The Israeli military has confirmed that a missile alert was sounded in the Golan Heights on Friday.
Israeli media reports suggest that three rockets were fired from Syria towards Israel. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stated that their aerial defence systems were activated in response to the attack.
One of the rockets landed in Syria, the second in Jordan, and the third in Moshav Mitzar in the Golan, according to the reports.
The Israeli Defence Forces told The National: “Following previous reports regarding sirens that sounded, three rockets were launched from Syria into Israeli territory.
“One of the rockets crossed into Israeli territory and landed in open areas in the southern Golan Heights. No interceptors were launched in accordance with the policy.”
This latest attack from Syria is the latest development as regional tensions mount over last week’s Israeli raids on the Al Aqsa mosque.
According to The Times of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited opposition leader Yair Lapid for a security briefing amid soaring tensions in the region.
The invitation comes amidst a series of violent incidents in the region, including a rocket attack from Syria on Saturday, a barrage of rockets from Lebanon on Thursday, and tit-for-tat rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli strikes over the past week.
Additionally, there have been clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Temple Mount and deadly terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. There was also a suspected Iranian drone launched from Syria earlier in the week.
Israel steps up air raids on Syria
In recent weeks Israel has ramped up air raid attacks in neighbouring Syria, targeting Syrian government and Iranian positions in an attempt to head off Iranian influence in the war-torn country.
Saturday’s attack on the Israel-occupied Golan the latest development against a backdrop of increased regional tensions between Israel and its neighbours.
On Thursday, a volley of over 30 rockets was fired from Lebanon towards Israel. Israel retaliated with air strikes into south Lebanon.
So far and despite the prevailing tensions, there have been no reported casualties from the cross-border strikes.
Israel allocates resources to enforce police activities
Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant has instructed the country's defence establishment to allocate resources and IDF troops to enforce the activities of the Israel Police, according to a statement released on Saturday.
The decision was made after an operational situation assessment was completed. Gallant stated that the forces to be deployed will be determined by the professional echelon.
In addition to the deployment of troops, Gallant has decided to expand the closure on Judea and Samaria and to close the crossings along the Gaza border until after the second night of Passover. This includes the cancellation of civilian measures that were approved ahead of Ramadan and the entrance of workers into Israel.
The reason behind the decision is yet to be clarified, but tensions remain high in the region after a missile alert was sounded in the Golan Heights on Friday, with reports suggesting that three rockets were fired from Syria towards Israel. The Israeli military confirmed that one of the rockets crossed into Israeli territory and landed in open areas in the southern Golan Heights.
In light of these developments, Israel has been taking measures to increase security in the region. “We have a responsibility to protect our citizens and will continue to do so,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Friday.
The missile alert came a day after a shooting incident in the West Bank, in which two Israelis were killed and their mother injured.
The situation in the region is tense, with continuing conflicts between Israel and Syria, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank.
The Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, has been a point of contention between the two countries for decades.
This is a developing story …
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20(2022)
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
The%20specs
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'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
