The National arrived late to the small junction at Dor Alon Urim, just south-east of the Gaza Strip, for an Israeli military tour of Be’eri, an affluent, now-deserted, kibbutz that was one of the first to be infiltrated by Hamas militants on Saturday, with many of its residents killed or kidnapped.
Google Maps was unreliable. It did not factor in military checkpoints and road closures. It could not factor in the need to twice suddenly exit the car, once for fear of rockets, the other for fear of Hamas in the area. Both were false alarms.
The route was strewn with burnt campsites, ruined vehicles and bombed petrol stations.
The disruptions did not matter in the end. The convoy to Be'eri, made up of press and military Humvees, set off far later than the scheduled departure time of 4.30pm on Wednesday.
That gave visitors time to get a bottle of water and food, and mingle with the troops getting a few hours of rest before they set off to the front.
When the order was given for journalists to get in their cars, there was a traffic jam for an hour. The foreign press had come in droves, desperate to witness the scene of the massacre and get to the kibbutz, which had not been open since the massacre on Saturday.
The convoy moved on, through the sound of artillery and jets bombing Gaza, where the death toll is climbing rapidly.
On Thursday afternoon, 1,385 Palestinians were reported to have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank, the vast majority in the former territory. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed.
On arrival, the press followed Maj Gen Itay Veruv, who assembled only five other soldiers to first enter the camp on Saturday morning and start fighting the infiltrators.
The first stop on the press tour was a house near the entrance in which roughly 40 residents of Be’eri sought shelter and were subsequently burnt alive.
“Come this way,” Maj Gen Veruv said. “Come with me and smell what a pogrom smells like.”
Turning the corner, the ground was churned from the fighting between soldiers and the militants, and houses were piles of rubble. The smell of corpses that could not yet be collected for fear of unexploded munitions got stronger.
A burnt golf cart, similar to one on which a kidnapped elderly woman was seen being taken away by Hamas into Gaza, in footage that has since gone viral, stood in the driveway of one home.
At another, unexploded grenades were strewn on a lawn. The danger was marked out with white tape.
Until that point, only the smell indicated the extent of death in Be’eri. Suddenly, bodies of Hamas members came into view, covered in plastic sheets.
“We’ve picked up all the Israeli bodies,” the general said. “We want you to see these ones.”
As night fell and the tour concluded, soldiers shouted at the visitors to stay close. The general warned: “Your biggest threat here is our troops – they are in a state of high alert.”
At the exit, soldiers filled the porches of the few houses that were not destroyed, although there were no residents to host them. Armoured vehicles were lined up in the driveways, their doors open and control centres visible.
This was very much still a front line, but the rush to get journalists in was clear. The scale of the crisis was perhaps most striking in Be’eri, and Israel wants the world to know.
But even kilometres before reaching the kibbutz, the scale of the chaos in the south was clear.
As The National left, reports from colleagues in the north of Israel painted a similar picture of chaos. Near misses, delayed plans, rushed driving and terrified troops.
No part of Israel is safe from a sense that terrible things, perhaps worse things, are yet to come.
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
The years Ramadan fell in May
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47