RIYADH: Spending in Saudi hotels saw a week-on-week increase of 11.4 percent between Nov. 10 and 16, reaching SR399.7 million ($106.4 million), according to the Kingdom’s central bank.

The weekly point-of-sale transactions bulletin from SAMA showed that restaurants and cafes recorded the second largest sectoral increase with a 4.3 percent rise to reach SR2.07 billion, which also equated to the biggest share of the overall value.

Spending on furniture came in third place, registering a 2 percent increase to SR304.8 million.

Overall, Saudi Arabia’s POS transactions registered a weekly decrease of 1.5 percent, with the education sector leading the decline.

SAMA recorded SR13.2 billion in transactions over the week, with the education industry posting the highest sectoral decrease at 47.9 percent to reach SR89.5 million.

The central bank’s figures showed that the electronics sector saw the second-largest dip, with a 10.9 percent slide to SR198 billion.

Spending on telecommunication recorded the third most significant decrease, at 7.4 percent, reaching SR117.1 million. 

Expenditure on food and beverages saw a 0.6 percent negative change this week, reaching SR1.9 billion, claiming the second-biggest share of this week’s POS transaction value.

Spending on miscellaneous goods and services followed, accounting for the third largest POS share with a 4.1 percent dip, reaching SR1.5 billion.

Spending in the leading three categories accounted for 42 percent or SR5.5 billion of the week’s total value.

At 0.02 percent, the smallest increase occurred in spending on recreation and culture, boosting total payments to SR309.5 million. Expenditures on public utilities surged by 0.2 percent to SR52.9 million. 

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing 34.06 percent of the total, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.5 billion — a 3.5 percent decrease from the previous week. 

Jeddah followed with a 0.04 percent surge to SR1.8 billion, and Dammam came in third at SR641.4 million, down 4.6 percent.

Madinah experienced the most significant rise in spending, increasing 6.9 percent to SR567 million.

Tabouk recorded a decline of 7.5 percent, reaching SR235.9 million, and Abha dropped 3.4 percent to stand at SR149.4 million.

CAIRO: Israeli forces killed at least 15 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including a rescue worker, health officials said, as tanks deepened their incursion in the area and blew up homes, according to residents.
Medics said at least 12 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the area of Jabalia, in northern Gaza, earlier on Wednesday. They said at least 10 people remained missing as rescue operations continued. Another man was killed in tank shelling nearby, they said.
In the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, the Palestinian civil emergency said an Israeli air strike targeted one of their teams during a rescue operation, killing one staff and wounding three others.
The death raised the number of civil emergency service members killed since Oct 7, 2023, to 87, it said.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the two incidents.
Adding to the challenges facing the health care system in north Gaza areas, the civil emergency service said their vehicles were hardly operational because of shortages of fuel and equipment, citing Israel’s continued refusal to allow them to bring the needed supplies.
In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said one man was killed and others wounded in an Israeli air strike on the eastern territory of the city.
Residents in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, where the army has operated since early last month, said forces blew up dozens of houses in the three areas, adding to fears Israel was seeking to clear residents to create a buffer zone, something Israel denies.
Israel said it sent forces into the two towns and refugee camp to fight Hamas militants launching attacks and to prevent them from regrouping. It said it had killed hundreds of them since Oct 5.
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad armed wing claimed they killed many Israeli soldiers in anti-tank and mortar fire as well as ambushes by explosive devices during the same period.
Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities barely operational in the north of the enclave, said the hospital came under Israeli fire on Tuesday.
“The health care system is still operating under extremely harsh conditions. Following the arrest of 45 members of the medical and surgical staff and the denial of entry to a replacement team, we are now losing wounded patients daily who could have survived if resources were available,” said Abu Safiya.
“Unfortunately, food and water are not allowed to enter, and not even a single ambulance is permitted access to the north. Yesterday, the hospital was bombed across all its departments without warning, as we were trying to save an injured person in the intensive care unit,” he added.
Speaking during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had destroyed the Islamist group’s military capabilities.
Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of each one.
Qatar, a key ceasefire mediator alongside Egypt, said it informed Hamas and Israel it will stall its mediation efforts unless the two warring parties showed “willingness and seriousness” to reach a deal.
Hamas wants a deal that ends the war, while Netanyahu vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.
The 2023 attack on Israel, which shattered Israel’s aura of invincibility, marked the country’s bloodiest day in its history, with 1,200 people killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded with its most destructive offensive in Gaza, killing nearly 44,000 people and wounding 103,898, according to the Gaza health ministry, and turning the enclave into a wasteland of rubble with millions desperate for food, fuel, water and sanitation.