Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Tel Aviv. AFP
Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Tel Aviv. AFP
Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Tel Aviv. AFP
Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Tel Aviv. AFP

Passengers queue for limited flights out of Israel as fighting rages


Rosie Scammell
  • English
  • Arabic

A small number of passengers at Tel Aviv airport prepared to leave Israel on Thursday as the conflict with Gaza militants intensified.

Israel’s aviation authority had to reroute and cancel numerous flights as rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave targeted the capital and surrounding areas.

"We were in the bunker one hour ago, because of the attacks, but I think we are protected very well here," said Andre Valenta, 28, who hoped to travel home to Dubai after cutting short a business trip.

“Because the situation got worse we had to get out.

"We saw a couple of rockets, so there is no reason for us to stay here," he said, but would return to Israel in a few days if the security situation improves.

In the airport, the departures board was dotted with red cancellation notes beside flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London, while yellow signs pointed to bomb shelters.

“Like other airlines, we have cancelled our flights to and from Tel Aviv today. The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is always our top priority, and we continue to monitor the situation closely,” British Airways said.

A departing passenger at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, on May 13. AFP
A departing passenger at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, on May 13. AFP

At the departures lounge, a French-Israeli couple was trying to board a plane to Paris a day after their flight was cancelled.

“[We spend] half the time here [in Israel] and half the time in Paris, so we are going back home,” said the female passenger, 72, who declined to give her name.

While living in Tel Aviv, they had been waiting for flights to resume after a pandemic-related airport closure this year.

"We Israelis are used to war, to war and all kinds of situations. So we live our lives ... there's nothing we can do," she said.

Since Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel launched nearly 1,000 strikes on Gaza.

At least 83 Gazans and seven Israel residents were killed and hundreds wounded.

Israel's military estimated that about 1,750 rockets were fired from the Palestinian territory.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it fired a rocket at Ramon airport on Thursday.

A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing called on “international airlines to immediately cease their flights to any airport” in Israel.

Despite international calls for an end to the violence, there are fears the conflict could erupt into a ground war, as happened in 2014.

"We have the ground troops that have been told to prepare," military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told The National.

The last conflict lasted 50 days and killed 2,256 Palestinians, including 1,563 civilians, according to UN figures. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed.

Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.

It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.

The specs: 2019 BMW X4

Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800

Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm

Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm

Glossary of a stock market revolution

Reddit

A discussion website

Redditor

The users of Reddit

Robinhood

A smartphone app for buying and selling shares

Short seller

Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future

Short squeeze

Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting 

Naked short

An illegal practice  

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday

Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)

Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)

Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)

Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)

Sunday

VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen  (5.30pm)

Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)

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HEADLINE HERE
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  • Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into 
  • That's about it
Cultural fiesta

What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421,  Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day. 

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.

Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.

People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.

There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.

The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.