Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hamas will continue to implement its ceasefire agreement with Israel, including releasing hostages as scheduled, the militant group said on Thursday, in an announcement that appeared to resolve a dispute threatening the truce.
Hamas meanwhile offered to release six hostages on Saturday, three more than scheduled, sources said. They told The National the offer was conditional on Israel allowing the entry into Gaza of heavy machinery to remove an estimated 50 million tonnes of rubble, as well as the delivery of tents and caravans to house homeless Palestinians.
Hamas later withdrew the offer after Israel informed Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it was postponing their entry, the sources said.
"Hamas will now release only three hostages on Saturday as scheduled," said one source.
Machinery, tents and caravans are lined up on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border, according to live images on regional television networks.
This week the militant group had said it would defer the release of three hostages scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the deal that began on January 19. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to resume fighting, ordering troops to mass on the border, while US President Donald Trump said he would “let hell break out” if the release did not go ahead.
A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya, which arrived in Egypt on Wednesday, is meanwhile continuing talks with mediators from Egypt and Qatar.
“The talks focused on the necessity of abiding by the implementation of all the provisions of the agreement, especially with regard to securing housing for our people and the urgent entry of caravans, tents, heavy equipment, medical supplies, fuel, and the continued flow of relief,” said Hamas.
An Israeli government spokesman said the hostages to be released on Saturday must be alive.
The ceasefire "framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday", Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters,. "If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end."
The Israel-Gaza began when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting around 250. In response, Israel began an air and ground war in Gaza that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians.
Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages during the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began, exchanging 21 hostages for more than 730 jailed Palestinians.
Negotiators hope a second phase of ceasefire talks will secure agreement on releasing the remaining hostages and a full Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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