Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Egypt has accused Israel of deliberately hindering Gaza ceasefire talks after an air strike on a school that killed more than 100 people and injured dozens of others on Saturday morning.
Israel's attacks on civilians showed “an unprecedented disregard for the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law”, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued after the attack on Al Tabaeen school in Gaza city, which was housing 2,400 displaced Palestinians.
The strike was perpetrated amid a renewed push for the resumption of talks to end the war in Gaza. Leaders of the US, Qatar, and Egypt issued a call for Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas to return to ceasefire negotiations mediated by the three countries.
“Egypt considers the continued commission of these large-scale crimes, and the deliberate killing of these huge numbers of unarmed civilians, whenever the efforts of mediators intensified to try to reach a formula for a ceasefire in the strip, is conclusive evidence of the absence of political will on the part of the Israeli side to end this fierce war,” the ministry said.
The UAE “denounced in the strongest terms” Israel's attack on the school and reaffirmed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent further loss of life, Afra Al Hameli, director of strategic communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on X.
Jordan condemned what it said was Israel's “flagrant violation of the rules of international law and an insistence on the systematic targeting of civilians and centres for sheltering displaced persons”.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Al Qudah said there was an absence of a “firm international position that curbs Israeli aggression and forces it to respect international humanitarian law”.
The latest attack, amid a diplomatic push to renew talks for a ceasefire, is an indication of the Israeli government's endeavours to “obstruct and thwart these efforts”, the ministry said.
Qatar said it was renewing its call for independent UN investigators to look into Israel's “repeated targeting of schools and displacement shelters”.
Turkey denounced the attack on Al Tabaeen school. “Israel has committed a new crime against humanity by massacring more than a hundred civilians who had taken refuge in a school,” it said in a statement from its Foreign Ministry.
It also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of wanting “to sabotage ceasefire negotiations”.
The UN's Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories accused Israel of genocide.
“In the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century, Israel is 'genociding' the Palestinians one neighbourhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one 'safe zone' at the time,” Francesca Albanese said in a statement on social media platform X.
Ms Albanese accused Israel of using “US and European weapons” to carry out its attacks.
“May the Palestinians forgive us for our collective inability to protect them, honouring the most basic meaning of [international] law.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was “horrified” by the images emerging from the aftermath of the Israeli attack.
“At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There's no justification for these massacres”, he wrote in a post on X.
The renewed push for a ceasefire, which received widespread support in the region and from the US and European Union, came after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week and the appointment of Yahya Sinwar, the group's leader in Gaza, as his successor.
Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the assassination and vowed to retaliate, spreading fears of a regional war.
Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has also threatened Israel with a “punishment” after Israel killed one if its senior commanders in Beirut last week.
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Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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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
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.”
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Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
