Israel’s decision to implement daily “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza has triggered a familiar and unsettling cycle in Israeli public discourse. Each time the military allows even a modest respite for the besieged strip, fierce domestic backlash follows.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the decision as a “spit in the face of our soldiers” and a “surrender to Hamas’s deceitful campaign”.
Eylon Levy, a social media personality and former spokesman in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote on X: “Let’s be clear what just happened here. International pressure on Israel encouraged Hamas to reject a ceasefire and get a ‘humanitarian pause’ instead – without giving up a single hostage.”
Regardless, the plan appears to be in place and Israel’s military said on Sunday that the pauses will be in effect daily in Al Mawasi, Deir Al Balah, and Gaza city, from 10am (0700 GMT) to 8pm (1700 GMT) until further notice. UN agencies, including UNRWA, are expected to monitor food distribution.
In the lead-up to the announcement, many in Israel deflected blame for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, pointing fingers at the UN or Hamas. This persistent refusal to acknowledge the depth of suffering in Gaza has drawn criticism, even from former supporters of Israel abroad. Meanwhile, some critics within the country have begun labelling the siege itself as a military failure.
For the first time, however, a mainstream Israeli news channel broke rank. After many months of not showing the suffering of Gazan civilians, Channel 12 this week aired a report that showed crowds of desperate people scrambling for food at aid distribution sites. A Hebrew-speaking contributor spoke about calling Gazans who told him of “nothing going into their mouths for entire days”.
Israeli commentator Shaiel Ben-Ephraim said he could not “even begin to explain how big” the report was. “For years, Channel 12 and mainstream Israeli news would cover Palestinian suffering occasionally. Then after October 7, they just stopped. No one wanted to see it. That played a massive role in the dehumanisation of Palestinians and facilitation of genocide,” he wrote in a post on X.
In the days since, a growing number of Israelis, many of them staunch defenders and not from its activist left wing, made similar arguments.
Commentator Haviv Rettig Gur, who had rejected international warnings of catastrophic hunger in Gaza, acknowledged on a recent podcast: “We are very close to real, actual, desperate hunger in Gaza … It's hard to convince Israelis of that because literally everything said to them for 22 months on this topic has been a fiction … We need to wake them up.”
Fears about Gaza’s humanitarian situation entering mainstream Israeli discourse is a major development for a country in which 64.5 per cent of the public has so far been “not concerned” about it, according to a poll by a major think tank in May. In the same month, another poll found that 82 per cent of respondents supported the expulsion of Palestinians from the strip.
It remains to be seen whether this willingness to acknowledge Palestinian civilian suffering will last. Polling shows that Israelis have been against the war for some time, but the vast majority of the opposition is based on concern for hostages in the strip, the safety of soldiers and anger that Mr Netanyahu is continuing the campaign for his political survival.
How Israeli society and politics react to the daily “pauses” ahead will give important signs.
Test series fixtures
(All matches start at 2pm UAE)
1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday
2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18
3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31
4th Test Manchester from August 4-8
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.”
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
The specs: 2018 Honda City
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Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Torque: 320Nm
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