Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
While many Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls are training and competing to secure their places for the Summer Games in Paris, two-time Paralympic medallist Husam Azzam is trapped with his family in the north of Gaza.
They are struggling to survive and sheltering in their home, which has been badly damaged in the continuing war.
“There is constant bombing around us. We are hungry and we don’t have enough food and supplies,” Azzam tells The National.
He is a five-time Paralympian who first competed at Sydney 2000.
Azzam is Palestine's most successful athlete at the Paralympics, winning a bronze medal in Sydney and then a silver in Athens 2004 in the men’s shot put – F53/54 category.
He was the sole Palestinian representative at Tokyo 2020 under immensely difficult circumstances. Now his only focus is on keeping him and his family alive.
Since the Israeli bombardment began in Gaza almost six months ago, more than 32,400 Palestinians have been killed, many of them in northern Gaza where Azzam lives.
The Israeli military began its offensive after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages back to Gaza
On October 13, less than one week into the fighting, Israel ordered the UN to evacuate northern Gaza, instructing residents to move south.
As hundreds of thousands fled to the south, some were bombed by Israel as they travelled along a supposedly safe route, a tactic that has been deployed regularly by the Israelis.
Azzam is one of the roughly 300,000 Palestinians left in northern Gaza, cut off from aid and facing starvation.
“I have to stay here because I can’t move anywhere,” Azzam said. “Most of my family members are handicapped including myself, so it’s hard to move around.”
The Paralympian was paralysed from having polio when he was three years old, while his two sons and daughter all have physical disabilities that make moving around in war-torn Gaza incredibly challenging.
Despite this they have done all they can to remain safe.
“We moved around a little bit to neighbouring houses of families and friends as well as shelter schools but eventually came back home because nowhere is safe,” Azzam said.
It was during the last Paralympic Games that Azzam’s second son, Mohamed, was shot by an Israeli sniper in the leg during demonstrations along the Gaza/Israel border in August 2021, just a few days before Azzam was due to compete in Tokyo.
Mohamed survived but had to have his leg amputated. His older brother, Kamal, was also shot by Israeli forces during a similar protest in 2018, which has left him severely disabled. Azzam’s daughter was also born with cerebral atrophy.
But because of their disabilities, getting access to any of the small amount of aid that is being dropped into northern Gaza by parachute is almost impossible.
“There are no supplies or food. The only aid we’ve had are two bags of 1kg flour and that is not enough for our family at all.”
With the scarcity of food and increasing fears of famine, Azzam is, understandably, worried his entire family could die. A report released by the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification last week warned that 70 per cent of the population of Gaza is suffering from “catastrophic” levels of hunger.
On Sunday, UNRWA announced that Israel would not be permitting any of its aid lorries into northern Gaza. This comes after Israel accused the agency that 12 of its 30,000 employees were members of Hamas, claims that have yet to be verified, but have resulted in the agency having most of its funding cut.
At the moment no one is able to reach the supplies in the north because the occupation army fires at and attacks anyone getting close to Kuwait circle and the areas designated for dropping aid
Husam Azzam
As a result, Azzam, along with the other remaining residents of north Gaza are facing starvation. He says that even the aid drops that started at the beginning of March into the area are unsafe to reach.
“At the moment no one is able to reach the supplies in the north because the occupation army fires at and attacks anyone getting close to Kuwait circle and the areas designated for dropping aid,” he said.
Azzam has experienced personal tragedy under Israeli bombardment before.
In the 2008 Gaza war, he lost his parents after his home in Jabilia refugee camp was directly hit in an Israeli strike. The grief caused him to retire from sport.
Having started a new family and a new life, Azzam was convinced to compete again in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and again in Tokyo 2020.
However, the family's lives now hang in the balance. He says Israeli strikes have already damaged his home.
“When we came back home it was a chaotic situation with destroyed windows and doors,” says the Paralympian.
“We are doing everything we can to survive.”
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
Company%20profile
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
