Summary

  • US President Joe Biden has described Hamas' attack on Israel as an "act of sheer evil", accusing the group of "butchering" people

  • Details of a massacre in an Israeli village where fighting continued until Tuesday morning have emerged

  • Babies were killed in their bedrooms, according to an Israeli general who has been removing bodies of adults and children from the kibbutz

  • Israeli soldiers also told BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen that some of the dead had been beheaded

  • Hamas earlier launched a fresh rocket attack on southern Israel after warning people to leave the city of Ashkelon

  • Israel has also continued to heavily bomb Gaza; a BBC reporter there said it was the worst bombing he had seen in 20 years, with neighbourhoods flattened

  • The death toll in Israel has reached 1,000 and more than 900 people have been killed in Gaza

Live Reporting

Edited by Brandon Livesay

  1. Israel says two Hamas officials killed in airstrikes

    Two senior Hamas officials have been killed in air strikes in Gaza, the Israeli military says.

    Zakaria Abu Muammar and Jawad Abu Shamal, members of the Hamas political bureau, died after a raid in Khan Yunis early this morning, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say.

    An IDF spokesman says Shamal was Hamas's economy minister, and was involving in the "funding of terrorism inside and outside the Gaza Strip" as well as leading operations targeting Israeli citizens.

    Muammar was the head of Hamas's international relations office, and was involved in the planning of "numerous terrorist activities", the IDF alleges.

    Hamas has not confirmed the two men's deaths, and the BBC has not been able to independently verify the Israeli claims.

  2. What's been going on?

    It's been another day with updates coming in very quickly. Here are the key things you need to know to get up to speed...

    • Hamas militants warned Israeli residents to leave the city of Ashkelon by 17:00 local time (15:00 BST), and shortly after that time passed, rocket fire was heard in the city
    • Relatives of missing US nationals have given a press conference in Tel Aviv detailing the harrowing moments they last heard from their family members
    • The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes since Saturday has risen to 830 people
    • Israel's embassy in the US says the death toll on the Israeli side has now risen to at least 1,008 people
    • Hamas said it would not negotiate on hostages until the "end of the battle". Between 100-150 Israelis are currently believed to be hostages, according to Israel's ambassador to the United Nations

    Air strikes are continuing both in Gaza and Israel, and we'll continue bringing you the latest right here.

    Intercepted missiles float in the skyAtef Safadi/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    Missiles launched from the Gaza Strip toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon were interrupted by the Israeli air defence system, the Iron Dome, over the city of Ashkelon

  3. WATCH: Rockets fired from Gaza after Hamas warning

    This footage from the Reuters news agency shows rockets being fired from Gaza shortly after 17:00 local time (15:00 BST).

    Our reporter Alice Cuddy heard explosions in the Israeli city of Ashkelon at around the same time - after Hamas militants warned people to leave.

    Watch: Rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel

  4. No major damage in Ashkelon after rockets fired

    Alice Cuddy
    Reporting from Ashkelon

    It’s all gone quiet here in Ashkelon, after missiles were launched following Hamas’ warning for people to leave the city. We’ve come out of the shelter and headed for our accommodation. There are no major signs of damage visible as we drive through the streets. Residents say they are waiting to see what happens next.

  5. We want him home as soon as possible, says dad of missing teenager

    Ruby Chen speaking about his missing son at press conference in Tel AvivAFP

    Ruby Chen said his teenage son was defined as missing in action

    More now from that press conference involving American families. One father said he had not heard from his 19-year-old son, Itay Chen, since Saturday.

    Itay is currently serving in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and had elected to work last weekend so he could join his family in New York for his brother's bar mitzvah this coming weekend.

    He was last active and in communication for a while at the weekend, his father Ruby Chen said. "Since then: silence."

    "The IDF say he is defined as missing in action. No-one has been able to physically locate him - he is not in hospital, not on the deceased list," he added.

    "We want him home as soon as possible," he said, urging the US "not to take a back seat" in helping establish his son's whereabouts.

  6. 'We were a community of 400 - we know of 160 survivors'

    Jonathan Dekel-Chen speaking at press conference in Tel AvivAFP

    Jonathan Dekel-Chen appealed for the safe return of his son, Sagui

    We'll have more from Ashkelon for you shortly. In the meantime, here are a few other lines from the press conference in Tel Aviv that we mentioned earlier involving families of missing US nationals.

    One father said dozens of his friends and neighbours were killed when a kibbutz - in which he lives with his children and grandchildren - was attacked on Saturday.

    Jonathan Dekel-Chen said: "Kibbutz Nir Oz is no more. It has been destroyed in a barbaric, inhuman attack in which dozens of my friends, my neighbours were killed.

    "Dozens more are either known to be hostages or missing."

    Jonathan also appealed for the return of his son, Sagui, who he said was a father-of-two and whose wife was currently pregnant with their third daughter. He said Sagui was missing after trying to repel the Hamas attack.

    Sagui is exactly the kind of son that every father would want to have: a leader, a friend, a loving man."

