Gaza war aftermath reveals uphill battle to rebuild homes and ruined lives


Rosie Scammell
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Gazans took stock on Saturday of the scale of devastation from the blistering war with Israel, while diplomatic efforts stepped up to make a ceasefire stick despite ongoing violence in Jerusalem.

The 11-day conflict forced more than 100,000 people from their homes, according to the latest United Nations figures, and hit essential infrastructure including hospitals, electricity and water supplies.

As the physical damage becomes visible, we must not lose sight of damage inflicted on people

While most of those sheltering in schools and with families returned home after a pre-dawn truce on Friday held, Gaza’s recovery could take years.

“I’m going to attempt to put together a major package, with other nations who share our view, to rebuild the homes,” US President Joe Biden said on Friday.

The president vowed to fund Gaza reconstruction “without providing Hamas the opportunity to rebuild their weapon systems”.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other militant groups fired more than 4,300 rockets at Israel during the conflict, according to the Israeli military. Israel has not given a precise figure of the number of air strikes it launched, though a military official on Friday said “thousands” of targets were hit in Gaza.

Sixty-six children were among 248 Gazans killed, while two children and eight adults were killed by rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, according to health officials. The first medical supplies to pass through Israel arrived in Gaza on Friday, carrying vital supplies including blood bags and coronavirus vaccines.

“As [the] physical damage [in] Gaza becomes visible, we must not lose sight of damage inflicted on people,” Matthias Schmale, Gaza director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, tweeted on Saturday.

More than 1,900 Palestinians were wounded, according to the health ministry, while trauma caused by the worst fighting in seven years is thought to be widespread among the enclave’s two million residents.

In Israel, where sirens blared frequently warning of incoming fire, the Magen David Adom emergency services recorded 119 people wounded from rockets.

Although Washington has pledged to fund reconstruction in Gaza, where the UN says more than 250 buildings were destroyed, US diplomats largely stayed in the shadows during negotiations to end the war.

The ceasefire was mediated by Egypt, whose delegation met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday.

“The two parties discussed developments related to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and the West Bank,” said a statement published by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Saturday had been scheduled as polling day for voters across the Palestinian territories, but Mr Abbas indefinitely postponed the elections last month. The president pinned his decision to scrap the first Palestinian elections in 15 years on Israel’s failure to guarantee voting in occupied East Jerusalem.

There has been widespread speculation that Mr Abbas feared his divided Fatah party would flounder against a united Hamas.

While Palestinians and Israelis enjoyed their first full day without war, the causes of the conflict were still playing out in East Jerusalem.

Sheikh Jarrah on edge

In the city’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, police on Saturday used stun grenades to disperse protesters who were rallying against the forced eviction of Palestinian residents.

In recent weeks Israeli police have used rubber bullets, tear gas, stun grenades, foul-smelling “skunk” liquid and mounted officers against demonstrators in East Jerusalem.

On some occasions people have set off fireworks and thrown objects such as rocks and bottles at the police.

Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of police officers were wounded in the days before the Gaza war started on May 10, when Hamas fired rockets towards Jerusalem.

Hamas had earlier threatened to retaliate if Israeli security forces did not withdraw from flashpoint sites including the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society on Friday said medics treated multiple people hit by rubber bullets at the compound, where Palestinians had gathered for prayers and to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire.

Police said officers responded to “rioters” who threw rocks and petrol bombs. With no public commitments from Hamas and Israel beyond their agreement to hold fire, Washington will this week dispatch Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East.

The top US diplomat is expected to visit Israel, the occupied West Bank, Egypt and Jordan, bypassing Gaza because Washington has no formal relations with Hamas.

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

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'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5