The Israeli military says about half a million Israelis have been evacuated since Hamas launched its brutal attack on the country on Saturday 7 October.

"All the communities around the Gaza Strip have been evacuated as per government directives. We don't want civilians near the combat zone," Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the IDF, said in an online briefing.

The 500,000 displaced Israelis also include communities around the country's northern border with Lebanon, as tensions with another militant group, Hezbollah, rise. Missile attacks on the weekend from Hezbollah killed an Israeli civilian and a soldier.

Meanwhile, more than one million people have been displaced inside Gaza, which is one of the world's most densely populated territories. Talks of a humanitarian corridor allowing aid to enter and people inside Gaza to exit have repeatedly broken down.

"We are talking about a significant humanitarian situation in Israel," Conricus said. But he acknowledged that "the situation in Gaza is worse, and that he "wouldn't want to swap tables for even a second".

Power cuts and a critical shortage of food, medicine, and running water have brought Gaza to its knees.

The dire water situation now borders on catastrophic, according to the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf who has moved to Khan Younis in southern Gaza with his family and from where he's reporting.

"I have been like trying to buy water, going to five or six supermarkets and I couldn't find a bottle of water," he said on the BBC World Service Newshour programme.

"I had to travel about 10km down to Rafah today to be able to secure two to three bottles of water. Even in the hospitals, they only give every patient a bottle of 350 mililitres of water for the whole day."

Image source, BBC / Rushdi Abualouf

Another problem is also piling up in Gaza: garbage. The rubbish collected over the past 10 days has nowhere to go because the disposal point is near the Israeli border.

"The alternative is they have brought it to some sort of courtyard behind the houses," he said, adding that people are concerned about their children's health.

"The smell here is unbearable."

US General Michael Kurilla, who heads the military's central command and has oversight on American forces in the Middle East, has made an unannounced trip to Israel.

"I'm here to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself, particularly focused on avoiding other parties expanding the conflict," said Kurilla, who is scheduled to meet Israel's military leadership and is expected to outline US military support for the country.

The American military has been bolstering its strength in the region, which is aimed at preventing Iran and other groups from getting involved in the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the border for days now.

General Kurilla is the latest senior US official to visit Israel, and just a day before President Biden is scheduled to visit.

Antony Blinken has been explaining why Joe Biden is visiting Israel.

He says the president will "reaffirm the United States' solidarity with Israel".

Blinken says Biden will also work to try to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.

He added that the US president would also hear from Israel how it would conduct its operations in a way that would minimise civilian casualties and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza so that it does not benefit Hamas.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) says it has hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The IAF posted a video on X and said the strikes were in response to fire towards Israel from Lebanon.

Hezbollah - which means "the Party of God" - is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon.

It emerged with the help of Iran during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s, though its ideological roots stretch back to the Shia Islamic revival in Lebanon in the 1960s and '70s.

Barbara Plett Usher
US State Department correspondent, BBC News

We’re getting some fresh insights into Antony Blinken’s diplomatic mission to the Middle East and the discussions leading up to the plan to get aid into Gaza announced in the last hour.

A senior US State Department official told the BBC that every Arab leader Antony Blinken met in the last few days had the same message: that something has to be done to fix the humanitarian situation.

After briefing Joe Biden on Sunday night, Blinken was told to return to Tel Aviv and work out a plan.

In total, it took some nine hours to flesh it out, exchange papers with Israeli officials and announce the agreement.

The newly-appointed US envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, David Satterfield, is set to meet with Israeli officials on Tuesday to see how to make it work.

"We must stop the war," a man, who lost his parents in the Hamas attack, told the BBC in an interview.

