Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israeli protesters are attempting to block aid deliveries to Gaza through the Karam Abu Salem crossing.
Video online showed lorries lined up on the road as men waving Israeli flags stood in front of them in an attempt to stop them from crossing.
Five lorries entered Gaza on Monday with the first delivery of aid for the Palestinian territory's 2.3 million people since Israel imposed a blockade on March 2. The UN Office for Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday it had received permission from Israel to send in about 100 more lorries.
Israel's decision to allow aid deliveries to resume comes amid increasing international pressure over what critics say is the weaponisation of hunger in its war against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.
Far-right members of Israel's government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both settlers, are strongly opposed to the move, which they say would be a “gift to Hamas”.
On Monday, Israel cleared nine aid lorries for entry to Gaza but only five were allowed in. None of that aid has been distributed so far, according to the UN and aid agencies, although levels of hunger among Gazans have reached dangerous levels.
This month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said Gaza's entire population was at risk of famine. Health authorities in the enclave have said dozens of people, many of them children, have died from hunger.
Speaking to The National, UN officials and NGOs said the amount of aid Israel is letting in is not enough.
“To think that 19 months into the conflict and 11 weeks into a full blockade, with IPC figures and images of emaciated people, including children, have been on full display, we are all back to counting trucks is truly disheartening,” said Tamara Alrifai, director of external relations and communications at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Before the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel, Gaza was receiving at least 600 lorryloads of supplies a day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an easing of the aid blockade on Monday, saying pressure from Israel's supporters over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza was reaching a “red line”.
In comments after a trip to the region last week, which did not include Israel, US President Donald Trump said Gazans were “starving”.
A US-Israeli plan for the distribution of aid has also been internationally criticised and boycotted by aid groups. Under the scheme, aid would be allowed in and immediately given out through four “hubs”, rather than stockpiled and distributed to people in need. This places civilians at risk and encourages their displacement, in breach of international humanitarian law, they said.
Ms Al Rifai said the UN systems had worked when Israel allowed aid in and there was enough political will to see it through, as was seen during a ceasefire from mid-January to mid-March, when hundreds of lorries were allowed in daily.
Even instances of looting by armed gangs had decreased in that time, because there was enough aid to go round, a UN official previously told The National.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General, laid out the complex process of getting aid to Gazans even after it had been screened and approved by Israel.
"The Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of [Karam Abu Salem] crossing and reload them separately once they secure our teams’ access from inside the Gaza Strip," he said.
"Today, one of our team waited several hours for Israeli green light to access [Karam Abu Salem] area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse. So, just to make it clear, while more supplies have come into the Gaza Strip, we have not been able to secure the arrival of those supplies into our warehouses and delivery points."
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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More from Neighbourhood Watch
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
