Connect with us

Published

on

A 14-year-old girl was killed in a Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.

At least six people were killed in all, as a 12-storey building was hit alongside a playground, in the industrial district.

The Russian-guided bomb attack in the northeastern city also left 55 people injured.

About 20 of the injured were in severe condition, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

“Occupiers killed a child right on the playground,” Ihor Terekhov, the city’s mayor, said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s second-largest city has long been a target for Russia, ever since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Cars burn after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Cars burn after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters

Paramedics carry a person rescued from an apartment building after a Russian air strike in  Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Paramedics carry a person rescued from an apartment building after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters

An apartment building burns after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
An apartment building burns after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters

Elsewhere in the war in Ukraine:

More on Russia

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed calls to Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russia
• Mr Zelenskyy also sacked Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk, according to a presidential decree
• A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was shot down in friendly fire, an MP has claimed
• In the Kursk incursion, Ukraine’s top commander claimed his forces advanced 2km in the past 24 hours
• Russian forces have taken control of more settlements in eastern Ukraine, according to state media
• European Union defence ministers agreed to boost their training programme for Ukrainian troops
• A Russian newspaper publisher was sentenced to eight years after reporting on Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine, according to rights activists
• And the Kremlin insists it has “no worries” as President Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia, a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest

Video from the site of the Kharkiv attack, shared by Mr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, showed huge flames and black smoke rising from the upper floors of the building.

In light of the attack, the Ukrainian president renewed his calls to Western allies to allow him to use their weapons in long-range attacks on Russia.

“A strike … would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

Firefighters rescue a girl from the residential building hit in Kharkiv. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Firefighters rescue a girl from the residential building hit in Kharkiv. Pic: Reuters

Ukrainian authorities said Friday’s attack involved five aerial-guided bombs launched from planes in Russia’s Belgorod region.

The US ambassador to Ukraine described the Kharkiv attack as a “war crime” and called for Russia to be held accountable.

Ukrainian F-16 pilot ‘killed by friendly fire’

A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed by friendly fire, an MP has claimed.

The commander of Ukraine’s air force criticised the comments, made by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla, and US experts have joined the investigation to try and find out what happened.

Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes was killed while defending Ukraine’s skies from a huge Russian aerial attack at the start of the week.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Ms Bezuhla claimed his jet was shot down by a US-supplied Patriot missile.

In response, air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said her words were a “tool to discredit the top military leadership”.

But, the air force did not directly deny that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile.

Continue Reading

World

Nine of Gazan doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Published

on

By

Nine of Gazan doctor's 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.

Warning: This article contains details of child deaths

Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.

Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.

Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.

In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.

The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

Rescuers removing the children's bodies from the rubble. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Nine children were killed in the strike. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.

“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”

Rescuers placing the children's bodies in a van. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack

Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.

Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.

Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar's husband who is also a doctor, being taken into hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar’s husband who is also a doctor, was taken to hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.

Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.

Rescuers unload the children's bodies. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

‘No political or military connections’

Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.

“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies

He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”

Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.

Read more:
Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Dad wrongly pronounced dead in Israeli bombing killed in airstrike

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Continue Reading

World

UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

Published

on

By

UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

A woman walks amidst rubble at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

More on Gaza

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

Palestinians carry a body at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza .
Pic: Reuters
Image:
A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Image:
Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Read more on Sky News:
Shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly’
Huge fire declared major incident
Has there been a rise in NHS appointments?

The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Continue Reading

World

’12 people’ injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station – as woman arrested

Published

on

By

'12 people' injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station - as woman arrested

A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.

An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.

They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.

Police at the scene of a stabbing at Hamburg Central Station. Pic: AP
Image:
Police at the scene. Pic: AP

Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.

More on Germany

A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump threatens EU with 50% tariff
Mum of emaciated Gazan baby: ‘I don’t want to lose her’

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.

Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

Continue Reading

Trending