"We are not seeking revenge - revenge will just lead to more deaths and suffering," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

It's just gone 05:00 in the morning in Israel and Gaza, and here are the latest developments on the ground:

• US president Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced from Israel. Blinken said that Biden's visit was coming at a critical moment for Israel, the region and the entire world
• Biden will coordinate with Israeli partners to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, and hear from Israel how it would conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas
• Diplomatic talks are also continuing about the possibility of reopening the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza so that aid can be brought into Gaza and foreign nationals can be evacuated
• A video analysed by BBC Verify appears to show an air strike at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side of the border, creating a large explosion
• Hamas has released a video showing one of the people it took hostage during the assault on Israel that triggered the conflict. It shows a young woman speaking Hebrew who identifies herself as 21-year-old Maya Shem
• Israel has confirmed at least 199 hostages were taken to Gaza. A spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas says there are "about 200 to 250" Israeli captives being held in the enclave
• The UN says around one million Palestinians who've fled their homes are in urgent need of food, water and fuel
• Russia’s draft humanitarian resolution on Israel and Gaza failed to pass the UN Security Council with Western nations including the US and UK voting against it because it failed to condemn Hamas

Barbara Plett Usher
US State Department correspondent, BBC News

With Biden headed to Israel on Wednesday to join US state secretary Antony Blinken, it's a strong show of American support for the country. But the US is also trying to mitigate the civilian casualties in Gaza.

Some analysts questioned whether Biden's trip to show solidarity with Israel could be seen as provocative. But others suggest it might help to underline a message of restraint.

"He's a very visceral politician," says Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "It may be that he feels that if you're going to push the Israelis, you can't push them until you've already made clear that you care."

Where the Biden administration will not push the Israelis is on their assessment of Hamas.

US officials have adopted Israeli language that compares the Palestinian movement to the Islamic State group, saying it was an attack of "sheer evil" unrelated to legitimate frustrations about decades of Israeli occupation and the grinding misery of its 16-year blockade of Gaza.

But an analyst, who described this US policy as "strategic neglect", said this ignores a chorus of warnings in the year leading up to the attack about an impending "explosion" in the Palestinian territories.

Read more here.

James Landale
Diplomatic Correspondent

Since Hamas attacked Israel, diplomacy has not born much fruit.

There is little protection for civilians in Gaza, no hostages freed, the border with Egypt firmly shut.

After his dash round the Gulf, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken returned to Israel only to hide in a bunker as air raid sirens echoed around Tel Aviv.

Iran’s foreign minister warned Israel any ground offensive against Gaza would prompt “pre-emptive action”, a euphemism for an attack by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

But, for all that, the diplomacy continues. Blinken remains in the region. His boss, President Biden, will also make a trip there on Wednesday.

Russia is getting involved, and the Turks are talking to Hamas.

EU leaders will discuss the conflict on Tuesday in a teleconference call.

There seems little appetite to let this already bloody conflict become a full-blown regional war.

Jon Donnison
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Amid the destruction in southern Gaza, the homeless and the hungry in their hundreds of thousands are trying to survive.

"We have nothing that we need to live," says one man who’s fled from the north. "We’re living in a dump. And if we move we will die."

Workers are shifting huge piles of rotting rubbish, and with too few toilets, there are fears about the spread of disease.

There’s food but not enough. In Khan Yunis, Amir is stirring huge pots of soup and rice by the roadside. Once a town of 400,000, suddenly they’re having to provide for more than a million.

All this will feed less than 2,000 people, says Amir. Just a fraction of those in need.

Nada Tawfik
BBC News, New York

Russia’s draft humanitarian resolution on Israel and Gaza has failed to pass the UN Security Council.

A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour, and no vetoes from the five permanent member states to be passed by the council.

The western nations of the Security Council - including the US and UK - had indicated that they would not support this draft because it didn’t specifically condemn Hamas.

Russia insisted that the text was strictly humanitarian - not political.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that regardless of the vote’s outcome, it launched a substantive discussion in the Security Council.

Here's how the vote broke down:

Five countries voted in favour of Russia's text, including Russia, China and the UAE.

Four, including the US, France and the UK, voted against.

Six other countries voted to abstain.

A rival resolution authored by Brazil is due to get a vote on Tuesday.

The decision for the US president to travel to Israel was "not taken lightly" says Kirby.

He did not share many details but said: "It's a very short trip". Biden will first visit Tel Aviv before flying to Amman.

Visiting US diplomats and lawmakers have been forced to shelter from Hamas rockets landing in Israel over the past few days.

Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to shelter in a Tel Aviv bunker for several minutes.

"Obviously we would not be making the trip if we did not believe proper security measures were in place," says Kirby, of Biden's visit.

The situation is very different from the Russia-Ukraine war, Kirby says, adding that Kyiv is being "constantly bombarded" by Russia. Biden travelled to Kyiv in a surprise visit that was kept a secret earlier this year.

