Much like people across Israel, Palestinians in Gaza experienced shock and then confusion on Saturday, as Hamas and Israel entered a state of war.
Many fear that the latest escalation might be worse than the 2008 and 2014 wars.
“No one in Gaza has an answer as to what’s happening. We woke up at 6am to the sounds of bombs everywhere,” Waseem, 25, a Gaza resident told The National.
"This is the most complicated situation I have ever witnessed in Gaza.
“We were expecting something, but it’s 100 per cent a surprise. The press and politicians in Gaza are just trying to understand what’s happening but there’s no clear answer as to what’s happening."
Waseem said his family decided to leave their home and headed immediately to his grandfather’s house, which is in the centre of a camp. But they are still living in fear.
“It’s not safe. Nowhere is safe,” he said. “In this house we have four children, one of them is a newborn.
"They are terrified but we are trying to keep them calm. We are scared. We know how bad the occupation is.”
The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have carried out a multi-front attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of the group's fighters crossed the heavily fortified border.
The attacks caught the country off-guard on a major holiday.
Israel's ambulance service said at least 40 Israelis were killed and hundreds wounded in the Hamas attack but the total appeared likely to rise, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed at least 198 were killed so far while 1,610 were wounded by Saturday afternoon in Gaza following Israeli retaliation on the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country was “at war” and called for a mass mobilisation of army reserves. The violence revived memories of the 1973 war almost 50 years to the day.
Hours after Israel responded to Saturday’s surprise attack from Hamas, hundreds of residents in the Gaza Strip fled their homes to move away from the border with Israel.
Men, women and children were seen carrying blankets and food items as they left their homes, mostly in the north-eastern part of the Palestinian territory.
Speaking to The National from Gaza, Abdullah Hammoudeh, 31, said residents had begun taking shelter in anticipation of continued aerial bombardment from Israel.
“Things have been moving very, very fast for us this morning. We've started taking extra precautions right now by stocking up on food and our emergency necessities in case this escalates to the levels of the 2008 war and 2014. There's a lot of tension among us and we're afraid of the days to come,” he said.
Israel launched a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fired rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot in 2008. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were reported killed before a ceasefire was agreed.
In 2014, the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas led to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis died, 67 of them members of the military.
In anticipation of an influx of Gaza residents fleeing from the enclave, field hospitals were being set up close to the border to treat the wounded among Palestinians in the case of Israeli ground and air offensives, Egyptian officials told The National.
The officials said the Hamas attack took them by surprise and that talks with Israeli and Hamas officials were under way to end the hostilities.
But they acknowledged that the chances of a truce being agreed to any time soon were slim.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
