Tens of thousands of civilians flee amid heavy fighting in Gaza
Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing Gaza neighbourhoods where Israeli ground forces have been battling Hamas militants.
Fighting between Israel and Hamas has intensified in the north and in the capital of Gaza City – forcing thousands to flee to the south.
Israeli strikes have pounded Gaza City overnight – and Israeli troops were around 1.8 miles from Shifa Hospital in the heart of the city centre, the hospital’s director said.
Many are fleeing along roads such as the Salah al Din, some carrying white flags to show they are civilians.
The Salah al Din road runs right from the north to the south.
The Israel Defence Forces said they had secured a key Hamas stronghold after a 10-hour battle.
Troops belonging to the Nahal Brigade, one of the IDF’s main infantry units, secured what it called a stronghold named “Outpost 17” in west Jabaliya in northern Gaza.
The IDF said it engaged in fighting “above ground and in an underground route”, suggesting Hamas may have used some of its vast tunnel network during the battle.
Israel-Gaza latest: Key Hamas stronghold secured after 10-hour battle, IDF claims
Aid conference in Paris
It comes as officials from Western and Arab nations, the UN and non-governmental organisations met for an international conference in Paris with the aim of providing urgent aid to civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The conference gathered about 80 countries and organisations to find ways to help wounded civilians escape the siege.
More than 1.5 million people – or about 70% of Gaza’s population – have fled their homes, and an estimated $1.2bn is needed to respond to the crisis in Palestinian areas.
Humanitarian organisations have called for more aid to flow into Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
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Mark Stone reports from Israel-Egypt border
Sky’s Mark Stone is on the Israeli-Egypt border at Nitzana, and has given an update on the status of the Rafah crossing into Gaza and the flow of aid.
He said “the border is open and trucks have been passing through… [but at] a trickle”.
Delays are occurring because Israel is insisting on checking every truck that enters Gaza – from its own soil, Stone explained.
“About 100 trucks a day at the moment are being allowed to pass from Egypt into Israel where they are security screened,” he said.
Once cleared, the trucks travel back into Egypt and are allowed to pass into Gaza at the Rafah crossing.
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Video diary: ‘No future in Gaza’
Calls for a ceasefire
A UN human rights chief has called for a ceasefire and said both sides had committed war crimes in the month of fighting over the enclave.
Speaking at the Paris conference, Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said: “We cannot wait a minute more for a humanitarian ceasefire or lifting of [the] siege, which is collective punishment.
“Without ceasefire, lifting of siege and indiscriminate bombarding and warfare, the haemorrhage of human lives will continue.”
Israel has rejected any calls for a ceasefire until Hamas releases the roughly 240 hostages that it took during the attack on 7 October.
Hamas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies – in the single worst day of bloodshed in the country’s 75-year history.
Palestinian officials said 10,569 Gaza residents had been killed as of Wednesday, about 40% of them children.
Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.
Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.
It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.
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Israel ramps up bombing in Gaza
The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.
“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
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Gaza is ‘a slaughterhouse’ says surgeon
It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.
Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.
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In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.
Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.
Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.
According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Dan and his supporters celebrated the exit polls. Pic: Reuters
After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.
Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”
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George Simion on Trump, the EU – and his message to UK
Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.
The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.
George Simion rejected the polls but official counting saw him slip behind. Pic: Reuters
Supporters of Mr Dan celebrated on the streets of the capital Bucharest. Pic: AP
An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.
Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.
He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.
When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.
About 11.6 million people – 64% of eligible voters – cast ballots. Pic: AP
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The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.
After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.
“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.
“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”
Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas”.
Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.
It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report issued last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Israel ramps up bombing in Gaza
The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.
“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gaza is ‘a slaughterhouse’ says surgeon
It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.
Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.
Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
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