Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gazans have told The National of heavy explosions, indiscriminate firing and bodies in the streets as Israel began what it describes as an “unprecedented offensive”.
The Israeli military on Monday said it was launching an operation to “destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area”, spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X, instructing people living in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to move west to the coastal Mawasi region.
“From this moment, Khan Younis will be considered a dangerous combat zone,” he said.
Residents in Khan Younis reported heavy Israeli bombardment in the city centre on Monday as Israeli forces, disguised as displaced Palestinians, carried out a raid that killed a member of Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of armed Palestinian groups.
“Heavy explosions and air strikes began in Al Balad area, specifically on Street 5 in the city centre,” said Khalil Sardah, 28. “There were possibly more than 50 air strikes, along with artillery shells falling on the area one after another.
“I saw many people injured and killed in the streets, especially those who usually go out early to bake bread, fetch water, or collect firewood for cooking,” Mr Sardah added.
“I saw vehicles carrying armed men, and on top of the vehicles were belongings of displaced people. They were firing randomly in the street.”
There were a lot of quadcopters filling the sky and smoke everywhere
Khalil Sardah,
28, Khan Younis resident
Mr Sardah said one house was surrounded by special forces and gunmen came charging out following heavy gunfire inside.
“There were a lot of quadcopters filling the sky and smoke everywhere. We realised that something serious, an operation, was happening,” he told The National.
“When things calmed down a little, we entered the house and found our neighbour, Ahmad Sarhan, who is known to work with the Al Nasser Brigades, martyred along with one of his children,” he said, referring to the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees.
“There was no one else in the house, even though he has four children. This strongly suggests the arrest of his wife and the remaining children by the Israeli special forces.”
There was no immediate confirmation of the raid from the Israeli military.
Ibrahim Al Astal, 32, who also lives in the area, said residents found “a box, a sleeping mat and several blankets that appeared to have fallen from the roof of one of the vehicles believed to have been used in the Israeli operation”.
“The way these items were arranged and tied together strongly suggested they belonged to a displaced family,” he told The National.
Israeli strikes across Gaza on Monday had killed at least 63 people by the evening, including 16 in Khan Younis, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting medical sources.
On Sunday, Israel said its troops were carrying out “extensive” ground operations throughout northern and southern Gaza as part of a new offensive called Gideon’s Chariots. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fighting was “intense” and that Israeli forces were “making progress”.
It followed a declaration by Mr Netanyahu in a video posted to his Telegram channel on Monday that Israel plans to take control of the Palestinian enclave in its entirety.
The intensified military campaign, which Israel says aims to free remaining hostages and defeat Hamas, began as the two sides held indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar.
The death toll from the war in Gaza, which began with a deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups in October 2023, rose on Monday to 53,475, health authorities in Gaza said. Another 121,398 have been wounded.
Alongside its military operations, Israel on Monday began allowing aid to enter Gaza for the first time since March 2, ending a blockade that it said was intended to force concessions from Hamas.
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Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
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The specs: McLaren 600LT
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
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Military Intelligence Directorate
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Al Watan newspaper
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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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.”
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
