“We can now confirm that at least nine British nationals were tragically killed,” the prime minister’s spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.
“A further seven British nationals are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead or kidnapped.”
Among the British nationals killed so far are a teenager, a soldier, people visiting Israel on holiday and a music festival security guard.
In other developments in the Israel-Hamas war:
• Humanitarian aid being readied for opening of Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza • World Health Organisation says five aid lorries are ‘loaded and ready to go’ • Israel’s defence minister tells troops: ‘You will soon see Gaza from inside’ • Air raid sirens heard on Israel’s border with Lebanon
Yahel Sharabi, 13, and her mother, Lianne, were two of the British nationals killed during Hamas‘s attack.
She disappeared from Be’eri kibbutz after it was raided and was confirmed to be dead on 17 October. Lianne was also killed in the attack on the kibbutz.
Yahel’s sister Noiya Sharabi, 16, and their father, Eli Sharabi, were also kidnapped and are still missing.
Image: Clockwise from top left: Jake Marlowe, Yahel Sharabi, Nathanel Young, Danny Darlington, Bernard Cowan, Lianne Sharabi
Photographer Danny Darlington, who was originally from the UK but was living in Germany and on a visit to Israel, was killed in Nir Oz kibbutz.
Other British nationals killed include 20-year-old Nathanel Young, who was serving in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), festival security guard Jake Marlowe, 26, and Bernard Cowan, who was originally from Glasgow.
Sunak visits Israel
Rishi Sunak made a visit to Israel on Thursday, where he held talks with the country’s prime minister and president.
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3:40
‘The UK stands with you’ – Rishi Sunak
Speaking as he arrived at an airport near Tel Aviv, he said: “I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people.
“You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom, and I, stand with you.”
Mr Sunak met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Image: Rishi Sunak meets Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Pic: No 10 Downing Street
After their meeting, Mr Netanyahu thanked Mr Sunak for his support, while Mr Sunak said he was “proud” to stand with Israel in its “darkest hour”.
He also welcomed the opening of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza.
Gaza under siege
Gaza is under siege and has been bombarded with airstrikes after Hamas militants launched the surprise attack on 7 October.
Hamas fighters captured 203 hostages and brought them back to Gaza as part of the attack. Israel said 1,400 of its citizens were killed in the weekend raid.
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Israeli airstrike hits Gaza mosque
The Gaza health ministry said at least 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza since the latest war began, the majority of them women, children and older adults. Nearly 12,500 others have been injured.
Mr Sunak’s visit comes following the explosion at the al Ahli hospital in Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge following the outbreak of the conflict.
Hamas officials claimed the hospital blast killed hundreds of people and was caused by an Israeli airstrike – but the Israeli military blamed a misfiring rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group and released imagery and communications intercepts to support their case.
US President Joe Biden visited the region this week. He also spoke to Mr Netanyahu.
Mr Biden had been set to meet Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, but the summit was scrapped following the explosion at the hospital.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.