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A displaced Gazan man who fled the war says he is proud to be packing humanitarian aid for his people, thanks to the UAE’s mission to Gaza.
Mahmoud Ahmed Al Shaer, from Khan Younis, escaped across the Rafah border crossing to Egypt on January 3 last year.
After months without a job, the 43-year-old secured work at the UAE aid stores in Al Arish, Egypt. “We escaped death, but I couldn’t support my family for many months here in Egypt,” the father of six told The National. “I met the Emirati people here and they offered me a job as they knew I’m from Gaza.”
Mr Al Shaer, who moved with his family, started working in the UAE’s warehouses packing humanitarian supplies. “Knowing I’m helping my people in Gaza makes me proud,” he said.
“The Israeli soldiers reached our home and we decided to evacuate the area. We kept moving from one place to another until we were allowed to cross to Al Arish,” said Mr Al Shaer, reflecting on the outbreak of war in October 2023.
“I lived in an apartment at a four-storey building. It was destroyed by an Israeli air strike. It became a pile of rubble. My shop was burnt and destroyed. I lost many relatives including my cousin. This war is a tragedy that nobody can imagine.”
How the UAE helped
When Mr Al Shaer was displaced in Gaza, the UAE field hospital provided medical care after he and his family suffered stomach pains from drinking salty water.
“The UAE’s kindness and assistance were with me during my journey in the conflict. Emirati doctors treated us and now they provide me a job to support my family,” he said. “Emiratis treat me with respect like a brother. They are always checking if we need anything.”
When Mr Al Shaer escorted aid lorries to the Rafah border crossing, he was shocked to see Emiratis spending the night waiting for lorries to make sure the aid entered Gaza safely.
“The UAE is the biggest country sending aid to Gaza. I saw Emirati volunteers standing near the border in the middle of nowhere in summer and winter, to make sure the aid [was] crossing the border,” he said. “You can’t see this dedication anywhere. I was helping them while packing and loading the air drops to my people in Gaza.”
For 18-year-old Anwar Mohammed, who left Gaza days before the border closed last year, the mission was to find a job to help support his two brothers and sister.
“I don’t go to school, I work to support my family. Thanks to the UAE I managed to get a job in the UAE stores,” he said. “When the bombardment reached our area in Khan Younis, my family decided to leave.”
“I feel proud knowing I’m helping my people and family members who are still in Gaza. They need help and the UAE is leading the efforts to aid Gazans,” he added.
UAE mission
The UAE has carried out more than 53 drops of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as part of the Birds of Goodness operation, with 3,544 tonnes of food and relief supplies dropped in total, according to the Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence.
Two hospitals have been established as part of the UAE's programme to help those in need in Gaza, including one with a centre providing prosthetic limbs to Palestinians wounded in the war.
The field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip has 200 beds and more than 100 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians. It has treated thousands of patients since it opened in December.
A 100-bed floating hospital, docked off the Egyptian city of Al Arish since February, has treated more than 6,400 Palestinians. Dr Ali Rashed Al Dhanhani, its deputy medical director, said “The UAE has spared no efforts throughout these difficult days to show that it does not simply pledge but makes efforts through action to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters.”
The hospital has the capacity for 15 operations and 25 physiotherapy sessions per day. It has operating rooms, intensive care facilities, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses. The vast ship, which sailed from Khalifa Port, also has an evacuation plane and boat, as well as fully equipped ambulances.
Providing clean water
The UAE has also established six desalination plants, capable of generating up to 2 million gallons of clean drinking water a day for thousands of people.
The National visited the site, only 500 metres from Gaza, where Emiratis are working around the clock to pump water into the enclave.
About 3,200 metres of pipeline runs across the border to the water network in Rafah. The plants take in seawater from the Mediterranean, which is then filtered and piped underground to Gaza.
At the Emirates' massive warehouses at Al Arish, tonnes of essential aid, including nappies, blankets, canned food, flour, rice and medicine are stockpiled for distribution.
“We store the aid as well as electricity generators, bakeries and shelter tents in warehouses which stretch for 15,000 square metres,” said Ali Ahmed Al Muheiri from Emirates Red Crescent.
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- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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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
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
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