The European Council of the EU has released a new statement that seeks to clarify mixed messages from member states last week.

"The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel and deeply deplores the loss of lives," the statement , externalreads.

It also says that Israel has the right to "defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks".

There are an unknown number of EU citizens being held as hostages by Hamas. Other EU citizens remain inside Gaza, many unable to leave.

The statement also calls for all hostages to be released and calls for measures to be taken to protect civilians in Gaza.

Image source, Getty Images

More than 1,000 people are missing under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza, Palestinian authorities say.

In a statement, the Palestinian civil defence team said many others have been pulled out alive, 24 hours after buildings were struck.

Ghassan Abu Sitta is a British-Palestinian surgeon working for Doctors Without Borders at the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza.

He says staff do not have enough equipment to help people - and they are running out.

"In terms of medical supplies, we consume a month or a month-and-a-half of medical supplies every day in this emergency," he says.

"Every five minutes there is an ambulance," he says, adding that they are seeing "devastating complex poly-trauma injuries" that require lots of treatment resources.

He says 14 doctors and 13 nurses that work at Al Shifa have died so far in Israeli airstrikes. Two others have lost their homes.

Asked if the hospital plans to evacuate in the event of ground incursion, he says "absolutely not".

"It is not possible to evacuate a hospital of this size, and most of the patients are critically wounded," he says, adding that about 40% of the injured are children.

"We will stay with out patients and we will defend our patients right to life until the very end," says Sitta.

At one hospital in Rafah, in southern Gaza, the morgue is so full that ice cream trucks are being used to store bodies.

Yasser Khattab works in the hospital morgue and told the BBC: “These fridges are for food. Not for carrying dead people.

"But because we have so much death in the hospital, the hospital administration decided to bring the fridges from the food factories to protect the bodies.

“The hospital is in a very bad situation, the numbers of death are very high and we can’t contain them.”

Five members of the US Senate have held a news conference in Tel Aviv after meetings with top Israeli officials and families of victims.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who pointed out that he is the highest ranking Jew to ever hold office in the US government, said the slaughter of civilians at a kibbutz near Gaza reminded him of the deaths of his own relatives in Europe during the Nazi Holocaust.

At the event, which was delayed due to rocket attacks on the Israeli city, the Americans argued that there is "no equivalency" between the violent actions by Hamas and those by Israel.

Utah Republican Mitt Romney said that Hamas was using civilians as human shields and that deaths in Gaza "are all the result of Hamas".

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent, in southern Israel

Image source, Reuters

Israel Defense Forces have been displaying some of the weapons found following last week's deadly raid by Hamas fighters.

It said the hangar, at a military base in southern Israel, contained just 20% of the arms they used in last week’s attack. Israel said Hamas militants had brought more than 1,000 with them when they crossed the border.

A masked Israeli soldier – who gave his name as "Major G" and is a bomb disposal specialist – said many of the weapons would have been produced inside Gaza itself. He added there was no evidence that any of the weapons seized had been directly supplied by Iran.

Major G described most of the Hamas arsenal as “low tech”. But, he showed journalists some thermobaric bombs, which he said had been used to burn out buildings and incinerate all those who were in them.

The cache included a few Soviet-era Strela shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles and a couple of shoulder-launched rockets, which appeared to have Nato stockpile numbers written on the side.

Most of the stocks were stamped in Arabic writing and some bore the insignia of Hamas. Major G says the weapons seized were a fraction of the stocks Hamas held in Gaza and which Israeli forces would face when they entered.

But, he said: “We know how to deal with everything they make”.

The headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has been hit by rocket fire, the organisation says.

In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) says there have been "intense exchanges of fire" in several areas along the border between Lebanese territory and Israel.

No one was hurt when the base in the city of Naqoura was hit, Unifil says, but it is trying to determine the origin of the attack.

Several militant groups, including the powerful Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, have been exchanging fire with Israel from Lebanese territory since Hamas's attack last week.

The peacekeeping mission also urges all parties to cease fire and says it is engaging with leaders on both sides.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Lebanon

Today has seen the most intense fighting here since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, with Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah exchanging fire several times in different areas.

Israel has reported its first civilian death from a Hezbollah strike in the current violence.

A man in his 40s was killed in a guided missile attack on the northern community of Shtula, Israeli emergency services said.

There are fears that Lebanon, home to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, could be dragged into the conflict.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says the country had “no interest” in a war with the group.

"If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a very heavy price. Very heavy. But if it restrains itself, we will respect that and keep the situation as it is."

Rushdi Abu Alouf
BBC News, Khan Younis

Image source, Reuters

A tide of humanity has washed into Khan Younis.

Hundreds of thousands fled here from the north on whatever could carry them - cars if there was fuel, horse and cart if one could be found, their own feet if there was no other option.

And what they found was a city on its knees, ill-prepared for its population to literally double overnight.

Every room, every alley, every street is packed with men, women and the young. And there is nowhere else to go.

Hamas say 400,000 of the 1.1 million people who call northern Gaza home headed south down the Salah al-Din Road in the last 48 hours, following Israel's order to leave.

I was among them, along with my wife and three children, and two days worth of food.

For many, the threat of Israel's bombs and impending invasion - which comes after gunmen from Gaza killed 1,300 in Israel - cancels out Hamas's order to stay put.

But in this narrow strip of land, blockaded on all sides and cut off from the rest of the world, options for where one ends up are limited. Safety is never guaranteed.

• We've just published a full report from Rushdi on the situation in Khan Younis. Read it here.

Image source, .

US President Joe Biden says he has spoken with Palestinian Authority President Abbas.

He says he condemned Hamas’s attack on Israel and "reiterated that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination".

