Image source, Getty Images

Israel has subjected Gaza to its heaviest bombardment yet, striking with ground and naval forces as well as from the air.

The Israeli army said the overnight operation was designed to destroy a network of tunnels used by Palestinian militants.

A BBC reporter in Gaza said there was heavy shelling involving gunboats, fighter jets and helicopters. The night sky over Gaza City was lit up by the explosions.

Fears of an Israeli incursion caused Palestinian families living near the border to flee. This came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted that it was "attacking in the Gaza Strip", but a military spokesman later said no troops entered Gaza.

Meanwhile Hamas fired three more volleys amounting to about 55 rockets in total into Israel on Thursday evening.

More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza and seven in Israel since fighting began on Monday.

Image source, Getty Images

The latest violence followed weeks of rising tensions, although the conflict between Jews and Palestinians has gone on for decades.

To find out more about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, please see our guide here.

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

Image source, EPA

The worsening conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is causing considerable embarrassment for those Arab governments that recently normalised relations with Israel.

The much-trumpeted Abraham Accords - that saw the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan all sign agreements with Israel - were always going to be hostage to events on the ground. Now those events have descended into deadly violence, any further public warming of relations between the Arab states and Israel has been put on hold.

The Abraham Accords, concluded with such fanfare in the final months of the Trump administration, saw several Arab countries not only formalise their relations with Israel but also embark on unprecedented cooperation with it, across a wide range of sectors including security and intelligence. Within weeks of the signings in Washington, the head of Israel's external intelligence agency, Mossad, was given a VIP welcome in the Gulf - something unthinkable even a year ago.

Yet today governments of the signatory nations, notably the UAE and Bahrain, find themselves in a deeply uncomfortable position.

Read more here from Frank Gardner:

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We are re-starting our live coverage on a fifth day of conflict between Israel and Gaza. Here are some of the latest developments:

• Many Palestinian families have fled their homes in Gaza to escape an intensified bombardment of the enclave by the Israeli military
• Video showed the night sky over Gaza City lit up by explosions from Israeli artillery, gunboats and air strikes
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas and other militant groups will pay a heavy price for firing rocket barrages into Israel - and the operation will continue for as long as necessary to restore quiet
• Israel has deployed troops to the border with Gaza but says they have not entered the territory
• More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza and seven have died in Israel since fighting began on Monday

Image source, Reuters

We're now pausing our live coverage of this fast-moving story - thanks for staying with us!

Just to recap, here are the main developments from the past 24 hours:

• Major airlines have halted flights to Israel's main Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv over security concerns
• Israeli planes carried out further strikes in Gaza, targeting what the military said were banks and intelligence buildings
• The Palestinian militant group Hamas fired further barrages of rockets towards Israel from Gaza
• Israel's military has called up 7,000 reservists and cancelled leave for all combat units amid reports of a possible ground operation
• More than 100 Palestinians and at least seven people in Israel have been killed since fighting began on Monday

You can still get all the latest updates on this story on the BBC News website.

Thursday's coverage was brought to you by a team of journalists in London: David Gritten, Ashitha Nagesh, Mal Siret and Yaroslav Lukov. The live page was edited by Thomas Spender and David Walker.

As fighting continues and the death toll rises, the BBC has reporters on the ground in both Israel and Gaza.

BBC correspondents Yolande Knell and Rushdi Abualouf are bringing us updates on the current violence in Israel and Gaza respectively.

Meanwhile, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports on the wider, long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

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Joe Biden’s comment that he has not seen a “significant overreaction” by Israel in its response to rocket attacks from Gaza and Lebanon won’t sit well with the portions of his Democratic base who view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions as excessive.

On Wednesday night Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib told BBC Newsnight that the US should threaten to cut off military support to Israel if it doesn’t rein in its military.

Biden’s comments move US policy in the opposite direction - and will be seen as acceptance, if not approval, of Israel’s current military posture.

The political consequences for Biden could be significant. Up until now, Biden has been able to count on the backing of left-wing progressives in his coalition as he pursues his political priorities.

They may have wanted a more ambitious effort on immigration reform or increasing the minimum wage, for example, but they have – sometimes grudgingly – continued to rally to his side.

If they feel Biden is turning his back on what they view as gross human rights abuses, they could start to push back. With a narrow Democratic majority in Congress, any Democratic defections or dissent could thoroughly derail Biden’s legislative agenda.

Image source, Reuters

Violence between Jews and Arabs continued on Thursday in several locations, Israeli police and media report.

In the city of Lod, one person was injured when shots were fired at a group of Jews, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

"Police searching for suspects. Curfew being implemented," Rosenfeld tweeted., external

In Ramle, near Tel Aviv, a police officer was injured by gunfire from Arab rioters, the Times of Israel reported.

The newspaper also said that far-right rioters attacked journalists from the Kan public broadcaster in southern Tel Aviv.

