They say Metula is the most bombed town in Israel. You needn’t be there for long to see why.

The Israeli military has kept the area closed for much of the war, telling journalists it’s been too dangerous to visit.

Metula is surrounded on three sides by the border with Lebanon and therefore Hezbollah, the enemy.

It has been constantly bombarded. Anti-tank missiles, suicide drones, Burkan rockets, and Iranian-built Grad missiles have all come its way.

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The alarms went off a quarter of an hour after we arrived accompanied by the sound of missiles being intercepted overhead. The same happened repeatedly while we were there.

Our Israeli military escorts hit the ground as sirens went off while we walked the streets of the town. Metula is so close to Lebanon there can be only a few seconds warning, rarely enough to reach the shelters.

Seconds later the white streak of Israeli Iron Dome rockets over our heads and the sound of their collision with incoming missiles.

But the sound of fighting just over the border that erupted after Israel’s invasion on the 1 October this year has subsided.

There is quiet where there was the rattle of small arms fire and attack helicopters.

Locals say Hezbollah has been pushed back from the border.

The missiles keep coming through though and the few Israelis who’ve remained in this deserted town welcome Israel’s incursion over the border, saying it should continue until Hezbollah is defeated.

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‘I think we need to destroy Hezbollah’

Lior Bez’s family have lived in Metula for three generations.

Why live in Israel’s most bombed town I asked him. Because it’s beautiful he said, not with rockets but it was once and will be again.

How long should Israel stay inside Lebanon?

“Until it will be quiet. Until we will finish Hezbollah. I think we need to destroy Hezbollah to finish them, all their organisation and after that it will be peace and it can be done,” he said.

That is the sentiment of many.

Their government has led them to believe it is possible.

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Hezbollah is degraded but retains fighters and missiles

In reality, Hezbollah has been massively degraded but retains tens of thousands of fighters and even more missiles.

We were the first journalists invited to Metula since the war began, coming the closest to Lebanon’s border since Israel’s invasion. That may be a sign of Israel’s confidence about the progress it’s making over the border.

But Israel’s American allies are reported to have warned against overconfidence and overreach.

Achieving their war aims, returning Israelis to their homes in the north, will require a diplomatic solution says the Biden administration. From our view from the border that seems a long way off.

Israel has still not allowed journalists to report independently from inside Gaza unless they are invited as part of an embed with the IDF.

A UN inquiry has accused Israel of carrying out a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system in actions that amount to war crimes and “extermination”.

Navi Pillay, a former UN high commissioner for human rights who is chairing the inquiry, said Israel has carried out “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” in the past year.

Ms Pillay will present a full report on the matter to the UN General Assembly on 30 October.

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In a statement ahead of its release, she said: “Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system.”

The UN inquiry’s statement also accused Israeli forces of targeting medical vehicles, deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, and restricting permits for patients to leave the Gaza Strip.

As an example, it cited the death of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who died in February along with six members of her family as they tried to flee fighting in Gaza.

Two medics were also killed as they tried to rescue them.

Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), told Sky News that in her mind the deaths were not an accident.

She said: “We do not dispatch our ambulances to areas where it is considered a military area… if we get calls from these areas, we try to coordinate our safe access.”

In a statement to Sky News, the IDF said it has carried out a “preliminary inspection” into the incident and it “appears that IDF forces were not present near the vehicle or within the firing range of the described vehicle in which the girl was found”.

The IDF has repeatedly claimed Hamas militants operate from the cover of built-up areas – including around schools and hospitals – and says it will strike them when they emerge while trying to avoid harming civilians.

Hamas has denied hiding militants and command posts among civilians.

The UN inquiry’s statement comes after 27 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza, according to Palestinian medics.

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The strike, which also wounded many more, happened in the city of Deir al Balah, where upwards of a million people have taken shelter.

Israeli military said it carried out a “precise” strike targeting a militant command inside the school, without providing evidence.

More than 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its offensive in the region following Hamas’s attack on October 7 last year, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Israel’s prime minister’s office and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, when asked by the news agency, Reuters.

‘Deep concern’ over Lebanon attacks

Israel has also continued its strikes in Lebanon, where it is involved in military operations against the militant group Hezbollah.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, 18 people were killed and 92 wounded after Israeli strikes on the capital Beirut this evening.

Meanwhile, the UN said earlier today that two of its peacekeepers have been injured after an Israeli tank fired at one of its observation towers.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement that Israeli forces have “repeatedly hit” UN positions in the last 24 hours.

“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” it said.

The French foreign ministry has shared “deep concern” over the incident, while Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto said: “It could constitute a war crime and represented a very serious violation of international military law.”

The IDF claimed in a statement issued today: “The Hezbollah terrorist organisation operates from within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts.”

Breakdancers have been warned repetitive headspins may cause them to develop a “cone-head”.

It follows the case of a man in his 30s in Denmark who developed a “breakdance bulge” after “extensive” breakdancing for almost two decades.

His training regime consisted of around five sessions each week, each lasting around 1.5 hours, including two to seven minutes where pressure was applied to the head.

The man kept on headspinning even though the mass caused him discomfort and was “aesthetically displeasing to the patient” who wore a hat in public to hide it, according to a paper published in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Medics ruled out cancer and other potential diseases before diagnosing a “headspin hole”.

“It manifests as a fibrous mass on the scalp,” medics said.

“It is characterised by hair loss, inflammation, numbness and sometimes formation of a lump on the scalp. In radiologic descriptions, the term ‘cone-head sign’ is used”, they wrote.

The man sought help and the lump was surgically removed.

Speaking after the operation, the patient, who remains anonymous, said: “The outcome is much better than how it looked before, and I am glad I had it done.

“I would choose to do it again if I had the choice. It is now possible for me to go out in public without a cap/hat which is, of course, a very nice feeling.

“I have received a lot of positive feedback and people say it looks well done, that I have a nice scar and that my overall appearance has improved significantly. Many say that they no longer notice that I have a bump and that my head looks completely normal.”

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Breakdancing involves a range of complex and physically demanding techniques which can put strain on certain parts of the body.

The intricate nature of these movements “render breakdancers particularly prone to injuries”, the report said.

Dr Christian Baastrup Sondergaard, one of the authors of the paper and a neurosurgeon at Copenhagen University Hospital, told the PA news agency: “This report does not advocate against headspinning entirely.

“However, breakdancers who notice the early development of a breakdance bulge should consider reducing or avoiding headspins, as continuing may lead to further enlargement of the bulge.”

He added: “Although this is a rare condition unique to breakdancers, the successful surgical treatment in this case demonstrates that it is a viable option for symptom relief and improved quality of life for affected individuals.

“As only one prior case was reported, this case adds valuable information to the medical literature. It could encourage further studies on breakdancing injuries, possibly identifying other underreported conditions or mechanisms of injury.”

Breakdancing, or breaking, made its debut as an Olympic sport at this summer’s Paris Games.

It was thrust into the spotlight after a unique and controversial routine by Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn – who was mocked for her performance – went viral on the internet.