• Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
  • Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces
    Jordanian and Dutch airforce drop supply to Gaza hospital. Photo: Jordanian Armed Forces

Jordanian and Dutch air forces parachute supplies to Gaza hospital


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Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

The Jordanian and Dutch air forces have parachuted supplies to a field hospital run by Jordan's military in northern Gaza.

The Dutch role in the operation, which was announced late on Sunday, “comes in support of Jordanian humanitarian efforts” in the besieged enclave, the official Jordanian news agency Petra reported.

Jordan has two field hospitals in Gaza – Field Hospital 77 in the north and Field Hospital 2 in the south – and has previously supplied them by airdrop.

Official photos showed the latest supplies – similar to previous airdrops – were delivered to Field Hospital 77, using pallets equipped with a GPS-guided device that can steer the package to its landing site.

Any aircraft operating in Gaza's air space needs Israeli permission.

Before its current offensive, Israel had pulled out from Gaza in 2005 – two years before Hamas took control of the enclave from the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas. But it remained widely seen as an occupying power.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

The kingdom's 10 million population consists of a large proportion of people of Palestinian origin. They are mostly descendants of Palestinians who fled when Israel was created in 1948 and when Israel occupied Palestinian territory after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

  • Israeli soldiers at the entrance of a tunnel 400 metres from the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanun. EPA
    Israeli soldiers at the entrance of a tunnel 400 metres from the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanun. EPA
  • Israeli soldiers at an entrance to the tunnel in northern Gaza. EPA
    Israeli soldiers at an entrance to the tunnel in northern Gaza. EPA
  • Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari in an entrance of the tunnel. EPA
    Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari in an entrance of the tunnel. EPA
  • Israeli soldiers investigate the tunnel. Reuters
    Israeli soldiers investigate the tunnel. Reuters
  • Israel's military says the the tunnel was dug by Hamas to get fighters across the border for surprise attacks. Reuters
    Israel's military says the the tunnel was dug by Hamas to get fighters across the border for surprise attacks. Reuters
  • Israeli soldiers inside the tunnel. Israel says this is the biggest tunnel discovered in the Israel-Gaza war. EPA
    Israeli soldiers inside the tunnel. Israel says this is the biggest tunnel discovered in the Israel-Gaza war. EPA
  • Admiral Hagari inspects the tunnel. Israel says Hamas militants used the tunnel to attack the Erez crossing. EPA
    Admiral Hagari inspects the tunnel. Israel says Hamas militants used the tunnel to attack the Erez crossing. EPA
  • Israeli soldiers investigate the tunnel. AP
    Israeli soldiers investigate the tunnel. AP
  • Israeli troops inside the iron-girdered tunnel AFP
    Israeli troops inside the iron-girdered tunnel AFP
  • Israeli troops inside the tunnel 400 metres from the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. AP
    Israeli troops inside the tunnel 400 metres from the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. AP

The latest war began when Hamas attacked Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 240.

Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive have killed more than 27,000 people.

Amman has been fiercely critical of Israel's invasion, calling on world powers to put pressure on the Israeli government to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave and to halt the fighting.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi said on Sunday that Gaza is “facing starvation”.

Petra quoted Mr Al Safadi as telling French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in Amman that there must be “immediate international action to stop the war and the unprecedented humanitarian disaster” it is producing.

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It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.

The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.

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Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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Multitasking pays off for money goals

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.

That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.

"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.

Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."

People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."

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If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

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6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

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Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Updated: February 05, 2024, 7:56 AM