Eight Palestinians killed in West Bank clashes with Israeli forces
Here are the latest developments on the Hamas-Israel conflict
What's been happening?
- Eight Palestinians killed in West Bank clashes with Israeli forces - ministry
- "We want you to win," UK PM Rishi Sunak tells Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu after landing in Tel Aviv
- China seeking quick end to Israel-Hamas conflict
- Killing Palestinians never make Israel more secure, Palestine's envoy tells Security Council
- US issues 'worldwide caution' alert for its citizens
- 100 lorries of aid a day needed in Gaza: UN
- Worldwide protests over deadly strike at Gaza hospital continue with arrests of Jewish anti-war demonstrators reported inside US Congress.
- Almost 3,785 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Hamas's October 7 attack inside Israel
10:40pm
Israeli minister says troops will soon see Gaza 'from inside'
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday that they will soon see the Palestinian enclave "from inside", suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing.
Israel pounded Gaza with more air strikes following the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 Israelis, as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed U.S. President Joe Biden with a visit to demonstrate Western support for the war against Hamas militants.
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Israel has responded to the deadliest attack in its 75-year history by vowing to destroy Hamas, putting the entire Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people under a total siege, and bombarding the enclave in strikes that have killed thousands and made more than a million homeless.
10:10pm
US State Department issues 'worldwide caution' alert
The Department of State of the US has issued a "worldwide caution" alert amid the escalation in the Hamas-Israel war.
The state department says the alert was issued "due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests".
Such an alert was previously issued in August 2022 following the US drone killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
10:10pm
Hamas leaders killed in Gaza
The head of Hamas security forces has been killed in Gaza, reports BBC quoting Hamas-affiliated media.
Members of Jehad Mheisen's family are also reported to have died.
The widow of the Hamas co-founder, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi is also reported to have been killed overnight.
They are the latest senior Hamas figures to die in what the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has described as the long war his country is waging against Hamas.
On Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported that Jamila Al-Shantee, the first woman elected to Hamas's political leadership had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Earlier this week, Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Ayman Nofal, described as a "senior Hamas official", had also been killed.
9:10pm
Al Jazeera investigation refutes Israel's claim about Gaza hospital attack
An investigation by Al Jazeera has found no grounds for the Israeli army's claim that Tuesday's strike on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip was caused by a failed rocket launch. Watch the full report below
9:00pm
There is huge risk of spill-over - UN official
UN official Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said Gaza is teetering on the edge, reports BBC.
He reports instances of individuals returning to the northern areas of Gaza, despite Israel's prior evacuation advice, simply because "they have absolutely nowhere to go in the south and they prefer to go back to their home, even if their home has been destroyed."
Lazzarini, who has extensive experience in war zones, categorizes the current situation in Gaza as a "major" crisis, even by those standards:
"It's a tectonic one. There is a significant risk of a spill-over. All the information we're receiving on the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is deeply concerning."
"I sometimes get the impression that the world is now losing its humanity," Lazzarini reflects.
9.00pm
WHO says medical aid 'loaded and ready to go' into Gaza
Five trucks of medical supplies are ready at the border between Gaza and Egypt, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, welcoming Israel's announcement that it will not block the entry of aid into the Palestinian territory.
"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. He said he hoped the supplies would be delivered as soon as the Rafah crossing opened, "hopefully tomorrow".
The delivery of aid is set to be the first after Israel said it would impose a "total blockade" on the narrow Gaza Strip that is home to 2.3 million people, cutting electricity supplies and halting flows of food and fuel, in response to a devastating attack from Hamas on Israeli territory on 7 October.
There have also been heavy Israel air strikes in the war with Hamas. The UN has warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe".
8:20pm
100 lorries of aid a day needed in Gaza: UN
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said at least 100 lorries of aid a day needed in Gaza, reports BBC.
Aid agencies say Gaza needs far more aid than the initial 20 lorries announced by US President Biden as he flew from yesterday's visit to Israel.
The UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, says about 100 lorries a day will be required.
Egypt has agreed to reopen its border crossing with Gaza to allow deliveries through, though preparation for this are taking time.
Diplomatic contacts over aid for Palestinians are continuing, with the Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi due to host King Abdullah of Jordan today.
Both Egypt and Jordan have been at peace with Israel for many years and have played significant mediation roles in previous conflicts.
7:05pm
Eight Palestinians killed in West Bank clashes with Israeli forces
Eight Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Thursday.
Clashes were still taking places between the Israeli army and a number of gunmen at the camp, witnesses said.
6:55pm
China seeking quick end to Israel-Hamas conflict: Xi
China wants the Israel-Hamas war to be stopped as soon as possible, President Xi Jingping was quoted by Chinese state media as saying on Thursday, adding Beijing was willing to work with Arab governments for a lasting solution to the conflict.
Xi also said a ceasefire was "imperative" as soon as possible to prevent the conflict from expanding, or spiralling out of control, the state media said.
Xi was speaking after meeting Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who was the only senior delegate from the Middle East to attend China's infrastructure Belt and Road Forum this week.
China supports Egypt's efforts to let in humanitarian aid to Gaza, state media quoted Xi as telling Madbouly. The Chinese president's remarks are among the first he has made about the conflict which erupted after Hamas launched an assault on Israel on Oct. 7, triggering a major military assault on Gaza.
Egypt and the United States agreed on Wednesday to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip "in a sustainable manner" through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Separately, Xi also said China was willing to work with Egypt to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, agricultural technology, and renewable energy, adding that he will also encourage capable Chinese enterprises to invest there.
6:40pm
Killing Palestinians never make Israel more secure, Palestine's envoy tells Security Council
The permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN criticized on Wednesday the notion of supporting Israel's right to self-defense while the country actively pursues the annihilation of Palestinians, reports Arab News.
"Stop the bloodshed. I repeat, stop the bloodshed," Mansour told the council, adding that "killing Palestinians will never, never make Israel more secure," said Riyad Mansour while speaking during a Security Council meeting to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
It followed a vote in which the US vetoed a draft resolution that called for "humanitarian pauses" in the conflict and condemned the attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October. As justification for the decision, America's envoy cited the failure of the resolution to mention "Israel's right to self-defense."
6:06pm
Israel fires back after missiles launched from Lebanon: BBC
Since the Hamas attacks on 7 October, Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have exchanged fire across the Lebanese border, reports BBC.
Today, the IDF said it responded with artillery shelling after two anti-tank guided missiles were fired from Lebanon at the northern Kibbutz Manara.
The IDF says there are no injuries in the latest missile attack - and said the artillery shelling is targeting the launch site of the missiles.
5:59pm
Israel arrests 80 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The house of one detainee was destroyed in Kfar Qibya, near Ramallah, the army said, adding that "many wanted persons" from the Nur Shams refugee camp were detained.
According to Al Jazeera, the camp – in the northern occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem – has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.
5:36pm
Journalists resign from Western media outlets
Three Tunisian journalists have announced their resignation from several Western media outlets in protest of their coverage of Israel's brutal war on Gaza, reports The Arab News.
"Since 7 October, I and my Tunisian colleague and friend Amani Oueslati decided to resign from Canal +", wrote Tunisian journalist Achouak Hannachi on Facebook Wednesday, 18 October.
"Our craftsmanship, our education, and our support for the Palestinian cause are not for compromise," she added.
According to Arab News, Oueslati was working for Canal + channel. Hannachi was part of the French channel Cnews, a conservative television that belongs to the media group Canal+.
5:21pm
Sunak: We want you to win
Sunak concludes: "I'm proud to stand here with you in Israel's darkest hour, as your friend.
"We will stand with you in solidarity, we will stand with your people. And we also want you to win."
He also stresses that Palestinian civilians are victims of Hamas too and welcomes Israel's decision to let aid into the Gaza Strip, reports BBC.
5:11pm
Death toll in Gaza
According to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids since 7 October.
5:02pm
British PM Sunak reiterated his support for Israel and said the UK will increase aid to the region, but made no mention of a ceasefire.
"I'm proud to stand here with you in Israel's darkest hour. As your friend, we will stand with you in solidarity, we will stand with your people, and we also want you to win," Sunak said in a briefing with Israeli PM Netanyahu.
It was expected that Sunak would call for a ceasefire, but this has not been the case so far.
4: 46pm
Twenty aid trucks 'not enough': IFRC
"We're talking about two million people who are in need of everything, so 20 trucks will be a drop in the ocean," IFRC spokesperson said.
"Obviously, we do welcome any aid entering the country, but we will have to have much more than that."
4:33pm
'They've even run out of body bags': Aid workers
Aid workers say they have been waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing for days now as they wait for permission to be let in and distribute emergency supplies, reports BBC.
Mohsen Sarhan from the Egyptian Food Bank told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme there are 120 aid trucks stationed at the border with Gaza and "seven or eight cargo planes loaded with supplies, coming from Turkey".
Sarhan added that he and and his fellow aid workers are becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to help. "We're very angry because we know people over there have run out of water, they have even run out of body bags."
According to BBC, Sarhan said he and his team will not be leaving until they can get in to Gaza to distribute the emergency supplies, adding: "We just want the killing to stop for us to be able to get in."
4:08pm
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged Israel to get aid into Gaza.
In a meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Sunak reiterated that the UK stands with Israel and "firmly believes in the country's right to self-defence in line with international law".
In a statement by Downing Street, it said Sunak and Herzog "agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering".
4:05pm
The Israeli army says it is responding with artillery following antitank fire from Lebanon targeted areas in northern Israel, the Al Jazeera reports.
The army said it detected "two launches from Lebanese territory".
No casualties were reported.
3:20pm
King Abdullah II of Jordan has left on a short visit to Cairo, to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The meeting will be held "to discuss means of ending the Israeli aggression on Gaza," read a Tweet from the royal court.
3:12pm
The Israeli military says at least 306 of its soldiers have been killed since 7 October.
Yesterday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had said over 1,400 Israelis in total were murdered by Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces' spokesman Daniel Hagari has also said he cannot rule out the possibility of Palestinian militants still being on Israeli territory following the first Hamas attack.
2:32pm
First and only woman in Hamas political bureau killed: BBC
Palestinian media are reporting that the first and only woman in Hamas's political bureau has been killed in an air strike, reports BBC.
The political bureau is Hamas's main decision-making body.
Jamila al-Shanti, the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, founded the women's movement in Hamas and became the first woman elected to the political bureau in 2021.
2:05pm
121 people killed in Gaza since last night: Al Jazeera
1:25pm
Cause of hospital blast not certain: UK MP
UK MP Tom Tugendhat, a Home Office minister, tells BBC Breakfast the UK is still not certain about what caused Tuesday's blast at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza, reports BBC.
"Until the intelligence services in the UK have given me their professional opinion I'm not going to be able to answer that question," he says.
He says "we're in touch constantly", and wants an answer "as soon as possible" but "without premature rush to judgement".
1: 21pm
'UK stands with you,' Sunak tells Israel
Upon arrival in Israel, Rishi Sunak told reporters at Tel Aviv airport that the Hamas attacks on 7 October were an "unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism", and he reiterated that the UK stands with Israel, reports BBC.
"I'm very much looking forward to my meetings later with the prime minister and president and I very much hope they'll be productive meetings," Sunak said.
1: 20 pm
Meta to limit some Facebook comments on Israeli, Palestinian posts: Al Jazeera
According to Al Jazeera, Meta said it will change the default setting for people who can comment on new and public Facebook posts created by users "in the region" to only their friends and followers, Meta said in an updated blog post.
A Meta spokesperson declined to specify how the company defined the region. Users can opt-out and change the setting at any time, Meta said
1:17 pm
No signs of aid truck movements at Rafah crossing: Al Jazeera
According to previous reports, there is an expectation that the Rafah crossing will open to allow the 20 humanitarian trucks stuck on the Egyptian side of the border to cross into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Trucks carrying medical and food supplies that are desperately needed in the enclave were expected to be let in.
However, the trucks require Israeli approval before they can cross over into Gaza. The Israeli government has not given that approval yet, reports Al Jazeera.
There has been talk about conditional approval. Essentially, Israel wants a guarantee that the aid will not reach any Hamas member in the Strip.
1:15 pm
Meta says Instagram bug suppressed pro-Palestine content: Al Jazeera
Meta designates Hamas as a "dangerous organisation" and bans content praising the group.
Mondoweiss, a news website that covers Palestinian human rights, said on social media platform X on October 10 that Instagram had twice suspended the profile of its video correspondent. Other Instagram users reported their posts and stories about Palestine were not receiving views.
"This bug affected accounts equally around the globe – not only people trying to post about what's happening in Israel and Gaza – and it had nothing to do with the subject matter of the content," Meta said.
12:50 pm
Israel police boss threatens to send anti-war protesters to Gaza 'on buses'
Israel's police chief, Kobi Shabtai, has said there will be "zero tolerance" for protests in support of Gaza in Israel, threatening to send anti-war demonstrators to the besieged Palestinian enclave that Israel has been bombarding daily for nearly two weeks.
"Whoever wants to become an Israeli citizen, welcome," Shabtai said. "Anyone who wants to identify with Gaza is welcome. I will put him on the buses heading there now."
In the short video, Shabtai also said there would be "zero tolerance for any instance of incitement … there will be no authorisation for protests".
He said that Israel is "in a state of war … we're not in a situation where we will allow all sorts of people to come and test us".
12:40 pm
Russia to deliver 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Russia will deliver 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid, mostly food supplies, for the people in the Gaza Strip, its foreign ministry says.
An aircraft carrying the goods is on its way to al-Arish, an Egyptian city in northern Sinai about 50km (31 miles) from the Egypt-Gaza Rafah crossing.
12:30 pm
More than 40 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday morning
More than 40 Palestinians have been killed this morning as Israeli warplanes continue to hit the Gaza Strip for the 13th day, according to witnesses and medical sources.
Nine people, including seven children, were killed when jets struck a house in Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, Wafa news agency reported.
More than 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli air strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Israeli warplanes also struck a house in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah amid reports of fatalities.
A Palestinian baby was killed and several people were injured in an air attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to witnesses.
A child was also killed in an Israeli air raid west of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical sources said.
11:30 am
British PM lands in Tel Aviv
Rishi Sunak has just landed in Tel Aviv in a show of support to Israel.
The British prime minister plans to offer condolences to Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the October 7 Hamas attack and discuss the war in Gaza.
During his two-day visit to the region, Sunak is also expected to visit Egypt and Qatar.
11:15 am
Head of military wing of armed faction in Gaza killed, says Israel
As well as hitting "hundreds" of sites in Gaza, the IDF also says it killed Rafat Abu Hilal, the head of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees - the third largest armed faction in the Gaza Strip after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reports Al Jazeera.
The IDF says it carried out the airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Rafah following information received from the Shin Bet intelligence service.
11:00 am
A night of intense bombardments across Gaza Strip
After midnight, Israel intensified its bombing over different parts of the Gaza Strip, with Rafah being the most heavily targeted and dozens of Palestinians have been killed.
In Khan Younis, 11 residential buildings were destroyed, resulting in casualties.
An hour ago, five residential towers were flattened in Al-Zahra in the centre of Gaza. Nearly 100 families evacuated the buildings before they were targeted. They are now on the streets looking for shelter.
UN schools are filled beyond capacity. University and wedding halls are also at full capacity, unable to accommodate more people.
10:30 am
China wants to work with Egypt to bring 'stability': Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli that Beijing wants to work with Egypt to bring "stability" to the Middle East region, according to reports from Chinese state media.
