Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, the only way out of the Gaza Strip not directly controlled by Israel, reopened on Monday for the evacuation of foreign citizens approved for departure, the Gazan border authority said.
The evacuation of foreign citizens trapped in the Palestinian enclave began last Wednesday under an internationally brokered agreement. The deal also allowed some injured Gazan civilians to leave for treatment at Egyptian hospitals for the first time since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7.
The crossing was closed on Friday after an Israeli strike on an ambulance at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city and no foreign citizens were allowed to leave on Saturday or Sunday.
Health officials in Gaza said the strike targeted a convoy of ambulances taking wounded people to Rafah. Israel said the ambulance was carrying a Hamas militant.
The Gaza border authority said on Monday that not all the foreigners cleared to leave so far had departed, and asked those still in the territory to make their way to the Rafah crossing.
The authority has been publishing daily lists of foreigners approved to leave Gaza on Facebook. The lists show 345 people were issued approval on Wednesday, 596 on Thursday and 571 on Friday. The list posted on Saturday was comprised of 55 Egyptians.
Under the border deal, the departure of foreign citizens depended on the Israeli military allowing injured Palestinians to safely leave Gaza for treatment, an official in the Egyptian city of Arish told The National.
The crossing remained closed to foreign citizens until assurances were given that all aspects of the deal will be respected, the official said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said a convoy of four ambulances transporting patients from Al Shifa Hospital, accompanied by two ICRC vehicles arrived at the Rafah crossing on Monday.
“It is an immense relief to know that these patients are safe and will receive urgent medical care,” said William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC’s office in Gaza.
“I can’t emphasise enough how crucial it is that hospitals, medical personnel, and patients are protected amid this violence. There are thousands of critically injured people in Gaza. It is an obligation under international humanitarian law to spare them from harm.”
Fifty lorries carrying aid entered Gaza on Monday, an Egyptian Red Crescent officer said, after 24 entered on Sunday.
Egypt is seeking to increase the amount of aid flowing into Gaza, including fuel, which Israel has thus far refused to allow.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme, on Sunday to outline the “logistical obstacles” to the delivery of aid into Gaza, including repeated Israeli bombardments of the Rafah crossing.
Israel allowed fewer than 20 lorries to enter Gaza in the week after lifted its blockade on aid on October 21.
The following week it allowed 100 lorries to enter each day, but thousands of tonnes of aid sent by countries in the region and from around the world remain in Arish.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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6. Secret Ambition