Biden has also spoken about aid supplies.

"I assured him that we're working with partners in the region to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza and to prevent the conflict from widening," he said on X (formerly Twitter).

If there is something you would like to know about the current conflict and its origins, send us a question and our correspondents will answer on the BBC News website in the coming days.

• Email: HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk.
• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803, external
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Image source, .

Emma Owen

Good evening from London. We're having a change of staff now, so it's time to take stock of what's happened so far today. Here's a recap:

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Israeli military is ready to begin an air, ground and sea offensive aimed at crushing Hamas at any moment
• Throughout the day Israel has been carrying out further bombing raids against the Gaza Strip; it has also urged everyone in northern Gaza to head south
• The director of a hospital in the south which is helping huge numbers of displaced Palestinians has told the BBC power will run out completely by tomorrow
• Israel's energy minister said a decision to renew water supplies to parts of southern Gaza has been agreed with President Joe Biden and Netanyahu
• Elsewhere to the north of the country, the Israeli army said its combat helicopters are striking military infrastructure in Lebanon as cross-border clashes with Lebanese militants continue
• Gaza's health ministry said 2,450 Palestinians have been killed since last Sunday and another 9,200 have been injured
• Israel's government said the number killed in Hamas's attacks in Israel has exceeded 1,400

We have correspondents across the region, and teams in London assessing the latest lines as they come in - stick with us as we keep you up to date.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, .

Fifty-six Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Hamas attack last Saturday in clashes with Israeli troops and attacks by Jewish settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli-occupied territory has seen a significant rise in tension since Israel began heavy air strikes on the Gaza Strip last week, with protests held cities including Ramallah, Tulkarem, Nablus and Hebron.

Video footage published by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem appeared to show one Palestinian man in the village of At-Tuwani being shot at point blank range by an Israeli settler, as an Israeli soldier looked on.

Nebal Farukh, from the Palestinian Red Crescent, told the BBC the organisation had documented more than 1,250 injuries to Palestinians in the West Bank in the same period.

The group had also recorded 34 separate violations against its medical missions, Farukh said, including delays or denials from accessing the wounded, detaining of staff, and firing on medical crews or ambulances.

Israel’s air campaign against Gaza has killed 2,450 people so far and wounded 9,200, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard from the top US diplomat Antony Blinken who has been speaking on the tarmac at Cairo Airport as he continues his tour of Arab countries.

He says in recent days he has visited Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to "listen" to them and how they are seeing the crisis.

Blinken reiterated the US stands with Israel, but wants to prevent the conflict from spreading. He adds dialogue with diplomats is continuing to work on the release of hostages including US citizens.

"Israel has the right, indeed the obligation, to defend itself and make sure this never happens again," he says.

"The way Israel does this matters," Blinken says as he emphasises the importance of avoiding civilian casualties.

Finally, Blinken says he has appointed former US ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield to lead the humanitarian effort as he emphasises aircraft carriers moving to the Mediterranean should be seen as a deterrent and not a provocation.

A 26-year-old man who survived the Supernova festival which Hamas gunmen stormed last Saturday, has recalled his traumatic escape from the site.

Shye Weinstein had moved to Israel from Canada just a few months ago and bought a last-minute ticket to join his cousin at the festival.

At least 260 Israelis were killed by Hamas gunmen on Saturday at the festival. Many are still missing, feared to have been taken hostage in Gaza.

Shye captured on camera how he and his friends fled to safety.

Israel turning the water back on in southern Gaza may signal that it is being prepared as a possible safe area for civilians, the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet says.

The decision, confirmed moments ago by Israel's energy minister, ends a days-long restriction by Israel on the water supply to the territory.

"That's another piece falling into place," Doucet tells our colleagues on the BBC News Channel.

While the Israeli aerial bombardment continues in southern Gaza, this early sign suggests Israel is attempting to "divide the strip" and "go through it piece by piece, rather than everyone being on the run with nowhere to go", she says.

Doucet adds: "I think, with every hour, we are seeing slowly this puzzle being put together - even though a lot of the pieces are missing and a lot of them still don't fit."

Image source, PA Media

The leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says hospitals and patients in Gaza are facing a "catastrophe".

Justin Welby posted on X (formerly Twitter): "I appeal for the evacuation order on hospitals in northern Gaza to be reversed - and for health facilities, health workers, patients and civilians to be protected."

"The Ahli Hospital was hit by Israeli rocket fire last night, with four staff injured in the blast," Welby said.

"Other hospitals have also been hit. The evil and barbaric terror attacks on Israelis by Hamas were a blasphemous outrage.

Top Democrat Chuck Schumer, who is currently leading a US Senate delegation to Israel, has shared of photo of lawmakers gathered in a Tel Aviv shelter during a Hamas rocket attack.

"It shows you what Israelis have to go through," the New York senator posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"We must provide Israel with the support required to defend itself."

The delegation - which includes Republicans Mitt Romney and Bill Cassidy and Democrats Jacky Rosen and Mark Kelly - plan to hold a news conference in Tel Aviv later today.

Image source, X/SenSchumer

Image source, PA Media

Hundreds of people have gathered at a vigil in central London to commemorate Israeli victims of the Hamas attack last week.

Many were spotted draped in Israeli flags and posters saying "bring them home" with names and faces of hostages captured by Hamas were being handed out to attendees.

Several Metropolitan Police officers could also be seen patrolling the event in Westminster around Parliament Square.

• You can read more here about who are the people taken from Israel?

In the last few moments the Israeli government has said the death toll of those killed in Hamas's attacks is more than 1,400.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said earlier that 2,450 people have been killed in Israel's bombing campaign against the territory, which was launched in the aftermath of last week's atrocities.