The ceasefire in Gaza came under major strain on Sunday as Israel carried out bombings across the strip, accusing Hamas of attacking its troops.
At least 44 people were killed in dozens of Israeli strikes across Gaza, according to official Palestinian media, shattering a week of relative calm since US President Donald Trump's truce deal. Israeli planes were once again attacking from Gaza's skies, and more than 120 munitions were dropped on alleged underground facilities.
Israel said the “series of strikes” was provoked by Hamas militants firing gunshots and an anti-tank missile at its troops in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The Israeli army said two soldiers were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered troops to “act forcefully” in response. An Israeli security official said aid deliveries to Gaza would be suspended, in what would be a hammer blow to hopes of ending the famine in the strip.
However, hours later the Israeli military said the ceasefire had resumed, while Mr Trump also said it was still in force.
“In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas's violations, the [army] has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire, in line with the terms of the agreement,” the military said in a statement on X.
“The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it.”
Mr Trump suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches of the ceasefire, instead blaming “some rebels within”.
Hamas also denied responsibility for any attacks, accusing Israel of continuing to “breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes”. It said it had no contact with fighters in the area, near the southern city of Rafah.
The Palestinian group said it had also found another body of a dead Israeli hostage, as part of a handover that Israel says is taking too long. About 15 of 28 bodies are still to be handed over under the deal, which was hailed last week by the US President as an end to the destructive two-year war. A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya arrived in Cairo to follow up the implementation of the ceasefire deal with mediators and other Palestinian groups, Hamas said in a statement.
Israel said it carried out a “series of strikes” in southern Gaza, beginning in the Rafah area with attacks on “tunnel shafts and military structures”. Attacks were later reported across the strip, including in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.
Mr Netanyahu has vowed the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will remain shut until Israel's demands are met, frustrating hopes that the ceasefire would end the famine in Gaza. Hamas meanwhile said any Israeli escalation “will hinder the search, excavation and recovery of bodies”.
Israel’s security cabinet convened after the attack in Rafah. Mr Netanyahu’s office said he instructed security chiefs to “act forcefully against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip”. It is not known if militants were killed in the Israeli strikes.
The Israeli military hinted further strikes were coming in a warning to Gaza residents to remain west of a withdrawal line, saying it would “respond with great force” outside the purported safe areas.
Tensions were already running high following Israeli accusations that Hamas is stalling on the return of the bodies of dead hostages, Israel delaying the entry of humanitarian aid to the strip, and Mr Netanyahu’s vow on Saturday that the vital Rafah border crossing would remain shut.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Mr Netanyahu to resume military operations in Gaza. “I call on the Prime Minister to order the [Israeli army] to renew full-scale fighting in the Strip at full strength,” he said in a post on X.
“The false belief that Hamas will change its ways, or will even abide by the agreement it signed, are proving, unsurprisingly, to be dangerous to our security. This Nazi terrorist organisation must be destroyed completely and the sooner the better.”
The far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X: “War!”
The left-wing politician Yair Golan said the attack “demands a resolute response [against Hamas] − only this way are the rules of the game set”.
“Absolute victory in the Gaza Strip requires building a moderate alternative government to Hamas − an issue that the government has abandoned and chosen absolute failure,” he concluded.
At least two Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Jabalia in northern Gaza on Sunday, medical sources told the official news agency Wafa. The sources said that ambulance teams were unable to reach the site because of the dangerous situation there, and because the area is designated by the Israeli army as hazardous.
Wafa also reported that five Palestinians were killed and several injured in an Israeli drone strike on Zuwaida in central Gaza. Medical sources said three people were killed in a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Israel has meanwhile returned the remains of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza through the Red Cross, taking the total number of bodies handed over to 150, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry said that 25 of the bodies have been identified so far.
The bombing in Gaza was accompanied by fresh reports of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday. Wafa said Israeli settlers forced olive farmers off their land during picking season and set fire to vehicles in what it claimed was a “campaign of state-sponsored violence”.
It said Israel had also bulldozed a Palestinian-owned plot of land in East Jerusalem. The Israeli government recently approved plans for a major settlement in ultra-sensitive lands nearby, in what one minister openly said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
