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Nearly 100 Britons are listed among foreigners and Palestinians who will be allowed to leave Gaza and cross into Egypt on Friday.

The Palestinian Border Authority published a list that includes 92 British nationals among 127 names.

Two Irish dependants, one Moroccan, 31 Palestinians and one Palestinian dependant are also set to leave.

Israel-Gaza latest – live updates

Palestinians cross to the Egyptian side of the border crossing with the Gaza Strip Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. in Rafah Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
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Some Palestinians with foreign passports are being allowed into Egypt. Pic: AP

Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees in case Israel stops them returning after the war.

However, in the last few days, Palestinians with foreign passports have been allowed over Gaza‘s southern border at the Rafah crossing.

Some 342 Palestinians with foreign papers and 42 others crossed on Thursday, said the Palestinian Border Authority.

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It followed around 400 on Wednesday – when an unspecified number of British nationals were also allowed over for the first time.

The crossings come as Israel continues attacks as it aims to destroy Hamas after last month’s terror attack.

Troops completely encircled Gaza City on Thursday, said the country’s military, as it steps up ground operations after weeks of aerial attacks.

Chief of staff Herzi Halevy said troops were fighting “face-to-face” battles in “built-up, dense, complex areas”.

He said they were inflicting heavy losses on Hamas and destroying its infrastructure.

This photo released by the Israeli military shows ground operations inside the Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
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This photo from the Israeli military shows ground operations inside the Gaza Strip. Pic: AP

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

On Thursday, planes dropped leaflets telling people to evacuate the Shati refugee camp, near Gaza City’s centre.

“Time is up,” they read, warning that strikes “with crushing force” against Hamas were imminent.

Casualties are expected to rise as the fighting gets further into the densely packed streets of Gaza City

At least 20 people were also killed on Thursday when a school-turned-shelter was damaged in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to the United Nations.

It said four of its shelters had been hit in the last 24 hours.

A Palestinian man reacts after being rescued from under the rubble in Bureij refugee camp. Pic: AP
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A Palestinian man reacts after being rescued from rubble in Bureij refugee camp. Pic: AP

Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Bureij in the central Gaza Strip,November 2, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa
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Fifteen people are said to have died after strikes hit the Bureij area

Fifteen also died after an airstrike hit a residential building in the the Bureij refugee camp a few miles south of Gaza City, a civil defence spokesperson said.

It happened in the southern zone where Israel has told people to flee – but which has been repeatedly hit.

Israel says it takes great care to avoid civilian casualties but that Hamas deliberately embeds itself among the population.

More than 9,000 Palestinians have now died in less than a month – with 32,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

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‘At least 20 killed’ after school-turned-shelter damaged

The offensive was launched after Hamas murdered more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 in its cross-border attack 7 October.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken is heading back to the region on Friday to try to push President Biden’s suggestion of a humanitarian pause.

He will hold talks in Israel and Jordan but faces a hard time convincing Benjamin Netanyahu to stand down his forces.

The Israeli prime minister has not responded directly to Mr Biden’s idea but previously dismissed calls for a ceasefire.

Speaking on Thursday, he insisted: “We are advancing… Nothing will stop us.”

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Blinken: ‘How Israel does this matters’

The hope behind a pause is to let more foreign nationals to leave while also allowing more aid trucks to enter.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people are facing crippling shortages of food and water, while hospitals are on the verge of collapse and without critical supplies.

Despite strong support among Western governments for Israel’s right to hit back at Hamas, there is growing unease at the number of deaths – with key questions including whether the counterattacks are proportionate.

Read more:
British surgeon out ‘at last’ after being trapped in Gaza

Analysis – How many people have died in Gaza?

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Rocket strike hits northern Israel

A man mourns Israeli combat medic, staff sergeant Shay Arvas, who was killed in the northern Gaza Strip
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A man mourns Israeli medic staff sergeant Shay Arvas, killed in northern Gaza

On Thursday night, Israel’s military spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari reiterated its mission was only to wipe out Hamas.

“I want to make something very clear,” he said in a recorded video.

“Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel is not at war with the civilians in Gaza.”

Twenty one Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground offensive.

Meanwhile, continued rocket fire from Gaza and skirmishes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants have forced an estimated 250,000 Israelis to evacuate border towns in the north and disrupted life for millions.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

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.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

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.

Read more: What’s 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.

Pic: Reuters
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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, Indian and Israeli representatives 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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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

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.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

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.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

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”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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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.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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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.

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