Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israeli forces withdrew from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza early on Friday, after a 20-day military operation that destroyed about 70 per cent of the camp, Palestinian officials told The National.
The attack resulted in the destruction of the camp and its surrounding areas, where more than 100,000 Palestinians live, with scenes of devastation circulating on social media.
Civilians returning to their homes have found many in ruins.
“Around 70 per cent of Jabalia camp has been completely destroyed, with 800 houses demolished,” Mahmoud Bassal, civil defence spokesman in the north of the Gaza Strip, told The National. “The camp is unlivable, as the infrastructure and water pipes have also been completely destroyed.”
Jabalia is the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps, according to the UN. After the 1948 war, refugees settled there, most having fled villages in areas of southern Palestine that became Israel.
The Jabalia camp is only 1.4 square kilometres, but 116,011 Palestinian refugees are registered as living there, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Israel launched the operation in Jabalia in mid-May, having previously announced northern Gaza was cleared of Hamas fighters in the first stage of its military ground offensive following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.
The Israeli military said the operation was over on Friday and that it had destroyed more than 10km of tunnels below Jabalia that it says were used by militants.
It accused Hamas of turning the “civilian area into a fortified combat compound” and claimed it had killed Hamas's district battalion commander and hundreds of militants in the raid.
Hamas denies Israel's accusations that it uses civilians as cover and accuses Israel of indiscriminately targeting Palestinians.
The military acknowledged it had conducted more than 200 air strikes on the densely populated area during the operation.
Many civilians are missing after the fighting, Mr Bassal said, as the civil defence received at least 20 dead bodies from the camp, with a team still searching for survivors and casualties.
“We still receive appeals from the families about the missing of their family members,” he said.
The Red Crescent in Gaza said it is having difficulty burying the high number of bodies without the necessary equipment.
“Rescue teams are facing difficulties in recovering and burying the dead, we urgently need equipment. The difficulty in retrieving the bodies threatens the spread of diseases and epidemic in the northern areas of Gaza,” the group said in a statement.
'It feels like Judgment Day'
Civilians told The National of the horror they witnessed after nearly three weeks of a military offensive and bombardment by Israeli forces.
“When I entered the Jabalia camp … I felt like it was Judgment Day because of the immense destruction and debris in the streets,” Sobhi Al Mokid, 48, told The National.
The smell of dead bodies spread across the camp, he said.
“We could tell there were bodies in certain places from the swarms of flies and insects around them,” he said.
He said he lives close to the UNRWA school in the camp but he couldn't find his home, which had been flattened.
“The house has turned into a pile of sand, as if someone had put it in a grinder and ground it down to bits. Everything was annihilated before my eyes. I wished for death rather than losing the home,” he said.
Mohammed Zoaiter, 35, told The National he couldn't find the site of his home for an hour, as everything around it was destroyed.
“A home isn't just walls; it's the memories that we lived in. I kept searching for more than an hour, trying to find the location of my house and my neighbours' houses in Block 2 until I managed to recognise them,” he said.
“They demolished our houses, along with our hopes, dreams, and all the beautiful memories we had."
Mr Zoaiter said he left his house with nothing and thought he might be back in two or three days to find moderate damage to his home, at most.
“The people in the camp weren't very wealthy and didn't have much money but they loved life, loved to help each other and stood by each other in every way possible,” he said.
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- 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
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
'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.
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
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
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
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
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
