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At least 30 Palestinians were killed as Israeli forces stormed the Tal Al Hawa area of Gaza city early on Thursday, the civil defence said.
“We’ve received dozens of calls from residents there, saying the bodies of martyrs are filling the streets,” civil defence spokesman Mahmood Bassal said in a statement on Telegram.
Civilians are trapped inside their homes, including people with severe injuries, he said.
Some civil defence members were shot at by Israeli forces as they attempted to reach victims, Mr Bassal said.
The Israeli military told civilians to leave Tal Al Hawa and nearby areas on Monday, warning that its troops would be carrying out operations in the area, before expanding its evacuation order to most of Gaza city a day later.
The army dropped leaflets addressed to “everyone in Gaza city” that set out “safe routes” to the central area of the Gaza Strip and warned that the city would be “dangerous combat zone”.
Ahmad Abu Jarad is refusing to leave his home in the Al Tuffah neighbourhood, in the east of the city.
“We figured the directions by Israel were a false alarm, so we returned to our home in Al Tuffah despite not being sure if the area is safe or not,” Mr Abu Jarad told The National. “So how will we leave Gaza city for the south? We will not leave.”
Israel’s evacuation order for the whole of Gaza city is causing “mass suffering”, the UN said.
As many as 350,000 people were living in the areas marked for evacuation, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
Beginning with its assault on the southern city of Rafah in early May, the Israeli army has issued repeated evacuation orders as it stepped up ground offensives across Gaza.
The army said on Wednesday that it had completed its operations in Shujaiya, a neighbourhood east of Gaza city, where it had ordered residents to leave before launching two weeks of intensive fighting.
The military said its operation, which involved elite Israeli units, destroyed eight tunnels and “eliminated dozens of terrorists, destroyed combat compounds and booby-trapped buildings” in the area.
Mr Bassal said Shujaiya had become a “ghost town” after suffering extensive damage to “infrastructure and residential areas”.
“We are telling the world for the millionth time that the reality in the Gaza Strip is tragic and that there must be action from international and human rights institutions,” he said.
In the south, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Mahannad Hadi, said Khan Younis has mostly been reduced to sand and rubble.
Every building in the city was damaged in some way, Mr Hadi said during a rare visit to the besieged enclave.
He said women he had spoken to said they had cut off their hair as “extreme overcrowding” in temporary shelters and tent camps was leading to the spread of lice.
Documenting those who have been killed is becoming an issue, officials said on Thursday.
Mohamed Al Mughir, the head of documentation in Gaza's Civil Defence, said 500 Palestinian families have been wiped out, causing the family name to die with them.
At least 12 entire families were killed in the Nuseirat camp operation last month.
“The process of documenting families whose members were all martyred is still ongoing, despite losing about 20 per cent of the documentation due to bombing, displacement, targeting of Civil Defence crews, and the lack of internet to document electronically,” Mr Al Mughir said in a press statement.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
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.
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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.”
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
