Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Almost a year has passed since the events of October 7, 2023, and for many families displaced from Gaza, the situation has only deteriorated.
Despite a feeling of immense gratitude for the love, support and shelter provided, this is the case for Palestinians taking refuge in Abu Dhabi's Emirates Humanitarian City.
Gaza's borders are sealed. There is no way in or out of the besieged enclave, leaving residents in a state of constant fear and uncertainty. Families separated by the conflict are scattered across different countries, their lives upended and futures uncertain.
More than 41,000 people have been killed and thousands remain trapped in Gaza, living in makeshift shelters and tents, struggling for water as winter approaches, with the flow of food, medicine and fuel supplies severely restricted.
For those who have found refuge in the UAE, the daily reports of more death and destruction back home not only haunt them, but instil a sense that returning is no longer an option, that the time has come to rebuild their lives away from Gaza.
Lives altered
Sabreen Mady and her daughter Lama arrived in the UAE on December 19, with Lama requiring urgent surgery on her hip. She spent three months in a wheelchair and has only recently started walking again but, for Sabreen, her daughter's recovery is just a small solace amid the chaos her family continues to endure.
“Our entire lives have changed. We are in three countries, not one. Twenty-five of our family members died, and those remaining are injured. Some are in Egypt, and others in Italy,” she told The National. “It has gone from bad to worse. Every day there are more deaths, more missiles. Life in Gaza isn’t guaranteed. The borders are closed. There is no way for me to go back. There is no plane to take me.”
Jamal Al Najar, 58, recalled how October 7 shattered his family's dreams as his son, Amjad, was planning to get married in July 2024. Amjad, 21, was seriously injured by shrapnel that became lodged in his left ureter and damaged his spine.
“Our lives are now very sad, very difficult, but without the UAE, its people, and their kindness, and President Sheikh Mohamed, my son wouldn’t be walking on his legs today or even alive. We thank God we are here,” Mr Al Najar said.
Reflecting on a possible return to Gaza, he continued: “There is no hope. Where is the hope? Where will we go? Even if we want to go back, what will we go back to? My kids in Gaza are in a tent. I was in a respectable, clean house, now I’ll go back to a tent. There aren't even toilets there. There are no landmarks. If I go now, I won’t be able to recognise it.”
About 2,000 patients are being housed at EHC as part of the UAE's humanitarian operations in solidarity with Palestinians. About 150 medical appointments are carried out each day, with a team of more than 50 doctors, nurses, therapists and administrators on site. A school serving more than 400 children has also been established.
Ibtesam Abu Nada, 49, a pharmacist, came with one of her daughters to the UAE for breast cancer treatment on March 26. She described the painful separation from her relatives who are now scattered and isolated.
The mother of four daughters said: “The situation is very hard. We are dispersed. Do you know what it’s like for a family to be in more than one country? My husband remained in the north. He’s an engineer working at the Ministry of Health, so when we were displaced, he refused to move and stayed in Sheikh Radwan.
“We moved and went to Deir Al Balah. After Deir Al Balah, we went to Khan Younis, and from there to Rafah. Two of my daughters remained in Khan Younis. One went to Egypt so her sisters could follow her later, but then the border closed, so one daughter remained alone in Egypt.
“Their father is in the north, and two are in Khan Younis. We follow the news daily, and there is no step forward. When we feel there is some hope, we go backwards.”
Watch: Gazan patients offered psychiatric care
Grateful but still praying
Alaa Al Nawajha, 30, is living in EHC with her daughter Jana, who has a weak immune system and requires a bone marrow transplant. Jana’s father, her donor, remains stuck in Gaza.
“I’m very tired. Neither my daughter nor I are able to cope with the new situation. Being separated from our family in Gaza is very hard,” Ms Al Nawajha said. “They are all our family. We feel like there is hope, and then suddenly that hope dies. The UAE took us in, and we are grateful, but we are now living in the unknown.
“We are praying to God that the situation will improve but, as human beings, we aren’t able to endure it for much longer,” she added. “Our hearts have gone weak. I can’t listen to the news of more deaths, every day more deaths and destruction. It is so hard. God willing, things will improve.”
For Jaser Abu Mousa, 45, the conflict was less of a surprise. The father of four was a political analyst who worked for the Swiss embassy in the enclave, and recalls drafting reports in the months preceding the attack that suggested “something was coming”.
Family and friends were at his Gaza home on October 15 when it was hit by two Israeli missiles. Two of his sons, his wife and other family members were killed. “I was very scared, and every night I thought it would be our last,” he said. “The first body I saw was my wife’s. There were body parts all over.
“The situation gets worse every day. My mother and sister are still in Gaza,” said Mr Abu Mousa, who arrived in the UAE on December 8.
“This is the reason I don’t sleep at night. I was in Switzerland once and was asked what I thought of the situation in Gaza. I answered that Hamas found legitimacy for its existence by calling themselves the resistance to Israel, and Israel found legitimacy to suffocate Gaza and kill its people by calling themselves defenders fighting terrorism.
“There is an unholy marriage between the two, and the victim is Gaza. It has been a year now, and I don’t see any light, at least not in the next two months.”
The Israel-Gaza war – one year on
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
