Madeleine: Search Dogs Return To Portugal

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 8:10pm UK, Monday 30 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was later wound down.

:: June 30 - The British team return to Portugal and plan to speak to a key witness and several suspects the following day.

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Pregnant Woman Sexually Assaulted On Bus

By Adele Robinson, Sky News Midlands Correspondent

CCTV images have been released to find a man in connection with a sexual assault on a pregnant woman on a Birmingham bus.

The man sat next to his 33-year-old victim and began rubbing her leg, police say.

As she got up to leave, he stood behind her and appeared to attack her again.

The woman got off the bus and was followed by the man before she approached security guards at New Street station for help.

The attack took place on the number 31 bus from Acocks Green to the city centre on May 20, between 9.30am and 10.25am. 

The man is described as Asian, 5ft 6ins tall, of slim build with black hair and a small goatee beard.

He was wearing a grey jumper with black tracksuit bottoms and is believed to be in his 20s.

Detective Constable Warren Moore, from Force CID, said: "This was an unprovoked assault against an unsuspecting, pregnant member of the public, who was visiting the area.

"The assault made her uncomfortable and unnerved and has had a lasting effect on her. She is unable to use buses through fear of this happening again."

Anyone with information is asked to contact local police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Rolf Harris: 12 Women Seeking Compensation

The Fall Of One Of Britain's Best-Loved Stars

Updated: 6:09pm UK, Monday 30 June 2014

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Despite being born in Australia, Rolf Harris' lengthy career in show business, spanning almost six decades, has ensured he is one of Britain's best-known and, until now, best-loved stars.

From his humble beginnings as a swimming champion in his native Western Australia, he moved to London in 1952 after deciding to abandon a teaching career and study art instead.

Within weeks he was singing in ex-pat clubs and two years after stepping off a liner, he signed a contract with the BBC which marked the start of a lengthy association with the broadcaster.

Artist, singer-songwriter and TV star, his legendary career earned him an MBE, OBE and CBE and Australian honours as well.

He was given a BAFTA fellowship, painted a portrait of the Queen and has met other members of the royal family countless times.

Harris also made numerous TV commercials and appeared at Glastonbury six times - opening the event in 2010 - and singing in front of a crowd of almost 100,000.

Countless generations of children and adults know him through iconic programmes from the 70s, 80s and 90s, such as The Rolf Harris Show, Rolf Harris Cartoon Time, Animal Hospital and Rolf On Art.

His wife of 56 years, Alwen, and daughter Bindi, 49, supported him in court throughout the seven-week trial, although only Bindi was called to give evidence in the case.

She described how she wanted to ''stab herself with forks'' after discovering Harris had been having a relationship with her best friend, who was the subject of seven of the charges.

In his 2001 autobiography, titled after his catchphrase "Can You Tell What It Is Yet", there is a telling passage in which he explained his feelings about his family.

He wrote: ''Alwen and Bindi have to come first. It has only been in the last five years that I have realised this. Late, but better than never.''

Telling, because it was in 1997 Harris wrote to the father of Bindi's best friend to tell him of the affair he had been having with his daughter when his own daughter found out.

He also wrote of how, as his career took off in the 60s, he found himself ogling women in backstage dressing rooms set aside for dancers he worked with.

Harris wrote: ''I tried not to watch - or be seen watching - but it wasn't easy, I spent most of my time reading the same page of a book 14 times realising I was holding it upside down.''

It's also clear he had a difficult relationship with his daughter and wife - blaming himself for not being with them as he devoted his time to his career - leaving them a painful second.

In the early 1960s as his career hit the big time, Alwen visited Australia with him and it later emerged she had contemplated suicide, Harris only finding out about it 30 years later when he found her diary.

Harris described how ''the words struck me like hammer blows'' adding that he ''felt terrible and I kicked myself for my selfishness''.

His awards and honours count for nothing and he will now swap his luxury Thames-side home in Berkshire for the cold harsh surroundings of a prison cell, as a convicted sex offender.

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Dying Reeva's Screams 'As Loud As A Plane'

It is possible Reeva Steenkamp's screams on the night she was shot and killed by Oscar Pistorius were as loud as a plane's engine, a court has heard.

State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel questioned acoustic expert Ivan Lin on the sounds heard on Valentine's Day last year when the athlete's girlfriend was killed.

When asked if he would put Ms Steenkamp's screams at 120 dB, Mr Lin said: "120 means extremely loud, you can almost hear it 100 metres away. It is a very slight possibility, but it is possible."

