World

The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was one of the main planners of the 7 October attack on Israel but did not expect the consequences to become “this dangerous”, a friend has told Sky News. Esmat Mansour said last year’s cross-border raid was supposed to be a strategic operation designed to lift the

A top UN official has warned the deteriorating situation in Gaza is the worst humanitarian crisis he has ever seen in his 50-year career. Speaking to Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Martin Griffiths said it was because “people can’t escape. They’re blocked in, they’re not able to run out of Gaza“. “I think this is the

Swiss police are investigating after a ski shop put up a sign saying it would no longer rent equipment to Jews. The hotel-restaurant at the Pischa mountain station, near Davos, said it was stopping lending gear to our “Jewish brothers” after some “very annoying incidents” including the alleged theft of a sled. The sign was

Alexei Navalny has become the latest in a string of deaths of critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over his more than two decades at the top of the Kremlin, a number of Mr Putin’s opponents have suffered unfortunate fates – including being jailed, shot dead in the street, or poisoned with tea spiked with

The caretaker prime minister of Pakistan has told Sky News there is no attempt to “target a specific party or group” amid claims of pre-poll rigging and candidate harassment. Speaking on the eve of the election, Anwar ul Haq Kakar did acknowledge they couldn’t totally guarantee free and fair elections. “Absolute is a very relative

The road into Gaza is a boggy quagmire. We drove for over an hour, in heavily armoured Israeli military vehicles, through deserted and destroyed neighbourhoods in the south of the strip. There are no windows to see out of, but from the video feed on the small screens inside the cab I didn’t spot a

A British-owned cargo vessel has been attacked in the Red Sea, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The ship was attacked west of Hodeida in Yemen just after midnight on Tuesday. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Associated Press reports Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are suspected. The UKMTO said

Red Bull Formula One chief Christian Horner is under investigation by his team after an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour”. It is understood the allegation has been made by another member of staff for the British-based team, the PA news agency reported. The 50-year-old, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell and has been Red

At least 99 people have been killed – and hundreds reported missing – in a series of huge wildfires in Chile. At least 1,600 people have also been left without homes as a result of the forest fires, which have raged in the country’s central region since they started several days ago. The fires are

The father of nine-year-old Emily Hand, the Irish-Israeli girl held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, said she was threatened with a knife during her ordeal. Emily, who was released in November after her capture on 7 October, suffers from panic attacks and often speaks in whispers, her father said in an interview with Israeli

I put my ear plugs in and take a step back. The flash from the tank barrel comes first, then the boom. Snipers to my left open fire. Red machine gun tracer fire zips towards the village and laser guided artillery thuds into walls. Israeli paratroopers are attacking a mock Hezbollah village. It’s a drill,

The US is trying to hit Iranian targets in the Middle East hard enough to stop attacks against American forces but not so hard that it triggers wider escalation or even direct war with Iran. Experts in recent days have dubbed the strategy the “Goldilocks” approach because it needs to be just right. Joe Biden

A dangerous new phase in the Middle East conflict has begun with a major US military action targeting multiple locations in Syria and Iraq. Seeking to both to punish and deter Iran and its Iraq-based proxies after an Iranian-backed militia killed three US service personnel in Jordan, manned and unmanned aircraft hit multiple locations with

Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine there has been a revolution in the role of military UAVs (unmanned air vehicles), which have enabled much smaller forces to prevail against the traditionally dominant military powers. Has drone warfare become the dominant military capability for the underdog? The first flight of a powered UAV was on 6

At least two people have been killed and 29 injured after gas explosion in Nairobi, according to reports. A local newspaper in the Kenyan capital said the blast happened in the Embakasi neighbourhood just before midnight on Thursday. Wesley Kimeto, commander in charge of police in Embakasi, was quoted saying on the Standard newspaper’s X

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has admitted he “did not handle this right” and should have told President Biden and the public about his prostate cancer diagnosis. However, he said he didn’t order his staff to hide his condition. “We did not handle this right and I did not handle this right. I should have

Angry farmers have started fires outside the European Parliament building in Brussels in protest against taxes, rising costs and cheap imports. About 1,000 tractors have blocked major routes through the city, police estimate, with one displaying a banner reading “if you love the Earth, support those who manage it”. Another banner read “no farmers, no

A reservist who dealt with the aftermath of the Hamas terror attack says there was a “systematic genital mutilation” of women as multiple victims were shot in the crotch, breasts and head. Warning – contains graphic details of injuries Shari Mendes was part of an Israeli army reserve unit whose role was to identify and

A militant group that’s among those suspected of an attack that killed three US soldiers is pausing operations to “prevent embarrassment” to the Iraqi government. Kata’ib Hezbollah is one of several factions American officials believe may have carried out the drone attack in Jordan. Three army reservists died and more than 40 were injured in

Undercover Israeli troops dressed as civilian women and medics have stormed a hospital in the West Bank – killing three people Israel claimed were militants. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its troops shot dead three men after entering the Ibn Sina hospital, in the northern city of Jenin, early on Tuesday. Security camera video footage