Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
US envoy Amos Hochstein met Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday during a trip to Israel in the latest diplomatic push to prevent an escalation in fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah from turning into a full-blown war.
He also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss "the urgent need to restore security to the northern border and return residents to their homes," according to the President's office.
He will also meet separately with former war cabinet member Benny Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday evening, before flying to Beirut for his fourth visit to Lebanon since the fighting began.
Mr Hochstein's goal is to advance efforts to avoid further escalation along the Blue Line between the countries, according to a White House official. The UN-demarcated boundary separates Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
His trip comes amid escalating violence along the border, which has seen daily exchanges of fire since Hezbollah opened a “pressure front” in support of its ally Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group in Gaza, on October 8.
Hamas has faced a devastating Israeli military offensive in Gaza after launching a deadly attack on southern Israel a day earlier.
Hezbollah last week launched its largest volleys of rockets and drones so far in retaliation for the killing of one of its most prominent field commanders, Sami Abdallah, in an Israeli strike on Tuesday.
A Hezbollah source declined to comment on Mr Hochstein's latest attempt to defuse the conflict.
“We are waiting for the visit, his positions, and his discussions with officials first,” the source told The National.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has maintained that his group will continue its attacks until Israel ends its assault on Gaza.
On Monday, Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Mohammad Mustafa Ayoub. The total fatalities on the Lebanese side stand at least 473 people, including 92 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The Israeli military says 18 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Israel has repeatedly threatened Lebanon with a full-scale war if Hezbollah, a much stronger militia than Hamas, does not withdraw from its positions near the border. It has set a September deadline for the safe return of tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes in northern Israel because of the fighting.
“Hezbollah's increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this month that Israel was “prepared for a very intense operation” along the border with Lebanon.
UN officials in Lebanon have warned of the “very real” risk of miscalculation in the cross-border exchanges.
“We continue to engage with the parties and urge all actors to cease their fire and commit to working towards a political and diplomatic solution – which is the only lasting solution,” UN Special Co-ordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and Lt Gen Aroldo Lazaro, head of the UN forces deployed in the country, said in a joint-statement on Sunday.
Diplomatic push
Diplomatic efforts led by Mr Hochstein, who mediated a historic agreement between Israel and Lebanon in late 2022 that ended their long-running maritime border dispute, have been fruitless.
He has been pursuing a deal to demarcate the disputed land border between the two countries, as a way of defusing tensions. The first phase entails the cessation of hostilities, allowing evacuees from both sides to return home and the strengthening of the Lebanese armed forces. The second phase would involve an economic package for Lebanon.
The US has no direct contacts with Hezbollah, which it considers a terrorist group. Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, who heads the Amal Movement close to Hezbollah, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati have been serving as the US's main interlocutors.
France, a former colonial power that has maintained a strong influence over the small Mediterranean country, is also part of the diplomatic push.
In February, it submitted a proposal involving the withdrawal of certain Hezbollah elements along the border, in exchange for Israel ceasing its air and artillery strikes and, ultimately, halting flights by military aircraft over Lebanese territory.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France, the US and Israel would form a contact group to work on defusing tensions along the border.
“We have agreed on the principle of a trilateral approach to advance on the road map proposed by France. We will do the same with the Lebanese authorities,” Mr Macron said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
His proposal was rejected the next day by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who accused Paris of being hostile towards Israel.
“As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel,” Mr Gallant said. “Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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'Midnights'
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
BeIN Sports currently has the rights to show
- Champions League
- English Premier League
- Spanish Primera Liga
- Italian, French and Scottish leagues
- Wimbledon and other tennis majors
- Formula One
- Rugby Union - Six Nations and European Cups
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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
