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.
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.
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Sky News investigates Hind Rajab’s death
Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), told Sky News that in her mind the deaths were not an accident.
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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.
Image: The aftermath of the school strike. Pic: Reuters
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
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Smoke rises from UNIFIL headquarters in Lebanon
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.”
Image: Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his house with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Pic: Reuters
Hundreds of supporters chanted “Nicolas, Nicolas” and sang the French national anthem as he left his home this morning and stepped into the car that would take him to jail.
It caps a stunning downfall of the man who led France between 2007 and 2012.
Sarkozy’s sons and daughter, Jean, Pierre, Louis and Giulia, and his grandchildren showed up at the gathering.
As he prepared to begin his prison term, he posted a message on social media repeating his claims that he is an “innocent man” and said he feels a “deep sorrow for France”.
He will be the first former French leader to be jailed since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after the Second World War.
In his statement, Sarkozy said: “As I prepare to cross the walls of La Sante prison, my thoughts go out to the French people of all walks of life and opinions,” he said.
“I want to tell them with my unwavering strength that it is not a former President of the Republic who is being locked up this morning, it is an innocent person.”
He added: “I feel deep sorrow for France, which finds itself humiliated by the expression of a vengeance that has taken hatred to an unprecedented level. I have no doubt. The truth will triumph. But the price to pay will have been crushing.”
Image: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy kisses his wife Carla Brun-Sarkozy. Pic: Reuters
Parisian resident Michelle Perie, 67, said she came out to support “because there is anger, injustice”.
“He’s not like any other defendants, he’s someone who holds state secrets, he’s someone who has always done his job with his head held high. We don’t understand,” she said.
Sarkozy’s lawyers said he will be held in solitary confinement, where he will be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons.
The former president told French newspaper Le Figaro he would take three books with him, including Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, in which the hero escapes from an island prison before seeking revenge.
A man who shot and badly wounded Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been given a 21-year jail sentence after being found guilty of terrorism charges.
Juraj Cintula, 72, opened fire on Mr Fico in May 2024, hitting him five times from little more than a one-metre distance as the prime minister greeted supporters in the central Slovak town of Handlová.
Cintula, who was acting alone, said he had not intended to kill Mr Fico and claimed his motive was that he disagreed with government policies.
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Robert Fico
The Slovakian leader, 64, was seriously injured in the attack. He was struck in the abdomen and also sustained wounds to his hip, hand and foot. He was rushed to hospital and immediately underwent five-hour long surgery.
Mr Fico has since recovered and made his first public appearance a few months after the attack.
The shooting and subsequent trial have shaken this small, European Union and NATO-member country, where populist Mr Fico has long been a divisive figure. He’s often been criticised for straying from Slovakia’s pro-Western path and aligning it closer to Russia.
Image: Protesters at a march called “Slovakia is Europe” in Bratislava, May 9, 2025. Pic: Martin Baumann/TASR via AP
Cintula was arrested immediately after the attack. When questioned by investigators, he rejected the accusation of being a “terrorist”.
In testimony read out at his trial, Cintula stated: “I decided to harm the health of the prime minister but I had no intention to kill anyone.”
He added that he was relieved when he learned the prime minister survived.
Image: Protesters against new consolidation of Slovak government in Bratislava, Sept. 11, 2025. Pic: Martin Baumann/TASR via AP
“The defendant did not attack a citizen, but specifically the prime minister,” Igor Králik, the head of the three-judge panel, said in delivering the verdict.
“He was against the government, he was inciting people to overthrow the government.”
Cintula can still appeal the verdict, but it was not immediately clear if he would do so.
In the aftermath of the attack, Mr Fico said he “had no reason to believe” the attack was the work of just one person and repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt. There is no evidence for that.
The Slovak leader had previously said he “had no reason to believe” it was an attack by a lone deranged person.
He repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt, although no evidence was provided for these claims.
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Slovak PM shooting suspect’s home raided
Populist Mr Fico returned to power for the fourth time after his leftist Smer, or Direction, party won the 2023 parliamentary election after campaigning on a pro-Russia and anti-American message.
Thousands have repeatedly rallied in Bratislava and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s pro-Russian stance and other policies.
Japan’s parliament has voted in the country’s first ever female prime minister.
Sanae Takaichi won 237 votes in the 465-seat lower chamber of parliament, and is also set to secure a majority in the less powerful upper house before being sworn in later today.
Tuesday’s votes came after her Liberal Democratic Party agreed to a coalition with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party yesterday.
The last-minute deal came after the Liberal Democrats lost its longterm partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito, which has a more centrist stance.
Incumbent prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, of Ms Takaichi’s party, announced his resignation last month.
Image: The new prime minister stands and bows after the vote. Pic: AP
While Ms Takaichi’s election marks the shattering of a glass ceiling for Japan, it also marks a sharp tack to the right.
She is a staunchly conservative figure who cites Margaret Thatcher as an inspiration, and comes to power at a time when the country is increasingly worried about the cost of living and immigration.
Japan is currently grappling with rising prices that have sparked public anger, fuelling support for oppositions groups including the far-right Sanseito party.
Image: Japanese lawmakers electing the new PM at the Lower House of Parliament in Tokyo. Pic: Reuters
Ms Takaichi’s untested alliance is still short of a majority in both houses of parliament and she will need to win over other opposition groups to pass any legislation – which could make her government unstable.
She said at Monday’s signing ceremony: “Political stability is essential right now. Without stability, we cannot push measures for a strong economy or diplomacy.”
While she is Japan’s first female PM, Ms Takaichi has previously shown she is in no rush to promote gender equality or diversity.
She is among the Japanese politicians who have stonewalled measures for women’s advancements and she supports the imperial family’s male-only succession, while opposing same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples.