Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said more must be done to protect Palestinian civilians as Israel bombards the Gaza Strip, in a clear change of tone from Washington.
“We need do more to protect the Palestinian civilians. We’ve been clear that, as Israel conducts its campaign to defeat Hamas, how it does so matters,” Mr Blinken said.
He was speaking in Tel Aviv on Friday, on his third visit to Israel since October 7 as part of a regional tour.
“It matters because it is the right and lawful thing to do. It matters because failure to do so plays into the hands of Hamas and other terror groups,” Mr Blinken added.
He said he believes that there could be a critical mechanism in protecting civilians while enabling Israel to achieve its objective of defeating Hamas.
Senior US officials, including President Joe Biden, have voiced their support for Israel's assault on Gaza, however they recently began calling for a humanitarian pause to hostilities.
More than 9,000 people, including about 3,760 children, have been killed in recent weeks as Israel pounds Gaza and its more than 2 million residents.
In a message to the various groups supported by Iran, who refer to themselves as the “Axis of Resistance”, Mr Blinken said: “With regard to Lebanon, with regard to Hezbollah, with regard to Iran – we have been very clear from the outset that we are determined that there not be a second or third front opened in this conflict.”
Mr Blinken also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.
In an address after meeting Mr Blinken – but not alongside the US official – Mr Netanyahu said there would be no truce in Gaza until Hamas releases the 240 hostages it took during its October 7 attack on southern Israel.
“Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the return of our hostages,” he said.
The war on Gaza came in response to an unprecedented assault on Israel by Hamas on October 7, when the Palestinian group killed about 1,400 people.
Mr Blinken said he had spoken to Mr Netanyahu and Israel's war cabinet over how, when and where humanitarian pauses could happen and what understandings should be reached to boost aid, avoid more civilian deaths and release the hostages.
Mr Blinken said: “It is very important that when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in a crossfire of Hamas’s making that everything be done to protect them and to bring assistance to those who so desperately need it and who are not in any way responsible for what happened on October 7.”
However, he added: “We have a shared determination and that determination will not wane.”
Mr Blinken also called for the protection of journalists, with at least 34 believed to have been killed during the conflict.
He added that the “protection of civilians” was vital.
“And that of course includes journalists, journalists who are doing extraordinary work under the most dangerous conditions, to tell the story to the world,” Mr Blinken added.
Earlier, speaking alongside President Isaac Herzog, Mr Blinken said Israel “has the right and obligation to defend itself and to ensure the events of October 7 never happen again”.
But he added: “At the same time let's just make clear, how Israel does this matters.”
Mr Herzog insisted Israel was going to great lengths to notify residents of air strikes, as he brandished a pamphlet he said Israel has dropped, telling civilians to leave north Gaza.
On the roughly 240 hostages that Hamas took back to Gaza, Mr Blinken said: We are determined to do everything we can to bring them back safely to be with their families and loved ones.”
Israel expanded its ground operation at the end of last month, sending tanks and infantry across the border as its troops aim to surround Gaza city.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it had accomplished that task. Israel views Gaza city as the nerve centre of Hamas operations.
“We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimise harm to men, women and children in Gaza,” Mr Blinken said before his departure from the US.
“This is something that the United States is committed to.”
“When I see a Palestinian child – a boy, a girl – pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else,” said Mr Blinken, who is expected to visit neighbouring Jordan after holding meetings in Israel.
“So this is something that we have an obligation to respond to – and we will.”
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Results
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
SPECS
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
