HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds an official reception ceremony for the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, H.E. Li Qiang.

Bahrain's Bapco Energies signs pipeline deal with BlackRock, Jennifer Gnana reports al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

New by me @ft — The rise of MBS saw a relaxation of the Saudi dress code, but we are now seeing a pushback towards more formality as social change fault lines are becoming increasingly blurred ft.com/content/f8a173…

At the Abu Dhabi airport waiting for the UAE’s humanitarian plane to bring the injured from Gaza. Also on board are cancer patients. Around 250 were transported from Ramon Int’l Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing #Gaza MoFA وزارة الخارجية

Injured children and their families being received at the Abu Dhabi international airport. Since the closure of the Rafah border, families with children from #Gaza had to make a longer trip to reach Eilat airport in order to receive medical treatment offered by the UAE

Al-Monitor’s Gulf Correspondent, Jennifer Gnana, reports from on the ground in Abu Dhabi as patients are transported to the UAE for treatment.

UAE evacuates nearly 100 injured and sick from Gaza via southern Israel. Al-Monitor’s Gulf Correspondent, Jennifer Gnana, reports from on the ground in Abu Dhabi al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

NEW: Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks to reporters after meeting with Blinken in DC. Says Netanyahu shouldn't fire Gallant, who is "doing a good job under terrible circumstances."

BREAKING: Lebanese minister of health said 8 people were killed and 2800 (!!) wounded in the Hezbollah pager devices explosions

My family and friends in Sur describe surreal and shocking scenes. People running through the streets, women hitting their faces, mass confusion and hysteria, ambulances racing by, rescue workers crying. #Lebanon

When asked about her future at the end of the war, Reem said she hopes to be with one of her children, a son who was left behind in #Gaza. "I try and speak to him every day if possible. I worry whenever I cannot get hold of him.” al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Hezbollah's suspicions of booby-trapped pagers expedited #Israel's attack in Lebanon today, senior intelligence sources tell Al-Monitor . Details: al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

High level intel sources tell Gabrielle Debinski and Tyler Huffman: - TWO Hezbollah members found out about Israel's hack, one was "neutralized" - Decision to detonate pagers early took place before 2nd alerted superiors Wild details as attack brings Israel-Lebanon to brink of war

Today in Al-Monitor Daily Briefing: A scoop on why the Israeli intel community executed the Lebanon pager attack now. Spoiler: An intel breach. Plus, what explains the latest spat between friendly India and Iran? Sign up for the free newsletter here: al-monitor.com/newsletter/sub…

I am not sure how this story can get any stranger.

UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed to visit White House on Monday as frustrations mount over Gaza endgame. First visit since becoming president. Jennifer Gnana reports from Dubai al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

The takeaway from Nasrallah's speech thus far is that, unsurprisingly, there will not be the "decoupling of fronts" that some Israeli officials had hoped for: Hezbollah will not accept a political defeat and agree to a ceasefire separate from an end to the war in Gaza.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah: “This is a large terrorist operation, a collective genocide, and a massacre...We could also call it a major aggression on Lebanon, its people, security and sovereignty, and a declaration of war.” al-monitor.com/live-blog/live…

During his visit to Washington on Monday, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed will meet Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. A top advisor did not confirm if a meeting with President Trump was on the agenda, Jennifer Gnana reports al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

Meryl Streep at the United Nations: A female cat has more freedoms than a woman in Afghanistan, "A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face," Streep said. "She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan."