The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces, a coalition of Palestinian groups including Hamas, has called a general strike across the Palestinian Territories for Monday in protest against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The group said that local and international efforts should be united to end the war, and that the strike is intended to raise awareness of the killing of civilians.
The UN has warned that aid stocks in Gaza are decreasing as a result of Israel’s blockade of the enclave. “It’s been over a month since the state of Israel banned the entry of aid and commercial supplies into Gaza,” the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians said yesterday. “Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate.”
After the expiry of a six-week truce, Israel blocked the entry of aid on March 2 and resumed hostilities on March 18. Since then, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, taking the death toll to more than 50,600. Fifteen of those were Palestinian medical workers shot dead by Israel, with the Israeli military saying the medics’ vehicles had been “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals.
However, footage of the incident taken from one of the medics’ phones appeared to contradict that version of events, showing clearly marked ambulances and medical workers in high visibility jackets. The crews do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and walk towards the ambulance.
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six civil defence workers and a UN employee were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by Israeli troops in Tel Al Sultan, a district in the city of Rafah.
Younes Al Khatib, the head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, called for an independent investigation. “We don’t trust any of the army investigations,” he told a UN briefing on Friday.
On Saturday, an Israeli military official told journalists that the army’s initial account of the incident was “mistaken”, and that a military inquiry would be presented to the chief of the general staff the following day.
At least 39 people were reportedly killed across Gaza on Saturday, including more than a dozen women and children. Israeli strikes on Khan Younis killed 19, eight were killed in Deir Al Balah, three in Jabalia and 12 in Gaza city’s Zeitoun and Al Tuffah neighbourhoods, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron was due to land in Cairo on Sunday evening for talks on the situation in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Mr Macron was also expected to head to El Arish, 50km west of the Gaza Strip, to meet humanitarian and security workers.
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
FOOTBALL TEST
Team X 1 Team Y 0
Scorers
Red card
Man of the Match
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
