With updates from Rushdi Abualouf in Gaza; Lyse Doucet, Lucy Williamson in southern Israel; Jeremy Bowen, Yolande Knell, Tom Bateman and Joel Gunter in Jerusalem; Anna Foster in northern Israel; and Hugo Bachega in Beirut
Throngs of people in Gaza have moved to the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, where the Rafah crossing with Egypt’s border is located, after they were warned to evacuate ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion.
Egypt has agreed to open the crossing for aid delivery into Gaza – this may happen by Friday at the earliest – but there has been no mention of people being allowed to leave.
Doctor: Operating room ceiling ‘fell on us’ after explosion
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was working at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital when it was rocked by an explosion on Tuesday night.
The surgeon from north London said the ceiling of the operating room “fell on us” as he was carrying out a procedure.
Dr Abu-Sittah had earlier told the BBC he had been working every day until 1am in dire conditions, with children comprising 40% of the patients he has seen.
He added that resources were running out fast with water pressure now insufficient to supply some of the equipment.
Video content
Video caption: ‘I was in the operating room when the missile struck’‘I was in the operating room when the missile struck’
It was a scene of devastation outside the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, which was hit by a blast on Tuesday night.
BBC reporter Rushdi Abualouf, reporting from outside the hospital, said people were still “collecting body parts”.
Palestinian officials say the explosion was caused by an Israeli air strike. But the Israeli military say it was the result of a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad – an accusation the militant group has rejected.
Video content
Video caption: At the scene of hospital blast: ‘People are still collecting body parts’At the scene of hospital blast: ‘People are still collecting body parts’
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest
It’s just past 07:30 in Israel. The US has secured a deal with Egypt to deliver much-needed aid into Gaza, signaling a glimmer of hope for civilians whose supplies have been cut off.
Here is what else you need to know:
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has agreed to open up the Rafah crossing at its border with Gaza to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza. This comes after US President Joe Biden’s high-stakes visit to Israel. Biden has said the aid delivery could start arriving from Friday
There has been no mention of people being allowed to leave Gaza via Rafah. Asked by reporters on the possibility, Biden said: “We’re going to get people out, but I’m not going to go into any detail with you now”
Throngs of people and trucks carrying aid supplies have lined up on the Gaza and Egypt sides of the crossing, respectively, awaiting its reopening
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to land in Israel early on Thursday, where he will meet his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog
The Palestinian miliitant group Hamas blamed Israel for the devastation at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, but the Israeli military says the deadly blast was caused by a Palestinian rocket which misfired. Biden has backed Israel’s claims
Family tell of heartbreak after Israel kidnap live-stream
More than a week on from the 7 October attacks on civilians in southern Israel, relatives of the people missing are using videos that have emerged from the attacks to try and piece together what has happened to their loved ones.
One of them is Nir Darwish, a UK-based relative of a family of five who disappeared from the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
The attackers live-streamed the family – Noam Elyakim, his partner Dikla Arava, her 17-year-old son Tomer, and Noam’s two daughters Daphna, 15, and Ella, 8 – as they held them captive. Darwish confirmed earlier this week that Noam, Dikla and Tomer have been killed.
Several photos posted by Hamas show Ella and Daphna in captivity – Darwish believe the girls are being held in Gaza and is pessimistic about what would happen to them.
“They are sitting [in the photos] on a mattress and there is no natural light, so that’s 100% in Gaza,” he tells the BBC.
Throngs of people in Gaza have moved to the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, where the Rafah crossing with Egypt’s border is located, after they were warned to evacuate ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion.
Egypt has agreed to open the crossing for aid delivery into Gaza – this may happen by Friday at the earliest – but there has been no mention of people being allowed to leave.
Israel has said it will not prevent aid deliveries as long as supplies do not reach Hamas militants.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Bakery staff prepare bread packages as for people who have gathered in RafahImage caption: Bakery staff prepare bread packages as for people who have gathered in Rafah
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Boys refilling their bottles at a mobile cisternImage caption: Boys refilling their bottles at a mobile cistern
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossingImage caption: Trucks carrying humanitarian aid lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Egyptian volunteers gather to pray after the blast at a Gaza hospital on 17 OctImage caption: Egyptian volunteers gather to pray after the blast at a Gaza hospital on 17 Oct
Why is the Rafah crossing Gaza’s lifeline?
