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Gazi Sharaf's voice trembles as he recalls the fateful night in May that tore his family apart. He is one of only three of his 14 family members who survived an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
For about six hours, Gazi was buried under rubble, where thousands of people remain, their whereabouts unknown with rescue teams unable to save them. Such incidents remain common across Gaza where ambulances and civil defence vehicles have been damaged, destroyed or prevented from accessing areas where they are needed the most.
Gazi's father, siblings and extended family were all crushed under the debris. “The hardest part was calling out to them while I was trapped. No one responded. I found myself wishing I wasn’t alive, just to escape those moments of not knowing.”
In the absence of materials to help teams dig through the rubble, rescue workers often have to resort to using their hands to search for victims. When he was brought to safety, Gazi immediately asked about the rest of his family. “No one would tell me. They were afraid of my reaction because they knew most of them were gone.”
Months later, the trauma lingers. “Every time I lie down to sleep, I’m back there, under the rubble. I see it all again – the chaos, the dust, the silence of those who didn’t answer me. It feels like I’m still trapped.”
Anas Sultan remembers the terror he felt when an Israeli attack on his family home destroyed the building in which he lived with his parents, three sisters and two brothers.
“The strike hit so suddenly,” he told The National. “I blacked out for a moment and when I came to, I realised the house was gone. We were buried in rubble.”
It was a surreal moment, he said. “Your life flashes before your eyes. You remember everything and fear consumes you – not for yourself but for the people you love. I was terrified for my family but I couldn’t reach them.”
Anas began calling out to members of his family. Some responded but others did not. “The air was thick with dust and gunpowder, and the debris was too heavy.”
Rescue teams eventually arrived and found all but his sister Rana and brother Mahmoud. “They had been on the balcony when the missile struck,” Anas said. “The rescuers searched the surrounding area and found them later. They had been propelled from the house and were martyred.
“I kept thinking, 'I wish we had all died together. I don’t want this life where I’ve lost the dearest people to my heart.'”
Huda Abu Nasser's survival came at an unbearable cost. On October 29, her house in Beit Lahia was bombed, killing more than 130 members of her extended family.
“I was sitting with my two children in a room when everything collapsed,” she told The National. “I screamed for my children and they answered. But we were buried under the rubble, unable to move.”
Through the debris, Huda kept talking to her children, urging them to stay calm. “I couldn’t physically reach them. All I could do was cry and call out for help.”
Being trapped felt like the brink of death, she said. “You don’t think about yourself in those moments. All I cared about was saving my children.”
Rescuers arrived at dawn, hours later, and it took three more hours to free them from the rubble. "I kept shouting: 'Get my children out. Save them.'" Huda was pulled out first and then her children, injured but alive.
“The moments I spent waiting for the rescue team to save the other members of my family felt like decades," she told The National. "It was an overwhelming mix of emotions – fear of losing someone, hope for their survival, dread that they might not be found and then the terror that, if found, they might already be gone. It’s something that can’t truly be described. I lost over 130 relatives. Some were buried, others remain under the rubble.”
For Gazi, Anas and Huda, survival is not the end of their stories but the beginning of a lifetime of grief and recovery. Beneath the rubble, they faced death and emerged alive – but not unscathed. “Life under the rubble is a place no one should experience,” Huda said. “It’s where you feel life slipping away but you fight to hold on, for yourself, for your family, for a chance to live again."
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER
Directed by: Michael Fimognari
Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo
Two stars
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
MATCH INFO
Group B
Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
