Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Qatar hit out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday after he criticised Doha's mediation efforts in the Gaza war, with the Gulf state saying he was using “false slogans to justify crimes against innocent civilians”.
On Saturday night, Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X that “the time has come for Qatar to stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it's on the side of civilisation or if it's on the side of Hamas barbarism”.
Qatar hosts the political office of Palestinian militants Hamas and helped broker a truce between the group and Israel that came into effect in January. The ceasefire collapsed in mid-March and attempts to reach a new deal have so far failed.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari called Mr Netanyahu's comments “inflammatory” and said they “fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility”.
“Portraying the ongoing aggression against Gaza as a defence of 'civilisation' recalls the rhetoric of regimes throughout history that have used false slogans to justify their crimes against innocent civilians,” Mr Al Ansari wrote on X.
He added that 138 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza had been released through mediation and not Israeli military operations, saying these efforts were being “unjustly criticised and targeted”.
He also questioned Mr Netanyahu's assertion that Israel stood “on the side of civilisation”.
“The Palestinian people in Gaza are experiencing one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times, from a stifling blockade and systematic starvation, to the deprivation of medicine and shelter, to the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of political pressure and blackmail. Is this the 'civilisation' they are trying to promote?” Mr Al Ansari said.
Mr Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right politicians in Israel, without whom he would lose his governing coalition, to press on with the latest Gaza offensive. He has been increasingly strident in his calls to continue the war since fighting restarted in March.
“Israel will win this just war with just means,” he said in his latest post on X.
On Saturday, Israel's public broadcaster Kan 11 said tens of thousands of reservists were being called up ahead of moves to further expand the offensive in Gaza.
Quoting unidentified officials, it said Israel's security cabinet was expected to approve the plan on Sunday.
Since fighting resumed in the enclave on March 18, at least 2,396 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, bringing the overall death toll from the war to more than 52,000.
Hamas and other Palestinian militants are still holding 58 hostages, 34 of whom the Israeli military says are dead.
Several thousand Israelis staged a protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding the government secure their freedom.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
