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Airlines and governments are scrambling to evacuate thousands of tourists from Israel ahead of a possible ground assault on Gaza.

Israel’s military said it was conducting a “large-scale strike” on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza on Thursday, but gave no details, as Israel formed an emergency unity government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting in a war cabinet with centrist former defence minister Benny Gantz.

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Israel-Hamas war: ‘A nightmare’

The move came as the Israeli military pounds Gaza to root out the Palestinian militant group, ahead of a possible ground offensive in the coastal strip.

Israelis take cover from the incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Pic: AP
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Israelis take cover from the incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Pic: AP

Israeli flag carrier El Al said it would operate 12 extra flights on Wednesday and Thursday to and from Athens, Rome, Madrid, Bucharest, New York, Paris, Larnaca and Istanbul.

Its low-cost unit Sun Dor also plans flights from Istanbul. El Al had already announced an additional flight from New York and six flights to and from Larnaca.

In other key developments:

17 British nationals, including children, killed or missing, Sky News understands

Missing Irish-Israeli woman confirmed dead

Met Police appeals for people to send them footage of attacks in Israel

22 Americans have been killed, US state department says

Netanyahu and opposition agree to form emergency government

UK foreign secretary runs for cover during Israel visit

At least 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 2,700 injured, IDF says

At least 1,100 Palestinians dead and 5,184 injured in Israeli strikes, Gaza Health Ministry says

UK royals issue statements in solidarity with Israel

The latest move came as the combined death toll reported by both sides following the weekend attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas and retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces reached more than 2,000 people.

Most foreign airlines have suspended or curtailed services, leaving passengers uncertain how to leave or reach the country and consular services struggling to keep up with demand for assistance, with priority given to those with missing relatives.

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Israel-Hamas war: ‘A nightmare’

Israel’s parliamentary finance committee has said it would debate authorising state guarantees for providing war risk insurance for Israeli airlines.

The panel said insurance companies had indicated they were entitled to cancel cover with seven days’ notice. Airline executives said some cover was still available.

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Israeli hospital ‘preparing for war’

Israel ready for two front war – follow live conflict updates

A senior official at insurance industry body Lloyd’s Market Association said Israel is not on a commonly used list of high-risk areas for aviation, but that it made sense for underwriters to seek to control their exposure given the escalating violence.

British Airways said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv after diverting a flight from London back to Britain shortly before it was due to reach Israel, citing security concerns.

A mother in Gaza who sought sanctuary at her daughter’s house during an Israeli strike was in tears as she returned to her home and found it have been “bombed entirely”.

“There’s nothng left, she told a Sky News newsgathering team in Gaza.

“There’s nothing visible in the house. It’s been bombed entirely… where shall I go?”

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Watch: Sky News inside the Gaza Strip

Meanwhile, calls for a humanitarian corridor to be established out of Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive grow as the bombardment of the Hamas controlled strip continues.

The UN Middle East envoy is currently in Cairo working with other key regional and international partners and the Egyptian government on ending the Hamas-Israel conflict, preventing its expansion, and opening a humanitarian corridor to deliver fuel, food and water to access to Gaza.

Israel cut off the water and electricity to Gaza earlier in the week.

An Israeli soldier stands over the body of a Hamas militant in Beeri. Pic: AP
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An Israeli soldier stands over the body of a Hamas militant in Beeri. Pic: AP

Tor Wennesland is following up on Egypt’s offer to facilitate humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing and to make the El Arish airport available for critical assistance, a UN spokesman said.

The UN humanitarian office reports that 263,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, a 40% increase since Tuesday.

More than 1,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed and about 560 severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable in the past day, the UN said.

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City
Pic:AP
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Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City
Pic:AP

The US is also in active conversations to achieve safe passage out of Gaza for civilians, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.

Mr Kirby noted that Israel and Egypt are the two most significant players in the efforts.

“We are having active conversations about trying to allow for that safe passage,” he said. “It’s the civilians who did nothing wrong so we want to make sure they have a way out.”

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Ukraine’s drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

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Ukraine's drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.

Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.

Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.

“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.

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In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.

The drones were hidden in truck containers and the tops remotely lifted for the drones to be flown out to attack. Pic: SBU Security Service
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The drones were hidden in truck containers. Pic: SBU Security Service

The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.

At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.

These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
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These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service

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Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.

The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.

Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.

Read more:
Russia investigates bridge collapses
What new Stalin statue says about Putin’s regime

The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.

Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.

But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.

Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.

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Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG’s Champions League win

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Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG's Champions League win

Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.

The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.

The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.

Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 A burning bike is seen on
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A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.

Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.

The perpetrator has not been identified.

A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP
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A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 A burning bike is seen on
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A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.

In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.

He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.

There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.

Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.

He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Riot police on the Champs
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Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Riot police on the Champs
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Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.

It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.

Around 5,400 police were deployed across Paris after the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.

A man runs away from teargas during incidents on the Champs Elysees avenue after PSG won the Champions League. Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Fireworks explode over police in Paris after PSG win the Champions League. Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.

Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.

Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.

Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.

Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.

PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”

A PSG supporter on a traffic sign in Paris while red flares are set off after the team won the Champions League. Pic: AP
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Pics: AP

PSG supporters invade a street in Paris after the team won the Champions League. Pic: AP

After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.

Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.

PSG fans rush the field at Allianz Arena in Munich after the team win the Champions League. Pic: AP
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Pics: AP

Police try to contain PSG fans on the field at Allianz Arena in Munich. Pic: AP

Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”

Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!

“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”

Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.

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Hamburg hospital fire kills three as people call for help from windows

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Hamburg hospital fire kills three as people call for help from windows

Three patients have been killed and dozens of other people were reportedly injured after a fire at a hospital in Germany.

The blaze broke out in a room in the geriatric ward of the Marienkrankenhaus early on Sunday.

It started on the ground floor and spread to the level above, with smoke affecting much of the four-storey building in the city of Hamburg.

Firefighters were alerted soon after midnight.

They said they found several patients calling for help from windows, and some people were rescued using ladders.

Fire at the Marienkrankenhaus hospital. Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Hospital fire. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Three adults died and more than 30 were injured in the fire, the German news agency dpa said.

One of the injured is in a life-threatening condition, while 18 have serious injuries and 15 have minor injuries, the agency added.

Read more from Sky News:
Two dead and hundreds of arrests in France after PSG win
Britain has ‘lost control’ of its borders, says minister

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Part of the building had to be evacuated, though the wounded were mostly treated at the hospital.

Two injured people were taken to other nearby clinics.

The blaze was put out within about 20 minutes. The cause is not yet known.

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