Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Nine months since the war began, Gazans say Israel's intensified bombing campaigns and new displacement orders are reminding them of the initial days of fighting.
Israeli forces launched a new military operation on Gaza city this week and demanded that more than 75 per cent of its residents flee to the south, forcing a renewed wave of displacement, reminiscent of when fighting began on October 7.
On Monday, the Israeli army published a map with instructions “to all residents and displaced persons in Sabra, Al Rimal, Tal Al Hawa and Daraj”, to “immediately evacuate” to Deir Al Balah. However, the Gaza government media office warned people not to heed the warnings.
“The occupation aims, through these false calls, to lure citizens into traps of death, murder, and field executions, similar to what happened repeatedly during numerous field executions of citizens who previously tried to flee on Al Rashid Street west of Gaza city and Salah Al Din Street east of Gaza city,” the media office said.
On Sunday and Monday, Gaza city and its suburbs were hit by an Israeli offensive, as residents described it as the strongest attack since the war began.
Towns and neighbourhoods have been heavily bombed throughout the nine-month conflict, leaving the majority of Gazans displaced more than once.
Sabri Al Zein, a 50-year-old displaced father, said he thought he was heading to a safer area when he went to Al Jalaa neighbourhood with his family of eight, including three children, after Israel's warnings.
“But the bombardment and shelling followed us as we sat in the streets, just like thousands of other refugees who no longer have a shelter after the army warned most of the city’s residents to evacuate, forcing them to leave their homes under fire,” he told The National.
“It's as if the war is starting again and the decision that I couldn't take to flee to the south from Jabalia at the beginning of the war, is being forced upon me now as I'm witnessing the unimaginable.”
Mr Al Zein said he worries about the safety of his teenage son who might face arbitrary detention by the Israeli army if the family passes a checkpoint on their way to Deir Al Balah. He says Israeli troops seem intent on “emptying” the north.
Amina Zaqout, 28, is displaced with her husband and family of four. She considered heading south or going to the Jabalia camp in the north of Gaza but has yet to make that decision.
There is death everywhere. The lie of 'safe areas' is now exposed
Amina Zaqout,
displaced Gazan
As residents consider whether to leave and where to go, the Israeli army continued its offensive on Gaza city on Tuesday, claiming to be carrying out strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the area. Other areas are also not safe, with at least seven children killed in an Israeli drone attack on Bureij Camp in central Gaza.
“Since the beginning of the war, we haven't known where to go to save ourselves and our families. Everyone is wondering where to go, and no one knows where they can guarantee protection for themselves,” she told The National.
She, too, was forced to leave her home in Al Nasr after Israeli warnings came for people there to “evacuate”.
“We went to a school in the Safatawi area, north of Gaza city and stayed with relatives – but unfortunately, there wasn't enough space for us because the schools are already overcrowded with people. So, we decided to leave, but we're trying to find a good place to stay. Until now, we still don't know where to go or where to seek refuge.”
Ms Zaqout's faith in the remaining “safe areas” is becoming slimmer.
“There is death everywhere. The lie of 'safe areas' is now exposed and clear,” she said, as people have been killed even in areas designated by Israeli forces as combat-free.
“There is also a lot of fear over checkpoints, the entrapment and arrest of people there.”
With no fully functioning hospitals left in the Gaza Strip, the forced evacuation of Al Ahli Arab Hospital on Sunday has placed further pressure on medical teams and patients who are facing a bigger risk of death by being taken elsewhere on unsafe and destroyed roads.
“We have been forced to start transferring casualties from Gaza city to the Indonesian Hospital. This process is exhausting and requires high-level resources such as fuel and fully functioning ambulances. Additionally, these vehicles need proper road infrastructure to travel smoothly to the hospital,” civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told The National.
Ambulances in the northern Gaza Strip are damaged partially or totally, Mr Basal said, causing teams to face challenges while taking casualties from the shuttered hospital.
“The long travel time threatens the lives of patients and worsens their health conditions. Moreover, ambulances take a long time to reach the injured and those making distress calls due to the distance, leading to the loss of some lives,” he said.
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
The years Ramadan fell in May
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Signs%20of%20%20%20%20%20%20%20heat%20stroke
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20loss%20of%20sodium%20chloride%20in%20our%20sweat%20can%20lead%20to%20confusion%20and%20an%20altered%20mental%20status%20and%20slurred%20speech%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EBody%20temperature%20above%2039%C2%B0C%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHot%2C%20dry%20and%20red%20or%20damp%20skin%20can%20indicate%20heatstroke%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EA%20faster%20pulse%20than%20usual%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDizziness%2C%20nausea%20and%20headaches%20are%20also%20signs%20of%20overheating%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIn%20extreme%20cases%2C%20victims%20can%20lose%20consciousness%20and%20require%20immediate%20medical%20attention%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Read more about the coronavirus
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets