Israel has carried out a strike targeting the senior leadership of Hamas in Qatar's capital, Doha.

A Hamas official told the BBC that members of the Palestinian armed group's negotiating team were targeted during a meeting. It was not clear whether any of them were killed, but photos showed a badly damaged building in the northern Katara district.

The Israeli military accused the Hamas leaders of being directly responsible for the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and of orchestrating the ensuing war in Gaza.

Qatar strongly condemned what it called the "cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the political bureau of Hamas".

"This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar," a foreign ministry statement said.

The Gulf state - a key US ally in the region that is the location of a major American air base - has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012 and has served as a mediator in indirect negotiations between the group and Israel.

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UN Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the strike, saying it was a "flagrant violation" of Qatar's sovereignty.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stressed that what it called the "action against the top terrorist chiefs" of Hamas was a "a wholly independent Israeli operation".

"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," a statement said.

A senior Israeli official told Israeli media that the Hamas members targeted included Khalil al-Hayya, the chief negotiator and exiled Gaza leader, and Zaher Jabarin, the exiled West Bank leader.

"We are awaiting the results of the strike. There is a consensus among the political and security leadership," the official added.

On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned Hamas leaders living abroad that they faced "annihilation" and Gaza would be destroyed if the group did not release its hostages and lay down its arms.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

French President Emmanuel Macron has come under pressure to name a new prime minister quickly after François Bayrou lost a vote of no confidence and on Tuesday handed him his resignation.

The fall of Bayrou's government came as no surprise, because a majority in France's hung parliament staunchly opposed Bayrou's bid to bring down France's spiralling debt with €44bn (£38bn) budget cuts.

But Macron is still faced with one of the highest budget deficits in the eurozone and mounting criticism from political opponents.

France is also facing a day of protests on Wednesday from a nebulous grassroots movement called Bloquons Tout - "Let's Block Everything", and authorities are planning to deploy 80,000 police.

As Monday's confidence vote was called by Bayrou himself, Macron has had weeks to prepare his next step. He has already made clear he will choose a new prime minister in the coming days - the fifth since he won a second term as president in 2022.

Whoever the president ends up choosing will be in the unenviable position of having to face a hung parliament split into three factions deeply at odds with one another.

None has a majority and several are clamouring for fresh elections instead of a new prime minister.

Speculation over potential frontrunners began swirling even before Bayrou's government fell, with names from Assembly speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet to current defence minister Sébastien Lecornu being floated.

However, commentators believe Macron will need support from the left or centre-left camp to ensure support from the Socialists and the centrists and give the new prime minister a fighting chance of passing a much-needed budget tackling France's debt.

Read more: France in fresh political crisis after MPs oust prime minister

Macron ally and ex-prime minister Gabriel Attal has deplored the "state of permanent instability" plaguing France and urged Macron to find a technocrat "negotiator" to find common ground between political leaders together before naming a prime minister.

Attal's suggestion was immediately rubbished as "total nonsense" by Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally who is among those calling for fresh parliamentary elections.

But a new vote at this stage was implicitly rejected by Macron promising a new prime minister would be announced "in a matter of days".

His statement reflected an urgent need for France to regain some stability as the country faces market jitters, protests and large-scale industrial action.

Authorities are bracing for nationwide disruption on Wednesday, with the Bloquons Tout movement urging citizens to bring the country to a standstill through protest and acts of civil disobedience against "austerity, contempt and humiliation".

Although it is unclear how many people will heed the group's call, on Tuesday right-wing interior minister Bruno Retailleau acknowledged 100,000 could take part across France and promised to mobilise police to face "organised and seasoned groups who seek violence".

More co-ordinated action is expected next week. Trade unions have called a strike to protest the government's "brutal" budget plans, lamenting that France "has been sinking into a profound social and democratic crisis".

Blaming the radical left headed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon for creating an "insurrectionist mood", Bruno Retailleau warned that September "could lead to all kinds of excesses".

France is also bracing for a decision on Friday from credit agency Fitch, which could see its rating demoted and make it more costly to borrow money. France's public debt rose to €3.3tn earlier this year, which is 114% of its economic output or GDP.

"We need a prime minister to embody power – and very quickly," said Retailleau. "It's crucial, including in terms of maintaining order."

On Tuesday morning Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said pig heads had been found outside nine mosques in the region. Pigs are considered by Muslims to be impure, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo denounced the incidents as "racist acts".

Nuñez said he "couldn't help but make a link" with previous incidents which were later proven to have been "acts of foreign interference".

"An action of such magnitude, carried out simultaneously by several people, raises questions," he said.

The chair of Ferrari and Stellantis has agreed to do one year of community service and jointly pay millions of euros to settle a dispute over inheritance tax in Italy.

John Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginerva will pay €183m (£159m) to Italian tax authorities, Italian prosecutors said, according to multiple media reports.

Mr Elkann's lawyer said the agreement did not include an admission of liability from the Ferrari chair and his siblings.

He said the prosecutors' decisions were an opportunity to bring "this painful affair to a swift and definitive close".

Mr Elkann, a member of one of the most powerful families in Italy, is the grandson of Gianni Agnelli, the former boss of Fiat.

The tax dispute relates to the estate of Mr Elkann's grandmother, Marella Caracciolo, who died in 2019.

Mr Elkann will need to suggest where he could do his community service, which Reuters reported could include helping at a centre for the elderly or a centre helping people with drug addiction.

Paolo Siniscalchi, the Elkanns' attorney, said in a statement to the BBC: "John Elkann's request for probation must be viewed in this context and does not entail, just as the settlement with the tax authorities does not, any admission of responsibility.

"If this request is granted, the proceedings against him will be suspended, and upon the successful completion of the probationary period, will conclude with a ruling extinguishing all the charges for which John Elkann is currently under investigation.

"This outcome would mirror that of his siblings Ginevra and Lapo, for whom dismissal of charges has been requested."

Prosecutors had alleged the Elkann siblings failed to declare roughly €1bn in assets and €248.5m in income, on the basis their grandmother was a Swiss resident.

Prosecutors on Monday accepted the agreement to pay millions, and have asked the judge to drop a criminal case against Mr Elkann's brother and sister, which was dismissed.

The case stems from a wider dispute between the Elkann siblings and their mother, Margherita Agnelli over the estate of Gianni Agnelli. A civil case is ongoing.

Mr Agnelli died more than 20 years ago after building Fiat up from a small car manufacturer into a major conglomerate.

Ms Agnelli, who inherited €1.2bn euros, has been fighting to overturn agreements she signed in 2004 after her father's death in an attempt to ensure that money goes to her five children from a second marriage and not to her three eldest.

Ms Agnelli's lawyers said in a statement that they welcomed the outcome of these tax and criminal proceedings.

Mr Elkann is the oldest of Ms Agnelli's children. He has been chair of Stellantis since 2021, and became chair of Ferrari in 2018, according to Stellantis.

He first joined Fiat's board in 1997 and was previously the company's chair.