World

Thirteen Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas after being held for almost seven weeks. They include four children and a number of elderly women. Their handover coincides with the release of 39 prisoners by Israel after a deal that has paused fighting between the two sides. Sky News understands 10 Thai nationals and one

Thirty-four people have been arrested following “huge destruction by a riotous mob” in Dublin, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said. Three young children were injured in a stabbing outside a primary school which sparked violent protests and clashes with police. A five-year-old schoolgirl, and a woman in her 30s, described as a “member of staff caring

The World Health Organisation has asked China for more detailed information about an outbreak of a respiratory illness and reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children. Since mid-October, the WHO said northern China had reported an increase in influenza-like illnesses compared with the same period in the previous three years. In recent days, local media

Thirteen women and children hostages held by militants in Gaza will be the first to be released – as the the temporary truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas begins at 7am on Friday, Qatar has said. Dr Majed Al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said it had received a list of the civilians

The hostage release deal has been delicately structured after weeks of negotiation and many false starts. After ratification by Israel’s war cabinet, security cabinet and full cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu now has the support of Israel’s security establishment. Some 50 hostages will be released, in phases, all with Israeli citizenship. Roughly 12 every day. We understand

A Eurovision winner who has been added to Russia’s wanted list says the Kremlin is lying about her and trying to “scare” her – as she voiced fears for her family’s safety. Ukrainian singer Susana Jamaladinova – who performs under the name Jamala and won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 – is accused by

Israel’s government has agreed to back a deal with Hamas for the release of some hostages in Gaza and a temporary pause in the fighting. The agreement involves swapping the hostages for Palestinian prisoners being detained in Israel. The prime minister’s office said the deal involves the release of 50 women and children being held

Yemen’s Houthis rebels have released a video showing armed men seizing a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea. The video from Yemeni Military Media shows at least seven masked men, carrying what appears to be AK-47s, drop from a helicopter and land on the top deck of the ship. Israel-Gaza live updates The video

There’s a makeshift shrine like none other outside the Ayoub family home in southern Lebanon. Underneath a large picture of three little girls and their grandmother is a bright pink and white wreath of flowers. But there are also black charred children’s shoes, a singed pencil case and blackened schoolbooks, with the edges of each

Hamas could release a significant number of Israeli hostages “in coming days”, Israel’s ambassador to the US has said. Around 240 hostages were taken during Hamas’s deadly cross-border assault into Israel on 7 October, which prompted Israel to invade Gaza in an attempt to wipe out the militant group. Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael

Israel’s military has released a video of what it claims is a 55-metre tunnel used by Hamas beneath Gaza’s largest hospital. The footage, published on social media, is “more proof” that Hamas is using patients as “human shields”, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claim. The video, at al Shifa, begins with images of what is

The Shifa Hospital in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is a “death zone” with a mass grave at the entrance and a “desperate” situation inside, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. A team of UN and WHO experts conducted a “high-risk operation” on Saturday to get inside the hospital, despite heavy fighting reported to be

Israel’s beleaguered prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has bowed to pressure after a five-day march by families of hostages taken by Hamas and thousands of supporters. He has finally agreed to meet the families along with his war cabinet on Monday. A huge march set off from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, arriving in Jerusalem on Saturday,

Fears over the safety of Palestinian civilians are growing as Israel suggests its bombardment of Gaza will shift to southern areas, having destroyed swathes of the north. Leaflets have been dropped by the Israeli military in some areas of the south, near Khan Younis, warning residents to leave as Israel declared the “next stage” of

At the end of a sixth week of war, a day of burials and death but also signs the conflict is deepening. In the settlement of Modiin in Israel, the Marciano family were burying their daughter Noa. Her body was one of two found by Israeli forces near al Shifa hospital in Gaza. She’d been

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is doing all it can to minimise civilian casualties in Gaza but had “not been successful”. The Israeli prime minister was speaking to CBS when he made the comments regarding the thousands of reported deaths since his forces began their operation against Hamas. Mr Netanyahu laid the blame for the

One of the biggest challenges facing Israeli forces during their ground operation in Gaza is the huge network of underground tunnels used by Hamas. Hundreds of kilometres long and up to 80m (262ft) deep, the system is used for various reasons – including carrying out attacks, smuggling in goods and storing weapons. Israel-Hamas war live:

To see the column of people up close was quite something. Several hundred Palestinians, young and elderly, in a thin line facing south on the main north-south road that cuts down through Gaza. On a loudhailer, an Israeli soldier is issuing instructions in Arabic. They should move south, they are told, and they will be

When French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire last Friday, he said he was hoping the US and UK would follow suit. So far, they have not. There has been a marked shift in rhetoric in most Western capitals vis-a-vis how Israel is exercising its manifest right to defend itself, as the horrors of

Israel has launched an overnight raid on Gaza’s largest medical facility – al Shifa hospital – hours after the US backed claims it was being used by Hamas fighters. Israeli forces said they entered a “specified area” of the medical complex for a “precise and targeted” operation “against Hamas“. The raid came hours after the