Image source, AL-KAWLAK FAMILY/DCIP/NRC

Of the 230 people killed in Gaza at least 65 are children, according to its health ministry. Of the 12 people killed in Israel, two children are among the dead, the country's medical service says.

Among the children killed in Gaza were sisters Yara, 9, and Rula, 5 from the al-Kawalek family. Both had been receiving treatment for trauma from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

The al-Kawaleks were polite girls who always did their homework on time, one of their teachers, who did not want be named, told the BBC.

Image source, Twitter

The youngest victim on the Israeli side is thought to be Ido Avigal, a five-year-old boy killed last Wednesday in the southern town of Sderot.

Ido was killed inside a fortified room in what the Israeli military described as an "incredibly rare" incident.

Rocket shrapnel pierced the protective metal plating used to cover the window of the room he was in, also injuring his mother and seven-year-old sister. He died of his injuries hours later.

You can read more about the children who have died in the fighting here.

Image source, Getty Images

Home to about two million people, the Gaza Strip is 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, an enclave bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt.

Find out more about what it is like to live in Gaza, from the economy to education, health and water.

Image source, Reuters

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has voiced support for Israel during his visit there.

"I came here to express my solidarity... Israel has the right to defend itself against this massive and unacceptable attack," Maas is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency at a joint news briefing with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi in Tel Aviv.

Maas also called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

"The number of victims is rising every day and this greatly concerns us, which is why we support the international efforts for a ceasefire and are convinced that the violence needs to end soon in the interest of the people," he said.

He is scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.

Image source, Getty Images

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israeli strikes have now killed 230 people, including 65 children, since the latest round of fighting began.

The ministry said among those killed on Wednesday was a disabled man, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old child.

Israel says it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties, including giving warnings to residents ahead of its attacks. It has also blamed many deaths on rockets misfired by Hamas, and has criticised the militant group for placing military assets in densely populated civilian areas.

Paul Adams
BBC diplomatic correspondent, Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

If Joe Biden was hoping for what he called a significant de-escalation in the conflict, he hasn’t got it yet.

BBC colleagues in Gaza reported a long night of bombardment, from air and sea.

But there was an eight-hour lull in rocket attacks from Hamas, which could be seen as a step on President Biden’s “road to a ceasefire”.

Hamas officials sound confident that the fighting could end in the next day or two.

Rhetorically, at least, that’s not the impression Israel wants to give. Expect to hear more talk of an operation continuing at “full throttle”, with plenty of targets left to hit.

After speaking to President Biden yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “determined to continue this operation until its goal is achieved - to restore peace and security to you, the citizens of Israel".

But the clock is clearly ticking. The Biden administration has signalled its impatience.

As they prepare to call a halt soon, Israeli officials are putting a positive gloss on the operation so far.

They say they’ve achieved more in the past 10 days than they did in seven weeks in 2014, without needing to send troops in on the ground.

After a brief lull, barrages of rockets are being fired once again from within Gaza.

Sirens have rung out in several Israeli towns bordering the territory. Israel's military says 80 rockets and mortar shells were fired overnight, but around 90% of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome - Israeli's missile defence system.

Elsewhere, Hamas said it fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military vehicle, according to Palestinian media. Later, Israel's military said a solder was lightly wounded after an anti-tank missile was fired at an empty bus he was standing next to near the Gaza border.

As fighting continues, there were more than 100 Israeli air strikes in Gaza early on Thursday, along with bombardments by Israel's navy.

Among its targets, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they hit a number of rocket launchers, two weapons depots operated by Hamas, and the homes of other commanders from the group. They also continued their campaign against a network of underground tunnels used by Hamas.

Medics said four people were injured in an airstrike on the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf tweeted video showing casualties arriving at the local hospital.

Two Thai men working on a farm near Israel’s border with Gaza were killed on Tuesday by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants.

Another Thai farm worker, Aryae Aryi, told the BBC what was it like working under near-constant threat of attack.

Video produced by BBC Thai's Issariya Praithongyaem, edited by Kaona Pongpipat and with footage from Aryae Aryi.

Image source, EPA

A ceasefire could come as early as Friday, according to people involved in the discussions, as pressure mounts from Washington and other foreign capitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. , external

Egyptian officials have made headway in negotiations with Hamas’ leadership, and the Israeli military has privately conceded that it is nearing the completion of its objectives, US and foreign officials are quoted as saying by the newspaper.

It also cites one unnamed US official as saying that the Biden administration anticipates that a ceasefire could come this week, barring any unforeseen clashes that might topple the fragile discussions.

Meanwhile, Hamas officials told CNN on Wednesday that a truce could be "imminent, possibly within 24 hours".

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed he is “determined” to continue fighting until “peace and security” are restored - despite strong American pressure to "de-escalate".

Image source, Getty Images

Workers at Israel's largest electricity supplier have said they will not repair power lines to Gaza until Hamas releases the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media reports.

The soldiers, Hadar Golden and Oron Shaul, were killed during the conflict in 2014.

The group, based at Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), have also demanded the release of civilian Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli who crossed over into Gaza that same year.

They did not mention Hisham al-Sayed - another Israeli citizen who travelled to Gaza and is being held by Hamas.

In response to the demand, IEC has said it was a “government company, subject to the provisions of the law, and we believe that electricity is an essential product that is outside the conflict”.

The company added that it “hopes the boys are brought home”.

Image source, Handout

Without warning, an Israeli air strike destroyed the four-storey building in the Gaza Strip where Dr Ayman Abu al-Ouf lived early on Sunday.

The doctor, who was head of internal medicine at the Palestinian territory's main hospital, was killed along with 12 members of his extended family.

They included his mother and father, his wife Reem, and their 17-year-old son Tawfik and 12-year-old-daughter Tala.

"This is a really big loss not just for us personally because we knew Ayman - this is also a loss for his patients and students," Dr Ghaith al-Zaanin, a close friend and former colleague who lives in Canada, told the BBC.

Image source, Handout

As well as being in charge of internal medicine at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Dr Abu al-Ouf oversaw its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

He supervised the treatment of an entire ward of people with severe Covid-19 in a place where there are few specialists in respiratory illnesses.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, which is now in its second week.

Here are some of the biggest recent developments:

• After a brief lull, bombardments have continued by both sides.
• Israel says it conducted a number of overnight strikes in Gaza, with targets including a weapons depot and rocket launch site in southern Gaza
• Israel's military says 80 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza during the night. Roughly 90% were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, and no direct casualties have been reported
• Hamas officials told CNN on Wednesday that a ceasefire could be "imminent, possibly within 24 hours"
• But according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted in a phone call to US President Joe Biden that he was “determined” to continue fighting until “peace and security” were restored.