  7. City that received Hamas warning near Gaza Strip

    Our reporter Alice Cuddy has been bringing you news of rocket fire in Ashkelon - following a threat from Hamas militants to attack the city.

    Here's a map showing the city's location in southern Israel - near the Gaza Strip, which is a Palestinian enclave.

    BBC map showing the location of Ashkelon in southern Israel - just to the north-east of the Gaza Strip.

  8. Gaza health ministry: 830 Palestinians killed since Saturday
    Breaking

    While we continue to monitor the latest from Ashkelon - a short update from the Palestinian side.

    Gaza's health ministry says 830 Palestinians are known to have been killed in Israeli strikes since Saturday.

  9. Ashkelon residents told to keep sheltering

    Alice Cuddy
    Reporting from Ashkelon

    Rocket and missile fire: Enter the protected space and stay in it in Ashkelon-South."

    These are the kinds of alerts that I’ve been receiving on my phone, warning people to take shelter and stay there for 10 minutes before leaving.

    The alerts are followed by the sound of sirens, and then bangs overhead.

  10. 'We all just hope it will end soon'

    Alice Cuddy
    Reporting from Ashkelon

    Valeria Goldenberg

    I’ve just been speaking in the shelter to 26-year-old Valeria Goldenberg, who was visiting her husband at the hospital where he works and couldn’t get to the shelter at her home in time for 17:00.

    “It wasn’t an option [to leave]. I have parents here in Ashkelon and my husband works in hospital and can’t leave,” she says.

    “Honestly I don’t have enough words to say but we all just hope it will end soon.”

  11. IDF continues Gaza attacks as explosions heard in Ashkelon

    The Israel Defense Forces has posted saying it's continuing attacking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The message was posted one minute after the Hamas deadline for for people to evacuate Ashkelon passed.

    The military has also posted on the Telegram messaging app that sirens are sounding in Ashkelon.

  12. Rockets target Ashkelon as deadline passes
    Breaking

    Alice Cuddy
    Reporting from Ashkelon

    As the Hamas deadline passed at 17:00 local time, several loud explosions could be heard.

    We’re at a shelter here with local residents. They are all looking at their phones and waiting anxiously to see what happens next.

    We've heard more bangs in the last couple of minutes.

  13. Hamas 'deadline' for people to evacuate southern city arrives

    As we reported earlier, Hamas has warned residents of the Israeli city of Ashkelon to leave by 17:00 local time (15:00 BST), threatening an attack.

    That deadline has now arrived. We'll bring you updates on what is happening in the area as we get them.

  14. 'My mother is an exceptional human being'

    More now from the press conference being held by the families of missing US nationals.

    Nehal Neta's sister, the youngest in her family, also speaks about their missing mother, who he describes as an "exceptional human being".

    She tells reporters: "She spent most of adult life as a nurse in the community, then as a midwife." When treating her patients, she says her mother "always saw the human being, not a religion, not a race, not a hijab, not an Orthodox Jew".

    She continues: "We once calculated that my mother had brought in thousands of lives to the world. When Hamas walked into my mother's room, they saw her alone - but they did not see a human being," she says.

  15. Family of missing 66-year-old appeal for her safe return

    'My mum devoted her life to helping people'

    Speaking in Tel Aviv at a press conference for families of missing American nationals, Nahal Neta says he was on the phone to his 66-year-old mother, Adrienne Neta, when she heard gunfire outside her shelter.

    He says: "The terrorist barged into her home. We heard a little bit of screaming and that was our last contact with her."

    He describes her as a woman who "devoted her life to helping people. She installed her passion for people in us, her kids, and her grandkids."

    Neta emphasises the responsibility of the Israeli government to bring back all hostages being held by Hamas. He adds that the US government has its own responsibility to ensure Americans are brought back home "safe and sound".

    We expect nothing less from the US administration... I speak in the name for myself and my family and I wish for a quick solution to this terrible terrible situation that all of us are in."

  16. Sirens sounding in Be’er Sheva
    Breaking

    Rocket sirens are sounding in Be’er Sheva and southern Israel, the Israeli military says.

  17. Hamas warning follows others from IDF

    Earlier, Hamas issued a warning to residents of the southern city of Askhelon to leave the area, threatening an attack.

    The decision to warn residents comes after the Israeli government issued similar warnings to Gazans about areas they intended to target over the past few days.

    Earlier this morning, the IDF's Arab media spokesman also issued the latest in a series of updates in Arabic on social media, telling residents to leave areas of Gaza about to be hit by air strikes.

  18. Palestinian death toll more than 750, with 4,000 injured

    A short while ago, we brought you the latest toll on the Israeli side.

    The latest from the Palestinian side is 765, with 4,000 people injured - according to a Facebook post from the ministry of health in Gaza, which is run by Hamas.

  19. American families speak at press conference

    Families of missing US nationals are speaking at a press conference now. You can stream live at the top of the page.

  20. Israeli death toll tops 1,000, embassy says

    At least 1,008 Israelis have been killed since Saturday, the Israeli embassy to the United States has said.

    Posting on social media, the embassy says more than 3,418 people have also been injured.