Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday likened Hamas's attacks to those perpetrated by ISIS.
Mr Netanyahu vowed to defeat the militant group, which launched surprise attacks on Israel on Saturday morning that killed at least 1,300 people in Israel.
“Hamas is ISIS – and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated,” Mr Netanyahu said.
He added that countries that harbour Hamas members “should be sanctioned”, in an apparent reference to Qatar, where Hamas has an office.
Mr Blinken said the acts carried out by the group “brings to mind the worst of ISIS” and added that there is “overwhelming” bipartisan support in the Congress for Israel's security after the US delivered its first shipments of military support to Israel.
“More is on the way,” Mr Blinken said.
“We have the back of the Israeli people. We have their back today. We’ll have it tomorrow. We will have it every day.”
Israel is already the biggest recipient of US military aid.
Mr Blinken also threatened those who are considering “taking advantage of the current crisis to attack Israel”, in an apparent swipe at Iran, which is a known backer of Hamas.
The Secretary of State said the purpose of his visit to Tel Aviv would include a focus on US citizens.
“Finally, of course, we’re very focused on our own people, our own citizens. We lost 22 Americans; that number could still go up. It probably will. At the same time, we have a number of Americans who remain unaccounted for,” he said.
“We are working very closely with the government of Israel to determine their whereabouts, and if they have been taken hostage by Hamas, to work to secure their release.”
So far, the US has said that Hamas has captured 25 Americans among at least 100 hostages taken from Israel by the group.
“We continue working with Israel to secure the release of the men, women and elderly taken hostage by Hamas,” Mr Blinken said.
The Secretary of State and his team had met the families of the American missing.
“For families of missing, there's an unrelenting agony of not knowing the fate of their loved ones,” he told reporters at a press conference at the end of his visit. “No one should have to endure what they're going through.”
Mr Blinken was joined on the trip by deputy special presidential envoy for hostage affairs Steve Gillen, who will stay behind to help co-ordinate efforts.
In addition to his meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Blinken also met President Isaac Herzog and the newly formed Security Cabinet.
He toured a donation centre in Tel Aviv, where volunteers greeted him with a Hebrew song.
When he took the podium for the press briefing, Mr Blinken appeared shaken by the conversations he had had and some of the images that he had been shown, which he described as “beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine”.
He likened the attack to what the US experienced on September 11, 2001.
“If you look at the size of Israel's population, this is the size of ten 9/11s,” he said.
Mr Blinken also noted the importance of taking precautions against harming civilians. So far, at least 1,300 people have been killed in Gaza, most of whom were civilians, among them children.
Mr Blinken's visit to Tel Aviv is part of a wider Middle East tour to show Washington's solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack and to seek to calm the conflict.
“I think the two issues here are the immediate issue of the hostages and working the regional circuit in terms of people with ties to Hamas to get them out, working with especially the Egyptians and Qataris who have those connections,” David Makovsky, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Project on the Middle East Peace Process, told The National.
Mr Blinken, who was joined on his tour by Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Derek Chollet, State Department counsellor, among others, was to travel to Jordan later on Thursday, where he will meet King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
He is also expected to meet regional leaders in Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE during his visit to the region.
Meanwhile, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian is expected to visit Iraq and Lebanon in a regional tour to discuss the war, Iranian state news agencies reported.
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How to donate
Text the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
6025 - Dh 20
2252 - Dh 50
2208 - Dh 100
6020 - Dh 200
*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
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List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
'Nope'
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
MATCH INFO
Brescia 1 (Skrinia og, 76)
Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 33, Lukaku 63)
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