BBCCopyright: BBC
The Rafah crossing is the southernmost post of exit from Gaza and borders Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
Usually, it is not easy for Palestinians to leave Gaza via Rafah. Those who wish to must register with the local Palestinian authorities up to four weeks in advance and may be rejected by either the Palestinian or Egyptian authorities with little explanation.
Rafah is now the only crossing point for humanitarian aid, after Israel shut other border crossings from and into the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians have been gathering at the Rafah crossing in the hope of leaving ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive. The UN has also been positioning food and medical supplies at the border point preparing for its opening.
US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday agreed to open up the crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza. This will likely happen by Friday, said President Biden.
Asked by reporters on the possibility of letting people leave via Rafah, Biden said: “We’re going to get people out, but I’m not going to go into any detail with you now.”
We heard earlier that US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have agreed to open up the Rafah crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza.
The shipment 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.
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”.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters onboard Air Force OneImage caption: US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters onboard Air Force One
‘Israel will follow on its pledge to crush Hamas’ – Ex-US national security adviser
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Former US National Security Advisor HR McMaster has told BBC’s Radio 4 The World Tonight that he sees an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza as inevitable, given that Hamas presents an “existential threat” to Israel.
“Israel will follow up on its pledge to crush Hamas,” he says, describing the goal as “achievable”.
The hostages that Hamas has taken creates an even greater need for a ground invasion, he believes.
“I don’t see any way out for Israel except to temporarily occupy at least portions if not all of Gaza,” says McMaster, who served under former President Trump from 2017 to 2018.
He adds that if Hezbollah begins attacking Israel from the north, the US should “intervene” on behalf of its ally.
“I think that if there was a second front opened up with those 110,000 missiles that Hezbollah has aimed at Israel, I think the chances of US direct involvement are quite high.”
US warning Iran through private channels – Ex-Nato ambassador
A former US ambassador to Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – tells the BBC that the US is likely communicating with Iran through private channels on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“We do know that the US has been communicating with Iran privately through channels that are established for that very purpose,” says Ivo Daalder, who was US ambassador to Nato from 2009 to 2013.
“And Iran, no doubt, knows what the US is prepared to do. It is just not something that the president at this point is willing to say publicly, nor probably should,” told BBC’s Newsday programme.
Earlier this week the White House’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US has held talks with Iran to warn the country against intervening in the conflict.
There are fears that Iran’s involvement could widen the conflict into the broader Middle East region. Iranian officials reportedly celebrated Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 Oct, while the Iran-funded Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon has been exchanging fire with Israeli military in recent days.
Listen: Gaza Hospital – Chaos, claim and counter claim
International Correspondent Lyse Doucet speaks with Middle East Bureau Chief Jo Floto in this latest episode of The Conflict podcast.
The two assess the mood in the region, reflect on US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and discuss how journalists are still able to report in Gaza.
An Israeli tank seen moving along the boundary with GazaImage caption: An Israeli tank seen moving along the boundary with Gaza
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Smoke rises from Gaza amid an Israeli bombardment on WednesdayImage caption: Smoke rises from Gaza amid an Israeli bombardment on Wednesday
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
In Gaza, people gathered outside the Al Ahli hospital, where hundreds of civilians died in an explosionImage caption: In Gaza, people gathered outside the Al Ahli hospital, where hundreds of civilians died in an explosion
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in IsraelImage caption: Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Israel
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
A Republican congressman was seen silently holding an Israeli flag over a group of protesters at the US Capitol calling for a ceasefireImage caption: A Republican congressman was seen silently holding an Israeli flag over a group of protesters at the US Capitol calling for a ceasefire
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
In Spain, protests broke out outside the European Commission headquarters in BarcelonaImage caption: In Spain, protests broke out outside the European Commission headquarters in Barcelona
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
In the Philippines, protesters held up a depiction of Joe Biden as the devilImage caption: In the Philippines, protesters held up a depiction of Joe Biden as the devil
‘All Hamas care about is getting power’
Family handoutCopyright: Family handout
Iris Weinstein Haggai with her family and parents Judi and Gad who were taken hostage last SaturdayImage caption: Iris Weinstein Haggai with her family and parents Judi and Gad who were taken hostage last Saturday
Earlier today, Iris Weinstein Haggai spoke to the BBC about her parents, Judi and Gad, who have been missing since the attack and are thought to be held captive in Gaza.
