Image source, Getty Images

The idea that Palestinians have places to hide is completely laughable, said Leila El Haddad, a Palestinian author and former Gaza correspondent at Al-Jazeera.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Saturday warned Palestinians to clear out of any dangerous place in the Gaza Strip where fighting is taking place.

But there is no safe area in Gaza, Ms El Haddad said in an interview on the BBC's Newsday programme. "That's a refrain we hear over and over again," she said.

"There are no bomb shelters. The best you can do is perhaps a hallway in your home, which is what my cousins are doing with all of their children,” she added.

As we've just reported, the US state secretary is due to meet Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.

Abbas' Fatah party governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and is separate from the Islamist militant Hamas, who control the Gaza Strip.

Hamas violently forced out Fatah in the running of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Hamas, an Islamist political organisation established in 1987, has long called for the destruction of Israel.

Both political parties are markedly different entities, and talks of unity between the two have broken down repeatedly.

It's 8am in Israel. If you're just joining us, here is what we have been covering in Israel and Gaza.

• Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, is due to land in Israel in a few hours in a show of solidarity with the country. He will meet with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian authorities say. The Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided between Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in the West Bank and its Islamist militant Hamas opponents who control the Gaza Strip.
• The White House walked back comments from US President Joe Biden that he had "seen" images of babies decapitated by Hamas
• A humanitarian crisis is spiralling in Gaza as hospitals, where thousands of injured people are fighting for their lives, are running out of power. The enclave's only power station ceased operations yesterday due to a lack of fuel and Israel has cut all supplies of fuel, water and food into Gaza days before.
• Palestinian health officials say 1,200 people have died in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. The Israeli toll in the Hamas weekend attack is also 1,200. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is holding at least 150 hostages in Gaza.
• Israel on Wednesday formed a wartime cabinet including opposition figure Benny Gantz to direct the war against Hamas. Its defence minister Yoav Gallant has vowed to “wipe this thing called Hamas off the face of the Earth”. Israel has gathered 300,000 reservists near the Gaza border for a potential land invasion.
• The US is in talks with Israel, the UN and Egypt on allowing aid into Gaza and providing safe passage out of the territory for some residents.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Antisemitic incidents in the UK have more than tripled since Hamas's attack on Israel, says a charity which helps Jewish people in the UK.

The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 89 "anti-Jewish hate" incidents from 7 to 10 October - marking a 324% rise on the 21 antisemitic incidents recorded over the same period last year.

One example of an incident included a Jewish person walking to a synagogue in London being called a "dirty Jew" by a stranger, who said "no wonder you're all getting raped".

Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was "very concerned" about the reports.

Read more here.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will meet US state secretary Antony Blinken on Friday, according to Hussein Al-Sheikh, the secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided between Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in the West Bank and its Islamist militant Hamas opponents who control the Gaza Strip.

Mr Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel in the new few hours in a show of support for the country and its people after the Hamas attacks.

The Palestinian official also said in a post, external on X, formerly Twitter, that president Abbas will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman on Thursday.

The BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen, on a trip to the Gaza border, witnessed how the Israeli military is preparing for an expected ground offensive into Gaza.

"I was pretty staggered at what we saw," he said, referring to the massive number of troops and heavy artillery deployed at the doorsteps of the Gaza Strip.

Bowen described "hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands" of combat soldiers in full battle gear, with "quite a large number of Israeli armoured bulldozers.

He was speaking to Lyse Doucet, the BBC's chief international correspondent, on our new podcast series where we try to make sense of what's happening on the ground in the conflict zone.

Listen to the full episode here.

Israel's military says its latest air strikes in the Gaza strip are aiming to destroy a network of tunnels that has for decades served as an operations centre for Hamas.

"Think of the Gaza strip as one layer for civilians and one layer for Hamas," Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said in a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Built over the years since Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007, the tunnels have served as a way for Hamas to move supplies as well as plan and launch operations against Israel, he added.

The enormity and significance of the tunnels is obscured by the densely populated communities on the ground above, many of which now lay in ruins, he said.

"There is much more than meets the eye. The Israeli Air Force has been striking a lot of neighbourhoods in Gaza. What we are doing is prioritising striking commanders, senior leaders of Hamas in all echelons," he said.

"Whatever it is, if it belongs to Hamas, we are striking it."

Image source, Getty Images

The Palestinian health ministry says that six medical workers have been killed and 15 injured in Israeli airstrikes.

