World

A total communication blackout struck Gaza on Friday night as the territory came under heavy Israeli bombardment. Residents were cut off from the outside world, from each other and from contacting the emergency services. Phone and internet access is gradually being restored, but the blackout put aid on hold and disrupted medical assistance. A Sky

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the ongoing ground operation in Gaza is the “second stage of the war” after additional forces entered the territory. He described having troops on the ground as “only the beginning” and said Israel’s military would exert every effort to return those who have been taken captive. Mr Netanyahu,

Israel will expand ground operations tonight and has warned residents of Gaza City to move south. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), said: “In addition to the attacks that we carried out in recent days, ground forces are expanding their activity this evening. “The IDF is acting with great

On 7 October – three weeks ago this weekend – Hamas launched a vicious, deadly and barbaric attack on Israel. Hamas is no match for Israel’s military capability, and the world watched in trepidation as Israel mobilised over 350,000 reservists and prepared for swift and decisive military retribution. However, three weeks later, despite regular threats

Israeli forces backed by warplanes and drones have carried out a second ground raid in Gaza as aid trickles into the besieged territory amid warnings of a deepening “humanitarian catastrophe”. The operation comes as the Israeli military prepares for a widely expected invasion of the Hamas-governed enclave. Meanwhile, US jets struck targets in eastern Syria

All the civilians being held hostage in Gaza can be released in days, if there is a pause in the fighting, the Qataris leading negotiations say. Dr Mohammed Al Khulaifi, senior negotiator and Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs, told Sky News in an exclusive interview that the negotiations to free Israelis taken by

Twenty seven people have died and four are missing after Hurricane Otis made landfall in Mexico, authorities have said. The hurricane intensified yesterday before hitting Acapulco, a beach resort town that’s home to more than one million people. Tens of thousands of residents, stranded in their damaged homes without power, have been awaiting assistance for

With Israel’s darkest hour falling on his watch, the Israeli prime minister knows that he must show strength and purpose in his war with Hamas, but every choice he faces is filled with peril. Benjamin Netanyahu made a televised address to the nation on Wednesday night, vowing to “destroy” the Hamas militant group based in

Negotiations to release more Hamas hostages from Gaza are ongoing but could be jeopardised by an Israeli ground offensive, Qatari mediators have warned. “If we can keep discussions going between both parties we should see some sort of breakthrough, hopefully soon,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, told Sky News in a

US spy agencies believe the blast at a Gaza hospital a week ago was caused by a Palestinian rocket that suffered engine failure and broke apart into two pieces, with the warhead striking the hospital’s parking lot, intelligence officials said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters by phone, the intelligence officials said they had “high confidence”

Israel is taking its time before launching a ground invasion into Gaza as troops would have “fallen into a deadly trap” set by Hamas had they entered too quickly, a top Israeli diplomat has said. Emmanuel Nahshon, a senior official at the country’s foreign ministry, said it was also “not a bad thing” for the

The key Hamas negotiator over the fate of more than 200 hostages held by the group inside Gaza says all the civilians among them will be released – if the right conditions are met. Khaled Meshaal is a powerful figure within Hamas, revered as a living martyr after surviving an Israeli attempt to assassinate him

Israel has evidence of Iranian “involvement” in the Hamas terror attack that left more than 1,400 people dead and over 200 kidnapped, a senior Israeli military officer has said. Major General Michael Edelstein, a veteran commander who is working with the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) Southern Command, said the attackers, were “well trained, well equipped”.

Hamas terrorists who broke into Israel were carrying instructions on how to make chemical weapons, according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Israeli forces claim they discovered the material on the bodies of dead fighters in Kibbutz Be’eri, where an estimated 20% of the 1,100 residents were killed or kidnapped. The documents, complete with diagrams, were shown

Five people have been killed in the West Bank as Israel carried out a strike on a mosque it says was used to organise attacks – as more than 50 Palestinians are reported to have died in strikes on Gaza overnight. Israel also struck two airports in Syria as fears grow the two-week old war

Hands pulling the wheels on his wheelchair, a young Israeli soldier led the way into his hospital bedroom, both legs patched up after surgery for three gunshot wounds. The reservist, a member of an elite unit called the counter-terror school, was wounded as he helped to recapture a rural community near Gaza that had been

Late on Friday night, somewhere along the Gaza-Israel border, Judith and Natalie Raanan were handed over by masked Hamas gunmen into the care of the International Red Cross. In a video released by Hamas, they look exhausted and dazed. No wonder. Follow latest: First aid trucks enter Gaza The Americans were just two of an

I stopped counting after the ninth person was shot in front of us on another day of protests in the West Bank.  It was clearly a tactic by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to send a message – to the usual suspects who regularly hurl rocks at their vehicles and security posts – that today

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she has separated from her partner Andrea Giambruno who has faced criticism for alleged sexist comments. Ms Meloni, 46, took to her social media accounts on Friday to say her near decade-long relationship with television journalist Mr Giambruno “ends here”. “I thank him for the splendid years we spent

The number of British people killed as a result of the Hamas attack on Israel has risen to nine, the prime minister’s spokesperson has said. A further seven remain missing after the incursion from Gaza into Israel on 7 October, the spokesperson added. Until yesterday, authorities said seven British nationals had been confirmed killed, with