“My dad dying is my biggest fear. But dying could be better in this situation”, she added, as she talked about imagining her mum’s “little tiny body being thrown somewhere in Gaza or tortured”.
“I am terrified for this world, for Jewish people and terrified that hate is taking over.”
Iris was also clear in her condemnation of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
“This is not a government who want to make the Palestinian lives better,” she said.
“This is a terror group, a criminal gang – all they care about is getting power.
“If they wanted to make Palestinian lives better they could have made Gaza a heaven by now.”
‘We thought it would be safe’: At the scene of Gaza hospital blast
Rushdi Abu Alouf
BBC News, Gaza City
Blood-soaked mattresses are strewn across the courtyard of the Al-Ahli Arab hospital, along with clothing and personal possessions left behind in the chaos that followed the blast and the huge fire it caused.
In a nearby car park lie the smouldering wrecks of more than a dozen cars. The surrounding buildings are also damaged, apparently pockmarked by shrapnel.
But no large impact crater is visible.
There is an atmosphere of panic, with people struggling to understand what happened at a place that was supposed to be protected under international humanitarian law.
“We left our home to come here,” a woman who survived the explosion told the BBC.
“We thought it would be safe, but then it got bombed.”
Many staying inside the courtyard were elderly or infirm, unable to leave for the south because they did not have access to transport.
Read more about the Al-Ahli Arab hospital explosion here.
.Copyright: .
Egypt announces ‘sustainable’ aid corridor to Gaza
EPACopyright: EPA
Egyptian NGO volunteers protested at the Rafah crossing, demanding aid delivery, on WednesdayImage caption: Egyptian NGO volunteers protested at the Rafah crossing, demanding aid delivery, on Wednesday
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.
Inside an Israeli ‘war room’ on the volatile Lebanon border
Anna Foster
Reporting from northern Israel
BBCCopyright: BBC
The unit constantly monitors cameras trained on more than 100km (62 miles) of Lebanese borderImage caption: The unit constantly monitors cameras trained on more than 100km (62 miles) of Lebanese border
We’re in a ‘Hamal’ – Hebrew shorthand for ‘war room’ – high in the mountains on the Israel-Lebanon border.
There are no windows, and before you can pass through the solid door you have to leave behind mobile phones and smart watches – anything that could give away this secret location.
Inside, a team of soldiers watches screens around the clock.
Each shows grainy black-and-white images from cameras that are constantly trained on more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) of Lebanese border.
This surveillance job is exclusively done by women.
One of them, Sergeant I, was on duty and called in an air strike when she saw shadowy figures approaching the border wall.
“I recognised a group of terrorists on the screens and understood that something was wrong,” she told me.
“It’s scary, and it’s stressful, but I have to keep it cool”.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said it is striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
It has not yet given any further information.
Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV reported that Israeli air strikes targeted two villages in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday.
The missiles were fired at Kafr Shuba and near Odaisseh, the channel added.
Hezbollah said it carried out attacks on Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday.
Hezbollah – like Hamas – has been designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other countries.
Backed by Iran, it has a strong military and political presence in Lebanon, and wields considerable power in a country without a functioning government or president.
In 2006, it fought a devastating war with Israel in which 1,200 people died.
UN agency’s supplies ‘dwindling and running out fast’
Earlier, President Biden said Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah crossing to a handful of lorries loaded with aid for Gaza.
International aid agencies say the need for aid is urgent.
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNWRA, said they were providing aid where possible, but said they are “overwhelmed”.
