At least 25 Palestinians have been killed, and 50 injured, after Israeli tanks are said to have fired on tents sheltering displaced families in Rafah, according to health officials and emergency workers in Gaza.
Witnesses said the latest attack in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, took place in Mawasi, western Rafah, a rural area on the Mediterranean coast that has become filled with makeshift tents.
One resident told Reuters: “Two tanks climbed a hilltop overseeing Mawasi and they sent balls of fire that hit the tents of the poor people displaced in the area.”
Witnesses whose relatives died in the attack near a Red Cross field hospital told The Associated Press that Israeli forces fired a second volley that killed people when they came out of their tents.
The locations of the attacks, provided by Civil Defence first responders, appear to be just outside an Israeli-designated safe zone on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the nearby hospital was flooded with casualties after the attack.
Hasan al Najjar, whose two sons were killed in the shelling, said: “We had a strike. My two sons left after they heard the women and children screaming.
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“They went to save the women and that’s when they struck the second missile, and my sons were martyred.
“They struck the place twice.”
Mona Ashour, who lost her husband, said: “We were inside our tent when a sound bomb exploded near the Red Cross tents.
“My husband went outside at the first explosion.
“Then, a second bomb went off, even closer to the Red Cross door, and people began to gather.
“I tried to communicate with my husband but was unable to.
“We fled as we were in our clothes, barefoot. I tried to communicate with him but could not.”
The Israeli military said it was looking into the strikes at the reported coordinates.
It has previously bombed locations in the vicinity of the “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi.
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The attack comes less than a month after an Israeli bombing caused a deadly fire that tore through a refugee camp in southern Gaza – drawing widespread international outrage.
Israel continues to push ahead with its military operation into Rafah where over a million Palestinians initially sought refuge from fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
However, most have now fled after Israel attacked the city in an effort, they said, to drive out Hamas.
Residents have said that Israel appears to be trying to complete its capture of the city and tanks have been forcing their way into western and northern parts.
Eastern, southern and central areas of Rafah have already been captured.
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‘Exodus’ from Gaza as Israeli assault continues
The United Nations has said no place in Gaza is safe and humanitarian conditions are dire as huge numbers of families shelter in tents and cramped apartments without adequate food, water or medical supplies.
Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,400 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people and abducted about 250.
At least 43 people have been killed across four states after Hurricane Helene barrelled its way across southeastern US.
Emergency crews are racing to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after Helene struck the coast of Floridaas a highly destructive Category 4 storm.
It generated a massive storm surge, wreaking a trail of destruction extending hundreds of miles north.
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Plane rides through Hurricane Helene
Millions are without power in Florida and neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, dozens of patients and staff have been rescued from the roof of a flooded Tennesseehospital following a “dangerous rescue operation”.
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One of the hurricane’s worst-hit areas
Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty said more than 50 people are now safe after becoming stranded on the Unicoi County Hospital.
The hospital was engulfed in “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water”, according to Tennessee’s Ballad Health, making a boat rescue too treacherous.
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A police helicopter was ultimately able to land on the roof after other helicopters failed to reach the hospital due to the storm’s winds.
Local official Michael Baker told Sky News the flooding was “unprecedented”.
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“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
As of early afternoon, Helene, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, was packing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) as it slowed over Tennessee and Kentucky, the National Hurricane Center said.
It struck overnight with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) in the rural Big Bend area, the northwestern part of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center said preliminary information shows water levels reached more than 15ft above ground in that region.
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Floods surround buildings after hurricane
US President Joe Biden has approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of several southern states affected by Helene.
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina are being supported by emergency response personnel including search and rescue teams, medical support staff and engineering experts.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has said dozens of people are trapped in buildings damaged by the storm, with multiple hospitals in southern Georgia without power.
In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency officials have told residents near the Lake Lure Dam to immediately evacuate to higher ground, warning “Dam failure imminent”.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the damage from Helene in the area appears to be greater than the combined damage of Idalia and Hurricane Debby in August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.
Many stranded in places like Tampa could only be reached by boat, with officials warning the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.
More than four million properties are without power across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, according to the logging website, PowerOutage.
Despite Helene’s power, this hurricane season has been more remarkable for its lack of activity.
At the start of the hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, sea surface temperatures were (and remain) off-the-charts warm.
It’s this ocean heat that fuels tropical storms.
This combined with a developing La Nina phenomenon led the US forecasters to predict 2024 would be a major hurricane season. Between 17 and 24 storms were expected, with eight to 13 developing into hurricanes.
Hurricane Beryl grazed the coast of Jamaica in July as a Category 5 hurricane. It was the earliest storm of that size ever recorded and was seen as a harbinger of the prediction. But, so far at least, it’s failed to materialise.
There have been just six hurricanes so far this year – slightly below average. But why?
It seems to be due to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic where ocean warming forced the African monsoon further north than usual.
This led to catastrophic flooding in central and west Africa displacing millions, but it also shifted the weather system that usually spawns hurricanes and spins them across the Atlantic.
There’s already abundant evidence our warming oceans and atmosphere are making storms more intense – but predicting where they will occur and how often is never simple – and perhaps getting even harder as our planet gets hotter.
Prior to the hurricane making landfall, officials in Florida begged residents to evacuate. The sheriff’s office in rural Taylor County issued a chilling warning to those who refused to leave.
“Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified,” the post on Facebook said.
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Child and dog rescued from floods
Forecasters now expect the storm to continue weakening across Tennessee and Kentucky.
It is feared heavy rain over the Appalachian Mountains could cause mudslides and flash flooding.
A Swiss teenage cyclist with “a bright future ahead of her” has died a day after suffering a serious head injury at the world championships.
Muriel Furrer crashed while competing on rain-slicked roads in the junior women’s road race in her home country.
The 18-year-old rider fell heavily on Thursday in a forest area south of the city of Zurich and was airlifted to hospital by helicopter, reportedly in a critical condition.
Race organisers announced on Friday she had died.
They said in a statement: “Muriel Furrer sadly passed away today at Zurich University Hospital.”
The UCI governing body for world cycling paid tribute to her in a statement on its website, entitled “The cycling world mourns the loss of Muriel Furrer”.
It read: “It is with great sadness that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships today learned the tragic news of the death of young Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer.
“With the passing of Muriel Furrer, the international cycling community loses a rider with a bright future ahead of her. We offer sincere condolences to Muriel Furrer’s family, friends and her Federation Swiss Cycling.”
Swiss Cycling said in a post on X: “Our hearts are broken, we have no words. It is with a heavy heart and infinite sadness that we have to say goodbye to Muriel Furrer today.
“We are losing a warm-hearted and wonderful young woman who always had a smile on her face. There is no understanding, only pain and sadness.”
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Furrer is the second Swiss cyclist to die in just over a year after crashing on home roads.
At the Tour de Suisse in June 2023, Gino Mader went off the road and down a ravine during a descent. The 26-year-old died from his injuries the next day.
“Obviously it is another tragic death,” Mr Senn said. “There are a lot of similarities, similar feelings. Today is about Muriel.”
The threat of an all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah seems to be edging closer after Israel rejected Lebanon ceasefire plans.
The Iranian-backed militant group has been a force in Middle East politics and conflict for decades, but has suffered heavy losses in the last few weeks after Israeli attacks.
Niall Paterson speaks to Sky’s international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn about how much support Hezbollah has within Lebanon and Iran’s role with the group. Plus, defence and security editor Deborah Haynes talks to Niall about how significant Hezbollah’s military capabilities are.