Sky Correspondent Emma Hurd said: "Mr Nel is trying to make the point that Reeva Steenkamp would have screamed loudly because she was 'screaming for her life'."

After quizzing Mr Lin about some of the technical details in report, Mr Nel contended that, without exception, everybody heard a woman's screams on that night.

He said: "Four state witnesses all heard screams by a woman. That must be reliable even for a scientist."

Pistorius hugs a well-wisher in court

Pistorius's defence team have previously said the screams came from him, as he was upset that he had killed Ms Steenkamp.

Next to give evidence was Peet van Zyl, Pistorius's manager.

Mr van Zyl, who has worked with the athlete since 2006, told the court Pistorius had a "heightened sense of awareness".

Reeva's mother June Steenkamp arrives at court

This led to him always parking his car in open spaces with plenty of lighting, sitting close to the door in restaurants and locking his hotel room door when he was travelling. 

Mr van Zyl recalled an incident on an plane when Pistorius removed his prostheses because of severe blisters on his stumps.

"At some stage one of the legs fell over and when an air hostess tried to pick it up politely, Oscar Pistorius had felt someone close and (he) was startled," Mr van Zyl said.

State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel questions a witness in court

"He grabbed his leg from her."

Large parts of the trial have focused on Pistorius's relationship with Ms Steenkamp, which had started around three months before her death.

Mr van Zyl said their relationship was "loving and caring" and they were always calling each other pet names.

Pistorius planned to take her to an Andrea Bocelli concert in Italy, Mr van Zyl told the court.

Pistorius had a "heightened sense of awareness", the court heard

It was revealed that Pistorius was moved from a room he was sharing with another athlete at the 2012 Olympics because, Mr Nel said, Pistorius was constantly on the phone arguing.

Mr van Zyl said he heard there was an issue between the pair, but was not aware why they did not get on.

Before the court adjourned for the day, Mr van Zyl was asked if he thought Pistorius was paranoid. He replied he was not qualified to offer an opinion.

Reeva Steenkamp and Pistorius had been dating for around three months

The trial has resumed after an adjournment for a month of psychiatric tests, which found Pistorius was not mentally ill at the time of Ms Steenkamp's death and that he is fit to stand trial.

Pistorius denies murdering Ms Steenkamp, claiming he mistook her for an intruder in his home.

The trial continues.

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Lostprophets Leave Past Behind With New Band

The former members of the Lostprophets, whose frontman was convicted of child sex abuse, are returning to music but in a new band with a new name.

Lee Gaze, Mike Lewis, Jamie Oliver, Stuart Richardson and Luke Johnson have formed No Devotion with ex-Thursday singer Geoff Rickly.

The musicians were left "shocked beyond comprehension" after Ian Watkins was jailed for 35 years in December and took a step back from music after 15 years.

In a press release the Welsh rock band said they "didn't know if we would ever make music again".

Watkins was jailed for 35 years in December

But they revealed that after a long period of reflection after being "harshly uprooted from their settled lives and careers" they started to work on the new project.

"We didn't know what else to do," Richardson explains.

"We just wrote music. I didn't know if anyone would ever want to hear it, I didn't know if anyone ever would hear it. I just needed to occupy my brain."

He added: "We just needed this."

"To be honest, I never really listened to Lostprophets," Rickly admits.

"But with this music, we speak a common language. You don't really grow out of punk, you grow with it. To my mind, post-punk was about taking a more sophisticated approach to that sound, and I think we all have a shared respect for that era of modern music."

The statement said that after much consideration, Rickly agreed to front the new project. In light of the recent controversy, no one believed that this was an easy request.

"I had always liked these guys in passing: they're funny and self-aware. I didn't think it was fair, what was happening to them. And, well, the music was too good to pass up," he said.

No Devotion's debut single, Stay, is released on July 21 and the band will also be playing a number of dates at the end of the month.

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Man Fined For 'Damaging' Ex's Facebook Page

A man has been fined for causing criminal damage to a Facebook account in a landmark legal case.

The 30-year-old man, from Donegal, Ireland, who cannot be named for legal reasons, posted an offensive message on his ex-girlfriend's account.

Rather than being charged under harassment laws, he was prosecuted using the Criminal Damage Act 1991, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and an £8,000 fine.

The man was acquitted by a jury last month of the rape and false imprisonment of his ex-girlfriend in her home on the same date.

