Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said some hostages could be released when certain conditions are met. AFP
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said some hostages could be released when certain conditions are met. AFP
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said some hostages could be released when certain conditions are met. AFP
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said some hostages could be released when certain conditions are met. AFP

Hamas wants ceasefire as part of Qatar-mediated deal to release Israeli hostages


Ismaeel Naar
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Hamas said it could agree to a Qatar-mediated deal for the release of 100 Israeli hostages in return for 200 Palestinian children and 75 women being held in Israeli prisons.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group’s military wing, also said a ceasefire and an influx of humanitarian aid would have to be part of the deal.

"We informed the mediators we could release the hostages if we obtained five days of truce ... and passage of aid to all of our people throughout the Gaza Strip but the enemy [Israel] is procrastinating," Mr Obeida said in an audio statement late on Monday.

"The truce should include a complete ceasefire and allow aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip.”

Qatar, alongside Egypt, has been meditating hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli leaders have so far insisted there will be no broader ceasefire until hostages are released from Gaza.

US President Joe Biden on Monday spoke to Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, about “the urgent ongoing efforts to secure additional releases”.

Mr Biden said he was "somewhat hopeful" the Qatar-mediated talks could lead to a deal.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim with US President Joe Biden at the White House. Reuters
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim with US President Joe Biden at the White House. Reuters

The White House said Mr Biden thanked Qatar and Sheikh Tamim personally for earlier efforts to secure the release of hostages from Hamas, including two US citizens.

A statement said the emir "condemned unequivocally the holding of hostages by Hamas, including many young children, one of whom is a three-year old American citizen toddler, whose parents were killed by Hamas on October 7.

"The two leaders agreed that all hostages must be released without further delay."

An Israeli official told The Washington Post a temporary ceasefire of about five days could accompany the exchange of hostages and prisoners.

“The agreement could be announced within days if final details are resolved,” the Israeli official was quoted as saying.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

SNAPSHOT

While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Company%20Profile
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Allison (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

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UK
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Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.

Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.

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Updated: November 14, 2023, 11:59 AM