An Israeli soldier was also beaten up in Jaffa as police stopped far-right Jews from carrying out a march.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin earlier warned of "civil war" in the country as violent confrontations escalated.

Image source, Reuters

Those involved in the latest flare up of violence in the Middle East may be targeted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of an existing investigation into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Fatou Bensouda, the ICC's top prosecutor, told Reuters news agency: "These are events that we are looking at very seriously."

She added that the court was "monitoring [this] very closely and I remind that an investigation has opened and the evolution of these events could also be something we look at".

Israel has refused to co-operate with the wider investigation so far, accusing Bensouda's office of anti-Semitic bias.

More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the latest violence began on Monday, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday.

Officials said 103 people had been killed, including 27 children.

Another 580 people have been wounded, the ministry added.

At least seven people in Israel have been killed since Monday, including one child.

Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has released footage of a new type of rocket it said was fired into southern Israel earlier today.

A spokesman claimed the "Ayyash 250" had a range of 250km (155 miles) and was launched towards Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat.

The claims have not been independently verified, but the Times of Israel reports, external that a rocket fired from Gaza travelled 250km into Israeli territory and landed in the Hevel Eilot region, north of Eilat.

The paper says it may be the longest-range projectile Hamas has ever fired into Israel.

Three rockets have been fired from Lebanon into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has tweeted., external

The IDF said this happened "a short while ago", without providing any further details.

The rockets did not endanger Israelis, and so no sirens or air defence systems were activated, Israeli media report.

No group has so far claimed that it was behind the rocket-fire.

There are several militant groups operating in Lebanon. They include the Hezbollah movement, which fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006.

We've reported previously that Israel has moved more troops to the border with Gaza.

Images from the border this evening show Israeli artillery shelling Gaza, a lorry transporting artillery, and the trails of interceptors fired by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system at rockets launched from Gaza.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus tells AFP news agency that troops "are prepared, and continue to prepare, for various scenarios". He describes a ground offensive as "one scenario".

Hamas militants have launched hundreds of rockets at Israel after Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders and felled a multi-storey building in Gaza.

The escalation of the fighting, which began on Monday, has prompted the UN to warn of a "full-scale war".

The BBC's Ros Atkins looks at the recent events that triggered this latest violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

The US has reportedly blocked a request for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday to discuss the crisis.

A spokesman for the delegation for China, which currently presides over the council, said the US would not agree to hold a further video conference on the flare-up of violence.

Reuters reports that the US cited diplomatic efforts as the reason for its objection but left the door open for a possible meeting on Tuesday.

Image source, EPA

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations prompted by the escalating hostilities have taken place in several countries, including Belgium, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Pakistan, Turkey, the US and the UK.

In France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has asked the Paris police chief to ban demonstrations "in connection with the recent tensions in the Middle East".

This was due, he said, to "serious disturbances to public order" in 2014, when pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police at rallies against an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his concern over the spiralling violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

In a statement (in French), Mr Macron's office said "the return to calm and peace are our priorities"., external

Mr Macron on Thursday discussed the issue on the phone with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and planned to do the same with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the statement said.

Mr Macron also called for a "decisive relaunch" of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to achieve "a just and lasting peace".

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has been asked by reporters at the White House if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing enough to stop violence escalating.

"One of the things that I have seen thus far is that there has not been a significant overreaction," he said, adding that the US intelligence community had been in contact with their counterparts within the region.

"The question is how, how we get to a point, they get to a point, where there is a significant reduction in the attacks - particularly the rocket attacks that are indiscriminately fired into population centres."

The president described the situation as a "work in progress" and said the US had spoken with leaders including Mr Netanyahu.

The Israeli military says a further 160 rockets have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip since 07:00 local time this morning.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says dozens of the projectiles were intercepted by the country's Iron Dome missile defence system.

If you're just joining us, welcome. Here's a look at today's key developments as violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel intensifies:

• Israel's military says it has called up 7,000 reservists and cancelled leave for all combat units. About half of the reservists will reportedly be working in air-defence, artillery and medical units
• The move comes as Israel warns it may carry out a ground operation, with tanks and troops deployed to the border with Gaza
• Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft have carried out further strikes in Gaza, targeting what the military says were banks and intelligence buildings

• The Palestinian militant group Hamas has fired further barrages of rockets towards Israel from Gaza, and a spokesman for the group has said it has shown "only a small part" of its capabilities

• Inbound flights have been suspended at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv and diverted to Ramon airport in the south. Some airlines have suspended flights to Israel
• An Israeli official said operations at Ramon airport were briefly suspended after a rocket landed in the area, but that it was now operating as usual, Haaretz newspaper reported
• There are also reports that Hamas militants have begun launching "suicide drones" into Israel
• The death toll continues to increase, with at least 87 people now killed in Gaza and seven in Israel