Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
As displaced families return to northern Gaza, many are refusing to leave behind the bodies of loved ones killed during the war, choosing instead to rebury them in cemeteries closer to home. This allows families to visit the graves regularly and keep the memory of the people they lost alive.
Amal Abu Al Eish, 48, a resident of Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza city and a mother of seven, is among those who had to make that difficult decision. Her 17-year-old daughter Hanan was killed in an Israeli air strike and buried in an agricultural plot in Khan Younis, the southern city to which the family fled after the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023.
“I told my husband and children: 'if my martyred daughter’s body doesn’t return before me to the north, then I will never return'. She is my soul, the light of my heart, and my entire life,’” Ms Abu Al Eish told The National.
After informing the relevant authorities at the local hospital, the family was provided with a burial bag and was able to retrieve Hanan's remains.
“We transported her with us in the car and reburied her in Sheikh Radwan Cemetery, near our home, so I could continue to visit her, talk to her whenever I miss her and be close to her," Ms Abu Al Eish said.
“When they opened my daughter's grave, all I wished for was to embrace her. Throughout the journey, I sat beside her, talking to her, wishing she could respond. It was agonising to travel all that distance with my daughter’s body, sitting beside her, yet knowing she could not hear me.”
Rabah Al Masri, 53, from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, is a father of nine. Two of his sons, Mohammed, 22, and Bahaa, 19, were killed in an Israeli air strike on tents housing displaced people in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, six months ago. They were buried in a temporary grave in a private plot of land.
Mr Al Masri found his home completely destroyed when he returned to Beit Hanoun but that did not deter him. He decided to head back south with his family to fetch their belongings and his sons' bodies, then return north to live in a tent next to the rubble of his home.
"The first thing that came to our minds was moving the bodies of our two sons. I had dreamt of seeing them married and becoming the best of people, but God took them.”
After notifying the Ministry of Endowments and the Ministry of Health, Mr Al Masri received burial bags and proceeded to exhume his sons' remains. They were placed in a car and taken back north in a trip that took more than 15 hours due to stops at checkpoints, he said. Mohammed and Bahaa were finally laid to rest in a cemetery close to where the family home once stood.
“It was an indescribably painful experience. The heartbreak of moving your martyred sons from one place to another, knowing they are now lifeless, with no way to speak to them, embrace them or feel their presence as before, it is a pain beyond words.”
Aware that many families want to do the same, the Ministry of Endowments has issued guidance on how to ensure reburials are conducted in accordance with Islamic regulations.
Speaking to The National, the ministry's media officer Ikrami Al Madallal said Gaza has 60 cemeteries, some of which were already full before the war, while others reached capacity during the 15-month bombardment of the strip. The ministry is now working with authorities to establish new graveyards.
“The transfer of any body cannot be done randomly," Mr Al Madallal said. "All transfers must be co-ordinated with the Ministry of Endowments, the Ministry of Local Governance and other relevant government bodies to maintain order and uphold the sanctity of the deceased."
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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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.”
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
