Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel has told Gaza truce mediators it's prepared to allow displaced Gazans to return home in groups of up to 2,000 after security checks, sources told The National on Monday.
The proposal was presented to Hamas through Egyptian mediators during negotiations this week.
More than a million Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes in northern and central Gaza since the war began on October 7. It had been reported that Israel had agreed to the gradual return of displaced Gazans on the condition that no males between the ages of 18 and 50 were allowed to return.
Hamas has previously stated its unwillingness to accept less than a full and unconditional return of the displaced, who make up the majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people. Israel also made no immediate public comment regarding the proposal.
A Hamas delegation led by Khalil Al Hayya was expected in Egypt within days to participate in negotiations. Mr Al Hayya is the deputy of Hamas's leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, Israel's most wanted man.
Most of Gaza's displaced have found refuge in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, which Israel has threatened to invade Rafah to eliminate Hamas.
Israel's proposal also includes assigned hours of the day during which the displaced can make the journey back to their homes.
The proposal is contingent on the two sides agreeing to a truce, which mediators from Egypt, the US and Qatar have been attempting to secure for months.
The return of the displaced is one of several crucial issues that the two sides disagree on, including Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and details of a hostage and prisoner swap. Israel has also insisted on retaining an indefinite and unfettered security role in postwar Gaza and a say in the planned reconstruction of the enclave.
The Gaza war was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7. The attack left about 1,200 dead. A further 240 were taken hostage. About 100 of the hostages were released during a week-long truce in late November.
Israel carried out a relentless bombardment of Gaza in response which has killed more than 32,800 Palestinians and injured more than 75,000.
Hunger is now widespread in Gaza with the UN warning of a famine.
The negotiations to broker a Gaza ceasefire are taking place as the long-running rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank appears to be deepening, adding a serious complication to efforts by the mediators and the international community to chart a road map for postwar Gaza.
The two sides have been at sharp odds since 2006 when Hamas swept legislative elections. The following year, Hamas threw the Authority out of Gaza in a brief civil war against Fatah, the dominant faction in the group.
On Sunday night, Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of sending security officers into northern Gaza.
A senior Hamas official told the group's Al-Aqsa TV that the force's mission was supervised by Majed Faraj, the Palestinian Authority's chief of intelligence, and co-ordinated with Israel.
It said six members of the force, who escorted aid lorries coming through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, were arrested.
The sources who spoke to The National on Monday said at least 13 had been arrested.
Hamas has dismissed as unrealistic any attempt to exclude it from postwar scenarios for Gaza. Repeated attempts over the years to reconcile Fatah and Hamas by Egypt and others have failed.
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The Vines - In Miracle Land
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Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
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- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