China wants to "enhance cooperation" with Egypt to "inject more certainty and stability into the region and the world," Xi said at the meeting in Beijing on Thursday, China's CCTV reported.
A video posted by Al Jazeera Arabic on X, formerly Twitter, shows Lebanese security forces, in full riot gear, engaged in a running battle with protesters in the vicinity of the US embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday, amid protests over the deadly bombing of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.
10:00 am
Markets in retreat on growing fears of Middle East war
Asian markets tumbled on fears the Israel-Hamas crisis would spill over into a wider conflict in the Middle East, with some warning that a full-blown war was increasingly likely.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red, and Asia followed suit, with Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore more than one percent down, according to Reuters news agency.
There were also losses in Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington.
"The window for a diplomatic off-ramp to avert a wider war in the Middle East appears to be closing," RBC Capital Markets' Helima Croft told Reuters.
"A regional crisis appears the most likely outcome, especially with Israel still seemingly committed to a ground offensive to crush Hamas."
9:40 am
Israel strikes Syrian govt position in south: NGO
The Israeli government struck a Syrian military position in the war-torn country's south, a war monitoring NGO said on Wednesday.
"Sounds of explosions rang out in the province of Quneitra after an Israeli strike against a Syrian army position," said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a vast network of sources in the country.
The sound of explosions also rang out in the Golan Heights, the NGO said, without specifying their source.
The strike in Quneitra caused material damage, the organisation said, and has not yet been mentioned by official Syrian media.
9:15 am
Three Palestinians, including two teenagers, were killed by Israeli forces in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank early on Thursday, Palestinian official news agency WAFA said.
Israeli forces stormed the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, shooting dead a young man, Gebriel Awad, and wounding another, WAFA said.
In other incidents, a 14-year-old was killed by a bullet wound in the head in a refugee camp south of Bethlehem and a 16-year-old succumbed to his wounds after being shot in the town of Tulkarm, the news agency added.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
9:05 am
Biden to deliver Oval Office address about Israel
"Tomorrow, President Biden will address the nation to discuss our response to Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia's ongoing brutal war against Ukraine," Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokeswoman, said in an email Wednesday night to reporters.
The speech will be broadcast at 8 pm Eastern time on Thursday (19 October).
9:00 am
Senior US official resigns over 'lethal assistance to Israel'
A senior official in the US State Department has posted a public resignation letter over what he describes as "disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel," reports Al Jazeera.
"I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades and I decline to be a part of it for longer," Josh Paul, who was a Director of Political-Military Affairs for the State Department, said in the letter posted to his LinkedIn account.
Paul, who worked on arms transfers for the United States, said he could no longer "work in support of rushing more arms to one side". It was "our responsibility [to] be able to name gross violations of human rights no matter who carries them out", he added.
According to Al Jazeera, the United States provides more than $3.8bn of military aid to Israel a year.
8:45 am
Aid delivery may happen by Friday: Biden
The aid shipment to Gaza will likely not cross until Friday, Biden has said, citing road repairs.
"They're going to patch the road, they have to fill in potholes to get these trucks through. And that's going to occur - they expect it will take about eight hours tomorrow [Thursday]. So there may be nothing rolling through until... probably until Friday," he told reporters on Wednesday, according to BBC live updates.
He added that the 20 trucks represented a "first tranche" but said "150 or something" trucks were waiting in total. Whether or not those were allowed to cross will depend on "how it goes".
8:40 am
Israel confirms new attack on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon
An update from the Lebanon-Israel border, where the Israeli military says it has hit targets belonging to Hezbollah on the Lebanese side of the restive border, in response to shooting attacks.
The military said that the targets included an observation point facing the sea, from which anti-tank missiles had been fired at Rosh HaNikra, in northwest Israel.
Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV had earlier reported that Israeli air attacks had hit two locations in Lebanon (22:49 GMT). Al Jazeera Arabic reported that two people were injured in the attacks.
