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Dozens of people have been killed following Israeli strikes in Gaza, including at hospitals, as a United Nations chief warned action is needed to “prevent genocide”.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli airstrikes hit homes in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, killing at least 53 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Indonesian Hospital said 22 of those who died were children.

The Israeli military refused to comment on the strikes, but had warned local residents to evacuate late on Tuesday night due to Hamas infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers.

Middle East latest – Trump to meet Asia’s richest man in Qatar

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UN Security Council urged to aid Gaza

On Tuesday, nine missiles hit the European Hospital and its courtyard in the south of the Palestinian territory, killing at least 16 people, the Gaza health ministry said.

Israel said it had hit a “Hamas command centre” beneath the hospital in Khan Younis.

Palestinians inspect the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, 48 people were killed in the strikes, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Israeli airstrikes struck Jabalia, northern Gaza on Wednesday. Pic: AP

Palestinians inspect the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, 48 people were killed in the strikes, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Some homes were destroyed in the attacks. Pic: AP

Hamas denies exploiting hospitals and civilian properties for military purposes.

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Security Council urged to ‘prevent genocide’

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official briefed the Security Council on Tuesday evening, warning they must “act now” to “prevent genocide”, a claim that Israel vehemently denied.

Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, accused Israel of “deliberately and unashamedly” imposing inhumane conditions on Palestinians by blocking aid from entering Gaza more than 10 weeks ago.

The UN and aid groups have rejected Israel’s attempt to control aid distribution. “It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement,” Mr Fletcher said about the proposal.

Smoke billows, after the European Hospital was partially damaged following Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still image obtained from social media video released on May 13, 2025. Social Media/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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Airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday, which Israel claimed was hosting a ‘Hamas command centre’. Pic: social media/Reuters

Palestinians inspect the damage at the European Hospital, which was partially damaged following Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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The European Hospital is ‘barely functional’ according to medics after suffering damage. Pic: Reuters

Blast threw hospital staff to the floor

British surgeon Dr Tom Potokar, who is based at the European Hospital in Gaza, described hearing “one extremely loud explosion followed very, very rapidly by a number of others”.

He told Sky News’ Gareth Barlow that he rushed outside and saw “a huge crater in the entrance to the hospital” and “quite a few wounded lying around”.

He said the hospital is “barely functional” after suffering internal damage with “rubble on the floor… bits of ceiling coming down, water leaking from the roofs, and large cracks in the actual walls”.

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IDF confirms deadly hospital strikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage after the European Hospital was partially damaged following Israeli airstrikes. Pic: Reuters
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Another blast crater is visible outside the European Hospital. Pic: Reuters

Colleague Milena Chee was in the intensive care unit when she says a “very strong and loud blast” threw her to the floor, adding staff were “very scared and shocked”.

Describing the impact of Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza, Ms Chee said: “There is no medical supplies whatsoever. There is no tissues to wipe our hands when we wash them. Now there is even no water. We lack soap, cleaning materials, medications, supplies, consumables, whatever you can think about… it is lacking.”

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Earlier, a well-known Palestinian photojournalist died following a separate attack on the Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Younis, said the ministry.

Hassan Aslih – one of two patients who died – had been accused by Israel of working with Hamas and was recovering from an earlier airstrike.

Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and previously worked with several Western news organisations, was said by the Israelis to have recorded and uploaded footage of “looting, arson and murder” during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack into Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Mourners carry the body of Palestinian journalist Hassan Aslih who was killed in an Israeli strike while he was recovering at Nasser Hospital from an earlier strike, during his funeral in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip May 13, 2025. Aslih was accused by Israel of working with Hamas. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Mourners carry the body of Palestinian journalist Hassan Aslih. Pic: Reuters

At least 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

Gazan officials accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists. Israel denies this and says it tries to avoid harm to civilians.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has spoken on the phone to Edan Alexander after he was released by Hamas on Monday, as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire with Israel.

The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza.

There’s a risk Trump could lose interest in Gaza

Donald Trump’s visit to Qatar today, the next stop on his Middle East tour, is an opportunity for substantive talks on Gaza.

Many of the key players will be in the same city. The Hamas leadership is based in Doha, the Qataris have been one of the main mediators, Israel has sent a small delegation and the US president and his team will be on the ground.

As the diplomatic players are converging, Israeli attacks on Gaza are intensifying – more than 60 people have been killed in the past 24 hours according to local health officials, some of them in two hospitals bombed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The IDF said it was targeting Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, but there is still no confirmation of his death.

Israel is still pushing a plan to enable Gazans to leave “voluntarily”, an idea legitimised by President Trump earlier in the year when he said he wanted to “own Gaza”.

There is growing international opposition to this and Israel’s plan to expand its campaign.

An attempt to force people out of Gaza would be an act of ethnic cleansing and many point out that it would hardly be a voluntary choice when Palestinians have been under Israeli fire for almost 19 months, internally displaced many times over, most of their homes are totally destroyed and there has been a months long aid blockade.

If there is to be a breakthrough in ceasefire talks, it will require the US president to change his position and put pressure on Israel. There are signs he might be inclined to do so following his success freeing hostage Edan Alexander.

Arab states are also putting pressure on Hamas to come to a deal, if nothing else, to delay the Israeli offensive and create more time for further talks.

If no progress is made this week, there is a risk that President Trump, impatient as he is, might again lose interest in Gaza.

