Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gaza’s destruction has sharply divided conflict experts, including war veterans-turned-academics, over whether Israel has conducted a disastrous or successful campaign in its 14-month war.
The debate is in sharper focus after the fall in Syria of Bashar Al Assad, whose forces devastated cities in the 13-year-civil war. The conflict involved an insurgency that arose following harsh government crackdowns on protesters. About half a million were killed and 7.2 million remain internally displaced in a war that saw government forces use chemical weapons against civilians.
Once again, experts are asking which approach is best for defeating insurgents, from moderate fighters to terrorists: heavy firepower or prioritising political solutions? Gaza and Syria, they say, are good examples of an “enemy-centric” approach to countering insurgency, that neglects political solutions.
Like Syria, Gaza has been a catastrophe. Most of the enclave is devastated with more than 45,000 Palestinians killed, and 1.9 million internally displaced, most of its 2.3 million population. It's sparked accusations against Israel from war crimes to genocide.
In Gaza, the political process has been sidelined by violence. Current indications are that some parts of the enclave will be reoccupied by Israeli soldiers while questions linger over a transitional government.
“Israel is fighting an insurgency. It has overthrown the Hamas government in Gaza - and Hamas has resorted to insurgency,” says Emma Sky, an expert on conflict in the Middle East at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and former political adviser to US General Ray Odierno and General David Petraeus, at the height of the Iraq war.
In that regard, “it is also important to discern between those who are members of armed groups and those who are civilians. A new generation across the Middle East and in the West is being radicalised witnessing the deaths of so many civilians,” she tells The National.
Insurgency is also growing in the West Bank’s Jenin, where militants gain ground against an isolated Palestinian Authority that is undermined by Israeli occupation and, critics say, its own corruption.
“Every government needs the support of its military establishment. Bashar Al Assad lost that support by failing to meet the needs of his soldiers and their leaders,” says Peter Mansoor, a historian at Ohio State University who has written two histories of the Iraq war. He served alongside Gen David Petraeus, who commanded forces during a strategic shift to counterinsurgency in the Iraq war known as the Surge, and later headed the CIA.
War by the book
Mr Mansoor’s comment on crumbling support for Al Assad - most Syrian men were conscripted - refers to the idea of legitimacy, where a ruling authority is popularly supported, undermining insurgents. Legitimacy is discussed in a US army field manual, FM 3-24. First published in 2006, it would normally have been an obscure document.
But in the midst of the Iraq war and co-authored with Gen Petraeus, to whom Mr Mansoor was executive officer, the manual turned heads among military thinkers. It deals with insurgency, against an occupying power or against a standing government.
Counterinsurgency, in the manual, puts politics and working with local leaders first. It tries to limit military action, which builds resentment to state forces. Once the political process is moving, it advocates handing security responsibilities to local government. It suggests benchmarks that could easily apply in Syria or Gaza.
“A drop in the number of people in camps often indicates a return to normalcy,” it suggests. “Strikes do not address the root causes for beginning or sustaining an insurgency,” another part of the manual warns.
Gen Petraeus commanded troops during a period widely seen as a turnaround for the US, after a time of strategic drift from battle to battle with insurgents, only for them to regroup.
“An illegitimate government’s only method of controlling its population is coercion, which can be resource-intensive,” FM 3-24 says. “Clear, hold, build,” was Gen Petraeus’s mantra, something he urged Israel to do in a Foreign Affairs opinion piece earlier this year. In Iraq, he warned US officers: “You can’t kill or capture your way out.”
Gen Petraeus and Mr Mansoor’s vision was not concerned with “whether the war was right or wrong”, Mr Mansoor says. “It was about what is the best way forward.”
Occupying Gaza?
Critics of Mr Petraeus say it is wrong to suggest Israel has to occupy and rebuild Gaza. One Israeli defence expert told The National that whatever happens, Israel needs to immediately formulate a plan for a postwar, Palestinian-led government.
“Israel is still focused on the military side, rather than the political side. The fortification of the Netzarim corridor in the centre of Gaza is not a good sign,” the expert said.
The two approaches – heavy firepower or “holding and building” in Gen Petraeus’s terms, have sometimes been divided into population-centric counterinsurgency and enemy-centric counterinsurgency.
“Israel is pursuing a specific kind of counterinsurgency, in which the counterinsurgent is basically indifferent to winning local popular support, or civilian welfare,” Sam Heller, a fellow at the Centre for International Research and Policy tells The National.
