Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Scores of civilians were killed and hundreds wounded in Israeli strikes on a camp for displaced people in Gaza, Palestinian authorities have reported.
Israel carried out a “massacre” by attacking Al Mawasi refugee camp in Khan Younis, Gaza's government media office said on Saturday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, the enclave's Ministry of Health said at least 90 people had been killed and 300 injured.
But there were conflicting reports about the death toll due to the scale of the attack.
The strikes hit Al Mawasi refugee camp, which has been designated as a “safe zone” for displaced civilians.
“Government and relief teams are still retrieving dozens of bodies and wounded people from the site of the bombing,” said Gaza's media office in a statement.
Israel's army said it carried out a strike on an area where it claimed two senior Hamas leaders had "hid among civilians." It said the strike was "an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings, and sheds."
Pictures from the scene showed destroyed structures and burned tents.
Mohammed Deif reportedly targeted
Israel said that the strikes were aimed at Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas's military wing, and Rafaa Salameh, commander of the group's Khan Younis brigade.
Israeli army radio said Deif was hiding in a building in Al Mawasi. It was not clear if Deif was killed in the strikes.
Deif, whose real name is Mohammed Diab Al Masri, is the head of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades.
He is considered to be one of the masterminds of Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed.
More than 38,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza.
Israel has tried to kill Deif at least seven times before, and has killed several of his family members.
A Hamas official denied Deif was the target and told Reuters it was an attempt to “justify the horrifying massacre.”
“All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a grave escalation of the war of genocide, backed by the American support and world silence,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Hospital overwhelmed
Many of the civilians were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which has been battered during nine months of war in Gaza.
“We are unable to provide medical services at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis due to the large number of injured people,” said the Health Ministry.
It comes at a time when no hospital is capable of accommodating such large numbers of injured people due to Israel’s total destruction of Gaza’s health care system, said the ministry.
According to witnesses, five rockets struck an area where the displaced were gathering to cook, and a civil defence vehicle was targeted while attempting to rescue the injured.
“Israeli forces committing new massacres against displaced areas, the Israeli forces also targeted the civil defence team who were rushing to the area to rescue people,” said the director of civil defence in Khan Younis, Yamen Abu Suliman.
Strikes across Gaza
Elsewhere in Gaza, dozens were killed and injured in Deir Al Balah following heavy Israeli shelling, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said.
Bodies were recovered by the Red Crescent, including those three children. They were taken to Al Aqsa hospital.
At Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, 10 people were wounded when a house was shelled.
In the northern Gaza Strip, explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Martyrs Junction in southern Gaza city and Israeli artillery fired shells towards Al Zeitoun, Wafa said.
The army said operations were continuing in Gaza city on Saturday as well as “targeted, intelligence-based” missions in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
It said “numerous” tunnels had been destroyed in the Rafah area, and “multiple” Hamas militants killed.
Also in Rafah, the military said it struck a paraglider storage site used by fighters in the unprecedented October 7 attack, during which some militants used such aircraft.
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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.”
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
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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
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Starfield
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
