More than 100 people were killed on Tuesday in Israeli attacks on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
Air strikes hit a five-storey residential building housing about 150 displaced people early in the morning, killing at least 93, Palestinian media reported. Twenty-five children were among the dead, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
At least another 10 people were killed on Tuesday evening when the Israeli military shelled three homes in the town, with dozens more injured in the attack, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israeli forces began a siege of northern Gaza more than three weeks ago, blocking the entry of aid and medical assistance. Israel has said its goal is to eradicate the operational infrastructure of Hamas.
Many of those injured in the morning attack were taken to the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, said Dr Marwan Al Hams, director of field hospitals at the Health Ministry.
“Anyone with medical skills or first aid training is urged to head to Kamal Adwan Hospital to help save the injured,” Dr Al Hams said.
Last week, Israeli troops raided the hospital, causing extensive damage and detaining several medical staff. The building was hit with prolonged artillery shelling on Tuesday morning, Wafa reported.
It added that dozens of people were still trapped under rubble, with civil defence and ambulance crews unable to reach them.
“There have been appeals and distress calls for civil defence personnel to save the lives of the wounded,” civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told The National. “But the civil defence system has been completely disabled due to the ongoing Israeli aggression in northern Gaza and the arrest of several of its personnel.”
There was no immediate comment from Israel's military. Hamas issued a statement condemning the attacks. “The northern part of the Gaza Strip is being subjected to a campaign of ethnic cleansing and systematic displacement, in full view of the world,” the group said.
Israeli strikes were also reported in Gaza city on Tuesday, with five people killed and more than 20 injured during two raids on a crowded market in Al Daraj neighbourhood, Wafa reported. Several people were wounded in an attack on a home sheltering a displaced family. Israeli forces also reportedly burnt down a UN-run school in the northern Jabalia refugee camp.
Two deaths were reported in southern Gaza when an Israeli strike hit the Khirbet Al Adas area north of Rafah city. Overall, at least 115 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday, Wafa quoted medical sources as saying.
Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes targeted Palestine Tower in Gaza city on October 7, 2023. EPA
Palestinians take control of an Israeli Merkava battle tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. AFP
This video grab from footage released by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group on May 22 shows what the group described as Israeli female soldiers being captured by Palestinian Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. AFP
Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. EPA
A rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement, in Gaza city. EPA
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. Reuters
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. AFP
An Israeli artillery unit fires at an area along the border with Gaza, southern Israel, on October 11, 2023. EPA
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people carry their belongings before boarding a ship for US nationals and their immediate family members, as they leave Israel headed for Cyprus. Reuters
Palestinian youths take cover behind a rubbish container as they clash with Israeli forces at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023. AFP
A man mourns as he attends a funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. Reuters
A man holds a child, survivors of Israeli bombardment, as they are treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. AFP
People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023. AFP
Anti-war protesters raise their 'bloody' hands behind US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine, as well as bolster border security, on Capitol Hill in Washington on October 31, 2023. Reuters
Palestinians run for cover after a strike near the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on November 1, 2023. AFP
Palestinian children run as they flee from Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023. AFP
An injured Palestinian woman covered in dust and blood hugs an injured girl child at the hospital following the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023. AFP
Hostages released by Hamas Gal, left, and Tal Almog-Goldstein, second left, stand in a bus transporting them to an army base in Ofakim in southern Israel after they were released by the Palestinian militant group from the Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023. AFP
Palestinian boys stand in their makeshift tent at a camp set up on a schoolyard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where most civilians have taken refuge, on December 13, 2023. AFP
Palestinians fleeing the north through the Salaheddin road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza city, walk past Israeli army tanks on November 24, 2023. AFP
In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. AFP
Jewish protesters block the passage of aid trucks being sent to Gaza in Ashdod, Israel on February 1, 2024. Reuters
A man pulls water containers as he walks past destroyed buildings in Khan Younis on May 5, 2024. AFP
Relatives of Hanan Yablonka, one of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants, mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on May 26. AFP
Humanitarian aid packages land after being dropped from a plane in Al Mawasi district of Khan Younis, on May 30, 2024. Reuters
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, on June 16. EPA
Displaced Palestinians play football in Jabalia on July 23, 2024. AFP
Palestinians injured in an Israeli strike on a school ride on the back of a cart in Deir Al Balah on July 27, 2024. AFP
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 11. Reuters
Palestinians survey the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a displacement camp in Khan Younis on September 10, 2024. AFP
A medical staff member carries supplies through a destroyed section of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on September 17. AFP
People walk past makeshift graves in Gaza city on September 17. AFP
The World Food Programme warned on Tuesday that the siege on northern Gaza increased the threat of famine in the enclave. The UN agency said it had about 94,000 tonnes of food in Egypt and Jordan that could feed one million people for four months, but this could not be moved into Gaza because of border restrictions and safety fears.
"Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe," the WFP said. Only 5,000 tonnes of supplies had entered the enclave this month, it added.
The need for Israeli authorities to issue approval for lorries and drivers to enter Gaza, as well as delays at checkpoints in the enclave, were exacerbating the crisis, the WFP said.
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
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.