Jeremy Bowen
International editor, at the Israel-Gaza border

We have been to the areas along the border with Gaza where very large numbers of troops are gathered.

But the colonel at this morning’s Israeli military briefing said no political decision had yet been taken on whether or not to push ahead with a ground operation.

The army is making contingency plans, he said, strengthening here in the south, and also in the north, near Lebanon, because of fears of a two-front war.

So the logistics are being put in place, but, for the moment, there is still a political discussion about how to take this forward.

Part of the calculations being made by the new Israeli war cabinet must be the fate of the hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza. One hard-right minister has been quoted in the Israeli press as saying "now is the time to be brutal’" – suggesting that they cannot be a factor.

Many others are, of course, pushing for Israel to do all that they can to rescue them. The authorities here are attempting to identify and trace people in the video that has emerged in the aftermath of the raids. They have also said that Hamas will pay with their lives for what they have done.

Israel has consistently said that every strike they are carrying out in Gaza is led by intelligence. As pictures continue to emerge of entire neighbourhoods there being destroyed, that has been questioned. But Israeli military insisted this morning that these are military targets.

The issue is that, under the laws of war, to which Israel is a signatory, civilians are protected people and therefore armies have to do all they can to safeguard their welfare. And the accusation against Israel is that they are not doing that.

Israelis deny that of course, but those voices will grow louder as the death toll mounts.

Almost no way out of Gazapublished at 10:14 British Summer Time 12 October 2023

10:14 BST 12 October 2023

Ros Atkins
Analysis editor

Image source, .

On Tuesday, Israel’s military told people in Gaza: “Rafah crossing [controlled by Egypt] is still open. Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out."

But, right now, getting out of Gaza is all but impossible.

The border between Israel and Gaza is closed.

Israel’s navy controls the shoreline so leaving by boat isn’t an option.

And then there’s the Rafah crossing into Egypt. It’s the only way through. However, that’s only possible with permission and there’s a long waiting list.

This week, it’s harder still to leave.

The crossing was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday. Following its initial advice, Israel’s military acknowledged that the crossing had been closed by Egypt.

Since then, the Rafah crossing has been either been closed or very heavily restricted.

At the moment, Palestinians have almost no way of leaving Gaza.

Rushdi Abu Alouf
Reporting from Gaza City

Image source, Reuters

I passed by a hospital in Gaza this morning. There was a long queue of ambulances waiting to deliver casualties to the emergency room.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says 5,339 people have been injured since Saturday. Hospitals are overwhelmed, appealing for people to donate blood, and are running out of essential medical equipment and fuel.

Israel cut the electricity on Saturday - and the only power station here has stopped due to the fuel shortages.

I went to another hospital yesterday to speak to a doctor. I was surprised by the number of displaced people using the hospital as a shelter.

In every corner, you can find a family sleeping on the ground. They believe the hospital is safe.

Image source, Reuters

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told parliament this morning that anyone who glorifies Hamas, condones murder or burns Israeli flags will face criminal prosecution.

He said a pro-Palestinian group called Samidoun would be banned. He accused its members of taking to the streets of the Neukölln area of Berlin on Saturday to celebrate the murder of Israeli civilians by handing out sweets to passers-by.

"This is ghastly, this is inhuman," he told the Bundestag. "We will not stand by in the face of hatred and incitement. We do not tolerate antisemitism."

Scholz also announced a ban on all Hamas activities in Germany.

It is already classified as a terrorist group in the European Union, UK and US and Hamas has no official organisation in Germany - but the chancellor said a ban would include all associations and activities.

Image source, Reuters

As Israel continues striking targets in Gaza, the president of Iran has accused Israel of comitting "genocide".

Ebrahim Raisi also said the siege on Gaza - where water, electricity and fuel has been cut off - breaks all international treaties.

Iran is known to fund and equip Hamas in Gaza. But on Tuesday, Iran's supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country was not behind the weekend's deadly attacks on Israel.

He did, however, said he "kissed the hand" of those who planned the attacks.

What chance is there of Israeli hostages being released?published at 09:21 British Summer Time 12 October 2023

09:21 BST 12 October 2023

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Behind the scenes, Qatar, Egypt and possibly other countries are believed to be trying to negotiate a partial release of the hostages being held in Gaza.

One idea being mooted is for Hamas to release its women and child prisoners in exchange for 36 Palestinian women and adolescent prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

But with tensions and anger sky-high on both sides, neither Israel nor Hamas are in the mood for compromise or concessions.

Israelis are shocked and outraged that gunmen were able to breach their southern border so easily and then murder at least 1,200 people.

Palestinians, and not just Hamas, are reeling from the onslaught of more than 2,000 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have killed more than 1,000 people since Saturday. Gaza has been cut off from fuel, electricity, water and medicine.

Hamas has threatened to "execute" one hostage for each time an Israeli airstrike kills civilians without warning. There is no evidence they have done so yet.

At the same time there is little sign of restraint from Israel. Large parts of Gaza are being intentionally reduced to rubble.

Read more from Frank here

Thanyarat Doksone
Reporting from Bangkok

The first batch of Thai nationals evacuated from Israel landed in Thailand earlier today.

One of them, Katchakorn Pudtason, who was speaking from a wheelchair, described the Saturday morning Hamas attack, when he was shot in the knee.

"They [the militants] shot from the road. I was in the back of the car and was the first to get shot in the knee," said Katchakorn.

"We drove away but they kept shooting at us. One of my friends hid behind the car's engine but the bullet went through.

"They fired continuously. It wasn't one by one like in the movies. I thought I wouldn't survive."