The Israelis and former Syrian army believe in the “enemy-centric” approach, destroying insurgents like a regular army. This is stated by the Israeli military’s Momentum Plan, which views Hezbollah and Hamas as armies, rather than ideological groups that have to lose political support.
According to a 2013 Rand think tank study of 71 insurgencies, 23 out of 33 state responses that involved “escalating repression and collective punishment” were defeated. Politics-led strategies were more successful.
Has Israel won in Gaza?
Analysts including Andrew Fox, a former senior lecturer at the UK’s Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and John Spencer, chairman of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point US military academy, claim Israel’s war has been a success.
Mr Spencer, an Iraq veteran, says high “civilian harm” in Gaza is inevitable because of the need to eradicate Hamas, which is embedded in urban areas. Mr Fox has called the war “a masterpiece of operational design”. Both say it is more successful than US and British efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Mr Fox served.
Their views stand in stark contrast to another veteran Iraq war general who The National interviewed last year, Stanley McCrystal, who was critical of Israel’s approach, warning that extreme violence would serve to recruit militants.
Some highlight that, in the past, Israel has pursued policies closer to western thinking than its recent Gaza approach. “There have been Israeli political leaders, notably Yitzhak Rabin, who have realised that a political process needs to follow on from, if not accompany a protracted insurgency,” Clive Jones, director of the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies tells The National.
“While he gained notoriety for calling on the [Israeli military] to ‘break the bones’ of protesters during the First Intifada, he soon realised that as a popular uprising, a political process was necessary,” adds Mr Jones.
“The other Israeli strategy, however, is that insurgents must be punished first and forced to accept Israel’s diktats. Moshe Yaalon, when he was chief of staff, noted before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence committee in 2002 that Israel’s superiority needed to be burnt into the consciousness of the Palestinians. I think this speaks, of course, to an Israeli view of deterrence but perhaps also [to] an existential fear that without the use of overwhelming force, the very existence of Israel is at stake.”
West Bank in crisis
Dave Harden, former mission director of USAID in the West Bank and Gaza, tells The National that the US previously formulated a plan to encourage Israeli-Palestinian Authority co-operation, dramatically reducing unemployment and boosting security co-ordination, specifically by opening up the Jalameh crossing north of Jenin.
The move, following the bloody unrest of the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, allowed Palestinian traders to sell on global markets. “The opening of Jalameh also allowed for Israeli Arabs to cross into the West Bank city to go shopping, get car repairs, and visit family. These efforts reduced unemployment, improved security, raised incomes, and gave hope for a more stable future,” he says.
But his experience shows that ultimately, only the Israelis can choose their tactics. “While these efforts in Jenin and Jalameh were foundational, they were never intended to solve the political issues between Israelis and Palestinians. Instead, these efforts provided a 15-year window to negotiate a political resolution, which as we know never happened.”
Mr Mansoor cautions that the whole western idea of counterinsurgency may be lost on leaders such as Mr Al Assad and Mr Netanyahu. Mr Jones agrees, saying that “across the Middle East, few militaries facing insurgencies have tried to marry proportionate force to a wider political strategy”.
“Netanyahu's kinetic approach will not end the conflict with the Palestinians, but that is not his goal. He's perfectly fine with mowing the grass as Israeli settlers slowly take over Palestinian territory. It's a long game,” Mr Mansoor says.
"What is unique about the situation in Gaza is the holding of Israeli hostages. This has shaped Israel’s response," says Ms Sky, who also worked in Gaza and the West Bank on capacity building in the 1990s.
"Internal Israel politics has also prevented the articulation and adoption of an end state for Gaza which surely should be the establishment of a legitimate Palestinian government committed to peaceful co-existence with Israel. The US has enabled Israel’s disproportionate response in Gaza through the provision of weaponry and the vetoing of UN resolutions," she says.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
more from Janine di Giovanni
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
BABYLON
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Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
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SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Kitchen
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Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Handicap (D) Dh165,000 2,200m
Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20race%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Tigist%20Ketema%20(ETH)%202hrs%2016min%207sec%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Ruti%20Aga%20(ETH)%202%3A18%3A09%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dera%20Dida%20(ETH)%202%3A19%3A29%0D%3Cbr%3EMen's%20race%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Addisu%20Gobena%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A01%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lemi%20Dumicha%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A20%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20DejeneMegersa%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A42%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Znap%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarted%3A%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Uday%20Rathod%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%241m%2B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EInvestors%3A%20Family%2C%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