“Our supplies are dwindling and running out fast,” she says. “Our staff are also very, very tired.
“They have been impacted themselves by the war. Many of them lost loved ones. We have sadly at UNWRA lost 14 staff members and these numbers continue to increase.”
Touma said the attacks on Gaza had meant that the agency had to relocate its operation to the south of Gaza where conditions to help people were far from ideal.
What’s been happening?
EPA-EFE/REXCopyright: EPA-EFE/REX
Here’s the latest from Israel and Gaza.
US President Joe Biden recently left Israel after visiting the country in a show of support – he will make a public address from the White House on Thursday evening
Egypt’s president has agreed to open up the Rafah crossing to allow in up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza
British PM Rishi Sunak is on his way to the Middle East and will arrive in Israel on Thursday morning
Fallout continues from the huge blast that ripped through a crowded area at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, killing many people. Palestinian health officials say 471 people were killed
Israel strongly denies any involvement the hospital explosion in Gaza, and President Biden backed their claim, saying it was supported by “data” he had seen from the US defence department
Israel was immediately blamed by Hamas but the Israel Defense Forces said the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian militant rocket
A range of Arab countries joined Hamas in blaming Israel for the explosion, and some Arab leaders cancelled meetings with Biden
BBC Verify
WATCH: What footage and images show about hospital blast
Video content
Video caption: Watch: What footage and images tell us about the Gaza hospital blastWatch: What footage and images tell us about the Gaza hospital blast
Caroline Hawley and the BBC Verify team have have been looking at video and stills of the explosion and its aftermath.
Watch this video to find out how they verified the first images of the explosion and what the blast scene can tell us.
Biden to address the nation on Thursday evening
US President Joe Biden will deliver a televised speech on Thursday at 20:00 local time (00:00 GMT Friday), the White House has just announced.
In his address, Biden will “discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine”, Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Congress is currently without a Speaker of the House, making it impossible to pass legislation that could provide funding to Israel and Ukraine.
The White House announcement was made after Biden visited Israel to meet its leadership. Also on Wednesday, he held a phone call with Egypt’s president.
Live Reporting
Edited by Yvette Tan
Get involved
Scenes at the Gaza-Egypt border
Throngs of people in Gaza have moved to the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, where the Rafah crossing with Egypt’s border is located, after they were warned to evacuate ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion.
Egypt has agreed to open the crossing for aid delivery into Gaza – this may happen by Friday at the earliest – but there has been no mention of people being allowed to leave.
Doctor: Operating room ceiling ‘fell on us’ after explosion
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was working at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital when it was rocked by an explosion on Tuesday night.
The surgeon from north London said the ceiling of the operating room “fell on us” as he was carrying out a procedure.
Dr Abu-Sittah had earlier told the BBC he had been working every day until 1am in dire conditions, with children comprising 40% of the patients he has seen.
He added that resources were running out fast with water pressure now insufficient to supply some of the equipment.
Video content
It was a scene of devastation outside the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, which was hit by a blast on Tuesday night.
BBC reporter Rushdi Abualouf, reporting from outside the hospital, said people were still “collecting body parts”.
Palestinian officials say the explosion was caused by an Israeli air strike. But the Israeli military say it was the result of a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad – an accusation the militant group has rejected.
Video content
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest
It’s just past 07:30 in Israel. The US has secured a deal with Egypt to deliver much-needed aid into Gaza, signaling a glimmer of hope for civilians whose supplies have been cut off.
Here is what else you need to know:
Family tell of heartbreak after Israel kidnap live-stream
More than a week on from the 7 October attacks on civilians in southern Israel, relatives of the people missing are using videos that have emerged from the attacks to try and piece together what has happened to their loved ones.
One of them is Nir Darwish, a UK-based relative of a family of five who disappeared from the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
The attackers live-streamed the family – Noam Elyakim, his partner Dikla Arava, her 17-year-old son Tomer, and Noam’s two daughters Daphna, 15, and Ella, 8 – as they held them captive. Darwish confirmed earlier this week that Noam, Dikla and Tomer have been killed.