8:30 am
US reports deal with Egypt to restart aid to Gaza as protests rock Middle East
Egypt agreed to reopen its border crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow aid to reach Palestinians, the US said, as the humanitarian crisis worsened in the narrow enclave and anti-Israel protests flared across the Middle East.
The region remained volatile in the aftermath of an explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital late on Tuesday, which Palestinian officials said killed 471 people and blamed on what they said was an Israeli air strike.
Israel and the US said the cause was a failed rocket launch by anti-Israeli Palestinian militants in Gaza who denied responsibility.
8:15 am
'Dozens of deaths, injuries' reported as Israeli warplanes hit central Gaza
Dozens of people have been killed and injured following the latest Israeli air raid in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
A video posted by Al Jazeera Arabic on X, formerly Twitter, showed several people digging through the rubble of a bombed-out building in Deir al-Balah.
7:55 am
Thousands protesting in Philippines against Israeli hostilities
In Marawi, in the Southern Philippines, there is a huge gathering of Filipino Muslims in solidarity against Israeli aggression in Palestine.
7:40 am
UK PM Sunak to visit Israel on Thursday
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will arrive in Israel on Thursday (19 October) and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, before travelling on to other regional capitals, his office said.
Sunak will share his condolences for the loss of life in Israel and Gaza as a result of the 7 October attack on Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas fighters, his office said and warn against further escalation of conflict in the region.
He said a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday which killed hundreds of Palestinians should be "a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict", pledging Britain would be at "the forefront of this effort".
7:20 am
UN says one million people are displaced in Gaza
The United Nations is reporting that around one million people have fled their homes in Gaza, almost one-half of the besieged enclave's population.
This includes about 352,000 people who are seeking shelter in schools run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in central and southern Gaza, according to the UN's latest humanitarian update.
The update described the conditions inside UNWRA schools as "increasingly dire". One of those schools, in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, sheltering some 4,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), was "hit during an Israeli air strike", killing at least six people on Monday afternoon, the UN said.
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6:50 am
Deaths, injuries reported after Israel air raid near school in Gaza
A new Israeli bombardment near a school in southern Gaza has resulted in deaths and injuries, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
The report said that the strike hit the vicinity of Ahmed Abdel Aziz School, located west of the southern city of Khan Younis.
A video clip posted by Al Jazeera Arabic showed frantic medical personnel rushing injured people into a hospital.
The exact number of deaths and injuries was not immediately available.
6:15 am
Egypt announces 'sustainable' aid corridor to Gaza
More now on Egypt agreeing to open up the Rafah crossing to allow in up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza.
US President Joe Biden made the announcement earlier, and now Egypt confirms that the "sustainable" passage of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip will pass through the crossing.
"Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and American President Joe Biden have agreed on the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah terminal," said presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy in a statement, without specifying a date.
A readout of the conversation between the two leaders said the aid would be coordinated by relevant authorities in the two countries with international humanitarian groups, under the supervision of the United Nations.
6:00 am
The US uses its veto again at the UN Security Council
Calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, dominated the debate at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, but the day ended with another US veto in favour of Israel.
Here's what happened at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
- The US vetoed a Brazil-led resolution calling for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Hamas to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
- Twelve members voted in favour of the draft text, while Russia and Britain abstained. Russia had proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire earlier this week, but it was rejected.
- US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Washington was disappointed the Brazilian draft resolution made no mention of Israel's "rights to self-defence".
- China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun accuses the US of misleading council members after it did not express opposition during negotiations. He described the vote as "nothing short of unbelievable".
- Russia said it has now asked for the 193-member UN General Assembly to be convened for an emergency special session on the conflict.
- UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned that there is a "very real, and extremely dangerous" risk of an expansion of the conflict as the UN fails to take immediate action.
- UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said an urgent mechanism was needed "by all relevant parties to allow for a regular provision of emergency needs throughout Gaza".
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Disclaimer: The information and infograpghs provided in this thread have been gathered from sources, including BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and other news networks.
