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A convoy of lorries delivering food supplies to Gaza was looted inside the enclave, causing severe damage to the vehicles and widespread loss of cargo, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York on Monday.
Stephane Dujarric said of the 109 lorries delivering aid for the World Food Programme and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), only 11 made it safely to the warehouse in Deir Al Balah. Humanitarian workers were ordered at gunpoint to unload aid, UNRWA said in a post on X.
The convoy, originally scheduled for November 17, was redirected by Israel on “short notice via an alternate, unfamiliar route”, Mr Dujarric told reporters.
When asked why Israel had approved the convoy's departure a day earlier than planned, Mr Dujarric directed reporters to Israeli authorities. The National has contacted the Israeli military and Cogat, the agency in charge of overseeing civilian policy in the West Bank and logistical co-ordination with Gaza, for comment.
“We continue to face severe access challenges in bringing aid into southern and central Gaza. These challenges remain despite several attempts to overcome them, such as repairing an alternative road and using a new border point, which is the Kissufim crossing,” Mr Dujarric said.
“However, whether it's Kissufim or Kerem Shalom [Karam Abu Salem] and surrounding routes, they have proved unworkable due to ongoing security issues. They are entirely insufficient to ensure the sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
UNRWA said that Israel had given “no reason” for a change in route for the convoy.
“This is an area where we’ve seen an increase in looting over the last few months – and it all comes down to when the Rafah border was closed coinciding with a huge drop in aid and increase in criminal activity and looting because of an environment that’s been created where society has collapsed and there’s very little in terms of law and order,” spokeswoman Louise Wateridge told The National from Nuseirat in central Gaza on Monday.
Ms Wateridge said the agency does not know what has happened to the looted aid and accused Israel of “disregarding their legal obligations” to create a safe environment through which to distribute aid.
“Reinforcement of criminal activities and lawlessness is happening … if there’s no police enforcement then criminals will rise and this happens with desperation,” she said.
People have been “begging for flour”, she said, and even those whose financial situation is slightly better will not be able to find fruit and vegetables in the market.
Aid agencies are “just as frustrated” as the people, Ms Wateridge said. She said humanitarian workers are sitting at checkpoints for “seven hours” at a time before being told by Israeli authorities that they cannot bring aid in.
A senior police official in Gaza told The National that criminal gangs are “strangely unchallenged” by Israeli forces, particularly in the south, which the official said is rife with crime.
“Since aid began entering, we devised plans for secure corridors to deliver supplies to storage. But over time, organised and armed gangs emerged, operating from locations close to Israeli positions,” the police official said. “When we attempt to intercept them, our security teams are immediately targeted [by Israeli forces].”
Gaza's Interior Ministry said on Monday that at least 20 people had been killed in “security operation” against gangs that were looting aid vehicles, AFP reported.
“Today's security operation will not be the last,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “the phenomenon of truck thefts … has severely impacted society and led to signs of famine in southern Gaza”.
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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
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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.”
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