Several photos posted by Hamas show Ella and Daphna in captivity – Darwish believe the girls are being held in Gaza and is pessimistic about what would happen to them.
“They are sitting [in the photos] on a mattress and there is no natural light, so that’s 100% in Gaza,” he tells the BBC.
Here’s Darwish’s account in full.
Scenes at the Gaza-Egypt border
Throngs of people in Gaza have moved to the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, where the Rafah crossing with Egypt’s border is located, after they were warned to evacuate ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion.
Egypt has agreed to open the crossing for aid delivery into Gaza – this may happen by Friday at the earliest – but there has been no mention of people being allowed to leave.
Israel has said it will not prevent aid deliveries as long as supplies do not reach Hamas militants.
Why is the Rafah crossing Gaza’s lifeline?
The Rafah crossing is the southernmost post of exit from Gaza and borders Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
Usually, it is not easy for Palestinians to leave Gaza via Rafah. Those who wish to must register with the local Palestinian authorities up to four weeks in advance and may be rejected by either the Palestinian or Egyptian authorities with little explanation.
Rafah is now the only crossing point for humanitarian aid, after Israel shut other border crossings from and into the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians have been gathering at the Rafah crossing in the hope of leaving ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive. The UN has also been positioning food and medical supplies at the border point preparing for its opening.
US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday agreed to open up the crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza. This will likely happen by Friday, said President Biden.
Asked by reporters on the possibility of letting people leave via Rafah, Biden said: “We’re going to get people out, but I’m not going to go into any detail with you now.”
Here’s more on the Rafah crossing.
Aid delivery may happen by Friday – Biden
We heard earlier that US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have agreed to open up the Rafah crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza.
The shipment 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.
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”.
‘Israel will follow on its pledge to crush Hamas’ – Ex-US national security adviser
Former US National Security Advisor HR McMaster has told BBC’s Radio 4 The World Tonight that he sees an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza as inevitable, given that Hamas presents an “existential threat” to Israel.
“Israel will follow up on its pledge to crush Hamas,” he says, describing the goal as “achievable”.
The hostages that Hamas has taken creates an even greater need for a ground invasion, he believes.
“I don’t see any way out for Israel except to temporarily occupy at least portions if not all of Gaza,” says McMaster, who served under former President Trump from 2017 to 2018.
He adds that if Hezbollah begins attacking Israel from the north, the US should “intervene” on behalf of its ally.
“I think that if there was a second front opened up with those 110,000 missiles that Hezbollah has aimed at Israel, I think the chances of US direct involvement are quite high.”
US warning Iran through private channels – Ex-Nato ambassador
A former US ambassador to Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – tells the BBC that the US is likely communicating with Iran through private channels on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“We do know that the US has been communicating with Iran privately through channels that are established for that very purpose,” says Ivo Daalder, who was US ambassador to Nato from 2009 to 2013.
“And Iran, no doubt, knows what the US is prepared to do. It is just not something that the president at this point is willing to say publicly, nor probably should,” told BBC’s Newsday programme.
Earlier this week the White House’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US has held talks with Iran to warn the country against intervening in the conflict.
There are fears that Iran’s involvement could widen the conflict into the broader Middle East region. Iranian officials reportedly celebrated Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 Oct, while the Iran-funded Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon has been exchanging fire with Israeli military in recent days.
Listen: Gaza Hospital – Chaos, claim and counter claim
International Correspondent Lyse Doucet speaks with Middle East Bureau Chief Jo Floto in this latest episode of The Conflict podcast.
The two assess the mood in the region, reflect on US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and discuss how journalists are still able to report in Gaza.
You can listen to the latest episode here
The day in pictures
‘All Hamas care about is getting power’
Hamas continues to hold at least 199 people hostage in Gaza following the attack on Israel on 7 October.
Earlier today, Iris Weinstein Haggai spoke to the BBC about her parents, Judi and Gad, who have been missing since the attack and are thought to be held captive in Gaza.
“It is unfathomable,” she said when asked about the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.
