Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip killed at least 70 Palestinians on Tuesday, including at a school sheltering the displaced, as Israel tanks advanced into southern areas of the enclave, residents said.
Israeli tank crews carried out a raid in eastern and central Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, killing at least 58 people and injuring 82 others before partially retreating, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
At least nine others were killed and 20 wounded in Israeli strikes on a school and orphanage in Gaza city. Three people were killed in a strike on the school in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza city, while six others were killed in a separate attack on Al Amal orphanage west of thecity, Wafa news agency reported.
The escalation in Israeli strikes on Gaza came after Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night in retaliation for Israel's offensive against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel had announced it was shifting its focus away from Gaza to Lebanon where it has launched an invasion after weeks of deadly attacks.
“The army retaliated after the strikes by Iran and Hezbollah, and all the talk of easing pressure on Gaza is a lie. Nothing can stop their massacres and slaughter against us,” Moaz Al Najjar, a resident of Khan Younis, told The National.
Residents described a night of intense and shelling that targeted homes and tents where displaced families were sheltering in several areas of Khan Younis as Israeli tanks rolled into the Ma'en, Al Manara, and Salam areas.
“The teams received calls from people trapped in the eastern part of Khan Younis due to the advance of Israeli occupation machinery, but they could only reach the area in the morning after the forces withdrew,” Mahmoud Basal, a representative for Gaza Civil Defence told The National.
“What we witnessed was more destruction, dozens of new victims.” Mr Basal added that the limited rescue equipment and resources make it even more difficult to reach victims during night-time strikes.
“The shelling was random, and artillery fire was extremely heavy, with drones everywhere. I still can't believe I'm alive because it felt like Judgment Day,” Mr Al Najjar said, adding that the ground incursion began “without any warning or evacuation alert.”
France criticised the overnight Israeli strikes and reiterated calls for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. “For several weeks, civilian infrastructure, where populations find refuge, have been repeatedly targeted by the Israeli army,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
“So many people died and were injured, with no one to rescue them, and some had their homes bombed on top of them,” he said as he recounted how he and his family survived by hiding in a basement of a house.
Residents also recounted gruesome scenes in the overnight strikes on Gaza city.
“Bodies, including children, women, and the elderly, were pulled out charred from under the rubble,” Raed Hamada told The National of the attack on the school in Tuffah, where he and other displaced Palestinians were sheltering. “The school was supposed to be safe.”
Later on Wednesday, at least four other people were killed in a strike on another school sheltering displaced families in Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command center embedded in the compound.
Palestinians in Gaza have endured almost a year of war with Israel which has killed more than 41,600 people, injured tens of thousands, and has displaced the majority of the population.
“Instead of facing countries with weapons or armed groups, the Israelis are taking out their rage on us, the displaced. Every day, we hope it will end soon, but everything only gets worse – more death, more bombings, and no one looks at us or cares about our suffering,” Mr Hamada said.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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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
Meydan race card
6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m
7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m
7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
