Israel has said it will conquer Gaza regardless of any ceasefire agreement with Hamas, as it increased its new offensive in the strip.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli bombings in Gaza city, local media said. The Israeli army told doctors to prepare for a "full evacuation" as it aims to seize the city and force its residents south.
The Israeli war plan "requires you to prepare a plan to transfer the medical equipment from north to south, so that you will be able to provide treatment for all the patients in the southern strip", an Israeli army officer told medical officials in Gaza. Arab countries have repeatedly warned against Palestinians being displaced.
Saudi Arabia was leading Arab diplomatic efforts on Thursday as it condemned "dangerous Israeli plans" to expand the war and build new settlements on Palestinian land.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in the kingdom's Neom region. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held phone calls a day earlier with foreign ministers from Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.
Qatar and Egypt have proposed a 60-day truce and the release of some Israeli hostages. Hamas said it could accept the terms, while Israel has not formally responded but given every indication it plans to proceed with the war.
Israel says it has taken first steps of military operation in Gaza city
Asked by Sky News Australia whether Israel would retake Gaza even if Hamas accepted a deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would.
"We're going to do that anyway. There was never a question that we're not going to leave Hamas there," he said.
Late on Thursday he said Israel was ready for "immediate negotiations" to end the war in Gaza. It was not known if his comments amount to a shift in Israel's position or are just rhetoric about ramping up pressure on Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu said he had met troops to "approve the plans" for the capture of Gaza city. "At the same time, I have instructed to begin immediate negotiations for the release of all our hostages and the end of the war on terms acceptable to Israel," he said.
"These two things – defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages – go hand in hand."
Authorities in Gaza said the war's death toll reached 62,192 on Thursday, with two more people pronounced dead from malnutrition. Palestinian news agency Wafa said 11 people were killed in two separate air strikes in the Al Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza city. Israel has resisted pleas from the Arab world and beyond to call off a campaign that has left many Gazans starving in desperate conditions.
A report by British, Israeli and Palestinian news outlets claimed that 83 per cent of Palestinians killed during the Gaza war were civilians, quoting Israel's own intelligence database. The Israeli army denied the claims by Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, and The Guardian.
“That proportion of civilians among those killed would be unusually high, particularly as it has been going on for such a long time,” said Therese Pettersson from the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme, which tracks civilian casualties worldwide.
'Pressure cooker' tactics
Two former Israeli officials told The National that Mr Netanyahu's new war plan appeared designed to push Gazans out for good. Israel wants to "create a pressure cooker there and wait for it to explode, and for people to cross the border to Sinai and do the ethnic cleansing of Gaza”, said former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin.
Eran Etzion, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, said Mr Netanyahu "is not interested in a deal … because he is fully committed to an overarching strategy of annihilation of the two-state solution, first in Gaza then the West Bank".
A planning committee signed off on Wednesday on the construction of 3,400 homes in a wedge of land east of Jerusalem known as E1. One far-right Israeli minister has said the new settlements would "bury" Palestinian statehood.
A group of 21 mainly European countries said on Thursday that the move "brings no benefits to the Israeli people". "Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace," said the countries, including Britain and France. The UK separately announced it had summoned Israel's ambassador Tzipi Hotovely over the plan.
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
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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