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Icelandic musicians have demanded the country boycotts the Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is banned from taking part.

The Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland (FTT), which represents artists in the country, says it wants the country’s national broadcaster RUV to halt its participation in the show if Israel remains in the competition.

It echoes similar calls from 2022, when many nations demanded Russia be banned over its invasion of Ukraine.

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Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more in cross-border attacks on 7 October, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel has since killed more than 18,800 Palestinians, 70% of whom were women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

The FTT said: “We all have a duty to take a stand against war and the killing of civilians and innocent children.

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“We always have the choice not to put our name to such things, whether we are individuals or state institutions.

“We owe it to the nations that act with military force to not share with them in an event that is always characterised by joy and optimism.”

RUV told Sky News a demonstration was due to take place outside its offices on Monday afternoon over the issue.

Iceland has seen relative success in the contest in recent years, and many have suggested the country’s Dadi Freyr would have won the 2020 contest, had it not been cancelled. He came fourth the following year.

A Palestinian child looks on at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 17, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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A Palestinian child in the Gaza Strip, where at least 18,800 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas-run health ministry

Read more: Ukrainian 2016 Eurovision winner placed on Russia’s wanted list

Pro-Palestinian activists and groups have also called for a boycott, while Ireland’s RTE is also reported to have received hundreds of emails asking it to boycott next year’s contest.

Israel came third in the 2023 contest, with Noa Kriel’s dance-pop tune Unicorn. Kriel had previously served as a soldier in the Israel Defence Forces.

Russia was ultimately banned from the competition, with Ukraine winning later that year with Kalush Orchestra, leading to the 2023 edition to be held in Liverpool.

Sky News has contacted the European Broadcast Union (EBU), the show’s organisers, along with Israeli public broadcaster Kan, for comment.

The EBU, an alliance of public service broadcasters, said in a statement to Irish online newspaper The Journal: “It is a competition for broadcasters – not governments – and the Israeli public broadcaster has participated in the Contest for 50 years.

“EBU is aligned with other international organisations that have similarly maintained their inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions at this time.”

Both Iceland and Israel have confirmed their participation for next year’s contest in Sweden, but have not selected entries.

The BBC revealed on Saturday that Olly Alexander of pop band Years and Years will represent the UK at next year’s contest.

The UK, represented by Mae Muller, came second to last in the 2023 contest in Liverpool, with Sweden’s Loreen winning for a second time.

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Israel approves plan to seize all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely, officials say

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Israel approves plan to seize all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely, officials say

Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.

According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.

The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.

On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.

Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.

Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP

Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.

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They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.

It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.

The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.

It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.

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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.

A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.

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At least 15 injured in ‘US-British’ strike on Yemeni capital, according to Houthi group

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At least 15 injured in 'US-British' strike on Yemeni capital, according to Houthi group

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has said 15 people have been injured in “US-British” airstrikes in and around the capital Sanaa.

Most of those hurt were from the Shuub district, near the centre of the city, a statement from the health ministry said.

Another person was injured on the main airport road, the statement added.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” following a missile attack by the group on Israel’s main international airport on Sunday morning.

It remains unclear whether the UK took part in the latest strikes and any role it may have played.

On 29 April, UK forces, the British government said, took part in a joint strike on “a Houthi military target in Yemen”.

“Careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some fifteen miles south of Sanaa,” the British Ministry of Defence said in a previous statement.

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On Sunday, the militant group fired a missile at the Ben Gurion Airport, sparking panic among passengers in the terminal building.

The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly caused flights to be halted.

Four people were said to be injured, according to the country’s paramedic service.

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Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

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Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.

A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”

Pic: Reuters
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Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters

The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.

Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.

Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.

The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.

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Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.

Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.

Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.

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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.

Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.

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