“My dad dying is my biggest fear. But dying could be better in this situation”, she added, as she talked about imagining her mum’s “little tiny body being thrown somewhere in Gaza or tortured”.
“I am terrified for this world, for Jewish people and terrified that hate is taking over.”
Iris was also clear in her condemnation of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
“This is not a government who want to make the Palestinian lives better,” she said.
“This is a terror group, a criminal gang – all they care about is getting power.
“If they wanted to make Palestinian lives better they could have made Gaza a heaven by now.”
‘We thought it would be safe’: At the scene of Gaza hospital blast
Rushdi Abu Alouf
BBC News, Gaza City
Blood-soaked mattresses are strewn across the courtyard of the Al-Ahli Arab hospital, along with clothing and personal possessions left behind in the chaos that followed the blast and the huge fire it caused.
In a nearby car park lie the smouldering wrecks of more than a dozen cars. The surrounding buildings are also damaged, apparently pockmarked by shrapnel.
But no large impact crater is visible.
There is an atmosphere of panic, with people struggling to understand what happened at a place that was supposed to be protected under international humanitarian law.
“We left our home to come here,” a woman who survived the explosion told the BBC.
“We thought it would be safe, but then it got bombed.”
Many staying inside the courtyard were elderly or infirm, unable to leave for the south because they did not have access to transport.
Read more about the Al-Ahli Arab hospital explosion here.
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.
Inside an Israeli ‘war room’ on the volatile Lebanon border
Anna Foster
Reporting from northern Israel
We’re in a ‘Hamal’ – Hebrew shorthand for ‘war room’ – high in the mountains on the Israel-Lebanon border.
There are no windows, and before you can pass through the solid door you have to leave behind mobile phones and smart watches – anything that could give away this secret location.
Inside, a team of soldiers watches screens around the clock.
Each shows grainy black-and-white images from cameras that are constantly trained on more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) of Lebanese border.
This surveillance job is exclusively done by women.
One of them, Sergeant I, was on duty and called in an air strike when she saw shadowy figures approaching the border wall.
“I recognised a group of terrorists on the screens and understood that something was wrong,” she told me.
“It’s scary, and it’s stressful, but I have to keep it cool”.
IDF says it’s striking Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said it is striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
It has not yet given any further information.
Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV reported that Israeli air strikes targeted two villages in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday.
The missiles were fired at Kafr Shuba and near Odaisseh, the channel added.
Hezbollah said it carried out attacks on Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday.
Hezbollah – like Hamas – has been designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other countries.
Backed by Iran, it has a strong military and political presence in Lebanon, and wields considerable power in a country without a functioning government or president.
In 2006, it fought a devastating war with Israel in which 1,200 people died.
UN agency’s supplies ‘dwindling and running out fast’
Earlier, President Biden said Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah crossing to a handful of lorries loaded with aid for Gaza.
International aid agencies say the need for aid is urgent.
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNWRA, said they were providing aid where possible, but said they are “overwhelmed”.
“Our supplies are dwindling and running out fast,” she says. “Our staff are also very, very tired.
“They have been impacted themselves by the war. Many of them lost loved ones. We have sadly at UNWRA lost 14 staff members and these numbers continue to increase.”
Touma said the attacks on Gaza had meant that the agency had to relocate its operation to the south of Gaza where conditions to help people were far from ideal.
What’s been happening?
Here’s the latest from Israel and Gaza.
BBC Verify
WATCH: What footage and images show about hospital blast
Video content
Caroline Hawley and the BBC Verify team have have been looking at video and stills of the explosion and its aftermath.
Watch this video to find out how they verified the first images of the explosion and what the blast scene can tell us.
Biden to address the nation on Thursday evening
US President Joe Biden will deliver a televised speech on Thursday at 20:00 local time (00:00 GMT Friday), the White House has just announced.
In his address, Biden will “discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine”, Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Congress is currently without a Speaker of the House, making it impossible to pass legislation that could provide funding to Israel and Ukraine.
The White House announcement was made after Biden visited Israel to meet its leadership. Also on Wednesday, he held a phone call with Egypt’s president.
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