Mediators have resumed contact with Israeli and Hamas negotiators on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, rekindling hopes for a breakthrough after Israel and the US angrily rejected Hamas's response to the latest proposals, sources told The National on Sunday.
They said remote discussions intensified in the past 48 hours between the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on one side and US and Israeli officials on the other. The US offered assurances that full-blown negotiations will resume, they added.
Israel's announcement on Sunday of a daily pause in military operations in three parts of Gaza and the opening of new aid corridors was in effect the implementation of the humanitarian segment of the latest proposals to pause the Gaza war, said the sources.
The parties involved have also reportedly touched upon the possibility of an enduring settlement of the Gaza war, including the governing of the devastated enclave, reconstruction and the fate of Hamas's arsenal and leaders.
Hamas has already given its unconditional agreement to a 60-day truce and signalled it was open to suggestions to lay down its arms and the departure of its leaders from Gaza to live in exile with their families.
The sources said those issues will be discussed in more detail during the proposed 60-day truce. The United States has given assurances that the truce would continue as long as negotiations did not break down, they added.
An airplane drops aid over Gaza as seen from the northern Gaza Strip on July 27. Reuters
Since giving its response last week, the sources said Hamas informed mediators it has dropped the "small amendments" it wanted introduced to the deal and which provoked an angry response from the US and Israel.
The changes, said the sources, dealt with Israel's redeployment of its forces in Gaza, plus the number and identity of Palestinians it wants freed from Israeli prisons as part of the agreement.
"We believe the Trump administration and Israel, through their hard-line and ominous public response to Hamas's position, wanted to turn up the pressure on the group to accept the deal as is," said one source.
"Mostly, the Hamas amendments were secondary. In some cases, they were to do with 100 metres here and 200 metres there when it comes to the redeployment of Israeli troops in Gaza."
People transport Palestinians who were shot while seeking aid at a US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
The sources said the continuing contacts between mediators, Israel and Hamas to finalise a deal were being mostly conducted remotely, with the Palestinian group showing flexibility on all contentious issues.
They also pointed out that technical teams from Egypt, Israel, the US and Qatar were staffing an operations centre in Cairo to oversee the delivery of aid to Gaza and iron out relevant security issues.
"The only route now open to a deal is for Hamas to accept what it's being presented with," said another source who has directly participated in the months-long negotiations over Gaza.
"If Hamas does that, then we will all know whether Israel really wants a deal or not. That said, Hamas's response could have been dealt with through further negotiations. I don't understand why Israel and the US acted in public like they were slamming the door shut on the entire process."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ominously said Israel and the US were "considering alternative options" to bring home the remaining 49 hostages and end Hamas's rule of Gaza. The two close allies on Friday withdrew their negotiators from Qatar, where the latest round of Gaza talks began on July 6.
The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 hostages back to Gaza.
Since then, Israel's military response has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that number, according to Gaza health officials. It has also reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly all the 2.3 million population.
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
The studios taking part (so far)
Punch
Vogue Fitness
Sweat
Bodytree Studio
The Hot House
The Room
Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
Cryo
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.”
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
Men’s singles
Group A: Son Wan-ho (Kor), Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Ng Long Angus (HK), Chen Long (Chn) Group B: Kidambi Srikanth (Ind), Shi Yugi (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Viktor Axelsen (Den)
Women’s Singles
Group A: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Pusarla Sindhu (Ind), Sayaka Sato (Jpn), He Bingjiao (Chn) Group B: Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe), Sung Hi-hyun (Kor), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), Chen Yufei (Chn)
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
9am, Pitch 4, v SBA Pirates
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
