Among those known to have died is 20-year-old Nathanel Young, who was serving in the Israeli army when he was killed during Hamas’s charge.
Bernard Cowan, who grew up around Glasgow, also died while Jack Marlowe, 26, who went to the same London school as Mr Young, is believed to be missing.
Photographer Dan Darlington was confirmed to have died after a post from his sister, Shelley, on social media said he was “murdered” at Nir Oz, in southern Israel.
To outline the UK’s support for Israel, foreign secretary James Cleverly arrived in the country, where he will also meet survivors on Wednesday afternoon.
Image: Danny Darlington, Bernard Cowan and Nathanel Young
At least 1,200 Israelis are dead and more than 2,700 have been wounded, according to the latest figures supplied by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces).
The latest information from Gaza’s Health Ministry said that at least 1,055 Palestinians have been killed and 5,184 wounded in Israeli strikes, with authorities claiming two-thirds of those injured are women and children.
Israeli warplanes hammered the Gaza Strip through the night into Wednesday morning, reducing buildings to rubble and reportedly striking over 450 targets.
Its air force has also targeted southern Lebanon, with Israel claiming to have struck a Hezbollah lookout position in retaliation for cross-border fire.
Meanwhile, Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicines into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt shut down on Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing, with the violence expected to escalate further.
Israel vows to ‘wipe out’ Hamas
To many of the 2.3 million residents in the Gaza Strip, the mobilisation and intense bombardment raise fears of a ground invasion that may surpass Israel’s incursions in 2008 and 2014.
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This video released by the Israeli Army shows strikes on what Israel says are Hamas targets.
One Israeli security source said a ground offensive now looked inevitable, while Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke believes Israel would prefer a multi-pronged attack into Gaza, probably from the land and sea simultaneously.
It comes as Israel vowed to “wipe out” Hamas after claiming children were burnt alive, beheaded and shot in the head, a government minister from the country told Sky News.
Israel’s economics minister Nir Barkat said its military operation would continue until there was a “clear white flag” and there was a “more moderate” replacement for the militant group that rules in the Gaza Strip.
“Just now, we have heard of 40 young boys, some of them were burnt alive, some were beheaded, some were shot in the head,” the minister told Sky’s Mark Austin – although the IDF has not confirmed this.
Sky News’ chief correspondent, Stuart Ramsey, spoke to two IDF majors – neither or whom mentioned children or babies beheaded, though it’s clear there was a “horrific attack” in Kfar Aza, one of the first places attacked by Hamas.
Image: The air strikes on Gaza have been widespread. Pic: AP
Mr Barkat added: “The whole country is united to take Hamas out of this world, to take them out. All the militants, all the infrastructure, the people supporting Hamas. We will wipe them out.
“We’re coming in to kill the militants, and any civilians [should] move aside. If you do not move aside and you’re giving cover to the Hamas militants, you’re risking your life.
“We do not want to hurt innocent people.”
Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have no way of escaping, with the Egyptian border still closed in the south.
Gaza ‘running out of power’
Image: People gather near fire burning on rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
A ground offensive carries risks for Israel, notably to the hostages held in the narrow and densely populated Gaza Strip, with Hamas threatening to execute a captive for each home hit without warning.
As violence escalates, residents in Gaza are facing an imminent loss of electricity as fuel supplies run dangerously low, while hospitals struggle with dwindling medical supplies.
Jalal Ismail, from Gaza’s energy authority, had said power will run out in the city by midday, which has now passed.
“The power plant will stop working completely today at 2pm (12pm UK time), due to the exhaustion of the amount of fuel needed to operate it,” he said.
Israel withdrew troops from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, with Hamas seizing power in 2007.
Since then, Israel has kept it under blockade, creating conditions Palestinians say are intolerable.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Image: Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Image: Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Image: Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
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Image: Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
Image: JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
Image: A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
Image: A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
Image: JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Image: Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.