Image source, Family of Shani Louk

A mother has pleaded for information about her daughter, who she believes was kidnapped by Palestinian militants at a festival near the Gaza Strip.

Shani Louk, a German tourist, had been at a festival for peace when Hamas militants stormed the area.

Her mother says she saw a video of Shani "unconscious in a car" after being taken.

A number of Israeli civilians and soldiers are being held hostage by Hamas, the Israeli military has said.

Read more here.

As we've just reported, Israel says 600 people - including civilians and military - have been killed since Hamas launched its attacks from Gaza on Saturday.

Here's some context for that figure from the Jewish Virtual Library,, external which collates the figures:

• Since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, at least 1,329 Israeli civilians have been murdered (not incuding soldiers and police)
• This includes 21 Israelis killed abroad in terror attacks directed specifically against Israeli targets, and three American diplomatic personnel killed in Gaza

We've just had another update on the death toll on the Palestinian side, too - with 370 killed by Israeli strikes since Saturday morning, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

About 2,200 people have been injured, the ministry's Facebook post, external reads.

More than 600 Israelis have been killed since Saturday, according to a Facebook post, external from the press office of the Israeli government.

It adds that more than 100 people have been kidnapped, and more than 2,000 injured.

In Gaza, at least 313 people have been killed following Israeli air strikes, according to Palestinian officials.

Image source, Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been speaking to CNN about the major attack on Israel by Palestinian militants.

He says the US government has received reports that several Americans have died in Israel - and that officials are trying to verify those reports.

The US is "likely" to give details on new military assistance for Israel later today, he says. "Our first focus is to make sure Israel has what it needs."

We've just received these pictures of a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in Beirut.

The rally, which saw people wave Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, followed Hezbollah’s limited artillery and missile strikes this morning on Israeli positions.

The attacks were “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”, a statement said. Israel responded with artillery strikes.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

A short time ago BBC Radio 4's The World this Weekend spoke to Gershon Baskin, who in 2011 negotiated the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for more than five years.

He said it was likely Hamas had taken its hostages underground, which made it very difficult for Israel to locate them.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Israel’s number one objective will be to find them through military operations, and not through negotiations," said Baskin.

He said he expected that after the air strikes, Israel would send ground troops into Gaza in a "massive military operation", with the objective of killing the leaders of Hamas and freeing the hostages.

We've reported all day on Israel's retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip, and they show no sign of ending.

The Israel Defence Forces have just tweeted:, external "IDF fighter jets just struck Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza that were used to attack Israel.

"We will continue to protect Israeli civilians."

Health authorities in Gaza say 313 people have been killed in the air strikes, with almost 2,000 wounded.

The Iranian president has spoken with the leader of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) after the latest developments, state media in Iran reports.

Details of Ebrahim Raisi's conversations with the two men were not disclosed.

Hamas is backed by Iran, which funds it and provides weapons and training.

We've just received footage of people scrambling for cover during an Israeli missile strike in a residential neighbourhood in north-west Gaza.

At least 313 people have been killed in air strikes in the Gaza Strip, with nearly 2,000 others wounded, Palestinian officials say.

In Israel, more than 500 people have been killed, local media say, and dozens of Israelis have been taken hostage.

Rushdi Abu Alouf
BBC News, Gaza City

I've been driving through central Gaza City, where the central main street is blocked by rubble from a building that was brought down.

One of the buildings destroyed is a significant hub for internet providers, so several parts of the Gaza Strip haven't had internet since last night.

Communication is hard, but I spoke to people yesterday - some were fleeing their homes.

Most of the people I met had mixed feelings.

Yesterday brought a moment of celebration for some Palestinians, who said Hamas was taking revenge for Israeli attacks. But on the other hand people here are worried any war will last for a very long time.

Israel has decided to cut electricity, fuel and goods supplies into Gaza and local people are really worried about the humanitarian situation.

All the shops are closed in the main street close to where I am now, except a few bakeries, and people have been queueing to stock up because they believe this war will drag on.

Video footage shows the moment an Israeli missile destroys a building close to the BBC's broadcast position in Gaza.

The footage was filmed on Saturday, as Israel began retaliatory strikes following the large-scale attack by Palestinian militants.

Since the attacks on Israel from Gaza began on Saturday, more than 500 Israelis have been killed, local media report - a total that has risen steadily in the past 24 hours.

In the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health said 313 people had been killed by Israeli air strikes, with almost 2,000 wounded.

More than 500 Israelis have been killed since Palestinian militants launched a major attack on Saturday, local media report.

How we verified footage of fierce gun battlepublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 8 October 2023

12:58 BST 8 October 2023

A few hours ago, video emerged on social media appearing to show a gun battle taking place somewhere between the Gaza border and Ashdod in Israel. Here's how we verified it as genuine.

The video was likely to have been taken recently - search engines hadn't yet indexed it, and the weather was a match for this morning.

The video was filmed from different places and angles, suggesting multiple cameras, but it clearly depicted the same incident.

The highway from Ashdod to the Gaza border is Route 4. When viewed on satellite imagery, it's mostly a straight road with a few distinctive bends. It also passes through several built-up areas.

The road in the videos has two bends and a large undeveloped field next to it. These features suggested a section of Route 4 that could be a match.

Following Google's street view at this point enabled us to match several distinguishing features, such as trees and bushes, lamp posts and pylons, and a unique ruin structure in the field parallel to the road.

Brief footage verified by BBC News shows a gunfight involving Israeli forces on the Route 4 highway between Ashdod and the Gaza border.

The incident is believed to have taken place earlier on Sunday.

We are seeing reports from Israel that Palestinian militants are in Magen in the south of the country.

There are videos being shared which also indicate this, but these have not been verified by BBC News.

The Times of Israel says there has been heavy gun battles and tank fire in the town.

We're now hearing updated figures from Israeli television stations which report that Palestinian militants have killed more than 400 Israelis since yesterday's attack began.

The reports add that 2,000 have been injured.

The Israel Defense Forces has issued an update on its ongoing evacuations.

Urim, Bari, Nahal Oz, Native Hatara, Zikim are the areas in the south of the country where residents are being asked to leave their homes.

Further evacuations "will be done according to the assessment of the situation", the military says.

Rushdi Abu Alouf
Reporting from Gaza City

The armed wing of Hamas has said this morning that within hours they will release the number of Israeli soldiers and civilians it has captured.

Hamas keep issuing statements saying that they will continue what they say is revenge for Israeli aggression.

The Health Ministry in Gaza - which is run by Hamas - says 313 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes.

An official told me more than half of them are civilians. The numbers also include more than 20 children and six women, one of whom was pregnant.

Israel says it is targeting the houses of Hamas commanders, but civilians are also caught in these attacks.

There have been appeals for Palestinians to come to hospitals and donate blood. Hospitals are struggling to deal with casualties, as the Gaza health system been struggling for a long time.