Israel and Hamas were due to hold indirect talks in Egypt on Sunday and Monday aimed at ending the Gaza war, with momentum gathering for a ceasefire amid pressure from US President Donald Trump.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was travelling to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on the way forward, sources told The National, while the White House told US media that Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend as well.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry announced the talks but gave no further details.
The meetings come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late on Saturday that “Hamas will be disarmed … either diplomatically via Trump's plan or militarily by us”.
He said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days” and that he had sent a delegation to Egypt “to finalise technical details”.
“Our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days,” he said.
“I hope that in the coming days we will be able to bring back all our hostages … during the Sukkot holidays,” he added, referring to the Jewish festival that begins on Monday and runs for one week.
But he indicated there would not be a full Israeli army withdrawal from Gaza, something Hamas has long demanded. He said the Israeli army will continue to hold areas of the enclave.
The Israeli leader spoke after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of a plan put forward by Mr Trump to end the war. Mr Trump welcomed the Hamas response but warned on Saturday that “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off”.
He later said on social media that a ceasefire could begin immediately once Hamas confirms the “initial withdrawal line” in Gaza.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan also welcomed the Hamas response on Sunday in a joint statement.
"The Foreign Ministers reiterated their joint commitment to support efforts towards the implementation of the proposal, to work for the immediate end of the war on Gaza, and achieve a comprehensive agreement," they said.
Sources told The National that Turkish officials were also due to participate in the Egypt talks. Top of the agenda will be the parts of the US plan that Hamas told mediators they needed clarifications on, according to the sources.
These include the logistics and mechanics of the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the mandate of the international force that Mr Trump has proposed be sent to Gaza to maintain security, said the sources.
Also on the agenda is Hamas's request for a timeline for Israel's withdrawal, they said. Mr Witkoff was expected to travel on from Egypt to Israel and possibly Saudi Arabia, the sources added.
Mr Trump has ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza, but official Palestinian media reported that at least 70 people were killed on Saturday by Israeli troops.
An Israeli strike on Gaza city's Tuffah neighbourhood killed at least 17 and injured 25 others, according to Al Ahli Hospital.
The Israeli army warned Palestinians against trying to return to Gaza city, calling it a “dangerous combat zone”.
Mr Trump appears determined to deliver on pledges to end the war and return all hostages held by Hamas ahead of Tuesday's second anniversary of the Hamas attack that led to the fighting. His proposal has widespread international support.
Under Mr Trump's plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages – about 20 of them believed to be alive – in three days. It would give up power and disarm.
In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinian detainees and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.
Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power, but that other aspects of the US plan require further consultations among Palestinians. It did not address disarmament.
A group representing some of the families of the hostages said their release “has never been closer”. They appealed to Mr Trump to keep pushing “with full force” and warned that “extremists on both sides” will try to sabotage the plan.
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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 consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