National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby starts his news conference by saying that President Biden will be "arriving at a critical moment" in the conflict between Israel and Hamas when he lands in Tel Aviv, Israel on Wednesday.

Biden's main goals, he begins, is to "reaffirm our solidarity" with Israel and facilitate aid to civilians in Gaza.

"He'll discuss the issue of humanitarian assistance" in a way that does not benefit Hamas, Kirby says, after Biden's trip was announced at around 03:00 local time in Jerusalem.

Biden will also work to create "some sort of safe passage" for civilians to leave Gaza if they wish.

After visiting Israel he will travel to Amman, Jordan.

There, he will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah, Egypt's President Al-Sisi and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

The announcement that President Biden will visit Israel was made at the US embassy in Jerusalem after a marathon seven hour meeting between top US diplomat Antony Blinken and PM Netanyahu on Monday.

Biden will "receive a comprehensive brief on Israel's war aims and strategy" while visiting the country, Blinken told reporters.

He will also "hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties" and allows aid to reach Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Biden's visit comes at the invitation of Netanyahu.

Its unclear whether he will make any other stops while in the region.

The White House is due to share more information on the trip in the coming minutes. We'll keep you updated with the latest.

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced from Israel.

Nada Tawfik
BBC News, New York

The UN Security Council suspended its session earlier this evening after the UAE requested that diplomats go into closed consultations.

The move came just before the chamber was about to vote on two competing draft resolutions regarding the situation in Gaza and Israel.

One was proposed by Russia and the other by Brazil. It’s unclear if either of them could pass with enough votes and without any vetoes from the council’s five permanent members.

There are some key differences in the texts. Russia’s calls for a humanitarian “ceasefire”, while Brazil’s calls for humanitarian “pauses” to allow aid access and “encourages” the establishment of humanitarian corridors.

Russia’s draft strongly condemns all acts of terrorism, but Brazil’s draft includes an outright condemnation of “the terrorist attacks by Hamas".

It does not, however, name Israel, even when urging the immediate rescission of the evacuation order of civilians out of northern Gaza.

Both drafts call for the release of hostages.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on social media that it is "striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon".

For days there have been exchanges of fire across the border between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

Hezbollah, like Hamas, is designated as a terror organisation by the US, UK and other countries.

They are considered to have a more sophisticated arsenal compared to Hamas, and are capable of hitting targets further inside Israel.

The heavily armed Iranian-backed group has an estimated 130,000 rockets and missiles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

A conflict with Hezbollah risks opening a second front in Israel's offensive.

Hours earlier, Israeli PM Netanyahu addressed the Knesset (parliament) where he issued a warning to Iran and Hezbollah to remain on the side lines of the conflict.

“Don’t try us, you will be severely harmed,” he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

It's almost 02:00 in the morning in Israel and Gaza, and here are the latest developments on the ground:

• Diplomatic talks are continuing about the possibility to reopen the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza so that aid can be brought into Gaza and foreign nationals can be evacuated
• A video analysed by BBC Verify appears to show an air strike at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side of the border, creating a large explosion
• Hamas has released a video showing one of the people it took hostage during the assault on Israel that triggered the war. It shows a young woman speaking Hebrew who identifies herself as 21-year-old Maya Shem
• Israel has confirmed at least a 199 hostages were taken to Gaza. A spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas says there are "about 200 to 250" Israeli captives being held in the enclave
• The UN says around one million Palestinians who've fled their homes are in urgent need of food, water and fuel

A video showing one of the hostages taken from Israel and being held in Gaza has been released by Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.

It is the first hostage video released by Hamas after the militant group attacked Israel on 7 October. Israel says 199 people are being held captive in Gaza.

In the video, a young woman says her name is Maya Shem, she is 21 years old and from Shoham, in Israel.

She says that she was taken hostage by Hamas at a party in Israel and pleads for her release.

It includes footage of the same woman receiving treatment for an arm injury.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that Maya was abducted by Hamas and say they are in touch with her family, according to a statement, external.

"At this time, we are deploying all intelligence and operational measures for the return of all hostages", including Maya, it reads.

The BBC does not generally publish hostage videos.

A spokesman for the family said they agreed pictures from the video could be shown.