The death toll of Thai citizens in Israel has risen to 21, the country's prime minister Srettha Thavisin said in a post, external on X, formerly called Twitter.

He said that aside from plane evacuations, officials have be working to find alternative modes of transport like boats or cars to to get Thai citizens out of Israel and into Jordan.

"But both lanes are still highly dangerous as they pass through areas of active conflict," he said.

An estimated 30,000 Thai citizens work in Israel.

The first group of 15 Thai citizens bound for Thailand has departed from Israel, he said, and will arrive home today.

Other nations have also been working to get their citizens out of Israel, including the US and Canada.

Nomia Iqbal and Rebecca Hartmann
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Jonathan Dekel-Chen

Jonathan Dekel-Chen's son has been missing since Hamas carried out an attack on the Nir Oz Kibbutz

Sagui Dekel-Chen - like his father - is an American-Israeli citizen.

Jonathan smiles when he describes the 35 year old: a “loyal, smart, charming, energetic” father of three with a baby on the way.

Jonathan was not in the kibbutz that day, which is near the Gaza border, but through witnesses learnt the horror of what happened.

The US has not confirmed the numbers of hostages or any names but Jonathan believes his son was kidnapped.

He now faces another nightmare. Israel's ground offensive is likely to begin in Gaza.

“I am trying to, in my limited ways, appeal to the Israeli government that the welfare of the hostages should also be the highest priority.”

The Palestinian health ministry says 1,200 people have died since Israel started airstrikes in the area, in retaliation to a devastating attack by Hamas militants on Saturday.

The toll on both sides now stands at almost 2,500.

Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said that 1,200 Israelis had been massacred by Hamas gunmen over the weekend with the death toll expected to rise.

More than 338,000 people have been displaced in Gaza as Israel continues its aerial strikes on the area, the UN has said.

There have been mounting calls to allow for a safe passage into Gaza to provide much-needed aid and medicine. There have also been calls for a humanitarian corridor to let Palestinians leave the conflict zone, where many homes have been shelled and destroyed by the airstrikes.

The Rafah crossing, which is the main exit point from Gaza into Egypt has been closed since Tuesday after Israeli bombardments, according to Gaza officials.

Israeli troops are also massed near the border of Gaza in preparation for a ground offensive.

"I don't want to leave Gaza. I will try my best not to go to Egypt," Najla Shawa, a woman living in Gaza with her husband and two daughters. Ms Shawa, who works for Oxfam, is conflicted about her decision to stay in a conflict zone.

"I have to be honest, there are like horrible moments where I think, am I doing a mistake? Why am I putting my kids in this? But it's home. It's where we are, it's where we belong," she said in an interview with the BBC's Newshour radio programme.

The BBC also spoke to her daughter Zainab, who turns nine in a few days. When asked her what she plans to do for her birthday, she laughed and said: "I hope to have a birthday party anyway."

You can listen to the full interview on the BBC's Newshour programme here.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden, like his predecessor, has a propensity to go off-script at times, with his staff scrambling to clarify or retract those remarks.

Mr Biden’s apparent aside during his short speech to Jewish leaders in Washington, expressing shock over photographs of Israeli children beheaded by Hamas attackers, is only the latest example.

The White House has since walked back Mr Biden’s statement, which had seemed to provide official US confirmation of particularly heinous brutality on the part of Hamas attackers. It thrust the president into the middle of the debate over the veracity of the claim and distracted somewhat from the focus of Mr Biden’s message – that he condemned the attack and stood fully in support of Israel.

Murdered children are a heartbreaking tragedy no matter how they were killed. But Mr Biden’s remarks complicate matters for the US as it seeks to aid and support Israel.

As the fog of war continues to swirl around this new conflict, any walking back or confusion risks aiding those who are trying to sow misinformation and cast doubt on events and atrocities that are verifiably true.

Jon Donnison
BBC News

With Gaza now under a complete Israeli blockade and after five days of bombardment, the humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly desperate.

Mains electricity was cut off today after the territory’s only power station ran out of fuel. Hospitals, overwhelmed with thousands of casualties, say they are running out of medicines.

The United Nations says half a million Gazans have not had their food rations since Saturday. The UN has called for a humanitarian corridor to be set up. An Egyptian official told the BBC that the government in Cairo was in discussions with all parties to try and allow aid into Gaza through Egypt even if only for a few hours.

Meanwhile, there is an increased expectation that Israel will soon step up its operation with a ground offensive.

