Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The head of Israel’s military intelligence resigned on Monday over the security failures that led to the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas.
Maj Gen Aharon Haliva is the first senior Israeli figure to step down since the attack that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw about 240 taken hostage. The attack sparked Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Maj Gen Haliva said shortly after the attack that he shouldered the blame for not preventing the assault.
“The head of the Intelligence Division, Maj Gen Aharon Haliva, in co-ordination with the Chief of Staff, requested to end his position following his command responsibility as head of the National Security Agency in the events of October 7,” the army said in a post on X.
“The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with,” Maj Gen Haliva said.
“I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the pain with me forever.”
He will remain in his post until a replacement is appointed and said he will “do everything to defeat Hamas” until then.
Observers at a border post that was struck during the attack by Hamas had reported “unusual movements” and training activities for more than a year before it took place, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported in November.
Maj Gen Haliva's resignation could set the stage for more Israeli security officials to step down from office.
Israel's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, repeated his call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign after Mr Haliva stepped down.
Mr Lapid said Maj Gen Haliva’s resignation was “justified and honourable”.
“It would have been appropriate for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same,” he said.
It came on the 199th day of Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,100 Palestinians. The majority of casualties are children and women, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would step up its military operations to force Hamas to release the 130 hostages still being held in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have died.
“In the coming days, we will increase the military and political pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages,” Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins on Tuesday.
He threatened to “deliver additional and painful blows”.
On Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said that “the chief of staff has approved the next steps for the war”, without giving details.
“On Passover, it will be 200 days of captivity for the hostages … we will fight until you return home to us,” he said.
Israel has withdrawn all but one battalion from Gaza while continuing to carry out aerial and artillery bombardments on the coastal enclave.
Air strikes on Sunday killed at least 24 people, including a man, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old child in Rafah. The unborn child survived after being delivered by Caesarean section, according to the Kuwaiti Hospital.
Another strike in Rafah killed 17 children and two women from an extended family.
Gaza's southernmost city is now home to about 1.5 million people after its population swelled after people fled to the city after being displaced.
Israel says it will launch a ground offensive in Rafah in pursuit of battalions of Hamas fighters, despite concerns about the civilian toll expressed by the US and other allies.
On Monday, the World Food Programme said it delivered fuel and wheat flour to bakeries in northern Gaza.
The delivery was made so the bakeries “can begin production again after 170 days of being inoperable. Four bakeries are now up and running and WFP is urgently working to deliver more supplies,” WFP said on X.
Northern Gaza was the most severely affected by a food shortage across the enclave as Israel imposed strict controls on the entry of humanitarian aid through two land crossings in the south.
Several countries in the region, along with the US and European nations, began delivering food through air operations amid reports of deaths from malnutrition in Gaza. The crisis appears to have eased after Israel, under pressure from the US and other allies, arranged the transport of aid from the south and open land crossings in the north.
With reporting from agencies.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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.”
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