Image source, Reuters

Watch the video above to see people gather around the world, from South Africa to Switzerland, to show support for Gaza and Israel.

The UK Foreign Office says the families of British diplomats working in Israel will return to the UK as a temporary "precautionary measure".

"We are temporarily drawing down embassy dependants as a precautionary measure and in line with our travel advice, which advises against all but essential travel to Israel," it says.

"Our embassy remains fully staffed and continues to provide consular services to those who require assistance."

Israel's Energy Minister Israel Katz says the siege of Gaza will not end until Israeli hostages are released.

In a social media post, external, Israel Katz said no "electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter" until the "abductees" are free.

Israel stopped supplies to the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attacks on Saturday.

Image source, US POOL

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just arrived in Israel.

In his short visit, Blinken will meet Israeli officials and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

It's important to remember Abbas is based in the West Bank, and is a political rival to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hospitals in Gaza risk turning into morgues as they lose power, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.

The Gaza Strip's only power station stopped working on Wednesday due to fuel shortages. It means Gaza - including the hospitals - is relying on generators, which in turn need fresh supplies of fuel.

Most of Gaza's electricity supply came from Israel, which cut off power to the area after the Hamas attack.

"The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians," the ICRC's regional director for the Near and Middle East, Fabrizio Carboni, says.

"As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken," he adds.

Carboni also shares his fears over the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas militants - calling for their immediate release.

Image source, Reuters

Shamoon Hafez and Dan Roan
BBC Sport

Image source, Reuters

In England, the Football Association is unlikely to light the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israel flag because of fears of a backlash from some communities.

The UK government has written a letter encouraging governing bodies in sport to "appropriately" mark the attacks in Israel this week with shows of support for the victims.

The government has not specifically asked the FA to light the Wembley arch.

Rather than lighting the arch, BBC Sport understands a message of peace and unity will be conveyed before England face Australia in a friendly on Friday.

Anna Foster
Reporting from the Israel-Lebanon border

In these northern Israeli border communities, people are nervous.

They can see the high grey concrete wall that separates them from Lebanon, with Hezbollah observation posts towering up at regular intervals on the other side.

One man shows me a video on his mobile phone of armed men firing on the very hillside we’re standing looking at. The sound of gunfire echoes loudly. These were Palestinian Islamic Jihad infiltrators who made their way over the barrier on Monday and killed Israeli soldiers.

Families who live here are being told to stay as close to bomb shelters as they can. Empty buses parked by the roadside indicate how many soldiers have been brought in the last few days in to bolster security here - and to prepare for any more attempted attacks from the north.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Jerusalem

With the only power plant out, and Gaza plunged into darkness, Israel’s warplanes continued to bombard neighbourhoods overnight.

The main hospital in Gaza City has only four days of fuel left for its generators, say aid groups. Israel’s siege means food and clean water are running out.

Without power for pumps, raw sewage is building up in some streets.

Neighbouring Egypt is calling for a six-hour humanitarian truce to get aid in.

It has just gone 09:15 in Gaza. Here's a recap of the key figures following overnight Israeli strikes:

• More than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its air strikes on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry
• A further 5,339 have been injured
• Meanwhile, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says more than 338,000 people have been displaced - most are sheltering in hospitals and UN schools

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

And here's another line from the Israeli military update - spokesman Jonathan Conricus says that Hamas militants did behead babies during their deadly wave of attacks at the weekend.

Conricus says a coroner who visited the aftermath of the massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri had seen the children's bodies and confirmed how they died.

"I admit it took us some time to really understand and to verify that report, and it was hard to believe that even Hamas could perform such a barbaric act," he says.

"I think we can now say, with relative confidence, that this is what Hamas did... there were bodies scattered everywhere, mutilated."

Image source, Getty Images

We reported earlier comments from Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman. Here's some more from his morning update.

As Israeli air strikes on Gaza continue, he says their jets are targeting an underground network built and populated by Hamas militants.

"What Hamas has done since they took control almost 20 years ago was to build a network of tunnels from Gaza City and under Gaza City all the way down to Khan Yunis and Rafah," he says.

Conricus says the Gaza Strip needs to be thought of in two layers - one for the civilians at ground level and a second underground layer for Hamas.

"What we are trying to do now is get to that second layer that Hamas has built," he says.

"These are not bunkers for the Gazan civilians to have access to when Israel is striking," he adds.

Some family members and friends of those being held hostage by Hamas have contacted Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli negotiator, who secured the release of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit - who was held by Hamas for five years.

Speaking to Julian Worricker on The World Tonight, Baskin said he is talking to Hamas, "trying to convince them to release the women and the children, (and) to let us deliver medicine".

He said, "I think [Hamas] are equally surprised as Israel at their success in the military operation…in their attempt to abduct as many people as they did."

From what Hamas has told Baskin, he said: "I believe that women will not be raped, that civilians will not be tortured. I’m not sure that’s the same with regards to soldiers."

The UN Security Council will meet on Friday to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Brazil, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the UNSC, called the meeting “to address the situation in the Gaza Strip," its ministry said in a statement.

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira has interrupted an Asia trip to travel to New York to attend the meeting.

UNSC members were divided over policy concerning Israel and the Palestinians at a meeting on Sunday.

"Children must never be held hostage, anywhere in the world," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

He said Hamas needs to “free children who were kidnapped from their families”.

The president also called for Israel to "stop bombing so Palestinian children and their mothers” can leave Gaza via Egypt.

"There needs to be a minimum of humanity in the insanity of war," he added