An Israeli spokesperson said forces, including 300,000 reservists, were close to the border getting ready for their mission, to make sure that "at the end of this war Hamas no longer had any military capabilities".

With the number of people killed by Hamas at the weekend now known to be more than 1,200, that mission will have widespread Israeli public support.

Ayeshea Perera
BBC News

Image source, EPA

It is almost 5am in Israel and Gaza. We are in Singapore bringing you live updates after taking over this page from our colleagues in Washington. Here is what we have been reporting in the last few hours:

• At least 51 people have died in Gaza after a series of Israeli aerial bombardments on Gaza in the last hour, the Palestinian health ministry has said. The toll from Israel after the Hamas brutal cross border attack is 1,200 while in Gaza at least 1,000 people have been killed in retaliatory air strikes
• The US is in talks with Israel, the UN and Egypt on allowing aid into Gaza, and providing safe passage out of the territory for some residents. Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, is due to land in Israel in a few hours, where he is expected to reiterate America's support for Israel
• Meanwhile the White House has rowed back on comments from Joe Biden who claimed he saw pictures of children decapitated by Hamas militants - the White House said Biden had not seen such images

• Israel has massed troops near the Gaza border, which includes about 300,000 reservist forces. It is still unclear if and when it plans to launch a ground offensive inside Gaza

• Tens of thousands of Gaza residents have not had electricity since Gaza's only power station ceased operations due to a lack of fuel yesterday. Most of Gaza's electricity supply came from Israel which cut off power supply to the area after the Hamas attack. But we have been hearing from Gaza residents who told the BBC that power cuts are nothing new to them. "We've been in and out of electricity for many years as long as I remember," one woman said.

• Besides electricity, Israel is also blocking supplies of essentials including food and water in retaliation to Hamas' attack on Israel. The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, says rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access is needed. Pressure is mounting for the establishment of safe corridors to allow aid and medicine into the Gaza strip, as well as allow Palestinians to leave
• The UN has said that more than 338,000 people have been displaced in Gaza

Stay with me as we bring you more updates as they come, together with my colleague Derek Cai.

Earlier, we reported that US President Joe Biden said he saw pictures of "terrorists beheading children" in Israel, referring to the massacres carried out by Hamas over the weekend.

"I've been doing this a long time. I never really thought I would see - have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children," Biden said as he spoke to a roundtable of Jewish community leaders on Wednesday afternoon.

Reports of such images have circulated on social media and in some news reports, but have not been confirmed by the Israeli Defence Forces.

The BBC reached out to the White House to get clarification on Biden's comments.

A White House official has since told the BBC that Biden did not see such images, rowing back from the president's comments.

"He was referring to the reports from Israel," the official said.

At least 51 people have died after a series of Israeli air raids in Gaza in the last hour, said the Palestinian health ministry.

Another 281 were also injured after the strikes hit the neighbourhoods of Sabra, Al Zaytoun, Al Nafaq and Tal Al Hawa.

Barbara Plett Usher
US State Department correspondent

The Secretary of State will land in Israel in a few hours.

He is not going there to mediate an end to the conflict: he has not called for a ceasefire.

Antony Blinken's message is that the US has Israel’s back – today, tomorrow and every day.

He and President Biden talk about the scale and brutality of the Hamas attack: they say Israel must take steps to defend itself, to deal with any ongoing threat, and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

They say Israel should obey the laws of war and avoid civilian casualties, but it’s clear they are expecting and supporting a forceful and lengthy offensive against Hamas.

The Americans are discussing a safe passage for civilians in and out of Gaza with the Egyptians and Israelis, but – it’s complicated, Blinken said.

The fate of US hostages is also on his agenda: officials here say they know of a “very small” number– although that could change – and haven’t made any decisions yet on how to try to recover them.

Frankie McCamley and James Bryant

More than 260 bodies have been reportedly recovered from the site of the Supernova music festival, but some people are still waiting for news of their loved ones.

Meitav Journo told the BBC that she spoke to her 24-year-old sister Karin in the minutes following the start of the attack. She said her sister was forced to hide because she had broken her leg prior to attending the festival.

“She told us - I love you. If something happens to me, know that I love you… She explained to us that there were a lot of bombs and shooting everywhere. You could hear the yelling, the crying and the shooting above their heads. And see she said that they were laying on the ground with another friend of hers saying she doesn’t know what to do.”

It is unclear whether Karin was taken by militants. Many families still don’t know what has happened to their loved ones and are desperate for any information.