in recent weeks been warning Israel against going to war with Egypt.
“Egypt does not favour war, but it's ready for it,” Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the State Information Service, said in a television interview last week.
“Such a war can be summed up in one phrase: Only a 100 kilometres separate Tel Aviv from Al Arish [an Egyptian city close to the Gaza border],” he said.
“By comparison, it will make the 1973 war looks like a picnic,” he added, alluding to the last of four, full-fledged wars between Egypt and Israel in which Egypt and Syria took Israel by surprise with a simultaneous attack.
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Forced%20Deportations
%3Cp%3EWhile%20the%20Lebanese%20government%20has%20deported%20a%20number%20of%20refugees%20back%20to%20Syria%20since%202011%2C%20the%20latest%20round%20is%20the%20first%20en-mass%20campaign%20of%20its%20kind%2C%20say%20the%20Access%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights%2C%20a%20non-governmental%20organization%20which%20monitors%20the%20conditions%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Lebanon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20past%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20General%20Security%20was%20responsible%20for%20the%20forced%20deportation%20operations%20of%20refugees%2C%20after%20forcing%20them%20to%20sign%20papers%20stating%20that%20they%20wished%20to%20return%20to%20Syria%20of%20their%20own%20free%20will.%20Now%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20army%2C%20specifically%20military%20intelligence%2C%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20security%20operation%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Mohammad%20Hasan%2C%20head%20of%20ACHR.%3Cbr%3EIn%20just%20the%20first%20four%20months%20of%202023%20the%20number%20of%20forced%20deportations%20is%20nearly%20double%20that%20of%20the%20entirety%20of%202022.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESince%20the%20beginning%20of%202023%2C%20ACHR%20has%20reported%20407%20forced%20deportations%20%E2%80%93%20200%20of%20which%20occurred%20in%20April%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20comparison%2C%20just%20154%20people%20were%20forcfully%20deported%20in%202022.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Violence%20
%3Cp%3EInstances%20of%20violence%20against%20Syrian%20refugees%20are%20not%20uncommon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJust%20last%20month%2C%20security%20camera%20footage%20of%20men%20violently%20attacking%20and%20stabbing%20an%20employee%20at%20a%20mini-market%20went%20viral.%20The%20store%E2%80%99s%20employees%20had%20engaged%20in%20a%20verbal%20altercation%20with%20the%20men%20who%20had%20come%20to%20enforce%20an%20order%20to%20shutter%20shops%2C%20following%20the%20announcement%20of%20a%20municipal%20curfew%20for%20Syrian%20refugees.%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThey%20thought%20they%20were%20Syrian%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20the%20mayor%20of%20the%20Nahr%20el%20Bared%20municipality%2C%20Charbel%20Bou%20Raad%2C%20of%20the%20attackers.%3Cbr%3EIt%20later%20emerged%20the%20beaten%20employees%20were%20Lebanese.%20But%20the%20video%20was%20an%20exemplary%20instance%20of%20violence%20at%20a%20time%20when%20anti-Syrian%20rhetoric%20is%20particularly%20heated%20as%20Lebanese%20politicians%20call%20for%20the%20return%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20to%20Syria.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