The court heard that the man went to the woman's house on April 6, 2011 to confront her over alleged infidelity.

He left the house with her phone, and posted a status update while logged into her Facebook account labelling her a "whore" who would take "any offers".

He was arrested soon after the incident and told police he had been angry when he posted the message.

Defence lawyer Isobel Kennedy SC said his actions were wrong but said he had been drinking beforehand.

Mr Justice Garrett said there was no relevant precedent to guide him when deciding on punishment, and went on to fine the man €2,000 (£1,595).

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Sollecito Distances Himself From Knox

Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend has sought to distance himself from the American woman ahead of their appeals trial, saying he is not her "guarantor".

Raffaele Sollecito stressed during a press conference in Rome that he believes Knox is innocent in the 2007 murder of English student Meredith Kercher in Perugia.

But he said that any "anomalies" would have to do with Knox's defence, not his. 

"My name is Raffaele Sollecito, not Amanda Marie Knox, and I must answer as someone whose name is Raffaele Sollecito," he said.

Sollecito and Knox have been convicted by an appeals court in the murder. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, she received a 28 year and six month term.

The two, who were having a relationship at the time of the murder, have always denied wrongdoing.

Meredith Kercher was 21 when she was killed

An appeal trial before Italy's highest criminal court, the Court of Cassation, awaits them.

Knox has maintained she spent the night of November 1, 2007, when Kercher was murdered, at Sollecito's house.

But the Italian said today that he can only vouch for the late evening.

He did not confirm that the two were together in the first part of the evening, around 8.30pm or 9pm, which is roughly the time they believe Ms Kercher was killed.

Sollecito also said Knox had been caught in a lie: the American said she had sent a text message from Sollecito's house the night of the murder but the judges who convicted the pair said her phone's signal showed she was not at Sollecito's house.

Knox and Ms Kercher shared a house in Perugia

"I am not Amanda Knox's guarantor and I can only take my stand on the basis of my experience, of what I have lived," he said, flanked by his lawyers.

The press conference had been called to lay out Sollecito's defence strategy ahead of the Cassation appeal, expected in months.

He insisted the comments did not amount to a change in his defence strategy and reiterated his belief Knox is innocent.

He said at the time of the murder he was in love with Knox - whom he had started dated a short time before - but also added she remained a "stranger".

Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found with her throat slashed in her bedroom at the house she shared with Knox.

The wounds on Ms Kercher's body indicate she was killed by more than one person, experts said at the time.

Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivorian, has been convicted of the murder and is serving a 16-year sentence.

Knox is back in Seattle and has no plan to come back to Italy for the appeal trial.

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Jayden Accused 'Wanted To See Himself On TV'

The man accused of murdering pregnant teenager Jayden Parkinson told a prison nurse he was a "celebrity" and wanted to watch himself on the TV news, a court has heard.

Ben Blakeley made the comments to senior nurse Cally Brinsley while he was being held at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire.

Ms Brinsley told the 22-year-old's trial at Oxford Crown Court that Blakeley repeatedly asked for a television to be put in his cell.

"He wanted to see what was going on with the case and seeing himself on the television," she told the court.

Ms Parkinson was pregnant at the time she was murdered

"He was very jovial in his behaviour. He would answer a question from me and that if he provided the correct answer he would say 'Can I have a television now please?'

"He did shout down the corridor at me 'I'm a celebrity now, miss'."

During Ms Brinsley's evidence Blakeley jumped up from his seat in the dock and swore and shouted: "How can you say stuff like this?"

He then asked to leave the court and the trial continued in his absence.

Ms Brinsley was asked about Blakeley's demeanour when he made the comment about being a "celebrity". She replied: "Jovial ... he was laughing."

She told jurors staff were not allowed to discuss legal matters with prisoners, however during a review of Blakeley's health he told her about Ms Parkinson's death.

She said: "He did say to me 'I told them where the shovels were. I got really drunk. I didn't want it to happen. If I could take it back I would.'

"I told Ben to stop because I didn't want to hear what had happened and I was there as a nurse and I was there for his welfare.

"Ben said 'Can I have a television now?' as if he had given me some information and he wanted to have a reward. I told him that he couldn't."

Ms Parkinson was last seen alive on December 3

Ms Parkinson, 17, was last seen alive with Blakeley on December 3 last year in Didcot, Oxfordshire. She had met Blakeley to discuss her pregnancy.

