A British man who was serving in the Israeli army has been killed in an attack by Hamas militants – with a second Briton who was visiting the country also feared dead.
Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, from London, was a soldier in the 13th Battalion, according to the Israeli Defence Forces.
His family shared a post on Facebook saying they are “heartbroken”, adding: “Our little brother Nathanel Young was tragically killed on the Gaza Border yesterday.”
Israel-Hamas War: Watch special programme on Sky News tonight at 9pm
A second British man in Israel is also missing from the area of the attacks and is feared dead.
Dan Darlington is originally from the UK but was living in Germany and had been visiting Israel.
Mr Young was a former pupil at JFS, a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, north London, who was living in the Bayit Shel Benji home for lone IDF soldiers in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, according to the Jewish News.
Image: Nathanel Young’s family are ‘heartbroken’
Mr Young’s family said in a tribute: “Nathanel was full of life and the life of the party – he carried the nickname DJ on base and at Benji’s house, the lone soldier house that he lived at.
“He loved his family and friends and was loved by everyone. He loved music and was a talented DJ.
“Always willing to go to any lengths for his loved ones. An amazing uncle and brother. He was so happy and thriving in Israel. He loved the country.”
His brother Eliot Young told Sky News: “Nathanel always had strong Jewish pride. From a young age he has always wanted to play an important role in defending his country – it’s something he talked about a lot.”
He added: “Nathanel was also a bubbly guy who my two little daughters loved playing with and were always so excited to visit.
Image: Nathanel Young was serving in the Israeli army
Image: Nathanel Young ‘was loved by everyone’
“When Nathanel could have taken his days off to sleep and re-energise, he instead found out where we were, which wasn’t always so close to him, and came to join us.”
It is understood the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in contact with and assisting the families of several people in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Another British man Jake Marlowe, 26, has been “missing near Gaza” since Saturday morning after Hamas attacked a music festival in southern Israel, the country’s embassy in the UK told Sky News.
Israeli media said on Sunday that 700 Israelis were killed after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Saturday.
Gunmen targeted up to 22 locations in the initial assault, with gun battles continuing into Sunday.
At least 370 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip, with a further 2,200 injured, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.