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Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the 7 October attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli figures.

Israel’s response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed much of the coastal territory. Gaza’s health ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

An aid blockade since March has left the population at critical risk of famine, according to the World Health Organisation, which warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition could have a lasting impact on “an entire generation”.

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Israeli forces kill two Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender

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Israeli forces kill two Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender

Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in the West Bank after they appeared to be surrendering.

Palestinians said the killings, which were captured on video and shown on two Arab TV channels, were carried out “in cold blood”.

In the video, the men were seen exiting a building and lying on the ground in front of Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Both men lifted their T-shirts and held their hands in the air, apparently to show they were not carrying weapons or explosives.

The soldiers then appeared to order the men back inside the building before they were shot.

A Reuters journalist in the area saw the men leave the building, appearing to surrender, and later, after hearing shots fired, saw Israeli forces standing near what appeared to be a lifeless body.

The men were identified as al Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, by Palestinian authorities.

Footage of the incident has been broadcast on Arab TV channels
Image:
Footage of the incident has been broadcast on Arab TV channels

What has Israel said about the incident?

A joint statement between the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli police said: “Earlier this evening (Thursday), during an Israel Border Police and IDF operation in the area of Jenin, the forces operated to apprehend wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.

“The wanted individuals were affiliated with a terror network in the area of Jenin.

“The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.

“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.

“The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the military and police unit involved in the shooting had his “full backing”.

“The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists should die!” he wrote on X.

A Reuters journalist captured images from near the scene. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A Reuters journalist captured images from near the scene. Pic: Reuters

‘An outright extrajudicial killing’

But Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli investigations in such incidents yield few results, with Israeli troops rarely prosecuted.

The Palestinian prime minister’s office in Ramallah also accused Israel of executing the men “in cold blood”, calling the shooting “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.

Yuli Novak, the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, said: “The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime.

“In Israel, there is no mechanism that acts to stop the killing of Palestinians or is capable of prosecuting those responsible.”

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Israel’s military has scaled up its military operations in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to B’Tselem, which said the perpetrators were “granted full impunity by Israel”.

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Trump says land operations against Venezuela drugs gangs to start ‘very soon’

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Trump says land operations against Venezuela drugs gangs to start 'very soon'

Donald Trump has warned US action against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers will move to the land “very soon”.

American forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.

The US has accused the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in the drugs trade – a claim he denies.

Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.

Mr Trump made the comments while in Florida for Thanksgiving. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump made the comments while in Florida for Thanksgiving. Pic: Reuters

‘We warned them,’ says Trump

America’s most advanced aircraft carrier is among the ships that have been deployed to the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific as part of Operation Southern Spear.

Mr Trump said on Thursday he was preparing to significantly ramp up the response.

“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” he told military service members in a call.

“The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.”

“We warned them to stop sending poison to our country,” Mr Trump added.

The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.

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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat

Even if the boats are cartel vessels, Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay says the final destination for the drugs is likely to be Europe and West Africa.

The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as foreign terrorist organisations – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda and Hamas.

This week it formally designated Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) as such, and said the group was headed by Mr Maduro and “other high-ranking individuals” from his regime.

Another Venezuelan drugs group, Tren de Aragua, was designated a terror organisation by the US in January.

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Venezuelan president dances to speech remix

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Mr Maduro – seen by most countries as a dictator who’s cheated elections – has accused the US of “fabricating” a war to overthrow him and install a more favourable government.

Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves and other natural resources such as gold and diamonds.

Experts say Mr Maduro, 63, could use oil as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.

Mr Trump has said previously he would be open to talks – but that prospect seems unlikely, with the Venezuelan leader wielding a sword this week as he vowed to “defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat”.

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Swiss tourist killed in Australia shark attack – as partner in critical condition after fighting to save her

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Swiss tourist killed in Australia shark attack - as partner in critical condition after fighting to save her

A Swiss woman has died in a shark attack in Australia – with her partner in a critical condition after trying to save her.

It happened on Thursday at Kylies Beach in Crowdy Bay, near Port Macquarie, about 218 miles (350km) north of Sydney.

Police said a passer-by who made a tourniquet to stem the man’s bleeding had probably saved his life.

Switzerland’s foreign affairs office didn’t name the victims – who are both believed to be in their 20s – but confirmed they were Swiss citizens.

The pair are said to have arrived the night before, camping nearby before going for a swim with dolphins at dawn – a time when sharks are more active.

The man suffered major wounds to his thigh after trying to fight off the shark and dragging his partner more than 50m back to shore, reported Sky News Australia.

The woman died on the sand but call handlers instructed the passer-by how to fashion a tourniquet from a swimsuit in order to treat the man.

Early assessments indicate a bull shark may be responsible. File pic: iStock
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Early assessments indicate a bull shark may be responsible. File pic: iStock

New South Wales Ambulance superintendent Josh Smyth said the backpacker’s quick thinking was “heroic” and created valuable time for them to reach the remote, unpatrolled beach.

Sky News Australia said initial indications are a large, mature bull shark may be responsible.

The beach has been closed while drones scour the area and drumlines have been laid in the hope of capturing the shark.

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Authorities are also reportedly reviewing “harrowing footage” captured by the couple before the attack that could reveal more about what happened.

The man remains in a critical condition after being airlifted to hospital.

The attack comes two months after a man was killed by a shark, believed to be a great white, while surfing at a popular Sydney beach.

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