It feels bizarre to “celebrate” Lebanon’s ceasefire with Israel, even though we have been waiting for it for so long. It came after one of the most intense nights of Israeli attacks this war has seen.
I was working late as a journalist at The National in the UAE on Tuesday night, monitoring for updates as the Lebanese and Israeli cabinets debated whether to go ahead with the ceasefire. I admit, I took the late shift selfishly, for my own peace of mind. I wanted to be able to call my family as soon as the news came through and tell them it was over, and that I was coming home to see them.
Instead, news of an Israeli strike on Noueiri, a densely populated neighbourhood in central Beirut, came in. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the strike hit a building that housed displaced families. At least seven people were killed.
The air strikes on Beirut suburbs came next: 20 attacks in less than two minutes. I was watching it all unfold on a screen. Images of a fire belt and large plumes of smoke in the Beirut skies – it felt dystopian, just like the past 65 days have.
The Israeli army’s spokesperson for Arab media shared eviction maps on X, marking areas that would be attacked that night, even as the ceasefire discussions continued. Maps like this have become a staple of the psychological warfare that has characterised this conflict. This time, they showed residential areas in central Beirut: Msaitbeh, Ras Beirut, Zqaq El Blat, Mazraa – all neighbourhoods I know by heart. My own neighbourhood, where my family still live, was included in the list.
I frantically called my mother. “Please leave the house now,” I begged her.
“Don’t worry, we’re far,” she responded, in the composed way mothers often do, even though we both knew it wasn’t true.
I spent the next 10 minutes zooming in and out of the maps, calculating the distance between the structures marked in red and my family home. Three minutes by car, six on foot ... Four minutes by car, nine on foot ... All around the targeted buildings were shops and streets I recognised. I know this bakery, this pharmacy, this pastry shop, I know, I know, I know …
With every refresh, I saw a residential building levelled to the ground
Less than an hour after the maps were released, the strikes began, including some that were unannounced. I called my family every five minutes to check they were safe, while scrolling through social media footage of other families fleeing on foot and seeking shelter at hospital entrances and universities.
It felt like I was standing right outside, close enough to watch the deaths and destruction unfold, but not close enough to help.
For the past two months, my phone has served as a peephole into this war. With every refresh, I saw a residential building levelled, a family wiped out or a town destroyed. Another refresh brought a post from a friend pinpointing their home in a razed building, another mourning their family and a third sharing memories from the town where they grew up.
In the blink of an eye in late September, I went from mindlessly scrolling and platform jumping to refreshing my feeds for any news on the safety of my loved ones with bated breath.
My family was one of hundreds forced to leave their home in the south on September 23, when Israel launched raids on dozens of towns and villages. They were stuck in traffic for more than 12 hours as bombs fell around them. I was texting my mother every five minutes on average, asking if they made it to safety and pleading with her to keep me updated.
Every single day since had been a nerve-racking cycle of monitoring the news until I fall asleep for a few hours before I wake up and grab my phone first thing with a pit in my stomach as I check the news again.
My greatest fears now included texting my family on WhatsApp and receiving only one tick, or calling them and not getting an immediate response.
I was a child in Lebanon when the 2006 war erupted, but this war has been different for my generation. This time I don’t hear the bombs, but I’m watching them drop on my country and, somehow, for me, it feels much more terrifying, knowing I’d rather be with my family.
I have watched on X as Israel has dropped dozens of bunker-buster bombs on the Beirut suburbs, rocking the capital and terrorising its residents. I have watched on Instagram as Israeli troops invade Lebanese homes in the south, vandalising properties and mocking their owners. It was on TikTok that I watched a famous Israeli journalist embedded with the army push a button that detonated an entire Lebanese village in the border area.
To say it is a surreal experience is an understatement. Even all of the words I have written here do not describe how it feels to watch the live-streamed destruction of so much of what I’ve known and loved.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
more from Janine di Giovanni
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Match info
Newcastle United 1
Joselu (11')
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
