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Israel has been warned of repercussions if its military launches a ground invasion in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, while Israel has suggested civilians could evacuate and find refuge in tent camps which are not yet built.

The warning came after Israeli air strikes killed at least 44 Palestinians, including more than a dozen children, in the city.

Lord David Cameron has said he is “deeply concerned” about the planned ground invasion of the city, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are taking refuge.

Israel says it is a hive of Hamas’s remaining strongholds.

Follow latest updates: Germany brands Rafah offensive plans ‘catastrophe in the making’

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Netanyahu orders evacuation of Rafah

“Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area,” the foreign secretary wrote on X.

“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.”

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Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would have “disastrous consequences” and asserted Israel aims to eventually force Palestinians out of their land. Egypt has warned any movement of Palestinians into its territory would threaten the four-decade-old peace treaty between it and Egypt.

Qatar also warned of disaster while Saudi Arabia warned of “very serious repercussions”.

Their remarks came after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled there would be an imminent invasion of Rafah, saying he had asked the military to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people there.

Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp in Rafah. Pic: Reuters

An Israeli government spokesperson suggested civilians could find refuge in tent camps which are yet to be built, and said the international community was “more than welcome” to send shelter equipment.

Eylon Levy told Sky News: “We want civilians to get out of harm’s way. We don’t want to come in all guns blazing because we understand how catastrophic that would be.”

Read more:
The scale of Rafah’s vast tent city

Inside Gaza’s tunnel network and hostage cell
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The site of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah.Pic: AP
Image:
The site of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah.Pic: AP

Asked where the more than one million civilians in Rafah should go, Mr Levy said: “That is part of the plan that the Israeli army will have to present [to] the prime minister because we take our obligations under international law to keep civilians protected very seriously.

“There are open spaces in Gaza, there are places where it is possible to set up tent encampments so that civilians can get out of harm’s way and not allow Hamas to use them as human shields.”

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Analysis: What’s happening in Rafah?

Netanyahu announcement causes panic

Mr Netanyahu did not say when the attack would begin, but his announcement triggered panic in the region.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on the city, which borders Egypt, even after the military told civilians to seek shelter there from current ground combat in Khan Younis to the north.

Around 80% of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced and the territory is suffering a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medical services.

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The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said over 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 67,000 people wounded.

Israel declared war after several thousand Hamas militants assaulted southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,300 and taking 250 hostage. Not all the hostages have survived.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian deaths because it fights from within civilian areas, but US President Joe Biden said earlier this week that Israel’s response is “over the top”.

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Controversial US and Israel-backed aid group starts operations in Gaza

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Controversial US and Israel-backed aid group starts operations in Gaza

A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.

Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.

Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
Image:
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.

The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.

“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.

The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.

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People line up for food in Gaza

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.

They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.

They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.

In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.

'We’re dying of hunger... if we don't eat, we'll die', Islam Abu Taeima said.
Image:
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food

She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.

“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.

“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”

Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
Image:
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.

It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.

It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.

There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.

Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
Image:
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.

It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.

Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.

It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.

Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.

Read more from Sky News:
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King urged to seek Canadian apology

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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.

A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.

It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.

“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.

The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.

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At least 31 dead after school attack

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.

The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.

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King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

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King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.

Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.

More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.

Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.

King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Image:
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA

Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.

“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.

John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.

“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.

“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.

“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”

More on this story:
The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada

John Jefkins
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John Jefkins

John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.

“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.

“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”

The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”

More from Sky News:
Watch: Why is King’s Canada visit so important?

Analysis: King is ‘piggy in the middle’ in Canada-US stand-off

King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.

On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.

Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”

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At least 20 reported dead in Israeli airstrike on Gaza school housing displaced people

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At least 20 reported dead in Israeli airstrike on Gaza school housing displaced people

At least 20 people have been killed and dozens more injured after an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in Gaza, health authorities have said.

Reuters news agency reported the number of dead, citing medics, with the school in the Daraj neighbourhood having been used to shelter displaced people who had fled previous bombardments.

Medical and civil defence sources on the ground confirmed women and children were among the casualties, with several charred bodies arriving at al Shifa and al Ahli hospitals.

The scene inside the school has been described as horrific, with more victims feared trapped under the rubble.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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