Blakeley, of Christchurch Road, Reading, in Berkshire, denies murdering Ms Parkinson but admits her manslaughter and attempting to pervert the course of justice over the disposal of her body.

The prosecution has refused to accept his manslaughter plea and he has gone on trial alongside a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The youth has also pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice but denies a charge of preventing a lawful burial because he says he did not know he was helping bury Jayden's body.

The trial continues.

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Third Baby Dies In Contaminated Drip Case

A third baby has died from a suspected infection caused by contaminated hospital feed.

The infected nutritional fluid was given to the newborn by intravenous drip on May 27 at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

But the baby was not identified to have developed blood poisoning straight away - as seen in the previous cases.

The bacteria that caused the infection is called bacillus cereus, which is found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation.

"We can confirm that a baby has died after receiving contaminated nutritional fluid (TPN)," said a spokesman from Cambridge University Hospitals, the NHS trust involved.

"Our thoughts are with the family and we are supporting them during this very difficult and emotional time.

"A consultant neonatologist has spoken to all of the families on the unit.

"The babies on the unit have been closely monitored for any signs of infection since we withdraw the contaminated feed.

"We are confident that no other newborns have contracted bacillus cereus.

The source of the contamination is thought to be an infected drip

"The two other babies who were ill are stable and doing well."

The child's death has been referred to the coroner.

Health authorities are still investigating the cause of the outbreak, which first came to light in June after a newborn baby being treated in intensive care died from blood poisoning through an infection caught from a suspected contaminated drip.

The total number of cases linked to the investigation is 23. Of those, 19 are confirmed and four are possible cases.

Public Health England's Mike Catchpole said: "There are still some elements of our investigation that need finalising but the main findings have all pointed towards there being a single incident that occurred on one day and was associated with the illness seen in the babies.

"We are reassured that this was a very rare occurrence as we have not seen this particular strain of bacteria in any product made since that day and there has been no further illness."

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Israel Holds Funerals For Teen Kidnap Victims

The family homes of men suspected over the deaths of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers have been blown up.

Troops set off explosions in the West Bank buildings, blowing open a doorway in one, an army spokeswoman said.

The other property was on fire after the blast.

A fireball rises above Rafah, southern Gaza, following an Israeli airstrike

Israeli fighter jets also bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip, hours after vowing to take revenge on the killers of the three hitch-hikers.

A man was shot dead after allegedly throwing a grenade at troops attempting to arrest a militant in the Jenin refugee camp.

The Israeli teenagers' bodies were found under a pile of rocks in an isolated spot near Hebron, three weeks after they went missing.

Soldiers walk away from the Hebron home of one of the kidnap suspsects

Eyal Yifrach, 19, and 16-year-olds Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel disappeared on June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish school where they were studying.

Their bodies were found by soldiers after the biggest Israeli ground operation inside the West Bank in nearly a decade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Islamic militant group Hamas for the atrocity and said the teenagers were "kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by human animals".

"Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay," he said.

One of Amer Abu Eisheh's relatives walks through the shell of his home

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has denied any involvement in the kidnappings, although a spokesman said: "Threats don't scare Hamas and if (Mr Netanyahu) wages a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open on him."

An adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the country was committed to peace so that "no mother or no family will be bereaved for the loss of their beloved ones, (whether) Palestinian or Israeli."

However, Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government, told Sky News: "President Abbas says he's committed to peace, reconciliation and fighting terrorism, and yet he's in an alliance with terrorists who kidnap and murder children.

Demonstrators march near the UN headquarters in New York

"When he chose to form a pact with Hamas, he was turning his back on his own commitment to fighting terrorism.

"Hamas is part of a family of terrorist movements, such as Hizbollah in Lebanon and Isis in Iraq, who are well known for their violence and their extremism.

"President Abbas has to decide whether he's with them or with the path of peace and reconciliation."

About 400 suspected Hamas militants were arrested as Israeli air strikes hit 34 targets inside the Gaza Strip.

The homes of chief suspects Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisheh, who are still on the run, were also destroyed, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

Israeli security officials are expected to discuss possible further military action after an emergency meeting on Monday.

Overnight, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv's central Rabin Square to sing, pray and light candles.

It came as Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the "despicable terrorist act" as an "outrage beyond any understanding or rationale".

"As a father, there are no words to express such a horrific loss that shakes all people of conscience," he added.

US President Barack Obama said the murders were "senseless" but warned against retribution that "could further destabilise the situation".

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